Word of the day: Medium (me’-de-əm) “a person through whom the spirits of the dead are alleged to be able to contact the living.”

Have you ever heard of, or been to, the little village of Lily Dale, New York? It is about an hour southwest of Buffalo. I have been there three times and would love to visit again. Lily Dale dates back to the 1870’s and was founded as a summer retreat location for members of the Spiritualist Church, which was quite prominent in the US in the late 19th century.   There are around 150 quaint Victorian cottages and homes, plus two hotels, a couple of restaurants, a meeting hall, a museum, and, of course, the obligatory gift shop.

Everyone who lives there is a practicing medium or psychic. The entire village is owned by the Lily Dale Assembly which grants long-term leases to carefully screened residents. Just think, when you and I purchase a house, we have to worry about our income, our debts, and the all important credit score. If you want to live and work in Lily Dale, you also have to worry about your “psychic score” and passing the admission test.

When we lived in Buffalo in the mid-90’s, several of my friends and work colleagues had told me about Lily Dale. They knew of my long abiding interest in all things metaphysical. My first trip to Lily Dale was pretty mundane. I have long been a fan of the books of Dr. Wayne Dyer, and I had signed up for a seminar he was presenting there. It was a beautiful early fall day, and the seminar was great. During the lunch break, I wandered around the little village, but I can’t say that I felt any particularly strong psychic vibes. I especially enjoyed seeing the interesting little houses, each with a shingle hanging outside proclaiming the offerings of that particular medium or psychic.

I spent several very tranquil minutes sitting by the famous Inspiration Stump and the Pet Cemetery. That Cemetery in a little clearing in the woods is such a loving tribute to so many animal friends who had passed on.

My next visit to Lily Dale came in the late spring the following year. My Mother was visiting us, and we decided that a day trip to Lily Dale would be a fun way to spend the day. As I had done previously, we wandered around the little village together. We had already decided we would try a reading, but the problem was, which one to select? We finally selected one little cottage and paid the resident medium for a reading. I have to admit to a high degree of skepticism about some of these things. Obviously, it was quite apparent that we were mother and daughter, so when my father’s spirit came through, I wasn’t sure there was anything I could really validate. I certainly couldn’t disprove it, but at the same time, I wasn’t totally jumping on the bandwagon of belief either.

Then the medium looked at me and said there was another spirit present who wanted to communicate with me. My grandfather? My deceased uncle? No, it was the spirit of my husband’s step-father, who had passed away the previous December. We had always gotten along quite well, but when he passed right before Christmas, my husband, Bill, and I had decided that I would stay home as our sons were flying in, and that he would go back to Texas alone to the funeral. This spirit, presumably my late father-in-law, said that he didn’t get to tell me goodbye and wanted to now. He also said that he didn’t yet have a tombstone and wanted one in pink granite in a rounded shape. At this point the medium moved her hands in the air to show me the shape of the tombstone.

My husband and I had no idea that my husband’s brother had not yet ordered a headstone for the grave. We didn’t mention my strange message to anyone in the family other than to inquire if the headstone was in place yet, which it was not. On our next trip to Texas a year or so later, we did pay a visit to the gravesite.   There was the headstone in a grey granite with pinkish flecks in it in the exact same shape the medium had drawn in the air with her hands! You can imagine my shock at seeing that headstone.  Was this a valid message from the spirit side?  I don’t know. I guess we each have to accept or reject this sort of thing based upon our own belief systems.

I made one last visit to Lily Dale that summer, shortly before we moved back to Colorado. I didn’t visit any of the mediums then, just wandered around the picturesque streets and woods and enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the setting. If your travels should take you to the vicinity, I would definitely encourage you to take the time for an excursion to the enchanting little village.

©2015, Home Again, A Spiritual Journey

If you liked this, please take a minutes to like and share on Facebook or Twitter.  Stay tuned next week for “Pet Peeves.”  I have to warn you that every now and then I get into the language thing!