'Tis the season for spooky spirits, but what about people who channel spirits for a living?
- Melbourne man says he has connected with spirits for 40 years
- He says he can sense the presence of loved ones who have died
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John Rogers has been a medium for 40 years.
"The first few times [he read me], it set my hair on end," said Beverly McLean, Cocoa, of Rogers. "It's like, 'Oh my goodness! How could this be?' "
We visited Rogers at his Melbourne home this week. He says he can sense the presence of those closest to us who have passed.
"They'll stand beside the individual I'm reading for, and then my guide will communicate with them," he said.
That guide is a "spirit guide," something he says we all have. He believes that when people die, they take on a new dimension.
"That dimension is not up or down or below," he explained. "It's right here. It's a different rate of frequency of vibration."
Before our visit, we asked Rogers whether we could observe him perform a reading on someone. Paul Maluccio, Cocoa, had volunteered.
"There's always a little, uh, concern," Maluccio smiled, nervously, just moments before the reading.
We stepped back and let Rogers do his thing.
"Your mother's still here with you," Rogers said not too long into the reading. "I can see her and I happened to catch the father being near you, too. But mostly, your mother is very close. You have two hands on your shoulders right there.. She is telling me — through my guide — that she's not going to leave you. She's going to stay with you for quite awhile here."
"She passed when she was 93," Maluccio said, nodding, blinking his eyes.
"Your mother's telling you that you need to open the door and walk out."
"Open the door and walk out?" Maluccio asked, scratching his chin. "She's trying to tell me that?"
"Absolutely," Rogers said. "You need time for you."
Maluccio wanted to know: Is my mother happy?
"If they're not paying taxes or watching a political debate, they're great!" Rogers joked, cracking up the room.
Amid the light-hearted moments, "thought bubbles" practically emitted from Maluccio's head.
"We see only certain things," Rogers said. "But over on the other side, they see the whole peripheral. So that's why you have to depend on them."
Rogers says there are three types of mediums: those who can hear, see or sense. He says he experiences the latter two, but he doesn't hear actual words from the spirit guides.
According to his biography, Rogers is a frequent guest on local radio, Sirius International radio and television. If you're interested in scheduling a reading, check out his official web page: www.themediumwithin.com.