America’s Top Psychic REVEALS Mankind’s Next Stage of EVOLUTION! Prepare Yourself with James Van Praagh

James Van Praagh 0:00
One of the biggest things I've knew, from very beginning as I knew who I was, I think when one person knows who they are, then they stay pretty grounded and they go forth. And I never care whether people thought of me as they what other people think of you as knowing your business, because nobody gets to know you better than yourself. So I know I know who I am. I think we all have to know who we are. I think religions, I think people are searching for something to fill up their soul. And maybe that religion does it. And what religion does to me is it reminds us who we are.

Alex Ferrari 0:39
I'd like to welcome to the show James Van Praagh. How you doing James?

James Van Praagh 0:41
Very good Alex, thank you for having me.

Alex Ferrari 0:43
Thank you so much for coming on the show my friend. I'm excited to talk to you. You've been in this spiritual game for a couple years now.

James Van Praagh 0:51
About 40. Give or take a year

Alex Ferrari 0:55
Give or take a year or two. Right? That's yes. So you were doing this work when it wasn't truly in vogue.

James Van Praagh 1:01
Yeah, no, I was the first medium on television. I was out there. And I didn't want to do it. I was I moved to LA to be a sitcom writer because I'm funny. So I thought I'd make money as a broadcasting sitcom, right, which I've done a couple by the way. But it was there that I went through a series of jobs in LA temporary jobs ended up with the William Morris Agency, not in the melon, but in the basement playing staples out of contracts eight hours a day. And it was there and I knew I had to be there. For some reason. I thought, there's something going on here. Maybe I'll meet an agent, I'll get me a sitcom whatever. And it was there that I had a supervisor who said you want to go see a medium and I said what is that? And she said he's someone to talk to dead people. Now just moved to LA from New York said this cynical New Yorker and I heard California Land. And that's I'm like, Okay, here we go, California. So I remembered this lady and I went to see this gentleman by the name of Brian Hurst. And I walked into his apartment in Manhattan Beach. And he said you're a medium and I said, Well, thank God the small but thank you and now the spirit world they want to use you as change consciousness and and so here's how I'm going to do that. I'm like thinking okay, this is crazy. But he went on to open a give me a messages from loved ones who passed over detailed messages, really incredible stuff. And I was fascinated how did this guy do this? So I went to a place in LA called the Bodhi tree, which you're probably very familiar with the Bodhi tree on Melrose and I used to go every weekend and sit and read as much as I could all the subjects from near death experiences to MLA and tests to everything you met, you mentioned that your case everything, and I started meditating, not knowing how to but I just just locked myself into visualize a rose or whatever. And I became very, very sensitized to my series of jobs. And I remember it was as we're going to Paramount Studios, and it was, I was a contract administrator. So I moved away Morris Agency to Paramount Studios there, you know, and that was working in the contracts with syndication shows. I remember was 1230 the afternoon I just come back from lunch, and I went to my cubicle. And this girl next to me, her name was Joe Dallas, and she wanted their cubicle. And I looked over and I saw a dead lady standing next to Joe Dallas, and his dead lady looked at me like, Stewart stared at me like six cents. I was like, oh, and she said, telepathically, I have a grandmother. I lived in Idaho, a White House, the yellow shutters, we did a footstool together and other things. What? So I asked this girl, does this make sense? Every detail and you said, oh, yeah, that's my grandmama we made a pact that when she goes she come back and tell me she was okay. So I freaked out, ran out of paramount. What was happening with me, went to my apartment not knowing what was going to go on. And I didn't know who to call because suddenly goes crazy. And who do you go to? So I called up that man, Brian hearse, a medium. And I told him what's going on? And he said, James, don't you remember that prediction the spirit world made? And I said, Yes. So James, that was two years ago today. So everything is in divine order, you see. And it took me under his wing and helped me develop my mediumship and light sensitivity. And then it was really a matter of me deciding I can conduct my guides. And it was really me deciding with them. They said if you work with us, we'll always take care of you. And it was a matter of faith faith that was being tested, obviously. And I knew that the loving energy that I felt when I worked that way in a mediumistic way that there was nothing that could ever be better than that this this love. So I said yes, I do it. And from that point on, I started doing Master's readings with seven years of development, but then started doing readings for people. And it was all word of mouth. And I'd be two readings a day. And it went on for I was booked for two years at a time and so forth. And then eventually producers come to my house and get a reading my apartment. And then I was Unsolved Mysteries. And then I was on a show called the other side, NBC and early 90s. And that was the first time the medium has been on I was in their pilot program and the pilot and crazy and we were on for about a year. And that was really my stepping off point. And then it was on I wrote a book called talking to heaven based on my work. I'm giving the shorter version of this whole thing. And I went on Larry King and the book was it was funny it was it was very, very fun. Holy Spirit, the Spirit World said to me, it's going to be a book that'll change the world. And okay, so I'm open to it. So I went Larry King Show, and the book had 6000 copies, initial printing, I wanted that show, December 7 1996, I think was 97. And the book went from 6000 600,000 in less than a month. And the CNN bureaus around the world did not stop ringing, telephones ringing till it started Friday at six o'clock, didn't end till Sunday, three 3pm around the world. And they were constantly bombarded. So that was called the Miracle publishing in those days. And that got that opened up the door for a lot of different things that

Alex Ferrari 5:39
So or so when that thank you for that very light history that you've had there. When you when you were you weren't raised? We raised religious spiritual, how were you raised?

James Van Praagh 5:52
I was raised Catholic, my mother was very Irish Catholic, and my father was Presbyterian. He didn't really care about either one. And so I went to a Catholic school for eight years. And then I went to a seminary to be a priest for a year. Don't ask, and but it was really a sense of I enjoyed the, the, I guess you'd say the incense and the, the ceremonial right? Part of it. I love that. I love the prayer part. But it didn't understand certain things like eating the body drink the blood of Christ, because for an eight year old, you know, what does that mean? Are they cannibals? So it didn't fit for me. But there was essence an essence of it, that I liked that filled me up. So I would say to you that I, you know, people often ask about religions. And I said, well, there are certain things, religions will teach us. And with everything in life, you take what's works for you, what resonates to your soul, and you throw back the rest. And for me, that was that sense of service of humankind, that really set there that there was humankind, and making, you know, being good to people living the golden rule. And that's really helped with that foundation, I'd say.

Alex Ferrari 6:57
So, so when you started to, I mean, because I was raised also Roman Catholic, so and so you and I are both recovering, I'm assuming. Recovering Catholics. But when, when you were kind of confronted with this idea of mediumship, now, I'm Latino from from where I'm from. So this idea of passion, very, so this, this concept of medium ships and psychics is culturally kind of baked in to the Latino culture, South American culture, Caribbean culture. Absolutely. But from your Irish Catholic, that's so much. So when this was presented to you, and you started hearing ideas or voices is not you thought you were going to create How did you reconcile the religious that the Roman Catholic hit you with this new version of, of what's happening to you?

James Van Praagh 7:45
And it's great question, and I had to go back to my childhood. Because of my childhood, I used to see spirit all the time, I used to all the time, when I was really a toddler in the crib, I remember the, I remember very well, they put me in the back from the crib. And I wanted to be with the adults in the living room. So I cried my eyes out. And I remember my father used to come back, give me a big lollipop thing, and that's gonna do it. But every night I'd see this man with white hair. In the corner of the room, we'd walk over the crib, and he's had some kind of a toy he played with me. And years later, my grandmother was showing me a photograph out. And she turned the page and I said, Who is that man? She said, Oh, that's your grandfather. He died before you were born. And that was that man. And he's come several times since that. And then I had a lot of those experiences a child and he's played with friends out in front of the street, you know, stickball, or whatever it was, and I'd see a spirit around them, I'd see their aura, the colors around them. And I thought every kid could do that. Everybody could do this, this wasn't anything weird or unique was just every way it was. And when they sort of say, Oh, you're weird, I'm like, I'm not a weirdo. It just I see those things. And I remember I was saying prayers at night with my mother would say prayers every night before going to sleep. And I would once happened I saw these beings, the end of the bed, there's lights around them. And I'd say Mamma mia, who those people the lights on, and she was, oh them. Those are God's angels. I used to see them too, when I was a little girl, those take care of you know the harm, they'll always take care of you. So she was very intuitive. attune my grandparents, both sides of our Intune from the Welsh background and the Irish background, there was very much that natural ability, and it does pass in family. So to me, it was I don't know what didn't feel separate from the religion was a way of thinking, I guess for some people to belong. I've never gotten into it. But I knew what was natural for me. And I've always lived my life that way, it was natural. And in one thing, Alex, which I share with you and for all you people that are watching or listening to this, the one of the biggest things I've knew, from the very beginning as I knew who I was, and I think when one person knows who they are, then they stay pretty grounded and they go forth. And I never care whether people thought of me as they what other people think of you and in your business, because nobody gets to know you better than know yourself. So I know I know who I am. I think we all have to know who we are. And I think it religions, I think people are searching for something to fill up their soul that maybe that religion does it and ultimately He does to me, it reminds us who we are. Yeah, it can help assist us in that room reminding. But it's a medium ship to me it I guess for my love my development, my soul development expansion. It's very natural. And I know I prepared, as I think we all do prepare for our life a role in this lifetime. And I'm very much a firm believer, I'm not sure you are not in quantum physics. And I believe in you know, past life, future lies all lies at one, I know that I definitely prepared for this lifetime to communicate with the spirit world and to change the consciousness of the planet. I never would have thought that before. But I've seen it's happening. And things are very, very different now than they were when it first started. Of course, now we're much more accepting of other ways of thinking, alternative ways of being and so forth.

