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July 19, 2012 - Image 8

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 2012-07-19

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

metro >> on the cover

SOLI!

Sister

For many, intuitive medium
Lori Lipten's readings provide
affirmation of an afterlife.

Gail Zimmerman I Arts Editor

"Why do we come

here? It seems to

me that Divinity

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

"[Psychic medium] John Edward was on.
`Just like you, Lori, the angel told me'
But Lipten was skeptical. She was planning
to start graduate school soon at the Center
for Humanistic Studies (now the Michigan
School for Professional Psychology). She pur-
sued that goal, earning a master's degree in
clinical and humanistic (holistic) psychology
in 2003, and intended to go on for her Ph.D.
"But my spiritual guides said,`Enough;
this is what you are here to do."
She says it was hard to give up what she
had hoped would be a more traditional psy-
chology practice. But when she was guided
to reach out to do a reading for an acquain-
tance's relative who had lost her teenage son,
the experience helped convince her she could
achieve her life's purpose.
Praying to God helped, too, notes Lipten,
who says she deeply values her Judaism. "I
had a dream for my life. God had a bigger
dream. Ifs blessed my life so richly"
Today, 98 percent of Lipten's practice
comprises intuitive readings and soul
retrievals. All her work comes through refer-
rals — from psychologists, physicians; grief
counselors and dergy (she has done read-
ings for both rabbis and priests) and client
word-of-mouth.
"I refer clients to Lori who are feeling
a prolonged sense of emptiness," says a
38-year-old Bloomfield Hills Jewish psy-
chotherapist who prefers not to be named
for this article. With a doctorate in clinical
psychology, she employs a combination of
cognitive, behavioral and humanistic therapy
and says she is "intuitive" herself.
"Soul loss" — in which the soul or part of
the soul has left the body — can be mani-
fested in depression or anxiety, she explains.
"If I believe clients have experienced soul
loss and can achieve a sense of complete-
ness working with Lori in the process of soul

8

July 19 • 2012

retrieval, I can then work
with the ongoing reintegra-
tion of their soul to help
them live their life to the
fullest," she says.
"It's not for everyone,
but if a person is open to
the process and exhibits a
readiness and willingness,
this is one more tool on the
way to wellness."

itself is seeking

to understand

itself through

the creation of

duality," says

Lipten, who

regularly meditates.

"If I hide myself within my

ego and choose a world

where suffering, pain and

cruelty exist, will I still

choose love, kindness and

compassion?"

The Afterlife
"The afterlife is universal
for all people — regardless
of their religion or personal beliefs:" says
Lipten.
"What I've been taught and experienced
[through traveling to higher states of con-
sciousness] is that not everyone experiences
the same thing after life' says Lipten, who
defines the soul as "the immutable you
without a beginning or an end, with a pure
potential for divinity at its essence."
Some people "go into the light and experi-
ence bliss, unconditional love and healing
growth," along with a reunion with loved ones,
she says of what many people call "Heaven."
One person's bliss may be different from
another individual's. Lipten says her late
father has told her of playing a game of
golf with her late brother, while a devout
Christian woman's bliss derived from hold-
ing the rosary.
There also is a dimension where people
"may be trapped in suffering': she says, not
for some kind of punishment but because of
negative situations during life (such as being
a murderer or a murder victim).
"They may not have noticed the divinity
around them and not gone into the light': she
says.
Prayer can help, says Lipten.
"The Kaddish [the Jewish prayer in praise

of God recited for up to 11 months after a
death], or a similar prayer thinking of the
person with love and light, helps elevate the
soul" .
What happens immediately after death?
"For a period after death, the spirit under-
goes a complete life review as it transitions
into a complete ascension into the light': says
Lipten.
During this time, neutral, nonjudgmental,
helping spirits aid the departed in deep self-
reflection on everything experienced in this
life — all the love the person created and all
the fear, she says.
This is all part of one's "Akashic Record':
or "Book of Life" — the record of your soul
— everything you've experienced (includ-
ing past lives) and what you are creating,
explains Lipten.
During the period of transition,"you're
going to feel the pain of others you've hurt':
she adds, "not so much to make you suffer
as decide what you are going to do with this
information."
Reincarnation is a choice, she says. "Souls
keep evolving, but not all of us come back;
some may choose a different path, like being
a spiritual guide to help those on Earth or in
Divine space."

Correcting Course
During this time of transition, spirits can
make karmic corrections (take care of
unfinished business), Lipten believes.
For example,"when a loved one shows up
at my office, my role is not just delivering
messages to demonstrate that life after death
exists but is linked to this karmic correction.
"The spirit will come in to reveal mes-
sages, like a father who acknowledges never
having said love you' in life. When receiving
the message, the person in my office heals,
and the spirit ascends to the light."
Jackie Sher Stassinopoulos, 45, of Novi,
has gone to Lipten for both personal read-
ings and business counsel and says she
has heard from all four of her grandpar-
ents and a beloved girlfriend who contin-
ues to give her advice through Lipten.
"I've followed my friend's advice' says
Stassinopoulos, "and it always works out in a
positive way.
"I didn't have a great relationship
with one of my grandmothers:' admits
Stassinopoulos, who grew up attending a
Conservative synagogue, "but she was able to
apologize for her behavior:'
The founder of PB&J Learning, a business
that creates flash cards for elementary-age

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