The Baby Mind Reader: Amazing Psychic Stories from the Man Who Can Read Babies’ Minds

John ran quickly to the windows and opened every one as fully as he could. He rushed back to me and, as he held me again, I could feel more of this black, negative energy trying to escape from my body. This was exhausting me. I’d been crying during all of this and was feeling emotionally drained.

‘There is a lot more to come, Derek, a lot more,’ John said. ‘We can stop for a few moments and we can all have a rest. Maybe you’d like some water?’ I was grateful for the break. I needed to get my head together. What the hell was going on?

‘Look, what is all this about, John?’ I asked.

‘Derek, you are a great medium and psychic. You may not have realized it yet but you have been chosen by the spirit world as their voice, and this has been the case for all of your life. You’ve not been able to fully tune in to your sixth sense because your chakras – the energy points on your body that you’d use to connect with the spirit world – have been blocked by years and years of negative energy. This energy has latched on to you because you are so sensitive. During your life you’ve had both happy and sad times and I guess more than your fair share of negative moments. You’ve consciously or unconsciously held on to the negative energy that’s been around these disappointments and traumas. I really believe that you are here today because the spirit world knows that if you don’t get unblocked now you never will. I’m now unblocking you. It’s going to take some time – at least a couple of hours – and it’s going to be awful for you, but in a short while you’ll feel stronger and much more at one with yourself. You’ll be able to fully develop your true psychic potential after this session. You’ll, very shortly, be in the position to connect completely with the other side.’

‘But John, tell me about these spectres. I can see them bouncing off the walls in this room.’

‘There are positive spirits and there are negative spirits. The positive ones will come to you in order for you to communicate with them so they can send messages to their loved ones. The negative ones are a different story altogether. Some are angry spirits who possibly didn’t want to die. Some may have unfinished business to attend to before they completely cross over into spirit, and that’s what’s bothering them. Most are upset because they can’t yet move into the light, for whatever reason, and are stuck between this earth plane and the spirit plane. They have latched on to you because you are an easy target for them. They have been sucking you dry for years. Any time you’ve been feeling bad about yourself they have grasped on to those feelings and tried to depress you even more. They can only feed off you if you are vibrating at a very low frequency. The lower the frequency, the more depressed you’ll be. It’s a vicious circle.’

‘Is that why people who are depressed find it hard to get out of their depressive state and feel awful about their lives?’

‘Maybe. I’m not saying that everyone who’s depressed is possessed in some way. No, I’m not saying that at all. I’m just saying that the more positive you are, Derek, the less chance there’ll be for these negative entities to attack you and bring you down.’

‘But where do these entities come from?’

‘They are everywhere. They could be in your home or they could appear when you are walking down the street or at work. They seem to love nightclubs where they get off on the deep vibrations from the music and the drug and alcohol scene. They also really love pubs. They’ve no doubt managed to seek you out when you’ve had your pubs and club. You’ve been a prime target for them. You are very psychic and very vulnerable. You are also very sensitive so they don’t need to use that much of their energy to plug into you.’

‘So, it’s possible that that’s why I’ve gone bust?’

‘Absolutely.’ I was shocked, although it all made sense somehow. I had more questions to ask.

‘So John, how is it that you can do this for me and others can’t?’

‘I am a healer and I use God’s love to heal. These negative entities can’t handle the positive energy I’m sending to your body. They are repelled by it so they have to escape.’

‘Is that why you opened the window?’

‘Of course. I don’t want them to hang around in this hotel. They could do all kinds of mischief.’

I was astonished by John’s remarks, but they seemed to ring true. It was all starting to fit into place. I was beginning to feel different, even though John had been working on me for only 20 minutes or so. I really wanted him to continue with the session. I could feel that I had a great deal more negative energy inside me and now I wanted it out. I wasn’t scared. I just needed to know that this horrible nightmare that had engulfed the last 12 months of my life was nearly over.