Alex Ferrari 10:43
Well, this conversation wouldn't have happened in 1980.

James Van Praagh 10:46
That's right. That's right. I remember there were people that used to that skeptics who used to go to the studio and watch me do a work my demonstration where and they would say, Oh, we did cold reading. And I think what is that? I don't know what that means. Oh, you know, things for you ask certain questions, and they give you answers. And, and all this stuff was coming at me like, that doesn't work. For me. That's that's not what I'm doing. That's not not all these people are ignorant. They're not aware of how I do this. And they're making these things up. Like, that's bad, you can't do that. So they didn't understand that. And I think in most of the world is ignorance. If people don't understand something, they put it down. I think fear, you know, unfortunately, live in fear. And fear is limiting. Of course, I think fear is a human emotion, not spiritual, I think it's very human. And I think when people don't understand something, they judge it, because they fear it. They live in fear, they judge it, because they want to be better than they want to be in control, if you will. So if I put you down with that, and the fearful and make you worse than judge you, then I feel better than and it's just fear based basically.

Alex Ferrari 11:43
Well, yeah. And anytime there's something that kind of shakes the foundation of your belief system, you either if you're insecure about that, you will then fight back. If you're secure. You could you could tell me that the sky is purple. And I would be like, this is fine for you. But that's not my truth. I don't have to I don't have to go on kill you like no, the sky is blue. And we started a tribe, about the skies, blue people, and we're gonna go kill everybody. Everybody makes sure everybody knows that this guy is blue. That's where it comes. But it comes from a level of insecurity. Because if you are secure with your belief system, you don't have to attack or defend. That's it's just is it. Am I right? Do you think?

James Van Praagh 12:21
100%. And it's also a control issue. So many people think I've got to be in control. I gotta control my environment, I control what happens in my life. The truth is, we have no control. You can't control another person you can't get on with someone says the only thing we can control is how we respond to things. But when people freak out, Oh, my God is outside of my paradigm. What am I going to do? Well, it's a paradigm shift. And you know, that's really important that people realize they have no control, once you realize you have no control over other people, and what other people think of you is none of your business. You shift you open up and you expand.

Alex Ferrari 12:55
Now, you have done probably 10s of 1000s of readings over the course of your of your career. Yeah. And this at all those times you must have had an inside view of the human psyche, in a way that most human beings don't get in a lifetime. Is that a fair statement?

James Van Praagh 13:15
To a point to a point. I mean, there's some you know, it's worlds within worlds within worlds really think about just such a vastness and expansion. So I definitely have had a look at certain aspects of the human and how they play and the soul self and the different dimensions of the soul and different sense of awareness, if you will. And I am very down to earth pretty grounded, um, double earth sign Capricorn and Virgo and free down the earth about things which I think is very helpful in this in this regard. So to me, I like to say that, yeah, I've been witness of all these different types of experiences. And to me, it was back to the simple truth that we are souls having a human experience, not the other way around, or souls first having this human. This is our school is just old school. And there are many, many schools, this is one, one of the most unevolved, I guess you could say. Because we're still killing one another, we're still fighting, we still think money is power and so forth. So unfortunately, it evolved because, you know, when you kill one another person, you're killing yourself. We're all connected, of course. So we're not really evolved in that respect. You know, here's a simple one, which I like that life to me now that I've learned these things is simple truths. Spirit says it's always very simple. It's that it really is simple. It's very simple, but the human being likes get caught up in the complexity of the simplicity. Say, they want things to be complex, because it's complex. That means something not necessarily to me it is really it's all about choices in life. So we are souls we come back and choose if you will, our family, our friends, or our or our lessons we're going to learn in this lifetime. And a series of choices choice are based on either two things, either love or fear. And that's really it and fear. F E A R false ego appearing real All right, is limiting, where love is expensive. And we're here to love our natural vibrations of love. The soul is of love, not fear. Fear is a human vibration. So it's very interesting to see if people just go back in their lives and see what they chose out of fear what other people think of them? Were my parents want me to do what society wants you to do the accepted? Or did you live in love? Just do you? Do you you do you do want to do and see and see the difference? And it's amazing. So it's a simple truce, if you will.

Alex Ferrari 15:29
So can you explain to people what the process is for you? Are you seeing? Are you hearing voices? Are you seeing people? Do you see dead people? Or is it like images? In your mind? What is the actual process when you're doing a reading?

James Van Praagh 15:43
Sure, a great question. So it's just a little bit of background here is that, to me, it's my experience I've had that the soul is, many people think the soul is encompassed in the physical body, not really, I would say my equation might be off a little bit. But the idea behind it is right, that 70% of the souls outside the body only 30% is here, you know, we are living on his fields, UCLA mind fields outside here. And in many, many levels, I call them these mind fields. And the mind is the soul, the souls the mind. And this remnants a smaller part here is like I call it the big toe to the soul, because there's more of us outside here than in here, right? So what I do in preparation of communication, and because the spirit world is all around us, you know, it's not up there, heaven or hell, it's all around us. It's all these different vistas and fields, if you will around us that vibrate or move at a certain rate of speed. So we have all around us different types of waves, gamma rays, X rays, microwaves, television waves, all the different waves of energy. And I once said this to Barbara Walters, I said, you know, Barbara, she asked me on the view, well, how does this work? How does this work? I said, So you're working in the field of television, and you're not sure how it works? Right. And when you think about the degree, right, I've a broadcast degree. And I said to her, you know, here's how it works. Barbara, is your your television station is sending out a signal, right, it sends out a certain signal a certain vibration, and there are receptors on the televisions, the receivers that received that certain vibration, and able to use take that vibration and manifest it in a visual, right? There's basic basic broadcasting there. And so same thing works with mediumship. In that I have to attune myself to a higher frequency, high vibration of energy. So it's all energy. And the mind what I do with my mind, and many years of development of this is I bring my mind to a certain space, an altered state of consciousness, you could say, to a higher level of consciousness, where it's it's vibration very, very quick. So mind is very, very open. And what I do is because the Spirit people, when they communicate with us, they have to everything is done with thought, it's available in a thought world, it's all thought we have the physical world, they're in a mental world. So everything in that world moves with thought. And they have to think to themselves, okay, I want to communicate, so I'm a slow myself down to the level that the medium is able to receive me. So they consciously think slow myself down, they lower themselves down to a certain level, the medium raises up their vibration, and they meet in the middle. And that's why it's called medium in the middle. And what happens is, and then I raised myself up to that space, I've done it so many years now, Alex that says like, push up, push a button. And there it is. And really, when they come in, this is an interesting, interesting one, that all the spirits that come and communicate, you have to realize they might not have never done this before, it might be the very first time they're doing this. So just because they're dead doesn't mean they know how to do this. It's a process. So many times when I do demonstrations, or call them for audiences, or people online, there'll be beings around the Spirit people who have nothing to do with the people that are in this in the demonstration or on the Zoom call. They're watching the process. So that another time they might come through and do the process the right way. So they have to slow down their thoughts and create in their minds a picture which can be represented a memory could be a picture of that person, a loved one doing something the day before. And it was conceived of this this concept and sent it to the mediums mind and the medium knows nothing about them nothing about these people or anything. So as we open it up to say, I see a calendar, it says February 28 1985. I feel that there's a lady here I feel it's a mother feeling. And I'm feeling oh, and she shows me now she's now showing me clairvoyantly she didn't image at brown hair and blue eyes and beautiful red smile. And she wears that yellow Daisy dress. She loved the yellow Daisy dress. And yes, that's my mother. That's exactly what she wore. And that's the day she died. And then so it depends on the Spirit. Because every one is communicates differently. They're just like in the human life. Some people are visual, some people are auditory. Some people sense most of a sense things we walk into a room and meet someone we sense. So that sense sense for us. There's a medium, I get the sense of them that they push into my mind, the sense of what they want to say, and my guides who work with me and their guides will help them to prepare or go through if you will, the correct way of sending a thought of course Creating an emotion state, I bring that to the mediums mind that I am able to understand it. Another interesting fact is that the mind of the medium is very, very important. So as the makeup of the medium as a makeup for myself, my personality depends a lot, but it affects a lot. I'm a person that you can tell and good sense of humor, I like to joke, I'm very down to earth and very real. But I love knock things over Seriously, just lighter. And so the best spirits they have communicate will be those who are aligned to my personality traits. So I've been through great feel a sense of humor is, like have a good time. We're very serious. We're very kind that works in line with my, my personality traits, and my aspects, my soul aspects. And it makes it reading very successful. That doesn't mean I can't bring other spirits who I do more with, like, oh, we usually bring other people through, but the easier ones are ones that are aligned to my personality traits. A lot, actually. So

Alex Ferrari 20:53
No, I'm I completely get everything you're saying. The So is there an energy issue with you? So like, do you get a wave event? Because channelers have that channels get like this wave of energy? A lot of times I've heard that they've had to kind of on the other side and hear prep their nervous system to handle Yes, this flow, how does it work with you and mediumship?

