← Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes)
Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes)
James Van Praagh
01:06:30
Today we’re visited by James Van Praagh, the world-famous spiritual medium and NYT-bestselling author. Ted shares the uncanny story about how he and Mary befriended James, plus the time they witnessed him change a family’s life. James talks about how he developed his gift, his thoughts on the afterlife, dealing with those we disagree with, and how all of us can become more sensitive to the spiritual realm. To learn more about James’s work, visit vanpraagh.com Like watching your podcasts? Visit http://youtube.com/teamcoco to see full episodes.
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- [00:00]
Ted Danson
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- [00:35]
James Van Praagh
Celebrate your special someone at Whole Foods Market with the ingredient standards they deserve. Get baked treats with no bleached or bromated flour and no FD&C synthetic dyes like Red no. 3. Find yellow sales signs and make the night sizzle. With savings on caviar, New York strip steak and more. Don't forget to find the perfect bouquet and those romantic chocolate dipped strawberries. Taste the love all month at Whole Foods Market. So as a medium, my job is really working for the spirit world, not for the humans. I'm really working for them.
- [01:19]
Ted Danson
Welcome back to where everybody knows your name. I'm very excited today because we've never had a guest quite like this one. I'm talking about James Von Pragg, the world famous spiritual medium and best selling author. I love his book Talking to Heaven. And I had the honor of making a film with my wife Mary based on his life. So I got to spend a lot of time with James. Wherever you land on the subject of spirituality and our ability to communicate with the beyond. I think we can all learn something from this. So please take a breath and see for yourself. Here's James Von Praagh. Just so you know, Mary, oh my love. Which we'll bring up a lot. My wife, Mary Steenbergen for. Well, everyone who tunes in ever knows that because I talk about her all the time, but sends her love.
- [02:15]
James Van Praagh
Thank you. And I send it back.
- [02:17]
Ted Danson
And she's the reason why we're sitting here.
- [02:19]
James Van Praagh
Yeah. It's a weird story.
- [02:20]
Ted Danson
It's a weird story. Can you just. To establish how weird we're gonna go. Can I just quickly tell that part?
- [02:28]
James Van Praagh
Yeah, you know the part about the airplane. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [02:31]
Ted Danson
Mary's on an airplane how many years ago?
- [02:33]
James Van Praagh
And she never talks to people. And it was like her father pushed her.
- [02:36]
Ted Danson
Yep. Or Thea, we don't know. Or Thea, I think probably.
- [02:39]
James Van Praagh
Well, and it was how many years? That was 2001, maybe 2002.
- [02:43]
Ted Danson
And you're right. She loves the airplane. Cause she can do nothing and be answerable to nothing. No kid or husband can reach her. Right.
- [02:51]
James Van Praagh
How are the kids, by the way? The kids are fantastic.
- [02:53]
Ted Danson
Everybody's fantastic. Including grandchildren, five of which we have. Congratulations. Just delicious.
- [02:59]
James Van Praagh
And congratulations on the humanitarian award you guys got.
- [03:01]
Ted Danson
Thank you.
- [03:02]
James Van Praagh
I saw that. Very congratulations.
- [03:04]
Ted Danson
Thank you very much.
- [03:05]
James Van Praagh
And I loved you playing in a good place. Good boy.
- [03:08]
Ted Danson
Hey, Mike. Sure got it right.
- [03:13]
James Van Praagh
Pretty close. Pretty close. Pretty good.
- [03:14]
Ted Danson
Anyway.
- [03:15]
James Van Praagh
Very good.
- [03:17]
Ted Danson
So Mary's sitting there and she. Some. Not a voice. It's her voice in her head, but one. You know, her. One part of her brain says, hey, talk to the man next to you. And she. No, it's the last thing I want to do. Talk to the man next to you.
- [03:34]
James Van Praagh
Okay.
- [03:35]
Ted Danson
So she says, what kind of computer is that? You know, Lame. And he said, I'm so glad you started to talk to me because I actually have a script that I wanted to send to you. Oh, tell me about it. And he told her about a script. And her brain goes, nope, that's not it. She said, well, what else are you working on? Well, I just optioned a book by James von Prague. Talking to Heaven. Yeah, yeah. And the voice went, yep, that's it. And by the end of the conversation, she said, can you get me in touch with James Von Pragg? And then she calls, and you said something like, you know, oh, they told me you were coming, or something of that. Something I thought, anyway, that's how we got together.
- [04:24]
James Van Praagh
Those things happen.
- [04:25]
Ted Danson
Yeah.
- [04:25]
James Van Praagh
And then I went and did a meeting at your house.
- [04:31]
Ted Danson
Many meetings. Because we also. I think it happened first that.
- [04:37]
James Van Praagh
No, no, no. The other way around. No, no, no, no, no. Wait.
- [04:40]
Ted Danson
Really?
- [04:40]
James Van Praagh
I don't know if you know this, but I remember, because I don't remember a lot of stuff that comes through, but I do remember your dad came through. It's the first time we're together at your house. And you said to me before. You know, I don't have to believe this. It's okay. It's all right. Just enjoy it. And you were sitting there, and you were on an ottoman, I think, right in front of me. And there were other people there, which I didn't know anyone. I did my thing. And your father came through.
- [04:59]
Ted Danson
Yeah.
- [04:59]
James Van Praagh
And I do remember he was wearing a herringbone jacket. And he said about the fire, and you went, oh. And you fell off the ottoman. I thought, oh, wow. What did I do? This happened here. And after we're done, you told me about when you come home. From work every day. And you told me that made sense. And I said, wow. Next day, I get a phone call from the producer, okay. And he said, you know, we're having trouble casting the miniseries. I said, really? He goes, yeah. You know, Les Moonves is thinking a couple more people. One guy, you know, he did Becker and like Ted Danson. He goes, yeah. And I said, come on. He goes, no. I said, I was just with Ted. And he goes, can you talk to me? I said, no, I can't. I'm not crossing that line. But that was. That's how that whole how that things work out. It's so incredible.
- [05:46]
Ted Danson
So we hung out a lot. I was around you for many evenings in kind of preparation for. Or just the luxury of being able to be around you because we were about to do a film loosely based on your life. And I'm going to leave it there. Then there's other stories that were. That I do want to tell later on. But just so we're all on the same page, what is a medium? What are you. Tell me your process so that everyone understands what we're talking about.
- [06:19]
James Van Praagh
Okay, So a medium is someone. And we're all sensitive. Is someone who's very sensitive to, if you will, energies. Right? We're all energy. So I'm able. Medium is able to attune themselves to a frequency which is outside kind of the physical range, and that's attuning yourself to just these higher frequencies, feelings, sensitivity. And as I developed as a medium for seven years, I used to sit in the quiet, and it's called development circle. And I sit every Tuesday night with other people that were developing their psychic abilities, their intuitive selves, their psychic self. And just sit there in the quiet and let your soul. Kind of empowerment, I guess you would say, best words. Sometimes there are no words that could describe it. And really they're attuning you, the spirit people, your guides, are attuning you to these vibrations, these frequencies. And you'll feel chills, you'll feel temperature changes. You'll start seeing things, and you just surrender, just surrender to that intuitive self, that light. And you just. You don't think about it. You just are there. So seven years at sivitry. Tuesday night, right around the corner from here, by the way, night before where we are. And they used to come through stronger and stronger. It was only seven years before I gave my first message to someone in the group because I wanted to make sure that it was correct. And that was. But I used to see spirit as a little Boy I used to see when I was in the crib, I remember they throw me in the back room in the crib. And I was like, I don't know how old I was, maybe 18 months. And I didn't want to be there. I wanted to be in the front living room with the guest, with the family. And they put me back there. And there was like a lollipop or something. I wouldn't ever use it. And I remember most evenings, the corner of the room, there was a man with white hair and blue eyes. And he'd come over to me and he'd play with a mobile, this looking mobile thing. I was fascinated by that. Years later, probably five, six years later, I was with my grandmother and she was opening up a photograph album. I said, wait, who's that person? I know that person. She, oh, that's your grandfather. He died before you were born. I said, he used to come see me. So I used to have those situations. Not all the time, you know, every once in a while. And it seemed very natural. I was raised Catholic, very Catholic. And I said prayers every night with my mother at the end of the bed. And one night I asked mom, who are those being people with lights around them? She goes, oh, them. Those are God's angels. You see them, too? I used to see them when I was a little girl. She goes, it's okay. You're nothing to fear. They'll always help you. And from that moment on, it seemed very natural to me. And it's just a strong sense of intuition, sensitivity, as you as an actor using that energy to create. I think it's creative energy, and I think we use it in all different ways, whether it's my work, acting, musical work, you know, it's that creative energy, I think, is the best way to describe it. You know, there's so many things which we just don't know down here, this dimension, because there are many levels of consciousness. So we could say it's also tuning into an awareness that's outside of the physical realm. And also, Ted, the way I like to see it is I'm like a radio. Like there are radio signals around us, all kinds of signals around us. But I'm able to. And we want to hear the music. Music is always playing, but we have to tune in to hear the right signal, to hear that music. So I'm someone who set for many years in development to be able to tune in to a signal.
