Carolyn Marie Wilkins is a healer, psychic, author, musician and professor at Berklee College of Music Online. She connects creative people to their soul's destiny through the power of music using a form of musical séance she calls Akashic Trance Sound Healing.

Carolyn has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony and represented her country as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department. An initiated priestess of Yemaya, the African goddess of motherhood, compassion and the ocean, Carolyn holds certificates of completion in mediumship from the James Van Praagh School of Mystical Arts, the British mediums Tony Stockwell and Mavis Pittilla.

Carolyn is also the author of three mystery novels: Death at a Séance, Melody for Murder and Mojo for Murder, all available from Pen-L Publications. 

She is also the author of Tips forSinging (Hal Leonard Press) and two memoirs: Damn Near White: An African American Family's Journey from Slavery to Bittersweet Success, and They Raised Me Up: A Black Single Mother and the Women Who Inspired Her, available from the University of Missouri Press.

To find out more about Carolyn, visit her website: www.CarolynWilkins.com

***during interview, Carolyn mentioned book: Jambalaya, by Luisah Teish

Carolyn Wilkins' Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Carolyn-Marie-Wilkins/e/B00HTAJ27Q/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Carolyn's new story, The New Year’s Hex, is  available in E-book or audiobook on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/New-Years-Hex-McFarland-Psychic-ebook/dp/B0BFBYD7X3/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2UO9QBH3RYB0O&keywords=the+new+years+hex+wilkins&qid=1669236229&sprefix=the+new+years+%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-1

The best way to reach Carolyn is through her website https://www.CarolynWilkins.com
Facebook at:  https://www.facebook.com/carolyn.wilkins.3114?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Instagram @Jemaya7

Hey beautiful soul Welcome to spirit speakeasy. I'm Joy Giovanni joyful medium. I'm a working psychic, medium energy healer and spiritual gifts mentor. This podcast is like a seat at the table in a secret club, but with mediums, mystics and the spiritual luminaries of our time. So come behind the velvet ropes with me and see inside my world because I chat insider style with profoundly gifted souls. We go deep share juicy stories laugh a lot, and it wouldn't be a speakeasy without great insider secrets and tips. You might even learn that you have some gifts of your own. So step inside the spirit speakeasy. So this conversation between Carolyn and I is such a treat for us, you guys. I had no idea that when we popped on before the call, she was going to offer to do what we call a demonstration or give us a healing through her really unique form of she calls it Akashic trance piano healing. Carolyn is just this incredible soul. She's a jazz musician, but like next level, she was a professor at Berklee music for more than 30 years. So she really lets me go deep into asking her about how she blended these two careers, this discipline of music to which she achieves the highest levels in her career, with the spiritual gifts of mediumship that she has and how that came about what that looked like. But we also get into some of her family history. She has some incredible, just incredible souls in her family of origin here on Earth, how she entered into the Yoruba priestess hood, we talk about just all of her experience and she really is so open with sharing this and I just can't believe that she offered to do a little mini reading, give us a message for the new year and give us an Akashic trance piano healing for just like two minutes at the end. So don't miss out on that. I am so honored to have had Carolyn on the show. I feel like it's absolutely Spirit's work and perfect timing to have this incredible jazz musician who's also a healer and psychic and medium and author and all these other things to be one of the premiere episodes for spirits speakeasy, right. So enjoy this conversation. I'm honored to have had Carolyn as a guest on our show and I am also honored to call her a friend. Enjoy the conversation
Welcome to spirit speakeasy. I am so excited to have this guest with us today. I'm gonna read you just a little bit about her. This is Carolyn Marie Wilkins. She's a healer, a psychic and author, musician and professor at Berklee College of Music. She connects creative people to their soul's Destiny through the power of music using a form of musical seance that she calls Akashic trance sound healing, Carolyn has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony and represented her country as jazz ambassador for the US State Department. She's an initiated priestess of Yama, Yama, the African goddess of motherhood, compassion and the ocean. Carolyn holds certificates of completion and mediumship from James Van Praagh School of mystical arts, and the British mediums, Tony Stockwell and Mavis patella. Carolyn's if this wasn't enough, Carolyn's also an author of three mystery novels death at a seance melody for murder, and Mojo for murder. And she's also the author of tips for singing and to memoirs, damn near White, and African American family's journey from slavery to Bittersweet success. And they raised me up a black single mother and the women who inspired her. Both of those are available on University of Missouri press. And of course, all of this will be in the show notes. Welcome to the speakeasy. Carolyn, how are you today?
Oh my gosh, this is just such a joy to be here. I'm so blessed. I feel wonderful. And yeah, thanks for that fabulous introduction. And I'm psyched to be a part of your podcast. You know, it feels like such a long time ago. We were both in James Bond, Prague's mentorship and now look at us here we are. So it's me.
