Have you ever sat with someone during the dying process? I have been honored on several occasions to be with the dying. Many times, it was simply to “just be” with the person, hold their hand, massage their feet, or simply listen as they expressed their concerns for the sons and daughters they were going to be leaving, or hear them review some of their past joys in life or express their grief and sorrow over leaving this life. One of my dearest friends died last October after over a year of fighting cancer and enduring months of chemo. Just a few days before her death, she told the doctor that she was going to beat the cancer by fighting to get into a trial or pilot cure. She really never accepted that death would happen even as her liver was shutting down in the hospital. This was extremely difficult for her friends and family as she was really leading them to believe that she would somehow survive even though they were at a minimum a “little” skeptical of her positive attitude. So when she died, there were and still are confused feelings. This friend was my second dear friend that had refused death from terminal cancer up until their dying moment. While there really is a lot written about the importance of a positive attitude when faced with cancer–the attitude has saved many and helped the body heal; there is a loss of not being able to grieve with the person while they’re still alive. Because of these two friends, I have added a tab with a number of “grieving” web site links that I’ve found helpful and if you know of others, please email me and I’ll add them as well. It’s really important to grieve and helpful to be in touch with others who are also in the grieving process so please check these web sites out if appropriate. I also wanted to share some thoughts on that wonderful organization called Hospice–what a gift to us as we’re all going to die and Hospice has professional staff plus many volunteers to help the dying person and their family before and after the death. I have read and done much research on death and dying from many religious faiths including Christian and Buddhist texts and authors. Going through the hospice volunteer training is greatly valuable and I would recommend it to everyone–even if you never sit with the dying as a volunteer, you’ll still have to face death eventually and the training is unquestionably helpful from a personal growth viewpoint as well as for actually assisting and helping the dying.

I mentioned something in my last blog: we all have intuition. Whether it’s as subtle as feeling that a used car salesman is trying to rip you off, or that a friend is struggling through a tough time, there are plenty of things you can sense without needing someone to tell it to you in words.We are taught, in our culture, that the only truth is in things that a person can prove.Well, if it’s proven that the salesman WAS trying to rip you off, or that your friend WAS having a hard time, does that make your original intuition more true?For me, part of developing intuition is trusting in it.

I am often asked how I developed my intuition.My psychic abilities came to me pretty strong—but there was a period where I honed them into the more acute sense that I use to make my living as a psychic medium today.I believe there are very concrete practices that can help you listen more closely to your intuition.And once you learn to listen, then you can train your senses, like you do your muscles at the gym!

Start listening to yourself.You’ve got a lot to say.Everyone does, even when they don’t think they do.In fact, when my clients come to see me, they wear much of their stories, histories, futures, and loved ones on them like clothes.We are all more transparent than we think we are.The first step in developing your intuition is to heighten your awareness of yourself.

Sit down.Close your eyes.Just start paying attention to what’s happening in your body.Are you breathing?(If not, start!)Pay attention to your breath, how it travels through your body.How is your body positioned?Where does your body touch the seat or the ground?Are there places in your body which feel pain?Do you feel tired?Do you feel sad?Energized?Elated?

As you ask yourself these questions (you can also have someone else read them to you, very slowly, to begin your training), let go of the answers as fast as they come.Let your mind relax.Be present in the moment; then let the moment pass.Though this exercise may feel pointless, it is an excellent way to start fine-tuning your sense of awareness.

Notice how certain people, places, and objects make you feel.Now that you’ve practiced tuning in to how you feel when it’s just you alone, take notice of how your breathing changes, how your mood changes, and how your body feels, around things and people that you encounter.Try not to predict what those feelings will be—just take note of them when they happen.Does a special picture bring on a wave of nostalgia?Does a co-worker’s presence in the room bring you a sense of peace?Do you feel edgy entering a certain space?

Write down your dreams.Dreams can be playgrounds for the unconscious awareness we carry throughout the day.Before you go to sleep, say a few words to yourself as a wish to remember your dreams in the morning (you’d be amazed how often this works!)As soon as you wake, without thinking, open the journal or notepad you’ve set beside your bed.Start writing in a stream of consciousness—again, try to let your brain relax.Keeping tabs on your dreams this way will begin to reveal things to you if you practice it.At first dreams are often just the garbage can for all those leftover thoughts you have during the day.But every once in awhile, you’ll remember a real gem…a message from a lost loved one, a reminder from a past self, a reassurance from a spiritual power.

These exercises are just the beginning of respecting, tuning into, and believing in the power of your own intuition—but you’ll be pleasantly surprised, I think, at the results!

What’s a Genuine Psychic to Do?

Sometimes I think:

If I were an accountant, would people constantly doubt that I could do my job?

I’ve had some doubters approach me lately. Today, especially, I’ve been thinking a lot about the notion of a “fraud.” Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t just today—we psychic mediums are faced with the question, “But are you a genuine psychic?” a LOT.

Now most of the time, I let the criticism slide right off me. (You’ve got to, in this business!) I know my own talents. I know my own truths. So most of the time, I let the doubters doubt, and I move on with my life. I surround myself with people who aren’t trying to tear me down, as we all do. I stay centered in my own reality, and leave others their own.

Recently, though, I had a build-up of nay-sayers around me, more than I was comfortable with. A few incidents made me think about what a “fraud” psychic is, and what it is that bothers so many people about fraudulence. And, most important to me, what is my role as an honest, intuitive person in the face of animosity?

First of all, of course people don’t want to be lied to. Feeling lied to can really bring out feelings of insecurity and fear. People who feel lied to don’t know which way is up; they react to many things and people with distrust. I don’t ever lie to people–I also don’t go telling people about their lives if they haven’t requested that from me themselves. Even truthful information can be damaging, if it’s not solicited, or communicated responsibly.

And what is a psychic “fraud”? Unfortunately, statistics say that about 1 in 4 advertised psychics are AWARE that they have no psychic powers. That is to say, they know that they’re scamming people by telling them “insights” or the “future.” That kind of figure doesn’t give people in my line of work a good name.

But what about those of us who do have intuitive powers? Because the truth is, we all have intuitive powers. We have honed them (or not) to varying degrees, but nearly everyone I have ever met has had a moment of “knowing” something, or have experienced visceral reactions to people, places, animals, or objects…we all have senses beyond the accepted five.

So why doubt my intuition?

I offer no proof beyond my (extensive) resume or my life story of my personal intuitive power. But that’s enough for me. I don’t doubt that an accountant has the power to balance my checkbook unless I experience that he can’t do the job. Psychic reading and intuition is my PROFESSION. If I didn’t think I could do it well, I just wouldn’t do it!

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Performing psychic readings as part of a call in radio show on KFMU in Steamboat Springs, Colorado from October 31, 2007.