Years ago, when Lynda Doyle was young and had recently learned to drive, she came to a red light that just would not change. It was late and there was no one around. She was tempted to drive through, but a gut feeling told her to wait.
Suddenly, a car came flying through the intersection. If she’d ignored the light, it would have hit her.
When the light did change, she followed her instincts again and turned. A few minutes later, she came across an accident caused by the car, and was able to help by calling the police and ambulance.
“I’ve always been able to trust my sixth sense; my gut feeling, I was raised that way,” says Doyle, 51.
The London, Ont., native was partially raised by her grandmother, who was considered a seer, and taught Doyle all she knew. But Doyle kept her gift from friends, and had no plans to make it part of her career.
She became a nurse, but visions of her patients’ futures sometimes barged into her mind. She pushed them aside. She got married and had a daughter, worked as a funeral director and then began studying sociology and criminology.
Gradually, she allowed her intuition to come back into her life. She continued studying — she did a masters in women’s studies and spirituality and then a PhD in metaphysics — and starting doing spiritual counselling part time.
Now, 30 years later, she’s an ordained spiritualist, Reiki master and medium. She speaks to large groups, runs courses (one’s called Psychic 101), and does private sessions either face-to-face, on the phone or via web cam. Before a private session, Doyle takes 15 minutes to meditate; completely clearing her mind and focusing on her client.
In the session, she’ll use tarot cards or a tool called an angel rod, if the clients wants, but she prefers just holding the person’s hand and tapping into his or her energy. She starts talking about the person’s health, then work, education, finances and personal life. If a client wants a reading on someone who’s alive or dead, all Doyle needs is a picture and the person’s birthday.
While Doyle loves her work and her clients — some of whom have been seeing her for three decades — it’s not easy to get glimpses into what’s really going on and the future. As a result, she avoids watching the news and has to cleanse her mind after a reading. “It doesn’t stop on a dime.”