James Van Praagh 21:17
Yes, very, very good. So sitting in what I call development and sitting the stillness of your being, which is really, to me really important in developing mediums and I have a school online, it's, it's been dedicated to that. And it's really about preparation, as you say. So preparing the space. To me working with the spirit world is here to go back to the religion. Now, to me, it's very sacred. So it's like going to Mass, it's like you're setting up the sacred space. And to me, it's your representative as a medium. I'm a representative of the spirit world. And to me, it's an interesting one, I work for them, I don't work for the living, I really work for them, they're my boss. And that my job is to bring through information that will help the spirit person come through and to move on. So this is an interesting one, just because someone passes away, doesn't mean they go right to heaven, they go here they go there many times because they pass over into the mental world, right? It's a mental, we all have once we pass over is a life review. And we're outside of time, so you're not with a clock and linear time anymore. So what happens is you you tend to see all those moments in the lifetime that you lived, that you had impress others or what you said to someone. So the example I like to use is let's say you went to really bad mood one day, and you went to the gasoline station and you yelled at the person, the clerk behind the cash register. And, and that person yelled is a storekeeper partner in the store, and the person of the store went home to their family, and bla bla bla Mazon, rippling effect. When you get past like near that life review, you're going to become that person behind the cash register, and you're going to feel everything they felt when you yelled at them. 10 times 20 times 30 times stronger than originally sent. And you'll become aware of how your thought your work adapted that person and that person and that person. And you'll see the rippling effect of your one foot in one word. That's kind of scary, right? Especially living life, you could hurt people, you know, and that's your own hell. So you create your own heaven, your own hell based on your thoughts, words, or deeds. So my job is really as a medium is to bring through let's say that spirit who has unfinished business, who's ever come back and say, I'm sorry to make to his daughter, I'm sorry, I didn't love you. I didn't know how to love. So how could I loved you? I'm so sorry. So unfinished business basically, with my job is to bring through that. So provide proof of life after death.

Alex Ferrari 23:29
So it but it isn't. Okay, I agree with that. But doesn't that get caught up in karma? Meaning like, in another life, they deal with that? Or can I deal with? Can they deal with it like this?

James Van Praagh 23:41
100%. So what's going on is they kept. Again, it's all learning. It's learning, learning, learning, that what you give out, you get back. And that's karma. So every action has a reaction, right? So every act that someone does, has a reaction. And that's a natural law. So there's a natural law involved. So yes, but if they can, if they can willingly and have the awareness to say I'm sorry to say this, that will help. That certainly helps. Because they're in that state of apathy. They're in a state of that they're, they're in a healing state. They didn't know any better. They're awake. And if you will, on the other side, on the other side, yeah, that's correct. That's correct. And many who are awake over there who wake up and realize what they've done, they feel bad about it. There's a little bit of, you know, I'm gonna say, back to a Catholic purgatory thing, but there's that waiting station because they got to take care of themselves. They got to honor what they did what they didn't do. And one of the most interesting things that the Spirit people have said to me, and they've come through is, and I wrote a book called unfinished business, because I got tired of hearing spirits say this. And they would say, Wow, if only I knew then what I know now I would have made different choices. I wouldn't have behaved that way, or behave more loving, more compassionate, more kindness. How would I forgave easier? I wish I had known that and so I wrote that book just for that because if the world knew that, you know, just imagine if Everybody knew that when they left the physical body that have a life review, and have to feel everything 10 times 20 times 30 times stronger how they treated people. Wow. Wouldn't the world be different because of your sense of responsibility? Yeah. And I think that's the secret. I think that really is a secret. In the teaching people, you have to be responsible, your thoughts, your words and your deeds, because they don't go on notice this energy you're putting out there.

Alex Ferrari 25:23
Let me ask you this. Do you believe in the soul blueprint or soul plan? Okay. So with that concept, from my understanding of my, my research, and people I've spoken to, on the show, you choose your life, or you choose the actions you're going to do in that life. So a lot of times you're on your soul family, which is your group, right? So let's say you and I are soul family. And in this time we're sitting, we're sitting having coffee on the other side. And we're both talking, we're like, look, I'm gonna go back down, you want to come with me? And yeah, sure, like, you know, when in this life, I really need to know what it feels like to have someone who doesn't love me. And because of that, I'll go, You know what, I'll go down, I'll take the bullet. And I'll be your dad, and I won't show you any love. So on a, on a soul level, we have this kind of pre built plan. So then when they come back, and they're saying, Oh, I wish I would have known. It doesn't connect, can you kind of explain it? We're going to get we're really going into weeds here. So I'm just curious what your thoughts are on that.

James Van Praagh 26:23
So also suicides, so maybe? Well, not necessarily, because the soul group might have agreed upon that, that in that soul group for them had to learn with experience of suicide it was and how the rest of the people around them would handle that. Right? That happens quite a lot. So a lot of experiences we have here, whether it's a physical problems, mental problems, whatever it is interaction, and the biggest, of course, teachers are a family. Hello, their number one teacher is because they represent you, you're looking at yourself. So there is that sense that we all have Destiny points of Destiny points that were destined do certain things, but then comes as part of freewill, right. So it's destined that we have this situation, let's say we meet for coffee or on the earth. And we can do many things that we can be friends forever, it could just be a quick meeting with a coffee, or we can decide to live together whatever it might be. But there's freewill involved there. So again, the more someone knows their soul self, the more they know themselves, that inner self, the easier it is to make the right choice. That's right for them at the moment.

Alex Ferrari 27:23
That makes makes Yeah, yeah. So the closer you are to your true self, because then you will be connected to that true admission.

James Van Praagh 27:31
And he had a bit that makes sense, because it made sense. It doesn't make rational self at all right?

Alex Ferrari 27:37
Up, you becoming a medium, you know, it makes no sense. When your

James Van Praagh 27:42
I mean, I really jumped in because like, I had no way of knowing how to get paid how to pay the rent, I pay my insurance, say anything, but I did it with faith, because I knew that it said to me, we'll take care of you. And I never know how it's gonna come about. But it's come about they've taken care of me for 45 years I've been taken care of. And I think we're all taken care of when we do the right thing. We take responsible for who we are. And we see God and everyone, which is that brilliant light, we all have that same God. And if we just treated each other, we see God, we'd be better off. I think that every day we're given opportunities. Every day in our path, you have either a teacher or a student walks in your path. And it's to recognize that what are you going to learn? Or what are you gonna teach? And that's what it is, you know, I really do believe that. And once you get out, you get back that it's that it's a karma, whatever want to call that that energy, that natural law.

Alex Ferrari 28:29
And James, I mean, I agree with you, 100%. Because when I started the show, I was like, This is insane. Why am I starting a spiritual show, I am not a guru, I have no street credibility in this space. But I was guided to do this. And I jumped in with faith, that it would all work out. And it wouldn't destroy what I had already built. Because I was afraid. Because as you know, when you when you come out and go public with this kind of stuff and start talking, it's not the norm yet. It's more accepted. And it's growing daily. But this is still you know, people, you and I are having a fairly intelligent, grounded conversation about this, which is really helpful for what we're trying to do in the world and raising the consciousness. But we also

James Van Praagh 29:11
I think that as you said that you don't mind me getting a hit for you. But I have to. I think that when you say that, that the part of your soul self on the other side, knew this and was had to do this and the physical is now is catching up on it. And I think that it's meant to be obviously and they're constantly you're here to change a consciousness, you're open the minds of people up, and more and more people. And whether we want to talk about you know the world the way it is right now the darkness of fear or whatever it is out there. People don't feel connected. It's work like this, that pink pill together because there's a resonance, there's the sense of truth. It opens up that stirs our souls that this is truth, and it gives them a platform it gives them a place to go to, is it well I understand this. This is more this makes more sense to me than other things. Do. You know this is a truth. I don't know about Instagram and Facebook. But this is a truth right here. You know, and that's, I think a great thing to give people that opportunity to, to have that sense of up to that faith and have when I started my school, the Jaypee, school mystical arts four years ago, it was a school that I want to leave a legacy for my work. And something happened out of that, which I'd never expected. And what happened was, they became a sense of community, a lot of community and people thanked me over and over again for, for having a space that people can go to are like minded people, because there aren't many. So what you're doing what I'm doing, many others doing are presenting that space for those who think the same way who can think out of the box, who believe in faith, whatever that means, you know, you can't limit God I think religion going back to that religious like, I feel in many ways religion limits God and God is limit less, you know, you get put a name on God is limit less. And I think the more people that knew themselves and know God better.

Alex Ferrari 30:51
So this is this is always something that fascinated me about mediums and psychics in general is, we all saw the movie Ghost. You know, back with Whoopi Goldberg.

James Van Praagh 31:00
I did a standing ovation. I was working at Paramount at the time and it's a standing ovation and screening of a paramount and people looking at me like they got it. Right.

Alex Ferrari 31:08
Okay. So I mean, it was so perfect. And I've had I've had Bruce, the writer on the show. And he explained to me,

He researched. He did a great, you know,

He had a psychedelic experience talk. The God came back row, Jacob's Ladder. I mean, you watch those movies, and you're just like, oh, okay, everything all makes sense. So when he wrote ghost, which nobody wanted, but eventually got made Whoopi Goldberg's character that she sees dead people constantly. I always wondered, do you have an on and off or open and close sign? Because if not, you're like eating, you know, you're in the bathroom? You look over Oh, Jesus, not now. Like, how does that work? Do you? Um, do you have like barriers? Or just like, hey, guys? No, or yes, I'm open for great.