Carol and I actually met through Are mediumship development or both mediums? Do you have this host of things that you do, there's so much here that I don't even know where to start. Make sure you all stay till the end because Carolyn is going to do a demonstration for us of her trance piano as well as give us a little message. At the time this podcast is releasing, we'll be just about to head into the new year. So a little message and healing for us for the new year. But Carolyn, I would love to share with our audience a little more about your journey. How did how did all of this come together for you? Especially your spiritual gifts?
Oh, well, yes, I have to say I've always known that I was going to do music that was kind of a given. And I guess that was my really doorway, into all these other things. I my mother is a musician and I have played the piano since I was probably four years old or old enough to toddle up to the keyboard and plunk out notes. And I did actually go to college, as a musician and get my master's degree in that. But along the way, I also realized something else about myself, which was, I was extremely sensitive. I seem to be one of these kinds of people. And probably there are people on your podcast listing who can completely relate to this. I was the kind of person that people were always coming to me, asking for advice and telling me their problems. And I always felt extremely comfortable, being able to make suggestions for people and offer wisdom to people. And what I didn't realize at the time was, this was because I was actually tapping into my psychic ability, I didn't realize that I thought, Oh, you're just bossy. You like to tell people what to do. You seem to know about people. And this is, of course, part of the psychic faculty. And so when I really began to get curious about this, I started taking courses here and there reading books, exploring and then but I would think, Oh, gee, this is too wacky. This is too far out. This is probably not me. But yet I felt drawn to it. And when James Van Prague offered a course, which was a correspondence course, that you could take on the internet to learn psychic development. When I did that, something just really resonated with me. And I realized that I really wanted to pursue this. I had been having ongoing dreams about a woman interesting, yes, for years, right? About this old woman who would come and talk to me. And I always thought it was weird. I never knew who she was. I didn't know why she was there. She would just come and sit. Or sometimes she would sit and turn the dial on a radio, right? Like and tune in, right? What was dream start for you? Gosh, a long time before I finally woke up and said, Hello, this is a guide, I would say, you know, maybe two or three years it took me to figure this out. But I realized and then as I began to go deeper in studying, you know, I took the medium ship one with James, I took the medium ship too. And you and I met and by this time, I was meeting other mediums. I started taking other courses. And now we're off to the races. I'm realizing this is something possible. This is not just some weird, strange thing that I'm imagining. This is a real thing. I can speak to the spirit world. They are speaking to me. And now the question became, well, what am I going to do with it? Right? Right. Okay, you have this you begin to have some experiences and I realized that I wanted to be able to offer readings to people in which I shared both my advice giving aspect but also bringing it to come in from a higher place. so that it would be advice from a guide or advice from a departed loved one in that kind of thing. And in order to do that, I realized as many of us do that I needed more training. So truth, right? Yes. Yes, I began studying with a whole host of wonderful teachers. And I traveled overseas to Arthur Findlay College, which is a great school of psychic development that's run by the spiritualist church. And I took a course there. And you know, it continues and then several, maybe four or five years after that, here I am. So that's our Yeah, the long winded answer to your question. I
love it. One of my favorite things about about the way that you express your gifts is that you have found this beautiful way to marry all the parts of you because like you said, musics been a part of you prop I'm sure before you could walk and talk, you were bobbing your head around music, you know, through your mama, who is a wonderful musician, as well. But you really have taken all the pieces of you some of these books that we mentioned early on, you wrote before you were involved in the mediumship, and the psychic work and some of them as a marriage of these gifts, which I just want to say it as a side note, the death at a seance. I read that book. And you know, I loved that book. I thought, I'm not the biggest reader of fiction, but but I was like, Oh, I love Carolyn. And this is going to be great. So I started reading it, I couldn't put that down.
Oh, it makes my day
sucked me in. And just the writing style is so conversational. And for me, one of the best parts is that the details are so true from someone who's a little bit experienced in mediumship, which I think for us, when we watch movies or read books is where it goes a little bit sideways is like oh, well, that's not how that works, or that's not but it's so correct from a technical standpoint, and then just the drama that's mixed in there. So I I'm so excited to read your other books now. But I know that you have them. But I highly recommend that one. Oh, be a little bit about how you put these pieces together because jazz is I mean, I remember you. When we met in person, there was a beautiful piano in that space that we were having that, you know, that was a huge workshop, I think it was over 100 people. And you just got up there and something shifted in you were were you become a part of the music almost. So I know that that is also one of your most natural expressions. But tell us how you how you figured out to put these things together?
