By Jim Servin
Long Island native MaryAnn DiMarco, a psychic medium, mother of two young adults, author and a warm, relatable intuitive counselor, distills her philosophy into two spiritual self-help guides: Believe, Ask, Act and Medium Mentor. In the former, DiMarco offers a three-tiered strategy for personal fulfillment. First, believe that spiritual help exists, then ask for that help, and finally, act on guidance received, while in Medium Mentor, she gives 10 principles for nurturing one’s spirit and psychic gifts, carved out of her very own experiences. Here, DiMarco shares otherworldly, yet grounded wisdom and insights about tuning into one’s higher self, and how she finds heaven on earth in the Hamptons.
JIM SERVIN: There is so much conflicting information about living a more mindful life—positive thinking versus expressing all your emotions, abundance versus minimalism. How do you sort it all out?
MARYANN DIMARCO: I think we have to first remember that we are worldly, and that we are dealing with worldly issues, as human beings living in a worldly realm. I think when we talk about being mindful, and finding balance in our life, and living in those beautiful zen moments, and thinking with positivity and the law of attraction and all these wonderful things that are all very true—I think we always have to be aware that there are things that are out of our hands, that will happen around us.
Or, there’s the opposite, which is our free will, and we will make choices that don’t always work out for us. It’s in those moments that we have to remember to find our balance, regain strength, regain footing, and then utilize spirituality and get moving again. Allow yourself your moments.
I talk about different stages in my book, of roadblocks—we’re going to be fearful. We are going to have grief. It’s normal, that’s what we’re supposed to do. It’s in those moments that we have to decide: Do we let it linger? Do we let it control? Are we basing our decisions on it? And I think that’s the difference—we have to acknowledge that we’re going to experience things that may not always be pleasant, and in those moments, we have the tools and the power within ourselves to find balance and move forward.
If you can extract the lessons out of each moment, and utilize them to help yourself move forward, you’ll be surprised how you can get yourself out of those moments, just a little quicker—maybe not as fast as you like, but at least with sound mind and clarity.
That’s where I think you can send out that positivity you might be looking for—gratitude for the small moments that are going on in the midst of chaos will start positive momentum. You’ll be surprised how your energy can turn. That’s how I look at it when I’m down, at least.
JS: Is there a scenario that comes to mind to illustrate this, related to the Hamptons? Like on the Hampton Jitney or at a restaurant—
MDM: …or at my family’s summer property that I’ve been going to, in Southampton, off of Noyac Road. There’s magic out there for me. I live on the North Fork, but I spent a lot of time down by Peconic Bay, on the beach over there. I always found my peace out on the East End.
JS: That’s funny, because I was going to ask you about the beauty of the Hamptons.
MDM: What a shock!
JS: You’re five steps ahead of me. Is there an example of a situation you might find yourself in locally, where you’re facing a challenge and calling on spiritual guidance?
MDM. If I’m having a moment in life, what I do like to do is visualize a happy place for myself, either through meditation, or if I’m driving and I’m getting frustrated, something like that, we’ve all dealt with Hamptons traffic for sure, I go to that beautiful family property, with two great little bungalows. It has a beautiful wooded path down to the beach, and I take a walk. I can hear the screen door slamming when I visit there, in meditation. It’s one of my most special places, and close to my heart. That, and The Fudge Company.
JS: Did you develop your three main points of guidance in your first book, Believe, Ask, Act on your own, or through spiritual guidance?
MDM:. The whole book is channeled, so when I sat down to write it, I said to my guides, We’re doing this together. I’m not a writer. I’m going to need some help, and I wanted the message to be very clear.
I liked the idea of having simple steps that people can remember: I have to believe in a higher power, I have to ask the right questions for the good of all concerned, and then I have to remember to do the work—I have to act. It gives accountability back to the reader, back to the clients, and it also empowers them. It reminds them that they’re not alone, and that they’re in control in some way, to choose.
JS: How can you know if something is a sign from the other side? How can you recognize it?