James Van Praagh 31:54
It's a great question. And it's an important question you're asking because I am the I screamed about this from the mountaintops because and God bless Mr Rubin for doing that movie, because it really has opened people up. So mediumship in general, to me, I developed in the old fashioned way. And I developed for seven years sitting in the quiet setting the stillness. And I wouldn't do one reading because I had to work on my, my energetic self, my my soul self to really develop that, that progression of development in order to be able to give a message to someone because it's very much like to me like medical work, or a doctor or lawyer, you know, people's lives that you're responsible for. And that can be taken easily. That's not a no job, you gotta be really a lot of integrity. And to me, I've been very worked very, very hard throughout my career on that we have worked hard, but my integrity is really strong in that I would not present something if it wasn't the way it was. And if I didn't know what's missing, I don't know if you know, just because it took that building, I don't know everything. So, to me, I tried to present the mediumship. And with my TV show, the beyond show I had, and John Edwards did a good job of his show crossing over. And it was presented a certain way, which I like. But then what happens is, younger people that came into mediumship want to be stars and want to be fast and furious. They want to get in and be in TV and be a star. It's like, it doesn't work that way. You don't you don't go to the meetings to be a star. It doesn't happen that way. And think of all those people's lives that you're hurting by doing it the wrong way. And when I say the wrong way, like for instance, there was a lady Maria Theresa Caputo had the Long Island Medium, remember that gelato medium, and she was a lady who nice lady and met her once very gifted lady. But the producers who produced that show did not know how to produce it correctly. They do not know about mediumship. I will say the same thing with show Ghost Whisperer I was involved in I had a lot of trouble the producers who didn't know at all how to produce this sort of thing. And the way that there's no sense of responsibility of what you're putting in the airwaves. So they have trusculpt Voodoo out there in a bake shop in a butcher shop in a car and she sees dead people. Oh my god, this person, oh my god. It doesn't work that way. It doesn't work that way. Because that person would end up in a nuthouse because that's why I ask. Yeah. And they're teaching that the throne. That's the public thing. This is the way it is. No, it doesn't work that way. As a medium. As I said before, you have to It's a sacred, it's a sacred space, you have to prepare yourself. And when you're ready to work, there's that's if you will, on off switch, as you said, you're able to open yourself up and you say what you get. It's not like pop go here goes this one Pop goes the weasel. Here's this one doesn't work that way. The media may be aware of those people around, but certainly it's like a ceiling fan. You can't have that ceiling fan on all the time because you'll burn out the motor. Same thing with mediumship. You got to be very, very careful. It's a delicate art because you're working with your adrenal system and the glandular system and that whatever system, right? Yeah, it'll tax it very, very easily you'll be taxed out and I've seen many medium pass away with cancers and bad diseases and endocrine problems, because they're not they're not integrated the right way. They're not measured is that the work is not measured. It needs to be It needs to be a process. There's another guy on TV, the young kid that's on right now. And again, again, we're throwing this stuff out there. Now he might have abilities certainly has some kind of ability. It's not worked out because he comes from a psychic point of view and a medium point of view. And he doesn't know what he's doing. He doesn't know what psychic what's medium, he doesn't know the difference between the two. And they throw it out to the public doesn't know any better. And it's like, that's, that's gonna harm people, it's gonna harm him. It's because he's a young boy, he's 24, he's had no life experience in order for the spirit world to draw from in order to get a message out. And as Sean public, this is the way it is. That's not, that's not the way it works. And, and that, to me is a really tough one.

Alex Ferrari 35:39
Yeah. And in that show, too, you could see where he wears out, you could actually have seen something that was that was, uh, you start seeing him was like, I can't I need this, he's having problems with it, because he hasn't dropped properly been drained.

James Van Praagh 35:50
It has to run, it's called running your energy, he doesn't know how to run his energy properly, because it's up to the chakra point. So it's all about opening up as we're all electrical beings. And if you don't charge it the right way, you're going to be depleted quickly. And I'm telling you as it is, and you have all the pressure from television and producers and all that kind of stuff, who don't work at all. Listen, I did a show called The beyond show was for a whole year. And it was a kind of a talk show i Go on i do it readings for the audience and the private reading on stage. I remember that people that produce that with me, that's when they carry sagen Her name was and I gave her a reading for the performance of the pilot, just so she would know what the process was. And I brought through about girl I said, this little baby girl at Dodge the 20 of yours I chose Yes, that's right, it was very good reading, because I wanted to give her the awareness of the education of it. And then during the show, I'm doing a message for a lady on stage. And she lost her someone very important. And the producer was so fearful of is it going to get a hit, it's gonna get a hit. So instead of having just the bride die, we have the whole groom's the whole, the whole wedding party dies, like crazy. Or so the way they think. So I'm working with this lady on stage at the corner, my is an associate producer in the wings. And she's holding up a sign and said make her cry. And I said stop tape right now, not only is that hurtful to the audience members and the lady getting the message, but that is completely wrong space. So I went literally went up to the booth. And I yelled at the producer that you cannot do that. Don't ever insult us like that, that never instill the spirit world like that. And then another thing that happened was which I never get this. I did many shows a day I did 15 shows whatever it was we double booked stuff. I worked my rear end off. I remember there was a series of murders. And I don't know what's going to happen. I separate myself and from building which I shouldn't have. But I did. And there was all these murders stories, and it was depleting. And probably the six murders. I said, I will not do this again. This week. I've done murders, murders a heavy duty, oh, the energy, energy, energy, the heavy. So as I don't do that, and you're looking at your last one and your last one, and said, Well, I won't do this tomorrow. No way. So because I didn't protect the vessel. I didn't protect it. So the next morning, I come in 830 There's a script there says a murder of Joshua. And I'm like, I throw it back out to the person. I'm not doing this. And you Oh, just one I said no. And I literally Alex, I'd have to go to this point of a night. Oh, was it do this? I had to literally lock my door and not come out of my dressing room until they change the store like,

Alex Ferrari 38:18
Like a, like a temperamental actor.

James Van Praagh 38:21
Yes. And I'm not that way. But that's a level I have to go through for them to understand that's not appropriate. And this head of the studio came, agents came managers, Kane was like, You got to understand the sensitivity and the nature of the sensitivity of this work. And if you don't, that's not my problem. That's your problem. I won't harm myself or other people with this.

Alex Ferrari 38:40
You know what, it's so interesting, too, because I come from that world very, very much. So I've been for 30 years. Oh, I understand it's such a deep level, you have no idea, James, because you're absolutely right. In many ways. And this happens with young actors, this happens with stars, who just blow up all of a sudden, it almost is like, and please forgive me for using this word, let's bring out the freak. And let's try to use and milk this as much as we can. While it's the good is going. That's Hollywood, best Hollywood since the days of Chaplin, it's always been that way. And sometimes you get, you know, a good team that makes it go well, but many times you get the like, the more elaborate kind of reality show kind of like let's make them cry, that kind of aspect of things. And I hope that this show I really try to bring more of a human face to this kind of work and also channels which channels on a whole other level because they get the especially trans channels turn into other people and the voices change and all the talk about like oh let's let's see what the quote unquote I get what the freak does let's put the camera on him and let's make money. How can we make money with this? It's not that you have to respect what you what we're all doing in this space.

James Van Praagh 39:55
And process Yeah,

Alex Ferrari 39:56
I do believe and I think and I'd love to hear your thoughts. from where you started in the 80s, to where we are now, I believe things have changed a bit in regards to the space, the respect of this art and what we're doing. Would you agree?

James Van Praagh 40:12
Yeah, yes. And you've said it correctly. It's an art. It really is an art and it has to be looked at that way. It's not an entertainment, it's an art. Now, if you have personality like me, I'm personality that they can do that and bring out the art but also for the fun of it. That's great. But it's an art and it's got to be respected. It's a sensitive art. You know, I did a there was a movie of my life with Ted Danson played me and basically, talking to heaven. Yeah, but if you do that, and

Alex Ferrari 40:35
I will know that we

James Van Praagh 40:39
Yeah, tell you a funny story. And it shows you how the spirit world is also intervenes and how every day they intervene in our path. Well, the book did so well that CBS but the book to do a movie, it was movie the week time. Yeah. NBC had it. They dropped it down and development and CBS bought it. And I met with a long story. But I what I heard was his way it worked out. I got a call from the man was reading the movie talking to him. It was such a great way to do a mini series. So they went to ministres Nina tests, I want to do a miniseries and Les Moonves. Okay. So from what I understand Mary Steenburgen was on a plane. And she said to me, I never talked to be on a plane. So there was this man sitting, writing a script, and she's sitting next to him. And she heard her father say, you have to talk to him, you have to talk to him. So she asked the guy, he goes, What are you writing? He goes, Oh, I'm funny. You're sitting here. I'm just thinking of you for a part this. It's talking to heaven based on James Van progs book. And she goes, Oh, that's my favorite book I've given to all my friends about what it goes, Oh, yeah, I'm writing this symphony series here. And she goes, Can you get me in touch with the author? And he goes, Yeah, I'll probably be able to. So um, I met with Mary and he did a reading, which I rarely do. But I felt I had to do this. It was important. I don't know why I felt that but I did. So I said, Yes, we are. I would love to do a reading with you. And I went to her house in Brentwood, and we had her and Ted and friends of theirs. And we're all sitting around. I'm like, okay, so I do this thing was really good night's spirit was right there. And Ted's father came through. And Ted is sitting on a little, like ottoman. And his father said, Ted, I'm here. I'm having my whiskey and my herringbone jacket. And he said, and he said, You know, I'm in heaven. If I'm having my whiskey in my herringbone jacket. And Ted Danson looks at me. He starts crying, and he falls down on the floor and oh, what did he do this? Oh, god,

Alex Ferrari 42:29
Did I break the dancin?

