Page 97 of The Unraveling of Julia

“Youinheritedthis… ability?”

“Yes, like any other.”

Julia wondered if she had inherited it and from whom. Rossi? Patrizia?

“I regret that your mediumship comes to you in a disorienting manner. I hope you can accept it in peace. It is a gift.”

Julia felt like she was getting a diagnosis, but didn’t want the disease.

“I thought I saw the gift in you when you first came in. I’m not completely surprised a soul came forward to confirm.”

Julia tried to understand. “What about Caterina Sforza? Did I see her that night?”

“You tell me. You may have.”

Julia felt a surge of validation. “And when I went to her castle, I felt like I knew my way around. I knew things that happened to her there.”

Helen’s eyebrows lifted. “As if you were channeling her? That is completely possible for you, too.”

“Itis?” Julia asked, astounded. “Look, I know you said you didn’t want information or foreknowledge, but there’s things you should know if we’re going to talk about this. I was actually being microdosed with a psychedelic without my knowledge. I know it sounds crazy butit was put in my food. So it’s possible that I don’t have any ability or gift, it just could be the result of the drug.”

Helen blinked impassively. “Thank you for telling me, but as I say, I did sense the gift in you. I saw it there.”

“But how do you know I was channeling Caterina? Does that happen to you?”

“It has, from time to time. Perhaps you were channeling her more than communicating with her, but these abilities are related. We don’t know the limits, or contours, of your abilities. It’s way too soon. That will be your lifelong inquiry.”

Julia reeled. “But here’s another thing you should know. I have a friend in a medically induced coma and I believe I heard him say something to me, in my mind. I believe that I communicated something back to him. Is that possible?”

“Again, yes.”

“How?” Julia asked, mystified.

“Rather than answer piecemeal, let me explain.” Helen paused. “We think of life and death as binary, as in when you’re alive, you experience things, and when you’re dead, you don’t. But, that is not what I have experienced. I experience aspectrumof consciousness. Right now we’re both living, so we have a waking state of consciousness. We also have a subconscious that governs many of our actions, which hypnotherapists access to help people, let’s say, quit smoking. Your friend in a coma is yet in another state of consciousness. He is kept in a state in which the brain is resting.”

“Yes, the nurse called it a sleep state.”

“Precisely. When we sleep, we are in a different state of consciousness. People who sleepwalk are in yetanotherstate of consciousness. You were given a psychedelic that produced an altered state of consciousness. So these are all various states of consciousness.” Helenspread her hands. “Death is merely another state of consciousness on the spectrum. It is the cessation of brain activity, but not ofsoulactivity. In my experience, the soul lives as a consciousness, and some of us, like you and me, have the ability to access that consciousness. That is the essence of mediumship.”

“So did the psychedelic cause my seeing Caterina or communicating with my friend in a coma?”

“A fascinating question.” Helen’s eyes twinkled with interest. “I believe your gift predates the drug. However, microdosing psychedelics may open a neural pathway that preexisted, like widening a door that was already open. Science has yet to understand the effects of such drugs on the brain.”

“I guess we’ll know when I’m sure the drug is out of my system.”

“Not necessarily. Not if it opened a pathway or triggered a predisposition.”

Julia didn’t know whether to be horrified or happy. She didn’t know if she wanted the abilities or not.

Helen smiled warmly. “You’re perplexed, and I understand that. Your goal, such as it is, would be to understand, accept, and control your abilities, so that you can use them.”

“You mean contact the souls?”

“Yes, I could mentor you in your mediumship. I can give you instruction that can help you receive these souls. I also have books on the subject and exercises you can try at home. We can start right now.”

“Here?”

“Of course. I communicate with souls here all the time. I consider it a thin place.”