Interview with Psychic

Sharon Gammell

Question #1:  Sharon, what types of readings do you do and how long have you been doing readings for other people?

I have been doing readings for other people for around 40 years, give or take a year or seven. As for the kind of readings I do, besides helpful, insightful, accurate, and knock you over with a feather great... I can address most anything... Present life, past life, future predictions, love, relationships, business, family, success, romance... I guess you could say I am multi-lingual when it comes to readings.

I have a wide variety of tools I use... from tarot, to crystal balls, to palms, to just sitting with someone and passing along the information, to tea leaves, to psychometry, to rune stones, to a pendulum, to automatic writing, mediumship, regressions, Ouija boards, to reading bubbles in a champagne glass.

I have my client determine what information they want to cover in their reading. That is why I have my client write down questions before we get together. I do not look at the questions until the session is complete - the questions set the tone of the reading. I audio tape record the reading so my client has a record of what we covered.

The tools I use are simply that, tools. I believe that what is most important is the information I receive to give to the person I am reading. The tool or tools I use to get the information - not really a major issue. My tool of choice is to use tarot cards and I have a few favorite decks but, really, any deck will do.

Question #2:  If we are to believe the movies, most people, when coming to a psychic, are looking for answers about love and money. What have you discovered, in these 40 plus years of doing readings, is the most sought after information?

Believe the movies... hummm... scary thought, don't you think? Kind of like believing everything we read in newspapers... and we know we can't do that!

So, on to your question. The most sought after information I have run into is how can I fix or change or expand... everything... from what's going on in my life, my family, my job, my romance, my future, my past, my heart, my anger, my sadness, my schooling, my joy, my business, my health, my body, my work, my dreams, my friends, my pet, my house, the world, the planet... to where is my... you fill in the blank. You name it. I am certain I have talked about it with someone. The topics covered in readings are as diverse as the people getting them are.

P.S. I make a point of not remembering the details of readings. No room in my head for all my information, much less everybody else's.

Question #4:  We all have psychic ability to varying degrees and these abilities vary as well, though some never learn to use but a small portion. When did you first discover your psychic ability and how did you develop it to the point that it is today?

For me, there was no great epiphany. I have used my psychic abilities all my life. As a kid, I thought everyone saw what I saw, knew what I knew, lived just like I lived. Surprise!! They didn't, they don't.

I think it was when I was around 10 or 11 years old that it became clear to me that not everybody's life was like mine. To make sure, I asked my friends and other people. You mean you don't see that? You really don't see those people standing there? Well, do you see the colors around them? You didn't hear that? Did you feel that? How can you NOT know that? I was a precocious child.

Strange, when I think of my growing up years, how much my abilities were an asset. My mother was diagnosed at a very young age, 32 years old with five children, as terminally ill. Doctors gave her a year to live, but I knew she wouldn't die for a while. She told them she had too much to do raising her children and keeping her family together. She lived with acute liver disease for 11 years. My dad had a high IQ, mental illness, and used alcohol to self-medicate because he couldn't work with the drugs he was prescribed, but he still held a full time job as a postman and a part-time job, selling lots for a cemetery - to pay the hospital and doctor bills and keep his family together. My mom was Catholic, my dad Lutheran, but the church we all were active in and attended regularly was Evangelical with many restriction.

I grew up in a family that was crazy at best, abusive at its worst. It was always good for me as the oldest to have an idea of when to have me and my brothers and sisters stay in the clear. I knew when I could, what I could, and when I could not, do or say things.

It was an advantage for me growing up in this environment. I got to read almost anything I wanted to. I got to play in a mausoleum and cemetery after church on Sundays and talk to dead people. I learned independence, strong spiritual principles and work ethics, formed my family values and personal relationships with my guides and angels, plus I developed my intuition and psychic abilities - all in an atmosphere where everybody was so messed up, they didn't have a chance to tell me what I was reading, seeing, feeling, hearing and doing was not okay. So often, children are told that what they know to be - isn't. Well, I did not have THAT problem.

The development of my talents came with practice, trusting my instincts, reading much, experimenting with what I read, taking a few classes over the years (believe it or not, I am not a 'I need to get into a group' kinda gal), listening to my heart and reading some more. Plus, along the way, I have been extremely fortunate to meet some wonderful friends that are each one of my special teachers.

Accepting that I have talent, and that it was and is worth sharing with others... that was the hardest part for me. When that happened, my world changed. Well, that and giving me permission to not fix everything for people.

Having psychic abilities, talking to dead people and pets, doing readings and being me, is as natural as breathing. We all breathe. Some of us take in more air than others, and we are all intuitive, though some of us take in more information than others. Thank goodness we are all different with unique abilities and needs - makes for a wonderfully diverse world!

Yes, I have an on/off switch. I know that Spirit appreciates what we experience here and that they work with us as we work with them. It is up to us to set parameters that work for us with them. If we choose to not have boundaries in life, with co-workers, friends and family, or when working with Spirit, we can create tons of stress for ourselves.

I would not say that the switch is to prevent interruptions at inopportune times, anymore than I would say that for a doctor or nurse, leaving an operating table in the hospital when they go home for the day is avoiding interruptions at inopportune times. When an artist leaves their canvas and paints in the studio, is that avoiding an inopportune interruption? When someone leaves their phone on the desk, then shuts off the lights and closes the office door when departing the building, is that avoiding an inconvenient interruption or is it getting on with another part of their life?

We all do many things, and everything we do has a perfect place in our lives. When I am working, the switch is on and when I'm not working, it's off.

Question #5:  There seem to be three types of people out there when it comes to readings. The first is very accepting and grateful of the information they receive. The second comes to you seeking answers, but are hesitant to take what they are given. The third comes just to "test" you and have a good time. Do you know, from your experience, what type of client you have when they sit down with you? Have you ever NOT been able to read for someone, and if so, how did you handle the situation?

Yes, when someone comes in for a reading with me, I have a good idea where they are starting from. However, the client's motive for a reading isn't really important to me - what they want to address is.

I audio tape readings for my clients. Before we get together, I have clients write down at least three questions they want me to talk about in their reading. Clients can write down anything they want to. I do not look at the questions. I have the client read them to me when the reading is completed. Two things happen when the client writes down what they want to cover in a reading. Number one, the client knows that they are involved in their reading, and number two, they know what they came to discuss was. Recording the reading gives clients a clear record of how their written questions were addressed in the reading and the "I'm here, so entertain me" and the "this is a test" client positions are neutralized.

What a client believes about a reading, or chooses to do with the information they receive in a reading, is not my stuff. The PROVE to me that you are any 'good' type of client, leaves a session with me knowing that I know what I know, that I don't pull punches, and that I am that 'good'. My job is to pass along information.

I have had people I wasn't really excited about reading and, over the years, I have chosen not to take appointments from a few, but I have never had anyone I COULDN'T read.

Question #6:  What do you feel has been your greatest challenge in your years of working with your abilities and how have you handled this challenge?

My greatest challenge has been, and continues to be, accepting that my job is to pass along information, offer solutions, and teach - not fix. I remind myself daily that I am here to assist. That it is my job to help open doors and that it is my responsibility to give advice only when asked.

THE NIGHT WATCHMAN HOMEPAGE

Sharon Gammell is the proprieter of the Thayer's Bed & Breakfast in Annandale, Minnesota. However, as if that isn't enough, she is also a psychic, chef, and wedding officiate, an instructor for paranormal classes, and a speaker. Take a look at Thayer's B&B in our "Haunted B&B" section of this site and listen to Sharon share exciting experiences from Thayers (click here). Then, head over and check out her website at www.thayers.net