PM: 109 The Power Within: Nicole Powell speaks to Ann Théato

In this episode of Psychic Matters, Ann Théato is joined by Reverend Nicole Powell, an evidential medium, author, and spiritual teacher. Nicole shares her unique journey into mediumship, offering valuable insights on the power of spiritual awakening, psychic development, and the call to mediumship. She also discusses her latest book, The Power: A Call to Mediumship, and explores the deeper connections we can make with the spirit world. Tune in for an inspiring conversation on mediumship, spiritual growth, and harnessing the power within.

Transcript

VO: Psychic Matters with Ann Théato. The top ranked spirituality podcast.

Ann: Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Reverend Nicole Powell, an evidential medium, accomplished author, and expert, whose insights have significantly influenced the realm of mediumship and psychic phenomena, Nicole's latest book, The Power, A Call To Mediumship reflects her deep understanding and passion for the power within us all.

And she brings a unique perspective to our discussion. I'm delighted she's been able to join us in the studio and Reverend Nicole Powell. Welcome to Psychic Matters. 

Nicole: Thank you so much for having me today, Ann. It is such a pleasure to be here and to be accompanied by you. I look forward to what happens today.

Ann: Yeah, excellent. We shall have a wonderful discussion. I just know it. So, Nicole, let's start off with, um, a question I ask most people on this podcast, which is how did you first discover your psychic abilities and then how did you decide to pursue a career as a medium? 

Nicole: That's a really good question. And when I was a child that was very highly sensitive, I communicated with animals. I got these wicked headaches and migraines when I was in school because I'd pick up too much energy. And I was always very aware of my high sensitivity through the younger years of my life. My parents were pretty understanding of it. And I think I grew up in a part of the world on Vancouver Island where this work is maybe a bit more open and expressive and allowed. So it never really felt like that was shunned or cut off from me either. Uh, but when I was 19, my best friend died and then I had another friend die and I started having visitations from the first one, Mary. And she would take me to the other side, and she would show me where she was, and what the afterlife was like.

Now because it felt so natural and normal to be having these experiences, and my parents didn't really tell me that they weren't real or anything like that, I was open and willing to be able to express that more. Now when I was 22, I had a near death experience where I had my appendix rupture into two places and I had septicaemia leaking into my abdomen and body and I knew I was fading and I wasn't, I kind of had a choice and I had a visitation from a spiritual being that came to me and asked me if I wanted to stay or go. And of course, I asked to stay and that there was no way I was ready or willing to leave, especially because of the death of my friends and seeing what their parents went through. So, I said, I chose to stay, but in staying, I had to make a deal that I would do this work. Now, I didn't know what this work was or what they were really referring to, but they promised me that they would lead me and show me. Now, through the recovery of my surgeries, I, I was quite ill and sick. I couldn't recover, tried becoming a vegan. I tried doing all sorts of things to try and restore my health, but it was until someone suggested that I do spiritual healing that it, nothing was working before that. And when I got the spiritual healing, I noticed that all these faculties, abilities started to open within me and I could see different aspects of realms.

I'm just lying on the Reiki table I was able to see like different dimensions like as if I was in the matrix or something like that. And it's funny that was the one and only time that ever happened during a healing or Reiki treatment, but I decided to pursue and explore this more. So, I took a three-year programme at Langara College in Vancouver where I learned all about energy and energy medicine. It was kind of like a degree programme and over that time my abilities started to crack open and I realised that this must have been the work that that spirit that visited me in the emergency room was talking about. So, I was determined that I was going to leave my career as a hairdresser. And put myself out there as a healer.

And so that's exactly what I did, but quickly into being a healer, uh, my psychic abilities were coming out stronger when people were more interested in receiving psychic guidance than they were receiving healings for me. So, I paid attention. But when my grandmother passed at 27, 28, maybe 29, I'm not sure. I decided to check out the spiritualist church to see if I could get a reading. And when I walked in there, I noticed that I could see all the spirits standing around the congregation. And when the medium was working on the platform, I was getting, and I was totally linked into what the medium was getting. So, I had this realisation that through all my years of training as a healer and opening up psychically, that there was also a mediumistic ability there. And that's when I dove in, two feet ready to go learning as much as I possibly could about mediumship. 

Ann: Oh my gosh, that really is your life in a nutshell, isn't it? That's very succinct. 

Nicole: You know, I, I feel like it was always led and that there wasn't really anything else for me to do. You know, it's like, I, I grew up, I became an adult and then immediately things started getting pulled from me so that I had to go on this path as a medium. And because it felt life or death for me, like I made the deal that I would stay and do this work, I never have even opened myself to other possibilities because it feels that this is what I'm here for. And so, I don't let myself get kind of, pulled away by shiny baubles, if you know what I mean. 

