02 Apr Grief and Healing: My Experience with Celestial Touch

When I scheduled an interview with Laura Schek for this article on a cold day in March, I expected to simply write something informative about her business on Arch Street.  Laura is an Usui/Tibetan Reiki Master and Psychic Medium.  Her practice, called Celestial Touch, celebrated 9 years in 2024, and I had written an article profiling the business in the December Chronicle that year.

      That article described her practice, the services offered, a bit about Laura’s love for the Pawling community, and also her journey to becoming a psychic medium and opening her practice.  If you’d like to check it out, you can find it here:  https://mailchi.mp/bf3d6db0d3e7/the-chamber-chronicle-second-edition-8341929

       “What should we talk about this time?” I emailed Laura before we met up.
“I really don’t know,” she wrote back,  “If you were a client looking for a reading or Reiki session and never had one before, what would you want to know?  Maybe we could talk about that?”

So I came with a list of questions that a client looking for a reading might want to know.  I was excited by the idea of asking Laura questions about psychic readings–I was thinking the article might be  “Everything You Ever Wanted to Ask a Psychic Medium but were Afraid to Ask.”

What I didn’t tell Laura, was that I was thinking of asking her for a reading myself. I had never seriously considered working with a medium before, but I had lost my dad right around the time I met Laura in November of 2024, and my best friend Robin had passed away since then. When we sat down for our interview, I commented that it wasn’t hard for me to think of questions, because I was planning to book an appointment, so this was excellent timing.

         One of my first questions for Laura was what she needs from a client before she does a reading.  I’d heard that some mediums like to have a photograph or something that the person owned, but Laura surprised me. She said that all she needs from the client is for them to have an open mind and to feel as relaxed as possible. In addition to the readings she gives at her office on Arch Street, Laura gives readings via zoom with clients from all over the world. Laura sometimes refers to her ability as “connecting with spirit,” and she is able to do so regardless of her physical proximity to her clients.  Sessions are either 30 minutes or an hour in length and can be booked on her website; https://celestialtouchllc.com/

           Now I got up my courage to ask the questions I REALLY wanted to ask. Like, “Do you  sometimes connect with spirit when you’re not trying to?  Like, when you’re talking to somebody in your everyday life, do you sometimes suddenly see their dead Grandmother?”   “Yes, sometimes that does happen,” said Laura, “but I usually don’t mention it to the person. There are a lot of ethics involved in being a medium. A person has to be ready for a reading, emotionally and in other ways too. If it’s one of my friends and I know they would like to hear from their person who’s passed, I’ll tell them.”

           I also asked her if she’s ever NOT able to reach someone for a client.  She says that  that does happen occasionally.  Laura explained that there are a lot of reasons that can happen–if the client feels very anxious, or is not ready for the reading in some way or if Laura herself is just having an off day.

          This led me to another question that I’ve always wondered about.  I asked Laura if there was a period of time right after a person passes away that they are harder to reach. She explained that yes, sometimes people can be hard to reach right afterwards, because they are busy completing what is called a “life review,” in which they review everything that’s happened during the course of their lifetime and wrap up any residual business associated with the lifetime they just finished.

            Laura, looked a little over my right shoulder as if she was seeing someone behind me and said, “I have a woman here, do you want me to bring her through?”

           I said yes, and she proceeded to describe several physical attributes of my friend who passed away last year on August 1.

           And just like that, I was suddenly experiencing my first psychic reading! Tears came to my eyes as Laura conveyed to me the messages from my friend, specific things that my friend had also told me while she was still alive.  One of the first things my friend wanted me to know was that she was cognizant and making decisions right up until the moment she passed away. My friend had been unable to speak or open her eyes by the time I was able to get down to the hospital in Baltimore, and I think she wanted me to know that she knew I was there with her on the last day of her life.

            Laura asked me if I had any questions for my friend, and I was able to ask my friend all about things that worried me, including if she was okay and happy in the afterlife. My heart flooded with relief to hear about her peaceful life reunited with her mother.  We spoke of many things, and then I asked Laura if she could reach out to my father as well.

            Laura then described my father quite accurately, asking me if that sounded like him.  She knew things that I’d rarely discussed with anyone, like the fact that my father had a terrible cough during the year before he died.  Then Dad pulled out all of our family inside-jokes to make sure I really knew it was him– jokes about him being a terrible handyman, his penchant for singing comically off-key, his refusal to buy himself a new pair of sneakers and ridiculously hobbling around because the soles were so worn.

             Laura gave me the opportunity to ask Dad some questions about things that have happened since he passed away.  I was amazed how Laura was using specific words that my Dad used to describe things, things I’d heard him say before. Through Laura, Dad gave me support and advice about difficult situations that my family has been experiencing.

             As our meeting drew to a close, I was feeling quite overwhelmed with relief and emotion.  To know that my loved ones are still themselves and at peace in the afterlife is such a gift.  Laura also had told me that my Dad is always staying close to me and our family, which was comforting.

            I know that many folks reading this do not believe it is possible to connect with spirits. For me, it almost doesn’t matter whether I am truly communicating with my loved ones in the afterlife.  The experience of being able to speak to my loved ones after death, to say the things left unsaid, to ask the questions I have had rolling around in my brain since they passed, was a helpful and therapeutic part of my grieving process.  I found Laura to be a compassionate and sensitive person who takes great care in supporting her clients.  Sometimes I’ve felt that I am drowning in grief this year, and after the reading I felt just a little bit lighter.  I’ve already booked another appointment with Laura, and I’m very much looking forward to it.

–Amy Emke

Celestial Touch is located at 7 Arch Street in the Village of Pawling.