We began, again, to cleanse my body of the negative energy I’d built up over the years. Both John and Philipa had to physically restrain me during some of my convulsions. I continued to writhe around on the floor for what seemed like hours. There were times when I started speaking in tongues, and Philipa was sent by John to get a Bible. I was screaming and choking when it became almost impossible to get these feelings out of my body. Eventually, however, and through a great deal of patience, John began to calm me, and it was soon apparent that the final pieces of energy were just moments away from leaving my body. When it was all over I felt incredible. I was exhausted, but there was an immense feeling of warmth and elation. My body felt lighter and my troubles were suddenly less significant.

Something else was also different about me. I could now see dead people more clearly than ever before. I walked into John’s hotel bar and saw many spirits – not the alcoholic ones. They seemed much more approachable, as if I could communicate with them. Perhaps I wasn’t such a threat to them now. I had to remember, though, that although my negative energy had all but gone I was still very vulnerable. I realized that until I grew spiritually I would never be totally free of negative energy. Until I knew exactly how to dispose of it myself, I would have to live with it, day in, day out. At least now it wasn’t as significant as it had been and it wouldn’t be able to hold me back from any of the goals I set myself. As far as I was concerned, this was the beginning of the rest of my life, and I was looking forward to it.

Learning to use my psychic gift

After my visit to John the healer, I regained the sensitivity I’d had as a child, and I noticed that it had developed considerably. This, in turn, helped bring my psychic abilities through. Suddenly I began to notice those shadows from the spirit world I thought had deserted me. I would talk openly and receive messages from whoever came to visit me from the other side.

I became very withdrawn. I didn’t like having any company around and would tell friends and family to keep away. Physically tired and emotionally exhausted, I broke down in tears for no apparent reason on many occasions. The trauma of the bankruptcy had taken its toll. I understood that I was in trouble and tried to help myself by getting some much needed therapy. Unlike my last experience with a psychologist, when I was in my late teens, I was honest this time. These sessions did me a great deal of good.

I had only a few pounds in my pocket by this time, and with my house now days away from being taken back by the bank, a wealthy friend allowed me to live in a cottage he owned in Kilbarchan, a tiny village on the outskirts of Glasgow. Within a few weeks of moving in on my own, I knew that this was my spiritual home. I felt that the journey I’d been on for the past 35 years was destined to bring me to this place. The cottage was in a beautiful setting on a country estate, surrounded by woodlands. I would spend hours walking around the estate, looking at the wonderful plants and animals. I felt so lucky to have the time to sit by the lake and contemplate my future, and for the first time in around five or six years I began to relax. I became a vegetarian and started to appreciate the simple things in life. I gave up tea and coffee and stopped drinking alcohol. I began to appreciate nature and became an ardent supporter of animal rights.

Once I’d started to relax it became easier to focus on the psychic side of my life. I could see and feel things I hadn’t noticed for months. I’d regularly tune in to the energy of people whom I’d sit next to on a bus or stand beside in a queue or in a shop. I’d have hours of fun connecting with their energy, finding out what was troubling them or the ailments they had. You’d be amazed at how many people have piles! I’d quickly sense what was bothering them then try to listen in to their conversations to find out if I was correct or not. It was the best fun I’d had in years, and the great thing about it was that it was free and literally on my doorstep.

My favourite game was to find a pregnant woman, perhaps in a shop or on a bus, and try to connect with her and find out if she was expecting a boy or a girl. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, this was my first foray into connecting with a child on a psychic level. I took this a little too far one day whilst I was in Mothercare buying a gift for a friend’s baby boy. A woman was standing very close to me looking at a little blue top, and I overheard her talking to her friend.

‘I’d love to buy this for my baby, Susan,’ she said, ‘but I’m scared that if I do it’ll be the wrong colour.’

I just couldn’t resist so I butted in.

‘Do you not know the sex of your baby then?’ I asked, knowing full well what sex the baby was.

‘No. I’m waiting for a surprise.’

‘Well, I won’t spoil your surprise, but I’m certain that if you buy that top you won’t need to exchange it.’ You should have seen the look she gave me. It was priceless!

