An Educational Testimonial

I work with Carole and have known her for over 20 years. She came to my “Introduction to Hypnosis Workshop” just for the experience and then asked me for a Mediumship reading. She sent the following Email to me. I think it is a great description about a person’s FIRST experience with Hypnosis AND Mediumship. Although it is a long email, if you are curious about the effect of hypnosis or Mediumship, it is worth the time to read it.

 Carol's Testimonial

I attended Garry's Hypnosis Workshop in October of 2013 it was the first time in my life that I went to any type of workshop like that. Now I am a person who would NEVER BELIEVE THAT THIS COULD HAPPEN TO ME. I would see it on TV and say it was "FIXED". So I told Garry that a friend of mine and I would attend but I really didn't believe that I could be hypnotized. I didn't know what to expect or what would happen. I said to myself that I'll just go and see what happens.  Garry stood in front of the group of people and talked about hypnosis and other things and told all of us what we needed to do which was basically just to relax, listen to the music and to him talking. I was in a room with total strangers and a friend that I grew up with. He explained what we would feel and to just go with it.  I was thinking "NO WAY IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME... NO WAY!!!!

As he was talking to us, it was so strange that everything he said I would feel, I DID! I couldn't believe I was really hypnotized, I thought, "anybody but me!" At the end of that first hypnosis experience, he said that if we wanted to open our eyes to do so. But I didn't want to, it felt so nice! During the second hypnosis experience, he told us to put our arms straight out, close our eyes and imagine one hand holding heavy books and the other holding a bunch of colorful balloons. What totally blew my mind was that I actually felt and saw them! I was like "OMG this is unreal".

When Garry said we can all open our eyes truthfully I didn't want to, but did.  After the session was over I was like "WAS I REALLY UNDER?", "DID THIS REALLY HAPPEN?"  Well I know it did cause, man! did I feel and see things that I never would have guessed I would.  GUESS WHAT I NOW KNOW? I have no doubt about hypnosis or if I can be hypnotized. IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE. If you have a chance to be hypnotized, jump at it!

Garry is a teacher (in more ways than one way) we both work in the same school and I have known him for over 20 years. The experience at his workshop got us talking a lot about all that hypnosis stuff. And as if that alone wasn't enough to blow my mind, what happened later REALLY blew my mind!!! I read on his website that he is not only a hypnotherapist but a  psychic Medium. Which is so weird, because I just starting to watch "Long Island Medium" with Teresa Caputo! I just got a reading from Garry that really got me in believe in Mediumship. I used to think there's no way possible for something like this to be true or to happen. I again sat patiently wondering how this was going to turn out.

After school, Garry was able to sit with me and he said that he was "aware of" 2 men, he stated one had cancer and some type of issues with his stomach, had chemo, something about having breathing problems and one was in his late 50's and one in his late 70's  when they passed. I thought one was my Uncle and the second was my Cousin, my Uncle was in the 80's and my Cousin was 60 when he died. Although my cousin was not my uncle's son, he was his nephew, but my Uncle raised him as his son. I told Garry that it all made sense to me and who they were. Garry said that my Uncle stated he also had eye issues which was definitely my Uncle 'cause he did have glaucoma. Garry told that he was feeling his right arm was weak and shaky and that my Uncle said he had all his faculties back which was so wonderful to hear because he had a stroke 26 years ago during a surgery which caused damage on his right side and he had a brace on his leg and walked with a cane. As Garry was communicating with them he said these men were on my Mom's side of the family and they were!

Garry said the younger one had chemo to treat a cancer and that again I was able to take as my Cousin who had colon cancer. He was receiving chemo for a long time period! I was amazed that they were there. I never had a reading before and I couldn't believe it. At one point Garry said that the both of them were talking to him at the same time and I was taking one piece for one and a different piece of information for the other.  So, Garry stopped and asked them to separate and talk to him "one at a time"! The amazing thing was that when they were alive, they were always together just like that! Even finishing each other's sentences! So it made perfect sense to me that he had problems separating him, we ALL did, always!

When they separated, my uncle came through stronger, telling Garry of his concerns about his son having health issues.  He told Garry that he was concerned about his Diabetes. I couldn't understand that because as far as I knew my cousin didn't have diabetes although he was always heavy.  He also said to tell my cousin (his son) to "Get off his ass and get movin'". I laughed so hard, and told Garry that was the way he would always get his point across to my cousin, in just that loud way, Garry even had his tone of voice, Amazing! Garry said that my Uncle had 2 children; 1 male and 1 female and 2 grandchildren, also 1 male and 1 female. Amazing! Right again! How does he know this?? Garry couldn't understand the name he was trying to get across; he said it sounded like "Hel" something. Helen was my Uncle's sister name, my Mom, his sister Helen... OMG!!! Then if all that wasn't enough, Garry said that he has a third man coming thru who wanted me to know that he was doing well, was happy and at rest. Garry had communicated with my father before and said it was him and that he; my dad wanted my Uncle and Cousin to come through, because he knew I would love to hear from them... Isn't that crazy?!

