Soul Talking by Megan Norris
The following article was published on page 37 of the New Idea, issue date 24th February 2007.
For the past four years, Perth medium, Anthony Grzelka, has been making his mark in psychic circles with his amazing connections between the spirit world and the grieving families left behind.
But today, the man dubbed Australia's own ''ghost whisperer'' - and the only Aussie medium endorsed by respected US medium, James Van Praagh who inspired Channel Seven's show of the same name - is tapping into new territory in a world much closer to our own.
For the 39-year-old father of three has been using his unique psychic gift to bring hope and relief to battling Australians whose lives have been blighted by tragedy, sickness and disaster.
And the results, say the astonished families who've experienced Anthony's special brand of 'crossing over', are beyond belief.
Fresh from his latest national tour, the talented medium responsible for bringing closure to a shattered Newcastle mother whose teenage daughter vanished in mysterious circumstances 27-years-ago - is now inundated with requests for his “soul-talking” gift.
And the unique `connections' he's made with everyone from severely disabled children, to stroke-ridden patients or people in comas, are finally unlocking hidden doorways into a little understood twilight world where he's become the 'voice' for a vulnerable, disadvantaged section of the community.
''I realised I had the ability to do this special work three years ago,'' says Anthony, who already provided mediumship readings.'' My first experience was with my 14-month-old nephew Isaiah who had been exhibiting major developmental problems which nobody understood,'' he explains. ''He'd been banging his head against his cot, and having tantrums but what we'd put down to toddler behaviour was suddenly telling me a different story.''
As Anthony held Isaiah in his arms, he suddenly experienced the same ''connected'' sensation that overwhelms him during contact with the spirit realm. ''It was as if Isaiah was silently 'speaking' to me and I felt flooded with information in which he was saying there was something wrong with his mind functioning,'' recalls Anthony. ''He explained he couldn't communicate with the adults around him in the way he wanted to.
''It was like I was talking with the reasoned adult soul of this little boy who was explaining clearly the reasons for his distress.'' Responding to Isaiah's plea to intervene, Anthony urged the boy’s parents to take him to a specialist where extensive tests later revealed he suffered from Fragile X Syndrome - a condition aligned to autism. ''Testing showed a malfunction in his brain wiring so that signals were being produced but not being transmitted to the body's responders - like a short circuiting problem,'' says Anthony who realised he could use his gift in a new way - making contact with the souls of the living as well as spirits of the dead.
''I had the same experience a while later during a reading for a local woman,'' he says. ''A man kept coming through, telling me how sick he'd been and from the way I was receiving information I assumed he'd passed.'' But the shocked woman revealed the details were coming from her husband who lay in a coma following a brain aneurism.
Another reading with an elderly woman saw Anthony picking up on a spirit who claimed he was "locked away'' by illness and was ready to leave the world. ''The woman was in tears as she explained her husband was in the late stages of Alzheimer's and couldn't communicate. ''She was comforted to learn that he wanted her to let him go and died shortly afterwards.''
Then, in September 2006, Anthony visited a family in Northern NSW who asked for a soul-talking session with their severely disabled son. Unknown to Anthony, Adam Dale, 32, had been robbed of his speech on his 11th birthday in 1984 when he suffered a massive stroke that left him in a coma.
Now severely disabled, the young man's doting parents, Brian and Robyn, were intrigued to see if Anthony could give them some insight into their son's closed world.
''We had so many questions,'' says Brian, a former school teacher recalling how his formerly energetic young son had returned from hospital barely able to blink. ''Adam had regained enough mobility to crawl along the floor and walk with a frame - but without speech, we had no idea if he was happy or if there were things we could do for him. Devoted to their only son, the Dale's were desperate to know if relinquishing him to day care was the right move. ''We'd heard from a friend about Anthony's soul-talking and how he was opening up doors for communication between families with children like Adam who couldn't speak for themselves,'' says Brian.
Slowly, Anthony 'tuned in' to the young man - emerging with revelations which shocked Adam's parents. ''He said Adam had 'explained' how his brain injury had been caused during some sort of accident during childhood - and that he was not born disabled,'' says Brian. ''He even told Anthony about his concerns over an accident which occurred after his stroke - where someone close to him had fallen off something and seriously injured themselves.'' That freak accident, explains the Dale's in amazement, involved Adam's younger sister, Thala, who had experienced a brain haemorrhage after falling off her pony. ''This had happened four years after Adam's stroke and we'd never known he was aware of it, let alone grasped how concerned he'd been,'' says his father.
