That's all the newspaper ad said...had I known he was a MEDIUM, I'd have visited a lot sooner!

I've studied paranormal phenomena since about age ten, but have had an interest in it since about age six, when I had my own first paranormal experience.

Many people I know have repeated personal stories of visits with carnival "palm readers" and the like, with only two of the "predictions" they purchased coming true so far...

My own experience with an alleged "palm reader" was awful, and cost me $40 for a fat guy smoking a cigar to read me some random crap he'd just printed off his computer.

May 13, 2004, at about 12 Noon, I met my first genuine psychic.

The newspaper ad said he was to give a demonstration of clairvoyance. I test well on clairvoyance myself, so I thought perhaps he'd be telling those of us in the audience what color underwear we were wearing, or whose picture was first in our billfolds. Perhaps he'd draw Zener cards from a freshly unsealed deck? Not at all. He's a medium, and his name is Eric Sharpe.

He'd arrived fresh from his home island Great Britain, and was performing his "demonstrations" at a local hotel (the nicest one in town, if it matters to you). When I arrived at about a quarter 'til twelve, only two other visitors were present—a pair of older ladies seated together and chatting quietly in the very first row. Seats for forty were arranged more or less in a semi-circle, and a white-cloth draped table held a silver water pitcher suitably embellished with condensation, a small box of Kleenex, yellow legal pads and a collection of hotel pens, and a thick red candle atop a black metal stand which held three blue glass spheres for decoration. Behind us, "New Age" music played a touch too loudly...perhaps to discourage loud conversation. A pleasant, calm woman with blond hair asked if I'd care for water, and I politely declined. A large young man waited near the door for more guests.

Mr. Sharpe himself was prompt (I'd expect no less from a respectable European), and he came to me first to collect his very modest attendance fee of $15.00. He's a bit taller than I with more salt in his dark hair than my own, with an average build. He looked comfortable in a nice grey suit with pale yellow shirt, and his voice was clear without being loud.

I'd chosen to sit in the first row as it appeared there would just be three of us for this session, and after receiving change for my $20, I sat one seat closer to the two women who were still two seats away.

The music was silenced, the door to the sparsely prepared room closed. Mr. Sharpe greeted us, and his talk began.

I shan't bore you with all the details, for I'm assuming this article caught your eye because you, too, have some interest in things paranormal, and thus probably a good knowledge of your own regarding "unexplainable events", unusually good "luck", deja vu, and what have you. Basically, Mr. Sharpe told us how he had enjoyed above average luck for some time in some matters of his life, and then things began to go a bit haywire in a way that frightened him and caused him to seek professional medical counseling. His appointment was interrupted by an unscheduled visit with a "medium" his sister had recently seen, and thus began his current path on the road of educating others regarding aspects of "spiritualism" he has personal knowledge of.

At one point, he brought up dreams and the notion that those in "spirit" might occasionally make contact with us through them. When he mentioned this, he bowed his head for just a moment and closed his eyes. I happened to catch the sudden slight, yet noticeable brightening of the ceiling-mounted light fixture above us (one of several, all operated by a single switch within the room). I don't believe Mr. Sharpe saw it, but the instant it had returned to normal illumination, he glanced directly at me and smiled and said, "You, especially, are familiar with your dreams...so I'm being told." I think my heart ceased for a moment. Dreams are my main focus in paranormal/psychological studies. I offer to help others dissect their dreams all the time. My entire Quasar 169 sci-fi series is based upon dreams and dreaming!

Let me assure you I'd never seen any one of the people present there at any time. I'd said not a word myself aside from declining water and exchanging a twenty for a five with a smile and brief, "Hello." I filled out no papers to attend. I'm not known well by sight, so just because I'm one of a scant handful of authors and larger handful of artists in this small town, I prefer to maintain a low profile and be virtually unknown and blandly unrecognizeable. I had not known which day I would attend Mr. Sharpe's week-long engagement, nor even for certain I would show up at all. I am fully convinced there is no way this man had knowledge of my identity or background whatsoever.

We were told to speak up if we replied to him should he come to any of us. Three other older women had entered during his opening remarks, and so six waited to see just what he would do, with me easily the youngest by at least 15 to 20 years.

He began with two of the women, and his method was very similar to that of popular TV show medium John Edward. He never even attempted to bring forth anyone's name, but the rest of the information he volunteered seemed mainly on the mark. There were a few things his guests were unable to connect to who they thought they were hearing about or hearing "from", but, like Mr. Edward, he brought up not only general things a skeptic might take for good guesses, but also very precise things his guests seemed amazed to hear.

My brother had warned, "They're just plants in the audience." Of course, I was not a plant, and he came next to me.

"There are several people now trying to get through for you," he said, facing me, but perhaps ten feet away. I had an idea my grandmother might attempt to say a few things, perhaps an aunt, and less likely, an uncle who had departed twenty-some years prior. Adopted, I always hope to maybe hear something relating to my biological family whom I've never met before and know next to nothing of. "I'm getting an impression of a strong woman—who will be heard," he continued, letting me know she was a character, though not a bitch. "She's your grandmother...your mother's mother..." I was never close to my father's mother, also deceased. He went on to tell me how she perceived the events of my life (quite accurately), and that she specifically needed him to say to me, "Good things come to those who wait." He mentioned a project I'd started and been devoting myself to (my writing, though he never actually said this, and I merely nodded, never feeding him any information), and that I'd begun to feel stuck in the rut I'm in back in 2000. Quite true . Allegedly, my grandmother told him that all I needed was patience—and he conceded that I'd already shown plenty of that—and that my hard work would finally come to fruition if I just kept at it. (Em had done a tarot reading for me on the last full moon, and it had said exactly the same thing about my writing.) He mentioned I felt like I had no control, and that I must gain control...which I would so long as I continued to exercise patience.