- [09:35]
Ted Danson
And.
- [09:35]
James Van Praagh
And it's really interesting when you let go of that, the ego self, the human Self and you realize you're a soul having a human experience. Your whole perspective changes. And that's the only way to describe it. And not every medium's the same. Everyone is different as personalities are different. But I've surrendered my whole life now. 40 years of doing this work. And it's service, it's serving the humankind. And you see people's as, you know, lives change. Someone can walk into my room and incredible cloud of darkness and then their loved one comes through. Someone comes through and changes them and tells them they're, they're alive.
- [10:09]
Ted Danson
They're.
- [10:09]
James Van Praagh
They're, they're fine. They're more alive than ever. And that person walks out in a cloud of love and joy and it changes their lives.
- [10:16]
Ted Danson
I, I have seen that. We'll tell a story that. Yeah. In a minute. But I remember when sitting in a. You do sometimes there'd be 15, 20 people in the room.
- [10:28]
James Van Praagh
Yeah.
- [10:29]
Ted Danson
And you. I would watch you. And I'd already had an experience. I remember. To be more specific about my father, My father said, he said, he. You said.
- [10:40]
James Van Praagh
Oh.
- [10:41]
Ted Danson
He said, you won't believe the colors. Wow. And that was so my father.
- [10:47]
James Van Praagh
Wow.
- [10:49]
Ted Danson
Anyway, little things that if you're listening, they're anecdotal. And here's what I want to say. It sounds like a great story, like a cocktail story. And when I would watch you in a room full of people and you'd see something or talk to somebody because something was happening over there with that person. And it was fascinating. But it was anecdotal because I'm sitting over here. But I could see the expression on the person and you could feel. Yeah. The whole energy changed around that person and you could see that that person was having a very, very impactful experience that they had never had before. So if you're listening to this, it's fine that it sounds anecdotal. Totally. Who cares?
- [11:39]
James Van Praagh
And it's good to be skeptical. I mean, I'm an open minded skeptic and I was very skeptical beginning. I think you have to be in life you gotta be skeptical because I think you have to learn things to try to understand things. That's how we learn.
- [11:49]
Ted Danson
Don't be cynical though.
- [11:51]
James Van Praagh
Don't be cynical because your mind is already made up. So you could be skeptical with open mindedness, critical, skeptical, cynical. You walk with your mind already set up. Well, you're not going to learn that way. But skeptical's healthy. Healthy skepticism.
- [12:02]
Ted Danson
I. And the other thing I want to say before we really go off the deep end Here is.
- [12:06]
James Van Praagh
We're already there.
- [12:07]
Ted Danson
Yeah, but is. You still have to get up in the morning and lead your life here now. And your job is the same, to be kind, to be curious, to be nurturing, you know, all of those things, loving, full of hope and joy. All those things are still the same jobs you have before or after one of these experiences. So it's not like, oh, if you have this kind of experience, it changes everything. It tilts things in a most wonderful way. But doesn't mean your job isn't still the same.
- [12:43]
James Van Praagh
No, it gives you a different perspective.
- [12:44]
Ted Danson
It doesn't mean that you have to leave the Catholic Church. It doesn't mean. Not at all, none of those things.
- [12:49]
James Van Praagh
I've read a lot of priests, by the way, and cardinals. Yeah. No, it gives you another lens to look through. It's a different perspective. And boy, does that help when you realize there is no such thing as death. Death doesn't exist. It's a changing of consciousness. It's. My friend's friend's mom just passed recently and she came back right away to me. She said, tell her I was just stepping out. It's stepping out. We go to sleep every night. We're not aware in the conscious thoughts going on, but we're somewhere. You know, it's so interesting. This is an interesting one too, because consciousness is very fascinating. And how can we put that into human terms? And I just said, well, because, you know, I think we're all the same, but yet we're not. I think the two biggest illusions or delusions, illusions we have in this three dimensional human world, death, because there is no such thing. You can't kill energy. Science has proved that. And the other is separativeness, that we're separate from one another when in truth we're actually all connected. We have the same energy, that same love light, that same loving energy. And the analogy I love. Last night we had a super moon out. It was a big, big moon. And I thought, you know, what if people put buckets of water out all over the place? Every bucket would have the same moon inside that, yet it's separate.
- [13:56]
Ted Danson
That's good.
- [13:57]
James Van Praagh
That's a good analogy.
- [13:58]
Ted Danson
I like that.
- [13:58]
James Van Praagh
Yeah, it's kind of that.
- [13:59]
Ted Danson
I like that.
- [14:00]
James Van Praagh
It's kind of that way.
- [14:01]
Ted Danson
I'm full of this story because I spoke to all the players today. I hadn't, when Mary and I talked to you a week ago, just to say hi.
- [14:12]
James Van Praagh
Yes, it was a lovely, lovely conversation. It was, as always. I said, we feel like we never. I Know, even we talk like we've never been away from each other. It's wild, right?
- [14:21]
Ted Danson
I know. And I'm giddy inside right now. This is so much fun. Okay, so I'm going to tell the story and I'm going to start and please jump in. It'll be a mini monologue for a second. I'm sorry because people want to hear you, but okay, so Mary, once again, who, who does communicate and I've been around with her, not like you do, but she listens to, to, to energy and she's a healer and yes, she is and deeply kind and gosh, I wish she was here.
- [14:56]
James Van Praagh
I know. Me too.
- [14:57]
Ted Danson
Sends all her love.
- [14:58]
James Van Praagh
I feel her.
- [14:58]
Ted Danson
Yeah. So I, I, I, I won't mention all the names in this just because. But a friend calls her and says, I want you to talk to a friend of mine who just lost their daughter. And just so you know, I spoke to them today.
- [15:14]
James Van Praagh
Okay.
- [15:15]
Ted Danson
And they are, oh, give them my life.
- [15:17]
James Van Praagh
Happy.
- [15:17]
Ted Danson
I will. Happy to have us talk about it. So Mary goes, well, I'm not quite sure what you mean. And he said, I don't either, but please be aware, this person may call you. And so I don't know. Week, month later, somebody, well I can say David, called her and said, I heard that you might be able to get in touch with James Von Praagh. And Mary was cautious, but said yes, he said, because we lost our daughter.
- [15:55]
James Van Praagh
How did he know Mary?
- [15:56]
Ted Danson
Did he know the friend who called Mary? The connection was oh, that's how.
- [16:00]
James Van Praagh
Okay. I always wonder about these things.