Now these 3 men, My Uncle, Cousin and Dad, loved to have a fun time, sing, play cards and play out to make people laugh they were always a hit at any party. Garry also mentioned about their passing being close to each other. He stated 3 years and that's exactly what it was. My Dad was a different time but mainly the two that came through first, passed within a year of each other, 3 years ago!

So after the session was over I was like wow the 2 people I would never have thought would come thru to me, did. My Uncle who was also my Godfather was always there for me no matter what and was like a dad for me after my Dad passed away. I left with such a nice warm feeling to know they were ok and that they were still together.

When I got home and I just couldn't wait to call my Cousin's wife and tell her what I just heard. I knew she would love to talk to me about my experience, as she always wondered if she would get the chance to go to a medium. I asked her if my cousin had diabetes.  At first she asked how I knew about the diabetes, that no one in the family knew that he was recently diagnosed but yes that he's got diabetes and he does have weight issues and that they were looking into joining a gym because they felt that he needed to take care of his health. When I told her that that's what was told to me by my Uncle, her father-in-law, thru Garry she was totally amazed. Then she validated that my Uncle was always on her husband's case that he needed to get up and about. She told me that my Uncle said to his son you need to get "Off your ass" and do something and that is exactly what Garry said to me. I said to her that that's the way he used to talk! My cousin's wife totally agreed "Yep that's exactly what he would say and my husband!" When I told her about how Garry stated that my Uncle was up and about moving around that he has everything back and that he's happy, well she couldn't get over it. She couldn't wait to tell this to her husband and that she will let me know what he says.

The next day, Garry came into my office to see me about something and we of course started to talk about Mediumship. As we were discussing it, he went to give me an example of how it works with a name and he used the name "Gertrude" as an example, just throwing it out there. I looked at him and said, "Garry what made you say that name out of all the names that are out there?!! Garry said that Gertrude just popped in his head. Well, Gertrude was my Uncle's daughter! He was still here! Another OMG!! Because he is a teacher, he loves to explain how "it" works. For whatever reason he was using cars as an example of how he connects with spirits and brought up a 55 Plymouth Belvidere!, as another example. I almost fell out of my chair! I said "Garry, NOW...WHAT MADE YOU SAY A PLYMOUTH BELVIDERE, out of all the cars that have ever been made?" and he said that someone just told him to say it, why? I said cause that's the car my Dad had and it was his treasure! He took such good care of it! He cleaned it to the Max. Then Garry proceeded to tell me what the inside of the car looked like and he was exactly right! He proved to me that my Dad is STILL with me even after all these years.  It just blew me away.  It's just amazing how something like this happens.

I'm so looking forward to another session with Garry. I have my Cousin's wife coming to a workshop , she stated "Garry hit everything you said right on the head; like straight out of my Uncle's mouth to you/us" I couldn't agree anymore.

Garry thanks for what I learned from all this and I'm so looking forward to what can be told to me by them again. Hopefully, the next time the women will come through. Garry, it's amazing how the people in our lives come back in ways we could never think of.

Carole

HYPNOTHERAPY - A SERVICE BUSINESS

Hypnotherapy is a service business.
By that I mean, hypnotherapists, just like any other practitioner of a business,
offers their services for a fee.

If your faucet breaks you call a plumber, he comes to your home and using his expertise,
experience and inventory, in the form of a new faucet, he repairs your sink
and in doing so, your problem.
You pay him and if you are satisfied with his work,
you would call him back for additional work if needed.

If you are in need of a hairstyle, you find a barber or a hairstylist
that follows your directions; has the skills you require
and if they do an exceptional job,
along with the tip and their fee for their service,
you will go back to that practitioner again and again.
If you truly like their work; if you find that no one else can offer you the service that
that hairstylist can and they are better than any other stylist you have ever used,
you will travel miles to where that stylist works.

If you feel the muscles in your back become tight,
you may find yourself needing the services of a chiropractor or massage therapist.
You may find their services extremely helpful and should the pain come back,
because you were happy with the work they had done on your back,
you would return to them for additional services.

All these services rely on repeated business for their success and that just makes sense.
Whether we are talking about plumbers, hairstylists, chiropractors,
massage therapists or doctors, lawyers or any other practitioner offering a fee-for-service
each one wants your repeated business.

All service industries are based on this simple fact.
For their business to survive they must satisfy the needs of their customers
and if they truly satisfied the needs of their clients,
they will be rewarded with repeat business,
so that their businesses will grow and they can continue
to offer their services to old and new clients alike.

