1. You’ve had several years of experience in after-death communication and communicating between the worlds. Please tell us a bit more about your background and how you first became involved with the subject matter.

I consider myself a spiritual student and have been one my whole life. As a child, I wanted to be a parapsychologist, and I even studied extrasensory perception (ESP) for a science fair project at parochial school. I began reading Tarot cards as a teenager and became instantly fascinated. After studying comparative religions for many years, I discovered Spiritualism and after-death communication, which seemed a logical extension of my magickal work and my study of other divination methods. In learning to speak to Spirit, I realized that I had found my true home. Every day, I continue to learn more and more about the spirit world, which fuels me to continue working and growing as a spiritual student.

2. What really is being a medium all about? And in what positive ways has it affected your life?

A medium is someone who has contact with entities in the spirit world, whether they be guides, loved ones, angels or other beings. Some people may choose to open themselves up to contact because they want to help others get in touch with loved ones who’ve passed over or teachers that are standing by to aid them. But the most important aspect of being a medium is growing as a spiritual person. When we learn to communicate with Spirit, we are introduced to our spirit guides, our teachers and helpers in the spirit world. These guides want happiness and success for us, and they have agreed to help us however they can. Each of us is responsible for our own growth in all areas of our lives. Our guides, and even our passed-over loved ones, want to help us if we will allow them to do so. Becoming a medium, and learning to listen to the messages that come to us from Spirit, allows us to become co-creators in the Universe and to take responsibility for our personal relationship with Creator, who gave us the means to communicate with Spirit for the benefit of our fellow human beings and ourselves.

3. What led you to write a book about it? How did that journey begin?

I have a background in education, and soon after we started our Spiritualist church in Cincinnati, I designed a mediumship training program for people who were interested in learning more about spirit communication. I realized that not everyone had access to our classes, and I wanted a way to reach more people who had an interest in the subject. I’ve always enjoyed writing and had recently begun working on creative projects after a long hiatus. One night, as Spirit is wont to do with me, I was suddenly struck with the idea of writing a book about mediumship, one specifically geared toward people who might not have access to classes. Spirit pretty much led the project from there.

4. Is mediumship something anyone can embrace and achieve? Is it a rare gift one is born with? Or is it something we can learn and hone through lessons and experience?

One way to get a real rise out of me is to call mediumship a “gift.” It is not a gift that only “special” people have. Some of us are talented at particular things, like art or music. Everyone, though, can take drawing or piano lessons and master some basic skills. Will some people have an easier time in their art or music class because they have more of an affinity for that subject than their classmates? Probably, but this doesn’t mean that those other classmates can’t work harder and become just as good at the task. The same is true of spirit communication; it’s really a matter of how hard someone is willing to work to achieve the desired ends.

5. The particular way you view mediumship in relation to your spirituality is fascinating. Would you care to comment further on this?

One of the reasons I consider myself a Spiritualist is because of my intense belief in the philosophy of personal responsibility. We are all responsible for our own thoughts, actions and, ultimately, the things that happen in the course of our lives. Mediumship reinforces this idea—even though we may ask our spirit guides for advice or help on a matter, it’s really up to us whether we act on that advice or choose to ignore it. Meditation, which is a key component in honing mediumship skills, is also a wonderful way to get closer to our guides and to Creator in general. I try to incorporate prayer and meditation into my own spiritual life every day. And I try to live according to the greatest Natural Law of the Universe, which is the Law of Love. If we live within the intention of doing everything from a place of love and compassion, I don’t think we can go wrong.

6. In your book you explain the idea and principles behind what you call “The Natural Laws” and their relevance to mediumship. Can you briefly describe these laws, where they came from and what role they play in becoming a medium?