- [16:02]
Ted Danson
Yeah. More later on that if you want. But he told Mary, we lost our daughter nine months ago and we would love it if you could get in touch with James Von Prague. And she froze almost and went, oh, oh, oh. I don't know that I can do that. Because if it turned out that it wasn't what I think it is that he does do this, but what if he doesn't? I couldn't bear adding to your pain. And he said, we're adults, we really would like that. And she said okay. Then she calls you and said there are two people. She never got specific where they lived, what their names first, their last words. There are two people and they would love to talk to you, period. Not about whatever, just not about the experience because she so desperately wanted to be totally clean cut to. And it was set up that you were going to meet them at our.
- [17:11]
James Van Praagh
Home, but I didn't know that. No, no, I just, that's going to be your House. That was it.
- [17:16]
Ted Danson
Yeah, that's true. Right. And so anyway, Mary's now flying to go see her mom. She had gone to see her mom and her aunt, and she had 15 minutes to do that. She was in between planes or whatever. So she was driving to say hi to her mom and her aunt. And this voice, Mary's voice, said, pull over to the Walgreens. And she goes, what?
- [17:39]
James Van Praagh
What?
- [17:40]
Ted Danson
No, I don't. I don't need anything in her head, you know, Pull over to the Walgreens. She looks at her watch like, what I have? Well, she pulls into the Walgreens. Empty parking lot. Empty parking lot. She goes in and she looks around, thinking, I guess I could get some gum, but this is stupid. And then she says, all right, I'm to herself. This is stupid. I'm leaving. She turns and spins in place to walk out and literally bumps into this man who says, mary Steenburgen. And she thinks, fan. She says, yes. And he said, I'm David Leopolis, who was the gentleman she'd spoken to on the phone.
- [18:21]
James Van Praagh
Wow.
- [18:22]
Ted Danson
And it was. Wow. At that point, it was a big wow in her head. And she said, are you still coming? And he said, I'm afraid. I don't know. My wife is afraid that their daughter in this wouldn't show up. And she said, take me to your wife. And she walks out to the only other car in the parking lot and sees her sitting in the car, Linda, and says, can I give you a hug? And she said, you're still coming, right? And Linda said, oh, I don't. I don't. She said. Mary said, let me tell you something. You are coming because there's no reason why I'm in this parking lot and that the two of us bumped into each other. There's no reason other than, you know, something's up and you need to come. So they come. Mary and I are very nervous. You're there. And they come in with a friend. They brought a friend out of trying, I'm sure, to feel comfortable flying to la. Movie stars or whatever, you know? So they needed a support team, and they brought this person.
- [19:36]
James Van Praagh
Did you know that other person? No, no, no.
- [19:39]
Ted Danson
And wild. And we all sit down and nothing is said once again. And you. And you start talking to the lady, the friend and Marin are going.
- [19:51]
James Van Praagh
No, no, no.
- [19:52]
Ted Danson
Couldn't say anything, but just listened. And. And we can cut this down later if you want, whatever. But the story. But you start. And in my experience, you sometimes do psychic things to kind of. I don't Know what you'll describe? Like, warm up or.
- [20:10]
James Van Praagh
To make them feel comfortable.
- [20:11]
Ted Danson
Yes. And make a connection. And you were talking to that lady. And then the husband and wife weren't really talking. The mother and the father. And weren't they separated?
- [20:25]
James Van Praagh
They might have been on different sides.
- [20:27]
Ted Danson
Maybe. Maybe.
- [20:27]
James Van Praagh
I don't remember.
- [20:28]
Ted Danson
It was in that.
- [20:29]
James Van Praagh
Yeah.
- [20:29]
Ted Danson
I was probably sitting in the ottoman.
- [20:31]
James Van Praagh
I seemed to cross. I remember you falling down.
- [20:36]
Ted Danson
So all of a sudden, you stop and you turn to Linda, the mother, and you say, did you have an uncle with a glass eye? And the room went. She said, yes. And the room kind of. It gets heavy. The air kind of gets heavy. And you said to her, well, this. And this is all written down. Mary is starting to write down two or three pages. The whole thing is written down notes. And you say, well, he's here. And, oh, well, there are a lot of people with him. All right, everybody, wait. What? Slow down. You said to the people standing behind her, slow down, slow down. And then. Oh, you lost your daughter, didn't you? In an accident. You said to the mother, I have tears in my eyes just talking about it. And the next 45 minutes, really, Mary was writing this down was a reunion between.
- [21:34]
James Van Praagh
I'm gonna cry.
- [21:35]
Ted Danson
Yeah.
- [21:35]
James Van Praagh
Yeah.
- [21:36]
Ted Danson
Wow. Yeah. Between a daughter and the parents who hadn't seen each other for nine months. And it was so specific. I remember these in detail. The daughter said, thank you. Thank you for putting a light in the window of my room and asking people to honk as they drive by.
- [22:00]
James Van Praagh
Wow.
- [22:02]
Ted Danson
You were busy doing this.
- [22:03]
James Van Praagh
Yeah. I don't remember any of. I remember you falling. That's all I remember.
- [22:08]
Ted Danson
That was the other one. Not this. And please thank my high school student friends for putting my favorite composite tape, mixed tape, whatever you call it when you put all the music. A mix in my coffin. All of my favorite music was put in my coffin. And it went on and on like this. And it was not my fault. Accident. Because the consensus was she must have turned around. There were other kids in the car and done something, looked for something, maybe that something, you know, and hit another car or went off the road. And she said, that's not what happened. A white car swerved in front of me, and I went off the road coming in the opposite direction. And one witness had said that, by the way, that they thought they had seen a car come around the corner. And it went on and on like this. And at one point, the mother said, where are you now? Where are you right now? She said, I'm in a Garden, the most beautiful garden. And then this was the most amazing thing. The mother said, are you happy? And the daughter said, I am when you are.
- [23:32]
James Van Praagh
Yeah, it's true.
- [23:34]
Ted Danson
And it just went on like this. And then the next morning they came downstairs and they were different. And they said, we took our first full breath in nine months. They went on and started a foundation called the Thea Foundation. Their daughter. And it's now doing amazing work all over Arkansas. And that area of the country was stimulating the arts in schools. And it's a huge, big, wonderful thing. And I spoke to them this morning because I didn't know whether or not. And he said, of course you can tell the story. I tell it all the time. He said, to people who have lost children. You know, I tell it to people just to give them an uplifting experience. My thing and then I'm turning it back over to you is.
- [24:25]
James Van Praagh
It's okay. It's a great story.
- [24:26]
Ted Danson
You would be. So if you're listening or if you, you know, if you wanted to poke holes in it, the, the alternative to it just being what it was, somebody in the afterlife talking to their parents, you would be hard pressed.
- [24:43]
James Van Praagh
Yeah.
- [24:43]
Ted Danson
To come up with how or whatever. So who cares about that? Because we're not trying to prove anything, but what a gift that changed people's lives, changed ours, you know, and there's just no way that you can't, you know, go, ah, okay, I get it. There are. Energy doesn't go away.
- [25:08]
James Van Praagh
No, I mean the miracles that the spirit world do, I'm in awe every day. And I wake up that way. I wake up with that art of discovery. Like, wow, how can I help today? Like, what are you going to show me different today? And every time I get a message or a reading from a spirit, give me something new. And they do at points, but they're on a certain level, you know, everybody goes to a certain level of their spiritual awareness that they're on. Like in the Bible it says, my father has a house with many mansions. Which means that spiritual level which you.
- [25:34]
Ted Danson
Go to based upon even after death is not like, boom, graduated and that's it.