Now none of the above should be surprising to you.
It does make complete sense that if you are running a business
you want your customers to continue to return.
So if I tell you this is true of all businesses, except HYPNOTHERAPY,
you may question me.

Why, you may ask do I say that?
The reason may not be as simple as what I’ve stated previously.
Using hypnosis as a therapeutic tool, to assist people with behavioral change,
is referred to as hypnotherapy.

Hypnotherapy has been used for centuries,
although the practice may not have been called “hypnotherapy”,
the procedure of using hypnosis to facilitate a positive change
in behavior with a client, called by any other name would be the same.

In an ideal situation the client would come to a hypnotherapist,
asking for assistance in changing an unwanted behavior
and after that very first session, leave the office
thrilled that that unwanted behavior no longer is troubling them.

Which brings us back to what I had said previously,
that hypnotherapy is different than other service businesses.
Whereas other service businesses seek out repeated business for exceptional service,
hypnotherapy by its nature eliminates repeated business,
by offering exceptional service.

A skilled hypnotherapist, who is dedicated to helping his clients,
should not see that person again,
because the initial problem that was presented
had been resolved completely in only one session.

I have been using hypnosis along with other therapeutic modalities
to help people change unwanted behaviors, for the past 13 years.
In that time I have noticed, that although my referral rate is high,
my repeat business (for the same issue) is very low.
What this means is, in my opinion, that people coming to me for my services,
which include smoking cessation, weight management, anger management,
sports academic and artistic performance, eliminating fears and phobias, etc.,
find that after only one or two sessions, the problem they came to change
or eliminate had been satisfactorily handled
and that they were satisfied enough to refer me to their friends
with similar issues, but found there was no need to return for continued hypnotherapy.
This is why I say,
that the indication that a hypnotherapist is successful,
is his having a smaller repeat business and a greater referral rate.

I have to smile, when new clients ask me for my success rate.
What I say to them is that if a hypnotherapist claims to have a high success rate,
I should question how that success rate is determined and
how the statistical evidence was gathered.

When I first speak with a prospective client who asks me about smoking cessation,
for example, and asks for my success rate with previous smokers,
I tell them, that it is very difficult to determine an accurate success rate.

In order to have an accurate success rate,
I would have to have follow-up calls,
at one month, six months, one year and five year intervals
and I feel that these calls may be viewed as intrusive
by my clients and so I don’t do them.
I do tell them, that by reviewing the referrals I get from the people
who are no longer smoking due to smoking cessation intervention
and how word-of-mouth referrals are the best advertisement for me,
I could say comfortably, that my success rate is good.

“THE NEW MUSIC”

I’ve been a little frustrated lately,
wanting to put in a blog entry for a while but I’ve been just so very busy.
So, recently I sat at the computer, opened up a Word document
and prepared to do a blog entry about teaching and being a psychic
which will probably be my next blog entry.

As usual I had my Sirius online radio on and began to sing along with a song that came on.
I was enjoying the music and the beat and the memories it brought back.
But when I began to listen to the lyrics, I was somewhat shocked at what I was hearing.

It’s interesting these days, how my generation, the baby boomers look  at today’s music
and in particular, gangster rap as being so negative, cruel, sexist…
We look at the lyrics of the song writers of this time and feel somehow,
they are jaded, hardened by their lives.

But I’d like you to read the lyrics, from the song I was just listening to;
It goes…

“Well, I’d rather see you dead, little girl then to be with another man…
You better keep your head, little girl or I won’t know where I am.
“You better run for your life if you can, little girl, hide your head in the sand little girl,
catch you with another man, that’s the end, little girl…

“Well you know that I’m a wicked guy, and I was born with a jealous mind
and I can’t spend my whole life trying, just to make you toe the line.

“You better run for your life if you can, little girl, hide your head in the sand little girl,
catch you with another man, that’s the end, little girl…

“Let this be a sermon I mean everything I’ve said,
Baby I’m determined and I’d rather see you dead.

“You better run for your life if you can, little girl, hide your head in the sand little girl;
catch you with another man, that’s the end, little girl…
 It was interesting as I was sitting listening to the music,
enjoying the memories they brought back,
knowing I had listened to those lyrics,
enjoyed the song,
enjoyed that time in my life,
and now listening to the lyrics realizing how dark they were.

And how much times have changed… Or have they?

Pretty nasty stuff, huh? Sounds like a homicidal maniac,
determined to kill his girlfriend before she could be with another man.

He’s aware that he’s jealous and he is telling her that.
He’s telling her, that she better watch out, he so jealous that he could kill her.
And I’m guessing she just might  stay with him.
Perhaps she could change his ways?
Those of you who are my age, you might recall the lyrics,
perhaps with a smile on your face.