Ann: Yes. Yes, I do. Let's unpack your story a little if we may Nicole, because you were very kind before I sat down to interview you and you sent me a copy of your new book, The Power, A Call to Mediumship. And, where you've just given us a summary of things that happened, a lot of this is discussed in your new book, um, in great, great detail. So without giving away what the content is in the book, cause obviously we'd love people to go out and buy it. let's go back to where you started this story when you said at 19, one of your friends died, a lady called Mary. Now, in the book and from what I've read, I know now that Mary was your best friend and that this was something that absolutely devastated, obviously her family, but obviously devastated you also as her best friend. So, talk us a little bit more through that loss and how she came to take you to the other side. 

Nicole: Okay. Yes. So, Mary was like a soul sister. Like we met in high school. Absolute best friends lived down the road. We did everything together. People constantly mistaken us for twins. And when she was 19, she got meningitis and died really, really quickly. Now it appeared as flu-like symptoms. Her mom took her to emergency. She was misdiagnosed, sent home, told that the mom was maybe a bit overbearing, too protective, and she passed within 12 hours. And I didn't know that this was going on because all this happened within 24 hours. So, when I got a phone call pretty close to Christmas on the last day of work as a hairdresser before Christmas holidays, and it was her brother telling me that Mary died last night, I was in absolute shock. I, you know, you know, when you kind of see black spots and the walls start moving and you're like scared to move because that might sink in, that was a very traumatic experience for me that I was living in the moment and I couldn't do anything. I couldn't work. I couldn't function. I couldn't celebrate Christmas. I, I had wicked anxiety and everything was so new to me it felt like I had lost a limb and you know I know people talk about losing their children or their husbands and it felt like it was something like that for me because she was such a big part of my life and my go to person. So not only was I grieving the loss for it was also who do I rely on now to be my confident or my person that I talk with. So I had to experience what it was like to go through that, and I remember feeling very off, like all of a sudden I didn't know what I was doing, where I was going, the life that I had planned didn't seem that interesting to me, and I would walk into churches, Um, Buddhist centres, all sorts of Catholic places, just to try and understand, like, the afterlife, or where she went, or what was going on, and I didn't know that it was possible to try and communicate with her or anything like that, and I didn't really know what a medium was.

Um, but I do remember going to a bookstore that had lots of mysticism books and occult books, and they did have a section around the afterlife that wasn't maybe Christian or, or Buddhist, and I sat there reading James Van Praagh books. And I do believe that that started to open me up, without even knowing that it was. It was like it was washing over me, but it was opening me at the same time. And my mom sent me to a grief therapist, and this woman must have been a magician, because she taught me how to go into meditation and meet Mary in the other side. And I've never heard of any other therapist doing this ever since, but I do believe that she opened a portal for me in that aspect of in those therapy sessions. Because quite soon after that, I started to have these visitations from Mary. Now the first one that I received, uh, she just appeared in the room right when I was kind of falling asleep. We call that a theta state, like your kind of half there, half asleep. And she started shaking me and I said, no, no, go away, like, I'm just dreaming. I don't, I don't want to see you. This is too much, right? And she says, well, what am I going to do to prove to you that I'm really here? And I said, no, go away. And so, she took the sheets that were underneath me and reefed them. And in that action, I rolled right off my bed and hit the ground and I woke up and it wasn't that late, maybe like 11.30. And I thought, oh my God, like that was Mary. She was really here in my room. And so, my mom came running in wondering what the big thump was. And I told her that Mary just visited me and threw me off the bed. And she looked at me and she said, well, believe it. So that was in my mind of, okay, like, I'm not, I'm not crazy here. So when I'd fall asleep at night, right in that theta state, she would come and she would take my hand just like Peter Pan and Wendy. And she'd take me through the window and we'd go to the other side. And this must've happened for about three or four weeks until I felt stable and okay. And we'd have these meeting places. And I never knew where this place was until I went to Wales last summer. And it was like cliffs kind of like, um, you'd see in Wales or in Ireland. And this is where she would take me to watch the sunrises and sunsets and the waves coming crashing in on these little, like, I don't know, what do you call them, where they're kind of like little rolling hills on the cliffs, right, because you don't have that in Canada. But that was one of the things that we would do. And she'd tell me about how she was never meant to grow old and she never wanted to. And it was almost like I reflected back on our relationship. That she was always preparing me for this early departure. And she used to talk about the afterlife a lot and the things that we would do on the other side. And it started to make sense to me that there was a segment of life that she needed to be in, but she was also my catalyst and my opening to direct me on my life. And I do believe when I was writing the book, it was like she was there moving through me. And a lot of people have wrote me and even told me that they felt her presence in those first few chapters of writing as well.

