I walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). That is what I tell myself to brush off comments that associate my gift as black magic, lump it with “other religions,” or assume I am just playing off peoples’ emotions. I completely understand it. As a reformed skeptic, those same sentiments flooded my mind when my wife turned the T.V to TLC’s Long Island Medium or when I listened to Doreen Virtue on Hayhouse Radio. I am not a politician or sales man. I make no attempts to change your mind nor am I bothered by your cynic countenance. “As a Christian, and a believer in Angels, I walk by faith,” is what I recently told a new friend as I delivered a message from a passed love one. Yep, that is right. For the first time, I stepped outside my comfort zone of family and close friends. I exposed myself and felt like I was completely naked in front of an audience. “Milestone achieved,” I said to myself. I surpassed another milestone: the holy-shit-I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening milestone.

After a year’s worth of practice and recognizing symbols, I am able to discern what occurs when I feel someone try to communicate. Think of the game Charades, only amplified with muffled sounds, songs and random pain. Sounds fun right? Let me explain. First, I always get a “knock”. Instead of a soft doorbell sound or the standard three-knock on the door, I feel this immense pressure on my chest. The pressure resembles an anxiety pain; however, it is isolated to my chest and unlike when I experienced anxiety, I am very much coherent. I usually have an option to answer or ignore this “knock”. The majority of the time, I ignore the knock for the sake of perpetuating my lunatic reputation. At times, the pressure is subtle, and at other times, it is so severe that the only way to release the pressure is to deliver the message. This was the case when I surpassed the aforementioned milestone. In researching mediumship, I discovered I am primarily clairsentient (extra-sensory perception or empathic). John Holland’s book, “Psychic Navigator” is a great resource and introductory to mediumship. I can feel if the soul knocking is male or female and I intuitively know if the soul is from your maternal or paternal side. In addition, I can feel if the soul is a brother, a sister, a child, mother, or father, old or young when the soul passed. I can easily hone in on those relationships because I have experienced those bonds in life. As soon as I acknowledge the “knock”, the fun starts.

On day one, I was in a meeting. The intense pressure on my chest spread beyond the usual isolated area. It consumed my entire chest and neck. It felt like a 50-pound bag of dog food was covering my chest. I left work, drove home, and prayed. I asked for clear signs to deliver this message and addressed my concerns of being adversely affected. Once I received my divine “Yes” signs, I sent my new friend a text message. I directed my new friend to my blog and stated I would follow up with questions. At this point, most people would think I am crazy. My brother has expressed his fear of my randomly going up to people and channeling dead people. Again, I completely understand my brother’s stance. To me though, my compass is set to 2 Corinthians 5:7. When I received that divine “Yes,” my fear subsided and I knew that I would be put in an ideal setting to deliver the message. To my surprise, on day two, I was in the same room we were in on day one. I told my angels, “if you want me to deliver this message, make it obvious that you want me to.” Just like that, immediately after finishing that thought, the conversation quickly detoured from the agenda to my blog. My new friend mentioned my blog and how more time was needed to completely grasp the context. That was my cue.

The game of Charades started.

I acknowledged the male, brother-like energy that followed my new friend. I knew it had been some time since the soul passed because I could sense the soul maturing inside of me. Sounds crazy right? Let me attempt to describe this a little more. Imagine an old kerosene lamp. Remember how one would turn the wick raiser to make the flame grow or dim? Well, know imagine how that feels, that swelling and ebbing of flame. That is how I am able to determine if the soul has been on the other side for a while. I heard a name, to which no immediate connection was made. Then, I described the pain I felt connected to the soul’s passing, which was validated. To clarify, I do hear names and songs, or clairaudience. Although clairaudience is not my primary way of connecting, I make it a point to share anything I hear because I know it is somehow part of the reading. Simultaneous to the sounds and pain that I experience, pictures swoop in and out of my mind’s eye, intermittently. The pictures are not bright, high definition, or crystal clear. The pictures are faint, subtle. At times, Spirit throws in color. I can sense a room, describe what it looks like, but the pictures are not movie-reel quality. I am left to decrypt the images like a game of Charades. Do you remember the View Master and the reels that went along with it? Remember viewing an old reel and attempting to decipher the full picture? Remember how you would look at the picture in awe and leisurely click through the reel? In my case though, souls are in control and are often way too eager to communicate. They zoom pass multiple reels in a matter of minutes. That is the best way I can describe how pictures appear in my mind’s eye, or clairvoyance. So far I have not determined the logic to the images that I see in conjunction with the sounds and pain. I just know that I see them. Sounds, pictures, and pain join together in my spiritual game of Charades.

As for my new friend, I gave a Cliff’s Notes summary of my story and delivered the overdue message. My new friend looked completely befuddled and shocked. As soon as I delivered the message, the 50-pound bag of dog food was yanked away from my chest. “Message delivered,” I whispered as I stumbled out of the room. Messages come to me by sound, pictures, and feeling. Most recently I started to smell fragrances, cigars, and flowers (clairalience), but never while answering a knock. As I forge ahead on my path of self-discovery, may God and His angels continue to provide guidance and protection.