For those of you who are too young, that really dark, pre-gangster rap group
was called, the BEATLES.
Yes the Beatles, perhaps the most popular band in history, with the most love musicians,
who, spouting peace and love, seemed to have a dark side.
It was a song on the “Rubber Soul” album called “Run for Your Life”…
Go figure.
So when us old folks, start to complain about the music of this younger generation,
with their crazy clothing, their outrageous hairstyles, the way they carry on,
let’s just look back to the 60s.
To the Ed Sullivan show and think about our parents
and remember them talking about those mop toped kids
with their crazy clothes and crazier ideas.

Think about the Doors, the Stones and all those amazing groups of our generation
that paved the way for these new amazing groups that our children and grandchildren are enjoying.

An old expression comes to mind,
“The more things change the more they stay the same”.
The more I scratch my head,
and look at the MTV music awards and the Grammy awards
wondering what is happening to our society,
the more I think of my father .
On February 9 1964 the family was watching the Ed Sullivan show
eagerly waiting for the first performance of the band
that caused an illness in the US called “Beatle-mania”
and asked if we could shut it off and put on the Lawrence Welk Show.

Sadly for my father, he was out voted 3-1,
my mother was also caught up in the contagion of Beatle-mania.

As I sit and play with my six-month-old grandson,
I wonder what kind of music he will be listening to in his teenage years.
I wonder if he’ll enjoy the music I listened to at that age
and will he enjoy the Beatles, Eric Clapton and the Doors, as his father, my son does.
I wonder when he, my grandson, becomes a grandfather;
will he be sitting with his grandson, playing and listening to music?
And will he be scratching his head as his grandfather did,
when listening to his grandson's music?

But there is one thing I don’t have to wonder about,
I know at that time when my grandson has his own grandson,
I will be watching over them and appreciating them from a completely different perspective.
View it on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3wNopYS8YE

"Lemons"

Synopsis;
Making a Life Lesson from an old cliché.

I have just finished reading a new book
and for those of you, who know me, know that
I am an avid reader of spiritual and metaphysical books.

There are specific books that have changed my life
and Dr. Paul Debell's book,
“Decoding the Spiritual Messages of Everyday Life”,
is clearly one of those life altering books.
I would place it at the same level as,
Dr. Brian Weiss'- "Many Lives, Many Masters",
Eckhart Tolle's - "The Power of Now",
James Redfield's - "Celestine Prophecy",
along with the works of
Neale Donald Walsch, Dr. Gary Schwartz and Gary Zukav.

Normally, I will go onto Amazon.com and surf around,
usually ordering 5-10 books that "call to me".
When I finish one, I’ll stand in front of my bookshelf
and scan the remaining books, asking
"which book do I need to read, now?"
the question is presented to "The Universe"
(God, my higher self, whoever is up there helping us)

Dr. Debell's book had been on my shelf for over six months.
Each time I ask,
"Which is the next book I need to read",
I felt "not yet” when looking at “Decoding… ",
so there it would sit.


A month ago I finished my last book
and once again, I scanned my book shelf
looking for which book called to me
felt it was time to read "Decoding..."

This book blew me away from the first page.
It is a slow read, not because it is difficult to read,
but because with each new page I had to stop,
in order to process the information being presented.


However, the most interesting point is,
that as experiences (messages)
were being presented to me in my life,
in "real time",
I was reading about them in the words
Dr. Debell had written, years earlier!
I found myself having to stop reading
and smile at the pertinence of the words he wrote,
in relation to what was happening in my life at that exact point in time.

This book has my highest recommendation.

http://www.amazon.com/Decoding-Spiritual-Messages-Everyday-Life/dp/1402767129/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

So… You may ask,
“OK, but what does this all have to do with "Lemons?”
Allow me to go back in time a little.

In the early spring of 2012, had a bad cold...
It was presented to me in a very nice way
by one of my High School students
who walked up to me,
coughed squarely in my face
and asked for a pass to the nurse, because he felt sick.

“Thanks for sharing” I said
as I wrote out his pass,
with the anticipation of my own cold in the near future.

I didn’t need to be a psychic
to see my anticipated cold come to fruition
and it was a beast of a cold.
Chills…
Fever…
Hacking coughs that were so strong,
the muscles in my chest and back cramped…

I had to take some days off
and just stay in bed wallowing in the misery of being sick,
when the outside temperature was a perfect 70 degrees,
the birds chirped,
the sun was shining,
the sky was a beautiful blue
and I just wanted to die.

Well this monster of a cold lasted for about two weeks,
before I began to feel better.
But, I still have a residual cough that was really ticking me off...

I said things like,
"I can’t stand this! GOD... when am I going to feel better?”
Or
"I forget what it was like to be able to take a deep breath without coughing up a lung!"

With each cough I whined more…
With each ache I complained louder…
Until I started to even annoy myself,
not to mention my wife,
who by this time had become immune to my relentless complaints.