Ann: Yeah, they're very powerful because of the effect that obviously it had on you. And The effect it must've had on her as well, the way that she wants to reach back out to you, to give you some comfort and succour. It's fascinating that she took you to the other side and that you were able to watch the sunrise and the sunset. I find that absolutely fascinating. So, thank you, Mary, for your contribution to this part of the podcast as well. That's just wonderful. So, it seems to me when your mum came in that night and said, well, believe it. And from what you've said, you have this lovely accepting family. You didn't have to fight for your mediumship or your right to believe in what you believed in. Have I got that correct? 

Nicole: Correct. Like, there was absolutely no Christianity in our household. My dad was raised Christian, didn't want it for us. There was no going to church, no reading Bibles, nothing like that. More because he wanted us to have our own experience with spirit, right? He never closed us off from it. But he didn't want me to be around organised religion.

And you know, it's funny because I really wanted to be around organised religion because I feel from a young age, I was wanting to understand what God was, but I was looking in places like churches for it and he would, you know, maybe say, you know, I don't think you should go that way. And it would help me explore a bit more openly about what it is that I wanted. And when I reflect back about being a teenager, what I see now is that my parents just really wanted me to be an independent thinker. They wanted me to have my own experience with God without it being attached to religion. And it allowed me to have incredible freedom to be able to explore. And sometimes I joke that I, I believe I was given the parents that I had and I chose them because I just wanted to get on with things and start this work from the moment, I became an adult. It was also a bit like some pre plan that I had. I was like, okay, give me good parents that are open so I could just hit the ground running and start, right? Yeah. And I feel like that's exactly what I got. 

Ann: Yeah. And you're very lucky as well, because not everyone has a, uh, an open-minded family who will allow them to think independently and go in the direction they want to go in. So yeah. 

Nicole: It's kind of funny because I think back of when I was about 26 and launching my career as a healer and I decided to see uh, like a career counsellor at the same time just because it wasn't taking off, right? It was like I would do healings but it wasn't really turning into a business and after their assessment of me he looked at me in the eyes and he said, you need to do this work. I don't think you should be going to get a job as a counsellor or psychologist or anything like that. I really feel like you should buckle down, learn business and just put yourself out there. You're clearly very intuitive and that's my assessment of you. So, it's almost like wherever I went, it was constantly put back in my face that I was on the right path. Like there was nobody saying, Nicole, you're going the wrong way or this is weird. Or do you really want to put yourself out there like this? It was in all angles, completely supported. 

Ann: Yeah, that's so nice, Nicole. And of course, you felt so right in that path as well yourself. So that, that was really good. You spoke earlier about being, I think you said you were 22 and you had an appendix operation or ruptured appendix and that you had a near death experience where spirit made a deal with you that you would do this work. Can you say a little bit more about that? How do they do a deal with you? How does that work?

Nicole: It felt like in a negotiation honestly, so I had three weeks of being like vitally ill I was I have some wicked stomach pains, I couldn't work, I couldn't function, I was losing weight rapidly, and I went to the hospital, I went to walk in clinics, and I continuously got turned away, like I think two or three times in clinics and three times in emergency.

And no blood work, no ultrasound, no x rays, just no, like, go, you know, thinking I'm med seeking, or that I'm being over cautious, and so continuously turned away. And so, after that three weeks, I was very, very sick, and I remember going in and out of consciousness, and feeling like I would just black out. And we're like wondering how I was even coming back to life again after I had those blackout moments. And I was thinking, I'm going to die. Like nobody's hearing me. And I feel like I'm talking to ghosts and nobody's listening. So, I decided to go to emergency one more time. And it was when I was lying on my back with the neon lights at the ceiling, how I start my book and the doctors and the nurses were having a meeting about me. Like, what is this girl doing here again? What are we going to do with her now? And I just started to pray. And I was like, you know, help me. I need help. I'm gonna die. I know I'm gonna die. Please like get me through this moment and get me the support I need. And I was very open in my prayer and I was speaking out loud and you know, maybe I was not so well that it was maybe a little bit hallucinating too, but this, this being just started to come in on the side and it was like this bright, bright white light and it started to come right in and I could start to see a face of an angel. It looked very like a porcelain doll to be honest and she was wearing a white gown and she was flowing around me. And I was like, oh my God, I'm dying. She came to pick me up and I said, I don't want to go with you. Like, please, please don't take me. I don't, I don't want to go. And she said, well, if you stay, you're going to have to do this work. And I said, well, what's this work? And she goes, it's okay. We'll show you. We'll show you. And she just faded away and just disappeared. And within, I think like 30 seconds or a minute, that's when the doctor came back in and he said, Nicole, has anyone done a blood test on you? And I knew from that moment I was in, I was like, okay, I'm going to get help. And sure enough, within the hour, I was sent to the major hospitals and it started my weeklong stay of procedures and drain bags and all sorts of things I had to do. To get the septicaemia out of my system. 

