Interview with Seth Browder

F&L: Seth, tell our readers a little a bit about your story. How did your journey as a medium begin?

SB: My youth involved growing up in Colorado Springs. At the age of nine, I was stricken by death when the first spirit visited me. My friend, Joel, was struck by a semi-truck. Two days after his death, he came to me. I was visited by Joel, again, when I was abducted by a man who molested me, several months later. Joel suggested I speak about my abduction when the authorities questioned me.

My mother and grandmother spoke about spirits. They never questioned my ability to see what others may not have seen. My father loved the paranormal and loved the unknown. I felt like a conduit between the living and dead, when he brought me around Manitou Springs to conduct ghost hunts and to hunt vampires and werewolves. I felt like Sabrina The Teenage Witch, half-witch/half-human, with a family of paranormal beliefs.

Am I a freak, I thought? Others may have thought so, but I began to embrace myself after my abduction, but before embracing the dark parts of myself, I attempted to end my life on several occasions. Without success, I was held in recover for a year, in a hospital for the sick. Alcohol abuse became a part of my life and lived inside my father. My sexual-identity became my sin. People perceived me to be the freak who had hurt me as a child. My strength came within my own acceptance for being different. In my late-teens, I finally decided to leave Colorado.

F&L: How do you feel your gifts as a medium have helped you in your spiritual growth?

SB: Well, I found myself in Seattle, Washington, after leaving Colorado Springs. I studied the craft of magick there—actually, several systems of magick. Then, I was attuned to Usui Reiki. Eventually, I became a Reiki Master teacher myself. As a leader, I helped natural healers awaken parts of themselves by honing their gifts to sharpen their ability to communicate with those who may or may not have passed. As an instructor, I introduced rituals to my students who healed others; but also, found my own self healed from within, as their guide and teacher. In a way, balance restored itself within me.

After meeting my partner, my practice dwindled and a part of me went dormant. I began to drink, smoke heavily, and work obsessively to survive a 9-to-5 job. At thirty-years-old, I suffered a heart-attack. I questioned myself as a spiritual practitioner, a healer, and me, as a whole.

After my attack, my partner and I moved to New Mexico. I began to see more than just the ancient spirits of the land. Parts of me woke, when the spirits of my partner’s ancestral lands shook me in the dead of sleep. The spiritual landscape around our home watched me, as I tried to communicate with them. Bits of me journeyed through New Mexico, alone in the desert, where I was continually lost; however, I have become grounded and re-centered and anew. New Mexico helped me in a way. Helped us, wholly.

Being a medium has never been easy. Like Joel, my pépère visited me during the worst times of my life. He became my guide when I needed him most. My mother is my guide in this plane. She reminds me of my growth as a communicator—the communicator my father sensed in me, as his conduit. She, too, has similar gifts—and so does Mémère.

F&L: We have seen many mediums use various techniques to gather information from the other side. When performing medium readings, how do you connect to the spirit world?

SB: I have to make a clear connection with the person I talk to. I can do this in person or over phone. Their name and birthday are all I need from them. With my pen and pad, I write what information comes to me. My hand writes freely as images and information come to me. As a disclaimer, I tell each client that my drawings nor my handwriting is pretty, and we may decipher them together, if needed. My clients do receive a copy of the paper pad I write on. Usually, the client will ask several questions and spirit will pull through my mind, voice, and hand. Each reading is an hour long.

F&L: Do you feel your gift is something you were born with or was it something you were taught?

SB: I do feel I was born with this gift. As I have mentioned, my mother and Mémère have similar gifts to mine. Some of my earliest memories are filled with tea leaf readings with Mémère in her kitchen. Fortunately, my mother and Mémère have been vocal about not fearing such gifts. Unfortunately, my gifts were awakened by trauma of sexual abuse. After the passing of Pépère, and recently, my father, each have guided me with an understanding of new strengths and deeper recognition of my own gifts.

F&L: What advice can you give our readers who are interested in learning mediumship?

SB: If anyone is interested in learning to craft their gifts, be aware of huge awakenings. Being born with a natural gift is one thing, but invoking such power is like peeling an onion layer, each lined with fear, guilt, religious abandonment, and accepting the life of a medium. Each gift is different. I personally tell people to start slow and ask their spirit guide for signs or read old photos by connecting with those inside the pictures and write down what they see and pick up from viewing it. Connecting with photos is the best way to begin one’s practice. For those interested in fine tuning their practices, I will be putting together a list of tips for dos and don’ts in an upcoming video. Be on the lookout!

F&L: What else do you do besides medium readings?

SB: I created an all-natural tattoo cream for tattoo healing. What I have learned is my tattoo cream has gone beyond expectations and has also soothed eczema, as well as other severe skin ailments. My small business has caught the attention of Pain Magazine and was mentioned as an all-natural tattoo cream. My tattoo cream also comes with a full-spectrum CBD mixture which also helps ease the pain of tattoos, but also helps with muscle and joint pain. Please take a look at my site, if you are curious: http://www.badasstattoocream.com. We have come a long way since its beginning.

I love to heal and help. My candles are a passion of mine. I share my energy with those who need assistance or guidance.

My little shop of magick accessories is also online: http://www.beyondmediums.com

Thank you for this time, Karo.