Soon, I was finally feeling better and finished reading a book by
the American Psychic Medium Jane Roberts.

http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Roberts/e/B000APH242/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Again, I found myself standing in front of my bookshelf,
deciding which book was calling to me,
when my attention was drawn to Dr. Paul Debell’s
“Decoding the Spiritual Messages of Everyday Life”
but now  I knew that this was the time to read it.

As I was reading it,
I decoded the spiritual message
behind my recent battle with the cold from hell
and it came to me in the form of a large, bright yellow, juicy, lemon.
The quote from Dale Carnegie rang in my ear
-“When fate hands us a lemon, let's try to make a lemonade”-

And then “It” hit me...
If I was never sick...
If I was always in perfect health; all the time…
If I never had the experience of coughing so hard,
that my muscles ached or I was unable to catch a breath…

I would also never know the sensation
of the positive anticipation of good health
or
the joy that comes with the feeling that you are “getting better”.

I understood that if you don't have the bad...
You can never appreciate the good...
Another Life Lesson to remember when things are looking a little crappy :)

The Winter of 2012

Synopsis;
A personal view of New Jersey.

I know that New Jersey gets a really bad rap sometimes.

Comedians love beating up NJ.


TV is also no friend of New Jersey

The Sopranos… We are all mobbed up and have a combined IQ of 23.
Boardwalk Empire… The story of the Soprano’s older brothers.
The Jersey Shore…
These numbskulls aren’t even from New Jersey
they’re from Staten Island; my other home
Jerseylicious… Are you kidd’n me or what?
The Real Housewives of New Jersey … Really?!!
These are the “Real” Housewives? Don’t get me started;
this show makes “Mob Wives” look like a group of female
MENSA alumni discussing theoretical physics!

Now don’t get too envious, but my niece actually lives in Hawaii…
Yes the one place on Earth that could be called a true Garden of Eden
(as opposed to the real “Garden State”).
But if you live in that idyllic place,
where the temperature is always perfect,
the views are always spectacular,
the people are always friendly and beautiful,
In this perpetual perfection,
even Hawaiians say you become accustomed to its beauty.
I suppose that’s why people love to visit this paradise so often.
Now don’t get me wrong, give me the opportunity to live in Hawaii…
See how fast I’ll say “Seeyalater,  Jersey…
where’s my plane ticket!”  As I wing it to Newark Airport.

But I am happy to say I like New Jersey… most times

On October 28, 2011 we all experienced that crazy pre-Halloween
blizzard and I was caught in it,
driving from Saddle Brook to my home,
a 45 minute drive which took me 7 hours!!!
It looked like a war zone when I got home.
Power lines and  trees down,
cars mangled from multiple car wrecks...
What a disaster!

I was cursing the snow,
my tires,
the slow drivers in front of me and the maniacs behind me,
the missing plow trucks,
the lack of road salt
but mostly,
I was cursing the fact
that I was so incredibly stupid to venture out on that day at all.

And while cursing New Jersey,
I was wishing that I lived in Hawaii where they have no snow.
I thought that if the winter started in late spring,
we were in for one hell of a winter.

I pictured burning out my snow blower and all my fire wood…
I pictured ice dams on my roof and water leaks in the house…
I pictured driving through canyons of plowed snow in my neighborhood…
I pictured the last pile of snow melting away in late May 2012…

But one of the things I do love about our Garden State
is the change of seasons.
From summer to winter and back again,

I love the change of air temperature,
The heat of a summer day, the sun beating on your skin.
The shiver of the wind as it rips through your down parker
on a day when the wind chill factor reads -15 below.
The first hint of spring when the crocuses break through the soil
and the smell of blossoms fill the air.
The way the state looks, the change of colors…But that winter didn’t materialize and neither did the snow.And now I do have one question…

Where the heck did winter go?
And to be quite honest…
I missed that winter of 2012 that never happened!
 

WORKING WITH SPIRIT - Posting 3 of 3

Synopsis;
This posting would be too long for one posting so it is posted in three parts. In Parts 1 and 2, I relay my experience of being on “the platform” at a “Spiritualist Church Student Service”; what being a “Psychic/Medium” feels like when you are in front of strangers trying to “bring through”  messages from their loved ones who have passed away. In Part 3, I describe observing Janet Nohavec my tutor, pastor and perhaps one of the top ten best Evidential Mediums in the world today. I describe the masterful way she brings evidence and messages to people who have lost their loved ones and the uplifting effect these messages have on those who were there.

…After some other validations and a loving message,

I thanked Pat verbally for accepting my reading

and thanked her mother in my internal voice;

“Thank you Mom, for coming through and connecting with me so well”
I projected to the energy of her mother and I heard
“No… Thank-YOU… And I felt a kiss on my cheek!”

