James Van Praagh is one of the most well known spiritual mediums in the world. His unique paranormal experiences during the past eighteen years have been recorded in his best-selling books "Talking To Heaven," "Reaching To Heaven," and "Healing Grief - Reclaiming Life After Any Loss," all published by Dutton Books. His fourth book, published by Simon and Schuster, is the proclaimed Heaven and Earth - Making the Psychic Connection."

In September 2003, James introduced his understanding to teens with his much-anticipated book "Looking Beyond: A Teen's Guide to the Spiritual World." In November 2003 his book "Meditations with James Van Praagh" was published bringing new awareness to the meditation experience.

James has shared his extraordinary gift on television with a daytime talk show of his own, "Beyond With James Van Praagh." His show tapped into the emotions that traditional daytime viewers craved in a way that was completely non-traditional. Beyond aired in the U.S. from September 2002 to September 2003 and is still showing in syndication in Australia.

In April 2002, CBS produced a successful television mini-series "Living With The Dead," inspired by James' life and his first book Talking To Heaven. This CBS special starred actor Ted Danson and was the highest-rated show for CBS in two years. With the success of the first miniseries, CBS is currently in production of a second made-for-TV movie based on an actual incident in James' life. The new movie is titled "The Dead Will Tell" and will star actress Anne Hesche. It is slated to air during the 2004-2005 CBS season.

To assist others in spiritual awareness and fulfillment, James has also produced 4 new meditation programs featuring music by the world's leading composer of sound healing Steven Halpern. More information on his CDs, books, talks, and experiences can be found on James' website www.vanpraagh.com

SG = Soul Graffiti
JVP = James Van Praagh

SG: AS A WORLD-RENOWNED MEDIUM, DO YOU BELIEVE THAT OUR DECEASED LOVED ONES ARE AFFECTED BY ACTS OF KINDNESS OR SERVICE DONE IN THEIR MEMORY?

JVP: Everything is energy. Thought is VERY REAL. A spirit lives in the MENTAL WORLD of thought and sees the thoughts materialize. Any thoughts, prayers or acts of kindness directed toward them, are not only realized by the Spirit, but in many cases assists them in loving and appreciating themselves more. This is especially important in suicide cases, where the Spirit might need to know we forgive them, so they can forgive themselves.

SG: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE A LIFE OF LOVE?

JVP: What I mean by that is to first live a life of “mindfulness”, by learning to be aware of every moment and situation you are experiencing in the moment. If one spends their thoughts in the past (which has already happened) and in the future (which has not yet happened), they are missing out on the now. When one is mindful of the moment, they are aware of how they act, react and think in that particular situation. When they do this, they can decide to live the moment from a place of love or a place of fear. When we make choices based on love, we are being true to our natural selves. Fear is foreign. So, to live a life of love…is being able to be aware in the moment, choosing love over fear.

SG: HOW CAN ONE OPEN THEIR HEART TO UNCONDITIONAL LOVE?

JVP: Not an easy thing to do, and one which takes practice. But, we can begin, to do this, by recognizing when we are in situations with others, and we send out fear, hate, or a negative emotion, to immediately place ourselves in that other person’s shoes. Try to look at all things from another’s perspective. If you do this, you might begin to understand why someone behaves a certain way, or what their belief system is telling them. More understanding and compassion go a long way on the road to oneness.

SG: HOW DO ACTS OF LOVING KINDNESS AFFECT US IN THE AFTER LIFE?

JVP: Many of us have grown up with the children’s story about how God is sitting in heaven and has a book, which he writes down how we behaved on the earth. Well, that is not as far fetched as we might think. In reality, every action, thought, word and behavior is recorded in our etheric envelope or soul memory. One of the first things which occur once we pass into the worlds of Spirit is a life review, in which we relive every situation we encountered on the earth. We are our own judges and jury and we have to experience every thing we gave out. Many have asked me what is “heaven” and “hell” and I tell them, that in your life review, if you lived a decent life and gave our love and kindness and compassion, than that is what you will experience when you pass over. The same for those who did not love, and were in considerate of others, you will experience that too. So, one must forgive themselves for their wrong doings. It is hard enough on the earth to forgive ourselves, imagine if you had eternity with no time….reliving all the good or bad you have done to yourself and others. This in my mind is heaven or hell. And you will be met by the kindnesses or the unkindness you created.

SG: IS THERE A CONCEPT OF GOOD AND BAD IN THE SPIRIT REALM?

JVP: I believe from the realms of Spirit there isn’t a judgment such as “good” and “bad” as we like to have on this earth. In Spirit, it seems as if there is those who are more aware and those who are not. In other words, in Spirit you see each other for the level of understanding and compassion in your make-up. There nothing is hidden. So, there are many levels of awareness and knowledge. We come on this earth to learn, it is our schoolroom and by going through various experiences and situations, it causes us to grow … if we choose.

SG: WHAT IS THE SINGLE MOST COMMON MESSAGE THAT YOU HEAR FROM THE OTHER SIDE?

JVP: It is one which I hear constantly in many forms and that is, to love yourself more while on the earth and don’t take time or each other for granted. Use your time productively and try and use the LOVE force in all situations and forgive others, for in doing so, you are actually forgiving yourself. Another, common theme, is that we are all connected and one and there is NO SENSE OF SEPARTIVENESS.