- [25:40]
James Van Praagh
Yeah. Thoughts, words and deeds. You create your heaven or you create your hell, depending on what the energy you gave out, what you said, smiles you gave. It's those little acts of kindness that meets. This is really important. I just did a TED Talk. Here you go. Just a TED Talk. And it was about a life review. And once we pass into the spirit world, one of the first things that happens is all of us go through a life review and we look back at our lives and we're not in time anymore, we're outside of time. Time is only relative to this three dimensional world. So you're outside of time and you look like you see like a movie passing really quickly. And it's those major moments in your life, good, bad or indifferent, that made an impact on someone else. And you are your own judge. And you see, they pass that lesson, didn't pass that lesson. Maybe you have to repeat that. Maybe that's more compassion, more kindness, more patience. And that's. We come back here to learn. We come back here to the school.
- [26:32]
Ted Danson
I read that you said that you also meet those people who you have harmed.
- [26:36]
James Van Praagh
You betcha, you betcha.
- [26:38]
Ted Danson
So that the word empathy, genuine empathy.
- [26:41]
James Van Praagh
Because everyone's learning, we're all the same, we're all learning on different levels of awareness. And it's really important that. And I've learned this one too. When you meet someone and you don't get along with them, whatever, you have to meet people for the level that they're at. Maybe they don't know any better, maybe they don't understand anything better. So you have to meet them at the level that they understand. You know what I mean? And that way you can guide them or help them or assist them in some way. Don't force it, but you can be there and see them for where they're at. That's the only way you're going to get through, is to meet them where they're at. Of course you have to have boundaries with people. You know, people say something not right, excuse me, that's not appropriate, that's not correct. Another thing which really will help people, which I've learned, Ted, is, you know, a lot of people, especially over the holidays times, get involved with family dramas, you know, and the little buttons are pushed. I think the best thing is to step back and be objective. Like you're watching a movie, a television show. You're just watching, you're observing and you're in the observation mode. You say, oh, that person behaves like that. That's their dynamic. I'm not getting involved in that drama. I'm sitting back and watching it. Observation the best way. That way you don't judge. You know, who are we to judge? You know, we have to. Why do we judge others? We judge others because we ought to feel better then, you know, so something's going to go on. The judgment is fear based. And really we are love, we are loving beings. Fear is Only of this earth, of this three dimensional world, this humor, this is fear. I say fear F E A R false ego appearing real, you know, and that's false ego. False ego appearing real, appearing real. Isn't that a good one?
- [28:12]
Ted Danson
That's the correct.
- [28:13]
James Van Praagh
And I use also my book, I wrote about love because people say, well, what is your religion? I say, well, love might sound strange, but love, what do you mean, love? I said, well, you know, we're all connected. Love is one. I said, huh? I said, we're one. All of us are one. What do you mean? I said, O, N E, I omnipresent, nurturing, energy.
- [28:33]
Ted Danson
Nice, nice.
- [28:35]
James Van Praagh
We're all one. And you know, you meet somebody, you try to, I don't know, make their day better every day. We should all try to make someone's lives better. With a smile, with a hello. I pulled into a hotel, I'm staying at a hotel. The man that opened the door for me, the guy, the parking guy, he goes, oh my God, it's Jay. How are you, sir? I said, good. I go, hector. He goes, yes, You're James said, yeah, I haven't seen him in 10 years. He goes, I remember you. I said, I remember you're very kind. And that's how he knew me. Just from that, from years ago. And you make an impression with people. You make a mark with people. However in our lives, we do, and we have that life review. We look back and see between that person and the rippling effect, the ripples, the ripple effect, they're going to affect that person and then their family and their family. So make sure you do the right thing. Just do the right thing. That's what we do.
- [29:24]
Ted Danson
Know the right thing.
- [29:26]
James Van Praagh
We all know the right thing. I think every single person knows the right thing. And treat another person as you want to be treated. The golden rule. Yes, it's the one thing I got for Catholicism. It's the golden rule. And I try to. I try. We're humans, we make mistakes. We're here at school learning, so we're going to make mistakes. It's okay to make mistakes. We got to forgive ourselves, you know?
- [29:46]
Ted Danson
Yeah, I have that one.
- [29:47]
James Van Praagh
Forgiveness is a big one. Forgiveness is a big one. It is. It's a medicine we give ourselves. Forgiveness.
- [29:53]
Ted Danson
Yeah. When you talk, sometimes I think of Rumi, the quote I love. Beyond all right and wrong. There is a field. I will meet you there. Isn't that great? I love that. Which is what you're talking about.
- [30:09]
James Van Praagh
Exactly.
- [30:09]
Ted Danson
Yeah.
- [30:10]
James Van Praagh
It's that oneness. Yeah, it's great.
- [30:16]
Ted Danson
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- [33:06]
James Van Praagh
Sorry he bounced together. It's fine with dance partners so you.
- [33:11]
Ted Danson
Have to in this world where some people hang on to religions and dogma out of fear, I think, oh I love that. But anyway, there are many different. You know my Mother went from Episcopal to Catholic later in life, and I think she struggled with so many of the things that didn't naturally feel kind and felt judgmental, but she, because she was now Roman Catholic, kind of went for it. So my question is it has to be somewhat threatening to some groups of people, what you're talking about, and not just not you, but the fact that we're talking about a pathless. You're not talking about the need for. Not that priests can't give so much comfort in many cases.
- [34:09]
James Van Praagh
I went to a seminary for a year, you know. Yeah, yeah.
- [34:13]
Ted Danson
So how do you deal with. Or is that stopped or whatever?
- [34:17]
James Van Praagh
Oh, that's a great question. I mean, because I was raised very Catholic, went to a seminary and it was interesting. Go back to a store when I was 14 and I was at the seminary and each student had to sit in what they called benediction, being an altar and just whatever, meditate, pray. And I remember I was doing that. I'm sitting there by myself looking at this, whatever, the altar there, and I heard a voice, and the voice said, God is much bigger than these four walls. You need to find God outside these four walls. And that's when I left. And to me, I think every religion has a bit of the truth, but not anyone in religion has all the truth. And I think you get the nuggets, the beautiful nuggets from religious, that's fine. Some people need that, some people need that, and if it serves them well, great. But there's so many roads. There's so many. You know, I don't. That's just because I've changed. I don't know. I think diversity is the greatest thing. I think there's a little bit of everything in everyone. I mean, you know, I'm very happy now. There's a Muslim mayor in New York City. Yay.
- [35:14]
Ted Danson
Good.
- [35:14]
James Van Praagh
About time. We have diversity, everyone. You know, it's. Yeah. I don't know, I thought a lot of clients of mine been cardinals, priests, ministers, you know, all the. And it's just, you know, it's just religion is a man made. It's man made.
- [35:30]
Ted Danson
And they're able to hold both.
- [35:32]
James Van Praagh
They can understand it. They call it the mystery of God, which is just fine. That's the language they want to use. And those stories, whatever they. And that's valid for them, you know, meet them where they're at.
- [35:43]
Ted Danson
Yeah.
- [35:43]
James Van Praagh
And I never force them to believe in what I do at all. I'm presenting it, see how you feel afterwards. That's all you can do.
- [35:52]
Ted Danson
I've talked about this before, but I was in the room when my mother purposefully came home to die. She was not going to be able to shake what was going on with her. And for the first week, she was very present and was able to say goodbye and hello to people who would come say goodbye. And she had the death she wanted. You know, she had these monks that were friends of hers from Colorado, came down, sang evening prayers. It was just glorious. It really was. And I was sitting there. My sister lived nearby, and she was. I was okay, taking the night shift. Towards the end, when she was no longer. She was alive, her body was pumping away, but she was not really present in the able to communicate kind of way. And I took the night shift. And I remember sitting there looking at.
- [36:44]
James Van Praagh
Her.
- [36:46]
Ted Danson
Her body, and realizing, oh, all my little philosophical, little spiritual things that I've read about or been taught or this or that went flying out the window. And I realized I came to. I don't know. I truly obviously don't know. She may be in the process of knowing, but I don't know. And what was left with was very simple. Get what you said. Do the right thing. Get up every morning and try to be a little bit better. And you do know it the right time.
