I was tested by sceptics cientists — and passed with flying colours

THIs was it: the rigorous test that would show whether I truly had psychic abilities. There was no chance whatsoever of cheating — the scientists at a leading American research institute had seen to that.

For the first test, I would be asked to contact a dead person who was in some way connected to a volunteer guinea pig whom I wouldn’t even get to meet. I would have nothing to work from except the first name of their dead relative or friend.

Then, after being given the name, I’d be grilled for 15 minutes by a scientist, Dr Julie Beischel, on what I’d learnt from beyond the grave.

Based in Arizona, the Windbridge Institute For Applied Research In Human Potential is run by scientists dedicated to researching phenomena that can’t be explained by traditional scientific disciplines.

As planned, Dr Beischel, the director of research, gave me the name of a deceased person: Mary. That’s all. Then she asked me about Mary’s personality, physical appear-

ance and interests, plus how she had died. As soon as I started talking, I felt a flood of information come through. The words and images came so fast I felt as if I was dictating a novel.

As I told my mother afterwards: ‘The way I see it, there are only two options: I’m delusional and made up an entire life story or it worked.’

To ensure it hadn’t been a one-off, I had to do the test all over again with a second dead person called Jennifer. Then my responses in both experiments were scored for accuracy. In both cases, I passed. The next part of the test involved talking on the phone to two ‘sitters’ who had loved Mary and Jennifer while they were alive. I was told nothing about them; I simply had to connect with the deceased and channel more information to them while Dr Beischel listened in.

I told the first sitter that her name was Lisa, she was a nurse and was mourning her grandmother, Mary. Through Mary I also learned that Lisa was single, had a little dog, had looked after her grandmother when she was ill and was with her when she died.

At the end of the reading, Lisa thanked me. It was wonderful, she said, to be able to connect with her grandmother again.

The second reading seemed to go equally well, and once again I passed: one sitter had scored 90 per cent of my statements as accurate; the other 95 per cent.

I asked Dr Beischel what conclusions she could draw. ‘As a scientist, I cannot definitively declare that mediums communicate with the dead,’ she said. ‘But what I can say is the data … supports that communication with the consciousness of those who are dead is possible.’

I had officially become a certified research medium — one of just 19 in the u.S. But, for me, the certificate also meant something else. Never again would I question my abilities. Instead, I’d try to help as many people as I could.