Are mediums for real?

from omaha.com

By Danielle Herzog / World-Herald correspondent

PUBLISHED TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2014 AT 1:00 AM / UPDATED AT 12:59 PM

IF YOU GO
What: An Evening With Rebecca Rosen
When: 7 p.m. today
Where: The Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center, 2001 Farnam St.
Cost: $17.50-$57.50
Info: 402-345-4849 or info@rosetheater.org

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When my grandmother was in the last few months of her life, in and out of consciousness, we would sit together and watch “Long Island Medium.” I would tell her that if she ever crossed over and could communicate with me, she should tell the psychic that I was her favorite grandchild. She laughed, slapped my arm and told me I was crazy.

Now, two years after her death, I recently found myself sitting in front of a psychic medium waiting to see if that opportunity arose. A quick five minute reading by Jess Coleman, an Omaha psychic medium and owner of Mind Body Spirit of Omaha, turned me from a skeptic to perhaps a slight, possibly, could be, maybe believer. No, she didn’t tell me that I was my grandmother’s favorite, but she did say things that couldn’t be found on the Internet, or read on my social media sites. She told me things about my driving, how my grandmother liked my recent haircut and even our shared love of “Dancing With The Stars.” It was, well, eerie.

But was it true?

Jane Bryne, a 22 year-old student at Creighton University believes it could be. After a few girlfriends suggested they all go see a psychic for fun, Bryne was shocked to hear the psychic say she had just been in a car accident and no one was hurt, something Bryne had only shared with a few close friends.

Although many go for fun, there are those that look to mediums to reassure them and help heal the pain of a lost loved one. Shelly Minette, 33, a cardiac arrhythmia technician from Bellevue, was looking for closure after the painful death of her father.

“The medium told me animals were involved,” she said. “A deer had ran out in front of him on his way to work as he was riding his motorcycle. It knocked him off his bike, and the deer was never found. How would she know that?”

After the reading Minette said she felt, “like a huge dark cloud was off of my heart.”

However, there are those who feel psychics are mainly a form of entertainment and can actually cause more harm than good. Growing up, Jeanette Bellesfield, an identity theft analyst for a telecommunications company in Lehigh Valley, Pa., was in awe of her grandmother’s psychic abilities. However, when her best friend came to visit one summer and told her about the reading her grandmother gave her, she quickly realized that her grandmother wasn’t actually psychic but rather used all the stories and information Bellesfield shared with her over the years to appear accurate.

“It was like finding out there was no Santa.” Bellesfield said.

As for me, tonight I’ll see Rebecca Rosen, a nationally known medium who’s been featured on Dr. Oz, “The Rachel Ray Show” and Dr. Phil, give readings at The Rose for her “Connecting With Spirit” tour. Will she finally tell me that I’m my grandmother’s favorite? Probably not. But there’s no doubt that myself and the audience will be entertained. And in the end, perhaps being entertained is the true message that our deceased loved ones really want us to know.