So before I get to the good stuff, I'm going to give you a little background. I reached out to Nikki in early 2017 to do a trade off. I've always been fascinated with the afterlife and people that can connect with them, so I wanted to pick her brain. That's exactly what I told her, too. I offered to do a photoshoot for her if she lets me interview her. Well, that year didn't turn out working for either of us. Our schedules never seemed to match up, but we got lucky in 2018!
The day started off like any other day, only I was about to meet someone I've been admiring from afar. I dropped my kids off at my mom's, then headed to Creekside Gardens to meet Nikki. I was as nervous as anything. I mean, she's literally a local celebrity with an amazing gift. My stomach was tossing and turning on the short drive over. I went inside to purchase our entries into the butterfly house. She walks through the front door shortly after and we ran into each other. She was just as nervous as I was and that just made me feel at ease that it wasn't just me. She got herself "photo ready", then we headed over. Right before we went in, she mentioned that she wasn't working that day, but there is an older gentleman that will not leave her alone. She said she was trying to redirect her attention, but he was too loud. She said he came forward as my Pop. I said, "Yep! My mother's family is far from quiet." He just wanted to make his presence known.
We went into the butterfly house and immediately, a black butterfly with blue coloring in its wings flew by my face and I was just drawn to him. I said, "By the end of our time, I'm going to get him in on a picture." We had some amazing monarch participation and low and behold, my butterfly came over and landed right on my hand. I kept passing him off to Nikki, but he kept on coming back to me. She, then, described a father-figure gentleman whom I was very close with. I immediately knew she was talking about my stepfather, Jack. We exchanged some words, then went about with the rest of our session.
As you can tell, she was totally in her element and loving every second of the butterfly house!
Our time was up in the butterfly house, so we moved along to the surrounding outdoor areas and their BEAUTIFUL greenhouse! During this time, I realized how down-to-Earth and just how genuine she is as a person. She has this adorable, infectious laugh. She finds joy in just about everything. Oh, and my girl knows how to get down with the sarcasm. She's my favorite type of person.
We looked towards the road past Creekside and she pointed out a fallen tree. I told her that just fell on my mother's car a couple days prior. She said she got chills and that she was lucky to be alive. She mentioned that event strongly related to a gentleman and I confirmed that the tree incident had happened on the 28th anniversary of my father's death. She was speechless. We both knew that she had some guardian angels on her side that day.
She later posted that week about a beautiful sunflower field near her home. She mentioned about how she'd love to have photos done there. On a whim, I reached out to her on my way home from Knoebels and again, we made magic happen.
About a month later, I ended up at her gorgeous studio to finally unload a million questions on her. Before we started, she went about her usual routine of cleansing the air and explaining everything she uses (Palo Santo - cleanses energy & Archangel Raphael - healing of grief). We sat down and I started:
How/When did you realize you had this amazing ability?
"I was about 7 or 8. Most children up until about 5 or 6 have this to varying degrees."
"Your dad’s going to be interrupting me throughout this whole thing. He said the questions can wait, so I guess we're doing this."
To my surprise, she started reading me. She brought up a man with glasses and a heart issue. She said he also seemed to be getting better right before he passed. I instantly knew she was talking about Jack. She went on to describe some things about him that were dead on (no pun intended).
"Does he not like to talk about the cancer?" I told her that he avoided it. He refused to accept that diagnosis at all costs. She, then, went on to say that he felt that he was the patriarch of the family. It was his job to care for everyone and not the other way around. That was absolutely right about him. "This was the gentleman I felt at the butterfly house."
Before I even arrived, she told me that Jack was persistent that she gave me this message today. He said the interview can wait. She also referenced my step brothers, which sadly, they "forgot" about our existence once he passed. She was very comforting and expressed how he felt about the matter. It all got personal and very real, very quickly. Things that you wouldn't just know by looking at someone. Deep stuff.