James Van Praagh 42:32
Oh, geez. So it was so funny, because afterwards, we're hanging out and it was just a great night. He goes, and he didn't believe in any of it until then. And he said, that was just so weird every night. Every time my father come home from work every day, he put on his herringbone jacket and have a whiskey from the fireplace. And that's how we die. James, is it? Wow, that's incredible. Ted. The next day, I got a phone call from the production company. And they said, Listen, we don't if we're gonna do the movie, I said, why? Well, no one wants to play a medium. Gary Sinise turned it down and someone else turned it down. And Les Moonves. CBS said there's only one more person you could try. Because he has a contract with this guy who does Becker. Ted Danson said Ted Danson. Last night, well, wait a minute. Well, can you ask him? I said, No, I can't ask him. I can't cross that line. That's not appropriate. I cannot do that. So it was that weird. It was so weird. So then what happened was his manager called me Ted's manager called me and said, Can you meet with me regarding this, like CBS calling said sure. So we met and Ted agreed to do it because based upon that reading, his father came through. And the mini series happened with Queen Latifah was in it, Diane Ladd. These people, Jack Palance played my father. And it was just so weird. And it was the number one miniseries of CBS history except for Jesus. And because of that many series, and you can still download now and Amazon wherever it then opened up to they want to do more with me. So we did another movie with a lady by the name of who's just starting out. And Eva Longoria. You've heard of her right?

Alex Ferrari 44:01
She's been on the show.

James Van Praagh 44:03
Okay, so she was in New Orleans. We're doing this this miniseries, she's sick came up to me during the break. She was Mr. Van prod. Can I ask her questions that sure, because I just finished a pilot as wondering if it's going to do anything. I said, What's the name because it's called Desperate Housewives. It's gonna change your life. Really? What's gonna change your life? You'll see. Well, years later, we know the history of that. Then that mini series in the movie does so well with an agent even when Guardian that was was evil. It was an A for this stock. And it went so well that they want to do a series now they wanted to do a series so they asked me to develop a series, and I developed the Ghost Whisperer with Jennifer Love Hewitt. And it did really, really well. And then right here, and then universal cafeteria, right and opposite universal. And honestly, I see Eva coming over and our eyes met at the same time. Like did it change your life? So yeah, wow. What are those stories that you know how they interweave thing of all those things that the spirit world you know they're in our lives and how they work really hard behind the scenes to make things happen.

Alex Ferrari 45:08
Well, you know, it's funny too, because it's something that I've said on the show so much is when you when you learn how to let go of trauma of this false idea that you could control everything, right? When you let go, things start to happen, it's kind of like doors start to open that were closed before. And that's such a people don't understand, when they hear let go, I'm like, I can't let go, I still, like I didn't, they say stop, just sit down and wait for the door to knock, get up. And you know, I always say cut the wood carry the water. But don't connect with

James Van Praagh 45:38
us, we need the wood.

Alex Ferrari 45:40
But I always say that don't don't expect where this is all going to go just do the work. And if you're going on the right path, the words will start to open.

James Van Praagh 45:49
And the Buddhists have a great saying that I love to use every day it is you can't push the river. You can't teach that every guy to lead a flow. And it's very, very true. Because when you open that space up, you allow the energy to flow. It's all about letting the energy flow. So I do a lot of work with people we call scanning, and we scan the body energy body, and we'll scan the body, they'll be certain, let's say the emotional body. There's some I call it staining. And it will say Oh, you have stained in there? Oh, yes, I went through a divorce. Well, it's still there. And it's blocking the rest of the energy flow. And we have that every day. And I think it's really important that through meditation through self awareness that you open up those channels every day, because a lot of us, Alex, I don't know what your thoughts about this. We take on energy from other people, I think absolutely, especially being sensitives. And beings here are energetic beings. And I think and I want to I'd like to hear your point of view on this, because I just thought about this two weeks ago, that, you know, we take on that lose energy. And many times we keep the energy there in our space, we tend to look at life and make choices based on that person's energy because we're looking through rose colored glasses. Does that make sense to you that

Alex Ferrari 46:54
It does, it does make sense to me because I have a have a family, which is all women, my family, I have no boys, I have no testosterone in the house at all. And as being the only male in the in the house. Yeah, a lot of times, there's some drama in the female side of the event that with me, just because they're young girls. And so a lot of times, I will pick up on that energy, and then I will notice myself change. And I wouldn't be like, and I start getting a little angrier, or I get a little bit more perturbed or my or my patients threshold drops dramatically. In the only way it only in the way that family does. greatest teachers, the greatest teachers, so I do notice that but everybody I think can agree that when you walk into a room, sometimes you will go what happened, just hear if there was a fight before. And now it's quiet, you walk in and go, there's something in the air, you often feel or you meet somebody and you want to like take a shower afterwards. Like you just met a car salesman, sorry, car salesman, or sales sales guy, and he was like, Oh, I just got I feel icky. Just being around this person. That's an energy thing that's an energy seems to absolute. And a lot of times that energy will stick with you. I'm not sure if I'm not the one off with the salespeople, but or salesperson is an icky salesperson. But people that are close to you. Absolutely your your mother comes to visit your father comes to visit your brother comes to visit and you have issues or you have history, or they say that word that just set you off because of all that history that sticks with you. And you you can't make clear decisions when you're in that state.

James Van Praagh 48:37
Right. So I think it's really important that and the way I look at it like it many times it's program so because broadcast program is sending programs and we pick up those programs, we see them, and then we can realize whose program it is and let it go, or we don't recognize it. And we make it our own say and part of it that we get stuck there because we make their problems, our problems, their energies, our energy. And it's their program, not our program, but we make it ours. So we have to be able to translate in front of this program is this Why am I feeling this way? What just happened? And I'm sensing this am I pulling the holding of this entity or can I let it go. And with mediumship arising with the work it was many times I will pick up the energy of the horses how they passed away the the grief that they have from the spirit world I should have woulda coulda. And it's so amazing. Because then when you and you're working with someone who's living state, and they hear their loved one, their auric field opens up and expands. And there was something as deep dark down and dense, opens up and expands and you see a beautiful light, you feel beautiful energy, and they feel so much better. And the spirit feels so much better. So and it's just a matter of love. So love is that love is the best way for us to let go of other people's energy from our space, and to really open up our own self as Love of self being aware of self. But love is the ingredient that brings all things together.

Alex Ferrari 49:54
And you and I both have studied Yogananda and studied the yogi's India in you hear the stories that there's nothing that really moves them in the sense of energy like that, because they have so connected to the inner place that thing that we were talking about earlier. They're so connected to it, that the one I think that Maharishi, they gave him some psychedelics, he ate like a pot and didn't nothing. He just laughed after he ate it, because he literally it's so well controlled of his physical state and spiritual state that didn't bother him. So those energies don't, they kind of just bounce off, or they don't even connect with them. Because our deep understanding of who they are at a whole nother level that you and I are not at this point. But does that make sense to you?

James Van Praagh 50:38
Completely, completely. And it's the emotional charge that and it's holding on to a charge, waiting for the outcome, whatever the outcome as there is no outcome, everything should be neutralized. I think a good point alex and I've helped a lot of people with this has helped me as well is you become the observer, you step back, and you observe everything. It's almost like you're sitting in an audience watching a theatrical show, and you see the show play on stage, but you don't get involved in it. But you're aware of what's who the characters are and what's going on. But even life you could be objective, be observant, be an observer of life, don't be so involved. We don't have to be on when you're when you're meant to. But just observing really helps a lot and really helps. Same thing got me with psychedelics I was given them nothing happened that was given some bows at Hiawassee years ago. And I had an experience people are leaving the room when they're throwing up and having, you know, diarrhea. And I was like, What's going on here? I didn't feel any of that. And I just had an awareness of an awareness of my guide or my higher self. And it was just it was quite like validation of what I already knew. It was nice, but I don't need it.

Alex Ferrari 51:42
I didn't write it. Exactly. And if I can quote Yogananda on this, he's like, so many times we get caught up in if we're in a movie theater, we get caught up with what's on the screen, which is what you're saying, Be an observer. But we get caught up in the people dying and people yelling in the wars and the anger and you get caught up in the drama. That's because but you need to stop, look back and turn around. And your goal should not be to look at the screen. But to find out where the light is coming from. Oh, it's great. The projector to look back at the projector I was like, Huh? Oh, that's so that's so wonderful. It's so so wonderful.