I also started connecting with the spirits of those who had passed away. During my first months in the cottage I regularly saw the spirits of dead people. Although this may sound strange, these sightings brought me a great deal of comfort. It was as if I had found my inner self and was completing myself when I opened up and communicated with the spirit world.

My psychic calling came in January 2001. After signing on the dole for five months I was beginning to get some hassle from the benefits office about finding a job. I hadn’t been looking for work as I felt that something would turn up for me. It was no surprise, therefore, when my gran’s spirit came to me one day and told me that I should give myself a shake, get positive about my life and my abilities and get my own radio show. I’d known that gran was watching over me because I could feel her presence in the cottage most nights.

I’d never been on the radio before so I was slightly apprehensive about putting myself forward for what could be a total catastrophe. I felt, though, that my gran wouldn’t tell me to do something that would hurt or embarrass me, so I got out my Yellow Pages and looked up radio stations. I called Scott FM and spoke to their controller, Jay Crawford. ‘Look Derek,’ he said. ‘I’m a bit of a sceptic so you’ll have to do something to really impress me.’

‘That’s okay, Jay. Is there anything I could say that would offend you in any way?’

‘Nothing at all will offend me, Derek. Just you go ahead.’

‘Okay Jay. Firstly, when I tune in to your voice vibrations I’m being told that you are getting a new car in the next few days, a blue one. There is also something coming through about you being embarrassed when you’ve been intimate with a lady friend.’

‘That’s enough, Derek!’ interrupted Jay nervously. ‘Call Dougie Jackson at Qfm, our sister station, and tell him I think you should be on air.’

And that was that!

Qfm was a small, homely station, and the people who worked there were very friendly. The minute I walked in I felt good about the place. When I met Dougie, he asked me to demonstrate my psychic abilities to him. Dougie sat down beside me and I started to connect with his voice vibrations. The spirit who was standing by his side started to come through to me. I was a little nervous by this point but I concentrated and began to tune in. I needed this job badly.

‘I keep getting shown that you are doing work in your back garden at the moment, Dougie. When I connect with and acknowledge the elderly lady who’s standing behind you, this message is very strong, very powerful. She keeps telling me that you have messed up that work, if I can be honest with you.’

‘Tell me more,’ said Dougie. He seemed intrigued.

‘Well, it’s the way you’ve set your garden out, Dougie. It’s ended up being a nightmare for you. I gather that you’ll now have to move a tree, and that a pathway has been laid in the wrong place. The opinion I’m getting through from the spirit world is that you’ll have to start the work again in order to get it right. Oh, and your gran, Dougie, she says hello.’

‘That’s impressive.’

‘And your radio station is haunted, Dougie.’ I was now on a roll. ‘There are loads of spirits walking about in here. It’s like a busy high street. Some look as if they are lost. It’s rather strange.’

‘It’s amazing how you’ve come up with that, Derek. Do you know what this building we are standing in used to be before it became a radio station?’

‘No, I haven’t a clue Dougie.’

‘It used to be a morgue!’

I got the job.

The first time I went on air, the DJ asked me some questions about my life as a psychic medium. The more I spoke, the more relaxed I felt. Soon we had our first caller: ‘Hello, hello is Derek there? I’m looking for a reading from the psychic on your show. I think he’s called Derek.’

I could sense immediately that the lady on the phone had a gentleman from the spirit world watching over her. He wasn’t that difficult to connect with, which was a blessing. My gran must have been watching over me as she said she would! I just closed my eyes, as I sometimes do during readings, and tried to tune in to the caller’s voice vibrations.

‘Hello,’ I said. ‘Now you’ve no doubt been listening to me talking about how this works. It’s important therefore that you tell me very little about yourself. As you’ve no doubt heard, I am a medium and I tune in to voice vibrations so in order for me to be able to help you I’d like to ask you your name, just your name. Could you tell me your name please and say it slowly to me?’

‘Hello, Derek. My name is Mary.’

By buying myself that little bit of time I could now fully connect with the spirit who was there. Now I say ‘there’ not to describe how far away that spirit was. I’m just using it to explain that when I connect through voice vibrations the energy I tune in to is actually beside me. So the spirit I was connecting with was actually ‘there’ beside me in the sound booth of the radio station! Immediately, the spirit showed me the letter ‘J’ for James.

