After Life_ Answers From The Other Side Part 4

In the novel, the family learns about "honoring their grief" and how grief is really the other side of love. Think about it: Your love for a person is like a flow of energy, and it's directed from you to them. But when the person dies-or when their body body dies-many of us don't know where to put the love/energy anymore, and it gets backed up. This causes a blockage of energy within us, and this blockage locks our grief. Understanding their death, honoring it, accepting it, and walking that long road through grief helps us move through that blockage and then understand that our loved ones are still a dies-many of us don't know where to put the love/energy anymore, and it gets backed up. This causes a blockage of energy within us, and this blockage locks our grief. Understanding their death, honoring it, accepting it, and walking that long road through grief helps us move through that blockage and then understand that our loved ones are still a part part of our lives-not of our lives-not apart apart from our lives. from our lives.

When we move through the blockage, we get back to the love. For those of you who have experienced severe loss, you're well aware that you never get over that loss entirely. You get through through it, and it changes you. Those who haven't lost a loved one can't understand this feeling, and often say to those who are grieving: "Aren't you over it yet? He's in a better place now. It's better this way . . . she's out of pain." If you don't know what to say to a friend or loved one in pain, just say: "I'm here for you." Those four words are helpful. it, and it changes you. Those who haven't lost a loved one can't understand this feeling, and often say to those who are grieving: "Aren't you over it yet? He's in a better place now. It's better this way . . . she's out of pain." If you don't know what to say to a friend or loved one in pain, just say: "I'm here for you." Those four words are helpful.

Back to the reading in Houston. I was hesitant to bring up the shuttle disaster for fear that the loss was too recent, but my main rule in this work is: If they show it, so do I If they show it, so do I. A big part of the process is not editing what I get.

"Someone right in that section," I said, pointing out front, "is connected with one of the astronauts who crossed on the s.p.a.ce shuttle Columbia three weeks ago." A woman directly in front of me, in the very back of the room, stood up.

"My husband is Rick Husband's cousin," she said.

I didn't know whom she was talking about, since I didn't know the names of the astronauts. The woman explained that Rick Husband was the commander of the Columbia, and a cousin by marriage. Once she validated this, the information started to flow. Rick said that there would be additional information about the disaster that the families of the astronauts would be receiving-perhaps a video, which may or may not become public knowledge. There were also "audible" messages of the shuttle crew on tape that the public didn't know about yet, but would soon. I was shown that the pa.s.sing of the astronauts was fast and somewhat of a surprise, and they were unconscious before anything happened to their physical bodies.

"It's as if they were asleep," I told the audience, as I dropped my head to the side in a sleeping position to show what I was feeling and seeing. Everyone applauded at that, in relief for the astronauts and their families.

"Rick comes from a religious family . . ." was the next bit of information I got. The entire room nodded in unison. Everyone seemed to know this about their hometown son except me.

"There's an 'LN' name . . . like Lynne . . . connected to Rick. Is this you?"

She shook her head no. And then I felt a split pull-as if I were a sheet of paper torn in half and separated in two opposite directions.

"Is there someone else here in the room who also knows Rick? Or is there someone else here connected to another another member of the shuttle crew?" member of the shuttle crew?"

A pet.i.te woman about ten rows in front of me raised her hand. "Yes," she said, "I knew the Israeli astronaut on that flight, Ilan [p.r.o.nounced Ee-LAN Ee-LAN]."

Okay, so that explained the "Lynne" name. For me, when I hear names that start with a vowel, I will not hear that first vowel. I'll hear the consonant sounds following the vowel as strong and predominant. So in this case, "Ilan" became more of a "Lan" or "Lin" sound in my head, because I didn't hear the "E" sound. Information started coming through from this second astronaut.

"He wants me to acknowledge his kids . . . and something about the music. Was someone singing either to him from here, or was he singing to here from there?"

"He and his wife had a song about being far away," the woman answered in an emotional whisper, "and she sang it to him while he was there." At this point, I was getting emotional, too.

"And his daughter, his little girl," the woman continued, "watched her father take off in the shuttle. And at that moment, she said out loud, 'I just lost my daddy.'"

All right, now I was doing everything possible to keep myself from losing it right there onstage. Normally when I do readings, I can stay detached from the feeling part of it-that's how I'm able to relay such poignant details time after time without becoming a sobbing wreck. But this last image of the astronaut's little girl waving good-bye to her daddy just got me. Ever since my Justin had been born, readings that deal with parent-child relations.h.i.+ps have an even deeper and more heartbreaking effect on me than before.

After the event, Carol told me that it was highly publicized and reported in the newspapers that the astronaut's daughter had said those words as the shuttle blasted off. So did the little girl sense what was going to happen? Well, I do believe our soul decides when it's completed its lessons here in the physical world. And when that time comes, we allow ourselves to exit. Some events, which we call "accidents," may not be accidents at all in terms of the Other Side.

I'd describe it more like this: Let's say you're on a business trip and you've finished your meetings early, but your flight home isn't until the next day. You might try to hop on an earlier flight to get home sooner. If you do, it was your decision to alter your path. I believe that the soul makes that same decision to change its journey, to go home home home-to its spiritual home. Some people, often children, can be aware when it's time for a soul to leave this world. What that little girl experienced is nothing short of a gift, and to me, it's clear she was given a validation that it was her dad's home-to its spiritual home. Some people, often children, can be aware when it's time for a soul to leave this world. What that little girl experienced is nothing short of a gift, and to me, it's clear she was given a validation that it was her dad's time time.

Think about the people you love who have crossed over. If it wasn't a long illness that brought them to the Other Side, and it was more of a sudden event, examine what they were doing or saying during the months leading up to the moment they physically left. You might discover clues that their soul was getting ready to "go home." Maybe the person recently gave away a treasured piece of jewelry or reconciled with an estranged friend. Maybe they got all their paperwork in order and wrote a will. The soul knows it's getting ready to leave, and that unconscious thought flows into our everyday lives. After reading dozens of September 11 families in the last year and a half, I can tell you that I've seen examples of this over and over. Both the energies coming through, and their loved ones here, often talk about signs-whether spoken or acted out-that signaled they were going to leave.

BY THE END OF THOSE TWO READINGS in Houston, the astronauts had also brought through the parents of the two women. I hope that they found comfort in that, and in knowing that the astronauts saw them as an opportunity to pa.s.s on messages to their loved ones here and let them know they're okay. in Houston, the astronauts had also brought through the parents of the two women. I hope that they found comfort in that, and in knowing that the astronauts saw them as an opportunity to pa.s.s on messages to their loved ones here and let them know they're okay.

