Being Psychic

We each have our own opinions about psychic phenomena: whether it exists at all and, if so, in what forms. This is my story, believe it or not.

When I was a teenager, my father sometimes took me to services at a Christian Science church, where individuals spoke out of trance and addressed others about loved ones on the other side and their messages. Although none spoke personally to me, I believed it was real, genuine. Shortly after, in the early 70’s, I took a class in Silva mind control, during which I learned to interpret images that I ‘imagined,’ so that I could translate them to reality.

For example, I was with a woman who asked me to imagine her dad. When I did, I saw him standing in water up to his knees, which meant nothing to me. When I described this to the woman, she told me that he was an alcoholic. Similarly, I learned that when I saw an image to my left, it had already happened. To my right meant it was in the future. This is not universal, so each person needs to learn how to translate accurately within her own brain.

With this predilection to believe in psychic phenomena, I thought to test it as an undergraduate by majoring in physics. I was certain that science would support my beliefs. When my advisor learned that I had studied astrology, it was clear to me that he was biting his tongue, not sharing his genuine reaction. I studied and learned the fundamentals of quantum physics, earning an A, during the only semester when I also earned my only C – in typing. What I learned left me believing there was room, scientifically, for phenomena not yet accounted for.

For my 50th birthday, I treated myself to a Caribbean cruise that included several favorite authors that I loved, such as Shakti Gawain, who wrote about the power of imagining and creating your future, and Raymond Moody, who was among the first physicians to describe and study near death experiences. On that trip, I met James Wanless, Ph.D., and began to learn to use the Voyager Tarot Card deck that he had designed. An important part of what I learned was how to begin to make sense of my visions or imaginings.

For many years, using that deck, I read the cards for willing friends and family members. The limitation was that I was never certain whether what I was seeing came from already formed opinions of mine about that person. Sometimes, when I saw something that didn’t quite make sense to me, when I described it, it made sense to the person, who described the connection to me. Sometimes, because I kept notes, as time passed, something happened that clarified the meaning. For example, for one friend who was married and the mother of two, her cards showed multiple motherhoods, and it was not her intention to have more children. The meaning became clear years later, when she became an Episcopal priest. She wasn’t the conventional ‘father’ priest, but a ‘mother’ to her congregation.

After some years of practicing on family and friends, I chose to use an opportunity that presented itself to me. I live right next to Salem, Massachusetts, perhaps the psychic capital of the world. One of my friends had a part time job working in the shop of a psychic and asked me if I wanted to interview with her boss, Barbara, to work during the Halloween season. I accepted, having no idea how it would work out.

Barbara interviewed me by asking me to read the cards for her. One of the unspoken rules is to present whatever you see in a positive light. In my reading for her, I saw a lot that was positive and some things that were deeply negative. I presented it all in as positive a light as I could and she was satisfied. I had my first job as a psychic. About six months later, her husband and partner died unexpectedly and I recognized the meaning of what had shown up in her reading months before.

Some of the readings I performed for strangers increased my understanding of the power of psychic readings. For example, that first year that I was reading in Salem, 2005, in one reading, I kept seeing (imagining) my client in a closet. The obvious interpretation, that she was a closeted lesbian, was clearly not right. When I described what I was seeing to her, she told me that she was from New Orleans and that since the recent hurricane Katrina, she had been living with someone else, in a space about the size of a closet. She asked if I could tell how long she would be there. I ‘knew’ that it would be about six months. She said that sounded reasonable and left our session with increased peace of mind.

With another client, I kept seeing him in an oversized easy chair, with clear detail of the pattern on the fabric. It made no sense to me, but when I described it to him, he said that chair was in his house. Then, I ‘knew’ that this chair was a place of quiet and calm for him and I encouraged him to sit there when he was agitated. He also left our session with increased peace of mind.

But every reading was not so successful. Among the challenges that I experienced was conveying negative information in a way that the client could absorb and use. One woman had as a central card in her reading, “Anger.” It was clear that she was an angry person and I was very uncomfortable conveying that to her in a way that could be helpful. I was also unsuccessful. She was my only client who, after the reading, asked for and received a refund because she was not satisfied.

I’ve also experienced being on the other side of a reading. A couple of years ago, I saw a medium, whose messages to me were meaningful. She told me that my parents, both dead, were with us and offered multiple comments. She said that my mother remarked that I had saved and kept many of her recipes. I acknowledged, eagerly, “Yes!” The medium then frowned, as she told me that my mother was saying, “But, you haven’t made any of them!” Again, true.

The message from my dad was more serious. The medium said my dad had a message for me about someone whose name began with D. “That would be my brother, David.” Yes, she said. My dad told her that, although my brother was generally healthy, he had a particular concern right now. That was true. David is a marathon runner, but needed hip surgery. The message from my dad was that the surgery was going to be successful and that David would recover fully and quickly. That also came to be.

So, I worked successfully for three Halloween seasons in Salem, then retired from that business. I learned a lot and provided comfort to many people, but that work takes a lot of psychic energy. Being psychic, I believe, is a quality that each of us possesses, like the ability to act or sing or dance. Each of us chooses to develop — or not — each ability. And, it takes work.

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