Ann: Oh, what a story. But how beautiful that this being came to support you, uh, in that, in this work. Like it was almost like you were always cut out to do it. 

Nicole: And it felt like I had to pray in order for her to come. So maybe before that I was hitting walls, right? But it was like, when I shifted, when I fully surrendered, that's when it happened, when it was like, I was in mercy. 

Ann: Yeah. Yeah. And you also spoke earlier about when you walked into a spiritualist church, you could see spirit people waiting behind some of the members of the congregation. Now I feel a little bit jealous of that, Nicole, because I don't know, 

Nicole: right. 

Ann: Okay. So, let's talk about that because I always felt a little bit less than I see mediums on the television like Matt Fraser. He's like, I can see so and so behind you? And I'm like, what? I never see that with my mediumship and you've had that experience too. And many of us haven't and don't work that way. So maybe you could speak a little bit about why that happened initially and why it doesn't happen now for you and maybe for others. 

Nicole: Okay, so at this point I had been working as a healer seven years. Like I started at 22, started working with energy. I was about, no, maybe I was younger, 27, I don't know, 27 ish.

And I'd been doing healings all the time, so I feel like all that energy was opening up, opening up, opening up, and I started using my psychic abilities. And so, I knew it was like, it was ready to pop open, if you know what I mean. Like I was aware of presences around the table, I was aware, but I was doing tarot that there was other beings in the room. And I don't know when it started, it just kind of felt like it just turned on one day, it kind of popped. And then I expressed interest in the spiritualist churches because my grandmother had died and I was wondering if I could get a message from her. I'd never been to a meeting before, never seen mediums work, it was always psychic or healing. And so, I just walked in. And when I walked in, I looked around and I just saw everyone's faces. loved ones standing behind each congregation member. And I was like, wow, like I'm like wide open right now. Like this place is activated and then watching the medium work and I'm hearing it and I'm hearing them getting it too. Like I could hear almost like as if a voice was standing behind them, giving him information. And I thought this is so trippy. And so, I went home and I said to Matthew, my husband, I said, I think I'm a medium. I think I could do what I saw those mediums doing today at the service. And he said, I don't know, Nicole, like maybe, but you know, you have to be evidential because Matthew's British and he understood what evidential mediumship was. And I said, well, let me, let me try on you. Like, let me, let me see if I could do it. If I'm legit, like, you tell me. Okay? And so, after dinner, we sat down, and I gave him a mediumship reading, a contact. And I just brought through a few pieces of his grandfather. And he says, yeah, I don't know, that could have been your memory. But one of the things I said was, your grandfather's here, and he's telling me that there's a box of books collecting dust in your uncle's basement. And he says, I don't know. Well, the next morning his mom called from England and she says, I just got the phone with your uncle and there's a box of your grandfather's books collecting dust in his basement. And it was word for word what I said. And so, he says, okay, like, you are a medium. You got the evidence, like, you know how to do this. So, you know, various things happened where I started getting involved in circles. I got messages and it was just so easy. It was like someone turned on the tap and it was like, I could remember not having it, if you know what I mean.

But the more I developed the power and the more I started letting it come through, it was like the dial went down. It was like, I didn't have to be so open and like wide open clairvoyant anymore. It was almost like other faculties took over like feeling and hearing opposed to having to see. And that actually helped me have more of a functional life.

And I wouldn't actually want that part of my life back where I could see that easily because I was quite fried in my nervous system. I was quite dysregulated. It was hard to sleep. And I was constantly bombarded by spirit people once they knew that I was open and ready to communicate. And, I'd say that lasted about a few months, maybe like four to six months being that open, but then it really started to close down. And when I started going to the Arthur Findlay College, that's when things started to more kind of fine tune or get regulated, and it wasn't so much about seeing spirits, but can I communicate the language and interpret it to the sitter, right? 

Ann: Yeah, right. Exactly. Because mediumship does change, doesn't it? It morphs over time. Continually, it doesn't just stay the same. Just when you think you're on firm ground with it, you know what you're doing, it will change. 

Nicole: Always changing. And sometimes I'm not feeling so like, oh, I don't really want to do this. I'm not feeling that sensitive today. And they'll just speak to me in audience because they know that's an easy way to reach. But when I'm feeling ultra creative and my third of eye is open, that's when I'm more clairvoyant, but that's usually also when I'm getting more headaches and migraines too. So, I have to be very careful of how, um, like how balanced and grounded I stayed and keeping my health because spirit will work with me with whatever's open, but they don't want to hurt me either.