And as I walked back to the oak chair on the platform, I knew why I love doing this work…

Working for Spirit – Posting 3 of 3

Janet thanked me and Lena and stepped to the front of the platform.
I have seen Janet do readings during Sunday services
and years ago had a private reading with her.
She IS an amazing evidential medium.
So I was prepared to see her do a reading.

I expected her to do what she had been teaching her students for the past year.

Connect with a spirit communicator and get their
“Name Rank and Serial Number”.

I assumed she would give 8 – 10 pieces of evidence.

I assumed a few hands to go up in the audience, of those people who could accept all the pieces of evidence that Janet brought to them.

I assumed Janet would narrow the number of people wanting to make that connection down to one.

I assumed she would work with that one person
and give them one message.

I assumed Janet would “Wow” the congregation and me with more exact pieces of evidence. I knew that I would not be hearing
“I have your Daddy here and he says he loves you”.
I knew the evidence that we would be hearing would be impressive.

I assumed we would be hearing an uplifting and inspiring message.

Well as the old saying goes “When you assume…”

“I am aware of a man”… she started “he tells me he liked a ‘stiff shot of liquor’, but he was not an alcoholic”… No one responded.

“I feel this man is with a couple in this area,”
pointing to the large family group.

Still no one acknowledged the spirit connection.

“I am with this couple here”…
pointing to a man and a woman seated next to each other in the center of the group.

Still they shrugged looking at each other, the man looking uncomfortable.

She brought up a poker game.
“He is now showing me a group of men playing poker”.
Two woman in the group looked at each other and then at the couple that Janet was addressing with a puzzled expression on their faces. But not puzzled by Janet’s evidence, puzzled and exasperated by their family members who were not accepting any or all of the information.

This couple was experiencing “Psychic Amnesia”, a condition that happens when you are being given information from a Medium, that because you are so excited to be called upon; and wondering who this person is; and being taken off guard; and a hundred other conflicting emotional reasons, that you completely forget who this person is, even if they were the closest person in the world to you.

At this point I think I would have folded or
at least I would have started to profusely sweat.

Janet didn’t bat an eye. She is so confidant in her connection with the spirit world that she was not going to leave this couple until they said that yes, they could take this man.

But still they shrugged; actually the woman shrugged, her husband looked like he wanted to crawl under his chair. You didn’t need to be a psychic to read this situation. I pictured his wife telling him he “really needed to go tonight; our whole family is going; don’t worry honey, these people aren’t going to call on you…”

Well I think this man got a lot more than he bargained for and as it ended up he got exactly what he needed to get…

I love Janet!
If it were me giving this reading and this couple who I knew the reading was for,
completely rejected my connection,
I would be looking to crawl under my own chair.

But I am a long way from having the confidence that Janet showed that evening.

She folded her arms in front of her and I saw her connecting with her spirit communicator, I saw her nodding as she was processing more evidence.

“He says to mention a ‘Royal High Straight Flush’”…

And that was all it took.

It was as if 12 light bulbs went off over 12 different heads…
The whole family reacted with gasps, hands to the chest or mouth, smiles, awestruck faces…
The couple did not have to say anything the family’s reaction said it all.

Looking at the man again, Janet asked
“Who is Tom?”
The man’s eyes opened as large as saucers
as he pointed at his chest and whispered, “Me”

More gasps from the large family.

“Who’s Ruth?” Janet asked.

The man’s saucer eyes got even bigger

and his wife’s jaw dropped open he pointed at her with his thumb
as she ever so slowly raised her hand.

Her jaw wasn’t the only one that dropped.

Mine dropped with Tom and stayed that way for the rest of the reading.

“Who is Tony”, Janet asked and the stunned couple replied
“Our brother-in-law”.

 “The one who liked to play poker on Thursday nights and got the Royal High Flush?” she asked with a broad smile on her face as the couple smiling and crying nodded as did their whole family.

The whole audience laughed and was clearly amazed by this reading; not only did Janet know the name of her spirit connection;
she got the names of the couple who the reading was for

through Tony who is in spirit!

Now at that point I would have said

“Wow! That was an amazing reading!”

And if Janet had given this couple a message from their brother-in-law,

it would have been perfect, but Janet wasn’t through yet.

I saw her take a breath as if her connector was giving her something more. But she was not smiling as she had before.
Her demeanor became more serious
and I felt that the next piece of evidence was going to be powerful and it was.

She looked at the couple again, they were still smiling and clearly impressed that their Tony came thru to them.

Janet took a deep breath and stated quietly and compassionately,
“You have lost a son; is that right?”

The woman gasped, nodding as she brought a handful of tissues to her face. Her family through their own tears were touching her to give her love and support.

Her husband, obviously holding back his own tears, handed her the box of tissues that was being passed around to their family.

Who is Joseph?” Janet asked quietly.

“Our son” was the whispered response from the woman,
at which point her husband could not control
his hardened façade any longer and with a handful of tissues,
buried his face in his hands and gently wept

as his family placed hands on his back for support.

