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James Van Praagh
Spiritual Medium
by Lee Keil

I was already very familiar (as one can be with a an image on a t.v. screen) with James Van Praagh and his talent of communicating with the spirit realm thanks to his regular appearances on the now defunct program "The Other Side". Aware that television can influence a viewers perception through skillful scripting and editing I wondered if he was as talented and sincere as he appeared. What was he really like? Little did I know at the time, I would have the chance to find out for myself.

The first time I met James ( not Jim or Jimmy) was in the Fall of 1995. He was appearing at an event at the Sheraton Hotel in Smithtown. I had arrived early to beg the organizers to let me distribute what were then only preliminary samples of this publication to the anticipated hoards. Our encounter was quite by chance. James was crossing the lobby incognito with a baseball cap pulled low across his face dressed in jeans and an unassuming shirt. He looked the consummate stage technician as he carried what appeared to be an amplifier and wires or similar sound system equipment. Skills he must have learned from both his parents who worked in theatre. Hardly the image I would have expected from such a celebrity or at least my image of one. Even though he has appeared on such television programs as, "The Joan Rivers Show", "The Other Side", "The Mo Show" (who was mo Gaffney anyway?), "Maury Povich" and "Paranormal Borderline" and done "close to one hundred" radio and newspaper interviews, he traveled with no entourage that i could see.

At a more recent Long Island appearance however his two lovely sisters were busy lending support by helping sell James' meditation tape "Tuning Into: Intuition & Abundance" (also available by mail order). Born and raised in Bayside, Queens, it is no surprise that visits East are usually a combination of business and family time.

Earlier this year I had the chance to meet James on a more professional level having scheduled a luncheon interview in New York City. Once again his appearance and demeanor were unassuming, dressed as he was in a "bomber" style jacket and jeans. Over lunch I asked the requisite questions about his background - though looking back lunch is NOT the best time to get someone to talk, the eating part gets in the way! After a pretty normal childhood as the youngest of four in a Catholic family, James graduated from Bayside High School and set off to seek his fortune in California. While working in one of many unrewarding jobs, a co-worker invited James to see a medium visiting from England. Although he had had a lifelong interest in things paranormal, James rejected the mediums assertion that he too would be communicating with spirits in two years time. The prediction proved accurate as we now know.

Over time he discovered his "feelings" about people and situations were amazingly accurate. Encouraged by friends he began to help people in personal relationships finally finding a place he feels comfortable in a role he describes as bereavement counselor. A role not unlike that which he trained for briefly in the seminary, without the constraints of religious dogma. As his clientele grew by word of mouth, it was increasingly difficult to keep a full time day job and still do readings in the evening. With the assurance from his guides that as long as he was doing spiritual work, he would never be out of work, James began a career as a full time medium.

When working with a client, James is able to communicate with a spirit who has passed over to the other side and offer detailed information about certain items and or events as validation of his contact with a particular spirit. He is both clairsentient (feels the emotions and personalities of the deceased) and clairvoyant (sees visions of things). "I don't walk around the street hearing voices. It's really when I start opening up to the spirit realm that I start hearing things. I bring myself up to a higher vibration" through prayer and mediation prior to doing a session he explained.

"When I first started doing this, for many years I wouldn't do any television work - anything in the public - because I didn't want to be ridiculed and I knew the subject was kind of weird. Eventually I felt I had to get the word out. The reason I do TV work is to get the word out" to people that there is life after death and a way for them to reach out and communicate with deceased loved ones. "I don't do it to be a star, to be in the public eye" says James. Another way James hopes to "get the word out" is through a book he is writing titled "Talking to Heaven" being published by Penguin Books due to be out in the Fall of 1997. Drawing from the questions he receives the most, the book will include information about James and how he got involved with this work, sessions he has conducted and information regarding how to use this information to find closure and move on with one's life following the loss of a loved one. While he has no appearances scheduled yet for the East coast in1997, James will be appearing with Regression Therapist Dr. Brian Weiss, Intuitive Soul Reader Mary Jo Mc Cabe and Author Annie Kirkwood at a conference entitled "Past, Present, Future & Beyond" at the Radisson Hotel in New Orleans from November 15th through the 17th.

For all his notoriety, James manages to live a simple life in a sparsely furnished rental home with a white picket fence. His closest friends tend to be from his "pre-celebrity" days as he acknowledges he occasionally needs to "back off" from admirers who wish to get too close. "People are very demanding" he lamented. "I'm really making a living to pay my bills, pay my assistant. I don't make a lot of money as far as income, or savings. What I'd like people to know is that I am just a human being like anyone else. Everyone has a gift of some sort whether they are artists or musicians. My gift is that I speak to the spiritual realm-that's all".

To receive any information regarding James' schedule, conferences, and audio or video tapes, you may send your requests along with a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Spiritual Horizons, Inc., 7985 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 109-135, West Hollywood, CA 90046.

 

 Click on links below for more information, or to buy these fine books by James Van Praagh.