James Van Praagh 52:18
It's a reminder, if you don't mind, it reminds me of an experience I had with a good good good friend of mine who passed over her name's Olivia. And she was a British lady a little older than I was. And we used to go to spiritual healing circles for years, 3040 years, because they mediums and a whole bunch of different things. And we made a pact that whoever goes over first comes back right away and tells the other one what it's going to be like. So I'm driving and I'm in Sydney, just California, and I'm driving down the street, and I see your face and my windshield like, Olivia, are you dead? And she said, I'm not the dead one. You are my wife back home. And her daughter sent me an email said from Australia. And she said my mother passed away 1202. And I said oh, well, I know very well. And then he asked Olivia says show me and she took my mind into a space into a cinema like you're talking about. And and Olivia said, it was very weird, James, it was very strange. I walked to the cinema. And I'm walking. And all these people are sitting watching the screen. And she showed it to them. They were looking up at the screen. And I realized, Oh, I go into the screen. And suddenly all these beautiful flowers are there and these colors, and people that haven't seen in many, many years. So I just smiled as once came to greet me to receive me. It was most beautiful things I was so alive. And in fact, the people in the seats watching the screen and they were the dead ones. And she just talked about that. And she said it was beyond her belief. And she has been into this work for a long time beyond her belief. And she said it's a little things you do in life that matter the most. And she was those people's kind people. I give a kind word, I opened the door I smiled at someone, they're the ones that came to greet me to thank me to welcome me.

Alex Ferrari 53:48
That's so beautiful.

James Van Praagh 53:50
I mean, you know what your one thought your one word that any interaction you have people, it'll make a difference. Every day I did my best and ever interact with the public. I'll met put a smile on someone's face. And that's just because energetically I'd like to change that. So if I go to Starbucks, and sometimes I have a hard day, so I love that green apron you're wearing, wear it like you and I just let them stop and give them a moment of cheer. And, and it changes our whole day. You know?

Alex Ferrari 54:15
Oh, exactly. A nice What a nice little comment and nice little saying it just as the same way as like you say something negative, you could easily say something positive. Exactly.

James Van Praagh 54:26
And fear loves the negativity of fear and love as positives.

Alex Ferrari 54:30
So James, I'd love to talk to you a little bit because we've kind of dabbled a little bit about what happens on the other side. We've had a lot of near death experiences on I have a general idea

James Van Praagh 54:40
from having near death experience too.

Alex Ferrari 54:42
So oh, so I would love to hear about this near death experience. But from my understanding between the work I do have a somewhat of an understanding it changes but the gender there's a big mark mile markers, life review, you know these kinds of things. I'd love to hear your near death experience if you don't Want me to share? And then from your experience? What does truly happen on the other side?

James Van Praagh 55:05
Well, my experience was and I was doing mediumship for quite a while and this happened. But I remember I was, I was drinking in LA after a show. And I went my friend Victoria. And I think maybe that was I'm not sure. But we had one glass of my bottle of wine that was really it wasn't a lot. But somehow I started bleeding. A soft myself because it was bleeding, I guess. And I was throwing up and I came back. So I lived in Laguna Beach at the time, and it came from LA down to Laguna, and every exit and the freeway to go off and throw up. Okay, I feel like Oh, good. 15 minutes, then I had to go again. And so I got home and Laguna Beach. And I called up my partner at the time, and I said, I'm really sick and on what's going on? He said, Well, just wait, you know, tonight, oh, compliance, okay. And I again, every half hour, I'd go. So that night came over, and he's everything's fine. And he's up here comes again. And I went to the bathroom, and I and I blacked out my head at the counter. And I fell on the floor and a pullover popped out of the body. And I'm looking down on my body and like, Okay, what's this about? Like, I know, it's not my time, I knew I was immediately outside of linear time. But I knew that this was not my time to go, I just knew that. That's what's happening here. And also, my cousin, Patricia came in front of me, and because of Patricia completed suicide when she was 48. And she taught me about a physics when I was a child, right? And I hadn't seen her since. And I said, pat, pat, is it over? Because it's gonna be over? Don't worry. I said, You mean over, over or over, please let me know, because I need some help here. And all sudden, she disappeared. And I immediately came aware of everybody having this, if you will, the sense of a cord coming out of the top of their heads. So it was yes, this cord, and one of this tapestry matrix tapestry, we're gonna call it and I knew that the thoughts that we had created this color, or the structure and into this ribbon, and this ribbon, then bled into that tapestry. And I realized, Oh, my thoughts create in that tapestry, the beauty or the ugliness in that tapestry. Oh, wow. And we all have that core, that ribbon that leads in there at the life review, we look and see what we did with that tapestry to make it more beautiful, or do we not? And then I really had that insight. And then it then wasn't to a garden, and my father was there. And it was like a brown suit. And he came to say to me, are you getting your white rose, he goes, it's not your time, you gotta go back. Okay, fell right back into the body. And I my head hurt. And my partner, Brian, at the time was like, James, wake up, wake up. And the first words out of my mouth were dying is easy. Living is hard. And that, why that I had the experience. I only know that years later, I was doing a seminar, some kind of seminar with a lot of people. And the lady who organized it said, while you're waiting is a little bit different, a little bit more high end, like a high level of teachings. And she was right. So however, that worked. I definitely was bringing through a higher awareness, if you will, life lessons more than I had done before. So it just helped me realize even more, that our thoughts are things and how we treat each other is very, very important.

Alex Ferrari 58:09
Yeah, and imagined so that you were through that near death experience. It kind of elevated your vibration to a point where then you could start picking up these new signals of these higher teachings. Does that make sense?

James Van Praagh 58:21
Correct. And I'd have to say, Alex, based upon my sister just passed in April, who's also in mediumship. Yeah. And she was, she was very funny, because she kept her sets, even to the end that she goes, Is this dead? Because I don't like this. I said, Well, it's time for a magic carpet ride, you're gonna go soon. Anyway, what she said was, and other people have said that come through the site. First thing to say is, well, we're part of many, many worlds, but worlds within worlds is all these worlds that we're part of, and we choose what world we're going to emphasize in the lifetime are a part of all these different worlds. And she said to me, I was watering my garden I have here in interviews, and it's a pretty garden. And I said, Lynn, I hope you love the garden. And she goes, I wasn't able to see beauty in this lifetime. She didn't allow herself to see beauty. So it's interesting because we take on the soul takes on all of these, we have attributes of the soul. And we take on all these experiences and situations that really tests those attributes that bring those attributes out to the surface and really do test them to make us better to help us to understand each other to live someone else's life. Um, it's a great opportunity to hear in this three dimensional world called school called Earth. But a lot different stations in life and we have everything the astral world is very much similar of the earth but even better, the gardens are accredited, the colors are more colorful. They say the colors that you have. The real sense of color is natural gemstones, that really is the right color, if you will to measure color from the dimension. So and you can have anything you want that you on the other side. And I remember when Larry King let's say it's ultimately your father is playing golf and logos and golf over there. So you can have whatever you want. If you want to golf, you can have golf, if you pass over you have your you like a drink a cocktail. You can create that with your thoughts and you'll have a cocktail in your hands and you can drink it and he'll have a memory of that. So as credit, you won't have the same hit as you wouldn't a physical cause not a physical body, but you have the memory of that. So certain things a memory like that might be desired to have food, because you have the memory of that the Earth, but that will die off because you won't need that anymore. Once you adjust or acclimate to your new way of being that also floss off, you don't need that anymore.

Alex Ferrari 1:00:21
So you said this is something I want to kind of dig into, you just said, there are many, many worlds. And this is starting to touch into quantum physics into parallel lives, and the multiverse and multiple worlds. And then it's kind of like you go out side to side, and you go up and down. And there's depth. And so it's like all the way between parallel lives and multiverses and quantum jumping to different realities and things like that, that, again, quantum physics is talking about this concept of multi worlds, and we choose which one to emphasize, I've heard and this is difficult for our brains to kind of process. But all of our lives are happening at the same time, completely, very difficult for us to understand. For us. Because we say past lives, we literally say past life, so like, oh, I wasn't Aztec or I was in Rome, or I was in Egypt or something like that. So from my understanding, and please, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. We're living right now, this is where the needle is on the record at the moment from this perspective, right. And we are dealing with things that happened, quote, unquote, in the past, let's say our Roman life, that we were dealing with problems, you know, or the, the when we were hung, or we were burned at the stake, we're still dealing with that kind of trauma that we're working out in this life. When we work it out,

James Van Praagh 1:01:45
By the way, just different names, names of the wars, still the war, but just change the names

Alex Ferrari 1:01:50
Very much. So now it's all social media, but you don't get hung on the square, you get hung on Twitter. So, so if we fix or deal with or overcome that lesson in this life, apparently it ripples to all your lives in the past, and it ripples all to your future lives, it starts to mess with your head. Love to hear your thoughts, sir.