Oh, wow. Well, what a great question. And indeed, joy, this is my life work. This is what I've been guided to do. And of course, as you may know, when you train as a musician, it tends to be a very sort of exclusive thing. You're just doing all music only music all the time. And I trained for many years this way. But I had to break free of that, in order to be able to use my whole self. And writing is also something that I've done since I was a little kid. Everybody in my family has what we like to call the gift of the gab were great talkers. And there are several writers in the family. So it came naturally to me and also reading murder mysteries and solving problems and that that whole thing. So the question was for me how to best share my unique offering with people. And so this is how I began to come up with this idea of the Akashic piano, trance healing, which is something that combines music, the psychic realm and mediumship. And basically it's a form of trance mediumship, in which I do enter a light trance and offer music and later I'm going to do a demonstration of that. So I'm not going to talk about it too much right now, but that one does combine the psychic and the music. I'm still working on how I'm going to combine the writing in there. The two memoirs that I wrote, were very important to me there were about my family My grandfather was the very first ever African American to be appointed assistant secretary of labor, he was appointed by Secretary, President Eisenhower, way back in 1953. And he was the first and the only for many years, he also served on the very first US Civil Rights Commission. So there's a whole sort of social justice piece, but it's connected to my ancestors. And so those were the things that I wrote about in those first two books, the two memoirs, but at the same time to read those, yeah, they're interesting, they're different. They're not you know, about the psychic thing, as much as they are just exploring what that time was like, and also the impact on me of learning about these things. Because, you know, you were probably the same way, when you were a kid growing up, your parents tell you things, and you're like, Yeah, whatever, you know, and you don't really pay it a lot of attention. And it was only after he was long dead, that I got curious about this man, and about the other people in my family and, uh, began digging around doing the research and coming up with these wonderful stories. And I currently have a book in sort of, I'll say, in process, that is
a little bit of like, yeah, there for us.
Yeah, but don't hold your breath. It's, it's, it's gonna take a minute still in the works. Yeah, you got it. But it's about me, as I developed as a medium, and about this amazing African American spiritualist healer, who had his own spiritual group back in the 1930s 40s, and 50s, down in the Dominican Republic. And I actually went down there and interviewed people. And so yeah, that's another whole story that I hope to get published, eventually, it's in process. But that I feel is more likely to actually combine the psychic and the writing together, the murder mysteries also do have a psychic element, as you say, death, it is seances about set in the 1920s. And my main character is a psychic. So there is a lot of sort of psychic stuff in there, as well as a lot of African American History stuff. And I've also written a couple of short stories that you can pick up on Amazon that also feature this same character, if you like her, the latest one is called the New Years hex. And it's a short story about her and what happens when she's falsely accused of something
bad. So I'll be sure to put links to those in the show that define them. But I really love how you framed these novels from the black experience. In that time period, you did such a beautiful job of making the reader feel like we're right in that scene and understanding the, you know, just the tension of the time for this, you know, heroine of the story, if you will, but you have I have had the honor and pleasure of meeting some of your loved ones in the spirit world. They're doing readings together and our development and you have some incredible pioneers, and, you know, people that really added to the fabric of this country. Some amazing I know you mentioned your grandfather, who was just this incredible human being but you have quite a vast array of people who have contributed in huge ways.
Thank you joy,
this country. I mean, it's it really is. That's why I'm saying I'm so excited to read these other memoirs that you have. It's really fascinating. Now, I know that you are also a teacher at Berklee music, which is a music College in Boston for those that might not know this is a very esteemed position, Carolyn, well were you at all hesitant or reluctant to the you know this but the way we often say it inside this work is to tell people at your muggle job. What you did was that an uncomfortable transition for you to kind of come out of the broom closet if you will?
What a great question. This is sounds like you maybe have been there. But yes, I, I taught at Berkeley for 3030 years. And basically what I would do is I would do that thing that I'm very good at, which is giving advice, you know, helping people offering advice, but I would not necessarily tell them where I was getting my information from right. Some things are best kept, you know. And I remember when I first became a Reiki Master, naturally, like all first newly minted Reiki Masters, I wanted to share Reiki with everyone, this is the best thing since sliced bread. I wanted to heal people. And I can remember I had a colleague, who was very much of the, let's just say, not overtly spiritual. One might even say the opposite. Right? You know, I mean, he was like a jazz musician. You know,
imagine that. Yeah, a little bit of a stodgy institution, well,
it's a thing. And he had, but he had hurt his thumb or something like that. And he couldn't play his trumpet. And I remember, I said to him, Well, let me just, I have this energy thing, I'll just do it. And he was so much in pain, that he let me do this. And of course, the Reiki goes in there. And as you know, when the Reiki goes in, people feel better and the pain goes away. The thing was, it really taught me a lesson because he kind of freaked out. And he never quite looked at me the same. Again, he was a little bit like this, you know, because it was so outside of his worldview. And it made him think, you know, well, she's kind of a witchy. Woman, I think, in a way that was good, because it kept him from, you know, hassling me, which he had previously been doing. But it taught me a lesson. And so although I had skills, I did not go around reading kids or offering Reiki I just kind of kept it. And then I would try to be compassionate, I would listen, I would do but I really kept a boundaried space for that, how ever. One thing I did do at Berkeley, of which, if they're making my tombstone, they can put this on, I started a Reiki program for students, so that students could go and receive Reiki they could sign up and receive a free Reiki treatment paid for by the school that I would offer them. And that program. I've been doing that now for about maybe eight years or so. And that program, I'm continuing, I've retired from full time teaching at Berkeley. But the Reiki program continues. And in that program, interestingly, the students who come are very open minded, they want to know, and I'll tell them all, I'm in your energy field, is it okay, if I offer a little, you know, would you like to know what I'm getting that to? And they always want? And I've never heard it, had anyone say, No, I don't, don't give me a reading. So I use it there judiciously and always with with caution, because, you know, whatever that movie was, that said, you can handle the truth. Unfortunately, there are situations where it's just not appropriate.