She had to stop because she said she feels like there's more than one gentleman, they were both referring to me as their daughter, but they were VERY simliar. I told her that she was correct on that feeling and that was great to know that my biological father was there. I told her my mom had a type. She, then, went on to describe many things in details. She also mentioned there being 2 namesake children. Yes, my two youngest boys. My Karson (middle child) has my father's middle name, Thomas, and my youngest, Kamden, his middle name is Jack. She got emotional and right then and there is when it all became apparent how real this feeling was. We laughed. We cried. I received some beautiful messages.
One thing that needs to be noted is she mentioned about spirit messing with electronics. No more than 30 seconds after she said that, my camera turned off. It was full of battery and the memory card had tons of room left. Someone was just proving a point. She has such a great presence when doing all of this because she previously worked as a social worker and therapist and in a hospice for 10 years, which explains why grief and loss is her specialty.
We wrapped up the reading because she had a client coming, but with just enough time to finish why I came there in the first place.
Were you scared?
"Yes. I shut it down. When I realized that other people couldn’t see things, hear things or didn’t connect with.. because I was feeling a little bit like Snow White, like I can connect to insects, birds and feel their feelings and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s not normal? Okay, let me stop.’ ‘Cuz when you’re a kid, you want to be normal. The last thing you want to be is not normal."
How did your friends/family react when you told them?
"I would tell my mom bits and pieces and she was very receptive, but I really wouldn’t say I fully came out until 4 years ago and I’m 45. My friends knew before my family did." She laughed and said, “That’s why I say 'Girl, I was in the closet, honey.' I had like a toe out, but that’s all and much like being in the closet, all the people I said were like, ‘I know.’ And I said, ‘Oh, you do?’ ‘Yeah, you’ve read for me.’ ‘Right. Got it.’ And it’s true. I’ve read for people since, like, high school just randomly."
How about new friends? If they don’t know your background, how do they react when you tell them? And is it something you mention right away?
"Since I’ve become weirdly known, people just kind of know now and if they don’t, if it’s just random people, I might just slip it in. If it’s someone I’m friends with, it comes up because that’s important."
Does anyone in your family share this gift?
“My mom has it. She’s never used it. She also mentioned that her grandfather was a very well-known, patented scientist and had this gift, but never came out with it. Other than that, I don’t know of anyone else. OH! My kids. Both of my kids have it.”
Do you see any signs in your children?
"Absolutely. They show signs of everything. Ever since Elijah was very small, he showed signs of psychic abilities. Also my son when he was young would just ramble in the car. I think he was channeling." He would do this often and she would just take out her phone and write down what he was saying because it was so interesting. "Now that he’s older, he doesn’t do it as much, but you can tell he’s very in tune and so is my daughter and I can see them struggling with it to an extent." She went on to tell a story about her daughter, Maia, and an encounter she witnessed. "So I know that have some kind of ability. Whether or not they use it, I don’t know. I think a lot of people have ability and don’t use it. You definitely have to be willing to be looked at strangely and be able to step out of the idea of what people think is normal and make your own normal. I’ve just been received so warmly by people in the community and people have just found this to be so healing and helpful and I’ve gotten such a great response, which is why it’s become a full-time gig because it’s helping people and that’s the purpose of it."
Have you ever had someone book an appointment and the person they hoped to hear from didn’t come through?
“No, but I have had, in about 2500 readings, it has happened 4 times where I’m not able to read for someone because they’re either not open to it, they’re not ready for it or they’re really angry. This just happened recently. So I can’t fix you, I can’t fix your grief. You still have to go through it and feel it. I feel like some people did connect, but they were blocking it. I can only give you what you’re willing to receive.”
Do you ever get interference while scrolling through Facebook?
“Yes, absolutely. That’s why I won’t accept a friend request for someone I know I’m going to read for or if I do accept them, I’ll unfollow them, just like I did with you.”
Do you ever get scared when certain people come through?
