The Spiritualist Church of New York For Seances

I studied channeling with a teacher from the Holistic Studies Institute which I think is affiliated with the Spiritualist Church of New York.

The church is one of the only churches I know in the area that routinely holds seances. But I have yet to attend a Sunday seance.

So I was happy to see the Atlas Obscura just posted an article about it. After my course of study I did attend a seance at the Holistic Studies Institute on 39th street. Eric Grundhauser who wrote the article and attended the church seance seemed to have a similar seance experience to me.

My experience in learning how to channel was also mixed. I don't possess any great intuitive ability to channel spirits ... and I am not sure many others have that capability either. I have been to many channelers - in Manhattan, Brooklyn and London and there was only one in my years of experience who had the gift. Her name was Ruby and she worked at the Spiritualist Society of Great Britain in London. She was extraordinary!

But going to a seance or a channeler can be very entertaining if you do not expect much. If you really want insights, go to an astrologer or tarot card reader. My opinion!

As Eric writes:

Then the lights came up and everyone shuffled out into the night. While I can’t say that I found any great spiritual connection to the events of the seance, many of the people seemed to connect with the spirit messages they’d received, likely able to map some of their very real concerns to the messages coming from the mediums. Maybe it makes their problems easier to organize or deal with. Or maybe it was dead people. You’d have to try it, and decide for yourself.  

And Maybe you should! Solitary Seance: How You Can Talk with Spirits on Your Own

Horoscope for the Week of October 31, 2016

A posse of planets traverse Sagittarius and Capricorn this presidential November. This means that we seek both the established and the worldly for our future. Who will win? Rub your crystal ball and tell me.

(Jude Law has Venus in Sagittarius)

Never miss your horoscope again -- free sign up here. Here is my favorite book on astrology and a "must" for anyone interested in learning more: Secrets from a Stargazer's Notebook: Making Astrology Work for You and here's a guide to the best books available this month. This column is (c) 2016 MADAM LICHTENSTEIN, LLC., All Rights Reserved. For Entertainment Purposes Only. Madam Lichtenstein is the author of the best selling astrology book “HerScopes ” now in its 10th printing and available as an eBook

ARIES (MARCH 21 - APRIL 20)
Your career will feature front and center now as your ultimate long term plans are held up to scrutiny. Do you still want to be an astronaut when you grow up, Aries? If so you need to seriously get started on that path. If you prefer to just take up space, that will take you on a different path. Whatever you do, get out of your comfort zone and try something or someone new.

TAURUS (APRIL 21 - MAY 21)
Prepare your stump speech and take your act on the road, Taurus. This is a great time to travel and see the who, what, when and wheres of life. Adventure can be found around the corner or around the globe. Before you know it, you will spark your passions and perhaps even stoke the passions of someone else. Will it be a volcano or a brush fire...?

GEMINI (MAY 22 - JUNE 21)
Concentrate on your most important relationships now, Gemini. You need to juice them up with excitement, lust and just plain fun. Life has become far too boring for you. If you are on the lookout for your soulmate, it is a great time to look. Check out some new venues. Friends may want to get in on your act but they may just get in the way. Travel solo to find your duo.

CANCER (JUNE 22 - JULY 23)
Get in shape now and see how that enliven your romantic life. Cancers may lack the energy to stir their pot but a little whipping action will have great and positive impact. Become a whirlwind or activity and see who gets pulled into your storm. You will also get a lot of work done on any long postponed projects. You know, a clean desk can be very sexy.

LEO (JULY 24 - AUGUST 23)
The holiday season begins now and that means that any Leo with a party plan should put it into effect now. You have some great creative ideas and a group of party hounds to help you put it all together. Stir in a little intrigue and romance with the spiked punch. Create an event that will have them talking for months. Or maybe just jealous, gossipy whispering.

VIRGO (AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 23)
It is time to gather any far flung family together and celebrate or reminisce. That may mean more overnight guests, Virgo. Or it could mean more stressful interactions with folks who you may not see that often and may agree with even less. But all this hard work at building familial bridges will pay off for you in the long term. There may be one turkey at every gathering.

LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 23)
You are getting right into party season Libra so don’t scrimp of the gravy and the decorations as you plot your actions. You have some amazing and fun ideas to unleash on your bountiful guests. But before you go totally overboard, check to see if you can muster any helping hands from friends, relatives or partners. The more the merrier .. and the easier.

SCORPIO (OCTOBER 24 - NOVEMBER 22)
Scorpios not only have some great ideas, they can also express themselves in a compelling and inspiring way. See where you can take your personal plans and great ideas. Some may pay off in a big way and catapult you into the big monied leagues. Maybe you should run for elected office...? Not if you want to keep your tax returns to yourself!

SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 22)
All of your life experiences will be put to good use now as you have the opportunity to meet, greet and sweep certain folks off their feet. Sagittarians are often discounted but now you can rise to the occasion and wow the crowds. Ultimately this can result in financial success but you need to remain practical, methodological and conservative. Uh oh.

CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 20)
There are things going on behind the scenes that will prove to be instrumental in your personal success, Capricorn. So listen carefully to the undertows of conversation and divine through your gut instinct what your next best steps should be. This can be a profound time where you can take your dreams to the limit. How high is up? Pretty high from here.

AQUARIUS (JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 19)
Friends say they know what is best for you now, Aquarius. Will you let them boss your course or will you take their advice sparingly? Listen to your intuition - you know who has your best interests at heart and who just wants you to remain where you are. All have good intentions but some are much more cautious. Taking a calculated risk can pay off big. No bigger!

PISCES (FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20)
You will get a career helping hand now, Pisces. So see where you really want to go and start doing what you need to do to get there. Seek out new groups, friends or associations to put you exactly where and with whom you want to be. Will your professional path be a superhighway or a virtual reality? Just be careful who you poke, man.

 

 

Lucky Numbers for the Week of October 28, 2016

Lottery ads tell us you only need a dollar and a dream. But it is also helpful to have a list of lucky numbers to help spur the good fortune ... or fortunes. So with that in mind, here are some lucky numbers that can be used in any helpful way. I gazed into a pool of water, Nostradamus-like, and contemplated the cosmos. Then I mixed the tarot cards and allowed the spirits to guide me to the cards that represent the lucky numbers for this week. Nothing is guaranteed but who knows ....?

I choose eight numbers because 8 is the number of wealth.

Here are the lucky numbers for the week of October 28-November 3, 2016:

1, 3, 19, 23, 29, 40, 51, 67

There are many ways to delve into your own consciousness to find luck and intuition. Try reading Dream Power/Improve Your Luck (Super Strength Series) and see if your dreams give you any clues and premonitions. Here's a guide to the best books available this month

LoveScope for the Week of October 26, 2016

Passions run high this week. Where will your ardor lead you - into temptation or trouble? Life (and love) will be interesting.

ARIES (MARCH 21 - APRIL 20)
Will you be tempted to squander your dough on just another yeasty lump? Why not wait to see how adding a little heat can change the recipe. Apply the right amount of kneading and attention. Then you may even see your fortunes rise, Aries.

TAURUS (APRIL 21 - MAY 21)
Relationships will have a certain spark now, Taurus. Will you use this intensity to light your life or will it blow a fuse? Temper your passions and see how partners respond. And if you are roaming the pastures, see who is grazing nearby.

GEMINI (MAY 22 - JUNE 21)
Sexy things may percolate by the watercooler at work. So keep your composure and grace while things brew with co-workers. Geminis are naturally sociable. Will your friendly ways be mis-construed as a bold romantic move? You may secretly hope so!

CANCER (JUNE 22 - JULY 23)
Plan for fun Cancer and see where your feisty antics can lead. Will you go head over a heels for a delicious new face? Will you delve into your own creative juices and see what pours out? Why not combine all of your passions into one large bite?

LEO (JULY 24 - AUGUST 23)
Leos may prefer to sit at home and wait for the doorbell to ring. If so, be sure that you have already invited a posse of pals to keep you company. Things may whip up into a festive frenzy. Will it become a pot luck party or a lucky pot party?

VIRGO (AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 23)
You will have a way with words now, Virgo. So don’t sit, tongue tied, in the corner. It is time to share your ideas and express yourself. Who knows who you will impress? Or will it be you who impresses yourself? That would be interesting.

LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 23)
Will life make dollars and cents now, Libra? Or will you splurge on something or someone worthless and gaudy? It is time to assess your budget and see if it fits into what you want and need. If not, try to recalculate. If so, you are lucky!

SCORPIO (OCTOBER 24 - NOVEMBER 22)
People seem to gravitate to you now, Scorpio. And you find yourself in the center of all of the action. What is it about you that commands such attention and reverence? Whatever it is, bottle it and sell it before it evaporates.

SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 22)
Mystery surrounds you now, Sagittarius. Use it to your advantage to get what you want. It is okay to be strategic and a bit conniving as long as the end result is for the greater good. Hmm, for the greater good of exactly whom?

CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 20)
Capricorns are surrounded by well wishers, friends and assorted hangers-on. You may feel overwhelmed by the bon hominies but try to keep your energy up and involved. People you meet now will change your life. Unless you change your mind.