But they were even more shocked as Anthony revealed how Adam laughed about his father swearing when he wet the bed - and how much he missed his sister, Jade, who lived away. ''By the time Anthony described Adam's favourite past-time - sitting in the bath listening to his audio books – we knew for sure all this information could only possibly have come from our son.'' ''He even told us how Adam disliked the foul tasting orange juice we give him every day...…which is true, because Robyn slips vitamin supplements in his juice every morning making it taste funny.
But the biggest insight for Robyn was discovering how much her son enjoyed day care and his happiness at being with friends. ''I'd felt so guilty having this respite,'' she says. ''But I was able to let go of those feelings just knowing he was happy.''
In Perth, another mother of a severely disabled adult daughter experienced the same relief. Disabled since infancy, 25-year-old Jemima is confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak. Yet when her mother asked if she'd like a reading by the new ''ghost whisperer'', she became very animated. ''She was extremely excited,'' says Ria, explaining that her daughter understands most information but cannot speak for herself.
Again Anthony knew nothing of the family when he sat down with Jemima. ''He was amazing, explaining how Jemima had said she was not supposed to be in a wheelchair because she hadn't been born handicapped,'' says Ria, who remains uncertain of the cause of Jemima's disability which developed after baby immunizations. ''She also told Anthony she was 'with Jack and Thomas' - the names of my husband’s uncle and grandfather who passed years before her birth.''
Like Adam, Jemima also revealed her enjoyment of day-care where she was well cared for. ''She even described her bedroom to him in great detail and told him she loved the banana milk shakes I make for her each morning,'' says Ria, thrilled. But more telling, was Jemima's revelation that she'd accidentally burned her mouth on hot soup in day care. ''Nobody had ever mentioned this, but when I questioned Jemima's carers they confirmed an incident had occurred a few weeks earlier when she'd burned her mouth on hot soup.
Astonished by Anthony's accuracy, the family are stunned by the new calm surrounding their daughter since her soul-talking session. ''We believe she's finally been helped to say all the things she couldn't tell us before,'' says Ria.
''Anthony unlocked that door and brought her peace''
For the past four years, Perth medium, Anthony Grzelka, has been making his mark in psychic circles with his amazing connections between the spirit world and the grieving families left behind.
But today, the man dubbed Australia's own ''ghost whisperer'' - and the only Aussie medium endorsed by respected US medium, James Van Praagh who inspired Channel Seven's show of the same name - is tapping into new territory in a world much closer to our own.
For the 39-year-old father of three has been using his unique psychic gift to bring hope and relief to battling Australians whose lives have been blighted by tragedy, sickness and disaster.
And the results, say the astonished families who've experienced Anthony's special brand of 'crossing over', are beyond belief.
Fresh from his latest national tour, the talented medium responsible for bringing closure to a shattered Newcastle mother whose teenage daughter vanished in mysterious circumstances 27-years-ago - is now inundated with requests for his “soul-talking” gift.
And the unique `connections' he's made with everyone from severely disabled children, to stroke-ridden patients or people in comas, are finally unlocking hidden doorways into a little understood twilight world where he's become the 'voice' for a vulnerable, disadvantaged section of the community.
''I realised I had the ability to do this special work three years ago,'' says Anthony, who already provided mediumship readings.'' My first experience was with my 14-month-old nephew Isaiah who had been exhibiting major developmental problems which nobody understood,'' he explains. ''He'd been banging his head against his cot, and having tantrums but what we'd put down to toddler behaviour was suddenly telling me a different story.''
As Anthony held Isaiah in his arms, he suddenly experienced the same ''connected'' sensation that overwhelms him during contact with the spirit realm. ''It was as if Isaiah was silently 'speaking' to me and I felt flooded with information in which he was saying there was something wrong with his mind functioning,'' recalls Anthony. ''He explained he couldn't communicate with the adults around him in the way he wanted to.
''It was like I was talking with the reasoned adult soul of this little boy who was explaining clearly the reasons for his distress.'' Responding to Isaiah's plea to intervene, Anthony urged the boy’s parents to take him to a specialist where extensive tests later revealed he suffered from Fragile X Syndrome - a condition aligned to autism. ''Testing showed a malfunction in his brain wiring so that signals were being produced but not being transmitted to the body's responders - like a short circuiting problem,'' says Anthony who realised he could use his gift in a new way - making contact with the souls of the living as well as spirits of the dead.
