Confessions of a reluctant Medium: 30 Years of service

I have always referred to myself as a reluctant Medium. Although I beseeched the universe to show me my higher work more than 30 years ago, I did not imagine it would be in the form of a full trance Medium. When Spirit contacted me to do this work, I was not only uncomfortable with the oddity of a disembodied entity taking over my body speaking in strange accents, but no one in my immediate environment supported me through the process. With the exception of the Spirits that is. After all, I did make a prayer in my heart to whatever is that all-knowing-energy in the universe to show me my path of service.  That all-knowing-energy was apparently listening.

Durga 5, mm monoprint, Asandra

In the early 1980’s I was living in New York, working as a graphic artist for a print shop in the pre-PC era. I designed magazine ads, brochures, fliers, etc. One day my co-worker, Sal, a rough-edged photographer whom manned the front counter, walked up to me and thrust into my hands a dog-eared copy of The Prophesies of Nostradamus. “Read this!” he commanded before walking away. Sal was a man of few words, but what was particularly odd was that this event was seemingly arbitrary. There was never a conversation about Nostradamus or prophecies that precipitated his action. 

Michel de Nostredame, known as Nostradamus, a 16th century seer, is renowned for making remarkably accurate predictions about world events centuries before their advent. One of these predictions described two huge fireballs that would come out of the sky and hit two tall towers in the “New City.” He detailed the destruction, death, and chaos that would result.

I was stunned. Nostradamus was talking about the city I was living in! The dire vision he described rattled me to the core. It was at that very instance that I put forth a prayer from my heart to whatever higher presence was listening, and asked for some way that I could make a contribution to better humanity. I had been on my spiritual path since I was a teenager. It never occurred to me that there was more to ask for - until that moment.

I wrote a letter to my spiritual teacher and asked to be shown the way that I could serve but never received a reply. Instead, through a series of circumstances detailed in my book, Contact Your Spirit Guides (Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 2011), I was led to the work I’ve been doing for 30 years as of this writing.

I was not only giving up a prestigious salaried job as an Art Director for an art market magazine in New York City, but also venturing into the uncertain world of self-employment. Before the days of internet no less! Because I was uncomfortable with the idea of channeling (despite the fact that I know that spirit is loving and wise), I decided that if the guides wanted to work through me, they would have to bring the clients to me. That, I surmised, would put an end to this whole channeling nonsense! Furthermore, I made it a point to not tell anyone about the fact that I had begun to do this work. Somehow, despite my resistance, clients found me. And continue to sit with their Spirit Guides through me by word of mouth 30 years later. 

Of course now we have the internet, but if you go to my website, http://Asandra.com, you will see that the channeling work is discreetly sandwiched between art, writing, and news. You will not find images of angels trumpeting horns, cosmic intergalactic gateways, or mythological spirit-creatures adorning my website. And you will definitely not find an evangelical-likeness of me bathed in images of rainbow light! 

Quite the contrary; channeling is hard work. It is my primary livelihood and it has been for 30 years. It is challenging work not only because of the energy demands of allowing these evolved beings to come into my form and present their wisdom through me, but also because it is a path that does not allow me to slack off. It keeps me focused, disciplined, conscious, organized and grounded (yes, ironically!). Although I resisted this path (and maybe still do a little), it has helped me to grow and evolve and most likely pay up a ton of karma. 

I realize this doesn’t fit most people’s concept of what a channel is. I remember once telling a skeptical man (who later became my enthusiastic client) that I am a “professional medium.” He had some lovely spontaneous experiences of channeling energy and didn’t understand how this could be considered a profession or job. He argued that channeling is a natural thing where we let the energy through us and it lifts us up to a higher frequency. I tried to explain to him how it is different when it is your occupation. Imagine channeling on a regular basis for people you don’t know. Imagine channeling whether you feel up to the task or not.  Imagine channeling for people that are sometimes very distraught or even on their death bed. Imagine channeling over the telephone or Skype for people that live in a different culture than you are familiar with.  Imagine channeling for people for whom English is not their first language. Imagine being tired or just simply not in the mood. This is where ‘professional’ fits in. I do it because it’s my job, my commitment to the higher universe, my karma, and my soul-journey. I give 110% every time and value every client that comes to me.

Of course the challenges equal the benefits, and it would not be a soul path if it didn’t ask so much of me while simultaneously bringing rewards too numerous to mention. There is much more to be said about what it means to be a Channel for the spirit world, but I will save that for my memoirs, “I thought you would be tall; confessions of a reluctant medium”.   

Stay tuned.

Asandra
© 2014