How much space do we have for this article? Natural Law is a set of universal principles that have been studied by many great cultures and philosophers over the course of many, many years. Natural Law is immutable, meaning it never changes, and it connects all things in this world and all other worlds back to the Infinite Source, what most of us refer to as God. In short, Natural Law is God’s Law, and it is a way of seeing how everything in the Universe works together to bring us closer to that Divine Presence. Natural Law helps us to not only understand why mediumship works, but how we can work with the Laws to enhance every aspect of our lives. If you want to know more, you’ll just have to read the book.

7. So You Want to Be a Medium? provides a candid and thorough overview of what mediumship is and how to make it a part of your life. Does it also offer practical advice and tips for those who may be a bit more advanced, or interest those who may already be experienced spirit communicators?

I hope that folks who are already involved in spirit communication can also find some useful sections in this book. I’ve been a professional intuitive reader for nearly 15 years, so the sections that discuss readings and how to give them might be helpful for someone either just starting out or interested in changing their own reading style. I also think the sections on Natural Law help all of us to see how the system created by Infinite Intelligence works on every level to keep the Universe running smoothly. For those mediums who work directly with passed over loved ones, the extensive sections on spirit guides and their usefulness might be of particular interest. I know that my ability as a reader grew exponentially once I established a good relationship with my guides.

8. Over the years you’ve no doubt communicated with countless spirit guides, loved-ones and all sorts of characters. Do you have one particular experience that has remained with you, or affected you greater than others?

Honestly, the publication of this book is probably one of the most profound and confirming experiences of spirit contact that I have had! Once Spirit impressed me with the idea of writing the book, I felt like my spirit teachers jumped into the driver’s seat, and I was just along for the ride. They told me specifically how to start; they told me when and specifically where to send the proposal for the book. I had the notion to send the proposal to other nonfiction publishers and agents, and I was told, “No. Llewellyn will take it.” When Llewellyn asked to see the entire manuscript, I still wasn’t convinced, but my guides kept saying, “Finish the book, and they’ll want it.” After I sent the manuscript in, my guides told me, “You’ll hear by the end of February, and they will accept it.” The acceptance letter from the publisher came on February 28. This is proof that Spirit is speaking to us every day, but we doubt what we hear. After I got my acceptance letter, I had the best proof I could ever want that Spirit was helping to direct my life!

9. In your writing and in your day-to-day life as a medium you deal with a topic that many people find difficult to confront or examine—death. What are your perceptions of it, how you’ve come to understand it, even how you define it?

On my ordination certificate as a Spiritualist minister, one of the duties I can fulfill is to “bury the so-called dead.” I believe a Spiritualist minister’s certification is the only ministerial ordination in which a funeral is described in this way. Our loved ones don’t really die; they simply move on to a higher expression of life. Science tells us that energy can be neither created nor destroyed; when our physical body dies, that essence of energy that is our soul continues on in the spirit plane. Of course, the death of a loved one is a sad time for those of us left behind. We mourn our loss, but our loved one has gained so very much by moving on to the Other Side. From what I’ve seen clairvoyantly and heard from the spirits who have spoken to me, the afterlife is a wonderful place of continued growth, not a place where we are punished but where we are encouraged to learn from our mistakes and to rise higher in our spiritual progression. It gives me a great sense of peace to know that this is what awaits all of us when we move on from this lifetime.

10. There has been a notable resurgence of interest in spirit communication these past few years, and there is now a vibrant and varied selection of books on this topic. What will readers of So You Want to Be a Medium? find that is unique to the book, and what do you hope they will find in its pages to take away with them?

The ability to communicate with Spirit has enhanced every aspect of my life since I opened myself up to it. I can hardly believe the wonderful opportunities for growth, learning and even prosperity that have come to me since I began learning about spirit communication. I wanted to share this process with others who are looking for ways to help themselves and who are interested in establishing a meaningful relationship with Spirit. Many other books simply relate stories about spirit contact to readers, and although these can be beautiful and inspiring, nothing is more exciting than making your own contact with the spirit world! It is my great hope that all who read this book will find the means to establish their own communication with Spirit, and that their lives will be blessed in infinite ways because of those experiences.