It is a beautiful development that now, psychic phenomenae are discussed regularly in our modern culture. You can't possibly turn more than five channels (ha! channels!) without running across a television program concerning psychics, mediums, ghosts, or the beyond.

And when you read the biographies and autobiographies about the biggest, most widely-known names in the field--people such as John Edward, Char Margolis, Michelle Whitedove, John Holland, et cetera--they talk about knowing that their gifts were always part of their experience. They have always been able to hear ghosts, know what was going to happen next, see who was cheating on whom, and so on.

Well, the part that only some of those practitioners discuss at any length is the need to develop their abilities. Everybody does it. Listen, having psychic ability is sort of like having a bassoon. It's a beautiful instrument. You may be able to make it do things sometimes. Sometimes, it may even do what you want. But most of the time, it just seems to work of its own accord.

A better description of having psychic ability--it's a lot like having a cat:

  1.  It shows up when it wants.
  2.  It does what it wants when it gets there.
  3.  And then it checks out whenever it feels like it.

That's where everybody starts. You've got this really cool (and scary) talent, and you know what it's for...but you don't know how to make it work on purpose.

That's what psychic development studies are for. These are exercises that are intended to help you create a connection between you and your abilities (or, you and your inner cat). You learn what your triggers are. Learn how you work best. Learn what your boundaries are. That work is invaluable. At the end of that first series of sessions, you get to feel at home with your gift...sometimes for the first time ever.

And so. If you're wondering how people got so good...well, everybody has ability. Some of the development piece has to do with the size of your talent. But some of it--an enormous part--is practice, practice, practice.

When you are ready to learn more about how to train your inner cat, it's important that you ask for help. Don't worry, though--there is information everywhere. There are multiple books to read, live classes to attend, and people you can talk to. I am now offering psychic development classes, because I believe learning to work with your gift can help you trust its magnificence, and help you connect with a peace and loving of such magnitude that it find your spirit floating in a sea of joy.

And that's the biggest, brightest part of what I do. I help connect you with your joy.

When you are ready to get started, I am ready to meet you.

(Remember those?)

I have received quite a few calls and emails lately from people who were seeking psychic services in exchange for little or no money. One boasted that she had seen a number of psychics over the years, but that she had never paid more than $20 for a reading. I laughed out loud when I read that, then pressed the DELETE key.

You know, there are places where you can go to find free readings. Some talented professionals choose to share their work with the world pro bono.

This is not one of those places.

As an observation: I have noticed that a lot of those "free reading" places don't actually offer a whole lot of "free".

Most professionals--people who have worked at, and honed their craft--charge for their services.  For example: You don't see a whole lot of dentists, stockbrokers or chiropractors who give away their services.

Psychics and mediums are the same. Our work is intimate and spiritual. That doesn't mean it is any less work, that it is any less professional, or that we should not charge for it. On the contrary: a dentist or chiropractor can walk away from the work table. But anywhere we go, psychics and mediums have to hold our boundaries in order to avoid being flooded with information.

This is a business. I charge money for my services. I use my gift to help people enrich their lives. I have entered a contract with Spirit that this is one of the ways that I will be of service to the world. And, you know, it isn't like any other kind of gift. This ability comes with a price.

Perhaps I will say more about this another time. For now, I'll just say that being open to this energy means that certain other avenues are not available to me. I'm sensitive, and badly suited to career paths that require nontheatrical shouting (although I'm fantastic on a stage), treating people badly, and rigorous lying, among other things. Sadly, and maybe not so surprisingly, that leaves out a lot of career paths.

I have more than a handful of stories about hilariously awful jobs I held in yesteryear. Most of the psychics and mediums I have known, and have known of, have had similar experiences.

I know that our culture has entered a long-term discount fever. Daily Deal websites--Groupon, and its ilk--have become a permanent part of our culture, it seems. But I think we are forgetting that changing the dollars that we pay for something doesn't mean that we are changing the inherent value of that thing. And you know, there is a whole piece where maybe people are charging the money for X because that's what Thing X is worth. What happens to our relationships with shopkeepers and small business owners when we interrupt the flow of commerce all of the time?