“He says that he passed quickly and that he felt no pain…
He knows you have struggled with that;
He says he passed before the flames consumed the car…”

The weeping grew stronger and now their whole family was crying

along the rest of the congregation.

“He says he sees his nephew at school and at the play; that it was good to see everyone laughing again”

The crying slowed and was replaced with smiles and awe as Janet brought through more loving and healing validations and messages for Joe’s family.

After the service ended, Janet thanked Lena and I and Barbara the homilist. I felt driven to thank Janet for asking me to read, but what came out of my mouth, surprised me, I didn’t really think about it, the words formed almost by themselves.

“Thank you Janet for asking me to read” I started

“As your student and a Medium, I am comfortable with readings and love watching an accomplished Medium, do their work,

especially the tutors you have teach us from Arthur Findlay College…
But I have to say, watching you this evening…

Well, if we were your art students and you were our art teacher,
showing us the use of color and form; how to use perspective and shading; teaching us how to paint a sunset on canvas using light and darkness…
Sitting on the platform tonight watching this demonstration of Mediumship that you just performed, was like watching Da Vinci paint the Mona Lisa;
all I can say is WOW!”.

I could not have assumed we would be witnessing a reading like the one we saw. The interesting thing was that afterwards, after the evening was done and my jaw was able to close when I spoke with Janet about her reading, she seemed to be surprised by my reaction to her reading. She thanked me but to her it was her norm; her method of Evidential Mediumship. It is what each and every student in her class strives to do.

I watched as Janet did, on the platform what she had been teaching us for a year.
She asked for, received and presented
“Name, Rank and Serial #”.

She brought names, dates, how their loved ones passed,
specific validations that had tears and laughter simultaneously.

The closure, relief and joy that that couple received was priceless
and exactly what they both needed to hear.

And again it was validated for me why I love to do this work so much.

(Last month I went back to the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies for a week workshop with James Van Praagh again. The next posting will be about my AMAZING experiences there)

WORKING WITH SPIRIT - Posting 2 of 3

Synopsis;
This posting would be too long for one posting so it is posted in three parts. In Parts 1 and 2, I relay my experience of being on “the platform” at a “Spiritualist Church Student Service”; what being a “Psychic/Medium” feels like when you are in front of strangers trying to “bring through” messages from their loved ones who have passed away. In Part 3, I describe observing Janet Nohavec my tutor, pastor and perhaps one of the top ten best Evidential Mediums in the world today. I describe the masterful way she brings evidence and messages to people who have lost their loved ones and the uplifting effect these messages have on those who were there.

… After Lena’s evidence and message, she thanked the congregation and went back to her seat. Janet walked to the pulpit and said into the microphone, “Garry?” nodding towards me, I stood up and simultaneously said to the spirit of this woman I had felt,
“Ok, mom… we’re up”

Working for Spirit – a 3 Part Posting
Posting 2 of 3

“Ok Garry…” my self-talk began by trying to calm myself down.
“BREATH! Focus…”
“You have done this before and you now truly believe in the process,
so put what you’ve learned from Janet into action”
I began to listen to this new supportive voice and it felt good!
I was not hearing any negativity…
I was confident that the spirit of this woman that I had communicated with,
wanted to connect with her children.
And I certainly wanted to help her; I knew that if her child was sitting in the audience,
she certainly wanted to hear from this woman, her mother.

I was ready.

Gone were the butterflies in my stomach.
Gone was that doubting voice in my head and I was ecstatic that I no longer heard it.
Gone was questioning if I could make a contact with a spirit.
Gone was the fear; of looking foolish; of failure; of public speaking
(that one I had been working on my whole life and now I did not feel it)

In my awareness even the congregation was gone.
All I wanted to feel was the energy of this woman
who I knew was a supportive loving mother;
I felt her and I focused on nothing but the connection
I had with her for only the briefest of seconds.

I have become accustomed to the physiological feeling I get when a spirit is close.
There is a tingling on the back of my neck,
almost like someone blowing on it.

This tingling which then runs up and down my spine,
is my first indication that I am connecting with a spirit.

Then the hair on my arms and if the spirit is strong enough,

the hair on the back of my neck will stand up.
This is when I begin a conversation with the spirit; in my head of course…

“I know you’re a woman” I asked.
I “felt” the affirmative answer more than heard it…

“I feel you were on your 70’s or 80’s when you passed”
Again affirmative response.

My next question was “How did you pass?”

I am clairsentient, I feel what the spirit sends to me and at that split second,
I felt a sharp pain in my chest and my left arm
and I knew she passed of a heart attack or a heart related issue.

She showed me smoking in her youth, but not as an adult.
I then heard “Kearney”…

All this information came to me in a split second and I felt confident
that someone in the audience could connect with this woman.
I felt that after someone said that they could accept this information,
I would be able to get more evidence, prove the connection and then get a message.