So that's right. That's right. You know, one of the things that I really love about this program, and I remember being fascinated by it early in our friendship, because you know, I am a Reiki Master as well. For those that don't know, Reiki is just a Japanese system of healing through the energy. And I know we talk about it a lot on this program and in my work, so it's easy to find online, if you're curious about it. But how did you make that into a formal offering? I mean, I think for me, it feels like it would be just a natural thing because musicians are sensitives even though because of the training and the discipline. I think they don't often identify themselves as sensitive but to have this ability to put beautiful music through you into the world has to be a sense, it's a spiritual gift itself, right? So absolutely offer it in a formal way that the the powers that be at Berkeley were going to be comfortable with. That's right.
And that's the key. And that's where I was blessed because I was also a full professor at the time, I'd been there long enough to have kind of earned my stripes, they knew that I was serious, I was vetted, I was, you know, I was real to them in the ways that they think of as being real. And I wrote a proposal, you know, I went through all the whole thing. But what happened was that the woman who was in charge of student activities, at that time, had had a stroke. And after her stroke, she got all kinds of alternative health work done on herself. And she found it to be very effective, right? Because you know, when you have a serious illness, sometimes the things that the traditional medical establishment recommends, are not always as effective as one would hope. And so she came back sort of converted, I want to offer alternative therapies to our students, because I've experienced this myself, I know it works for me. So she began opening it up. And I told her, I said, Well, I do this Reiki thing. And so I gave her a Reiki treatment, and she realized that it could be an effective thing, and so forth. And so then the students really liked it. And once I got kind of my toe in the door, I just kept pushing it, kept pushing it. And because I was also a professor there, I had a little bit more leverage to push it some more. And now, it's a full time thing. You know,
it is such an incredible example of how spirit, the divine, the universe, but whatever word you like, in there can use even our most painful or adverse experiences to benefit and to share healing with so many, because look at the ripple effect of this, of how many of you had to just give a guesstimate How many students do you feel like have moved through that program, just in the time you've had, gosh,
and eight years and seeing them, you know, gosh, hundreds, I would say hundreds, maybe maybe even up to 1000, because eight years is a long time, right? two semesters every week, 10 kids a week, you know, so it's been, it's been fruitful. And then it's also given me the opportunity to offer twice a semester I offer workshops to teach students just a very quick abbreviated, not the full thing like normally would be offered for Reiki one and two, but a very quick, I call it Reiki for self care. And it's just a very quick thing, the students receive the basic Reiki, attunement, and they receive a few skills so that they can when you're stressed out, here's what you can do if you have a headache, if you have a stomachache. If you're anxious if you're brokenhearted, if you can't sleep, here are some you know, show them a couple of hand positions and just basically introduce them to the power of energy work. That's what you're really doing. Yeah, no, I'm very proud of that.
I think you should be. And I think you raise a really good point that often, you know, people that are sensitive themselves in some way or opening themselves to spiritual gifts, we often forget to heal ourselves or to focus on replenishing our own energy. So I just love that you're giving these tools to people who are moving their energy and in this work and being inspired, but but also needing the healing for themselves, because they're performing us such a high
example. And it's very stressful. And college is very stressful in general. And music school is even more stress,
right, like, yeah,
it's stressful. Yes,
of course, because these are the musical elite of our backs, right? It's very hard to get into these programs. And yes, it is. I think any student in any capacity at any age can really use the self healing tools. I'm a big proponent of that. Exactly. So I feel like looking Back, have you been able to see how your connection with the spirit world was always a part of your work? Even if you didn't realize it through the years as you were in it?
Yes, Joy? What a great question. I have to say you're super at this interviewing gig. This is a joy and a pleasure to share. I
was curious, I just I'm just so curious about everyone else's gifts and how they work and you have just an amazing expression of your gifts.