Should we pay less for a sweater that was made inexpensively, and in quantity, by machines? Yes, I believe so. But a sweater that was made by human hands, with human talent and creativity, is inherently worth more, and I have come to believe that we should invest in this. It is worthwhile to invest in human services, as much as we are able to do so.

And of course, I believe that the value of contacting the Divine for information, for hope, for reassurance, and for contact with our Higher Self...well, that's priceless. That is not a service to slap a smaller number onto.  It's a service worth saving for, and looking forward to. It's a service to look back and cherish.





I do offer complimentary services to law enforcement, to family members who seek to locate missing persons, and to individuals who seek to address unsolved cases. If that describes you, click here to leave me a message. If you are among these, please know that you must have contacted the police before contacting me. I will ask you for a case number. There is some other fine print about the way this works. We can talk about that when you contact me.

There are a great many people in this field--by which I mean, people who offer psychic, intuitive, or other spiritual work--who offer a fantastic service. It is honest, it's as advertised, it is useful, and applying it correctly can really help you change your life.

What most people in this field are *not* doing is offering this potentially life-changing work for free.

The people who are offering the work "free" are actually pretty rarely individuals. They are large companies whose owners believe that the "free" word will draw people's attention and traffic to the website, and so they throw it out there. You can probably think of two or three of these companies without even breaking a sweat.

When I have spoken with people about their experience when they've called those numbers to cash in their no-cost session, they generally tell me that at least three or four of those five "free" minutes are spent being shuffled about from one hold operator to another. They don't actually get to have more than sixty seconds of contact with a real person before someone starts charging them.

Pretty pathetic, right?

I don't think there is anything wrong with giving something away, if that is what you genuinely plan to do. But this doesn't seem to be part of the plan for the people who are throwing the word around left, right, and sideways.

 Something that we will discuss another time is that offering these services is a business. We all know how business works:  Business owners create a medium in which we exchange goods or services for money.  Some people price their services more affordably than others do. Ultimately, each artist must decide what she believes is an appropriate price for her time and abilities.

Psychic services are spiritual gifts, offered as an extension of my spiritual beliefs. It was a painful and challenging process for me to accept and publicly discuss my abilities. Frankly, I can't imagine offering five free minutes, one free question, or any other kind of gimmick with relation to them. Doing so cheapens an otherwise sacred connection.

In addition to this--and maybe more importantly--scheduling a session is a commitment for both of us. We are both setting aside the time, and each of us pledges to attend the appointment with a viable level of energy. We are committing to sharing more than our time with one another: we share our vulnerability. We bring our whole selves. That deserves more than a gimmick.

Although my fees are modest on a scale from here to Sylvia Browne, I do understand that my time is not inexpensive. What I do offer is a period of adjustment: if, in the first five minutes, you do not feel that we are well-suited to each other, then your monies will be refunded, and you will not be charged for my time.

This is better than the "dine-and-dash" thinking of the "five minutes free" offer. It shifts the focus away from the gimmick (read: trick). It lets you know that I am genuine; and that I am looking forward to our time together; and it allows us to make a connection with each other. That is the goal, after all--it is through our connection that I can offer the information that you seek.

I offer psychic services as a way to share compassion and support. That is why we are all here, you know...to hold each other up. Life is so much richer when we can show up and share our authentic selves....we get something beautiful in return.

Are you ready to share something beautiful?

So I had an unpleasant thing happen to me recently. In short, I was manipulated and taken advantage of by someone who left me in a really bad position. I won't say too much about the situation here, in case there is a chance that it can be ameliorated. Unfortunately, at this juncture, I think it far more likely that it will keep getting bigger.

 Anyway—I mention it here because sometimes, when things like this happen, people ask: Well, how did that happen? You're psychic, right? Didn't you know?

 Yes, I am psychic. I have worked to develop this ability on several levels. Here are some examples:

 I've worked to understand what my signals mean. A lot of the time, I hear information via a spoken voice, or see a message as a written statement. These things are normally pretty clear—but not every message says exactly what it means. Sometimes, I get symbols or images that I have to interpret. These are frequently unique to each individual. My clients hear me trying to work out the meanings to these puzzles. We laugh about it together, after I have solved them.

