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Written by: John Michael Thornton

Category: Work

My dear friend and mentor, Linda Schiller Hanna, a psychic medium, Reiki master, and intuition teacher, was recently asked an excellent question and she posted her answer.  I liked what she had to say on the subject and wanted to share it with you as well as my own take.  My response to the question is at the bottom.

Linda and I at my wedding - 2017

Question: 

Can someone be too psychic? What are the signs of being overly psychic?

Answer from Linda Schiller-Hanna:

The hardest part of being an untrained, or misunderstood, psychic is not being aware that is what is going on with you. Psychic is “of the soul” and psychics are hypersensitive.   Hypersensitivity is a tough life path for many of us. We stand to be criticized by many folks just for being who we are. We are often derided and mistrusted.

It is a challenging minority to be a part of. Being psychic, or hypersensitive, does have its high points, but those are generally internal, such as the deep satisfaction of knowing you were able to someone when few others could have.  For example, finding a missing person, helping police solve a crime, helping a client overcome a serious illness, or even a broken heart.

Before I was trained and taught wise energy management, my emotions were raw.  I would often break down in tears nearly every day!  My feelings got hurt very easily, often when a person meant no real harm.  I took things hard. 

Also, I would often experience an overwhelming fear and anxiety when around folks who are harsh, judgmental, cruel, or even secretly violent.  This difficulty in dealing with harshness impacts my ability to watch violence or emotional tragedy both in real life and in movies, even cartoons! I either have to leave the room, or failing that, I will fall asleep. For example, I’ve never been able to watch all of “The Wizard of Oz”. I am 76 and have tried multiple times, but just can’t handle it!

I’ve even gone through bouts of confusion regarding spirituality, swinging widely from no faith in God, to obnoxiously religious!

Often, for no apparent reason, I would feel compelled to stand up for a stranger, help someone who is down and out, or even avoid someone.  

My perspective:

My answer is yes, no, and possibly both.  Let me clarify: Uncontrolled psychic talents can be more of a curse than a gift. Your talents can exceed your training and ability to control your psychic potential.

The more control you develop the safer it feels to explore and expand the boundaries of your talents and abilities. Knowing you can keep a disincarnate entity from touching you, or even kick it out of your space, makes it easier to communicate with them without being afraid. Knowing how to block out your perception of someone’s pain makes it easier to offer help and compassion rather than becoming overwhelmed. Drowning in someone else’s suffering isn’t helpful for either of you, but being able to lightly connect and release can allow you better understand and help.

We teach children colors, shapes, sounds – everything – but we don’t teach them how to understand and connect with their psychic and intuitive abilities.  Even worse, we often punish kids for “making stuff up” or having a crazy imagination.  As adults, trying to reconnect with the abilities we shut down as children can be frustrating and scary, even as it opens new worlds.

Linda and I at my Highschool Graduation - 1998

I was in High School when I really started to connect with my psychic abilities.  I was already a sensitive kid, but it was in High School when I started to realize how much I was influenced by the emotions and energies of those around me.  Teenagers are a rollercoaster of emotions in general, but it’s even more intense when you are picking up on the people around you.  I was looking for guidance and trying to understand what was going on. Most adults I talked to about what I was experiencing blew me off as either having too much imagination, or they thought it sounded cool and told me I should be glad I was so open. Every book I could find seemed focused on how to become more psychic and more open, but I didn’t need that. 

I could see auras and feel energy and get random blips of intuition and the future.  While I didn’t want these abilities to go away (most of the time), I wanted to be able to control them.  Linda was the first psychic/spiritual leader I met who understood the problem and immediately started talking about shielding. 

I remember sitting on the school bus in the early morning, meditating and constructing my shields.  I probably looked like I was falling asleep, but it helped me.  I felt less out of control and it made me less scared of my intuitive abilities. Being able to turn down the volume, or at least understand where the noise and psychic disruption is coming from, made me feel less crazy and out of control. I have been convinced since I was 17 that many people who struggle with addiction and mental illness are uncontrolled psychics who were not lucky enough to find teachers who could help them on their path. 

