This is a profile I wrote about the renowned medium, Tina Powers, who leads our free online event every year, “Beyond this Realm." The essay explains how I came to believe in the possibility of communicating with people after they have passed, and shares Tina’s remarkable journey from being a news reporter to “reporting from the other side.” If you’re curious about this fascinating topic and all its implications, please join us!

Medium Tina Powers—Reporting for the Other Side

A few days before my father died, I began to feel his spirit sending me messages. Although it was hard to believe it was actually happening, the hospice nurses told me that they’d heard similar stories dozens of times. They’d also witnessed many near-death patients suddenly be able to hear words whispered far away in another room behind closed doors, as if they were no longer tethered to their bodies or limited by their physical senses. Even after my father passed, I continued to feel his presence.

Two months later, in November 2012, my family vacationed at Miraval—a holistic wellness spa in Tucson that offered sessions with metaphysical practitioners. I booked an appointment with a medium named Tina Powers, eager to see if she could contact my father.

In her forties, with long blond hair and bright green eyes, Tina was beautiful and buoyant. After starting off our session with a short prayer to set the intention that everything coming through from spirit would only be used for the highest good, Tina opened her eyes, gave me a radiant smile, and said, “Your dad is already here with us, looking very handsome and happy. He’s wearing a shirt that is highly unusual. The entire front is covered with pockets, at least a dozen. Does that mean anything to you?”

Myra and her father, Mendek, at Ribera Beach circa 2010

It sure did. My father had always been partial to pockets. As an inventor perennially working on multiple projects, he collected many little items, and always carried a pen and paper to jot down his ideas. In fact, my dad would only buy clothes that had a lot of pockets—the more the better!

The accuracy of the messages that came through Tina were mind-blowing. Because he’d had Alzheimer’s for a decade before he passed, it had been close to ten years since my father had been able to have a real conversation. But from this other world, he was able to answer all my questions and share a tremendous amount of wisdom, using words and phrases unique to him. My heart was bursting.

A couple of years later, when I began working on Quest for Eternal Sunshine and had many unanswerable questions, I remembered Tina and reached out. We spoke regularly for four years, and our sessions were always incredible. It was as if Tina had my dad’s phone number and could dial him up at any time. He was always eager to chat, giving me much-needed encouragement, clarification, even specific facts unknown to me that I was later able to verify.

Although these experiences challenge conventional Western belief systems, in many cultures around the world, people believe that the spirits of their ancestors are always present, and they continually acknowledge and venerate them. Wanting to explore the subject of the afterlife further and share my remarkable experiences, I reached out to Tina to see if she was willing to participate in a Quest for Eternal Sunshine event. Happily, she agreed!

Tina’s Evolution

Tina’s journey from being a television reporter to “reporting for the other side” is a fascinating story that goes all the way back to when she was four years old. As a little girl, Tina would feel energies in the room and sense that there were people watching her. “There were times when I thought I saw somebody, just a quick image. I would also hear things. I didn’t know what was going on and found it frightening and intrusive. I’d often tell my parents about my fears and ask to sleep with them, but they just hushed me. Now they feel badly about it.”

Tina went to the University of Arizona where she majored in Radio and Television. In 1985, at 18, she got a job as a radio reporter that also earned her college credit. “I was given a pager and the first big story I was sent to cover was about Michael Drummond, the first person to successfully receive an artificial heart transplant as a bridge to receiving a human heart. I called in the story from a payphone, not realizing its importance until later on.” After graduation, Tina worked as a primetime news anchor for eleven years. “I covered the OJ Simpson trial and met many incredible people, including Rosa Parks.”

Everything changed for Tina on the day she was sent to cover the drive-by shooting of a 13-year-old boy who’d been walking home from school. “I was there when the father arrived and felt ashamed that the cameraman and I took video footage of him in his deepest grief. The man’s pain was indescribable. Simultaneously, I felt his son’s presence. The father invited me into his home to speak with the family. All I wanted was to bring them comfort. My heart was breaking.”

The father asked Tina not to follow him around like reporters do, and she promised not to. Later that night, the news station told her to go back out for the candlelight vigil, but she refused. “Keeping my word was more important than getting the story. My boss looked at me like I’d grown three heads. I wasn’t fired, but I knew the time had come for a change. I wanted to help people and be of service.”

Tina took a new job as host of a morning radio show where she got off work at 10:00 AM. “After work, I’d go straight to Barnes & Noble to read books about near-death experiences, astrology, and the afterlife. I just couldn’t get enough. I investigated all that just like I investigated news stories.” Soon Tina discovered a spiritual center called Camp Chesterfield, which had been established outside of Indianapolis in the late 1800s. “I ended up attending the Chesterfield Spiritualist College where I committed to exploring and developing my clairvoyant abilities.”

When Tina began to do professional readings in 2003, she was scared. “I felt a tremendous responsibility. Often it was parents who called me to speak with their deceased children. I wanted to be accurate and make sense. But I always remembered what one of my teachers had told me, ‘Let the light work through you. Don’t let fear make you smaller. If you have something you can give people in need, don’t hold it back.’”

In one of her first phone sessions, while speaking with a woman who had lost her son, the message Tina received was, “Tell my mom that I hate the ugly orange shag carpeting.” Thinking she might sound crazy, Tina almost didn’t relay the message, but then she remembered another lesson she had learned in her training: We have to overcome our fear of being wrong and imperfect or we will constrict our connection. We must get our egos out of the way and give whatever we receive.

“I told the mom, ‘I know this sounds crazy, but your son wants you to know that he hates the ugly orange carpet.’ The mom didn’t reply immediately. I’ll never forget those long moments of silence. Finally, she said, ‘I’m standing on that carpet right now. He always hated it and wanted me to rip it out.’ After that, I just trusted the messages and knew to always share exactly what I hear.”

Tina’s reputation has continued to grow, and now it takes almost a year to get an appointment with her. Her clientele includes business leaders and celebrities across the globe. She also works with Dr. Gary Schwartz—a Harvard PhD who was a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Yale University before moving to the University of Arizona where he is the director of its Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health. Tina is one of the evidence-based mediums Dr. Schwartz uses in his research, which is aimed at proving the survival of consciousness after physical death.

Despite her incredible gifts and enormous success, Tina remains humble, aware of how much there still is to learn. “It feels like I’m the instrument, and that my role is one of being a messenger.”

The reason Tina loves this work is that it brings people a sense of connection and relief. “I also like to bring laughter and light. When you find joy, you unlock it for others. In readings, the vibrations are of joy and laughter—higher level vibrations that lift us up.”

Tina and I hope that you’ll join us for our free event—Beyond This Realm. Tina will share how she communicates with people who have passed, describe their symbolic language, and explain how we can all recognize signs and support from other realms in our own lives. There will be plenty of time for questions and visitations.

Tina’s mission is to help people connect with their loved ones who have passed to help them find peace and lead happier lives. She says, “A reading can feel like a hot air balloon ride to contact our loved ones in the other world. The lift can assist us in remembering what our soul wanted to learn and experience while here on earth.”

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(If you sign up but can’t attend live, you will receive a recording).

PS—If you’re a Real Housewives of New Jersey fan, you can watch Tina give them a reading here.