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without the cards people would judge me or think I was strange because I was hearing or seeing something that they couldn’t hear or see. I was afraid they wouldn’t believe me. Reading cards seemed like something more tangible. A big problem, though, was that I didn’t really know how to read cards. I’d never learned what the different symbols meant. It could be embarrassing because every now and then I’d get a client who knew a lot more about them than I did. She’d go, “But doesn’t that card mean the house of love?” and I would have no clue what she was talking about, so it could get me in hot water. It seems funny now that I’d put myself in that position and actually thought it was better than just telling the truth. But eventually it got to the point where I wouldn’t even remember to look at the cards, so my cover was pretty well blown. The interesting thing was that the cards were, for me, a step. I don’t like to say “a crutch”; actually, they were more of a tool to get me from one place to the next. They helped me build confidence because even though they weren’t the source of the messages I was giving, they allowed me to do my thing as a new professional and get confirmation from my clients that the messages were real. Once I didn’t need them anymore, or saw they were just getting in the way, I took the deck off my table. It’s funny because there were some return clients who actually were disappointed when I stopped using the cards. They really liked the cards and could not be convinced that to me they were meaningless. That said, there are some people who seem to be really talented in interpreting the various symbols in the cards themselves or the way they end up being laid out, depending on the shuffle. I think that is a true talent. But I also feel that people who are very good at that must also have good old ordinary psychic ability without the cards. I personally can’t see how cards themselves could have any real power.

How is your psychic style different from other mediums?
     
    I can’t pretend to have experienced too many other psychics lately, but I visited quite a few in my twenties when I was trying to come to terms with my own abilities. In many cases there seemed to be more rigmarole than necessary. I tend to connect with a spirit and get their point fairly rapidly, even when it’s more of a puzzle I’m putting together. Also, if a client wants to reach a particular person, I nearly always can reach them. I realize that I might come across as flippant to some, but I deliver. Everyone’s personality is different. It’s no different for us—mediums are people, too. I like to say that the way I work is like a short-order cook. Just tell me what you want and I put it in the window. Some of the others are like bad foreplay—you could do without it, it doesn’t amount to anything, it’s just annoying. You want to say, “Just get to the point.”

What are some ways the average person can increase their psychic capability?
     
    It’s really so simple. I’ve said before, we are on the brink of a time when more and more people will be tuning in to this and other abilities that today seem extraordinary. Just look at our popular culture—the ideas are out there now, all around us, and reality always follows the ideas. Everything is mental before it becomes material. Children will develop these abilities much more rapidly than adults since kids don’t have any other job than just to learn their world. What we call the psychic—seeing, hearing, and communicating with spirits who have crossed to the Other Side—is already a real part of a child’s world. When that reality is affirmed by the parents instead of being ridiculed or denied, the child won’t lose that. It’s really the parents who have the most to learn, but as I said, if you look around you see that every day now, we’re learning more about these realities.
    One thing I do that helps to center me and keep