Recently we celebrated Halloween, or Samhain, All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day. It’s no coincidence that this is a time when the veil is particularly thin. It’s a good time to think of our dear departed loved ones and what they mean to us as well as what they taught us during their lives. I have found that in my line of work they may also have more lessons to teach once they have passed over. I pay particular attention to information that is passed to me from people like my client Melissa and her family. Many of her family members are in spirit and the dead have certain insights that we living don’t necessarily have.

Yes, I see, hear, and speak to dead people. My name is Joseph LoBrutto and I am a psychic medium living and working in South Florida. Every day I work with people to help them communicate with their loved ones who have passed over to the other side. I consider myself privileged to be a part of the profound expressions of love and compassion that are shared between the world of the living and spirit, but I am also grateful for the insight I have received through years of communicating with spirit.

I will get back to sharing the story of Melissa with you, but first I wanted to give you a small idea of my unique perspective as a psychic medium. It started when I was a child; back then I had the special gift of seeing spirits quite clearly. My childhood visions were a common occurrence. One of the spirits I could see was a Native American. First, I would hear the beating of drums in the distance and as I listened, the drums came closer and louder. Out of nowhere, the figure of the Native American would appear. He was a tall man with long flowing hair and had the strength of ten bears. He looked proud, like a warrior.

There were other spirits that visited me as a child as well. One that I recall quite vividly was the Irishman who would appear to me like a dream floating in the air with what appeared to be a rustic city behind him. He looked like a character right out of Dickens’ Oliver Twist, standing around five feet tall with curly hair protruding from under an old shabby top hat. I could tell he was a jokester by the way he laughed as he tipped his hat towards me; he was a cheery fellow who always tried to amuse me. I would watch him try to juggle potatoes, only to have them fall and roll all over the place. I was surprised that my parents did not hear him – or me – laughing so hard!

Also, there was the man who looked to me like someone from early Biblical times. He was dressed in a gray-colored robe and he carried what looked to be a manuscript. He was weather-beaten, with a white beard. He had a mystical glow that surrounded his body. Most of the apparitions appeared to me in human form, except for the giant. One night while I was sound asleep I awoke to find a face that wasn’t human staring right at me. There was a large bright purple glow around its body and he appeared to be over twenty feet tall. I can still see my father running up the stairs as I screamed and hid under the covers. My father tried to comfort me by convincing me that it was all just a dream.

My father thought I had a very active imagination when I told him of theses events. He called them dreams, but even as a child, I knew they were not dreams. Finally, after a couple years of leaving the lights on, my visions of the beings stopped. Of course, now as a spiritually enlightened adult, I realize that these spiritual beings played a big part in my journey in life.

The truth is that we are all enriched by the wisdom and insight passed to us from the world of spirit. Our loved ones are never far away from us. I am fortunate in that I can give and receive messages but we can all open our hearts to the love and wisdom that our loved ones send to us from the other side. Don’t be surprised when you ask them for guidance and you receive answers later on in the form of meeting the right person, finding just the right book with the information you need, or receiving the perfect opportunity to move forward on your path. But typically during mediumistic readings there are words of comfort and assurance from our loved ones in spirit as they try to communicate to us that it is not necessary to grieve overly much for them because life is eternal and time an illusion. They want us to know that soon we will all be together.

Now to share Melissa’s story. At times our loved ones are there to comfort us and remind us of how we are all connected. I was invited to a home in Stuart, Florida, to facilitate a “Speaking to Heaven Gallery.” The hostess, Melissa, had endured losing so many family members in her lifetime that she wanted to make sure that they were fine and all together. The gallery began with a visit from a daughter in spirit who connected with a couple who were good friends with Melissa. The moment was deeply moving and many were in tears as my attention was now drawn to Melissa and her daughter. I said “I have a young boy here that has a ‘J’ in his name”. “That is my son, J.T.,” said Melissa.

“Now he is showing me a vision of the universe. I’m looking into the sky and I can see the stars and planets, but they are not far away; it’s like I can reach up and touch the stars.” Melissa confirms again that it was J.T., telling the group that his room would glow in the dark with the stars and planets that were glued to the ceiling. Since he had been a paraplegic and spent much time in his room, he would stare for hours at the ceiling filled with stars.

Then I felt a big shift of energy; it felt more feminine, like a mother figure. “I have someone named Mary; she tells me she is your mother and is watching over J.T. You prayed that she would be there for J.T. Your mother wants to let you know he is safe with her. Days before J.T.’s passing he sensed your mother around him and J.T. knew how to find her.”

“But Melissa, your mother is concerned about your heath. Cancer is the culprit in many deaths in the family. She says that you are sick as well, is this is true?”

Melissa responded that yes, she did have cancer and it was in its final stages. “I’m not afraid of death but I worry about leaving my daughter behind. What gives me peace is that she has a great relationship with her father and he will take care of her.” Melissa’s soul family in spirit was growing larger than the family members who were alive.

Later, Melissa gave me feedback for the gallery.

 “Once again Joseph, you prove yourself to be AMAZING. Friday night’s gallery was really special. Not only did I receive several messages, but just the experience of watching you put so many people’s minds and hearts at ease by letting them communicate with loved ones they have lost and miss terribly, always leaves me in AWE of you. For someone like me who has lost so many, your galleries are far superior to any grief counseling. You give me vast hope and a bit of peace with the knowledge that my loved ones are not only fine, but also incredibly happy and thriving on the other side. The details that come out of your mouth are amazing…Thank you, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.” Melissa Y

 Melissa was one of the strongest people that I have met. I regret to say that she passed away months later, joining her son J.T and the rest of her soul family. May you rest in peace, Melissa. I send love to you.

 If you would like to hear more stories about connecting with spirit, check out my latest book, “Speaking to Heaven” available on Amazon or www.OurJourneyofLife.com I am also going to be holding a Speaking to Heaven Gallery at my home office in Boca on every first Saturday of the month or as always I am available for readings at my office, your home, or via phone or Skype. In the meantime, set an intention to connect with your loved ones and remain open for messages; you never know what you might be missing!

Blessings to you and yours!

Joseph LoBrutto III