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.
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| 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.
