That ONE Question I Always Get Asked as a Psychic Medium

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Welcome to the Medium by Design Podcast. I'm your host, Barb Mallon. I wear many hats: Psychic Medium, Tarot Consultant, Mentor, and Silversmith. And this weekly show is where I bring them all together. We'll cover my 26-year journey as an evidential medium, discussing subjects such as the spirit realm, psychic development, our pets in the afterlife, and so much more. We'll also explore the wonderful energy of gemstones and my love of creating magical jewelry designs. You can follow me on Instagram or Facebook at Barb Mallon Medium by Design. You can also visit my website to book a session at www.barballon.com or check out my handmade sterling silver and gemstone jewelry at www.barbmallondesigns.com. I am so happy you're here and look forward to having you follow along. Now let's get started. Hello and welcome to episode two of my medium by design podcast. This one is called That One Question I Always Get Asked. And when I say always, I mean always. I will have potential clients call me asking about a session and have questions about a session. And this is always that one question that I get asked almost 90% of the time at the end of the conversation. But we'll get into that in a bit. First, a few things before we start. I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July and you were able to stay somewhat cool. Oh my gosh, here in Northern Virginia, it has been suffocating to say the least. I mean, I think on the 4th it was literally 102 degrees outside, but it felt like 108 or something. Whew! And today is very much the same. It's just super hot. But I mean, it is July in Northern Virginia, so what are you gonna do? I wanted to thank all of you who listened to my very first podcast a few weeks ago. I know I need to fix some volume issues and I need to definitely redo my intro. I think I was getting over a cold, so it sounds very nasally, but I will get there soon. And I am still going through some dental procedures. I it's taking a little longer to get these two temporary teeth put in. So I still talk a little funny. You might hear some air going through. So about the podcast, it was really, really fun seeing my download numbers going up for episode one. I was a little, it was a little scary too, in a way, because I knew people were actually listening to what I'm saying. So it was fun, but nerve-wracking. But I I guess I guess I really just hope that you all enjoy the content and that the weird things I've gone through in my own life may help you not to feel so alone or by yourself or weird or different. You know, especially some of you who have kids, they might be going through something very similar. And, you know, I know that I would have liked knowing that I really wasn't as weird as I thought I was when I was little, especially when I had my kids and they were going through weird things. So yeah, it's a lot. But I hope that you understand and it helps you a little bit with the content that I provide you. Okay, back to the episode. So this is why I decided on this subject for episode two. The one question I always get asked. So basically, you know, I'll my phone will ring, someone will leave a voice message, and this is the typical message left for me. Hey, my name is Trish. I'm looking to book a session with you. Can you let me know how to book? But can you give me a call back? I just have a few questions first. So I know this is going to be a good 15-minute call, and I go into my office and make the call back. Me. Hi, it's Barb Mallon returning your call. How are you? Trish. Oh, thanks for returning my call. I just have a few questions. Me, of course. How can I help you? Trish, well, I was looking to book a session. How do I book? Me. Oh, it's super easy. Just from my website, www.barbmallon.com, and then just click the appointments tab at the top. Trish. Oh, okay. So what happens in a reading? Me. Well, if it's a mediumship reading, my job is to connect you to your people in spirit for evidential information and then any messages they'd like to convey to you or other people that you're connected to. Trish. Oh, okay, gotcha. That's exactly what I was looking for. I'll go to your website right now to book me. Great. Well, let me know if you need any help with anything. Trish. Oh, well, I mean, while I have you, I do have one quick question if that's okay. And here's that number one question I always get asked. So, how and when did you first know you could do this? And then it's going back to tell my abbreviated story for probably the 5,000th time. And I'm happy to answer this question, but I always wonder why does this always come up? I feel that people think that I, me, Barb Mallon, may be different than they are somehow. And it's it's just it's weird for me to think about. Like there's this innate curiosity of how someone like me can speak to the dead, but they can't. Now I've I've said this before. The thing is, they actually can, but just don't know it. And everyone can to a degree, but many are just so bogged down with, you know, life and things and family to actually hear or feel or sense them. Those life things, what to eat for dinner. I need to pay that bill. Gotta get the kids ready for school, gotta get the kids to bed. These are all obviously very normal things, but when we are really super busy with life, it's so hard for us to sense things sometimes. It's your you know it just really is. One of the mediums that I worked with, who I will mention later, said this when I was frustrated with my development or thought it was taking just too long, all that normal stuff people think about. She said, quote, after your kids are old enough to start fending for themselves a little more and don't need you as much, your energy will be able to open more and you will settle into a pattern. Trust me, end quote. So