Two weeks after the seminar, on March 1, news reports validated the information that came through in the reading. The New York Daily News Daily News revealed that a video had been found in Texas showing the crew's last moments-laughing, talking, and not knowing anything was wrong. It was "a remarkable fragment of video that survived the terrible fires that consumed the s.p.a.ce shuttle Columbia," the report said. "There is not even a hint of concern, anxiety-nothing . . . trauma specialists said the cheerful images would bring comfort to the families, who were shown the video and agreed it should be made public." revealed that a video had been found in Texas showing the crew's last moments-laughing, talking, and not knowing anything was wrong. It was "a remarkable fragment of video that survived the terrible fires that consumed the s.p.a.ce shuttle Columbia," the report said. "There is not even a hint of concern, anxiety-nothing . . . trauma specialists said the cheerful images would bring comfort to the families, who were shown the video and agreed it should be made public."

SPIRITUAL MAIL CARRIER.

A MONTH AFTER MY STAY IN MONTH AFTER MY STAY IN H HOUSTON, I was contacted by Nancy Marlowe Sheppard, Rick Husband's relative whom I'd read at the seminar. Sheppard, a retired school teacher, was eager to tell me what had happened to her before she even got to the reading that day. Ever since the shuttle explosion, she'd been having strong feelings that she needed to attend a taping of Crossing Over Crossing Over-that if she did, something important might happen. When she learned about the seminar that was to happen nearby, she called the venue to get a ticket but was told it had been sold out for months.

Nancy recalled, "I said to the woman on the phone, 'Look, I really really need to go. Can't you try again?'" need to go. Can't you try again?'"

Often, I believe, the Other Side really does have a hand in getting people where they need to be. In many cases, people who have tried to get tickets for the Crossing Over Crossing Over gallery, or for a seminar or private reading, often get them as a fluke or seemingly by "coincidence"-and they end up having a dramatic reading. gallery, or for a seminar or private reading, often get them as a fluke or seemingly by "coincidence"-and they end up having a dramatic reading.

But, once again, I don't believe anything is ever a coincidence-the ticket agent suddenly "found" two tickets for Nancy to the sold-out seminar. As she was preparing to leave her house for the event, she had hopes that her deceased parents might come through that day. But before she left home, Nancy had what can only be described as a premonition: Rick's energy came through to her. "I felt Rick's presence," she said, "and I knew he was going to come through at the reading." Her premonition included information that "he and the rest of the crew did not suffer and were grateful for the love America had shown to them."

The message surprised Nancy, but it wasn't a complete shock. "I've always been intuitive," she said, "ever since I was a child. But I always pushed away the hunches, the feelings, the visions, the knowing." It's not uncommon for many people to feel in touch with the spiritual world-whether they get a thought, hear a voice, or smell a whiff of perfume that Mom used to wear-most people at one time or another have had psychic experiences. We all have this ability within us to different degrees, but rather than pay attention to it, many ignore it. Nancy had tried to ignore her "hunches" her entire life, but on the day of the reading, she couldn't do it anymore.

"I was sitting in the second-to-last row, in the last seat. I know you couldn't even see me from up on the stage," recalled Nancy. "When you asked if there was anyone related to the Columbia crew and I stood up, I was the only one standing in the room, and my heart was beating so fast. I told you I was connected to Rick, and then you said, 'Rick Husband is here here .' One of the messages you got was that Rick was a religious man-and it's true. He went to church, he spoke in Sunday school, and did all sorts of things like that. And then my parents came through in the reading. . . ." .' One of the messages you got was that Rick was a religious man-and it's true. He went to church, he spoke in Sunday school, and did all sorts of things like that. And then my parents came through in the reading. . . ."

Nancy was overjoyed that her mom and dad came through and made a "cameo appearance," giving accurate family birthdays, anniversaries, and illnesses so that she knew it was them. But what affected her most was something I said to the group at the end of the evening.

Nancy remembered, "You paused, and then you said, 'Did someone here know before before the seminar that this was going to happen?' That's the part that was so awesome for me. I was still standing, and I said, 'I knew!'" the seminar that this was going to happen?' That's the part that was so awesome for me. I was still standing, and I said, 'I knew!'"

A month after the seminar, Nancy sent a letter to Rick's mother and wife to tell them about her experience, and as this book goes to print, Nancy hadn't heard back from them yet but is hoping that the words gave them peace. That day in Houston was Nancy's introduction to being a "spiritual mail carrier." It began with her premonition earlier in the day and continued with her delivering a message for the Other Side when she mailed that letter to Rick's family.

Being a spiritual mail carrier is a job many of us undertake although we may not be aware of it. The young girl watching her father leave on the shuttle was pa.s.sing along a message, too. You don't need to be a medium to work with the Other Side; you just need to be open to the vibrations and be willing to listen.

"I really think I was supposed to be there," Nancy continued. "I think that's why I got the ticket at the last minute. I think Rick Husband knew I'd be there and chose me to get his message out."

CHAPTER 5.

TELEPHONE TAG.

SOME READINGS FLOW EASILY, with information coming through from the Other Side clearly, and the sitter recognizing the details immediately. Other sessions can be more of a challenge, and there are a number of reasons why. First, I might be interpreting the information incorrectly, like in the instance I spoke of earlier when I got the gun-taxicab image and thought a young man had been murdered in a taxi, when he was actually shot in the front part-the "cab"-of a truck. That's an example of how I'm shown images by the Other Side that could take on a number of meanings, and my immediate interpretation is one meaning when it's actually another.

Second, a sitter might not be approaching a session with an open mind. Some people are determined to hear from certain people and a.s.sume that they'll say certain things, closing their brain off to other possibilities. Sure, you might want to hear from Uncle Harry and hope he'll tell you where the family treasure is stashed. But instead, the guy who had a crush on you in college comes through and jokes about how you cheated on that French exam. But you don't recognize this guy because you only want to hear from Uncle Harry. When this happens, it doesn't matter how hard the energies or I work to open your eyes-nothing will make you see. And then you go home disappointed, a.s.suming that the process just "didn't work" for you.

Sometimes a reading is off because what's coming through isn't intended for you. Usually after a bit of confusion and a few minutes-if we're lucky-we discover that the information is actually for a friend, co-worker, or relative. If possible, we get that person on the phone, and when we do, the validations again flow like the Mississippi.

Other times, a reading gets jammed up and I can't pinpoint the problem. The information is coming through to me clearly, but the sitter doesn't understand it for herself or for anyone else she knows. This is what happened during a recent phone reading I did with a very nice woman named Deanna, a medical reporter in Chicago, who was hoping to connect with her young son who had pa.s.sed away a few years earlier.