So, I began to relay this information to the people in the chapel and at the same time,
I was drawn to a mother and daughter who were part of

the large family group that I saw in the parking lot.

I felt that this woman in spirit was the mother and grandmother to these two women.
I offered what I was receiving to the people in the chapel…

“I have a woman here who passed in her 70’s or 80’s…” I stated.
“She was a mother and grandmother in this life…”
“She says that she smoked in her youth but quit a long time ago…”
“She hasn’t been gone for a long time, perhaps a few years…”
This information was new and came to me as I was giving the information that I had already received.

My awareness was again drawn to the mother and daughter in the family group. With each new validation I offered, they looked at each other smiling as if the connection I had was for them and I felt comfortable and confident that not only did I have a spirit, but I knew who it was for.

I continued, “She passed from either a heart attack or a heart related issue…” The mother and daughter looked questioningly at each other.

“I just heard the word ‘Kearney’, I don’t know if is the town, a name or maybe she is referring to a circus?”

To my surprise, as I gave the information about Kearney, they seemed to disconnect with me, sadly shaking their heads as if to say that, although they wanted to connect, unfortunately, the information was not for them.

Equally unfortunate, for me, was that I went into my head.
This is what happens, to all mediums that are starting to hone their craft.
Once your sitter can’t or won’t to take the information you are offering,
you think the fault lies with you.

You instantly doubt if you even had a connection at all.
Your confidence levels drop like a stone;
you begin to question yourself as to why you are even doing this…

You kick the door wide open to have your “Doubter Part” make it’s grand re entry!
Which was something I was determined not to let happen again.

This situation, like the “from me to me” dilemma, I have posted about http://hyp4lifellc.blogspot.com/2010/07/sometimes-you-win-sometimes-you-lose.html
can ruin a good reading/connection and destroy the fragile sense of confidence
that all beginning mediums struggle with.

I accepted that who I thought the connection was for, was not going to be the case,
I again asked the congregation if anyone could take any of the information and I repeated it once more…

"A 70 year old mother and grandmother, a smoker who quit early, who passed of heart issues, a connection with the word 'Kearney'”.
I looked around the congregation expecting to see a hand rise, but no one raised their hand.

My heart sank again…
No one…
O…M…G…
NO ONE??? I stared to sweat, something Janet taught us not to do…

“Always trust in your connection…” she stresses.
Easier said than done, though…

A bead of “flop” sweat formed at my hairline…
“Never let them see you sweat…”
“You are a professional, always stay in control”

I started to “stroke” my chest, which was something that is neither in my nature to do nor one of my stress management tools.
But doing that caught my attention.

As I stroked my chest, I felt a chain around my neck and a cross…

Almost to myself, but loudly enough for everyone to hear, I asked

“Why am I doing this?”, as I demonstrated stroking my imaginary chain.

“I feel a chain and a cross in my hand…
This woman is telling me that she was buried with her cross…”
The connection was back; In fact, it was never gone,
it was just my confidence that was temporarily gone.

Instantly I was flashed my symbol for “NOT”; a red circle with the diagonal line threw it.
When I am shown this sign it usually means I am either wrong or
I need to be shown something different due to my misinterpritation.

I said to the audience, “No Wait… She wasn’t buried with her cross…
Bare with me for a moment here…” as I tried to understand the conflict
between either being buried with her cross or not.

Symbols are a communication method that spirits use
to quickly relay information to Mediums.
For example, John Edward’s symbol for love is a yellow rose.
My symbol for Roman Catholic is a feeling of rosary beads
over my hands in a prayer position.

So when I received my “Not” symbol
when I said this woman was buried with her cross,
I asked and waited for clarification and I got it.

“No, sorry, she wasn’t buried with the cross. There was discussion about burying her with the cross but it was decided that her granddaughter should have it”

Immediately a hand went up in the back of the church, Carole a long time member of the congregation and an excellent Medium herself said
“Garry, you’re with me! You have my mother!”…

I could have jumped right off the platform,
run to the back of the church and kissed her!
The flop sweat instantly evaporated!
The knot in my stomach untied and I felt the connection again, only stronger.

When she said that I had her mother, I felt a surge of energy…
A chill went up my arms and my spine;
a feeling I have found to be my validation that I truly do have a connection.

After some other validations and a loving message,
I thanked Carole verbally for accepting my reading
and thanked her mother in my internal voice;
“Thank you Mom, for coming through and connecting with me so well”
I projected to the energy of her mother and I heard
“No… Thank-YOU… And I felt a kiss on my cheek!”

And as I walked back to the oak chair on the platform,
I knew why I love doing this work…

In "WORKING WITH SPIRIT -  Posting 3 of 3" (scheduled for posting on 8/19/2011) I describe an amazing reading done by Janet