''I had the same experience a while later during a reading for a local woman,'' he says. ''A man kept coming through, telling me how sick he'd been and from the way I was receiving information I assumed he'd passed.'' But the shocked woman revealed the details were coming from her husband who lay in a coma following a brain aneurism.
Another reading with an elderly woman saw Anthony picking up on a spirit who claimed he was "locked away'' by illness and was ready to leave the world. ''The woman was in tears as she explained her husband was in the late stages of Alzheimer's and couldn't communicate. ''She was comforted to learn that he wanted her to let him go and died shortly afterwards.''
Then, in September 2006, Anthony visited a family in Northern NSW who asked for a soul-talking session with their severely disabled son. Unknown to Anthony, Adam Dale, 32, had been robbed of his speech on his 11th birthday in 1984 when he suffered a massive stroke that left him in a coma.
Now severely disabled, the young man's doting parents, Brian and Robyn, were intrigued to see if Anthony could give them some insight into their son's closed world.
''We had so many questions,'' says Brian, a former school teacher recalling how his formerly energetic young son had returned from hospital barely able to blink. ''Adam had regained enough mobility to crawl along the floor and walk with a frame - but without speech, we had no idea if he was happy or if there were things we could do for him. Devoted to their only son, the Dale's were desperate to know if relinquishing him to day care was the right move. ''We'd heard from a friend about Anthony's soul-talking and how he was opening up doors for communication between families with children like Adam who couldn't speak for themselves,'' says Brian.
Slowly, Anthony 'tuned in' to the young man - emerging with revelations which shocked Adam's parents. ''He said Adam had 'explained' how his brain injury had been caused during some sort of accident during childhood - and that he was not born disabled,'' says Brian. ''He even told Anthony about his concerns over an accident which occurred after his stroke - where someone close to him had fallen off something and seriously injured themselves.'' That freak accident, explains the Dale's in amazement, involved Adam's younger sister, Thala, who had experienced a brain haemorrhage after falling off her pony. ''This had happened four years after Adam's stroke and we'd never known he was aware of it, let alone grasped how concerned he'd been,'' says his father.
But they were even more shocked as Anthony revealed how Adam laughed about his father swearing when he wet the bed - and how much he missed his sister, Jade, who lived away. ''By the time Anthony described Adam's favourite past-time - sitting in the bath listening to his audio books – we knew for sure all this information could only possibly have come from our son.'' ''He even told us how Adam disliked the foul tasting orange juice we give him every day...…which is true, because Robyn slips vitamin supplements in his juice every morning making it taste funny.
But the biggest insight for Robyn was discovering how much her son enjoyed day care and his happiness at being with friends. ''I'd felt so guilty having this respite,'' she says. ''But I was able to let go of those feelings just knowing he was happy.''
In Perth, another mother of a severely disabled adult daughter experienced the same relief. Disabled since infancy, 25-year-old Jemima is confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak. Yet when her mother asked if she'd like a reading by the new ''ghost whisperer'', she became very animated. ''She was extremely excited,'' says Ria, explaining that her daughter understands most information but cannot speak for herself.
Again Anthony knew nothing of the family when he sat down with Jemima. ''He was amazing, explaining how Jemima had said she was not supposed to be in a wheelchair because she hadn't been born handicapped,'' says Ria, who remains uncertain of the cause of Jemima's disability which developed after baby immunizations. ''She also told Anthony she was 'with Jack and Thomas' - the names of my husband’s uncle and grandfather who passed years before her birth.''
Like Adam, Jemima also revealed her enjoyment of day-care where she was well cared for. ''She even described her bedroom to him in great detail and told him she loved the banana milk shakes I make for her each morning,'' says Ria, thrilled. But more telling, was Jemima's revelation that she'd accidentally burned her mouth on hot soup in day care. ''Nobody had ever mentioned this, but when I questioned Jemima's carers they confirmed an incident had occurred a few weeks earlier when she'd burned her mouth on hot soup.
Astonished by Anthony's accuracy, the family are stunned by the new calm surrounding their daughter since her soul-talking session. ''We believe she's finally been helped to say all the things she couldn't tell us before,'' says Ria.
''Anthony unlocked that door and brought her peace''