Psychic Dramas: James

"I'm known as a spiritual medium. I am an individual who is able to hear, feel and see those people who have left the physical world and now exist in a different dimension. I believe that there are six senses, not just five. I believe that everybody is intuitive, so I'm someone who has a little bit more sensitivity than most people," says James Van Praagh, author of Ghosts Among Us.

 

James describes how to detect otherworldly activity. "You can know a ghost is around you if suddenly the electricity in the house acts weird, lights are flashing. They'll move objects; they make sounds. Many times when you suddenly feel a depression or a headache, it could be because there is a ghost around you," he reveals. "In order for a ghost to really stay here, they need energy. Where do they get that energy from? They get it from humans. The most energy that they can bring through is fear energy. Where do you find fear? Dentist offices, hospitals, jails, planes, and they use that fear energy in order to manifest themselves."

James is also co-executive producer of the CBS drama Ghost Whisperer. On the show, Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Melinda Gordon, a woman born with the ability to see earthbound spirits.

 

"We've had some really, really weird things happen on the set, a lot of problems with lights. One day, [co-star] Jay Mohr was just finishing up a scene, and he left the set. Two seconds after he left the set, a lamp came crashing down right in the spot where he was standing," James recounts. "Another time, there was a scene where Jennifer Love Hewitt was leaving the frame, and right behind her was, like, this aura left on the film."

 

The clairvoyant has also experienced several bizarre occurrences in his own home. "I remember one night I came back from the set, and I was coming into my house, and all of a sudden, I heard the Jacuzzi going off, and the garage door started going up and down, up and down. I knew that, indeed, there was a ghost in the house," James recalls. "I realized, there's a man there. He went to the set of Ghost Whisperer, and he found me on the set. He followed me home, knowing that one day, I would be able to help him pass over.

 

"Working on Ghost Whisperer is wonderful because it gives me the opportunity to bring this world to millions and millions of people. It opens people up to the possibility that this exists," James continues. "This earth world, this is our school room, and we are here to learn many, many lessons. When the school is done and it's time to go back home to the spirit world, can you look back at your life and be proud of the life that you led? I think people are questioning it. I think everybody should. I think people are ready. That's why I'm here."

"I consider myself to be very open-minded about just about everything. I confess that I am a skeptic because I was trained in the scientific model," Dr. Phil tells James. "What do you say to skeptics?"

"I grew up as a skeptic. I didn't believe in anything, not unless I saw it in front of me. After a while, I've seen so many things and experienced so many things, I can't deny them," James replies.

"I lost my father about 12 years ago. I would love to be able to have some dialogue about it."

"Yes, I know," James says.

"You say, yes, you know?"

"He's come through."

"Well, you could also Google that," Dr. Phil says, unconvinced.

"You've had contact from my father?" Dr. Phil inquires.

"I meditated this weekend, and I thought of you. A man came through, and I wasn't sure if it was your father or not, and I picked up some stuff. Would you like me to tell you what I got?"

"What did he say?"

"Well, it was a lot of different things. He came in different ways. He had big hands. I feel like he did manual work beforehand. He was a manual worker, got his hands dirty," James reveals. "I kept on getting over and over again, ‘Please tell him I'm sorry,' that he didn't show you enough emotion like he should have. I feel like you wanted to live up to his way of life, and I just got a sense, like, he's around you, and he said he's been coming to you in your dreams, but you haven't been paying attention."

"That would be true. I don't pay attention," Dr. Phil says with a laugh.

"I also want to say he's proud of you for becoming what you became, and he wanted to tell you that. The two of you were very connected," James says.

"This is the skeptic in me. We know that he's passed. He's probably got pretty big hands because I'm 6'4" and 240 and have pretty good meat hooks on me," Dr. Phil says, holding up his hands. "I'm sure he's proud of me. I've done pretty well for myself all my life. I've been blessed all my life. Anything in specific or particular?"

"I don't think he believed in this sort of thing."

"What's he doing talking to you?" Dr. Phil jokes.

"I think that he knows I'm going to be meeting you, so they'll try whatever they can to try to get through," James replies.