How A Palm Reader, An Astrologer And Three Psychic Mediums Lifted The Veil To A New Discovery 
by Bob Olson, OfSpirit.com Editor  

I feel so fortunate to be in a career that exposes me to some of the most gifted, skilled and extraordinary practitioners and minds in the alternative field. Once again, I recently had an incredible experience that has taught me an insightful lesson that I feel compelled to share with you.

If you are new to OfSpirit.com, you may not be aware that this site originally manifested from my investigation into spiritual phenomena, specifically psychic mediumship. That research, which required about three years to complete, resulted in my second book—a book about my story and conclusions that is now in the hands of a literary agent. Today, my experiences have moved beyond mediumship and into other areas such as energy healing, meditation, palmistry and astrology, to name just a few. This particular story is about the last two areas mentioned on that list. 

Despite my otherworldly, even mind-blowing, experiences with psychic mediums, I continue to remain skeptical with most holistic and spiritual practices until I gather evidence that convinces me otherwise. Of course, evidence is a subjective matter, and what convinces me may not necessarily be convincing to all people. With that said, however, my most recent experiences with palmistry and astrology provided me with a degree of evidence that I truly did not expect—evidence that has really got me thinking that there is something legitimate and credible, even sensible, to what some
consider new age nonsense. 

This most recent voyage of my journey began in the office of Roger Lashley, a practitioner of palmistry at The Ninth House, a holistic health and education center in Arlington, Massachusetts. Roger didn’t know who I was, as I made the appointment under a false name, but I had done some research to learn about him. Roger isn’t your typical neon-sign psychic-fair variety palm reader. He is a palmistry practitioner of high reputation in the Boston community who is described by people in the holistic field as a man of “class,” “wisdom” and “experience.” In fact, I learned that Roger has over twenty years of experience with palmistry. 

My immediate first impression of Roger reflected what I had heard about him; he was well dressed and immaculately manicured, visually a classy guy. He also has a gentle energy that makes you feel warm and welcome in his presence, irrespective of his large bear-like frame. As he spoke, the words that left his mouth mirrored his reputation, revealing an inner knowing beyond his years.

After some small talk to further establish a rapport between us, Roger looked at the palms of my hands under a special ultra-violet light. First he explained the lines and what they represent. Then he specifically told me what the lines on my hands revealed. As he began the session, I realized that Roger wasn’t using any psychic abilities or vague expressions to interpret my palms. His technique was scientific and straightforward. It was like he was reading a map or blueprint of my life. To him, my hands disclosed where I have been, where I am heading and even where my soul had intended that I travel in this lifetime. I’m not sure my own mother could so accurately have described this overview of my life. The experience was both fascinating and poignant. 

Roger got right to the point, and every one of his palmistry interpretations hit home like a doctor reading my medical chart. However, in this situation, Roger wasn’t talking solely about my medical history, he seemed to focus more on my career, my life’s purpose and the difference between what I was meant to accomplish in this lifetime and the path I had actually taken so far—not necessarily analogous directions. But it wasn’t bad news because the lines on my hands were diverting in new directions, indicating a change of course in my life within the last few years. And this new course represented by the lines on my right hand (the actual direction of my life) was beginning to parallel with the lines on my left hand (the underlying direction my life was intended to take, the soul-level purpose and meaning of my time here on earth). 

My wife, Melissa, was with me during my palm reading with Roger, and it took every ounce of restraint I could muster not to keep looking at her to say, “Holy molly! Can you believe how accurate this is? Are you as blown away as I am?” But I didn’t want to indicate to Roger that his interpretations were on target. I didn’t want him to use my body language and responses as guideposts for the reading. So I kept quiet, responding with “Oh, really. That’s interesting.” And I didn’t allow myself to even glance at Melissa, whom I could see out of the corner of my eye was sitting equally emotionless while taking it all in. 

I won’t sap you with the details Roger revealed of my life, except to say that the gist of his message was that I stop allowing my intellect to rule my choices and begin following my creative expression. He labeled my life purpose as being a teacher to an audience of some sort, and suggested more than once that this creative expression and teaching might come in the form of writing. He added that my creative expression needed to be the outlet for what my palms indicated as an interest in psychological and metaphysical subjects. Then he gave me some predictions about my future that were more than uncanny, they were extraordinarily parallel to what a few psychic mediums have predicted of my future—including the same timeline of forecasted events. I should mention, too, that some of these psychic mediums have already given me several detailed predictions that have already come true, which only give Roger’s compliant prophesies more weight. 

Melissa and I left Roger’s office in amazement of Roger’s skilled accuracy. I wasn’t so much surprised that this sophisticated grizzly-bear-of-a-man had matched the recommendations other people had made of him; I was more astounded by the depth of insight into my life that palmistry could translate from a few simple lines on my hand. Once again, I had been shown that my skeptical opinions of an ancient tool for insight were in error and that palmistry held more clout than I would have ever imagined. 

In the end, my palm reading with Roger was universally more accurate and precise than what a few flea market palm readers had shown me in my past with their fancy florid flattery. Either they were giving palmistry a bad name or Roger is giving it a good name; but regardless of which conclusion you make, my experience has taught me that there can be a world of difference between practitioners of the same discipline.