- [37:20]
James Van Praagh
Make that life count. Honor her.
- [37:22]
Ted Danson
Yes.
- [37:23]
James Van Praagh
Make it count. Yeah. My father was a non believer. My father was very skeptical. I had a television show. Every day I'd be on television doing my thing for about a year. And he was bedridden, and he would watch me, didn't believe in it. And there was a reporter from the Times that came to him once, and it was in New York. And he said to my father was in his 80s, well, what do you think about your son? He goes, I'm very proud of him. And he makes a dime doing it. Great. So what happened was he was in a coma at the end of his life. And the other four kids are there, older, and I could hear him and I could sense. I sensed him right above his head. And I said, dad, why won't you go? Because we're in a coma. And I heard him very clearly say, I don't want you kids fighting over the house. So I sent my siblings, he doesn't want us fighting over the house. That was his big thing, this house. So of course, one makes a joke, oh, we gotta change our phone numbers. But we promised we wouldn't. And he left. And he said, right away, like, within five minutes, I've seen your mother. You're right. You were right. I See your mother, oh my God. I have a sister I didn't know I had. Oh my God. And for two days I'm writing all this like automatic writing down. And we checked and he had a sister that had died birth that we never knew about. And it was amazing. I get that a lot though. I get people that really didn't believe this or have that awareness at all. And they like, wow, this is just amazing. My brother Michael, who's since passed just January, and he didn't really necessarily believe in this. I mean years ago I called him up, he was in New York and I was out in California and I said, oh, mom is here. And I said, why are you playing with her rosary beads? She goes, why'd you go in the top drawer and get her brown rosary beads? The white ones are right next to her. He goes, stop it, stop it. And you had just had her prayer book and you put a folded page 10 goes get and typical New Yorker, get out of here. And that made him a believer, you know, and that was just. There you go, so how do they do it? They come in love. I mean that energy of love never dies and it gets stronger. And the first thing they want their loved ones to know is there's no death. There's no death. It's very natural. No one needs to fear it. No one needs to fear it. You know, it's just the way it is. Would you say you're more of a Buddhist type back belief?
- [39:30]
Ted Danson
I don't.
- [39:31]
James Van Praagh
I mean, you know, if everything is.
- [39:33]
Ted Danson
All, if everything is a little bit time wise when you're in the afterlife, when you're not in your body, my. I do tend to think, and this is way above my pay grade, that all time is instantaneous probably.
- [39:48]
James Van Praagh
So what about this one? If you pass over to this side, and I'm not a quantum physicist, but something within me says when we pass over there is no time. So past, present and future can all be one. And by living right now as a soul. I Talked before, about 30% of the soul can be in the physical body. But 70%, whatever quote, that'll be whatever quotation, but 70% or whatever will be up here. That means that that part of you is maybe having experiences in other centuries, other planets, other stars. There are millions and millions of star systems and galaxies. And with the immensity of it all and how the universe, you know, that force, that source changes seasons, the planets move, we have life. I mean, it's just incredible.
- [40:31]
Ted Danson
How can you not believe in the miracle?
- [40:35]
James Van Praagh
Just for you being born, it's like they said, one out of 11 souls get to be here. Like, there are 11. That one. I don't know the numbers. 11 want to come down here, but one lucky one gets the opportunity to come down to the school. Because supposedly this is a school that you grow from the most. And it's all about experiences that help.
- [40:51]
Ted Danson
And suffering and problems and issues and bumping into things.
- [40:54]
James Van Praagh
They're all opportunities. It's how you look at them. Opportunities, even deaths. That's a big one. That's a big one. Yeah, that's true. So let me ask you a question.
- [41:07]
Ted Danson
Yeah, please.
- [41:08]
James Van Praagh
Being an actor, so how do you act? So there you go. So how do you become a character? What within you is able. What do you use to express that?
- [41:19]
Ted Danson
I probably, by the way, became an actor because I mess up so much. I love being able to have take two, take three, take four, until you get it right. I kind of like that. You know.
- [41:32]
James Van Praagh
There'S something within you that can do that. Right.
- [41:34]
Ted Danson
I do believe in that. Creativity is very close to creation and all of that. I do believe it's an energetic thing that's kind of quite magical when it works just like life. 50% of the time, at least 50, probably more. I'm not really flying when I act. I'm trying to indicate that I flew once. Look how good I am at flying or whatever, as opposed to truly being in the moment.
- [42:05]
James Van Praagh
But there's something within you, right? An instinct, an intuition that.
- [42:09]
Ted Danson
Yeah. I mean, you believe in your imaginary circumstances, and then you work off the other person and you don't do anything unless that other person makes you do it. So you really are in a moment that, to me, is when you. If you're truly paying attention to somebody else and not you, and you give up your ego, thought, whatever, you just surrender and surrender. Then it's like flying. It is the same in conversation when you let go of, oh, I know what I want to say next, as opposed to just truly being over there and the other person trying to recreate what they're saying. That's kind of magical.
- [42:47]
James Van Praagh
It's sharing space.
- [42:47]
Ted Danson
And that's what acting is for me.
- [42:50]
James Van Praagh
So same with mediumship. So with mediumship, what I do is that force, if you want to call it that, I surrender. So a really important part for. I have a school online, the JVP School of Mystical Arts. And I've had students from all over the world and do mediumship and psychic work. And it's really incredible. One of the number One things, the problems that some of the students have. And most people, when they're developing their intuition or mediumship, is they're in their heads. And I gotta get them from the head to the heart. So it's feeling, it's sensing, it's not thinking. Because if you're thinking, you're not doing it. It has to come from the heart. You're feeling, you're sensing. And that's really. What is that, Sensing energy. Same thing with acting, with any creative work. You're sensing, you're feeling things, right? So it's all part of that. And that's just. And when I go, it's a flow, and I'm just in the moment. I can be open to any spirit that comes through, that I'm able to get in my wavelength. Especially though they will use the aspects of my soul that are there. So, sense of humor. I have a good sense of humor. Like personality, laughs, fun stuff. You know, different aspects they can use. So they're the ones that get through the most great stuff. Because they're like me. They're very similar to me. So I can use those little lights, if you will.
- [44:02]
Ted Danson
I'm assuming not everybody who passes over has a desire to communicate back into this world. Or is that true?
- [44:10]
James Van Praagh
Well, it's all. Everyone's different, right? So everyone is different. A couple of stories, if you don't mind. Cause I'm old and I have a lot of stories now that I remember. So I was once doing this called a demonstration in an audience. I don't know, 500, 600 people there. And I'm on the stage, I'm working with a girl in the audience, and her aunt was coming through. And the aunt. I'm giving information. The aunt's giving me information, and she's understanding it. And out of the corner of my eye, I see a spirit of a man coming close to me, and his arms are folded. And now I knew this must be her father, the girl in the audience, her father. And I said to him telepathically, well, I'm still communicating. I said, is this your daughter? He goes, yes. He goes, I didn't believe in this, in life, so why would I believe in it now? I said, do you want to try it? And he goes, no, I don't believe in it. I said, okay, that's fine. So continued with the girl and the aunt, and validation happened. The evidence, the details, and she understood everything. And this is very interesting. When the person says, yes, they understand it. Their auric field lights up. It's like a light show and that everyone's very happy. Or the father was getting closer and closer and closer. And he finally. He looked at me and said, can I try telepathically? I said, yes. And he did. And it was incredible. And there was a story about forgiveness. Forgive me for not loving you like I should have. And she said, oh, my God, he never told me that in life. Said, he needs to say that to you. And that was an amazing experience for her. Everybody in the audience and that man that was coming in and the girl for the rest of her life. This is something interesting, Ted. When people pass over, we go to that level. You know, we all go to a level of like, called the Astral world, certain level. We have the life review and get adapted to a new environment. Then they call it a second death roll. Once you're used to that area, you'll go to that band, that spectrum, that realm that you have to go to where you belong, where you're gonna learn or do what you need to do. And it's so interesting because when we first pass over and have a life review, sometimes. Sometimes we kind of get stuck there in that there is no time. So, like, imagine that poor father. In his head, he kept on thinking, oh, my gosh, I chose my daughter. I loved her. Why didn't I do that? And that could be for a long, long time. So as a medium, my job is really working for the spirit world, not for the humans. I'm really working for them.