During the reading, the information struck me with the force and clarity of a hardball hitting me in the gut. I was sure of it. But for the most part, that ball dropped to the ground with a thud thud. Deanna couldn't connect with what I was telling her. In most readings, if a detail can't be validated, it's no big deal. I try to reinterpret the message or we call up a family member-and if those two things don't work, I insist that the sitter write it down to check later, and then we move onward.

Often, the sitter calls me weeks or months later to tell me-Aha!-they figured it out. A string of non-validations during a reading do become a problem, however, when the energy is insistent and will not let it go. Because then I get persistent myself, which frustrates the sitter, and all three parties get caught up in a three-way wrestling match of spiritual proportions. For example: John: Somebody's claiming that their actions brought about their pa.s.sing, which for me would be like somebody taking responsibility for how they crossed. This doesn't encompa.s.s an actual suicide, but is like a weird pa.s.sing where somebody is slightly responsible for it.Deanna: No . . .John: Uh, yes. You just might not be aware of it, or it might hit you later, but I a.s.sure you this is definitely connected to you.[Then later in the reading, it comes up again.]John: Okay . . . there's somebody who's claiming that their actions brought about their pa.s.sing.Deanna: No . . .John: Well, I'm gonna disagree again.[The issue comes up a third time later.]John: Okay, are you positive there's n.o.body in that family who crossed themselves over, or something that they did caused how they pa.s.sed?Deanna: I'm positive.John: Well, again I'm going to disagree.John: Were your son and his dad at odds?Deanna: No.John: He's making me feel an issue about dealing with Dad and being at odds. Also, I'm supposed to be talking about Mark, or Marky.Deanna: No . . .John: Oh, yes.Deanna: I can't think of anyone.John: Would he have a male figure to his side, like a good friend who got married or celebrated something after he left?Deanna: No.John: Are you positive?Deanna: Positive.John: Really? He's harping on this. Was he an insistent energy? I mean, was he somebody who would not drop things?Deanna: No.John: Okay, they're telling me to go straight north. So, to me, I want to go to upstate New York . . . I want to go to Canada . . .Deanna: No.John: There must be some ties. They're trying to get me to get you someplace north to understand what's coming through.Deanna: No, I don't understand that.John: I know you don't. That's why I keep saying the same thing over again, because they're trying really hard to get me to get you where they want, and that's up north. And they're also claiming somebody just pa.s.sed. Did you just lose a cousin or an aunt?Deanna: No.John: Are you sure?Deanna: I'm positive.John: Oh, I think you're wrong. This is the part of my job that I absolutely hate, like talking to a complete stranger and now arguing with her about her family! [laughs] This stuff is not changing . . . I went through like seven pages already on the same stuff. Let me start over.

The reading went on like this for a while, and both of us were sighing and trying to focus. I know it sounds illogical for me to be telling someone she's wrong about her own family, but when the same thing is shown to me repeatedly from the Other Side, I become that bulldog. Thankfully, sprinkled within the confusion in Deanna's reading, her son did come through, and we got some specific, intimate family details that rang true as a bell and ended the session on a very happy note for both of us.

IF YOU'RE THINKING THAT D DEANNA'S READING was a challenge because it was over the phone, that's a common misconception. Most people imagine that if I'm going to communicate with someone who's "dead," I'd at least need their living, breathing relative to be sitting in front of me in the flesh. Not so. Ever since I started this work, I've done phone readings for clients who couldn't travel to my office. I also routinely do phone sessions when I'm a guest on radio or television shows where people call into the show to be read over the air. was a challenge because it was over the phone, that's a common misconception. Most people imagine that if I'm going to communicate with someone who's "dead," I'd at least need their living, breathing relative to be sitting in front of me in the flesh. Not so. Ever since I started this work, I've done phone readings for clients who couldn't travel to my office. I also routinely do phone sessions when I'm a guest on radio or television shows where people call into the show to be read over the air.

Whether the session is face-to-face, on the phone, or even over the Internet-which I've also done-it all works the same way . . . with energy. And energy knows no distance.

To understand how it works, you first need to be aware that the energies that come through to me are connected to you you, the person I'm reading-not to myself. Their home base isn't around me or my office or at the studio where I shoot Crossing Over Crossing Over. The energies surround and sort of "travel" with the person they "belong" to . . . whom they're connected to on this earth. (I don't say this to freak you out. Don't worry, they aren't lingering and leering in the bathroom every time you take a shower. They have other things to do.) So the energies are linked to you, and then they try to get my attention because, first, they know I can hear them; and second, they know I'm talking to you and keying into you and the energies around you. Whether the reading is in person or on the phone, I get the messages in a similar fas.h.i.+on. If it's in person, the energies around you as you sit in front of me vie for my attention and say, "Hey, John . . . over here!" It's the same on the phone. Imagine that I'm chatting with you on the phone and you're at home, and one of your family members yells over your shoulder into the phone, "Yo, John . . . over here!" Same deal. I hear it in the same way. All of our energies connect whether I'm two feet or two hundred miles away from you.

Just to show you that the phone line had nothing to do with the hurdles in Deanna's session, here's another reading I did over the phone just one hour before Deanna's. If we were to consider this a phone "experiment," we might say that I was the constant, and the sitters and the Other Side were the variables. I don't know how these variables differed from each other, but as you'll see, the two readings were poles apart.

The first reading, as I found out afterward, was with writer Norris Church Mailer, wife of two-time Pulitzer Prizewinning novelist Norman Mailer. Norris telephoned my office in Huntington, New York, from her home in Provincetown, Ma.s.sachusetts, and I conferenced-in Natasha from her apartment in Manhattan. Natasha had organized both Deanna's and Norris's sessions and was listening in on the other end of the three-way phone chats, taking notes and tape-recording the exchanges. (Of course, we'd checked in with Natasha during Deanna's reading to see if any of the unvalidated information was for her-it wasn't.) It was just as important to Natasha, a seasoned news reporter, as it was to me to know that the integrity of the readings remained intact and that I knew nothing about the person or whom they were trying to connect with.

As you'll see, the loved one Norris wanted to hear from the most came through right away, and with tremendous clarity-that is, until the reading took a surprising turn and the Other Side came through with an unexpected gift. You may have noticed during some of the episodes of Crossing Over Crossing Over that anyone in my energy area-either physically or on the phone-has the potential to be read. It happened during Norris's reading, and in this case, it was someone else on the phone line. From the get-go, an energy came through-a mother figure with a "MAR" name-who wasn't connected to Norris. For a moment, we were confused. that anyone in my energy area-either physically or on the phone-has the potential to be read. It happened during Norris's reading, and in this case, it was someone else on the phone line. From the get-go, an energy came through-a mother figure with a "MAR" name-who wasn't connected to Norris. For a moment, we were confused.

