Practical Woo-Woo

By Krista Thom
Contributing Writer

When you hear the words “medium” and “numerologist”, many different images come to mind. Some might picture a dark, candle-lit séance, or pages full of equations and astrological charts. These metaphysical arts are often connected with a certain amount of romance and mystery. But when asked to describe these disciplines, the word “practical” seldom comes to mind.

And yet, they have many practical implications in people’s lives. At least this is the premise of an upcoming workshop at Fargo’s Health and Holistic Expo on Sunday, April 17. “Double Insights” will be presented by Wes Hamilton, a numerologist, and Troy Parkinson, a medium.

As part of their presentation, both men will talk about the basics of their disciplines and how they are used to help people in business situations. They will also work with randomly selected members of the audience to demonstrate the process.

Although the two disciplines are different, Parkinson said they complement each other nicely. As a medium, Parkinson’s approach is based on intuition, and what he calls “inspired insight.” Numerology, on the other hand, is more rigid and mathematical. Parkinson said they were interested in doing both, because both approaches often lead to the same conclusions. “I’ll give people a message, which Wes will confirm. We give people that intuitive perspective, and also a tangible one.”

Although both men have been practicing their arts for years, neither one started out having great faith in the metaphysical. Parkinson, who grew up in Fargo, said he was raised to be skeptical of all things “woo-woo.” Things started to change when he went to college in Boston. Around that time, Parkinson lost several loved ones, and was struggling to come to terms with the loss. He enrolled in a mediumship workshop out of curiosity and soon discovered he had a knack for it. He said the turning point came during one of the classes. While doing a reading for a woman he had never met before, he started describing in detail how her brother used to torture her Barbies and pull out their hair. Some of the things he described were details that only she knew. Parkinson said that experience was what convinced him to keep developing his abilities.

Hamilton, meanwhile, also had an experience that led him to believe in the supernatural. When he was 30, his father died suddenly from a brain tumor. At the time of his father’s death and afterwards, Hamilton had a powerful feeling that his father was trying to communicate with him. Hamilton wasn’t sure whether he should trust these feelings. He said, “I thought I was nuts, and everyone else did, too.”

One day, Hamilton felt that his father was asking him to go out to his lake cabin, which Hamilton had only visited a handful of times to take care of some paperwork. At the time, he didn’t completely trust his feelings, but he took a chance and drove the three hours to the cabin. When he got there, he heard his father’s voice directing him to go in through the garage, and then go over to the file cabinet in the corner. Following his directions, Hamilton opened the third drawer of the file cabinet, and found an envelope on top that contained his father’s business papers, along with instructions on what to do with them in the event of his death.

As if that experience wasn’t enough, Hamilton also had a near-death experience. When he was 40, he was hit by a sand truck. In his experience, he went to the other side and saw a group of 25 to 30 spirits. He talked with them for awhile; finally, they turned around to go back to where they came from. When Hamilton tried to go with them, the figure in front, which Hamilton described as a powerful male spirit, put his hand on Hamilton’s chest and told him he wasn’t allowed to return with the group. He gave a push, and Hamilton felt himself falling backward through a tunnel of light. When he snapped back into our reality, he was surrounded by rescue workers who were pulling him out of his vehicle.

Later, Hamilton had a chance to meet several other people who had had near-death experiences, and found that they shared something very important.

“I’d look in their eyes, and we would both know,” said Hamilton. “People who have been through this, we have a connection.”

At first, Hamilton was attracted to general spirituality. He became particularly attached to numerology during a spiritual retreat in Arizona. During the trip, he met a psychologist who casually asked him questions about his name and birth date. After he answered, she started telling him about himself, and he was surprised at the extent of her knowledge. The two continued to contact each other after the conference, and eventually she taught Hamilton the art of numerology.

Hamilton says he looks at a person’s numerology report as their “soul’s blueprint.”

“It’s like building a house,” he said. “We can change the plans if we want to, but there’s an original blueprint. If you understand what opportunities are available, you’re able to make better decisions.”

Numerology is especially useful for determining good timing. Every person goes through cycles of 7, 9, and 13 years, which are set in motion on the day of their birth. When a person understands these cycles, they can see the best times to move aggressively, and the best times to act conservatively. Numerology has a number of applications for businesses. It can help managers decide when to launch marketing campaigns, when to accept a merger and even when to launch a new business. Hamilton himself uses numerology in his real estate business to determine the best times to buy and sell.

Of course, numerology can be used to help people make sense of their personal lives. In this area, Hamilton made a believer out of one of his strongest critics – his own sister. After she lost two husbands to illness, Hamilton’s sister was determined never to marry again. But when Hamilton looked at her chart, he saw a wealthy man entering her future in the next 3-6 months. About 4 ½ months later, his sister met up with an old high school boyfriend, who had become a successful businessman. The two of them rekindled their relationship, and ended up getting married.

As opposed to numerology, Parkinson’s methods don’t rely on solid numbers and mathematical formulas. Instead, they’re driven by intuition and spiritual guidance. Parkinson relies on two kinds of spirits: the spirits of the departed often congregate around their loved ones and try to offer them guidance. Each person also has their own guiding spirit (commonly referred to as a guardian angel) that travels with them from birth.

Parkinson said one of key messages he wants to convey is that everyone has the power to develop their intuition and become more sensitive to these guiding forces.

“It’s like any muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. You don’t have to get struck by lightning to become a medium.”

If the idea of being in constant contact with the dead sounds a little creepy, Parkinson says there’s no need to worry. Being a medium isn’t like being the kid in “The Sixth Sense.” Parkinson said that in normal life, he isn’t aware of spirits. In order to contact them, he performs meditations to get him into the right state of mind. At that point, he can see and hear the spirits telepathically; he compares the experience to picturing someone in your mind. Occasionally, these feelings also include physical sensations. He might take on the posture or characteristics of the person, or he might get sensations that indicate how they died.

Parkinson also said people don’t need to worry about receiving messages of death and destruction. For one thing, spirits rarely give such specific messages. They aren’t there to give orders or interfere with free will. Instead, they act more as a gentle guiding force. Loved ones often deliver messages that went unsaid in life, while guiding spirits often push people to move in a certain direction. Many times, people might have a sense of what their guiding spirits are telling them, in which case, Parkinson mainly acts to give confirmation.

Perhaps because he himself was once a skeptic, Parkinson understands that not everybody will embrace his approach.

“Not everyone’s open to it; some people think it’s nuts,” he said. “My job isn’t to prove anything, it’s just to relay the information that I receive. People can accept it or reject it themselves.”

Parkinson did say that his experiences putting people in touch with their dead loved ones has taught him how to better live his own life. One of biggest lessons he’s learned is the power of the present moment. “We have the opportunity every day to live our heavens or our hell,” he said. “I’ve learned to get the most out of each experience, because you never know when someone’s going to die.”

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IF YOU GO:
What: Double Insight with Wes Hamilton and Troy Parkinson
Where: Fargo Civic Center, 207 4th St. N
When: Sunday, April 17, 11 am – 12:30 pm
Tickets: $16 in advance, $21 at the door
For more information: http://edgelife.net/Fargo-Health-Holistic-H2Expo/main.html