of course that makes sense. In the meantime, I researched and practiced as much as I could, but you know, I was a mom first, and until I had that space to explore more, I just did whatever I could. I researched, I practiced, like I said, anything I could do in that meantime. Learned and learned and learned. So this brings me back to my point in my last podcast that everyone can connect to their loved ones in spirit. And yes, some people are more in tune than others. That's just totally normal. But it's also okay if it takes some time for you to grow. Just relax, and the universe will provide when it's at the right time for you. Now, don't get me wrong, I am happy to do my job as a medium, of course, but you really don't need me to connect to your amazing people in spirit. I know that I, or any medium, can give you validations of your people in spirit, but you always can talk to them and connect to them yourself. They always hear you. And that's whether you talk to them in your head because your thoughts are energy and they hear them and pick them up, or out loud. So this is why I wanted to start this podcast. I want you to consider this as normal in your life and natural, not supernatural. I have a thing about that word, it bugs me. It's very normal and natural. And I even bet that you've had your own weird, undeniable, unexplainable experiences as well. And I would love to hear them if you add them to the comments or just send me an email. Either one, I would love to hear them and share them with everybody. The main thing that you always need to remember is the word trust. T-R-U-S-T. Trust. This is the main thing that holds you back from really knowing it was one of your loved ones in spirit just trying to say hello. It's the not trusting thing. I always say, if you think you hear, feel, sense, or see something, you probably did. And I know it's really hard to trust it, but can you imagine if it were you in spirit trying to say hello to someone here on the physical plane and they say, Oh, what is wrong with me? I must be tired. I'm seeing things that cannot really be them. I've worked too hard this week. I would imagine it's pretty frustrating for them, for sure. You know, was that really my dad that I felt? Was that really my dog that I thought I saw? Was that really my grandmother's perfume I smelled? Yep. It was. You just need to trust. It's okay. So here's the answer to my number one question that I'm asked. When did you know you could do this? Or when did you know you could do this? It sounds more like how it sounds. Well, I started this as an abbreviated answer for everybody here, but then it just turned into, I guess, the answer. So I am sorry about that. Just so you know, I always do give the abbreviated answer when I'm on the phone talking to somebody. They don't have to listen to all this. A little embarrassing, but here we go. I was always that really weird kid who just wanted to be magical. I mean, I was obsessed with anything magical. I was obsessed with Peter Pan, more so Tinkerbell of Peter Pan, but also Peter himself. I wanted to fly. I wanted to have sparkly wand, magical wands, sparkly things. I wanted to buzz around the room. I wanted to fly to Netherlands. So that was me. I was super dreamy, super floaty. And I'll I'll talk about this a little bit later, but yeah, that was me when I was first, when I was little, when I was first alive. I don't know. Anyway. So a little later, I was really into this thing called ESP, extrasensory perception. And I am aging myself because that was kind of the norm term back in the 1970s. I was super interested in learning how to be psychic and learning who my spirit guides were, how to connect with them. And so every time I had the opportunity, normally when my stepmom went to the library or shopping in the same shopping center as the library, I'd go there and just immerse myself in the quote-unquote occult section. That's what they called it before the term new age or metaphysical kind of came around. I feel like those terms sort of normalized it more. I would get this weird look from the librarian because I'd have six or six or seven books about ESP or how to meet your spirit guides or how to become psychic, so on. All the other kids were checking out like Nancy Drew books or, you know, stories, and I was checking out all the ESP books. So I always got that kind of weird look. I also wanted to talk to animals because I saw the movie Dr. Doolittle and I was obsessed. But I knew there was a way to telepathically do the same thing. And I don't know how I knew that. I guess maybe I had checked out a book about animal communication, or somehow I read that that could be a thing. So I was really obsessed with that as well. I was always more out there than here. I don't think I was really ever grounded when I was little, both before and especially after that hospital event I mentioned in the last episode when I was eight or nine. I was floaty all the time. Anyway, my 20s happened and there was still an interest in all things metaphysical, but I was super busy with everyday things, life, just a lot in my 20s, a lot of wonderful things, just very busy things, and I didn't really have time to dive back into it the way I had wanted to. And it kind of went to the wayside, it kind of went to the back burner or whatever you want to call it. But eventually those magical rumblings came back, and I mean even stronger. When I was in my early 30s, and after I remarried and had my second child, this amped up, I had been getting into working with the tarot again, meditating more, reading about tuning in, and working on my intuitive abilities that I wasn't even sure I had. I realized that so much more was coming to me while I was doing the tarot for myself, my family, and friends, and I felt it was really coming pretty easily to me. I thought and had this idea that it would be a nice break to go up to the