AQUARIUS (JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 19)
Will you rise to the top of your profession or will you be content to rest in middle management, Aquarius? Whatever your career plan contains, be happy with your progress towards it. Survey your path and see if it leads to the promised land... or Newark.

PISCES (FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20)
It is a good time to plan a new course of action that gets you out of your comfort zone and into a new time zone. Pisces can be sedate and content but that can also lead to stagnation. Break out of your moldly oldy routine and see the world anew. Wow!!

Never miss your horoscope again -- free sign up here. Here is my favorite book on astrology and a "must" for anyone interested in learning more: Secrets from a Stargazer's Notebook: Making Astrology Work for You and here's a guide to the best books available this month. This column is (c) 2016 MADAM LICHTENSTEIN, LLC., All Rights Reserved. For Entertainment Purposes Only. Madam Lichtenstein is the author of the best selling astrology book “HerScopes ” now in its 8th printing and available as an eBook 

A Woman Leaves the CIA to Become a Psychic Medium

As we get into the spirit of Halloween, here is a great article on a woman who changed career paths and found that she had the capacity to channel spirits. From the New York Post:

Jessica Brodkin used to be a CIA analyst. Tonight, she’s enthusing about the healing powers of crystals and divulging stories of her past lives, complete with run-ins with Saint Thomas Aquinas and interdimensional travel.

Brodkin was recruited by the CIA as an undergrad at MIT, and hired as a weapons of mass destruction analyst shortly after the invasion of Iraq. She was totally fulfilled by her work at the beginning of her 11-year run. (The CIA declined to comment when asked by The Post about Brodkin’s status as an employee there.)

 

Brodkin hasn’t always been a professional psychic. She was recruited by the CIA as an undergrad at MIT, and hired as a weapons of mass destruction analyst shortly after the invasion of Iraq. She was totally fulfilled by her work at the beginning of her 11-year run. (The CIA declined to comment when asked by The Post about Brodkin’s status as an employee there.)

She and her co-workers had to keep even the most basic details about their jobs a secret from outsiders, so she describes the camaraderie as “intense.” The agency’s security was “terrifying,” Brodkin recalls. As she drove into work every day, she was surrounded by men in uniform carrying AK-47s, she said. “It’s hard. It’s hard on the brain.” At work, she would read data and try to make sense of it. Her job was almost all research, information and trying to make sense of that information. As time went on, Brodkin began feeling “trapped.”

Brodkin started becoming distracted at work by what she called “peaceful … massive downloads of information.” She would feign writing work reports, but would instead, she claims, be involuntarily contacted by spirits with something to say. You can imagine how telling her CIA co-workers she was hearing voices from the beyond went.

As the information transfers started becoming more frequent, Brodkin began meditating in the woods surrounding Langley, the facility housing the CIA. “There was one time where I saw just a sea of spirits,” she says. “It was very interdimensional.” It was there that she began communicating with two spirits whom she now refers to as her “guides”: St. Thomas Aquinas, and Nicodemus, a contemporary of Jesus.

She’s heard from dead people she knew as well, but their advice isn’t quite as sage. “When human guides guide you, they don’t have as much information as the ascended masters,” such as St. Thomas and Nicodemus. “They are still their human selves.” However, Brodkin’s deceased grandmother gave her perhaps the most poignant piece of advice she has received thus far: to leave her now-ex-husband.

Brodkin’s now-ex-husband married her while she was with the CIA. He didn’t sign up for all the “woo-woo,” she says. Raised in a Fundamentalist Christian home, she claims he said the Bible didn’t approve of psychics and that he was uncomfortable with Brodkin charging money for Reiki, even though it was the couple’s means of financial survival. Channeling spirit was the last straw.

“I was taking a bath in June of last year while we were still married and I actually had a vision that his father came to me and said, ‘I’m immobile. I can’t walk anymore. Please come heal me,’” she said. Her husband, who was not speaking to his father, brushed off her pleas for him to get in touch. Two months later, they found out that her ex-husband’s father had become wheelchair-bound. “I think when that happened, it really sealed it for [him] because he said, ‘I’m scared of you.’”

“I think that humor and spirituality just both happen to be our tools,” she says. “You know, some people are great at doing hair. They help people feel beautiful. I definitely don’t make anyone feel beautiful, but hopefully I can make you laugh … I think it’s all different ways that you just learn how to cope.”

Here are some books on the subject if you want to find your own spirit guide:

Channeling the Guides and Angels of Light

Opening to Channel: How to Connect with Your Guide (Sanaya Roman)

Five Steps to Communicating with Spirit: Book 1: Open the Door to the Spirit World in 5 Easy Steps!

Channeling: What It Is and How to Do It