James Van Praagh

Tickets start at $26.00 On sale now. James Van Praagh is a "survival evidence medium", meaning that he is able to bridge
the gap between two planes of existence, that of the living and that of the dead, by
providing evidential proof of life after death via detailed messages. His very natural,
easy-going style would lead you to believe that Van Praagh is chatting with a friend on
the telephone, not communicating messages from the grave. "I'm clairsentient," he
explains, "which simply means clear feeling. I feel the emotions and personalities of the
deceased. I am also clairvoyant," he adds, meaning that many times he will actually see
the spirit as a solid form and will describe their physical traits.
The detailed information conveyed between worlds is not only awe inspiring, but forces
people to question their own belief systems, views of reality and preconceptions of life
and death.
Van Praagh's popularity began in the early nineties, on the NBC morning talk show:
"The Other Side." The show concentrated on paranormal issues, and Van Praagh
became the favorite guest and resident expert on the subject of life after death. Even
Howard Rosenberg, the Los Angeles Times distinguished television critic, dubbed Van
Praagh "spectacular".
Through the years his message of hope has touched an abundance of people due to his
numerous guest appearances on such shows as "Oprah," "Larry King Live," "20/20,
"48 Hours," and "Biography." His unique paranormal experiences during the past
twenty-five years have seen him author best-selling books, create meditation intuitive
programming, a successful state of the art website, conduct seminars to sold-out
audiences, and produce successful television projects. Van Praagh's unique paranormal
experiences during the past twenty-five years have been recorded in his New York
Times best-selling books Talking To Heaven, Reaching To Heaven, Healing Grief,
Heaven and Earth, Looking Beyond: A Teen's Guide to the Spiritual World, Meditations
with James Van Praagh, Ghosts Among Us, and his newest book will be released in
May 2009, Unfinished Business.
As a pioneer in the field, Van Praagh has introduced the world to mediumship by
producing a daytime talk show entitled "Beyond With James Van Praagh." The show
aired in the U.S. from September 2002 through September 2003 and is still showing in
syndication in Europe, Australia and Latin America.
In April 2002, Van Praagh began an ongoing relationship with the CBS network and
produced an incredibly successful mini-series "Living With The Dead," inspired by his
first book Talking To Heaven. This mini-series starred Ted Danson and Mary
Steenburgen and was the highest rated show for CBS in two years. In October 2004 his
second successful CBS project aired entitled "The Dead Will Tell" starred Anne Heche
and Eva Longoria
.
Currently Van Praagh is Co-Executive Producing his first CBS primetime series "Ghost
Whisperer" starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. This show premiered in September 2005 and
has become the #1 drama for CBS in it's time slot, and has held that position for four
seasons.
In May 2006, Van Praagh signed an overall deal to develop projects for CBS Paramount
Network Television. Under this agreement, which covers scripted, reality series and
television movies, he also continues to contribute to the entertainment newsmagazines
Entertainment Tonight and The Insider.
Van Praagh was born in Bayside, New York, and is the youngest of four children. As an
average child, he remembers having a tremendous fascination with death. He was
raised Catholic and served as an altar boy, entering the seminary at the age of fourteen.
It was there that his interest in Catholicism ended and his sense of spirituality began.
There are no schools or training that could prepare Van Praagh for his unusual vocation.
Indeed, his ability to communicate with the dead arose out of his...well...life. This belief
was affirmed by an astonishing encounter that he had when he was only 8-years-old.
The young boy was praying for God to reveal Himself to him, when an open hand
appeared through the ceiling of Van Praagh's room emitting radiant beams of light.
Incredibly, he recounts, "I wasn't scared. It was actually very peaceful." Graduating from
public high school, he continued to pursue his studies and later graduated from San
Francisco State University with a degree in Broadcasting and Communications. You
could say that he ended up working in Communications, just in a different capacity. After
graduation, he moved to Los Angeles where he became involved in metaphysics and
psychic phenomena. At 24, the promise of that outstretched palm so many years before
was fulfilled.
During his early days in Los Angeles, Van Praagh was invited to attend a session with a
medium, although he didn't even know at that time what a medium was. Given that, he
was understandably dubious when the medium informed Van Praagh that he would be
doing the same work within two years. "My first reaction was, I have enough trouble
dealing with the living; why do I want to talk to the dead?"
As Van Praagh's sensitivity increased, he began doing psychic readings for friends.
During these readings, he began receiving detailed messages from the beyond. Though
at first this seemed bizarre, the more he learned, the more he could not deny the fact
that he had the gift to reach beyond the familiar plane of existence we call life. Today,
Van Praagh is recognized as one of the foremost mediums in the world.
Naturally, there remain skeptics about his abilities. Van Praagh, however, is the first to
say that he welcomes healthy skepticism, declaring, in fact, that he is a skeptic himself.
"I believe that I am doing this, but I don't believe that just anyone can do this. All
mediums are psychics, but not all psychics are mediums."
A psychic senses energy around the living people or objects. A medium not only senses
energy, but is able to interface between the slower vibrations of the physical world and
the much faster ones of the spirit world. Though Van Praagh is quick to point out that his
gift does not provide insights into the future, he is able to provide detailed evidential
proof that a loved one survived death. Surviving death may seem to be the supreme
oxymoron, but he has a firm belief that we are all spirit beings, and that there is far more
to our life than our life span.
Ultimately, Van Praagh feels extremely fortunate to be a conduit of comfort, healing, and
most importantly, love. "As a medium, I have never experienced anything but love and
compassion and healing in my work," he avows. "It is the love bond between people
which allows me to make the connection between the living and the dead."
"There are no words which exist in the English language or any other that can accurately
describe the intense sensations, colors and visions expressed by the spirit world" he
says. "If I convey recognizable evidence along with even a fraction of the loving energy
behind the message, I consider the reading successful." He assures us that the other
side residents are intent on letting their loved ones know they have survived so called
"death" and will attempt any way possible to let them know they are still very much alive
and are around them all the time.
Van Praagh also travels the world teaching mediumship development classes, hosting
cruises to spiritual destinations, and conducting sold-out seminars. He takes pride in
having built a web site that encourages spiritual learning, grief support and friendships
through its many online communities, resources and activities. "The books, CDs,
seminars, classes, web site and television projects are ways to share my abilities and
the message that our personalities do indeed survive death. My greatest satisfaction in
doing this work is witnessing an instantaneous change in people," states Van Praagh
about his work. "When someone is alone and overwhelmed by grief, life seems over.
But, when I'm able to help teach someone to make contact with a loved one, their grief
and loneliness disappear and proper closure can take place."
And so..."When a bright smile overcomes tears, it becomes a smile that can light up the
world!"
Location : Legends Theater