James Van Praagh 1:02:16
Good bye, you got it. Goodbye. That's right. So it's hard for us, like you said to conceive. So I like to use analogies a lot. So let's say we're a diamond. And that each experience we have in this, let's say in this lifetime, cuts another facet of the diamond. And that's a different type of light degree of light. So we think that we're a diamond of soul to diamond, and all these different facets from every experience of lifetime. So I totally agree with you. And that we won't experience more of that aspect or that aspect or understand about caring or compassion or forgiveness will take on all these different types of situations. And I do believe and I know a friend of mine made a comment from him, I was visiting Fourth of July. And he made a comment, it was a strange comment because he was not this way. We just dropped his head. And he said, if we can live in the moment, there's no other way we things will work out, we just have to live in the moment. And it's very, very true. Because we're in the moment, you're aware of what's going on right now, the past has already happened, the future is yet to be. Now, if you can, at this moment, forgive someone for what they did, that that energy of forgiveness ripples all the way back, like you said, and changes things in the past and the future. You can change your past lives, you can change your future by what you're doing in this particular moment. The more you love that you show and demonstrate will affect all those experiences in the past and all experiences in the future. Don't ask me how, but it does happen. It's energy. It's thought it's you've reached a point where you realize that love is the answer. And forgiveness is a big one. You know, if I forgiving others, forgive yourself, forgive yourself forgive others is living in that moment. But I agree with you what you do now affects past in the future.

Alex Ferrari 1:03:49
So if this is the record needle, as I use in my analogy, on the record, are there multiple record needles in different lifetimes? Or is this just the perspective of this one, and there are other ones and let's not even get into parallel lives, current parallel lives.

James Van Praagh 1:04:05
Here's a tricky one. Now the tricky one in that the soul, as I said before, 70% of cells outside the body 30% is over here. So if we go to really understand the soul, we're gonna go the 70% those different fields of levels? Well, every one of those fields is a different way of life. Right? So your existing right now in a past life and a future life, right now, as you're simultaneously living this moment, right now you're living those other lifetimes at the same exact moment. And it seems that what you do in this, this physicalness, if you will, and see we mentioned will affect those other lifetimes. And vice versa, too, by the way, there's, there's aspects of the higher life or the different fields that that can lead down we heard the higher self if we bring down that energy of the higher self into the awareness of the moment, it can affect that moment. And that goes back into meditations that in the silence being the stillness of your being, you will be influenced by the higher self. So that is how it works. But again, the secret is to know that Self to their own self be true. And that is really never compare yourself to other people be who you are because you are who you are because you're meant to be who you are.

Alex Ferrari 1:05:08
So one thing I've noticed about your work James and this is unlike other quote unquote psychic mediums that I've spoken before

James Van Praagh 1:05:16
I don't like that term psychic medium because it's all mediums it's redundant because it needs to be psychic every Is there enough that psychic get your money back because Hello, every medium sort of psychic is a perception right? So psychic we perceive and everybody is psychic one degree or another and a medium receives. So not every psychic is a medium, but every medium is psychic. So that's a very, very, okay know that difference? And so psychic medium to me, is it just redundant says me a spiritual medium would be really more accurate, I'd say.

Alex Ferrari 1:05:45
So spiritual medium. One thing I've learned about it spiritually, it sounds better, it's better branding. It's a your but your work as a spiritual medium, you really seem to connect a lot of ancient ideas and teachings in the work that you do in a way that I don't see very often. Because a lot of times, it's all about give me the lottery tickets, or am I going to meet my? Or am I going to meet my Dark Stranger? Or is this guy that I just did go to blow me up are these kinds of ideas where your work? I know, that must be extremely important for you.

James Van Praagh 1:06:22
Can you give me the numbers a lottery and I was like You think I'd be talking to you right now. But the numbers a lottery. So it's, again, how you use it, I'm very much I said that from the very beginning, in development of my work, that I have to be open minded, and I believe that I'm a sage from way back or that those lives, oh, sage wisdom philosophy. I know that and I always bring that forward to however I can I wish I bring more forward. But also, you know, I think it's really important. And algae do a great job at this. And it's really presenting information to the general public, that you can, and I do this, my books that I write my books, and I don't mean to sound detrimental here or putting people down. But if you have to feed them if you have to spoon feed the public. So these complexities, these, these, these insights into other dimensions that are there, but we want people to understand them, you got to give them some of the understand that they can relate to. So I think we have to, and I hate to say the term, you have to kind of dumb it down. But you got to dumb it down. I think it's important that we bring these big concepts down to the finest which is love, love or fear is basically it, then you can get into once people understand that guys a little bit more about how you treat people, the golden rule, a sense of who you are, then we go a little bit further and we seeding or seeding them, you know, I have a lot of people say to me got it. This is amazing. I wish I could tell my husband the work that you did that you put that through, and I gotta tell him, I can't wait to tell him. I said, Listen, you might not get it. Don't Don't be so caught up in him getting it. Just plant the seed when he's ready, we'll get it. It's just you can't control it. Just plant the seeds. It's all we can do. And that's what you're doing. And I'm doing. We're planting the seeds. And I don't know, I think it's just again, it's it's having a sense of awareness. It's not as, like I said earlier, like the circus of the fun Act, or whatever did that jump to the hoop or whatever. It's not that it's who we are as spiritual souls having a human experience, not the other way around. And as a soul being representing that those lives. I think, you know, the Bible says, My father has a house of many mansions. And I do believe there are many, many levels of spectrums and spheres and worlds within worlds within worlds. And that that one element that brings all those worlds together is love. Love is the only energy that goes through all of those dimensions, all those timespans is love. Love is the answer. And that's exactly why it is now possible for that

Alex Ferrari 1:08:49
Without question. And that's one of the reasons what I think that movies and television and media in general has such a responsibility in that aspect. Because there are certain movies that I can say simulation theory to you and they'll be like what I go it's the matrix, and they'll go, oh, the concepts are good. There's Kung Fu, and there's other aspects they kind of did. But the concept of philosophy, the idea of multiple or the multiverse that Marvel is now bringing out and that concept, yet superheroes fighting in the multiverse.

James Van Praagh 1:09:23
It's okay, because, yeah, that's a great way of entertainment. Just like a ghost whisperer. We opened up with fear, like people are afraid of his ghost, but yet at the end is all about love and healing. Same with the Marvel Comics, now they're bringing their edge and even the producers who have no idea what they're doing. They're just being used by spiritual beings rise to bring this teachings out, and people will open people up on those levels. It'll open them up, they might have to get through entertainment or it was strange way. But I want to say something else with you talk to you about something else too, which I think is really it's bothered me over the years. And I think you get it too. I guess it goes back to that responsibility that what you put out in the The masses, whether it's through television, with social media, whether it's the movies, you have responsibility, because it's all energy. So if you've got to put a movie about killing and fear that stays in the ethers, that energy is there, and it stays there. It doesn't just dissipate, you're putting out that use of the creative force and making it negative or violent, whatever, that's going to feed people, I really do believe that. So you want to have gun violence, you wonder why people have negative, because we're feeding it, we're feeding that. And I just get a sense. And this is a such responsibility with what you put out to the public, whether it's through social media, whether it's through movies or television, there's a responsibility about it, and people gotta understand that.

Alex Ferrari 1:10:37
Yeah, without I agree with you, 110%. I did the fear that gets pumped out by the media. Because when you're in fear, you buy more and all that kind of stuff. I get that. And there's I think people are starting to wake up to it. The numbers of this show are starting to say that because there's we're talking about millions so far. And hopefully 10s of millions, hundreds of millions, maybe billions, one day of people who are Yeah, yet to try to get this kind of information out there in this big way. It is changing. And I think people are starting to figure things out on a very instinctual side soul level there, just like that doesn't make sense from you, I don't want that anymore. But you can already start seeing the crumbling of the old system, where the network's there's no news, or they're just not getting the numbers anymore, that they used to where there's YouTubers who are getting 100 million views on an episode. Can you imagine that in network television, or even a streamers? You start people are starting to figure things out. And I think it's where everything's gonna go. I have to ask that

James Van Praagh 1:11:45
As long as the responsibility that they have it that that's a big responsibility. It's it's about how many people you can get on your page. It's the what you're putting out there. Do you have them?

Alex Ferrari 1:11:56
Yeah, absolutely what you're putting out there. So let's talk a little bit James, about the future of where we're all going. Now, this is one aspect of things. And I know, and I've had other people come on the show and talk about what they see for humanity, where we are going that we are going through this big shift, human shift. The first question I want to ask you is what part do you believe the work of mediums have channels of this spiritual ideas that we're talking about in this episode? What effect is that going to have? And what is the future of those things are channels going to be the next and medium is going to be the next kind of like, people will be respected and feel like doctors and lawyers are now where do you see all of this going?

James Van Praagh 1:12:38
I would hope some of the qualities always a question, right?

Alex Ferrari 1:12:42
But that's also with doctors and lawyers. That's also with doctors and lawyers to my friend.