Melissa and I left Roger’s office to cross the hallway and enter the office of Elizabeth Hermon, the owner of The Ninth House. Elizabeth is an astrologer with a flair for making astrology understandable for the layperson. She uses parables and songs as a means to illustrate the characteristics and relationships of the planets and their alignments during the course of your life. She doesn’t actually break into song while reading your chart, but instead uses songs that are familiar to us as a means of describing a planet’s personality. For instance, she used the song Born To Be Wild as the characterizing slogan for Uranus. 

To get a portrayal of Elizabeth’s essence, you need only visit the physical structure of the business she and her husband, Randall, created. The Ninth House is the product of their imaginative vision and hard work. Each of the ten plus rooms in this home-converted-to-offices is a different color of brilliant energy: purples, yellows, greens and blues. Even the outside paint is an eye-catching yellow with purple trim. Inside, the lighting is warm, the décor is cozy and the trickle of water fountains add an ambient atmosphere. Elizabeth’s physical environment is the perfect reflection of her inner-self: colorful, comfortable and relaxed. 

Elizabeth’s enthusiasm for astrology emanated from her eyes as they widened with each interpretation of my chart. My immediate observation was that she is especially gifted at getting to the heart of what the chart is teaching so as to not waste time on irrelevant matters. I didn’t need her to tell me what the chart reveals about my personality, although she would have done that if I had asked. Instead, Elizabeth told me what the chart revealed about my strengths and weaknesses, and how I can best utilize these strengths and work around these weaknesses to lead a most fulfilling life. 

This is where the amazement entered. Most of what Elizabeth told me as indicated from my astrological chart was in direct correlation with what Roger Lashley had told me based on the chart of my hands. It was like I walked from one room to another, and one practitioner to another, yet the information was nearly identical.

Elizabeth said that Mercury is my guiding star, meaning that my life’s focus would be that of a messenger, particularly in writing and communications. She talked about books, magazines, technology, as well as radio and television. She said that Pluto and Jupiter influenced my interest in metaphysical and mystical subjects, issues that exceed the intellect. And she spoke of my inner need to investigate the underlying messages and psychological implications behind these interests, wanting to understand the how and why in order to pass my discoveries on to other people (the messenger). 

Like Roger, Elizabeth spoke of my inner conflict to remain practical while searching for a deeper understanding of alternative issues. My chart indicated a change of course, as if there were an awakening within the last few years. As Roger had recognized a divergence from an intellectual path toward a more emotionally expressive course, so too did Elizabeth see this surrender of resistance to my true calling, resulting in my work today as an author of books and editor of this magazine.

What astonished me most was not just that Roger and Elizabeth’s readings were so comparable, but that their predictions of my future (the next five years) so precisely paralleled what a few psychic mediums had foreseen in unwavering detail. Having now seen Roger and Elizabeth, I currently have five people—three mediums, a palm reader and an astrologer—who all gave me the same predictions. While I shall not bore you with the details of these predictions by Roger, Elizabeth or the mediums, the uncanny similarities between them have left Melissa and me without doubt as to what my future holds. What I find most interesting is how these three separate methods for prediction—among five different people—match so perfectly. To me, this result is incredibly validating—especially for one who holds skepticism so dear. 

In conclusion, this indicates to me that there is more than one road to health, healing and happiness. Perhaps we are intuitively compelled toward the alternative modality that best fits our energy and personality, or perhaps it is a crapshoot and does not matter which method we utilize for our needs. Whether we choose mediumship, palmistry, astrology, meditation, energy bodywork or any number of other possibilities, the only prerequisites necessary seem to be that we keep an open mind and make the effort to use them. Without an open mind, we dismiss possibilities and prevent miracles from ever entering our life. Without any effort, all the wonder and wisdom of the world is wasted because no one can help us to improve our life until we take action to help our self.

There is also, of course, the need to find gifted, skilled and reputable practitioners of holistic and spiritual practices. As I mentioned, there can be a world of difference between two practitioners of the same discipline. Consequently, I recommend that you choose carefully. One of the best means of locating competence is through personal referrals from people you trust. This is one of the reasons I write articles like this one: to share with you my own experiences. I am so grateful to have experienced the skillful services of Roger and Elizabeth, and I hope that you, too, are one day blessed with their knowledge and abilities for added insight into your own spiritual journey.

You can contact Elizabeth Hermon (781-646-0026) and Roger Lashley (781-646-1817) at The 9th House: Holistic Health & Education, 89 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington, MA 02474. Tell them you read about them on OfSpirit.com.

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For more articles by Bob Olson, visit www.ofspirit.com/bobolson.htm 

BOB OLSON is a former skeptic and private investigator who has researched evidence of life after death for approximately seven years. He now shares the spiritual insights, extraordinary experiences and gifted practitioners he has met along his journey to assist others with their own spiritual growth. Bob is the author of Win The Battle, How To Beat Depression, and co-author of Understanding Spirit, Understanding Yourself. He is also the editor of OfSpirit.com Magazine, GriefAndBelief.com, BestPsychicMediums.com & HowToBeatDepression.com.