John Edwards
by Sarah Thomas
John Edwards sees dead people - as a lucrative source of income.
And, as one of the world’s most famous television psychics with his shows Crossing Over and John Edward Cross Country, he says honesty is the best policy when dealing with sceptics who question his trade.
On one occasion, a reporter quizzed Edward about how the best-selling books, sold-out seminars and globally syndicated television shows might just stand to bring in a lot of dollars.
“The answer he expected was that it’s not about the money, it’s about the spiritual work and blah, blah, blah and then that would have led him down the path to all these other questions,” Edward says.
“So I looked at him, smiled, put my hands up in the air and waved them towards me and said: ‘Baby, back up the truck because if anybody works nearly as hard as I do, they should make a shitload of money.“‘
Edward is not saying he’s making money from his psychic abilities; rather, it’s how hard he works to get those messages from beyond across.
And whatever one might think about mediums - crackpots, conmen or genuine clairvoyants - there’s no doubt Edward is, at the very least, a consummate communicator.
Speaking on the phone from his home in Long Island, New York, Edward is a warm and engaging conversationalist - a fast talker but one who makes carefully considered responses.
Which is just as well because as a stage performer with no script and no idea about how those few hours in front of an audience will pan out, he seems to have a tough gig.
“Every time I walk out in front of an audience, I am literally walking out going: ‘All right, let’s see what happens tonight.“‘
But, conversely, doesn’t he benefit from having one of the most captive audiences around?
Surely the majority of attendees will want him to succeed because they are there seeking messages and want to believe.
“One would think that but it’s not really true,” he says. “The reason is that you’re facing a crowd of expectation. They are coming there with a specific reason, it’s not like they’re coming with: ‘Oh, let’s just see what happens.’ It’s: ‘I need to connect with my son.’ So, even if you’ve made a connection with them, if you don’t make a connection with somebody specific that they want to hear from, it’s not always a positive experience.”
Edward says he has no idea why he hears from the people he does - he says he is a conduit for an “energy” that’s an “imprint” of that person - and the outcome of the reading depends on all the people involved, both living and deceased.
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