When not writing, I work in real estate, and in all the homes I’ve been in over the years, one in particular sticks in my mind. It was late in the day, and I was with an agent about to tour a high ranch in a secluded spot on a cul-de-sac in Westchester, it was quiet and surrounded by trees. The other agent knocked on the door to announce herself, and we entered. Through the door and right to the kitchen, AKA, the “heart of the house,” was a dining room table with four or so place settings with half-eaten food and, emptied glasses, and not a soul in sight. It was as if the people had simply disappeared while they ate. But the house itself felt odd, eerie even, and the heaviness was palpable. As we continued touring the interior, I felt dread and anxiety to the point where I had to leave and wait outside.
I’ve since learned that houses can hold onto the energies of the people and events that took place beyond that cheery front door. As I’ve moved from place to place, I’ve taken to burning sage – that age-old custom – and roam the rooms waving the smoke about, hoping to “clear” out anything that may be lingering. When you think about what happens in homes, the good and the bad, the arguments, the grumpy people, the remnants of those times can linger. At least that’s the theory.
Linda with the Vibe Spray
So, you can imagine my delight when I read about The Vibe Spray, and its creator, Linda Lauren, a 4th generation psychic medium. She’s been on a few paranormal investigations in her career and knows too well the energies that a room can hold. “It doesn’t have to be haunted,” she says, “to have negative energies.” With that mind, she wanted to create a better choice than burning herbs, something more natural than the manufactured scents on the market. Her mother had left her a loose-leaf binder filled with recipes, and one day Lauren came across a folded piece of paper with a message encouraging her to create that “negative clearing” spray that would leave a “vibe” of positive energy. Over the next ten years, she worked on the Vibe Spray recipe made “with love, sea salt, and all wrapped in a soft top-note of Rose Essential Oil.” When she gave a bottle of the spray to a client whose children were always fighting, within 10 minutes of the spraying,” she says, “the kids were calm, laughing and reading books together.”
WAT wanted to know more about Lauren, about her life as a psychic, about discovering her abilities at a young age, working with police detectives on a missing person’s case, and how to outsmart a fake psychic doing a cold reading.
Linda with her mother
WAT: How did your talents appear? How did you handle this gift as a youngster?
I was around 4-5 years old when it became fully evident that I had intuitive ability. My mother tells me that as early as two, I was pointing to unseen people and balls of light that I would “see.” I would also see colors and translate those colors into feelings. If I saw red, for example, I might think someone was angry or in pain, depending on the person I was looking at. Blue might indicate calm, while black (means) their defenses are up.
My parents handled this deftly because my father’s mother, my Grandma Anna, was a seer and did readings for the neighbors in her home in Newark, NJ. They used the barter system back then: they would pay her eggs, bread, or perhaps butter, in exchange for the reading. My grandmother had 7 children and the food came in handy. She did a lot of healing and praying to the saints, depending upon the situation. Therefore, I was lucky to have a family who recognized this talent/gift/ability, and it was my mother who came up with all sorts of tests and lessons devised to teach me ways to use it and cope with it.
WAT: Can you speak about the missing persons’ case you worked on in 1978?
I was doing readings at a new age center when two police detectives came in to see me. They said they had an unsolved case that they thought I might help them with as they heard I was a psychic who was good at “reading” maps. They spread out a map and told me that a priest had taken several young boys on a field trip back in 1978 and none of the children were found. I managed to home in on the map. I felt terrible. Lost and hurt. And I knew these boys were molested before they died. I zeroed in on the remains of the children.
WAT: What is a “cold reading,” and how to prepare for a reading?
Cold readings are physically sizing the person up by looks alone to ascertain information.
When a client comes to me, they are coming for me to help them with answers to dilemmas they have regarding romance, finance, relationships, etc. Or they are coming to communicate with a loved one who passed on. I do not do cold readings as only people who are fakes use cold readings. However, I have seen people on television, in movies, magazines, web site videos, etc., do cold readings and the audience/client is not even aware of it.
The signs of a cold reading are not obvious. They are all subtle because the person who desires the reading is in a completely different place than you as a journalist/interviewer. You come to the table already questioning the process, but they come to be read. They sit across from the person reading them as you would anyone else. You hit on the one thing that cold reading people rely upon: reacting. The client’s reaction is what will lead the reading for them as it will indicate they are getting a “hit.” Sometimes it’s the fact that the person is wearing a wedding or engagement ring. Or maybe they have a certain “look” in terms of dress, mannerisms that give away information about them. If you show up wearing a uniform, dressed in formal clothing, or ripped jeans, all these can add information and the so-called “psychic” is not working at all!
Linda Lauren chronicles her life in Medium Rare, The Memoir of a Fourth Generation Psychic Medium. LindaLauren.com
Top Photo Credit: Linda Lauren’s Embracing The Universe