"I think that the most uncomfortable I’ve been... I’ve channeled murderers. That’s happened many of times. When they’ve taken the lives of others and some took their own life following their murders. I don’t necessarily get scared due to my background with the mentally ill, but I have definitely been in uncomfortable situations. I did have a dream the night before a reading where I was being murdered. He showed me how he died and that scared me because it felt so real. I talked to my guides after that and told them that I understand they wanted to show me what happened, but that wasn’t cool so that hasn’t happened since."
Did you ever have a situation that dealt with a demon?
“I believe in dark energy. I believe in the Ouija board. Would you leave your front door open? You do that, you’re letting anyone in.” She goes on to tell the run-in with a board in college and said that it was focused on her. She was worried about certain things and it was just messing with her the entire time. “So you gotta be real careful, man. You have to be careful of who you’re invoking into your space and that’s for human form, too. Be careful who you surround yourself with.”
How do you see spirits? What do you see when a person comes though? (If they’re a blob, how can you tell if they’re expressing a specific movement?”
“In my head. They used to show up in front of me and I was like, ‘Not uh. Nope. If ya’ll want me to do this, you ain’t doin’ that ‘cuz I can’t.’ And I remember, and it gives me the chills, I’ve seen people appear in front of me and I was like, ‘Nope!’ *shivers* I’m sorry, it just freaks me out. One night I went down to my kitchen for something to eat at like 3 in the morning and I heard some dude laughing loudly. I was like, ‘Oh, hell no. You gotta go. I don’t care where you go, but you can’t stay here. You gotsta go, Jack.’ It just freaks me out. For some mediums, they will see them. The way that I see them now are as light. When I’m reading for someone, I will see light around them. They will show me what they look like in their head, describing what they look like, showing me pictures. I will see it in my own mind’s eye, which I’m more comfortable with than in here and they’ve been very good about it."
Do they use full sentences or a few words that you have to piece together?
"They do, but it’s mostly whatever they want to do. It’s usually bits and pieces of conversation. I also encourage people to be receptive of not worrying about the 1 thing they didn’t get, but the 20 things that they did get because what I do is very evidential."
Although you’re a designated medium, do you have psychic tendencies as well?
“All mediums are psychic, but not all psychics are mediums. I don’t know why. That’s just how it is. I have had someone come to me for a psychic reading, but my medium tendencies are so strong... I encourage people to book with someone else if they’re looking for a psychic reading because I can’t help if people are trying to talk.”
Do you believe that everyone has the ability to reach to contact loved ones like you do or do you think it’s just something few people are blessed with?
“Yes. Everyone just has to be open and receptive to it.”
If you already receive signs or want to connect, what do you suggest someone do to reach out?
“I would definitely say research. Do what you’re doing and talk to a medium. Go inward. Read. Definitely read. Reading is a huge thing. Connect with God. Listen. Listen to what you get. Sometimes I think people will connect to their loved ones and hear them, but we’re so conditioned to be like, ‘that’s not real’. Or if I see a sign, ‘I’m just seeing things’ and that ticks spirit off. They get frustrated because they can’t just come through and do jazz hands. You need to pay attention, but we also need to be open to it. So being open is a huge thing. Getting past your frequency of notion of what’s, like, real because I think that’s why I’ve always identified so strongly with Alice in Wonderland because there’s a whole bunch of reality… Just because it’s not here and we can’t touch it and feel it and it’s not solid, most of what’s real is not solid, and that’s faith. That’s God. That’s more than what is here. It’s the esoteric.
Jack and my Pop pop were insistent that I bring my mother back up to be read. I sat in on it and was just amazed how different both readings were. Two totally different perspectives and information. I figured there would be some similarities, but there were none. Absolutely incredible.
After multiple occasions of meeting up with her, especially after our interview, I feel like Nikki is a person you'd want to go and hang out with, just for her company. Girl has a killer sense of humor and just gets life. I hope keep in touch in the years to come!