James Van Praagh: A Psychic On A Mission

It took James Van Praagh some time to accept the words of a medium that he would “change the consciousness of the planet.”

But the chance encounter sprung Van Praagh on a path that has led to the publication of nine books, several TV shows and live performances around the globe.

The Palm Springs resident and “Survival Evidence Medium” will perform at the in Palm Desert on Sunday, Dec. 4. (Tickets are on sale online.)

Van Praagh will talk to the audience about “what happens when we die, how do we know when our loved ones are around us, what is heaven like, and how to live mindful lives in a ‘physical world.’”

Before becoming successful, he left New York for California to work in broadcasting and attend San Francisco State with dreams of becoming a sitcom writer.

Van Praagh eventually got an informal job offer from a producer and hit a crossroads when his mother had a stroke.

“I had a decision to make, whether I should stay there with her when she was ill, or should I go follow my dream in California. I knew that she would want me to follow my dream. I literally drove across the country with a heavy heart, of course,” he said.

He called up the producer at Mary Tyler Moore (MTM) Productions, but the man never called Van Praagh back, and when he called the studio they would not give him a job.

But Van Praagh got a job at another studio, and eventually met a woman who directed him to a medium named Brian Horst in Manhattan Beach.

“As soon as I walked in, he told me, ‘You’re a medium,’” Van Praagh recalled. “He said you are going to work in the spirit world because they have plans for you. They are going to help to change the consciousness of the planet.”

After leaving Horst’s apartment, Van Praagh began meditating and honing his skills as a psychic, meeting with small groups of people and channeling “messages of love.”

He began doing his spiritual work on the “Joan Rivers Show,” “Unsolved Mysteries” and “The Other Side” before landing on CNN’s “Larry King Live” in 1997 to talk about his book “Talking To Heaven.”

“I did Larry King on a Friday night. The CNN bureaus around the world did not stop getting phone calls until Sunday. The book went from 6,000 copies to 600,000 copies in less than three months,” he said. “Then it was worldwide and a worldwide phenomena.”

He said people began accepting death and the “medium phenomena” began. (Who hasn't seen Psych, The Mentalist?)

“Now it’s everywhere. Everyone has experiences like this and now it is OK to talk about. I think it did change the consciousness of the planet,” he said.