MY FAVORITE MEDIUM

HOLLISTER RAND was a young child when she first realized she could see and talk with dead people. Frightened and feeling freakish, Hollister kept her unusual talent a secret until she was nearly killed at the age of 18. Today, she fully embraces her life as a medium and finds great purpose in helping people connect with their loved ones in spirit. (46:31) EXPLICIT

EPISODE NOTES:

Ask me what my oddest TV job was and I won't hesitate: line producer on the Psychic Friends Network infomercials. Hosted by singer Dionne Warwick, the talk show-like program hawked a 900-number to call for a live $3.99-per-minute psychic reading over the phone.

As part of my job, I once auditioned a dozen psychics who read me back-to-back. Although the task was to see how each of them looked and sounded giving a reading on camera, I saw it as an opportunity to put the concept of psychic ability to the test. And while I did find a couple of people who were suitable for an appearance on PFN, I didn't experience anything that I felt was authentically transcendental with any of these folks.

My skepticism about all things metaphysical continued unchallenged for another 20 years until I met HOLLISTER RAND – a world-renowned medium and author of "I'm Not Dead, I'm Different." Hollister tells me that she didn't mind the barrage of questions I peppered her with as soon as we were introduced: "I like people who are curious about what I do. Mostly because I had the same kind of questions."

Hollister discovered she had the ability to see and talk with the dead when her deceased grandfather appeared at the foot of her bed. She was just five years old. Soon after, spirits she didn't know or recognize began visiting her at night: "I was so terrified because I had no control over what was showing up. Can you imagine waking up and you've got strangers in your bedroom?"

After sharing her experiences with family members and friends, Hollister quickly realized that not everyone was open to visits from the dead – and many were afraid to even discuss the subject. Consequently, she decided to stop talking about her nighttime visits: "I realized there's something very different about me. I did not like that at all. I mean, what kid wants to be different?"

Hollister did her best to ignore her sixth sense and managed to keep it a secret until she was nearly killed in a car accident at the age of 18. After that near-death experience, there was no denying her ability to communicate with spirits any longer.

Today, Hollister fully embraces her work as a medium and finds great purpose in helping people connect with loved ones whose earthly lives have ended. I have attended several of her spirit circles (a modernized version of an old-fashioned séance) and have witnessed some truly extraordinary things.

The specificity with which Hollister describes the spirits who show up for the people in the room is absolutely remarkable. The astonished reactions I've seen from the "sitters" speak volumes. How could she possibly know the kind of details she does unless she is truly making contact with a dimension that's imperceivable to me and most other people?

As for doubters, Hollister spends no time whatsoever defending or debating the veracity of mediumship: "I don't see myself out there trying to convince anybody. I see myself as someone who is here if someone wants the healing that this brings. People will come to it or they won't."

So, then, where does this put me? Well, I remain agnostic on the subject – I neither believe nor disbelieve. But having seen her in action in several small groups and large events, and having had a number of long conversations with her about what I've observed, I can say with certitude that if it is, in fact, possible to communicate with the dead, Hollister Rand is the real deal.

BP

Many thanks to the composers of the music featured in this episode royalty free through Creative Commons licensing:

1. "Love Wins" by Lee Rosevere - leerosevere.bandcamp.com

2. "Curiosity" by Lee Rosevere - leerosevere.bandcamp.com

3. "Just Watching" by Podington Bear - soundofpicture.com