 I've worked to learn how to work with my abilities in ways that are compassionate and meaningful. That's why I don't have the winning lottery numbers every week (although I'm looking forward to having those). My work here is to use my gifts to help other people. It would be an abuse of those gifts to spend my time just looking for ways to gain from it.

 And (arguably) most functionally important:

 I've worked to hold the ability separate from my everyday life. That means I've worked really hard to determine when it's okay for me to be available (when I have enough energy; when I have the attention to spare; when I can be compassionate and loving, etc.), and when I need to shut down the information coming from my third eye. I don't want to be bombarded with information just walking down the street, or standing behind somebody in the line at the grocery store. It's true that there are still days when I know painful, funny, or embarrassing things about total strangers, out of nowhere—but that happens far less frequently now than it used to.

 There are more ways that I've learned to work with my psychic gifts, but I'm going to stop there for now. That's saying a lot.

 Nowhere in those does it state anything about needing, or wanting, to be “on” all the time. That's because I don't.

 Whether you are a casual moviegoer who has enjoyed the recent influx of fantasy-themed films, or a dedicated lover of the fantasy and science-fiction field, you likely recognize the old trope: access to a constant stream information can destroy a person's sanity. In one old Tom Baker-era Dr. Who, for example, a fellow entered a beam of light containing all knowledge, and essentially, his brains melted and leaked out his ears. That can be what it feels like, if I don't learn how to turn off my abilities.

 Which leads me to a delicate point: I don't want to have people around me that I have to be worried about. People that I have to scan, or interpret, or wonder about, are too much. I don't want to have to be “on” all the time. That's too much work, on physical and emotional levels, both. I have to trust that the people around me are “safe” people. If I constantly have to consider their motives, then I don't need to be around them.

 I am, indeed, psychic. And I do want to have positive things happen to me, of course; it would seem that I have a leg up on that happening. But, just as these abilities are not given to me to identify the winning horses, I'm not supposed to track down and avoid everything that looks like trouble. Does that mean I throw myself into bad situations? Of course not! It's just a misuse of my talent to try and live in a Mr. Rogers world.


 There's another point that I should mention here, too. It's a little embarrassing, so I guess I'll just say it fast, with my eyes closed: Sometimes I'm just wrong about people. Sometimes their perfume/cologne, or their guileless eyes, or the corner of a crooked smile, reminds me of someone I used to know, or a character I read about—or one that I created—and I allow myself to hear what I want them to be saying, as opposed to what is actually falling out of their mouths. Or something.

I'm not immune to basic human desires. We all want to be liked, to be nurtured; to connect with other people. That is not any different for me just because I have this ability. I have a big singing voice, too. Neither one of these things changes the bottom line.

 As a matter of fact—while I help reveal dearly-held secrets about perfect strangers every day, I am pretty uncertain about my own life. My pet theory about this is that I can rarely read for myself because I can't get objectivity. Being able to step away from emotional entanglement with the information is crucial to giving a quality reading—and of course I have no objectivity about my own life.

 The more intimate time (watching television, sharing meals, and so on) I spend with friends and acquaintances, the less likely I am to be able to read for them in a comprehensive kind of way; the more likely it is that something will be skewed during the course of the reading. It's as though the wiring goes wonky, just like what happens to the watches that I used to try to wear. (I've given up on wearing them now. It never ends well.)

 At the end of the day, I'm still just a girl with a gift. While I work to make the use of my gift an extension of my spirituality, I am not at a place where I see through the lens of compassion all of the time. I don't see through the lens of my third eye all the time, either. I don't think I would want to have all of people's foibles revealed.

 I don't see bad things happening as a reason for me to use my abilities more comprehensively, or try to make everything in my life picture perfect. Sucky things happen sometimes.

Does it mean I don't get angry? Of course I get angry! I stomp around sometimes, both physically and verbally. Sometimes I am one large cloud of bad attitude, on my way to rain on somebody's parade. I'm still human, remember? I get to do that whole “range of human emotions” thing that Willow got so freaked out about in Season Six Buffy.