Ann: Yeah, of course, of course. I know when I first started my own mediumship, I would see things. I would see spirit people. I would see them in my, with my spirit eyes. And I could also sort of see a projection of them in front of me. So, I could see them in two places. Um, and that's kind of how it worked, but now the mediumship, as you've already explained, it has become much more fine-tuned so much so that now I just get the merest, tiniest glimpse of it. A piece of, I've got an old person's hands here. Oh, it's a man. Oh, he's this. And you're speaking almost at the same time as getting the images that come or the knowingness that comes. So, it's, it's very, it's not some, so, um, what do you call it? Uh, objective anymore. It's more of a subjective experience where they're so very close to you.

Nicole: Yeah, and it was almost like they had to prove that it was really them and it was, they were really there and they were doing this to get my attention, like waving at me. And it's just like any relationship, after you've dated a while or you know someone a while, you don't have to work as hard because you have a trust, right? It's like, I know they're there. And it's funny, like, I did a Dem on the weekend at a place that I did a Dem in 2017. And I remember in 2017 I almost had a panic attack in the back room because there were so many spirits and I didn't know if I could handle it. And then I was there the other day, same location, and I walked out, sat down, I'm like, I don't even feel spirit. But the second I started it turned on and then there they were and it's like, wow, like we've changed that much, you know? 

Ann: Yeah, it's so true. It's so true. Uh, for people listening to this podcast or watching on YouTube, if they're new to mediumship, what advice would you give them? Because I know in your beautiful book, you have a wonderful chapter on sitting in the power. Um, but what advice would you give to someone new to mediumship that they might be able to sort of develop their gifts or what do they need to do? 

Nicole: They need a mentor. Honestly, a lot of people come to me and they say they want to develop their mediumship, but they don't want to work with people and they don't want to be told what to do. And I was like, mediumship is about service. So, the whole point of it is to give it away. And you need to practice and also have somebody articulate with you to be able to share help you because it's so easy to get in your own way and your own head. Um, or get grandiose that you're the only one in the world that knows how to do this.

And then, or I can't do this at all and shut down and let it go for another 10 years. Just having someone kind of watch you from the sidelines, keep you on track is incredible, valuable, right? And that's just circle leader or taking a week at the college. I mean, it can do so much for your mediumship, and I hope the book can kind of open people up and get the comprehension understanding of it, but it's the weekly practice that I feel that gives people the confidence and the validation when working with others to do it. And another thing, I wouldn't suggest opening up your mediumship unless you're willing to work with others, because it's not for you. You know, we don't just sit around talking to our grandparents and, you know, loved ones in spirit all day. This is about interpreting messages for other people. And sometimes that's forgotten when people go to develop their power.

Ann: Yeah, I love that. I love that. How do they find a mentor? 

Nicole: Yeah. I mean, a lot of Google. 

Ann: That's a good idea. 

Nicole: You know, I always ask my clients, like, how did you find me? And they say, word of mouth or reviews. And that seems to be the two ways people find anything these days is, you know, are you available online? People like to research, look at websites, go to YouTube, go to Facebook or Instagram, and just kind of follow mediums until you feel like there's like a resonance and there's something like, oh yeah, I'm connecting with that one. The other thing is spiritualist churches, you know, most of the platform mediums have their own circle or run circles or put on workshops right throughout the years. So that's another way to be able to find a mentor. But also, maybe just trying a few on before they commit to one until they find someone can really take them to that next step, because, as we also know Ann, sometimes. teachers or tutors can kind of pull us down opposed to help us grow. So really assessing if this person is assisting in your development or if they're hindering it.

Ann: Yeah, that's a good point actually, because if you rely on your gut instinct, it's never going to let you down. Sit with it and feel it in your gut. Is this, does this feel right for me? And you'll know, you'll just know. 

Nicole: Yeah. And you made a really good point about the sitting and the power, because sometimes people will do absolutely anything to develop their mediumship except sit.

And I do believe that unless you can sit alone with yourself, for at least five to ten minutes, just developing it, your mediumship's not really going to grow. It's always going to be like five different radio channels at once. Like you really have to attune your frequency. So that is something that people can practice on their own. And yes, that's definitely in the book there too. 

Ann: Say a little bit more about that, just in basic form, um, attune your frequency, because some people might not know what you mean by that. And you talked about, you know, different, different frequencies. What do you mean by attune your frequency? Of course I know, but perhaps others don't.

Nicole: Well, the address to the spirit world is love. So that's the frequency we want to tune to. And that can be reached through the power of intention. So, if someone were to sit down and get comfortable in their chair and maybe place their hand on their heart to kind of help them get out of their head and into their senses and just start to feel the word love and just start to be like, I'm just going to tune my energy to the vibration of love. Maybe think of something that you love, like an animal's face or a dog, or something that brings love and starts to fill your heart. And that helps you just get into the right vibration. Because sometimes we can just sit down and close our eyes and nothing happens or our mind just stays busy. But we have to direct the energy on where we're taking it, right?

