I’ve been writing and re-writing this post in my head for weeks now. I’m really not sure how to share this story with you. All I can say is, I’ve always believed in life after death in some capacity, and I’ve always known there is more to life than meets the eye. Every time I meet someone with intuitive or psychic abilities, though, I’m still amazed.

While I am connected with my intuition, I’m not in a place where I’m able to have conversations with ‘dead people’ or predict the future, so, when given the opportunity to have a session with a psychic/medium I jumped at it—why not?!

Just over a month ago, my younger brother (who is well-connected in the world of personal empowerment and runs a biz called the Youth Wellness Network; a story for another blog) told me about a woman by the name of Jaye McKenzie. She’s a medium, a psychic, a Reiki/energy healer, and positivity coach. She lives in Toronto’s posh Forest Hill neighbourhood and makes house calls when she’s giving readings. Jaye has been running her business, Jade Intuitive and Forest Hill Psychic Services, officially since 2007.

I booked Jaye to come over for an afternoon in early May to clear the energy in my office (with the hopes of boosting my productivity) and provide me with a ‘reading.’

Admittedly, I was a bit nervous. But I was also really excited.

When she arrived, my fears vanished instantly. Her bubbly personality and laid-back demeanor were calming—and I was excited to see what sort of information she’d be able to provide.

One of the first things out of her mouth were: “You’re getting ready to have another baby…it’s going to be a boy.”

Truth be told, I’ve been talking about getting ready to have another baby for months, but only just recently did I start taking my prenatal vitamin religiously and buying clothes one size too big…just in case. Jaye tells me that her accuracy in predicting baby’s gender is flawless and she’s even gone so far as to get names of unborn babies right on. I have no way of knowing if she’s right or not (since I’m not even pregnant yet) but I’ll be sure you let you know.

Before she hung her proverbial shingle as a ‘psychic/medium’ (no, she doesn’t have a house with a big flashing palm and crystal ball in the window) Jaye used to be an actor. She did voiceover work and performed on stage. She was an on-air spokesperson for the Shopping Cannel. Then, she spent more than 10 years working as a real estate agent. At some point she realized that she wasn’t living her passion nor doing what she was meant to be doing with her life. She’d been in touch with her ‘psychic’ abilities since she was 4-years-old, but had never considered making a career out of it.

As a little kid she was nurtured in her intuitive abilities, where many other kids are told that ‘it’s just in their imaginations.’ “It’s not unusual for kids to be intuitive,” she tells me. I’m instantly reminded of a blog post I read recently by a dad asking if kids have a ‘sixth sense’ and describing his daughter’s ‘conversations’ with a grandfather who died long before she was born.

What if our kids’ imaginary friends aren’t really imaginary?

Because Jaye came from a family of intuitive people (she calls herself a fourth generation psychic), the things she saw and heard weren’t considered so unusual. “I remember playing a game with my mom while I was in the bathtub,” Jaye explains. “She would telepathically send me the name of a colour, and I would pick up on it and say it out loud. Then I would send her a colour back. We’d play this game every day and my mom was often surprised by my accuracy.”

As a kid, Jaye says, her five senses were heightened and she was especially sensitive to loud noises and bright lights. She was afraid of the dark (because she heard voices at night) and was one of those kids who only wanted to sleep with her parents.  “I remember wanting the voices to go away when I was a kid,” she says. “Sometimes it was really scary.”

Today, Jaye works with intuitive or psychic kids and their families to help them feel more comfortable with what it is they’re experiencing. “It’s so important for parents to listen to their kids rather than shutting them down,” she tells me. “Around age 8 most kids’ abilities will either become really strong or will fall-off altogether—depending on how their parents respond to them.”

Jaye admits that talking with dead people might seem totally out there or crazy to some, but, she says, “It’s no coincidence that so many movies and TV shows have been made about this stuff; many of which, including Ghost and The Sixth Sense, are bang on.”

After chatting with me a bit about my career aspirations and passions (read: she listed a bunch of my passions and provided some insight on how I might accomplish them) she set to work clearing the energy in my home office. For this part of the session, she asked me to wait downstairs while she did her thing. I’m not sure exactly what her process involves, but at one point I think I smelled burning sage wafting through the house.

About 20 minutes later we were seated across from each other at my dining room table ready for the real reading to begin. That’s when she started telling me about my maternal grandmother—whose spirit had actually been interacting with her for a few days leading up to our session.

Hello, Bubba Shirley! It’s been a while.

My Bubba passed away when I was in Grade 9. She was one of my favourite people. We were both Capricorns and she liked to share insights about our sign and what we had to do to make the most of our zodiac.   

My Bubba was an amazing woman with lots of chutzpa and a real zest for life. She had no problem telling people what to do, and it sounds like this is exactly what Jaye was picking up on.

The story Jaye shared went something like this:

“I was in the bathroom getting ready to come see you, when I was drawn to pick up a pair of scissors and start cutting my hair. I actually made a few cuts before stopping myself. It was surreal. Then your grandmother said to me: ‘you’re not going to leave without putting on eye makeup are you?’ Well, I never wear makeup to readings because I often end up sharing tears with my clients. But, she was so insistent I had to comply.”

Now, I wouldn’t expect this to make sense to any of you—but my mom can attest that this is so Shirley-like it’s uncanny. My Bubba used to tell my mom never to leave the house without makeup (especially cover-up) because you never know who you’re going to meet while you’re out. And, she actually had her own pair of fancy haircutting scissors (which she passed down to my mom and we were looking for the other day to trim my daughter’s bangs). She liked to cut her own hair.

Cue goosebumps.

Because a lot of what was said over the next few hours was personal, and won’t hold much meaning for you, I won’t repeat it all. I will only share that most of the messages my Bubba gave me (through Jaye) were hopeful and inspiring. “Don’t be so hard on yourself,” she said. “ Enjoy life. You’re doing a good job and things are much better than you tend to think they are. I’m here with you like your guardian angel.”

I couldn’t help feel emotional when I heard this. I had always thought of my Bubba as my guardian angel, but it was surprising to hear it said aloud.

Toward the end of the session my husband’s great grandfather stepped into the conversation (other relatives of his had also come forward throughout the session with messages for him). This particular one wanted to remind us that twins run in the family. He said while he’s certain we’re going to have that boy…it might, in fact, be child number three (as in the second twin). Oh, and by the way, he’d love it if we could name that baby boy after him.

I guess chutzpa runs in both families.

For the time being, I’m going to ignore the ‘twins’ comment, otherwise there’s no way I’m going to convince myself to get pregnant again...

I asked Jaye, as we were chatting after my session, what people typically get from her readings. Why does she love doing what she does so much? She said: "I work with people to help them find balance and peace and to connect with those they’ve lost. The connection is meant to let you know that when someone dies they are fine! They go to an actual place, and they are peaceful, and there is no more pain. Also, those who have passed are still a part of your life, they want to help you, and they are watching over you. There is more to life than what you can see with your two eyes."

Jaye shares some her incredible experiences on her blog http://jayemckenzie.wordpress.com