So yes, as I look back, in hindsight, I can see that a lot of things that happen, were meant to happen, and that were directing me, slowly but surely along the path that I was meant to go. And just as an example, I would say music is an excellent training for spiritual development. Why? Because you have to be disciplined. It teaches you discipline, it teaches you to do something every day, I've practiced some kind of practice every day since I was five. You know, I mean, I'm sure I've skipped days here and there. But it's a training. It's a discipline. And it also teaches you to be receptive and to be open because you're right, even the crudest, most disgusting, sexist jazz musician, kind of guy has this really open, receptive, quote, unquote, feminine aspect, you have to have it in order to be able to let the music channel through you. If you're too closed off and blocked off and mentally trying to control everything. You cannot channel music, and all good musicians, whether it's classical music, jazz, funk, r&b, rock, whatever it is, if they're really good, they will always tell you, it doesn't really come through me. I mean, it doesn't come from me, it comes through me, it's something I don't know where I got the idea for this song, or this lyric or whatever. It just came, because I was open. So that discipline, the fact that Spirit put me in a family, where music was valued, where I was able to receive music lessons, and encouraged to do this thing all along. I do feel now as I look back, yeah, that was a a guided thing.
Do you feel like the heights that different members of your familial line your grandpa and other members, do you feel like the heights that they were able to reach in this physical world set the stage for you to be able to have this permission in you that you could reach these heights in your work? I mean, to be the US, you know, US Representative,
Assistant Secretary
of jazz, yeah. Oh, me. I mean, you
Oh, jazz ambassador.
Oh, yeah. Is is a pretty big deal. Do you feel like in some way, your own family? Yes. Aside from your mom set the stage for you to do this,
no doubt, no doubt, because we, it's the environment that we're in, that encourages us, I often say anyone can do things, everyone has gifts, everyone has talents. Everyone is able, maybe they're not going to be musicians, maybe they're artists, maybe their writers, maybe whatever it may be, everyone has gifts. And sometimes it's just as simple is that you do not believe that you have the permission to actually step forward and express those gifts. And that is something that I did get from my ancestors. They persevered in the face of tremendous odds of all kinds against them and they pushed through and they also showed the rest of the family. It is possible to achieve. You know, it's possible to do these things to minister a big church to be the assistant secretary of labor to be a successful attorney, one of a handful of black attorneys in the city who has a successful practice. Are all of those things? So? Yes, they're exemplars, and I do feel them around me. And I'm just going to take a moment do have my ancestors I'm going to share. Can you see this? I know we're mostly on audio, but I'm sitting in front of a banner that belonged to my aunt Marjorie J. Marjorie Jackson, who ran a music school in Brooklyn for 50 years, in between maybe 1940 and 1990. She ran a music school, and they had a flag. And I mean, it was a big school, she employed maybe 13, teachers and all these things. So always around me there were these exemplars if you will, who were out there saying, Look, this is possible. Now, there is no one that I know of who was openly psychic, we're not going to go that far. I do not have you know, some people come from families where you know, their ancestors actually practice psychic work or mediumship. But I do believe particularly on my mother's side of the family that all the women were very psychic. And my mother, I remember her telling me a story that her mothers told her. They were in church on Sunday, and her mother was singing in the choir or something. And suddenly, she stopped singing, she went down, and she told my mother, go look in the apartment because someone is in the apartment that doesn't belong there. And sure enough, yeah, I mean, it was kind of scary for my mother, who was just a little kid at the time, you know, it's like what go look in the apartment. But sure enough, when she went up to the apartment, burglars had broken in and stolen things. So that kind of psychic ability is runs in the family. But nobody ever mentioned. We'll call it the P word. Nobody. Nobody ever mentioned that. Nobody so
interesting is I know that they wouldn't have identified as psychics or mediums or any of that, but I bet they would have identified as spiritual in their own correct life. Right. Spiritual, yeah, their own relationship with absolute or higher power. Yeah. Which I know for you. And I know we're on the same page that for us, that's not different. It's right one in the same no matter how you want to label it. It's that exactly benevolent, Great Spirit. You know, it's interesting, just the semantics of it. Yes. feel more comfortable with one word or another? Yes, exactly. You reconcile those two for yourself being marinated in this spiritual history? And then I'm also so curious how Yemaya found you. And if you can talk just a little bit about that, for anyone who might not know about your Aruba tradition?
