John Holland

Hopefully you'll find the answer you're looking for, or you are always invited to call John every Monday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT on his Hay House Radio show, Spirit Connections. Where is the Spirit World? A simple question, yet with such an important answer! Well, my belief is that it isn't above us or below us - it's actually all around us. I was taught to believe that everything is made up of energy and vibrations. The vibrations of this physical world where we exist in human form are slow and dense, whereas the Spirit World vibrates at a much higher rate. That's why it's invisible to the human eye. It's because it's vibrating at such a high frequency that we're unable to see it. Just like a dog whistle, we can't hear it due to the high pitch, yet a dog can. There's a thin layer between this world and the next (which I refer to either as "the Other-Side" or "the Spirit World"), and the only thing that separates us is the frequency of the vibrations. Can anyone become a medium? When I first came into this work after studying in England, many of my tutors truly believed that Mediums are born ... and not made. I too felt that was right, as it really resonated with me! But ... after my first book 'Born Knowing' came out in 2003 and using that quote in my book, I now feel after 16 years of working as a psychic medium and teaching hundreds of classes and workshops, that we all have the potential for mediumship, but some are born with a higher potential than others. If someone is not born with a good potential for this work, then they have to just work harder at developing and perfecting it. I want to add that I firmly believe that everyone is born with a degree of psychic ability, and each and every one of us has the capability to improve and develop our awareness (psychically, intuitively, or on a deeper level of mediumship). We all have the ability to connect, through the power of thought and our dreams, with our loved ones who have passed. Anyone who has seen me demonstrate will also know that another one of my favorite sayings, which has become part of my own brand, is: "Your loved ones are only a thought away." We can assist them in contacting us by learning to increase and raise our energy - by doing so, we'll help in the communication by meeting them halfway. So, to answer the question, no, I don't believe that anyone can become a medium. Rest assured, if you have the gift of mediumship, it's likely to present itself in its own way and in its own time. My last piece of advice with respect to this question is on a somber note. I do not recommend this as something that you should dabble with. It's such a serious subject and one that requires both delicacy and tact. It's not something that can be picked up and put down on a whim. If you find out that you do have the potential and want to eventually practice as a working medium, it will take dedication, patience, and time; as it can be a physically demanding job. The unfoldment of mediumship has to develop and grow. You'll find that most mediums spend their entire lives developing their abilities. One final point ... you must also be ready to live a life of service. Are you open all the time to the Spirit World? Nowadays, my answer is firmly no, although it wasn't always quite as clear-cut. These days, when I go into a restaurant, I don't see all your friends and relatives joining you for dinner as though it's some huge family reunion! I've spent years training myself to shut off from those in the Spirit World when I'm not professionally working. Why? You may well ask. Simple: it's because I have a life here, and I need to be able to enjoy it without feeling as if I'm constantly on duty. In my workshops, I teach that we're spiritual beings as well as physical beings, and it's so important that we honor all of ourselves. It takes a really strong spirit to get my attention when I'm not working, as it needs to literally break through my shield, my "off switch," but on those rare occasions when one does, I've now learned that I still must act on it every time. Just because spirits can come to me doesn't mean they are in control - I am. I wasn't so disciplined at the beginning, but then I was more inexperienced and possibly a little naïve. As an example, I do remember one time when I was at a party where no one knew me. I was mingling with the guests when a young man walked in and pushed past me to get a drink. As he did so, I was aware that he'd lost a brother. I could feel his brother right beside him, right there at the party. I didn't really know quite what to do or how to behave. I had two choices, the first being to just blurt out something, and potentially shock this man by saying, "Hey, I know you lost a brother, and he's standing right beside you! No, somehow I don't think that would have been the right approach. So what I did was this. I put my thoughts out to the brother and said, If you want me to give your brother a message, then you figure out how that conversation is going to come about. I put the responsibility on the spirit to work it out. When it's my turn to cross over, will it matter what religion or faith I practiced? Most religions have some belief in the afterlife, some more than others. I do believe that it helps to follow some kind of faith, and through these various teachings and a deeper understanding, it can assist us when it's our time to cross over. I often use the analogy of the spokes of a wheel, in that each spoke represents a different religion or faith, and although each is independent of the other, ultimately they're all moving in the same direction. We're all born with the spark from the Divine (our spirit), so when our spirit crosses over, that spark will leave the "jacket" it's encased in and move back into the Spirit World where we all originated from. We all survive death no matter what (if any) religion we choose to believe in. Are there different levels in the Spirit World? Most definitely.