local Starbucks and I asked them if I could sit in the back and do free mini tarot readings for their customers. It was free for them, but it was also a practice for me, which is what I really needed. I did have a little tip jar, so I made a little bit of fun money. Is it funny money or fun money? I don't know, but I did make a little bit of money on the side, so that was fun. You know, it went really well, and people started to expect me to be there after a while. I would stay for about two hours or so each Wednesday night, and I'd have repeat customers coming back to see me. I had so much fun, and I was learning and growing so much from the practice. And the funny thing is, I still have a couple of clients who I still read for, who I read for at that same Starbucks. It's so funny. I mean, that was what, 30 years ago? Ugh. Long time. But that stopped after a few months when three teenage boys stole the money out of my tip jar. I saw them walk past me into the bathroom, and when they went back the other way, my money was gone. Now it was only like 15 bucks, not a big deal. But it hurt my heart. It just kind of made me sad and it made me feel like I just felt weird being there. So I stopped the Starbucks thing, but I still I loved it so much. And I I wanted to keep doing readings for people and practicing. And I found this website called, I and I don't even know if it's around anymore. It was called or is called Keen.com. I started doing readings on there. It was it was cool because you would just open up your phone lines for an hour or two hours or whatever you wanted, and people would call you if they wanted to do like it was a pay per minute thing. The tarot readings didn't last very long, so it wasn't a lot of money or anything, but I was getting really, really good reviews, and people were calling back. So that was giving me validation and I was practicing, and it was it was a lot of fun. Plus, I was making more of that fun money. I don't know what that is anyway. But I felt so good about the reviews, and I I was having fun, but there was still something more. Like I was moving towards something and I didn't know what it was, but I felt it. And it it was like having blinders on. I couldn't see what it was, but I knew it was there. So one day out of the blue, I was home switching channels on TV, and I happened on this show called Crossing Over with John Edward. I'm sure many of you have heard about that show. I didn't get what he was doing at first or what was going on, and I couldn't figure out. I honestly couldn't figure out what he was doing at first. And then I started watching him. And the more I watched, the weirdest thing happened. My entire body lit up, and I somehow, and I have no idea why, I just knew that this was that weird, unanswered question that I had about this whole metaphysical feeling that was going on with me. It was, or I felt like it was what I was supposed to do or could do, and I don't like to use the phrase supposed to do. We will talk about that in another podcast or episode. But it was something I felt like I could do, and I was intrigued. Now, I had no idea why I felt this way. I was totally scared of all ghosty things from past experiences that I had when I was little, and we will talk about that in another episode as well. I had no intention of opening myself up or my family up to anything scary or dead. Nope, nope, and nope. I honestly thought that if I opened myself up to people who had passed away, that I was opening Pandora's box. And I had a family, I had kids. I didn't know if that felt safe to me. Well, that feeling kept pushing me. Just the feeling of being intrigued about what John was doing. And instead of me freaking out about it, and especially freaking out about something I didn't know much about, I took a breath and I researched about mediumship and I looked into and learned about what it really was. I learned that I could control the situation, that I could protect myself and my family, and so many other things. When I was scared, I feel like I was being ignorant. And I I just was putting my my just a block up and saying, nope, I don't want any of that scary stuff. But sometimes you just have to dig in a little bit and learn. And that's what I did. I learned that it was okay. You know, if I worked in the highest way, if I set my intentions in the highest way, and I didn't go to those dark places like some people do, or, you know, I would be okay. So, you know, I I learned quick. And as I was learning, things were resonating perfectly within me. Every single cell of my being felt like this was something I really could pursue if I wanted to. It was that magical thing that connected me to that realm. It was like, there's the key. It it's even now it gives me chills thinking about it. It was like, oh, okay. But then I went cuckoo. I sought out readings from as many psychics and mediums as I could because I wanted validation. I figured that if I were headed in the right direction or the right path, then it would definitely be shown to me through a reading. I mean, I felt that I was going in the right direction, but I wanted someone to say to me, Oh, you're definitely a medium. That's exactly what you're supposed to do. And I really know now that I didn't need that, but at the time, yes, I really did. One session was with a medium who apparently told the medium John Edward that he would be a medium and help people someday. So I felt like, oh, maybe she'll tell me the same thing, because, you know, she told him, and I know I'm not any, you know, I'm not, I'm not obviously not John Edward, but maybe she'll pick up that for me. So unfortunately, and no offense to her, but she was a bit rude and snippy, was kind of disappointed right from the get-go. I remember calling. My appointment was at one o'clock, and I think I called her at 1257 or something, and she said, You've got three minutes, call