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when the dead speak danielle van de velde

When the Dead Speak

Five things I have learnt from psychic mediumship


This year I have opened psychic mediumship as an offering for clients. This comes after years of contact happening within my healing sessions with clients, albeit without context or skills, and two years of weekly tutoring with one of the world’s best psychic mediums, Christine Morgan.

Every Monday morning, I start my week in a beautiful circle of other developing mediums, many of whom are very seasoned and have been working as mediums for years. We connect via Zoom and with Christine’s guidance, we connect with people in the spirit realm.

Whilst there are several different forms of mediumship, from psychic to trance to physical mediumship, all of them share the basic principle – that a medium is a conduit for connection and messaging between people in life and their loved ones or significant others, who are in the spirit realm. The kind of mediumship I am developing is called evidential psychic mediumship and it is very specific. We understand how to alter our state of consciousness – this is called ‘sitting in the power’, to feel the drawing-in of people in spirit and then blending our mind and intuitive senses with that spirit, so communication can begin. I have also dipped my toe into trance mediumship and trance healing which I am pursuing for further development.

It’s different for each medium, but for me, and from what I have observed with other working mediums, the person in spirit will first communicate evidence that it is, in fact, them. This can be in the form of memories they share with the recipient (sometimes called the ‘sitter’), specific information about family dynamics or events shared in life, the location and importance of certain objects and even upcoming special dates, like a birthday or anniversary of their passing. They will also often share the circumstances of their death and the features of their funeral, and there is always a beautiful, specific message for the sitter. But it’s more than just the evidential information. The spirit will often speak through us with idioms and terms of phrases that they used to speak with and physical habits or features they had in life. There is a knowing with the client that their passed loved one is in the room with us.

“Dani started sharing what she received from my family in the “other world” – she could describe them and certain situations in such detail that I knew exactly who they were (my brother, my father, my grandmother) and what they were talking about. I was not looking to get any answers from them in particular, but I just wanted to hear a little from them and be assured that they are still around me as I do miss them a lot. That session gave me exactly that and I did feel great afterwards.”

Becoming a medium was not at all in my plan! And to be honest, it wasn’t something I spoke widely about either, until I felt I had a bit of a handle on the skill. But when it started to happen with increasing frequency during my healing sessions, and I could sense that the information had a very different feeling to it – a ‘voltage’, as if it was alive…I decided to seek out a strong teacher who could help me hone the skill and be able to offer mediumship in real time with clients (rather than relaying the information received after the connection had finished). Enter Christine Morgan.

It is an incredible exploration of consciousness, what the mind is capable of and a deepening of psychic abilities. To experience a real live, real-time connection with a living mind in the spirit realm is beyond anything I have ever experienced…and I have experienced a lot of ‘out there’ phenomena in my life as a spiritual explorer and teacher.

“Thank you Dani for yet another spot-on connection between me with my beautiful grandparents. You shared so many special snippets and syncs, so specific to them and to me, providing a very ‘felt’ sense of the presence…”

The learning is daily and challenging at times, but if I was to distill the top five things I have learnt on this journey until now, these would be them:

  1. We do not die!

Perhaps this is the most fundamental realisation that has come from my explorations of psychic mediumship and definitely the most liberating. Our consciousness prevails after our body does not, and we continue to love and guide our loved ones here in life, in extraordinary ways.

  1. Our loved ones communicate with us, even if we’re not a trained medium

Sometimes in sessions, the person in spirit will show me that they have come to my client in dreams, often soon after they pass and also at other important times in their lives. It seems easier for them to do so when our conscious minds have powered-down and deeper aspects of the mind are open and active. In a recent session, a client reported unusual activity with a bird that kept coming into her kitchen and just quietly sitting and watching her. When we made the connection, it was indeed her father in spirit who then proceeded to relay all sorts of wonderful guidance about her mother’s jewelry, her current relationship and the gorgeous nickname he had for her as a girl. Encounters with animals, unusual feathers, dreams and ‘coincidences’ that touch the heart and ripple through the body are some of the common ways spirits reach out to us.

mother and child danielle van de velde

  1. The physical suffering of an illness or sudden passing, does not continue in the spirit realm

This is one of the most common questions I get asked: ‘Are they at peace? Are they still suffering?’ And so far, I haven’t had a contact when this is the case. The illness or physical pain passes with the body, and the person in spirit is liberated. Often, they will present an image of their younger selves with a message that this is how they prefer to be remembered. This is almost always backed up with a favourite photograph that the client has of them.

  1. People in spirit are delighted to connect and they wait for us to pass over too

I understand that different religious and cultural models hold a fear of mediumship as it ‘disturbs’ the dead. However, in every single one of my contacts, without exception, the person in spirit is absolutely delighted and excited to be able to connect and relay their love and guidance. They will often show who they are hanging out with within the spirit realm and they seem to know when someone’s moment of passing over is imminent. I have heard and read about this before, but only recently have I had a very personal experience of this.

My aunt came through one of the mediums in my development circle with a message for my cousin. I passed the message on, as my cousin had asked me to do if and when I ever heard from his mum. It was a beautiful message to go gently and keep a ‘soft heart’. The following evening, his father (my uncle) passed over peacefully in his sleep, and the message from his mum has been a guiding force as he navigated a difficult week of grief and family dynamics. In many traditions, it is recognised that we reunite with our loved ones in spirit, and I have had many sessions when this is confirmed and who else in the family is waiting for us.

“Dani suggested we try direct contact and was quickly and easily able to connect with my Grandma and subsequently, my Dad. The messages that came through were strong, specific and very meaningful and I’m so grateful that we were able to have this connection. It was an amazing and beautiful experience!

  1. Mediumship is a healing art

At its essence, mediumship heals. For some, it’s the liberation of knowing that we prevail after death and so the illusion of us participating in some sort of race of life dissolves in one session. For others, it is reconciliation, or the ability to express what they might not have had the opportunity to say, before the passing. For others, it’s that beautiful feeling of a mum or husband still guiding and loving them and participating in their lives from the other side. Very often, our loved ones will guide us to let go of grievances or hurts. There seems to come, with death, the understanding that sweating the drama and small stuff leads to nothing but heartache and illness. For all, it is an increase in wonderment and gratitude – two of the most potent healing forces available to us.

There is so much more to share about this brave new world that I have entered, which I will do in future books and writings. In the meantime, you can jump into Season 3 of my podcast The Modern Crone, Afterlife, where I talk with eight different mediums about their experiences and work with the spirit realm. You can also read about my journey into mediumship in my book Spirited.

mediumship in may retreat by danielle van de velde

I am so excited to be hosting my tutor, Christine Morgan here in Singapore in May for a two-day retreat to develop your psychic and mediumistic abilities (suited to absolute beginners through to seasoned practitioners) on 12th & 13th May, and a public mediumship demonstration evening on 15th May – both at the gorgeous Sofitel Spa & Resort on Sentosa. If you’re interested in learning from and witnessing one of the world’s best psychic mediums, be sure to register. Places are capped and booking up quickly.

If you have any questions or thoughts about psychic mediumship or messaging between people in life and their loved ones or significant others, who are in the spirit realm, get in touch. You can also visit my website to explore courses and useful content to guide you on your path to healing, self-discovery and mindful living. Subscribe at www.daniellevandevelde.com/subscribe for notifications. 

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