MDM: Our own voices can be fear-based, they can be loud, coming from the center of our mind. They can impede our growth. Spirit’s very quiet and nudging, you know? That little nudge. And I think sometimes, when we reflect, we can kind of really see what went wrong. We can also see if something interjected, another person or event, that maybe we didn’t expect. And how did we react at that moment? There’s no wrong answer, because you’ll always take a lesson out of it. So, it always works, in its own way.
JS: It’s interesting knowing that you had a connection to psychic medium John Edward, when he just started out, working from his mother’s basement in Long Island.
MDM: My mom went to see him. I was a teenager, and I knew that I had something— I was seeing people that had passed, and hearing messages. My mom came home and said, I went to this amazing medium. His name is John Edward, and he said, your daughter’s a medium, but she doesn’t know how to use her gift. And my first thought was, Well, why doesn’t he show me? I wanted to be taught. It was all about timing—I had to experience some things in life, and I did, and then it all fell into place, right when it was supposed to.
JS: Is it true that you have a years-long waiting list for readings?
MDM: Correct. That’s what’s great about the live events. I can share so much with so many people, and we all learn from the process.
JS: Since you can access clients’ relatives who have passed away, do you have an open door to celebrities—could you check in, say, with David Bowie, and find out how he’s doing?
MDM: I could probably get the idea or the essence of what’s going on, but no.
JS: Could you provide Purist readers with a toolbox of spiritual wellness essentials they can take with them throughout the day?
MDM: It’s all about mind, body, and soul. First, do something healthy for your mind, something that makes it feel clear. Maybe it’s writing down some of your stress, to get it out of the way, and clear your mind. I always love the idea of saying something positive about yourself, too. You have to love yourself. And then say something positive about somebody else. Once you give it to yourself, you’re able to give it to somebody else, sort of like using an oxygen mask on a plane in an emergency…take care of yourself first, then you can take care of somebody else.
Feed your soul with something that makes you feel alive and happy—music, art, a great TV show. Call a family member. Call somebody you haven’t spoken to in a while. Take your pet for a walk—anything that gives you that beautiful cathartic peace. A lot of people think you have to go into some sort of deep meditation. You don’t have to do that. Just do something healthy for yourself in a cathartic way, that brings beautiful peace to your soul.
For the body component, I work out four to five times a week, but I don’t think everybody has to do that. So maybe you step outside your diet comfort zone and eat something healhty, or express gratitude for the things that feel really good in your body. Or, if you’re not going through a healthy moment, but you’re in a really great doctor’s care, express gratitude for that.
JS: Is gratitude the ideal attitude?
MDM: Gratitude is difficult for some people who are going through hard times. What I tell people is, gratitude doesn’t always have to be this grand gesture.
One morning recently I woke up and was feeling very stressed out, and a little chaotic. I had a great cup of coffee, and the sun was making this beautiful light over my yard, and that’s what I was grateful for. That was it—thank you for my cup of coffee, thank you for that beautiful sunrise, I’m good. And it changed my mood so dramatically.
JS: What’s it like, being a psychic and a mom of grown kids?
MDM: That’s fun. I love freaking my kids out. They are supportive and wonderful. I love messing with them sometimes, but I also truly enjoy seeing the gifts that each of them have within themselves, and teaching them how to use them in life, which they both really try to do. But they’re young adults. I let them be kids.
JS: Have you seen heaven, and does it look like the Hamptons?
MDM: If the Hamptons is your heaven, then it will look like that. I think heaven is what we’ve created in our minds as our most peaceful place. There’s a movie, What Dreams May Come, that made such an impact on me. In the movie, people had passed and it showed them in heaven, where they were able to create their surroundings instantly, just by using their soul’s thoughts. I disagree with the darker side of the film, but the heaven part is beautiful. I see people on the other side, I’m grateful for that. They give me the gift of a glimpse into what they experience on the other side, although they also enjoy keeping the mystery, and that I appreciate as well. I know that my heaven is walking down that beautiful little shady lane in Southampton.
Part Two with DiMarco will appear in the July issue, where she will discuss her spirit guides, how “Everything I learn, I teach,” as well as spiritual hygiene, the ego, fear, doubt, and how collective positive energies can create magic. maryanndimarco.com