James Van Praagh 1:12:46
Yes, it's actually very single. You know, from my point of view, it's to me that the world most of the world are asleep, most people are asleep, they're asleep, Walker, like only 3% are conscious, only 3% of the world is awake. 3% That's a very small amount 3% of the entire world. I mean, 97% of sleeping asleep workers. So we have to wake them up and shows like yours, and shows like mine, schools like mine, do that they touch on a certain nerve, a certain sense a certain soul part of that soul, they'll open them up. And I think that's going to happen, I think more and more when their shows like yours and more spiritual work out there. That's not threatening to people, that's really assuring people. And if mediumship has done the right way, you know, and the quality and the responsible way. I think people tend to see a connection, a connection, that why this is real, and that there's more to life than just this physical world. I think that's the number one thing, the first thing is to realize there is no there's no death. And that's my might work from day one is to teach people the two greatest solution we have this physical world. Number one separateness, no one's separate work together. But we want to be it's the world sees the separate of the solution. Second thing is death, there is no such thing as death, you can't die for the best car, you just can't die, we're energy, you don't die, you just slough off the physical, which is painless, in many respects, leading up to it might be hard with the disease of but there are medications for that, to get you out. And I totally, you know, the Spirit people have inspired the scientists to come up to invent that those medications they had been first in the spirit world, and they're slowly right down to the physical world. So I think it's a matter of number one, educating the public that there's more to this than just this physical world, and that people and I think mediumship is doing that. I think shows like yours is doing that, that helped people to realize there's so much more. Number two, I think that they've become connected with their power with themselves or who they are, and go back in and not pay attention to what people say about them on the social media and not get so caught up in what people are saying and doing. You know, Kim Kardashian, who I did a read for many years ago before she was Kim Kardashian. You know, there's a big responsibility she has and she had and I you know, I'm not gonna say I'm not gonna blame people. But you know, when you're out in the media that way that's Your responsibility. And you got to be careful because it'll it'll back. It'll bite you. It'll bite you if you're not careful. And I just hope that people do things more of the conscious way. How they're affecting other people. I think it's a slow, slowly moving, but in some ways it isn't because I started the 80s. And, and listen, when I was doing I was the only one out there doing this. And now Now it's very, very popular. And I was funny thing is like, well remember when herb tea started? Oh, the herb tea, you drink herb tea. That's a weird herb tea. And now, now, right? So that's, and that was relatively quickly. So that's only 30 years, that herb tea thing. That's pretty fast when you think about it. So I do have hope that things will be changing. And I think much quicker. Alex, I think once we'll get there, oh, and they catch up, catch up, my feeling is they catch up and they start moving. So I would think by the next like 2025. Hopefully there'll be another sense of that a self awareness of self knowledge. I think in some ways, wars, negative things. And people have had enough of it, whether it's the COVID, or the wars, or people are tired of that they want something else wants something new. So in a way it forces them to look within themselves. And to question What's What's with what else is there? What else is there to make me feel better? So I think it's going to force us to have a sense of who we are, get back to our soul self and go back inside, not outside of here to validate yourself. But inside ourselves. I think that's going to happen.

Alex Ferrari 1:16:21
Now, do you do you believe that we are heading in a direction? That as as as a species as a human consciousness? Are we heading in a positive? Or what is this a bit better question? What does the spirit world have to say about where we're heading as?

James Van Praagh 1:16:39
It's funny because they don't judge it? It's there's no judgment. So we can't say positive or negative? It just it is what it is. That's exactly right, that's solid. It's just an experience. It's really just experiences. It's experiences of loving oneself, of loving another. And that's really what it's about loving oneself and loving other and not judgment judgment. Again, it's fear based, like I said earlier, it's very interesting, because, you know, we have the trans thing now and you have one thing I'm not so comfortable still with is a pronoun thing, because I'm an author, best selling author, and I had a lot of trouble with the grammar thing. So I get that. So I don't want to judge that. But I want to say, everybody is God, no matter who they are. And the diversification is what makes God God has all these different sparkles all the lights and all different ways. So we can't judge another's experience. I think if everybody just got didn't hurt anyone else, be fine. Be who you are, do what you want to do. As long as you don't hurt people. That's that's the key right there. And I think that more and more, that's going to happen, I think, more and more. I just think we're at a point now extremism with religion, and politics, and trying to control people's rights because this country is based on freedom of have rights. And that's what's waning and it's because, but I don't think that's going to stay. I think people are gonna be fed up with that. Now, Roe v. Wade, the whole thing. You know, it's so amazing to me that the, you know, people fighting abortion and abortion, but yet it's okay to kill an eight year old with a semi automatic gun. What about that? It doesn't work. It doesn't work. You can't have it all mean one or the other. You know? So I think that's it's forcing people to change to look at things in a different way. I think it goes back to self, learning about self and just really loving, appreciating self and each other that we're all connected. We're not separate, but we're one we are one on the present nurturing energy. We're one.

Alex Ferrari 1:18:24
Do you see the new generations being born now completely differently than the energies that your generation or my generation is? I mean, they come on

James Van Praagh 1:18:35
Come on. Yeah, these starseeds are everywhere. Star seeds are everywhere. I mean, I mean, it's amazing, different, amazing, you know, sort of these, they're on the spectrum. Well, they're way beyond us sighted advanced species coming in, totally. I thought about this this morning. Excellent. Talk to a friend of mine, because she told me, I'm going to people in our live kids, whatever was the specter was like, well, they're the ones that teaching us sir. It's such an advanced age. And I say personally, I can't relate to technology. I'm not a technical person. I'm more creative. So every password I put in every day I have a freaking password. But it's like it's these beings are coming in now that can handle all that technology. Oh, waves of the souls is waves of these technical souls that know all that and that I know that there's this place in time and space and time. And in physical vibration these beings is what do you call them evolved always with judgment. But these beings from other species, other star systems are coming in no doubt about it, and changing things up and working with the technologies and being aware of that, no doubt about it. So we're evolving, if you will, I believe that's really true. So it's a free will.

Alex Ferrari 1:19:39
That's very true. And I just love to hear your opinion on Ascended Masters. I mean, in your work Have you have you come across any having

James Van Praagh 1:19:48
I'm looking at one right now.

Alex Ferrari 1:19:52
Well, please elaborate Sir.

James Van Praagh 1:20:00
It's an interesting concept because people, many people, and I understand they say, what's my guides names? Like, what's your guides?

Alex Ferrari 1:20:06
Bruce, Bruce, his name is Bruce.

James Van Praagh 1:20:08
Bruce, it's pretty much a human trait to something, a human trait to it. So it's putting that limitation on that. And so, you know, there are many levels and species and levels of being. So we talk about Ascended Masters or Ange, angelic beings are different levels of awareness, consciousness is just evolvement. And I think that those those beings who are there many Ascended Masters, I think there are many species, I mean, I remember as first developing my abilities and setting a development circle, I used to have these beings come to me, and we would call them aliens, because you call them aliens. And they're the most evolved beings I've ever been around. And I remember I was in Sedona, Arizona once and brought a group out there to see UFOs because that was a place to UFOs. And we got out there and a member was at 10 o'clock on a Saturday night, and the man was helping you run this ad. Well, nothing's gonna said, I got to hopefully see these people here. And I heard words my head, say you need to meditate, you need to raise your vibration. So we don't meditate to raise the vibration. And then I walked out to the middle of field and all these lights were around the TV tower lights look like these are your foes we call your foes. And I remember hearing very, very clearly not only hearing but feeling that the senators had a really slow themselves down really lower themselves down. It's like a mate like a 747 in the eye of a needle that it really slow themselves down. And I heard them say, we're from the Pleiades, and we don't understand one thing. Human beings have the energy of love all around you, yet you don't use it. Why is that? And that makes sense. It's all around us. Why can't we use love. So that's what it is Ascended Masters and I don't put names or labels on but beings who are evolved beings who just are those evolved beings have been through ups and downs, and all arounds and teachings and philosophy and beyond our, you know, awareness, if you will. But I think they just, I think our higher selves are connected with those and the more we can bring in the energy from our higher self, that awareness, then then that's the right thing. We're like beings, we have to be Illuminati, we have to be that aluminous, the aluminous we got to be the ones that show people the light, the light, the darkness opens up to light, and we got to bring that light out.

Alex Ferrari 1:22:19
Now, James, I could talk to you for another four or five hours. But I'm going to ask you a few questions. Ask all of my guests. Okay, what is your definition of living a fulfilled life?

James Van Praagh 1:22:29
If I can look back at my life, at the end of my life, when I look back at their life, and I see it, the Earth is a better place than it was when I first got here that's filled life.

Alex Ferrari 1:22:37
If you had a chance to go back in time and talk to little James, what advice would you give him?

James Van Praagh 1:22:42
I'd probably go back and say Believe in yourself even more.

Alex Ferrari 1:22:45
How do you define God?

James Van Praagh 1:22:46
Everything and everyone

Alex Ferrari 1:22:47
And what is the ultimate purpose of life?

James Van Praagh 1:22:50
Love

Alex Ferrari 1:22:52
Beautiful. And where can people find out more about you and the amazing work you're doing for the world?

James Van Praagh 1:22:56
I have two places. I have a school online. It's called the TheJVPschoolmysticalarts.com. And then I have website with my last name, Vanpraagh.com vn pragh.com. That's how I remember who it is my last name. And then of course, my book talking to heaven. And I've written 14 different books. But that's on Amazon. But yeah, that's the best way we can to have a community together.

Alex Ferrari 1:23:18
And do you have any parting messages? Or does the spirit world have any parting message audience?

James Van Praagh 1:23:22
You know, use use love and everything you do see that? See, you know, remember that every day, on your path, you have a teacher or a student and be accordingly and treat others as you want to be treated. And that's all I can say.

Alex Ferrari 1:23:35
James, it has been a pleasure speaking to you. We have to have you back. You are a joy.

James Van Praagh 1:23:39
I love to come back. You're great to speak with you really. It's rare that it gets someone who's intelligent and aware of this, this level that we can you know, understand these things nice conversation, you know, so thank you appreciate it.