And as we know, when we want to reach loved ones in spirit, we have to meet them where they are. And that's through the heart, through love. So, we just come into that state of love and that helps us start to connect. 

Ann: Thank you. That's wonderful. Absolutely. Wonderful. And if somebody is listening or watching, there is no spiritualist church in the country in which they live. There is no mentor around that they can find. They don't have access to the internet. Say for instance, they want to keep it secret from their family, but they want to explore it themselves. They can't get to a class for whatever reason. Some people are looking after elderly parents or just in circumstances where they can't. Um, what can someone do to further that connection with spirit themselves? Or have you got an exercise somebody could try? 

Nicole: Do they have access to books? You know, funny, I kept thinking of the pioneers how they just sat in the closet for seven years in the dark and eventually the power developed right. So, I would work in different ways like that, I would take dedicate 20 minutes a day.

To maybe have time away from your busy schedule, phones, elderly parents that maybe you're taking care of, and just give yourself that time. I would create a sacred space and go; this is my time for spirit and my development. Maybe light a candle, put on a diffuser, some good smells, maybe some soft, gentle music. And I would just sit in the power of that love, that light. And I would just set that intention that this is my time to connect to spirit. And I would just sit quietly and really learn to listen. Because in that connection to spirit, in that blending, all you're doing is emptying so that you can start to allow the influence of the power to begin to move through you. And when you open your ears to really listen, that's when you start to notice the shift in energy that emerges. Because after that 20 minutes, you should feel better, not worse. You should feel rejuvenated, refreshed, or even that you touch something that you connected with something that's bigger than you. Now, literature is really powerful with that because you don't need a teacher or a mentor around to be able to just read a few words for inspiration to kind of put you into that, um, higher power moment, right? But that's what I would do if I was just me, and I had nothing else around me. 

Ann: Oh, thank you. That's really useful for a lot of people listening. That's great. Thanks. Nicole. So of course you're not just Nicole Powell, you are now Reverend Nicole Powell. How did the ministry catch your attention and why did you decide that that was a path for you? 

Nicole: Well, here's another very interesting story. So, you know, my dad's sister and my uncle are both ministers in Bolivia. And so, it kind of runs in the blood. It's definitely a family lineage piece. But I noticed from a young age that there was always this connection of wanting to connect to God, a higher power. And like I said, I didn't grow up in churches or anything like that. But when I was 14, Mary took me to a Christian church service on Easter Sunday. And I remember sitting in the audience and they were playing this like beautiful music. And it was almost like something woke up in me. And this energy started moving through me and my hands started moving. And I didn't know what it was. And I remember this light came through the stained-glass window and just pierced my heart. And I heard a voice say, you're going to be a minister one day. And I said, that's, that's impossible. And it says, maybe, and it just disappeared. And the first time I went to the Arthur Findlay college, in 2015, I was sitting in the sanctuary and Eamon Downey was leading us through the power. And it was just like first morning. And the same thing happened. He started leading us in and energy started to move. My hands started to lift. And this light shone through the stained-glass window, and I was taken back to the age of 14, and I was like, oh my God, like it's here again. Like it's that same feeling that I'm going to be a minister and I've been hanging out at the spiritualist church quite a bit. And I was very infatuated by the ministers there. And I noticed that they really just like, let me in. Like they wanted to develop me. They wanted to give me messages. They wanted to be around me. Like they really like included me in, and I often wonder if they knew what they were doing. because it felt so spirit orchestrated inviting me into circle. You know, wanting to hang out outside of the centre and stuff like that. And so, it was always there. But I remember when one of the ministers got ordained to become a minister at the Spiritualist Church, I sat through her ordination and I sobbed the entire time. And I remember going home that night and telling Matthew, I think I'm going to become a spiritualist minister. And he's like, oh, really? Like, are you sure? Like we were married at this point. He never knew this side of me. And I said, yeah, I, I, I just, I feel that that's the type of minister I'm going to become. And I got invited to one of the new spiritualist churches higher up the island, so about an hour and a half from where I lived, and my friend Malcolm, who's a minister as well, decided to pick me up and take me because he wanted me to see other spiritualist churches. And, uh, he was very encouraging of me of getting up on the platform and giving a few messages, when he was giving services. So, he had them invite me to do services with him up there. And so that's how it kind of all started, but on there at this church called Two Worlds Spiritual Center, which is a place I'm the minister of now and have been for three years. I was invited to do the 10th anniversary party for their, their center. It's called a center, not a church. And their minister had recently passed away. And I was doing a double service, so just one of the mediums there that day. And Diane Burrow was, Reverend Diane Burrow, was giving a service. And she announced during the service, that she would be the new minister of Two World's Spiritualist Center. And when she announced it, I felt this whoosh, like move through me, but like came from behind and my eyes just filled up with tears. And I heard a voice say, you're next. And I was like, huh? Okay. You can't plan this stuff. It just started to happen. And on my car ride home, I felt Paul Bishop, who was the minister there at the spiritualist church who'd passed in my car telling me he had big plans for me and he was going to help like direct me. And it kind of just unfolded from there. Like I told this to Diane and she thought, well, well, I'm going to have to have you as, you know, my student minister then. And so, things were just orchestrated and where I live in Canada, we don't do like seven years of SNU training to become ministers. The spirit world picks you and the minister picks you and it's more of an apprenticeship student process that it goes over quite a few years. Three years is probably like the minimum or the fastest you could do it in and that's what chose to do it. but it's very much just being with the minister and doing all the coursework through her specifically. 