But in this case, the mix-up was sorted out right away.

Little did I know that Natasha had lost her mother, Maria, ten years earlier . . . and here was Mom showing up while her daughter was busy at work so she could say h.e.l.lo to her little girl.

I'd known Natasha professionally for four years (as a journalist, she'd interviewed me several times), and we'd become friends in the last year, yet she'd never told me that her mother had pa.s.sed. Why? She hid this bit of information from her psychic buddy, she told me later, because she was secretly hoping to one day have a reading of her own and didn't want to divulge any of her pertinent Other-Side details. During the dozens of seminars she attended since we started writing this book together, she was always hopeful that her mother would come through at some point, but each time, Natasha left the sessions with notebooks full of readings for other people and not herself. When she finally came to terms with the fact that it would only happen when it was meant to-it happened.

John: The first thing I'm going to tell you is that I have an older male coming through, and to me, I would see that being the father figure, the uncle, the grandfather . . .Norris: Okay.John: And I don't know if this would be a father figure-like Dad for you, but I'm going to tell you I have a ten connection that comes up. Ten to me means October . . . or the tenth of a month . . . it's a birthday, anniversary. They're also telling me to talk about Mary or Marie. There's an "M-a-r" name that they want me to acknowledge that's connected to the family. I don't believe it's his name, but I believe he is either with "Mar" on the Other Side, or he's acknowledging her as being there. He's also making me feel like, I don't know how to put it, but . . . did you just have a cancer scare?Norris: Yes.John: Okay, because they're making me feel like you just went through something that would be like a cancer scare. I literally feel like I'm going into this tunnel, and you're saying to yourself there's no life in here. Okay, but this is a tunnel-I'm going to eventually get to the Other Side. And you kept venturing inside this tunnel, and there's still no life. And the darkness that I have all around this, to me feels like we're going through a very scary place. I have to tell you that they don't think you're out of that place yet, by the way.Norris: Yes.John: I feel like you're still there and you're still moving. I feel like you're 80 percent-85 percent through the tunnel, and you can now start to see a little light at the end, but what you need to hear from him is that as long as you keep your eyes closed, you can't tell that you're in the dark, so it's a matter of keeping your eyes closed and walking straight ahead, and allowing your faith to guide you . . . with what you're dealing with and what you're moving forward with. You follow what I'm saying?Norris: Yes.John: Now, I don't know if your birthday is in June, but I feel like I need to talk about the celebration or the congratulations that happened in the sixth month. So either this person is aware of what's happening in June, or what happened in June.Norris: Okay.John: I also have somebody else coming through. The first gentleman, I think, pa.s.ses from a health-care-related illness. This other person I'm getting pa.s.ses in an event, something ma.s.sive. So whether this was a very bad car accident or they had some type of impact of some sort . . . I want to talk about an explosion. There's a Chris that I'm supposed to bring up around this. I don't know if the person I'm talking about is Chris, or they're connected to Chris or Chrissie or Christine, but there's like a Chris connection that comes up with it, and they're telling me to tell you fifteen. So the 15th has to be linked to this whole thing. To me it feels like this could be a contemporary of you. Or the first gentleman we talked about, it might be a contemporary to him. There is this Chrissie, Chris, Christine, "C" or "K" connection that comes up, but then there's a big boom. Is there a Robert connected to you? A Robert or Robbie or Roberta that might be connected to your side of the family?Norris: I can't think of any Robert, but that doesn't mean there's not one.John: Okay, hold on one second. I want to go back . . . no, no I don't. I want to stay here. Hold on. Your mom's pa.s.sed?Norris: No.John: I have someone here who's claiming to be Mom. Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. She's claiming to be connected to Robert. She's connecting herself to what I just said-this whole impact, Chris, the number fifteen, the "R" name like Robert, and the mom energy is all linking itself together for me.Norris: None of that is ringing bells for me. The other stuff definitely rang all the bells.Natasha: Um . . . John? It makes sense to me. . . .John: What makes sense to you?Natasha: Mom pa.s.sed, and a Robert.John: Robert's connected to you?Natasha: Yes.John: Is Robert still here?Natasha: Yes. My brother.John: Okay, then, where does the Chris or Christine or Christopher come up?Natasha: That part doesn't make sense to me.John: Okay, there's a definite "C" or "K" connection, there's a fifteen connection, which to me means date-wise of the 15th of the month, or that someone was fifteen years old. There's a definite explosion of some sort, as if somebody pa.s.sed in an impact. But if there was an impact, then something fiery had to happen at the same time. It's kinda like it's gruesome-but that's where they're going with this. It all seems connected. Natasha, the mom energy-your mom's pa.s.sed?Natasha: Yes . . . and, just a moment . . . my mother's last name has "Chris" in it.John: In the beginning?Natasha: Yep. Her last name was Christoff.John: Okay, that would make sense. Your mom had cancer?Natasha: Yes.John: Okay, then I need to tell you that there had to be either three or four hospitalizations, or three or four different types of procedures or things that she had to deal with that would be in conjunction with her type of cancer.Natasha: Correct.John: And there had to be some type of false hope, I mean ma.s.sive false hope, like one of the opportunities going into this, they thought, okay, they got it. And then I feel like it just flips to the opposite end very, very quickly. I'm also gonna tell you that the 23rd is connected.Natasha: That's her birthday-March 23rd.John: Ok, um . . . I never knew your mom pa.s.sed, Natasha!Natasha: I don't tell you everything!John: Do you keep a picture of her on your desk, to the left?Natasha: Uh, no, I'm looking, I don't see one. . . .John: How about reader #1. [laughs] Do you have anything near you?Norris: I have a picture of my father. It's sorta to my right.John: What's kinda funny is that your dad and Natasha's mother are battling for time here!Natasha: We thought this might happen!John: This is funny. Had they known each other in life?Norris and Natasha: No . . . and Natasha: No . . .John: I want to go back to Dad for a second. I don't know if your dad has the "J" or "G" connection-Norris: J.John: He wants to talk about the two boys.Norris: Yes!John: He's also making me feel like he has his brother with him, by the wayNorris: Oh, good!John: He also wants to acknowledge your mom and a sister.Norris: He has a sister who's alive, yes.John: He's making me feel like he's got somewhat of a-I don't call it sarcastic, but he's got a quiet way of making a point.Norris: Yes, exactly.John: I don't know if you're his baby, but he's making me feel like you're the youngest, or you're the baby girl, or you're the only girl.Norris: Yup, yup.John: He tells me to remind you about the rotten eggs, the smelly eggs, making bad eggs, or doing something with eggs.Norris (laughing): Is it eggs Benedict? (laughing): Is it eggs Benedict?John: It's a bad egg thing for you, for him, whatever . . . like you made them for him, or he made them for you. He's saying to go back to 1992. So 1992 has got to be a turning point for your family. I also feel like your dad either had a military background or there has to be some type of military connection.Norris: Yes, yes.John: What he's showing me is some really cool military stuff. There's a trunk, and in the trunk there might be his flag, his pictures, his patches, his this, his that, but there's a coin collection. A few coins, a few medals, or medallions. Is this a recent pa.s.sing?Norris: Last July.John: Okay, to me that's a recent pa.s.sing. Natasha, your mom's gone for a while? Like just over ten years?Natasha: Exactly ten years.John: There was an issue, I believe, well, I'm attaching it to your mom, but if it's your dad, let me know. There's an issue about teeth, or an issue about problems with gums, teeth, the bleeding . . . teeth falling out . . .Norris: My father had teeth problems.John: Yep, we've got parents dueling this out now, guys! Um, I do feel that your dad either struggled to leave, or there was a difficulty in some capacity with him leaving.Norris: Yes.John: This might not have been an easy pa.s.sing, just so you know. If you were there watching it, you would know what I'm talking about. Okay, this might be weird, but did you ever see the musical Dreamgirls Dreamgirls? There's that song, "And I am telling you, I'm not going, I'm stayin' . . . "Norris: Yeah, yeah, yeah.John: When he left, he left without saying good-bye or without letting two people see him.Norris: Yes!John: And he knows that it was very difficult on the two of them, because they didn't get a chance to bring closure. He did that for their best interest.Norris: We know he did . . .John: Okay, because he does not feel that they would have been able to handle the pa.s.sing, number one; and number two, I think it would have been very difficult for him to be able to leave with them being there or having them there.Norris: Yeah, he sent us away so he could leave.John: Yeah, it's not uncommon, it's not uncommon at all. A lot of times they just need that private time to be able to leave, to know that it's okay. Your dad is making me feel that his voice is very raspy. He's making me feel that he had a very difficult time communicating. Either he was on a respirator or there was some type of breathing apparatus that would have made it harder to hear him. And he's saying to tell you "Charlie." So I don't know if Charlie is his friend, but he's telling me to acknowledge Charlie. I almost want to go as far as saying that there's a financial connection-it might just be his way of saying that when you go back and you talk to your mom, and you talk to the family and say did Dad know a Charlie, they'll say yes, a guy he worked with.Norris: He used to work for a man named Charles.John: These are the little trivial details that to me are so significant. Now he's telling me that his sister is in a different state than either of us. He says she's a tough