- [46:22]
Ted Danson
I remember hearing you say, or I don't know if I heard you say, or red that you said, but I think I was in a room where the people on the other side said, we heard about you. We heard about you. And that this was a way. You were a way to be able to commun for them to be able to communicate to us.
- [46:42]
James Van Praagh
Yes. It comes in a lot of different ways like that. It comes in a lot of different ways. Like you said with Mary and the Walgreens, weird things happen. I'm walking down the street with my dog or. I don't know, they just come up to me. They don't know who I am. And they say something about their dead mother that just passed or their friends happens in all the world. And I just won't give it up. I just. I have to be. They have to be there and they gotta understand it. But it's interesting how the. Again, the spirit world, how they manipulate, create. Miracles happen. The ribbons of life are shared. And I think it's just an amazing experience how could you not be in awe all the time? And that's it. And you have to live in joy. You know, joy is part of the journey. J O U R N E Y Journey, Journey. Literal part there.
- [47:27]
Ted Danson
Yeah.
- [47:28]
James Van Praagh
But I love it because it's true. Try to find joy. And because you never know when your last day is. We only have this moment now. So Eckhart Tolle talks about the power of now, living fully in this moment and being total. And that's what it is. It's all about awareness.
- [47:43]
Ted Danson
My mom used to say, when people say, what do you want for your kids? She'd always say, I want them to be fully human, which is really a lovely thing. And I didn't quite get it. But, yeah, this is your opportunity, your life. This is a gift. Not everybody gets this opportunity to live.
- [48:02]
James Van Praagh
A life and to help influence people. I mean, all the work I've done and you've done work to help people. Lucille Ball came through to me once. Didn't know Lucille Ball. And I was at a house with a rose. I'm cutting roses. She said to me. And I mean, I didn't know her, but loved her. James had voice. James, Yes. I said, is this Lucy? Yes. She goes, I never wanted to be a comedian. She said, I'm a healer, but I wanted to heal through comedy. That's what she did. And that was pretty amazing.
- [48:29]
Ted Danson
You know, I'll tell you who's walking around and does that. Brings tears to my eyes, just talking about her. Carol Burnett is definitely one of those people. So much happiness and joy and healing to people through their laughter.
- [48:50]
James Van Praagh
Okay, so another weird thing. I was watching her show, I was watching a YouTube last night, and it was all about Carol Burnett. And I was like. And Harvey Corman and Tim Kahneman. I'm watching. I'm like, what a gift of healing. Yeah. So it's interesting you brought it up. Coincidences. God's a way of remaining anonymous. Another one. They're all in.
- [49:11]
Ted Danson
Listen to the whispers.
- [49:12]
James Van Praagh
Listen to the whispers. The nudges. Yeah, the nudges. Very, very important. She was just here.
- [49:18]
Ted Danson
Yeah, Carol.
- [49:19]
James Van Praagh
Oh, she was just dead.
- [49:20]
Ted Danson
Yeah, a couple. Two or three days ago. Oh, wow.
- [49:23]
James Van Praagh
Wow. Her daughter's come through to me through another friend. Carrie, or Carrie, when she first, like, I don't know, two years after she passed. But, yeah, she came through to me. And we're a mutual friend who, you know, and. Yeah, I don't know if she had the message, but, yeah, she's lovely. She lives up north. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, Great.
- [49:39]
Ted Danson
No, she's remarkable. Oh, aren't we lucky?
- [49:43]
James Van Praagh
We're lucky. We're very fortunate. We're very fortunate to be in this. Yeah. To be alive, to be.
- [49:47]
Ted Danson
So can you do that in, you know, the meeting people, where they are? I try every day now. Some people are way far away.
- [49:57]
James Van Praagh
I gotta take some breaths. Every once in a while, I gotta take them. Coming up to la, you know, I'm in San Diego coming out.
- [50:04]
Ted Danson
Whoa.
- [50:04]
James Van Praagh
It's a whole different energy. You'll hear, okay, calm down. And. Yeah, especially in the cars. It's like, wow. Just got to get to that neutral place. I breath. I do a lot of breathing. I ground myself a lot. I become part of Mother Earth. And grounding, it's hard.
- [50:19]
Ted Danson
Yeah. My sister, who's, you know, does a lot of work in the church and is very grounded, very, you know, she'd love to be in this room talking about all of this, but.
- [50:30]
James Van Praagh
And my sister works in the church, too.
- [50:32]
Ted Danson
Yeah. Yeah.
- [50:33]
James Van Praagh
Weird. Yeah.
- [50:34]
Ted Danson
I mean, this is. She's in a great church, man. They do everything to support immigrants and this and that and this and that.
- [50:40]
James Van Praagh
And all of that.
- [50:41]
Ted Danson
But she said. She said to me a while ago, I won't mention any names, but she's working very hard to love a certain political figure who just brings up all the worst and anger and all of that. But she said that if I'm being real, that is my job, to be able to pray for and love the worst of the worst.
- [51:06]
James Van Praagh
So funny you say that. Not funny at all. It is what it is. On the driving up here, I thought of that person because I was watching it and I said, and the first time in eight years, whatever. I feel sorry for that person. I feel empathy. It's sad to be there because I know it's gonna await them when they pass over. It's not going to be happy if.
- [51:27]
Ted Danson
You have to empathize. Truly.
- [51:29]
James Van Praagh
That's a tough one. It's a tough one. And the influence and the rippling effects. But then again, can we say, did we pick that before we came back, this incarnation? Did we pick to have that scenario? This. But every soul picks a time to born for various reasons of learning and expanding and growing. So we did pick it, and we picked that for whatever reason, we're going to learn something from this experiment. Oh, the other day, a guy, it was so funny. I'm sitting at my desk and I heard life, the experiment of life. And it is one experiment. Experiments of life. And I kind of like that. Yeah. We have to find empathy the best we can. We don't have to agree with people. We gotta find empathy.
- [52:06]
Ted Danson
No, but you can. Yeah. And again, and not come from fear, but love.
- [52:11]
James Van Praagh
That's it.
- [52:12]
Ted Danson
Even though you may go, no, I can't let you do that.
- [52:16]
James Van Praagh
So life is a series of choices. That's all it is. So as we were little kids, we had all of those choices. What kindergarten, what grade school, what clothes, what breakfast? You know, our parents taught us, or teachers. We had choices. So we either chose this way or that way. So all choices are based on two things, either love or fear. And that's it. And fear just contracts. Love expands. And that's the way it is. And we're loving beings. Fear is only this human world. It's only the three dimensional world.
- [52:49]
Ted Danson
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- [53:16]
James Van Praagh
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- [54:18]
Ted Danson
Mary had an experience. We were shooting someplace, we were in Europe and she was driving and she was quiet for a moment and there were other people in the car. And then later she told me kind of where she went, but she was very clearly. Her father was in the car. And the sense are with her, with her. And the sense was that he had said. And the feeling it engendered in her was, I'm still here, but I've graduated. As if he was moving from one level to another. And I mean the whole, you know, when people hear at first, you know, afterlife and people communicating and all that, it feels like that's maybe almost like kindergarten for the afterlife. That there is way, way, way. This is bigger than so much bigger to even.
