Russo - The happy medium: life lessons from the other side

1. 1. Chapter One: Dont I Know You from Somewhere?
      How a Past-Life Regression Proved That the Bonds of Love Survive Physical Death
   2. Chapter Two: Nightmare on Eighty-Sixth Street
      Learning to Overcome Fear
   3. Chapter Three: Not a Ghost of a Chance
      Frequently Haunted Places to Avoid Until You Are an Expert
   4. Chapter Four: Listen Up
      Exercising Intuition and Building Faith
   5. Chapter Five: Soul Contracts
      How Were Bound to Fulfill Our Lifes Goals
   6. Chapter Six: What Happens in Heaven
      Lessons Learned There Dont Have to Stay There
2. 1. Chapter Seven: Coming to Your Senses
      The Many Different Ways Spirits Communicate
   2. Chapter Eight: Special Delivery
      The Joy of That First Psychic Reading
   3. Chapter Nine: Dont All Talk at Once
      Establishing Order So Important Messages Get Through
   4. Chapter Ten: Spreading Your Wings
      Learning Complementary Modalities
   5. Chapter Eleven: Being Human
      The Times When Were Not Supposed to Know Everything
   6. Chapter Twelve: Fulfilling Your Destiny
      Living Life in Love and Light

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To my heavenly Father the Creator of this vast and wonderful universe: It is your infinite wisdom that teaches me, your strength that sustains me, and your love that nurtures me. Without you, none of this would be possible. It is to you I humbly dedicate this book and give all the glory and praise.

To my team of spirit guides who patiently waited for me to remember the reason I was born and who continue to guide me throughout my life, delivering reassuring signs and clearing the path for me to make a difference: Thank you for assisting me in all of my soul lessons, big and small, and thank you for always knowing what is best for me, especially when I dont.

And to the many departed souls I have met over the years: It is with a humble heart and great honor that I serve as your voice. Thank you for trusting me to deliver countless heartfelt messages to your loved ones. Through them you have made me laugh and you have made me cry, but most of all, you have made me believe that who we really are never dies.

We cannot teach people anything;

we can only help them discover

it within themselves.

Galileo

WHATS THE FIRST WORD that pops into your head when you think about psychic mediums? Its okayyou can say it. There was a time when I also thought of them as quacks. I imagined that they wore long flowing robes, big hoop earrings, and maybe even turbans. In my mind, they were like those gypsy women who coax you into giving them money to light candles and ward away evil, or to scry into a crystal ball and tell you what your future will hold.

I am not any of those things, of course. I am the mother of three grown sons; a loving wife, married to the same man for twenty-eight years; and until recently, the loyal caregiver of two of the most amazing shih tzu dogs, Mugsy and Maggie, who both lived to the ripe old age of eighteen. When many people meet me, they say I remind them of someone they know. Their BFF Donna, their neighbor Lisa, or even just someone theyd love to hang out with. Occasionally people tell me that I look like Paula Abdul or Kirstie Alley, but never once has anyone said, Hey, you knowyou look like you could be a psychic. I do my own laundry, clean my own home, and cook my own meals. I consider myself to be a very level-headed, grounded, and logical person.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because spiritual gifts arent granted only to special individuals who sit in the yoga position on faraway mountaintops and chant all day long. They are also given to very ordinary people like you and me. You never knowyour favorite teacher, doctor, lawyer, or police officer may possess a keen sense of intuition or any number of other psychic gifts they prefer to keep hidden like a shameful secret.

I kept my abilities under wraps for a long time too. I was an executive secretary for a real estate firm up until the day my husband, Anthony, and I decided to start a family.

Anthony is now retired, but over the years he held as many jobs as he had to for me to be a stay-at-home mom for our three boys. We had always planned for me to go back to work and pick up where I left off once the kids were in school full-time. They are older now and done with their studies, except I definitely did not pick up where I left off. With the encouragement of many sincere and knowing people, I openly acknowledged and pursued my true calling. When I was very young, I fantasized that my calling was to be a professional singer. I loved the idea of standing on stage with a microphone, making people feel happy with what was coming from my voice.

Fast-forward many years later andthough I still love music and I do stand on stage holding a microphone, making people feel happy with what is coming from my voiceit is all very different than I ever imagined. Rather than inspiring crowds with my singing voice, I inspire them with my speaking voice, relaying messages of hope, love, and inspiration from the world beyond. With greater understanding of what psychic mediums can do to enlighten and uplift themselves and others, I have effectively gone from being a reluctant and undercover medium to being, as many people call me, the Happy Medium. Im able to provide great pleasure to so many people, and myself, doing what I do now.

Im often asked why some people have this gift while others dont, and my answer always seems to come as a surprise: We all have psychic abilities. Every one of us is born with them. They are part of our spiritual DNA. This gift is about energy and how each of us can use ours best. Science has proved that everything in the universe is made of energy. Essentially, what you will discover in this book is that the energy of the soul has a unique vibratory imprint that is able to transcend time and space. The difference between those who exercise their psychic abilities and those who dont even know they have them lies in developing a better understanding of energy and how our sensesnot just our five senses, but our extra ones toointeract with energy to help us know things on a much deeper level.

As a child, I didnt know what any of this meant. I did not understand energy. All I knew was when I was in my bedroom alone, the room was filled with visitors that most people couldnt see. Many of the people I encountered in my everyday life did not understand the science of energy either. I was raised to be a good Christian and was taught that if I loved and trusted God then I had nothing to fearGod and all of his helpers would always be by my side. As it happens, I didnt need to learn this from any church or school because I naturally felt a supreme presence around me from the time I could walk and talk. But some of the same people who were telling me thisauthority figures I counted on for validationwere also sending me extremely mixed signals about Gods love when it came to the innocent exercise of my extra senses. My heart felt that using all the senses I was born with was right, but the world told me it was wrong.