lady.Norris: [laughs] Yes, she is!John: She's a tough lady. He's telling me to tell you to pa.s.s this on, because she might be a little like, You talked to who, who does what? Oh, I don't know if I believe in all that c.r.a.p You talked to who, who does what? Oh, I don't know if I believe in all that c.r.a.p. But she'll listen. Now the reason why she'll listen is I think she lost a son.Norris: I don't think so . . . but it's possible.John: Your dad is acknowledging a younger energy connected to the sister. So she might have miscarried a boy; she might have had a child that pa.s.sed that the family doesn't know about. It needs to be acknowledged that the younger male is there as well. The only other way I can interpret this would be if Natasha's mom lost a son.Natasha: Not that I know of.John: Okay, if your mother has a nephew or a grandson who has pa.s.sed, then that can be of significance because I need to acknowledge if the younger male is there.Natasha: She has a brother who died as a child.John: Younger than her?Natasha: No, he was older.John: Then that's not it. So I'm gonna leave it with her dad. Are they southwest of me?Norris: Yes.John: Okay, because they're making me feel like it's-geography's not my best-but they're taking me straight down and over to my left a little bit.Norris: Yup, yup, yup-it's Arkansas.John: Now, is Lynn connected to you? They're making me feel like I have to say it's an "L-N" name like Lynette, Lynnie, Lenore, Leon. It's like an "L-N" name . . .Norris: I do know someone named Lynn who just pa.s.sed.John: Your dad is making me feel that I need to acknowledge the "L-N" name. I feel like I need to let you know that this person's there as well.Norris: Okay.John: Okay, now, I don't know-you definitely have had a two-year tumultuous period.Norris: Right.John: I mean we're talking like a major major emotional, mental, spiritual roller coaster. emotional, mental, spiritual roller coaster.Norris: Yes.John: Your dad wants me to tell you that you need to be happier, like you need to be . . . I mean, I don't want to sound all "foo-foo" here, but I really feel like you need to be a little more appreciative of the smaller things. I don't know if you're a control freak, but I feel that you were trying to dominate and control everything, and you won't be able to, you know. If you're so busy juggling everything, you're gonna drop the things that are right in front of you that need your attention.Now I don't know if your husband's been traveling a lot for business-Norris: That's where he is now.John: Okay. But your dad is making me feel like there's immense, immense traveling that's going to be coming up real soon. So if he traveled twice a year last year, guess what? He's traveling like ten times this year.Norris: Oh, yeah.John: Now is Michael, Mikey, connected to you?Norris: My stepson, Michael-I call him Mikey.John: Okay, 'cause your dad has told me to acknowledge the Michael or the Mikey as part of his family, so it's important that you know that he sees that as being his family. You're having a hard time dealing with your dad's pa.s.sing from what he's showing me, is that true?Norris: Yes.John: He's making me feel that . . . he's stepping forward . . . and when someone steps forward in a session, it's usually their way of letting me know why why the session's happening. He's making me feel like people did what they had to do leading up to his pa.s.sing. People said the things they needed to say . . . the session's happening. He's making me feel like people did what they had to do leading up to his pa.s.sing. People said the things they needed to say . . .Norris: Okay . . .John: And some of the people who were there weren't as verbal. I don't think you were very verbal with your dad when he was pa.s.sing. I don't think you said to him, "It's okay to go, we're gonna be okay, I love you." I don't think you did any of that, but you know what? You didn't have to, because it's not how your family dynamic is set up. The fact that you were there, that spoke volumes.He does want you to highlight his sister. So I don't know if she's the older sister or if she's the-Norris: Younger.John: Well, he's making me feel like she's the matriarch.Norris: Yeah, she's the youngest, but she is is the matriarch. the matriarch.John: She feels like she's the matriarch, you know. I see the mother from Dallas, and that's the matriarch.Norris: Yes, yes, yes, the boss!John: The buck stops there. And she knows it, by the way.Norris: [laughing] Yes.John: Now, does your mother live in the area?Norris: She's near me.John: She has something like a respiratory thing going on?Norris: No, I don't think so . . .John: But she has-like asthma or something or-Norris: Yes.John: Okay, you're going to have to watch something around her. This could be minor, this could be the beginning of a chest cold, it could be something that she's developing. I don't know exactly what this is, but they're showing me . . . like, caution caution-and I'm always saying I'm not a doctor, I can't diagnose, but they're showing me a yellow light flas.h.i.+ng, and they're putting it over her chest.Norris: Okay.John: Your dad is telling me to tell you that where you are sitting . . . are you like holding the phone to your right ear?Norris: Left ear.John: All right, okay . . . but are you playing with your ear? Or with the hair on the right side . . .?Norris: [laughing] Yes!John: Because he wants to make sure you know he's with you and he's not with me. So he's telling me to tell you he knows what it is you're doing.Norris: [lots of laughing] Oh my G.o.d, I'm twisting my hair!John: And he's saying to let you know that he's there, and he's still around. He's pulling his energy back.Natasha, your mom's making me feel like she had to wait to do this. And she doesn't make me feel like anything was impeding her from being able to do this before. But you needed to be at a certain place in your spiritual development . . . whatever this means for you. She does say that her mother is there, so her mom's dead, too?Natasha: Yep.John: And she's telling me that you have . . . not disowned your roots, that's not my feeling . . . but I feel you have not taken something that you were supposed to take. Something is yours, but you have not taken it to your house. So if Grandma has a broach that was pa.s.sed down to your mom, which is now supposed to be pa.s.sed down to you-you haven't taken it. I don't care if it's a cup, a dish, a fork, a knife, I have no idea what it is, but it's tangible, and you don't have it. I don't know. . . .You're mom's saying that she pre-deceased one of her own parents?Natasha: A mother-in-law.John: She's claiming that she met one of her parents. Like she pa.s.sed, and then one of her parents pa.s.sed, because she helped cross that parent over. So if you told me that your dad's mom pa.s.sed after your mom, that would make sense.Natasha: Yes, that's exactly right.John: Okay, I'm also going to tell you that not your mom, but someone above her, one of your grandparents or one of your great-aunts, either suffered from Alzheimer's or had some type of dementia while they were here, because I'm seeing, "I've got my faculties back, I've got everything back." That's connected to the Betty, or the "B" name like Betty or Betsy or something "B"-related. I think that's on your dad's side.Natasha: My dad's father was going through that. My dad is a "B" name-Basil.John: And there are three or four important dates in December for your family, Natasha. Like around Christmas. So you could have three birthdays, three anniversaries, three things that take place in the month of December for the family.Natasha: Yes! We have three birthdays.John: What is today? Today is February what?Natasha: 18th? 19th?John: Now, I know it's not your your birthday, Natasha. birthday, Natasha.Natasha: Right . . . that's very good . . . there is a birthday-John: Yes, there is a birthday like now now-Natasha: There's a birthday today! I made a birthday call . . .John: Okay, because they're telling me to acknowledge the white rose, because they showed that to me before you called me. I know it's not yours, but I want you to know that your mom is seeing the birthday around now.Natasha: That's amazing! It's her sister's birthday.John: She's telling me to tell you . . . and I want you to hear this very clearly-this is not the first and this will not be the last time you hear from her. I want to let you know that she's made connections to you previously, which either means you didn't acknowledge it or you just rationalized it away. . . .Natasha: Right.John: The group reading you did . . . she's not making me feel that she came through, is that true?Natasha: Um . . . the person who did that group said said she was there, but I didn't feel like she was. As a matter of fact, today I was speaking aloud to my mom, saying, "I didn't feel like you were there." she was there, but I didn't feel like she was. As a matter of fact, today I was speaking aloud to my mom, saying, "I didn't feel like you were there."John: Okay, that makes sense with what the message is, then. You did have that previous experience, but you were rationalizing that she wasn't there. My message to you is that she was was there. I will say that if she did come through, then you got about two seconds- there. I will say that if she did come through, then you got about two seconds-Natasha: Yeah, it's true.John: I also feel that she recognized that that might not have been . . . and this is very key Natasha . . . she might not have been ready to come through at that time, either because of the "medium" or the facilities that were given to her to do this. She might have felt like . . . that's not my style, I'm not gonna go there that's not my style, I'm not gonna go there. You follow what I'm saying?Natasha: Exactly. I wasn't comfortable with the facilities or the medium either.John: She's telling me to tease you about the candy, the chocolate. I don't know if there's a joke about the black-and-white cookie. But there's like a black-and-white cookie, black-and-white toffee, taffy, I don't know what this is.Natasha: There's a chocolate connection that we have.John: She's making me feel like you'll hear from her again. Did her cancer affect her stomach?Natasha: Not really.John: She's showing me a tube coming out of the stomach. Something coming out of her side. Either that or she had a feeding tube in. Is that back to your dad?Norris: My father had a feeding tube.John: He had two "J" names?Norris: His name was James, but people called him Jay.John: Okay, he had two "J" names . . . that's his way of jumping back in. I guess he got a second wind and had to pop back in. [laughing]Norris: [laughing] Good!John: I had a big pull-back. They're pulling back their energy. Just know that they saw this as their way of coming through . . . .