me back after that. So I was kind of like, I felt awkward at first just with that. But, you know, she did tell me that all I needed to do was to meditate to get to where I'm trying to go. Meditate, the key was meditation, and that's true. So, okay, thanks, I guess. But so basically, I just watched how different mediums worked. I consistently started meditating and I started working with my own team of spirit guides. I definitely made sure to get their attention by saying, hey, hello, I am doing my part here. Now what? How? When? Hello, tick, tick, tick. I am doing what I need to be doing. Where are you? What is going on? And you know, we all find out that that's not the way they work. So not long after, I found this really cool website and a class that was online. I took their course and they allowed for budding mediums to do practice sessions in the chat. Now you have to remember, this was when the internet was pretty new. So this is in the late 90s. So I feel really grateful that they happened to have had this class online, dial up, AOL or whatever it was. But it opened up such an opportunity for me to practice and practice and practice and learn and practice. Practice more. It was really, really, really cool. And as I was practicing, I noticed that the things were coming in super clear. The participants that I was reading for, they understood what I was relaying and they could identify who was coming through and talking to me. I was overjoyed. And you know what? It just felt right. Like things were falling into place. It was like the puzzle piece, that last one. I found it. And then not long after that, the spider web experience I had happened. And I'm sorry for the cliffhanger here, but that will be in another episode. But yeah, that definitely happened after I started opening up and learning more and practicing. Then in my research, I found a local spiritualist church where guest mediums would give messages after the sermon. The church was headed by Reverend B. Ann Gain and her husband, Wayne Knoll. And if you've heard of Reverend Gaiman, you would know or will know that she participated with John Edward, I think it was an HBO documentary where she was tested. I think there were five mediums, and he mentions her a lot. Now it was really coincidence that I had no idea that she was the Reverend at this church, so it was all kind of like, wait, what? But the church held spirit circles or practice circles in Anne's Virginia home every Wednesday night. Anne was a very famous psychic and medium, and she had even worked with the Reagans as an astrologer, I think. She also did dowsing work for oil companies, if I remember correctly. I didn't know about all this at the time, or I probably would have been pretty starstruck. But she held her Wednesday Spirit Circle every single week, even with curlers in her hair. She was wonderful. And she helped me so much. Practicing with like-minded people helped me immensely. I needed practice and validation, and oh my gosh, I was getting it through those circles. One fun validation I got, and it took me a while to get. I ordered this handmade necklace from someone on Etsy. I loved her work, and I couldn't wait to get it. And when the piece came in, I put it on right away. I mean, it was beautiful, it was perfect. And when I took it off, I had this weird feeling to just hold it in my hands. Now that is actually called psychometry, and it's a wonderful way to practice and learn to receive information. But we will talk about that in another episode as well. But I was holding it and I suddenly saw this blonde-haired, westerly, westerny, westerny kind of looking guy with a cigarette in his hand. He told me his name was Larry and he had died by suicide. There was a bunch more info too, but I hesitantly reached out to the artist with a long paragraph and wrote her about this connection that I had. I was super nervous. I thought I'm either gonna really upset her or maybe she'll think I'm crazy, or I don't know, but I felt like I needed to send this email. So I pressed the button, sent it, and I hope that I didn't freak her out. She wrote me back about three full days later. And let me tell you what, not hearing from her for three days, I was thinking every thought, oh my god, it made her mad. She's freaked out, blah, blah, blah. But she wrote me back and she said I had connected with her Uncle Larry, who was like her dad, and who looked just like that. And he smoked, and he died by suicide. It was a long email, but it validated all these different things that I had mentioned, and she was she was happy. She had missed him, and this was a welcome and unexpected email for her. Oh my gosh. And to say that I was relieved is an understatement, but also validated. I was so excited. Now I do not give random readings to people who do not ask for them. I stick to that practice and I will always, but I was just learning then and I didn't know. So, but it was a really cool validation, I have to say. So I think I had started to let go of the King.com thing, and I looked into other places to offer my sessions at an extremely low price, and again, mostly just to practice. I also wanted there to be a place where someone could leave reviews for me because I feel like that was holding me accountable and I felt validated when somebody was really happy. And so I started working on eBay. And funny story, when I signed up to do these sessions, there were maybe eight other mediums on there doing sessions as well. And now I think they're everywhere, but it's so wild for me to think about like I was just one of eight or one of nine back in the, I guess that would be late 90s, early 2000s, way maybe to the year 2000 or something, but way back. Even wilder, I did an eBay medium reading for someone who validated everything and really seemed to enjoy it. I didn't know it at the time, but she was a reporter doing a piece for the Toronto Star