 Okay, so I've been long-winded. I'm winding down. My point is, bad—well, unsavory—things happen to me, too. It's part of the experience, as long as we are on the Wheel. The best that I can do is to live through them with grace, and to take the lesson as a gift.

 And if I have to do some stomping around and breaking things, I make sure I create a safe way to get the emotions out of my body and into the world, where they can dissipate into the earth. Otherwise...well, that's the subject of another post.

 Thanks for reading. Namaste.

Want to schedule a reading? Your life makes more sense to me than mine.

I spent much of Friday in Hamden with a dear friend. While we had planned to spend time together, that particular location happened organically. Originally, we were thinking of choosing a place to meet for lunch that was near her work; but then, surprisingly, she took the day off. This friend works six days every week, so I was very excited when I learned we would have more time together than I originally understood.

Since this was originally a lunch date, we decided to meet at a restaurant. There are a number of fine establishments in Hamden, so we had a happy discussion as we debated where to eat. Ultimately, my friend decided on our destination. After we settled on a time, our plans were solid.

I made it to the restaurant before my friend did. When I told the host that I needed a table for two, he stated that he would be happy to give me a table when the remainder of my party arrived. Hmmm. Okay, I understand not seating one person out of a four-person party, or two people out of a five-person party...but not seating one person out of a two-person party is on the ridiculous side. Since there will only be one additional seat at the table, there is no way that the restaurant is losing anything.

When my friend arrived, the host seated us at a table. The new location made me aware that it was somewhat chilly in the main portion of the restaurant. After several minutes, I realized that I needed to put on my coat. (Is this any way to save money?)

Sadly, my entree contained very little of what I had asked for. Because I am aware that the kitchen staff is, if you will forgive the quote, made out of people, I don't expect perfection. But this overall situation might have been less disappointing if the server, who could have helped us fix these problems, had not been so scarce that I felt she was avoiding us.

Why have I told you this tale of woe?

I told you this story because there are lessons in it.

When we don't get what we want, we can come away from the experience clutching our dissatisfaction to our bosoms. That's one option. For the majority of us, at some point in our lives, it is a fallback position. (We can get stuck in this place until one of two things happens: First, we learn that there is a different option; and secondly, we decide that we want it for ourselves.)

One of the other major things that can happen when we don't get what we want is that we can look at what happened and mine some goodness from it.

So what is good about not getting anything you've asked for?

Well, there is a service issue. As a provider of personal services, I like to pay attention to the way I feel when I've received a service. It always gives me something to think about regarding ways that I can offer something better.

There is also an opportunity for me to consider ways that I might approach the people who can make the situation better. Do I find them approachable? Do I hesitate? If I do hesitate, is it because of something foreboding that is happening as part of the situation, or because of my own reticence?

And of course, there is also the opportunity to consider how what we got is better than what we might have asked for.

I have come to believe that it is always better when I look for more possibilities.

When I do intuitive work, I offer the answers to questions. But there are always blind ends when the people who are involved with an issue come up with the questions themselves. We humans can't see around corners, after all. All we can do is approach the situation from the place where we have arrived organically. Our emotional involvement causes us to see unclearly, which ensures that we can't see the whole picture.

In that case--in every case--my job is to look for the most complete information that there is. I look for, and examine, all of the possibilities, even if my client can't or won't bear to do so. I am a compassionate, but ultimately impartial, observer. By approaching every question with a manner that lets the end result be okay no matter what it is, I can find the most information.

And that is wherein I can create the most advantages for you, my client. I may be an impartial observer when I'm seeking psychic information, but I am always thinking of how to glean the best and highest results for you. That almost always means that you go home with homework assignments. These will help you to develop your mindful awareness, and take more responsibility in your own life. Often, people find that they have more clarity as a result.

Ultimately, we can always ask ourselves the question: How might this unexpected outcome empower me?

Take the time to meditate on the question. The answer might surprise you.

What do you do when you don't receive what you have asked for?