I always try to make it a point to tell a sitter everything everything that comes through to me during a session, no matter how serious, silly, or confusing I think it might be. So I was kicking myself after this reading when I found out who Norris was. I looked down at the notes I'd scribbled during the session and at the recurring doodle that covered the entire first page of my notebook: that comes through to me during a session, no matter how serious, silly, or confusing I think it might be. So I was kicking myself after this reading when I found out who Norris was. I looked down at the notes I'd scribbled during the session and at the recurring doodle that covered the entire first page of my notebook: a mailbox a mailbox. During the reading, I couldn't figure out why I kept getting an image of a mailbox in my mind, and why my guides weren't showing me my usual symbol for mail-a letter. Did Norris have a mailman in the family? I meant to ask. But obviously, there were several "Mailers" in the house!

Norris's reading was the culmination of many starts and stops in the setting-up phase. Natasha was initially trying to arrange for me to read a couple for this book to show an example of a family-type reading. She had contacted Norris-whom she'd interviewed years before-in the hopes that she and her husband, the renowned author Norman Mailer, would be interested in doing a reading together. Norris was already a big fan of Crossing Over Crossing Over, but unfortunately, as she recalled with a chuckle, "My beloved husband didn't share my enthusiasm. If I was watching the show and he came into the room to watch TV, I had to turn it off. I'm not sure why he reacted that way, but he did."

