Friday, August 29, 2014

Theresa Caputo a Hermit? Shut up!

On August 18, I was lucky enough to see Theresa Caputo, the Long Island Medium, at one of her two shows in Albany, NY. I really enjoyed “The Experience” as she has aptly named her tour.

I went to the show with my teenage daughter, Bailey, who is also a fan. While neither one of us were specifically looking for a message, there was an inkling of hope that maybe – just maybe - my grandmother or one of her paternal grandparents might come through.
Theresa Caputo during "The Experience" tour.
They didn’t. But that is okay. We had no pressing “need” for either of us to receive a message. When we discussed it in the car, we actually said we hope the people who need the readings most are able to get them. 

Interestingly, as I walked out of the theater “empty-handed” for lack of a better term, I realized that indeed I did receive a message from ‘Spirit’ that night.

Before I explain what I mean, let me first talk about Theresa herself. Love her or not, she is a very special person. Despite claims of “plants in the audience” or charlatanism by mainstream reviews, I saw none of that. Really.

What I saw was a woman who believes in herself and in her mission. Like the Hermit in the Tarot, which I write about in this month’s Fool’s Paradise, Theresa is a person who has spent time getting to know herself, her gift and her purpose in life.

Believe it or not, the Hermit and Theresa Caputo are a lot alike. Okay, stop laughing. It is true. Take away the big hair, the polished nails and the bling, and what you have are two individuals who specialize in the delivery of messages.

The Hermit’s messages come when we find a stillness within ourselves. When we quiet the mind and remove ourselves from distractions, we are able to hear the whisper of our inner voice guiding us in the direction we need to move.

Theresa, on the other hand, is anything but quiet. Her classic exclamation, “LARRY!!!!!” is an example of what I mean. However, that doesn’t mean she can’t be a beacon of light for people immersed in the darkness of emotional pain.

As I watched her work, I actually saw a person delivering messages to individuals who either did not know how to quiet the mind and hear them independently or who were too disconnected to realize they had the ability to directly receive these messages themselves.

And therein exists the main difference between the Hermit and Theresa. While Theresa relays the messages for us, the Hermit teaches us how to hear these messages ourselves.

Prior to her actual readings, Theresa spent about 15-20 minutes discussing her background. She pointed out three things she wanted us to know about “the Experience.” I am sure there were more, but these are the ones that really resonated with me.

First, she talked about how she came to know and develop her gift after years of denial. She talked about her fears – both the overt ones we see on her TV show and the more subtle ones which have to do with accepting unfair criticism. She talked about the discomfort that comes from the latter and how she used that as a spring board to develop more confidence about her skills. Her first message to the audience was to never apologize for your gifts.

I tell you, I really connected with this one. As a Tarot card reader and Numerologist, I have run into people who dismiss my abilities because of the intangibility of this skill. I can’t tell you how many times, particularly when I was younger, that I felt as though I had to ‘prove’ myself or defend my gift. It took me a while, but I finally realized that was a drain on my energy. Most of these ‘Doubting Thomas’s’ didn’t want to be convinced. They just wanted to criticize something they couldn’t understand. When you entertain this kind of energy, it is nothing more than a struggle for power. Someone will come out feeling drained, and as though their energy has been taken. I have learned it is best to respectfully disagree and walk away.

Next, Theresa made it very clear that when she reads for people, it is for the sole purpose of healing. Her goal is to ease the pain people feel and clear up the confusion associated with the concept of death.

As a result, Theresa delivered messages with sincerity, humor and, at times, a hard-to-swallow truth. Despite a sold-out crowd of more than 3,000 people, she was able to focus in on specific individuals and deliver important messages. She made direct connections with many people who had lost spouses, parents, children, etc. She brought a sense of peace to them they didn’t have when they entered the theater. Did she always connect? No. Was that always her “fault”? Definitely not.

One difference I noticed about the people with which Theresa was able to deliver messages and the ones with which she struggled to make a connection was what I would describe as “openness.” This is not gullibility I am talking about. What I am describing is awareness. Awareness is a state of mind in which you are fully present and open in thought and action.

The people who successfully received a message from Theresa were individuals who were willing to listen and hear what she had to say. This does not mean they liked the message. It only means they were willing to receive it. Conversely, the people who stood with arms folded across their chests, with their bodies turned in a different direction, with a doubtful look on their face or a rigid structure struggled to find any meaning in her message. When I saw that, all I could think of was, “What a shame. Why are you here if you didn’t want the message?”

And that leads me to Theresa’s third point of the night. This final message – in my opinion - was the most important. It served as a reminder of the power we each hold within ourselves. I will paraphrase her words here as I don’t remember them verbatim. It went something very similar to this, “You know, you can connect with your departed loved ones any time you want. They aren’t waiting for you in the cemetery, and they aren’t following me around. I have my own dead people following me. They are with you all the time. They send symbols and signs to you. Look for that.”

I really liked that final message because it served as a solid reminder to stay present in life and be aware of the power that exists within and around all of us.  Despite my lack of direct communication with Theresa that night, I walked away from her show with what I believed was a personalized message from the Universe.

That message was to stop looking outside of myself for the answers. When I left the theater that night, I was reminded of my ability to access a power much greater than my own; a power that already exists within me.


Interestingly, that is also the message described by the Hermit card. It is about the ability to silence the mind and tap into the divine flow of the soul. By doing so, we receive messages from our higher selves that help us find our best paths in life and create “The Experience” we are meant to have right here on earth.