Oh, of course. So, yes, I come from generations of Christian ministers, ministers, wives, deacons, sermon writers, church builders, you know, I mean, generations of that back to my three times great grandfather, right. So that is in the blood. And there was no way that I was going to abandon this connection to that kind of spirituality, which is a rich source of of healing and wisdom for me. Yet, at the same time, many very traditional churches these days do not recognize even Reiki some of them have an issue with not to mention mediumship or talking to dead people or whatever. So I had to basically make my own choice that I would keep those parts of my spiritual heritage that I felt connected to, and that I would let go the rest I played for 10 years I played piano in a Baptist church. So I'm very connected to that root history. I love the music, and you know, my grandmother and all of that type of thing. But I also realized that I needed to express something else and Yemma Yeah, is part of that something else for those who don't know? Yeah, my Yeah, it As comes from the Yoruba tradition, and the Europe has come from Nigeria, in West Africa, and when those people were brought to the US and to the Caribbean islands and to South America, they brought their own religion with them. And this was a religion that was based in nature. Not exclusively nature, but it was based in nature. And although many attempts were made by colonizers and in slavers to kind of wipe it out, it has persevered. And it's often practiced even to this day, under the guise of the Catholic saints, each Catholic saint is associated in this religion, which is called in Spanish Santeria, which means religion, you know, of the saints. Each one of those saints is connected with an African energy known as an or Risha and Yemaya is often connected with the Virgin Mary, she wears blue, she's about motherhood, you know, it's a pretty natural connection. And truth be told, there's divine mother practice all over the world, I don't think there's any culture that does not have some form of worship of the Divine Mother. Why? Because, you know, motherhood is pretty sacred, let's face it. And it's also pretty magical. To be able to bring life into the world is a magical thing. So when I was exploring, sort of my spirituality, and I realized that I did not want to just be boxed in to one particular faith, much as I loved and respected the religion of my ancestors. I had a friend who was involved in this other thing. And she began to talk to me, I began to learn about these different things. And then I read a wonderful book called GEMBA, Leia by a spiritual teacher named Louisa teach. And this book is all about the African practice, and how to practice it for people who are just interested in learning more. And so once I got this book, I'm sure you've had this experience, there's certain things, you read it, or you see it, and something just goes off in your head being, this is what I'm supposed to do true. And I just went deeper and deeper. Eventually, I found a priest here in Boston, and I became initiated. And yeah, here I am now 20. I've been in it, maybe 26 years or something like that. Maybe more than that. I forget, it's been a long time. And, yeah, it's been a very, very valuable connection. For me, it connects me to the earth, to the elements. There's music with it, there's dancing with it, there's songs, there's a whole tradition, there's a divination tradition, it's a it's a major thing, and a very beautiful thing to be a part of.
And what a beautiful way to just allow yourself to feel that connection with spirit in any way that speaks to you. Now, I really love how you have taken all these different threads, all these different pieces of you because I feel like we all have us very different sides of us these very different aspects of our gifts and personality. And you have discovered that you have a different aspect of mediumship Yes, you talk to deceased loved ones in the spirit world, but you also have this ability to do what's called trance mediumship. I have a trance medium as well. So I know what this is. But would you mind sharing a little bit about how those two you know speaking to loved ones in the spirit world and the trance expression, how those are different for you?
That's another great question. Yes. I think the main difference is your level of conscious participation in the process right? When you are connecting in a mediumship demonstration for example, say you go to a spiritualist church and there's a medium on the platform or you go to James Van Prague one of his events are even those mediums on TV, you know, you that kind of thing you are in your not completely normal waking consciousness, but pretty close, you know you're walking, you're talking, you're drinking water, you're interacting with the audience, and you're in maybe what might be described as a lightly altered state in that you're also. And this one acquires through training, right, you're also able to be aware of the presence of the Spirit World with you. And you're kind of just as the Word says, mediums standing in between these two worlds, but you're very much conscious, alert and aware. Now, the trance medium ship is generally considered to be something in which our conscious mind is put a little bit more to the side, where we're, we're sort of moving it over, it's still there. But it's almost as if, if you've ever listened to a conversation in another room, you're in one room, but you can still hear the conversation, but it's a little bit different, and it feels a little far away. That's a little bit more what it feels like to do trance mediumship, your conscious mind is sort of on the back burner. And instead, you've opened up more of yourself to receive and to speak as spirit. And it is from this place that I've been offering my Akashic piano, trance, healing, although I will say I don't go into a full trance to do that, because I'm still I have to be awake enough to play the piano, and to you know, sort of be attuned to the audience if I'm playing for someone. So I describe that state as a kind of a mid range between a deep trance, and full waking consciousness. It's almost like the state, if you've ever followed, for example, the famous channel that channel Esther Hicks and Abraham are Yeah, who doesn't. And that is she's in an altered state. But yet, she's also present, she's walking, she's talking, but she's in a zone where she can bring through so it's like,
I just, I just love the way you articulated that I the best way I have thought to describe it to people, when I do the trance channeling, letting Spirit speak through my voice is that sometimes it feels like I'm somewhere in a pool underwater, where I can kind of hear what's going on. But I couldn't, I couldn't certainly focus on it. Because my mind needs to stay to the side a bit to let that energy move through me. Now you do it not only in speaking but also through piano through Yes, most natural expression. How did that? How did that happen? Did you? Were you inspired to think of it? Did it kind of spontaneously come to you? How did that happen?