So it was no surprise that Norman wasn't eager to do a reading. Natasha informed me that she was chucking the "couple" idea and setting up a one-on-one, in-person session with just the wife she'd contacted. That was fine by me, but once again fate intervened. As she was arranging the solo reading for the following week, Norris got the news that her cancer had returned. She had to go into surgery immediately and couldn't make the trip to New York for the reading. Undeterred, and certain that Norris was "meant" to get this reading, Natasha set up a post-surgery phone reading for two weeks later, when Norris would be home convalescing and the skeptical hubby would be out of town on business.

As soon as we started the reading, Norris's dad came through and validated his daughter's physical and spiritual struggle with cancer, as well as the fact that she was still in the midst of this battle. But what impressed Norris most were the details that came through about her father's own illness and the very intimate moment when he sent Norris and her mother out of the room so he could cross over.

"He sent us both from the room in a big, clear voice after not being able to speak at all for weeks," Norris recalled. "He said, 'I want you to take your mother to the cafeteria and make her eat a good breakfast. She hasn't been eating right.' I naively thought, Wow, he's able to speak! We'll go get breakfast and then come back and have a good conversation Wow, he's able to speak! We'll go get breakfast and then come back and have a good conversation. He died soon after we left. As we sat in the cafeteria, my mother started to s.h.i.+ver and said, 'It's so cold in here.' I knew later that he had to send us away in order to be able to cross over. But hearing it during the reading made it much easier."

Norris's dad, James, talked about other family members during the reading and gave very accurate details. Norris noted, "What you said about his sister was right on the money. She was younger, but always tried to boss the family around, and especially tried to boss him him, which he hated, although he loved her. You got that there was some difficulty with someone not being able to tell him she loved him, and that was her. She thought if she told him she loved him he'd know he was dying . . . so she would say, 'We'll see you,' when she left. She told me more than once that she regretted she didn't say 'I love you.' When I called her right after the reading, she listened with interest, but you were right again when you said that she wouldn't really believe in it."

But Norris herself found much comfort in the details of the session, especially knowing that her dad was, literally, in the room with her during the reading-as well as being with her in spirit during her cancer battles.

She recalled, "During the reading you asked, 'Do you keep his picture on your desk to the left?' In the room where I sat during the reading, I had a picture of my father on my right, which I mentioned. But later, when I went to my computer at the desk, I saw the big picture of my father on my left left, as it has been for years!"

Another bit of "trivial" information that wowed Norris was the mention of the "rotten eggs." That message may have seemed trivial to me as I gave it, or to you as you read the transcript-but it was of vital importance to Norris. The night before the reading, she'd had a little "chat" out loud with her father and asked him to come through with a secret sign to prove it was him . . . to mention the runny eggs Benedict he'd tried for the very first time when he'd had breakfast with Norris during the publicity tour for her novel, Wind-chill Summer Wind-chill Summer, three years earlier. Dad indeed came through with the "rotten" eggs, and "it was such a clear message, it totally blew me away," said Norris. "I couldn't stop laughing. There is no way no way anybody but Daddy would have mentioned the eggs!" anybody but Daddy would have mentioned the eggs!"

Mention of her dad's friend, Charlie, hit home as well. Charlie had pa.s.sed away just a few months before Norris's dad. And the Lynn who dropped by to say h.e.l.lo, said Norris, was her own friend Mara Lynn, a former Broadway dancer and showgirl, who had paid Norris a visit to say good-bye before she pa.s.sed away last year. The last few validations during the reading-her father's two "J" names, the feeding tube, and a painful tooth "disaster"-were "totally" validating for Norris. "He just wanted to make good and sure I knew it was him, but in my mind there was no question at all."

But the biggest, most dramatic validation that Dad was with her was the mention of Norris twisting her hair as we spoke on the phone that night. "It's a habit of mine, and I was doing it! So Daddy was standing there watching me. It was so comforting." The hair-twisting, and the picture of Norris's father that I mentioned earlier, are good examples of how a phone reading can really work to the sitter's benefit-when I can come through with information about an object or an action going on in the room where the sitter is while I'm hundreds of miles away.

Norris got off the phone that night determined to heed her father's encouragement to open her eyes to every wonderful moment life had to offer, and close her eyes during the dark moments. "My father mentioned a tunnel, which might have several meanings, but a new one surfaced a few weeks after the reading," Norris told me. "I had to have an MRI, which is sort of like a scary tunnel, and he'd said, 'If you close your eyes, you won't know you're in the tunnel,' so while I was in the machine, I closed my eyes and pretended I was at a John Cage concert, and it worked pretty well."

Norris waited a day or so before calling up husband Norman on his business trip to tell him about the reading. She didn't know what kind of reaction to expect from him. As it turns out, he had a good laugh about it-"He figured I'd sneak around and do it when he was out of town." Norris laughed. But once her doubtful husband got home and read a transcript of the session, even he he was somewhat swayed. "He said, 'Well, I may not believe in all this, but I believe the man has was somewhat swayed. "He said, 'Well, I may not believe in all this, but I believe the man has something something.' I haven't given up on converting my husband, who is, by the way, also spiritual in much the same way I am. He'll just have to come to it in his own time."

Speaking of timing, when it was all over I wondered why Natasha's mother had chosen Norris's reading to finally come through even though the two parents didn't know each other. I asked both if they had any thoughts on that, and did they ever. When setting up the reading, Norris had casually asked Natasha if she'd ever had a reading herself, to which Natasha replied no, but she hoped one day to have one because she really wanted her mom to come through. The two women joked on the phone that maybe Norris's relatives would be ever-so-kind enough to bring Natasha's mom through for a cameo appearance during her reading-ha, ha, ha. Well, it's not so funny, lemme tell ya. If I had a dime for every time someone requested something like this aloud, in jest, and then it happened happened-I'd be richer than Rockefeller . . . or even Oprah. The two parents obviously heard this appeal, got together, and made good on it.

Some of the information that didn't make sense for Norris during the session made perfect sense for Natasha, including the reference to the number 10 (her mom pa.s.sed ten years ago), the name "Chris" (her mom's last name was Christoff), and perhaps the impact related to the number 15.

Natasha's mom, Maria, had left her hometown in Macedonia during WWII when she was fifteen years old, and she used to tell stories about hearing bombs exploding near her home and seeing the war close-up. The mention of the three birthdays in December was correct (Natasha, her husband, and her twin brother); and the current birthday was also on target. Natasha had called her aunt, her mom's sister, in California just before the reading to wish her happy birthday. But the writing-in-the-sky validation for my friend was the reference to chocolate. The mother and daughter shared a pa.s.sion for chocolate-and many a chocolate bar-together.