‘Hello Mary, thanks for calling. Now you’re my first ever reading on radio so I’m a little nervous.’

‘So am I.’

‘Okay, then let’s just take this slowly. There is a man coming through to me when I connect with your voice vibrations and he keeps showing me the letter “J”.’

‘That may be my dad, although I’m not sure. It could really be anyone.’

‘Hang on a minute. The name James is important here, and before you jump to conclusions, I’m not talking about your son. This man is covered in black soot, and he’s carrying a coal bag.’

‘That’s amazing! My son is called James but my late father was also called James and he was a coalman!’

‘Well, your dad says hello and wants you to know that he’s watching over you and your family.’

‘Thank you so much, Derek. That’s just what I wanted to hear!’

‘Now he’s telling me that he passed away with a heart or chest problem. I can’t quite make that out. All I’m getting is a pain in my chest but I’m sure you’ll realize what he’s trying to say to me.’

‘My dad had a heart attack, Derek. Spot on.’ Mary seemed happy that I’d completely validated that the spirit of her late father had come through to her.

‘Well, he tells me that he’s not in any pain now but he’s been worrying about you. You must look after yourself a bit better. That’s your message. Thanks for calling, Mary.’

I was on my way! The first reading of the first show and it was fabulous.

The show was going really well and the calls just kept on coming. About two hours in, I was given a note saying that the next caller on line one was Margaret.

‘Hello,’ said line one. ‘Is the psychic there?’

‘Hello Margaret,’ I said.

‘Oh, my God!’ came the reply. ‘You are bloody psychic! My pal heard you on the radio tonight and told me to call in. She said that you were amazing and you really are! How on earth did you know my name?’

‘The producer of the show gave it to me on a card, Margaret, before you came on air,’ I said, and we all fell about laughing!

So I passed my test and Psychic Sunday, my new radio show, was born.

I was starting to be a bit of a local celebrity. People weren’t exactly stopping me in the street but my name was becoming well known. I started getting fan mail at Qfm, but not all of it was positive. There was the odd piece of hate mail, which was upsetting. Some people called me a fake, whilst the so-called religious ones claimed I was the Antichrist! Now, I’d be the first to admit that what I do may seem bizarre or downright spooky to the uninitiated, but I’m certainly no con man. I am totally and utterly genuine and my gift is God-given. I’d never dream of duping the public, especially those who’ve just lost a loved one or are in need of some spiritual guidance. Those who come to me aren’t stupid either. They may be looking for something that even I can’t give them, but the vast majority know when I’ve managed to tune in to the spirit of their loved one. They’d know if I was a liar, and I’d be a fool to think that I wouldn’t be found out if I wasn’t genuine.

So what can I be doing wrong? I’m only talking to people in spirit who are desperate to contact their loved ones, and to inform us in general of the realities of life. That’s all. I don’t connect with the dead. They connect with me. I would never dream of trying to unsettle a spirit who didn’t wish to communicate. If spirits wish to send messages they are more than welcome to use me as their messenger and I will always be available to them for that purpose.

My success on the radio brought me many admirers and I received hundreds of requests for private readings. I’d made it a rule from day one that I wouldn’t do consultations in my own home. It wasn’t that I didn’t want people to come over to the cottage; it’s just that my privacy was important to me. There was also another, more psychic, reason for my decision. I knew that if I gave any form of reading at home – especially one which led to a connection with the spirit world – my inner sanctum could possibly end up full of wayward spirits.

I could switch my abilities on and off. I knew the place in my head where I needed to go in order to switch myself on and connect with the spirit world. However, there was the odd spirit out there who knew how to get in touch with me when I least expected it!