Well, the answer is I as a jazz musician, we're already in the receptive mode. As I mentioned earlier, were already receiving inspiration. But when I started to study trance mediumship, I realized that it was possible to be more blatantly receptive, and to just put the conscious mind to the side and my guides, kind of came in and began teaching me how to train this thing. So for example, for three months, I didn't ever look at the keyboard I played with my eyes closed. And then for another three months, I played only certain songs, and but to play them in a certain way. And then I did there was a whole sort of disciplined series of steps that I went through until they felt that I was able to offer it and then I began offering it to people in different venues to see you know how people liked it. And I've had very good responses. People do feel the energy moving when I do it, which is good. Yeah.
I love that you raised that point about the discipline because so often, you know, if someone's an outsider to this world, so to speak, or just not don't doesn't really understand how it works, I think the tendency is for us to think because of what we've seen in media and, and TV and movies, all of that, that suddenly, there's this big switch, and then all of the sudden, magically, you know, here it is, and this gift just pops out of you. But really, there's this process, a discipline marination, that needs to happen. And I feel like that's so often lost in the translation of what we do, how much intentional training and focus and discipline? I'm so glad that you share that bit.
Yes, it's very important. And I do think this is part of the, you know, sort of the glam image of, of mediumship or mediums on TV, and somehow, you know, they're walking through the grocery store, and then now they're seeing, and yes, that can happen. But it only happens, after you've trained for a long time, after you're in a particular discipline state, you've set your mind in a certain way to be able to receive and also equally important, learned how to shut it down, when you don't want to be walking through the grocery store and getting 10 zillion messages from everybody, you just want to buy your apples or whatever. So it is not sexy discipline, but it is very, very so Rushall. Yeah, yeah.
And, you know, for me, knowing that when I learned that it actually took a little bit of the pressure off for me with exploring these gifts, because I remember at the beginning feeling like Well, I'm certainly not doing that, like I'm not I'm not doing what all these people seem to be doing. Because I didn't realize that there was this discipline, this time release process. And so in some way hanging on to that can be a little relieving of knowing like one doesn't have to all send all pop in at once like that, where you're then completely a different person. It's a very slow transition not dissimilar to mastering the art of music.
Right? Exactly. That's, I go back to my first point when you and asked what prepared me or that type of thing, I think the music was a very good metaphor for me because I understood discipline, and also the fact that things are gradual, and that you work on it little by little. And that once again, sometimes in movies and TVs and even in some of my novels, you know, someone has a time awakening and suddenly they're seeing and that and yes, that's sometimes happens. But far more common is that you work at it little by little day by day. And that way also you are much more able to maintain your earth bound life and your your your ability to function in the world and not just become a total space cadet, either.
That's right. I love that. Yeah. Now you have graciously offered to do a little demonstration for us in just a minute here what that actually sounds like when you're playing and to give a little message, but you do offer these trance healing trance. What is the way that we oh, I
call it a cache shut piano, trance healing. And I'll explain rachet
piano trance healing, we will put the links to all of the social platforms where you are giving away often these sessions are free for people so people can find you and come to a full session. I have just a few spirit Speed Round questions for you. I really want to get into the work. So I come have come up with these four questions that that we're calling this the spirit speed round just for fun. They don't have to be long answers and certainly not well thought out answers because I didn't give them to you ahead. But let's dive in. I would love for you to share one thing that really shocked you or was an unexpected aspect about your gifts as a medium. I think that really shocked you about
Yes, I think what surprised me was how easy it is. When you're in the proper frame of mind. It's it's I had thought it was gonna be this big deal. I thought oh my god, I have to you know, go into this deep mistake thing. Maybe go to a monastery for 10 years or something but it once I was open and allowed myself to experience, it's right there, and they're right there. And that's almost a little shocking because we are not raised to think that that is true.
Wow, that's a really profound answer. I love that. My second question is, if you got to spend a day in the spirit world, you got the full tour, you got to spend as much time as you wanted with everyone that you've ever known, ever cared about who's crossed over, it's almost time to return to your life here, your Mughal life. And your guide tells you that you have one hour left and you can spend it with anyone who is on the other side that you choose, who do you spend it with? And why?
I think by this time, hopefully, I've already visited all my relatives and everything. But I think what I would do is go to a spiritual jam session and either be a fly on the wall, I might not be good enough to get to play because we're talking about some very heavy hitters that are up there, but at least to go hang out and maybe watch someone like Horace silver, or Duke Ellington, or Bill Evans or any number of great pianists that Mulgrew Miller I could go up James P. Johnson, just to like, be a fly on the wall and watch them play or, you know, pick up a tip or two to help me on my on my road here on planet Earth.
I love that. Yeah. What a cool answer. I love that answer. Yeah, okay. Even though we have these spiritual gifts, we have very human lives as we touched on, what's one quirky thing about you that people might be surprised to learn? Oh,
I'm an enormous basketball fan. I love basketball, and that I live here in the Boston area. I'm a big Celtics fan. So and I mean, huge. I yeah, I
love it. Yeah. Okay, leave us with one pearl of wisdom. What's one piece of advice that you wish that you had had on? Or that you had had early in your understanding of these gifts?
