Psychic discusses the occult

With the recent release of the terrifying Paranormal Activity 3 and Halloween coming up next week, the supernatural is on the mind.

Many get sucked into this ominous other realm, believing in those brief few hours at the theater that the dead can come back to haunt us. Though this horror might not persist or translate beyond the screen or the holiday, the thought of the paranormal world lingers in the back of our minds, even if we’re too afraid to admit it. Many hold onto their skepticism on a superficial level — until they’ve encountered psychic Betsy Balega, whose newest book Being Mystic: In Touch With Godtackles just that.

“I’ve heard them all,” Balega said. “But trust me, their minds are changed soon after meeting me.”

Balega is not your run-of-the-mill, carnival psychic. She does not wear a turban and she doesn’t need a crystal ball.

Instead, Balega is a world-renowned medium — one who can communicate with the dead — who has helped countless homicide and missing person investigations and hosts a popular radio show in Canada, where she currently resides.

When she enters her Toronto home, Balega might see a few spirits roaming around. We’re not talking about the horrifying demons that stalk Katie and Kristi in the latest Paranormal flick. Instead, they simply visit her at her usual table in her neighborhood coffee shop.

It’s become second nature to Balega.

In fact, when spirits first started to appear to her around the age of four, Balega didn’t realize that anything was wrong.

“I thought it was normal, like breathing,” Balega said with a laugh.

As she grew up, she soon realized seeing spirits was not normal but was instead a very special gift.

“In my early 20s, I met with a medium named Mary Polis who taught me how to harness and focus my power,” Balega said.

Balega was nervous, however, to tell others of her talents. During this time, Balega worked in medicine and hid her gift from her coworkers, who she thought would frown upon it.

Balega eventually realized that her powers were given to her for a reason.

“I was put here to help people,” Balega said.

For Balega, spirits form “almost like a sparkler.” A flash of light materializes and the spirit begins to form from the head down, appearing as a guide to lead her to answers her clients are looking for.

These spirits are stuck in a fourth dimension and are desperate to tell their family and friends their secrets, hopes and wishes. Others are angels and demons.

These are forces that clearly cannot be ignored.

“When spirits talk, I listen,” Balega said. “They don’t have an agenda; they don’t lie.”

One of Balega’s most immediate spirits is her deceased mother, for whom Balega is especially thankful, as she often guides her through life decisions with unabashed honesty.

“My mom never lied when she was alive,” Balega said. “She’s certainly not going to while she’s dead.”

Balega discusses these matters in Being Mystic: In Touch With God.

The first three words are some many are familiar with: “In the beginning.”

Balega is obviously a spiritual being, but she also believes listening to the Bible is just as important as listening to psychics.

When she used to live in an old Baptist church, Balega encountered some demons.

“One day I walked into my kitchen and saw these two black demons, with red eyes fighting almost like how they do in the cartoons,” Balega said.

Frightened beyond belief, Balega remembered something she had done that day.

“I realized I had moved a cross from my kitchen earlier that day,” Balega said. “I ran and put the cross back in the kitchen and said, ‘I’m sorry for moving you!’”

Instances such as these push Balega to respect the spirits, and to be aware of their capacity for evil.

What might sound like a bunch of hogwash to some might be a source of salvation for others. Those who have lost a family member or friend cherish a moment when they think they are communicating with them.

Regardless of whether you believe in this supernatural world, this Halloween is as good a time as any to explore the paranormal.

Being Mystic is currently available in bookstores for a chilling, haunting read.