about, quote, eBay mediums. And I was one of, I think, five mentioned in her story. The article was about whether the less expensive eBay readings could be the same, if not better, than having a session with a famous medium. I think that was pretty much what it was about, but there was a comparison thing going on. Then I couldn't figure out why my phone started blowing up suddenly for a few days until one of the messages mentioned the article. And of course, I was like, what article? What are you talking about? And I searched and searched and found it online finally. It was a really lovely write-up. And I was one of the handful of mediums that she had used from eBay. I wrote her and I thanked her and told her what had happened and that I was happy that I had done her session and she was happy. And she even sent me the actual newspaper in the mail. I don't know where it is now. I wish I did, but I'll find it someday. But anyway, so back to the original question. How or when did you know you could do this? It was and is still a journey. Even though I'm still doing readings, I've cut down, but I'm still doing readings. I'm also trying to continue my journey doing different things, like starting this podcast. I'm learning to evolve, I research, I watch mediums, I learn new spiritual things, I try them out. My guides tell me new things sometimes. I have spirit people that tell me new things sometimes, so it's always evolving. So I guess the short answer is that I was a weird, dreamy, floaty, and magical kid. I was drawn to any metaphysical or magical subject. It didn't matter. I had some cool and some very scary experiences and ones that I just didn't understand, and these will also be covered in future episodes. I clearly didn't pay attention to my intuition in my 20s, and then in my 30s, that poll started again, and I by chance saw a medium work, and I knew for some reason that's what that poll had been with me. So I started to pay more attention and I learned whatever I could about the subject of mediumship. Now it did not come easily. I had to work at it and I had to learn in every session, and I still do. Like I said before, I learn things constantly in my readings. So if you are trying to learn, you need to practice, practice, practice, practice, and also receive validations. So here are some big things to remember. Number one, meditation is the key to developing, and this involves you learning about who your team of spirit guides are. You are the best person to learn who your guides are. You do not need a psychic or a medium for this. Number two, spirit guides will come and go except for a select few. Some are teachers, some are there just for whatever you're experiencing at the time, some are gatekeepers for mediumship if that's what you're interested in. We will definitely be covering spirit guides in another upcoming episode, so stay tuned. Number three, if you have like-minded friends for people around you, practice on them. Look for local metaphysical stores where you can find things like meetups or at least referrals to places that are open to teaching and helping you. Number four, have patience. It doesn't happen overnight. It takes time to figure things out and learn about your own team of guides and how everything just works. Number five, and other things too, but especially always ask to connect to the highest and the best first. Trust your guides and be sure to do this for the highest good of all, for your client, for their people in spirit, and for yourself and your family. So that's it for today's episode. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope it helped you a little bit. It is now time for that collective weekly tarot card poll. And what I always ask for everyone is what does our soul need to know this week? Or what do we need to know this week? All right, let's see what we have. Let me do some shuffling. What do we need to know for the next week or the week coming up? So okay, let's see. All right, so we have the magician card, and this is number one in the major arcana. It a it is a major arcana card, like I just said, but it's what these are one of the soul cards that we have. The major arcana are soul cards, and the minor arcana are mostly day-to-day things. But this is the magician. The magician, basically, this the meaning of this card for you for our question is remember that you have all the tools available that you need to do whatever it is that you need to do. The magician has his cup on his altar, his pentacle, his sword, his wand. He is pointing as above, so below, which means there's duality. He's got the infinity symbol over his head. He is growing things around him. Basically, what you'd need to do or think about with this card is if there's something coming up that you're trying to learn or you have to do, or you're thinking about starting, you have all the tools available to you to do what you need to do. You just have to know that you have them. You have to be secure with yourself, you have to feel um confident, but you already have everything you need to start your journey. You already have it all. And this is upright, which is a very strong reverse can sometimes mean there's some delays or things, but this was upright. So everybody, be the magician. Okay, well, thanks so much for tuning in. I am trying to make these weekly, but like I said before, it does take a while to do. And I am new to this. I'm not an editor. I am trying to speak more clearly and slower, but I'm glad you're coming along with me. If you don't mind, and if you like these two episodes, please subscribe and please share. That would be so awesome of you. And if you're interested in your own reading, you can visit my website at www.barbmalin.com. But until next time, I hope you have a wonderful week and please contact me or comment with any questions or thoughts you might have. I'm always around. Okay. Bye for now.