Yeah, I think it's to understand that the media image, or the image that's often in the movies of, first of all, supernatural is something terrifying or overwhelming, or, you know, you have poltergeists and things shaking or your heads turning around backwards and all that stuff, to just throw that out. Throw that out? Both the fear of it, because I think that that held my development back a little bit, because I'm a very practical Earth kind of person. And I'm like, Well, if this means that I'm gonna be having poltergeists and ghosts and flying around, and I'm gonna have panic attacks, you know, like Theresa Caputo, she got to have panic attacks, and she can't get in the car and Lord have mercy. I was just that is just, I don't want to be that person. And I think it was really important for me to realize that everyone's gifts come to them in different ways. There is no one way to be a psychic or to be a medium and we all have gifts and talents. And not to feel like oh, if I don't get panic attacks, and I don't see spirit walking around sitting on my front porch in the morning when I get up if I don't literally see people. I'm not a medium. I think that for those of you out there listening that might be aspiring mediums to understand that it's actually very natural. And that the thing they're right here, they're, they're right here.
That's great advice. That's great advice. Well, you have so graciously offered to pull a card, give us a little message for the new year. And give us a little sample of this Akashic trance healing which I'm so excited about Akashic piano, trance healing.
Oh, well, thank you joy. All right. Well, here we go. So before I start, I'll just say the title which is kind of long and awkward, and possibly in a marketing sense, maybe I need to reevaluate it. But for the moment, I'm calling it Akashic piano trance healing. Why? Because, as I do it, I am connecting with the Akashic Records, which are the records of your soul's destiny, right. And the source of the information that I give during the readings comes from that place, which is a soul to soul kind of transmission. So that's the Akashic piece. The piano piece is that I am sitting in front of my piano, I'm gonna move actually the microphone a little bit back, so it doesn't get too loud. But I'm sitting at the piano. So that's the piano part. And then trance is, as I already explained, I'm going into this light, trance state. And the intent is always healing, whether it's a message, whether it's just energy is healing. So having said that, I have these wonderful gateway of light activation cards, they come from Kyle gray. They're beautiful cards, and each one of the cards represents a spiritual energy. And I thought it would be fun. Let's take a look and see what energy might be helpful for us going into the new year, what energy would be good for the listeners of Joy's podcast to focus on. So I'm shuffling the cards. And let's see what comes. And here we go. The card that is coming is this says, Earth star activation. For those of you who are watching on YouTube, you can see the card, it's a beautiful card that focuses on the energy of the earth. And the message of this card is anchoring grounded action, and ISIS. And ISIS, as you may know, is the Egyptian goddess, surprise, surprise, she's a mother goddess. She's very connected to Yemaya. So I'm not at all surprised that I pulled this. And also, I've been talking about grounding. This has been the message that I've been giving basically, that you don't have to be flying all over the place. You can be very grounded, anchored, rooted and still be a profound and powerful medium. And so as I'm sort of riffing on this card here, and bringing you guys a little bit of a message, I feel like that's the message that spirit wants to share is that for all of us going into 2023, not to be overwhelmed by the intensity of the energy, not to be overwhelmed. There's a lot of energy right now there's a lot going on, but to remain rooted, to remain grounded, to understand that Divine Mother is always looking out for us, always watching over us, always protecting us, and keeping us rooted in grounded in the soul of who we are. And so to kind of go forward on that, I'm going to offer some musical energy. And once again, this is not regular music, it's definitely a different thing. It's not a tune, it's not a song. It's energy in the form of music, that I'm now going to channel for you around this card of Earth star activation. So as you listen, I'm just going to play for about two minutes. What I want you to do is just you can close your eyes, let the sound wash over you and allow yourself to level up your vibration up to a higher vibration and this is the music of the earth star activation.
And there you have it. That's the earth star activation energy. And yeah.
Thank you so much for that incredible gift of sharing your gifts. With us. It has been wonderful to have you, I hope that you will join us again, you can find Carolyn, Carolyn wilkins.com. But we'll also put all of your social media links and the books that we've talked about, and you've given us so much to think about, and so much to look at, and so many resources. So thank you so much for joining us today. I appreciate you very much. And it's great to be here with you. Oh, joy,
I am so grateful I this we're recording this the day before Thanksgiving, I can't think of a more gratitude oriented thing, both for our rather long term friendship now long distance but long term. And for the opportunity to be on this podcast. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your life. Wow, that was an incredible conversation with such a gifted soul. We are so lucky to experience that with Carolyn. And I had no idea she was going to offer to do that healing for us when we popped on the call, but let me know how you liked it. And I'm gonna post the links. Of course in the show notes. You can find her at Carolyn wilkins.com. But I'll also post the links to all of the books that she mentioned, including her memoirs, and the short stories and what an incredible soul. Thank you guys for joining me. It's been a pleasure to be with you. See you again. In the Spirit speak up