It is not hard to learn how to harness and control your abilities.  Starting with simple meditation, easy exercises and trusting yourself make the journey easier.  You can do it!

I also teach psychic development and psychic protection, contact me to find out more or schedule a class!

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Written by: Joe Thornton

Category: News

Hello everyone, and Welcome Fall! 

I hope you’re enjoying the change of the seasons and the explosion of colors.

This is Joe Thornton writing this month’s newsletter.  I’m stepping in for John because I have some news that I’m excited to share with all of you.

As many of you know, I am a Reiki Master/Teacher and Holistic Life Coach and I’ve studied various other energetic healing modalities, including Shamanic energy work.  For quite some time I’ve been teaching my Reiki students from materials that I’ve written.  I’ve also shared with them other exercises and practices that I’ve learned through my studies as well as from experience.  My goal has been to give my students as many tools and as much knowledge as I could to help them become the best Reiki facilitators they could be.

One day I decided to begin the arduous process of putting everything into book form.  Now it’s complete and it’s being released Monday, October 28^th!  I can’t even begin to tell you how excited and proud I am.

The book is titled “Reiki & Beyond” and will be available from Amazon, and will also be available in metaphysical shops in the near future.  It’s designed to be a valuable aide no matter your Reiki level.  It’s a great manual for other Reiki teachers to use; it’s perfect for Reiki beginners, learning at all three levels; it’s ideal for experienced Reiki facilitators as well, offering lessons they may never have learned before. 

This book covers the history of Reiki, an explanation of chakras and how they impact our bodies as well as working with them, auras, Animal Reiki, Distance Reiki, the sacred symbols, meditation, and many other techniques and practices.  (One of my favorite aspects of the book are the removable cheat sheets in the back of the book.)  “Reiki & Beyond” truly is perfect for people at every stage and level of Reiki, novice to experienced.

There are actually 3 versions of the book: a paperback with black & white images for $20; a paperback with full color images for $40; a hardback full color edition for $50.  (Personally, I recommend grabbing a $20 copy.)

It’s cliché to say that it’s been a labor of love, but it really was.  There was a lot of labor involved and mountains of love put into the creation of “Reiki & Beyond”.  I hope you enjoy it and learn something as well.

Be sure to pick-up your copy of “Reiki & Beyond” on Amazon, beginning Monday, October 28^th!  And after giving it a read, let me know what you think!

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Written by: John Michael Thornton

Category: Teaching

Almost ten years ago, Jamie invited me to be part of a panel she was hosting on Spiritual Abuse. I immediately said yes, and then asked her, “What is spiritual abuse?”

In her new book, You Lied To Me About God, Dr. Jamie Marich defines spiritual abuse as “using God, religion, or any spiritual concept to wield power and control over someone.” Throughout the book she expands on this concept with her own stories and experiences, taking us on a journey of disappointment, discovery and healing. As soon as we started talking about it all those years ago, I started seeing my own experiences though the lens of spiritual abuse. I also immediately started trying to minimize those experiences. I downplayed my traumas, even to myself, and turned them into funny stories: did I ever tell you about the woman who said she saw demons looking out of my eyes? I don’t think anyone wants to see themselves as the victim of abuse. That reluctance to see one’s own abuse makes it easier for abuse to continue.

I’m a gay, psychic, ordained minister with a Religious Studies degree. Of course I’ve experienced spiritual abuse and religious trauma. I remember the first time someone said to me, “You seem like such a nice guy. It’s such a shame you’re going to burn in hell for all eternity.” I’ve been protested, called evil and sinful, sent hate mail, and had family members boycott my wedding. I remember being told homosexuality is anti dharmic (I still don’t know what that means). Even so, my first response to hearing her explain spiritual abuse was to say I’d never experienced it.