Ann: Gosh, it's very different, isn't it? Very, very different. 

Nicole: Very different. It's all about being invited or welcomed in, but you can't just walk up to someone say, I wanna be a minister, because you need to have your own church or you need to be a part of a spiritualist movement in order to be invited into that. Now I did hear that, um, there is like an SNU in Calgary in Canada where you can do ministry training, but I don't know much about that. I just learned about how we did it in bc. 

Ann: But listening to your story, you were invited by the spirit world many, many years before that. So yeah, 

Nicole: It felt like a setup, honestly.

Ann: A beautiful setup. Yeah, very good. So, you've got your beautiful book out now on Amazon, and I know it's only launched recently. It's called The Power ..., um, The Power - A Call to Mediumship by Reverend Nicole Powell. How did you begin to write this Nicole? And how did you get it out in the world? Cause not everyone can do that. People have books inside their hearts and heads, but don't get it out into the world. So, congratulations, first of all, it's fantastic. It's a fantastic read as well. I've been really enjoying it. 

Nicole: Oh, I'm so glad to hear that. You know, I, when I was seven years old, I got given my first journal and I remember thinking I'm going to save every journal I've ever had because I'm going to be a memoir writer one day when I grow up. And so, I always had it in me that I wanted to be a writer, but I couldn't read or write like I had a learning disability, I was in all sorts of classes to learn how to spell. So, I don't know where this idea came from. But I honestly believe that whatever our long, whatever we truly long for in life, we're born with the opposite because it's like part of the game of life to overcome these things to be able to do stuff like that, right? so I, I, you know, I've started my ministry training. And I couldn't sleep. I, I just, I was up, I would be up till 5, 6 a. m. just buzzing and, you know, my mind was just wired and I would just be downloading stories about how I got into this work, about Mary, about the Spiritualist Church, about my healing training and everything like that.

And it just couldn't stop. And after a while of it, I decided in the middle of the night, I would just get up and start writing. And I noticed that I'd only have to write for about 20 minutes before I would fall asleep. So, it became a process that before I went to bed at night, I would write for 20 minutes and then I'd be able to sleep. And it was almost like it would empty out the clutter of my head. So, I did that for about two years, just chicken scroach, not notes. Chicken scratch notes, kind of like this, like on paper. Nothing really made sense, and I would just go through binders and binders of paper. And, um, just over a year ago, I decided that it was time that I really sat down and wrote this book. Because I had so many notes, it was alive within me, and it was holding me back now. I felt like I actually couldn't move forward with my life until I completed this. And there was this woman that I was aware of named Katie Ullman in the UK and she started a new business to be able to help people write their stories because she was a published author. She had written nine books already. She was also a medium. I mean, come on, it's perfect, right? So, she spoke the language she understood and she was helping people write their books. And so, I got in contact with her and we had a meeting and I told her what happened and she said, okay, if you're committed, I'll take you on. But I'll warn you, once we open this door, it's going to be like someone turned on the faucet, and it's just going to stream through you until this is done. So, you need to fully commit yourself. And I said, okay, I cannot not do this anymore. So, in four and a half months, I wrote my first draft and then, you know, months and months of editing and then two months of formatting and getting it out. So, to the year date, it was published and on the market. Um, so it was fast. Yeah. 

Ann: It was fast, but that's, that's testament to your dedication to it as well. And your hard work, of course. So, congratulations. 

Nicole: Thank you. And that's what 20 minutes a day can do for you. 

Ann: And that's really inspiring because we think we need chunks and chunks and chunks of 

time to get these things out.

Nicole: I used to think I needed to rent a cabin in the woods for weeks so I could write my book. Well, oh my god, I'd go crazy if you did that to me. This was literally like, finish circle at 9 o'clock, here, 20 minutes so I know that I can sleep tonight by 11 o'clock. It was really just fitting in 20 minutes, like late, late at night, so that I had the chance to sleep. And that was all I did. And I didn't have the time. It was just like, it was like, how could I not do this? Because it has to come through. 

