Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Psychic' has own TV series at 27

Psychic' has own TV series at 27

Amazing people, hot topics, wild outdoors - get more from David Whiting
  
By DAVID WHITING
By DAVID WHITING
COLUMNIST
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
dwhiting@ocregister.com
What if?
A.J. Barrera sits across from me, his head cocked at an angle to better focus on an old friend of mine.
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A.J. Barrera calls himself the nation's most accredited, leading Latino Psychic Medium & Intuitive Counselor.
ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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Three candles and a small gray pyramid reflect in a glass coffee table between us. Except for the decor, it's a pretty normal conversation.
Unless you consider that my friend has been dead for three years.
Mind you, Barrera's no slouch when it comes to talking to the dead. Just 27, he calls himself "the most accredited, leading Latino psychic medium." And he has the resume to back up his claim.
But I'm a little like Agent Scully in TV's "X Files." I'm not a believer.
There's another thing, though. Like many of us, I'm also a little like Agent Mulder. I want to believe.
A wave of emotion shudders through me.
• • •
Barrera was in the sixth grade in Hacienda Heights when he became interested in the paranormal while watching TV shows about psychics and fortune tellers. He got himself a deck of Tarot cards, figuring he'd prove there was no "other side."
But something weird happened.
The more Barrera messed with Tarot, the more he felt something in the cards. He found himself making his own interpretations of the symbols. Soon, he started doing readings for friends and classmates.
And, he says, his predictions came true with uncanny accuracy.
Barrera explains that as his connections to the spirit world grew stronger, he started seeing colors and auras around people. He had out-of-body experiences, something called astral travel in which the "astral" body is believed to have left the physical body.
In ninth grade, he met his mentor, art and science teacher Ellen Marron. For the next four years, Barrera says the North County resident guided him, taught him the ways of the spirit world.
As Barrera puts it, he expected to learn a lot from Marron.
But he didn't expect to talk to dead people.
• • •
We agree to meet at his home and do a what Barrera calls a "medium reading."
I start to talk. Barrera explains that familiarity only makes his readings more difficult. Too much information.
Unfailingly polite, he excuses himself while he looks away to focus.
With a quizzical, far-away look, he says my grandmother on my father's side is coming through. He asks if she was a believer in the spirit world.
I allow that she was known to consult psychics. He explains that belief helps messages come through.
He says he senses a V, a Victor, a Violet. I don't mention that my grandmother's name was Viola.
He says there's a strong connection between my grandmother and Seuss, Dr. Seuss?
I allow that my grandmother read Dr. Seuss books to me. But I silently think "Whose grandparents didn't?"
He senses that a friend overdosed, that massive fluids were involved. I acknowledge that a friend died of alcoholism.
My friend, Barrera reports, has a wicked sense of humor, is in good health, takes responsibility for his demise and still loves to drink.
I smile. That would by my friend. But I remind myself that many people know someone who has been struck down by the same disease.
As if switching to another frequency, Barrera asks if my parents are Italian. Nope.
He repeats that he's getting something strong about Italy and Mom and Dad. I shake my head.
I wonder: Could it be my late grandfather's spaghetti sauce?
• • •
Barrera landed his first radio gig when he was 19. It was on KOST's "Angels in Waiting," a show that offered callers a chance to try and connect with the deceased.
Soon, he was a regular on KOST as well as KBIG's "Radio Medium." More recently, he's had a segment on "Los Angeles Latino 96.3" and two shows on Sirius XM satellite radio, teaming with Latina TV personality Cristina Saralegui on "Cristina Radio Network." He also contributes to "Latina Magazine."
In explaining his medium role, Barrera says, "I like to tell people that I'm like wi-fi."
He doesn't speak with the voice of a dead person. Rather, he says the spirit connects with him and he simply transmits the spirit's message.
We drift into a conversation about belief, heaven, the afterlife. Barrera mentions he's Catholic, like his parents. I ask what they think of his work.
He chuckles, "My Mom says I'm going through a phase. I say, 'Mom, this phase has been going on for 13 years.'"
Dad calls his son a consultant.
But Dad may soon find his son being recognized in public. Barrera has finished a 13-episode season on Telemundo's English-language station, Mundos. And Barrera's in the process of launching a second season.
The show? "From Beyond."
"The ghost hunters take us on a personal journey into hauntings," the promotional material states, "urban legends and other ghost stories from beyond."
But Barrera says his dream is to educate people about the spirit world and what it means to be a psychic medium.
• • •
Barrera explains the candles are there merely to relax clients. He says that he can tap into the spirit world under nearly any circumstance. He has an office in Newport Beach but says that telephone and radio readings work equally well.
He says he only wants to know two things about his clients: Have they ever had a reading; and how much do they know about their family – deceased family members in particular.
Barrera explains that what he gets from the other side are snippets or symbols. He offers that such things can be misinterpreted and asks clients to validate his readings with other family members.
I return home and review my notes. A few things about my family jump out that I failed to connect. I go online to see if these things are on the Internet. I don't find them.
The stuff about my parents' connection with Italy?
I forgot that they lived in Tuscany for a year.
Of course many Americans have connections with Italy – or at least the Olive Garden.
But then there's Barrera's Seuss or Dr. Seuss connection to Grandma. I'd forgotten something else.
Grandma's maiden name was Seuss.
David Whiting's column appears four days a week; dwhiting@ocregister.com.
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