In You Lied to me about God, Dr. Jamie Marich takes us on her own journey of understanding spiritual abuse. She shares her struggles with parents who practiced different faiths, often dragging her into their religious battles. She talks about gas lighting and ignoring her own pain while describing the damage it caused. I saw myself in many of her stories.

It is so much easier to try and distance yourself from your own traumas. It is easy to say, “I’m fine, it doesn’t bother me,” and then crack a joke. Adding that distance is a way of coping with pain you’re not ready to face. It’s not a good way, but it is very popular.

Until Jamie brought up “spiritual abuse” I’d never had a name for those experiences. Not having a name made it easier to ignore the bigger picture and to see all those aggressions as isolated incidents, devoid of any unifying context. It also made it easier for other people in my life to dismiss these attacks as the work of “lone wolves” or isolates crazies. “No real Christian would act that way,” I was told, “you must have misunderstood what they meant.”

Thinking back I realize I was searching for a vocabulary to show the interconnectedness of Christian protesters calling me a sinner at both the Pride Parade in NYC and the Psychic Fair in Buffalo. The same interconnected patterns exist with spiritual teachers who said I meditate wrong and ministers who say I pray wrong. Not to mention the preachers, politicians, and faith leaders who tell me my love is an abomination. No religion, spiritual practice or denomination has a lock on judgment and condemnation.

In You Lied to me about God, Dr. Jamie Marich provides vocabulary and lays out the connections. Through her own stories and deep experience as a clinician, she gives us a unifying theory to help make sense of all the nonsense.

Much of the book falls into an easy balance of stories from Jamie’s life and with analysis and context provided by Dr. Jamie Marich. Her stories of being pulled between the faith of her parents, who didn’t seem to agree about God at all, and her own explorations of faith, religion, and personal spirituality will ring true for many of us who have struggled with our beliefs. While few suburban kids will travel as far in their search for the Divine as Jamie has, from Youngstown to Medjugorje and back again, the journey rings true.

It would be easy for a book like this to turn into a long diatribe about Christianity, but it’s not. As a spiritual seeker Jamie has explored faith and religion beyond the American flavors of Christianity she was raised in and takes us with her into ashrams, temples and shrines. While she finds patterns of abuse in all of these places, this is not a diatribe against faith. Even as she was failed by many of the spiritual leaders and teachers in her life, some who made appearances in my life as well, this is not a story of failure. This is the story of a faith that has been tested in fire and turned into something deeper and more meaningful by the journey.

I was failed by the faith and religious teachings of my upbringing. Like Jamie, I experienced religious and spiritual trauma. Like Jamie, I’ve never stopped learning and exploring my deep connection to the divine even as I shed much of the trappings and practices of religion. For me, it’s not about the specific beliefs, it’s about the connection.

 I will be cohosting a PubDay Webinar with Jamie to celebrate the lauch of "You Lied To Me About God!"  It is free to attend, we'd love to see you!

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Written by: John Michael Thornton

Category: Growing Pains

At least twice a year my travels take me through Rural Retreat, Virginia. Just outside of town, in a lush and secluded valley, is the former site of A.R.E. Camp. Started as a youth program at the Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) headquarters in Virginia Beach, the camp was built on land leased to the A.R.E. at a tremendously cheap rate by loyal members. I spent fourteen summers in that camp, nestled in that valley, surrounded by mountains, staring up at the brightest starry night sky I’ve ever seen. There were mountains to climb, a pond to swim in, and all the healthy outdoor activities a growing kid could want.  This all came with a distinct Cayce twist, such as daily meditation, dream interpretation, meals inspired by the Cayce diet, and regular discussion groups on spirituality, reincarnation and the like. The camp was divided into a boys’ side and a girls’ side but with shared meals, activities, and lots of music and singing. 