I’m not really in the habit of switching on my abilities when I’m going about my usual daily business. I tend to go into psychic mode only when the time is right and not when I’m around the general public – that’s unless I’m bored or want to have some fun! I use the fruit shop in the village nearly every day, and within a few weeks of moving into the cottage I’d got to know the staff quite well. One morning, I was suddenly aware of a spirit standing in the corner of the shop. This took me by surprise because I hadn’t switched on and gone into psychic mode and I therefore wasn’t expecting any visitations from the spirit world. This man was adamant that I communicate with him. I was slightly taken aback by this because, being new to the village, I didn’t want to create problems for myself. Even at that early stage of my life as a psychic I understood that not everyone is fully appreciative of my abilities and how I use them. I knew I had to tread carefully.

‘Excuse me,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry to bother you.’ The lady who was serving looked over and acknowledged me.

‘Hello. What can I do for you today?’ Luckily the shop was empty at the time so I felt confident enough to be honest with her without either getting embarrassed or causing offence.

‘I’m Derek and I’m new to the village. I know that you don’t really know me but I’m a medium.’

‘Oh, that’s interesting. I don’t think we’ve had a medium in the shop before. By the way I’m Caroline. It’s nice to meet you.’

‘It’s nice to meet you too, Caroline. Some people think that psychic stuff is a load of nonsense but I get the impression that you may be a believer?’

‘Well, it interests me. Have you got something to tell me?’

‘What I’m going to say may upset or surprise you. There is a spirit standing over there beside that double socket and he keeps telling me that it’s dangerous and you’re not to use it.’

‘Really? Do you know who this man is?’

‘I’m certain that it’s your dad, Caroline. He is scared that you’ll get a shock from that double socket, the one that’s located just beside the onions.’

‘Well, that’s pretty amazing because one of the sockets on that wall doesn’t work and I’ve been told by Billy the owner never to use it. Is my dad telling you anything about himself?’

‘No, unfortunately he’s not, Caroline. He is okay and he’s watching over you but he’s really worried about you using any one of those sockets, not just the one that’s broken.’

‘Well, I’ll keep that in mind,’ answered Caroline, and that was that.

Two weeks later I was in the fruit shop when Billy Fullerton, the owner, was there.

‘Derek,’ he said. ‘I want to have a word with you. Did you tell Caroline not to use that socket over there because her dad’s spirit told you to warn her about it?’

‘Yes, I did, Billy.’ I was intrigued, but also slightly worried that I’d said something out of turn. I hoped Caroline hadn’t been giving her boss hassle about dodgy electrical fittings.

‘Well, Derek, she didn’t listen to you and decided to plug in the Hoover one night when she was tidying up. She thought it would be okay to use the other socket that was still working but for some reason it shorted out the Hoover and blew a fuse. She was lucky that she didn’t get a nasty one. She nearly electrocuted herself!’

After a few weeks on the radio, I started thinking about the possibility of doing theatre shows. I felt that if I could connect with the spirit world down a telephone line whilst dealing with the pressure of being live on radio, then I’d be able to handle a theatre audience. In the meantime, I continued to give private readings.

As I didn’t have a car, I used a local taxi company to take me from reading to reading. Matt was my main driver. He was a gentleman and very supportive of me and my abilities. Matt had just split up from his wife Lesley. He had three children and still saw his kids and Lesley regularly. ‘I’d like you to meet the wife,’ Matt said one night when we were driving back from one of my readings. ‘I’ve been telling her all about you and she’s really fascinated by what you do. Could you see her this week?’

‘No problem, Matt,’ I replied. ‘It’s the least I can do. You’ve been very good to me.’ I don’t like doing readings for people I know, but I couldn’t let Matt down.

Lesley had arranged for her sister and some of her friends to be at the reading so there were a few anxious women in her flat when I arrived. Matt introduced me to Lesley and then went off to work. I went to the loo to get some privacy and took a few moments to get into the zone, to go to the place in my head where I can connect with the spirit world. I change when this happens. I become aware of energy and I can sometimes get rather agitated and fidgety. I’ve just accepted these traits over the years. The methods I now use to connect with the spirit world have developed over time. The more experienced I’ve become, the more I’ve mastered them, so much so that I can now jump to and from my spiritual focal point with ease.