- [55:13]
James Van Praagh
They can't describe it. Just the colors alone. And many people who had near death experiences. Look at all those near death experiences. I myself had one. They can't even describe the colors. The gardens, they can't describe. Cause we don't have that down here in this earth. And they say that one unifying force is love is in everything. The flowers that bloom send a beautiful harmonic tone in complete harmony with the rest of the flowers. And the people that you meet, you see them for the character that they are. On this earth. We can hide our character. We can hide things. Not over there. You see exactly what the characters with the colors that they've created, which I love.
- [55:50]
Ted Danson
I can't remember what discipline, but one discipline that, you know, before my mom died, I decided to have no more disciplines. Was the one constant in the universe is light and harmonics.
- [56:04]
James Van Praagh
That's true.
- [56:04]
Ted Danson
Does that feel right?
- [56:05]
James Van Praagh
Completely, 100%. Because we're light. Really, we are light. And we have to find harmony. And that's why we're down here. We're here. We're taking on the human form of reality. This is the realm of form. You know, there are many, many realms. This realm is one of four. Four. And it's a hard one. It's a dense one. Because this is an unnatural world. And that's why we feel like impatient and like, oh, wow. And I mean, every day I get that sense of, I don't belong here. I don't belong. How much longer is it? Because I don't belong here. But I gotta do my time and every moment counts to make it better for somebody else.
- [56:37]
Ted Danson
What do you say to people who aren't gonna maybe bump into you, but want that experience, want to believe that, Want to need some sort of relief or that comes sometimes when people talk to you and have that experience personally. What advice do you have for them?
- [56:58]
James Van Praagh
Wow.
- [56:59]
Ted Danson
Just read it. Read about it.
- [57:02]
James Van Praagh
I've written some great books. Healing Grief. Good book. Check me out. Best thing. But also you want to tune into your Own. You know, when people pass over families, mothers, fathers, children, in a way, I think sometimes it's an agreement before the incarnation that this is gonna force you to go within your being and maybe find some spiritual path. So it's forcing them. And it really. We are souls having human experience, not the other way around. So live your life as if you're a soul. So really they're just a thought away. They hear all of our thoughts. They know everything we're doing. It's so much more. They've described it once to me like in this physical world, we see one another, we're looking at each other. But in that space, they're multisensory. They see all around in 360 degrees, they can see no things. And they hear your thoughts. They hear your thoughts, they see what you're going through. So what one can do. And I always say sit in the quiet. So I tell my students this to a lot of people who've. The loved one has just passed over recently. Go into a quiet space. I personally go into a closet and close the door so no outside noises, right? And I will just. It's going to pass a meditation. I just close my eyes and I use my breath and I inhale through my nose, exhale, mouth, and just bring myself to a nice soft space. And I just sit there quietly. And then I ask in my mind, I send out a thought and I say, dear spirit friend, I can ask for whoever it is I want to hear from. And you have to just silence your mind, right? So I say, dear spirit friend, come next to me, come behind me. Let me feel your hands upon my shoulders, dear spirit friend. And you surrender again, right? So you're surrendering and you're allowing your space to be shared with that loved one. And step behind me and don't think of it. That's why you sit in the sounds to get into that heart space. And then you feel and you send that love to them. I sit here in love and I send, you know, I ask to come in love. And when you sit in that space and you just surrender, just allow, just like what Mary did, you just allowed, you know, by those people, just allowing you will have those. And it might have happened right away, but the more you do it every other day, if you will, you'll get to a point where you'll feel them right next to you, you'll feel their energy, you'll feel the personality. When you allow yourself. When you get back to your head and you think about it, it's Going to go away. Because it's not thinking, it's coming from this, the heart, the heart of the matter now. So it's your soul forward feeling with the soul, soul energy. And we're, you know, it's soul to soul communication. How a soul. I believe that the mind is part of the soul, soul is part of the mind. And telepathy, I feel it's the soul who's sending thoughts, memories, emotions from their mind to your mind. So when you're sitting in that soft space and you're open, you're allowing them to come in and influence that space. So that's. And they hear your thoughts. And also look out for signs because a lot of them come through right away. They want you to know they're alive, they're not dead. So they'll often come through with smells, scents you might smell, smell certain perfume or cologne or aftershave or you'll see birds or insects or hummingbirds or butterflies. And the weirdest is out of the ordinary, I would say. And you'll get maybe a license plate, maybe you see a dime or a quarter on the floor and it's over and over again. It happens often. Notice how often those things happen again. No coincidence. So that's what you want to pay attention to and feel them. You haven't lost them. They're closer now than they ever were before. And it's easy to say, but it's.
- [60:25]
Ted Danson
True that tradition is so much stronger in tribes, you know, where ancestors, not just tribes and Native Americans, but we just spent time in Japan and there's very much that sense of honoring your ancestors, but not just honoring paying attention, you know, and.
- [60:47]
James Van Praagh
And when you sit in the quiet, like when you. Japan, it was probably so beautiful and serene and peaceful, and it forces you to go quiet, to go within yourself. And when you get to that quiet space. And there's a great book called the Quiet Mind by White Eagle. Everybody should just run for that book. It was written in the 1930s by Grace Cook, who was a medium from England and White Eagle was her guide. And it's amazing book, Profound Truth. And it's just, you know, when you sit in that space and you. That quiet. The quiet is very loud. So when you're in the quiet, wow, your soul starts speaking to you. You have realizations, perspectives of things. Interesting information comes through. It's like, wow, it's all in there. It's all in your soul. I also believe that as a soul, we've traveled through many lifetimes, whether in this physical earth or Other places and spaces. What you gotta do is ask and feel things. Yeah, I know. I've always been curious. I've always had that sense of curiosity that called the art of discovery. So ask them and you can ask your loved ones. Come into me now and open up your mind and let them drop a thought, let them drop a feeling, Get a nudge from them.
- [61:49]
Ted Danson
Curiosity is such a big thing. It used to, you know, as you age, you know, isn't it amazing as gravity hits? You know, none of us would be spiritual if it weren't for gravity. You know, we'd be party on. But first, gratitude became the word, and also now curiosity. Stay curious is such a huge thing.
- [62:12]
James Van Praagh
So you learn.
- [62:13]
Ted Danson
Yeah, yeah.
- [62:15]
James Van Praagh
What do you want to learn from someone? I'm always like, oh, wow, how are you? And I'm just naturally that way because everybody's your teacher. Everybody you meet every single day. And it's interesting because a lot about the sleepwalkers out there, a lot of sleepwalkers, a lot of people unconscious out there. We gotta wake up, gotta be conscious. We've gotta see how our thoughts affect another person, our actions. Smile. Love. Yeah, it's about love. That's really what it's about. And that's how again, they come through from the spirit side of life. And by the way, this is an interesting one. Just because they're in the spirit world doesn't mean that they know better. So they go to that certain level that.
- [62:51]
Ted Danson
Oh, that's great.
- [62:52]
James Van Praagh
That's an interesting run. Right? It's like they don't know this much better. So don't think they know it all. Whoopsie. They know at the level that they're at. Right. And they learn a lot by us down here, by how we handle a situation, by how we do certain things. Oh, that's how I could have done that. Okay. Oh, I can choose differently. Next. Okay. So they watch us and they will learn from us down here as well. So that's an interesting insight. Right?
- [63:17]
Ted Danson
I had.
- [63:17]
James Van Praagh
You hadn't thought of that.
- [63:19]
Ted Danson
I had one of those. Boy. Yeah.
- [63:21]
James Van Praagh
Wow.
- [63:22]
Ted Danson
We will now become the Marion Ted. The Woo Woo twins.
- [63:27]
James Van Praagh
Good.