While the camp is now closed, Sandy and her husband John (whose parents or grandparents, I forget which, originally leased the land to the A.R.E.) still own the land and live in the old farmhouse, known to us campers as “the Big House.”   For the last few years, I’ve contacted Sandy in the summer to let her know I’ll be passing through the area in the hopes she and John will be available for a quick visit.  Last month was the first time everything fell into place.  A few years ago, they invited me to visit the camp site even though they wouldn’t be around and I wandered about for a bit, but this year they were up for a visit. It had been more than twenty years since we’d seen each other and I was worried it might be awkward, but they were as warm and welcoming as ever and we fell back into conversation like the years were just a blink.

We shared some sorrow and anger over the closing of the camp and vented our frustrations before catching up on recent events. We reminisced about old friends and family who were gone, but more than anything, we chatted.  Sitting in their lovely old house, surrounded by those ancient mountains with their graceful and haunting energy, we chatted about life and poetry, and if we got a bit emotional remembering those we miss, well that’s what good conversation does for you.  It nourishes your soul.

After our visit, John and Sandy told me I was welcome to drive down to the old camp (just remember to keep the gates closed).  I almost didn’t go, it was getting late and I had five more hours to drive, but I couldn’t resist.  The road was rough, but the scenery fantastic. As I passed through the final gate to camp, I could feel the land remembering and greeting me.  I parked by the old camp sign and let my feet lead me past the new dining hall, through the meditation grove to the Arts and Crafts hall where the pottery wheel still sits.  There were fallen leaves in the dance hall and new growth narrowing the paths, but everything was familiar.  Everything looked like it was waiting for a new generation of campers to breathe life back into the darkened buildings. 

I wandered up to the boys’ cabins and sat on the porch of Boys’ Cabin 1 when the rain came.  The sound of rain on the roof taking me to a different time. Rapidly I moved from wistful to sad and then I got angry again.  So much love given to this place, but also so much neglect and squandered opportunity by the A.R.E. My last year as a camper was 1993, the camp closed in 2020, there is no reason the camp should still look the same.  Similar, yes, and the feel and energy should be like I remember, but the lack of investment in the facility was dispiriting.

Joe and I have been looking for the perfect home for Great Conjunction for years.  Planning and plotting what we could do with even a small bit of land. When I found out camp was closing, probably forever, part of how I processed that loss was talking about and imagining what could have been done with the space.  From yoga trainings to classes, workshops and retreats - the stuff I have spent big bucks to attend over the years – there was so much that could have been done in this wonderful place to educate, inspire, and make money! 

I know that camp was often described by the A.R.E. as a liability rather than a resource for the parent organization and that attitude effected staffing, resources, and investments. In the end, it was lawsuits and allegations of sexual abuse that took the place down, showing a staggering lack of attention and leadership.  Edgar Cayce, the founder of the A.R.E. said, “Mind is the builder.”  Your beliefs, attitudes, and expectations help shape your reality.  It’s easy to say that this empty camp is what the administration and board of the A.R.E. built.  A former A.R.E. CEO used to call the A.R.E. “Karma Central”, so who knows what the final lessons and repercussions for everyone involved were and will be. All I know is that sitting there, listening to the rain, I was sad and disappointed, but also sweetly peaceful.

I finally looked at the time and decided it was time to brave the rain and make a run for the car. Running down the wet and slippery path I trusted old reflexes to get me to the bottom in one piece. When I got to the road I looked up and saw a mural on the back of the nurses’ cabin that I didn’t remember.  It was a colorful painting of the words “Cayce Kids.” I stood there in the rain for a minute before snapping a picture and resuming my sprint for the car.

At camp we sang songs, meditated, hiked, created art, learned new crafts, talked about dreams and symbols, played games, built fairy houses, and grew up.  Through it all was the work of Edgar Cayce and the commitment to spiritual growth.  We were not there to worship Cayce or pray to him; it wasn’t a religion or cult. We weren’t worshiping a psychic who died before we were born, but still, he was a guiding light that shaped so many of us.  All of us Cayce Kids were there because our parents got involved in the readings and work of Edgar Cayce and it changed our lives.  For me, I was changed for the better and as I drove away for what may be the final time, I was grateful.