But that's not the end of it. The two also share chocolate in the afterlife afterlife together. Like Norris's dad, Natasha's mother couldn't speak for many weeks prior to her pa.s.sing because her brain tumor had affected her speech. But there was one articulate moment during that time, for about five minutes, where she spoke perfectly. together. Like Norris's dad, Natasha's mother couldn't speak for many weeks prior to her pa.s.sing because her brain tumor had affected her speech. But there was one articulate moment during that time, for about five minutes, where she spoke perfectly.

"And of all things, she asked me if I had any chocolate," Natasha recalled, "and those were the last words I ever heard her speak." In honor of those words-and of their mutual love of the stuff-Natasha has kept up a chocolate ritual with her mom. Whenever she visits Mom's gravesite, she takes a chocolate bar or a cookie and "shares" it with her mother-eating half and breaking off the other half to leave on the tombstone. Like Norris, Natasha had given Mom specific instructions at their most recent chocolate party together. With a mouth filled with an Oreo cookie, Natasha said aloud: "Mom, if you ever come through to John, mention our chocolate. . . . " And she surely did.

The reading with Norris and Natasha, just one hour before Deanna's session, was a model of an extremely smooth reading. But let's go back to Deanna for a moment. Although her reading had some b.u.mps in the road, it was still a positive journey. In fact, Deanna was very happy with the validations she did receive after we waded through the murky parts. First and foremost, she wanted to connect with her son, Nicholas, and she felt confident that we'd done that.

"The most amazing part for me was when you told me that someone I knew or myself had lost a child . . . and that it was a son, and that his death was sudden, which it was," Deanna told me. "Nicholas had epilepsy most of his life and suffered from seizures. But the last year and a half of his life, his health had improved through medication and diet, which is something that came through in the reading. In fact, the day before he died, he was outside playing. He went to sleep and didn't wake up in the morning."

One misinterpretation that was causing confusion in the reading, we later discovered, was that Nicholas was coming through to me as if he were at Deanna's "side," like a buddy. And that affected how I was seeing all the other relations.h.i.+ps and "levels" he was talking about.

"It's true, I've always said to people that Nicholas was like my friend and he helps me," said Deanna. Once we cleared up that misunderstanding, we were able to move on with more ease. "You began connecting with family members who had pa.s.sed, and were able to say the first names of my father and grandfather and grandmother . . . which blew me away. You figured out correct illnesses and locations where people lived.

"I was also floored when you mentioned that my son was at a recent family celebration. At first I couldn't think of anything, and we let it go. But later during the reading when you said my son was mentioning a recent celebration again, this time it clicked . . . the week before I had gotten engaged. During my engagement, I was thinking about my son, and at the same time my fiance said, 'I feel like Nick is here.' Now there's no doubt for me that my son was present to join in our celebration. And another specific point was that Nicholas died on the 20th, and his father's birthday is the 24th. So we wanted to have the funeral before the 24th because his dad didn't want to have the funeral on his birthday."

The two readings for Deanna and Norris were two entirely different experiences, and that's why I always tell people to check their expectations at the door beforehand. You must be prepared for both disappointment and surprises during a session. The process doesn't always work perfectly, or work as we think it should or want it to. But in its imperfection, it's still a supreme gift from the Other Side.

Before Deanna and I hung up, she asked me about the concept of a "visit." She said that she often feels her son around her-especially in moments when she needs help-and she feels that he comes to her aid. I told her that I had no doubt at all that her son was looking out for her. Our children on the Other Side look out for us just as much as our parents do. And the intertwining of Norris's and Natasha's readings, with the small but important details that came through-the "eggs" for Norris and the "chocolate" for Natasha-is reason enough to believe that our loved ones hear our prayers . . . and answer them.

CHAPTER 6.

CIRCLE OF LOVE.

AS MY CO-WORKERS AT Crossing Over Crossing Over know all too well, no one within a one hundred-foot radius of me when I'm in reading mode is immune to Other Side radar. The episode of the show that viewers ask me most about is the one where I did a reading for a guy named Basil (not Natasha's dad), who was the manager of the parking garage adjacent to our first studio in Manhattan. This guy wasn't even in the room, but his relatives from beyond saw that he was close enough to be pulled into the studio from outside so they could say a few words. Dozens of crew members on know all too well, no one within a one hundred-foot radius of me when I'm in reading mode is immune to Other Side radar. The episode of the show that viewers ask me most about is the one where I did a reading for a guy named Basil (not Natasha's dad), who was the manager of the parking garage adjacent to our first studio in Manhattan. This guy wasn't even in the room, but his relatives from beyond saw that he was close enough to be pulled into the studio from outside so they could say a few words. Dozens of crew members on Crossing Over Crossing Over, including the cameramen and producers of the show, have been surprised during the taping of the show when I've zeroed in on them them instead of members of the gallery. instead of members of the gallery.

Another example of a "surprise" reading happened early in 2003 when I was a guest on Larry King Live Larry King Live. Live TV is a great arena to ill.u.s.trate how this process works, moment by moment. Since Crossing Over Crossing Over is taped, TV audiences don't get a chance to see the instant electricity happening the way the members of the gallery do. On this night, after chatting with Larry, we opened up the phone lines so I could give quick readings to callers watching the show. When I do this, the phone lines are usually jammed up within seconds, and the callers wait for a long time to finally get on the air and get their two-minute connection to me and the Other Side. is taped, TV audiences don't get a chance to see the instant electricity happening the way the members of the gallery do. On this night, after chatting with Larry, we opened up the phone lines so I could give quick readings to callers watching the show. When I do this, the phone lines are usually jammed up within seconds, and the callers wait for a long time to finally get on the air and get their two-minute connection to me and the Other Side.

This day was no different, as people called in from all over the world and the lines lit up like a pinball machine. But wouldn't you know it . . . of all times to get stuck during a reading, it happens on live television. I was on the phone with an eager caller, and he wasn't validating a word I was saying. And yet, this information was coming through to me with such clarity. Was anyone else in the room with him? Was anyone else in the room with him? I asked. Nope. I asked. Nope. Was this for a relative or friend? Was this for a relative or friend? Nope. Nope.

The lights on the phone were blinking with dozens of callers on hold, but this energy coming through wasn't going to let me move to the next person until I finished with him first. I was starting to worry that we were in for a major delay, when out of the blackness of the studio someone spoke up. "I think it might be for me," said the voice, coming from the shadows. It was a relative of the studio makeup artist, sitting way off to the side. I didn't even know she was there, but she heard the information and knew it was for her.

I started giving her a reading,