Ann: Yeah. Excellent. It's been in the bestseller lists, hasn't it? It's been in the tops. 

Nicole: Yeah. So, on my first week, I was in the bestsellers list, number one bestseller in four categories in Canada. And I hit the bestsellers list in the UK too. At one point, I was number 33, which I think is kind of cute.

Ann: I think it's fabulous. 

Nicole: It stayed in the top 100 for, I think, oh, it kind of comes in and out now, like it's in there for like a month and then it cuts for a week and then it goes back in, but it's been sold in nine countries. And it's, it's really making its rounds and it's really lovely to see because I'm selling them in person and doing lots of book launches pretty much every weekend, but also, it's nice to see just it being sold for sale online and people finding it from different parts of the world and getting these reviews from people I've never met. I've had one from an atheist saying he really appreciated the honesty, which I thought was cool because writing it, I really didn't want it to be just another new age book, you know. And spiritualism isn't new age. It really, we don't operate on faith. It's evidence. And anytime I share a story in that book, I give you the evidence of how I know that this actually happened.

Ann: Yeah. Yeah. It's brilliant. So where can people buy it, Nicole? 

Nicole: Yeah. So, they can buy it on Amazon. They can just type in Nicole Powell, The Power. And it'll pop up wherever in the world you are. Uh, and then if you are in my community on Vancouver Island, I am selling it out of my home and I'm just starting to get it into some of the bookstores here.

Ann: Fantastic. And so, you, you'll have to let everybody know your website so that they can find you out there on the internet. But before you do that, tell us what you are offering in terms of courses and workshops and tuition and mentorships. 

Nicole: Yeah, so I mean, my weekdays are always doing private readings. I do about eight or nine private readings a week.

I, you, I have an online calendar you can book in for the new year 2025 at this point. Um, I'm offering a new group, uh, this fall in October. I haven't had a chance to start a brand-new group in two years, so this is really exciting. But you can find that on my website under events. So, I'm going to be taking people through the process of developing their mediumship. And it's going to be biweekly on Wednesday nights at 6.30. And I'll do a part two in the new year in 2025 as well. 

Ann: What time zone is that? 6. 30? 

Nicole: Um, PST. 

Ann: PST. Cool. 

Nicole: Yeah. And, uh, then I have the Spiritualist Church. So, I'm there the second, third Sunday of every month doing a service in Nanaimo, which also now has an online platform too. So if you go on to the Two World's Spiritualist Center website, you'll be able to find the Zoom link as well to watch services. And then we have lovely guest mediums every month too, which is great. And that's on the first Sunday of every month. 

Ann: Fantastic. And your website is. 

Nicole: Uh, it's just nicolepowell.ca and, uh, I usually, I keep it updated with events I have or courses. Obviously, I put through, I put on workshops through two worlds as well too. 

Ann: Gosh, you're such a busy lady, Nicole. 

Nicole: Yeah, well, it, you know, I love the variety. If I had to just do one, I think I'd be bored, but because there's so many different things going on, it, it keeps it exciting and entertaining. 

Ann: Do you still do any hairdressing on the side?

Nicole: No, you know, that's a very interesting story because I actually didn't want to leave hairdressing. Um, I, but I almost broke my neck. Like, it literally got to the point where I couldn't even put up my arm. I had such a bad neck injury and it was like, this is how bad it has to get, Nicole, in order for you to step out of it. So I can't even lift, I can't even make the motions of doing the hairdressing anymore without it causing rigorous pain. 

Ann: So, trauma to the physical body. Okay. But then that's definitely in the past, isn't it? Definitely. Um, and what's next for you, Nicole? 

Nicole: I just started my second book, which is going to be on communing with spirits and the ministry of angels, which is the third principle in spiritualism, and it's, downloading as we speak. So, I'm really excited about how that's starting to come together and the different aspects of spiritualism. Sometimes we get so put in a box that it's just about evidence, but there's this whole other side to, to spiritualism. And as a minister, I really want to bring out all the other aspects of what spiritualism has to offer.

So, working on that at the moment, and also painting a ton, uh, I'm also doing a lot of painting of animals, and I did some workshops with Lynn Cottrell a few years ago, doing a lot of spirit art. I'm not the best at drawing faces, but I like to bring spirit into the art that I do. 

Ann: Mm. How beautiful. Oh, thank you for sharing all that. It's very, very exciting. Um, wish you well with all of those activities and, and things that you've got coming up, especially the channeling and download of your second book. Um, in the meantime, I just want to say, Nicole, thank you for sharing your time and your story with us today. It's been wonderful having you here.

Nicole: Thank you so much. This has been such a joy to just sit with you and