- [63:27]
Ted Danson
You know, please. The good thing is I don't check into social media and I don't read reviews. So have at it. Whenever you feel like I had. I was speaking to somebody in your field, as it were. Someone who is open like that, like you are. And I can't totally recreate how we go. Got to this realization for me, which was my working. It's exactly what you Said. But it was a realization that was so powerful for me, which is usually I'm kind of holding onto my parents to figure out myself, to grow through stuff and to improve myself and everything. And all of a sudden it was like, ted, you need to grow so that they can move on. Because they are there lovingly waiting for me to get off my ass, surprised how perfect you are so that they can move on. It's not just working for yourself. You're working for, like you said, for that change. And I felt so good that what I was doing was good for. For the energy and spirit of my parents, that it was a release for them for me to grow and be more loving and releasing things and all of that.
- [65:00]
James Van Praagh
And you're perfect just the way you are. And they would like to know that you're just never think. You know, humans get so caught up in critical mind, oh, I'm not this Always go for the negative instead of the positive. And they're proud. They'll. You know, this is very interesting you brought this up, because so many people think, if I talk to my spirit family, will I hold them back? And the answer is, no, we won't hold them back. They receive your thoughts, but they want the best for you. And many times they want you to love yourself more. That's what they say, love yourself more. I love you more than I was able, ever able to down here. You know, and they see that if we could be aware of that and love ourselves, we gotta love ourselves more than anyone else could because no one else knows us better than we know ourselves.
- [65:39]
Ted Danson
So I'd like to end with Thea. Thea, who is David and Linda's daughter, who passed away.
- [65:46]
James Van Praagh
And that was a long time ago now.
- [65:47]
Ted Danson
It was. But it's why you and I are able to sit together. It's the impact that she has had on so many people's lives through the foundation, through this kind of work. Yeah. Are you happy? She asked her mom. No, her mom asked her, are you happy? And the response is, when you are. Yes, I am. When you are.
- [66:14]
James Van Praagh
It's true. Grief is a teacher. And we don't become professional grievers because we have to grow. We've chosen to go through this. Not an easy thing. We all have to go through grief, if you will, but it can't own us. It shouldn't own us. You know, it's a gift. You know, everyone that passes over always leaves gifts behind. But we have to have the trust to open up that box and find out what's Inside. And they've always done that. And I always say, live your life as they would be so pleased. Lived your life and there's no end. Realize that you're gonna see them again. I used to work when I was 18. I was a stage fan from Broadway, believe it or not. I don't think you know this. And I was always backstage pulling the ropes for the original Grease and some other shows, and I'm like, why am I here? This doesn't make sense. My father did it. My grandfather, and I wanted to be a writer. And I was like, I could do that, what they're doing out there. I was like, why am I here? Recently, it dawned on me. Wow. It's like the spirit world. We're out on the earthrun stage performing, and then when the show's over, we go backstage and we help pull curtains. We help them perform. So the spirit people, same way backstage, they're helping us. They're influencing us. They're making things occur, making things happen. I just. I just feel that. I just. I acknowledge that, and I have gratitude for it. Like, you know, this. I. When I came in, I hand you a piece of paper which says, google it with your name. And I haven't seen that. Came this morning with your name. Those coincidences. I think the spirit people have a great sense of humor, and they'll get us. They'll get us. One more story, if I could, please. Okay, so my brother passed away in January, and we were very, very close. And he was in New York, and he knew the work I did. Of course, he knew. He was joking around. And so I did a retreat in Maui in July, a soul retreat. And it was body, mind, soul, with another practitioner friend of mine. And it went really well. And. And we had about 30 people, just body, mind, spirit. Great, great things. It was so incredible. I've done a lot of retreats. It was so incredible that my friend sue, practitioner, and another Melissa, it was so incredible, I said, we should get a tattoo. I don't get tattoos.
- [68:21]
Ted Danson
Yeah.
- [68:23]
James Van Praagh
So I designed this tattoo. It's a round circle together, three circles here, right? So I think, well, that's weird. Okay, so we all three of us got the same thing, right? So my brother, when we grew up, we live. We shared the same bedroom. And every night he would play Led Zeppelin, Stairway to Heaven. Like, Michael, can you please come up? Anyway, so when I came back from Hawaii, I was just one night watching television, and I had this inspiration to watch the Kennedy Center Honors with Led Zeppelin. Okay. So I watched it and there's Hart singing Stairway to Heaven. And I'm enjoying it. And then I look at the cymbal on the drum. It's this tattoo.
- [69:00]
Ted Danson
Oh, that's great.
- [69:01]
James Van Praagh
That's the lights. That was my brother coming through. What are the odds of that? Strange.
- [69:08]
Ted Danson
Your brother made you get a tattoo.
- [69:10]
James Van Praagh
And he also. When I was doing readings in Maui, the lights would flicker for all the people. The lights were flickering when I did the messages back, and I was like, wow, that's strange. And they didn't flicker the next day. So I heard him say, ha, ha ha. After I acknowledge Michael, it's you with the Led Zeppelin. He goes, I'm a lighting person, too. You know, I was a stage technician. I said, you. You sent him a know. So they make these things happen in ways, you know, they put people together. They. Yeah. And the more open we are, the more the miracles we're witnessing, they can happen.
- [69:41]
Ted Danson
Sure is a lot more fun.
- [69:42]
James Van Praagh
Yeah. Yeah. You live from love.
- [69:45]
Ted Danson
I adore you. I adore you, Ted, so much for coming here.
- [69:49]
James Van Praagh
You're welcome. Thank you for having me. Thank you for playing me. You portrayed me once again.
- [69:55]
Ted Danson
I want us, you know, thank the Leopolis family for saying yes, you can tell the story.
- [70:01]
James Van Praagh
Yeah. Give them my love, please. Because that they have influenced a lot of people.
- [70:05]
Ted Danson
Yeah.
- [70:05]
James Van Praagh
And help a lot of people.
- [70:07]
Ted Danson
Thank you. And Mary, once again, I love you, Mary.
- [70:10]
James Van Praagh
Bye.
- [70:10]
Ted Danson
Thank you.
- [70:11]
James Van Praagh
Bye.
- [70:19]
Ted Danson
Thank you, James von Praag, for spending this time with me. It's meant a lot. Every time I get together with you, it has the same impact on me. I end up walking around with a big smile on my face. Please check out his book talking to Heaven, among his many others. James also has a podcast. It's called Both sides now and beyond. That's all for our show this week. Special thanks to our friends at Team Coco. Please subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts. If you're watching your podcast, visit YouTube.com teamco coco. See you next time. Where everybody knows your name.
- [71:06]
James Van Praagh
You've been listening to where everybody knows your name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson sometimes. The show is produced by me, Nick Leow. Our executive producers are Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross, and myself. Sarah Fedorovich is our supervisor.
- [71:19]
Ted Danson
Producer.
- [71:19]
James Van Praagh
Engineering and mixing by Joanna Samuel with support from Eduardo Perez. Research by Alyssa Grohl. Talent booking by Paula Davis and Gina Bautista. Our theme music is by Woody Harrelson, Antony Genn, Mary Steenbergen and John Osborne.
- [71:43]
Ted Danson
Hey.
- [71:44]
James Van Praagh
This is Will Arnett, host of Smartless. Smartless is a podcast with myself and Sean Hayes and Jason Bateman, where each week one of us reveals a mystery guest to the other two. We dive deep with guests that you love, like Bill Hader, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Aniston, David Beckham, Kristen Stewart, and tons more. So join us for a genuinely improvised and authentic conversation filled with laughter and newfound knowledge to feed the smartless mind. Listen to Smartless now on the SiriusXM app. Download it today. From lunchboxes and break rooms to porch swings and movie nights, there's never a bad time to share lay's classic potato chips made with real potatoes, oil and salt. That signature light texture and crispy crunch tastes better together. Best shared with friends, family or your favorite coworker. Crackers Whatever makes you happy. Lays America's favorite chip since 1938. Tap the banner to Buy now and spread the joy with Lays.