Okay. He singled me out for the dream thing, and "knew" my mom's mom was deceased and we'd been close. There's two for ya.

"She" mentioned the distance between myself and her while she'd been alive...both geographical and later on a more emotional level. (She'd lived over 800 miles away, and the family really fell apart when she'd begun her decline toward death). I'm takin' that as hit #3. She said it wasn't my fault. She said she wished we could have been closer, but it was not either of our faults.

He next informed me that her daughter, but not my mother, was "coming through". I'd never mentioned whether my mother was alive or not, and one of my grandmother's daughters is indeed dead. Hit #4, friends! I wasn't quite so close to my aunt, but had some really good times with her, and wish I could've gotten to know her better. She confirmed the distance thing, but said she saw it a little differently than her mother did, though agreed it was not my or their faults. I was pleasantly surprised to hear from her!

Suddenly, Mr. Sharpe indicated a height from the table near him up about a foot and said, "I'm seeing a Coca Cola bottle." I almost never drink sodas any longer, and have no particular affinity for Coke. Neither dead relative was a big Coke fan that I know of. He tried, "It's a Coca Cola bottle...and the top flies off of it." Recollection hit me and I smiled, amazed. "Perhaps it's not Coca Cola, but it's fizzy...I can only go by what they show me, and it may not be exactly right..."

Two weeks ago, Em's cleaning out the refrigerator. I don't drink, so I've got sparkling cider in there I'd bought for New Year's and never drank. She removes the bottle and sets it on the counter before her, then continues removing items from the 'fridge. Abruptly, the top popped off the cider and vanished, startling her badly. I'd been outside, and when I came in, I laughed heartily, searched for the top to no avail, and suggested we go ahead and drink it before it went flat. The top turned up hours later when I was putting fresh sheets on the waterbed. It had sailed across the cabin and landed in the crook between the headboard and the bladder!

"Yes," I agreed, grinning and nodding. "It was funny." Direct hit #5...and I'd never mentioned the incident to anyone, because I'd forgotten about it by the time I'd returned to work after being quarantined in the cabin for a couple of weeks with chickenpox.

"You know, it isn't easy for them to do things like that...it took a lot to pry the cap off, and then they can't really hold it." He smiled and nodded at me. "They want you to know it was them."

Freaky. Amazing. I hadn't even thought about the incident, so it's not like the guy had "read my mind" to get the information...

He went on to bring up a recent loss I've suffered regarding a friend of mine, (#6?) but returned to Grandma to conclude with, "She wants me to tell you to remember to close the door." I don't think this refers to a physical door, but if not, then it's a very intimately personal message just for me. "They're starting to draw back," he said, closing his eyes, and taking a step back in preparation of learning who his next subject would be. His eyes opened and he took a step my way to tell me, "She says," here he emphasized the message by shaking a finger at me, "Do as you're told."

"Okay," I agreed, wide-eyed, unsure of what that pertained to, but willing to acquiesce.

Mr. Sharpe mentioned, "Perhaps there's something you haven't been doing, but should...perhaps you haven't been doing as you're told lately...but do as you're told!" he told me again, shaking the finger and smiling at me. I nodded, taking it in for processing later.

He went on to assist the other three visitors, and one of the women claimed the man he was "channeling" was not anyone she knew of, so he broke the link and seemed unable to gather any information at all for her later when he tried again. The other two women received information they seemed entirely pleased with.

For $200, you could schedule a private, 1 hour session with Mr. Sharpe, but I'm not that wealthy at the moment, so I'll take that to mean that's all I needed to know for the moment. Recent events in my life have lead me toward the belief in reincarnation, and Mr. Sharpe did make an interesting comment about not recalling his time on the Other Side the last time he was there... Should I believe in reincarnation, then? It's really up to me, and, as I'm fond of telling people who ask me similar questions, "You'll find out when you're dead." For free, he offered to assist with a sort of meditational "healing" (which was not medically related in any way, and purely spiritual in nature) for any of us interested, though, of course, some donation might be nice. Now that I've researched this and know what he was referring to, perhaps I ought to've opted for it, but, ah well. I definitely got my $15.00 worth. This man left me highly impressed! So I've put together this article in hopes that if you're interested in such matters yourself, you will endeavor to learn when and where exactly he may appearing in your area and seek him for yourself that he may be able to offer you comfort and/or proof of the continued existence of your loved ones in another form on the Other Side. See for yourself. I hope your experience will be as incredible or more so than mine!

Later that night, I called Mom to tell her what I'd learned about her own mother and sister, concluding with, "Do as you're told." The last message, apparently was not for me, but for me to give to her. It was personal, a definite connection to her mother she sort of laughed over incredulously as she explained why it had meaning for her. Need I say more?

Mr. Eric Sharpe, clairvoyant, medium, may well astound you. If you're interested in this sort of thing, I highly recommend you pay him a visit. Skeptic or believer, or somewhere in between like me, he will give you pause for thought and perhaps a few startlingly personal words of advice. I'm grateful he is willing to share his apparent gifts with the rest of us. I am left with hope and the comfort of believing people who love me try to influence me in positive ways. So now I'm influencing you. Spend an hour or two with Mr. Sharpe. The event might well be unforgettable for you,too.