Today we’d like to introduce you to Shari Dworkin-Smith.
Hi Shari, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
As a child, I would see “light people” in my room, and my stuffed animals would come alive and play with me. It was an interesting way to grow up. More than anything else though, I’d hear voices, as if someone was speaking to me from inside my head. I could hear them so clearly. I just couldn’t talk to anyone about it. Who would believe me anyway?
It was the 70s and 80s; there was no google or even the internet. Libraries still used card catalogs to look things up and really, I had no idea what to look for. As I got older, I often received information about things before they happened but I didn’t understand why I received information or what I was supposed to do with it. Eventually, it became too much for me. By the time I was in college, information was coming in constantly. I didn’t know if I was supposed to do something with what I was receiving and, the few times I tried to share with people, they looked at me like I was nuts. There was no mentorship and I didn’t have anyone to help me so instead I asked them to go away and I closed the doors to that part of myself for a long time. The irony of this is that I went to college in Rochester, NY, which is one of the original areas of mediumship in this country. If I had known what to look for, help was literally around the corner but, Spirit brings all things to us at the right time.
Years later, after I was married with children, I became curious about that part of my life and wondered about reopening those metaphysical doors. I felt pulled to reconnect in a more meaningful way with something bigger than myself. I knew there was more “out there.” Sadly, around that same time, one of my dearest friends Michael passed from cancer. Quite quickly after his transition, he became a tremendous influence in my life. From the spirit side, he knew of my desire to reopen the metaphysical doors I’d closed years before, and honestly, he was pushy for me to get moving in that direction.
Michael needed me to connect with my mediumistic abilities to get a message to his grieving husband and, a few months later, I was able to do just that. I was so humbled to be used by someone I loved so much, to help someone else we both loved. Because Michael was able to share things with me I couldn’t possibly have known, his husband now understood that Michael was, and would always be, with him, and that only the body dies, not our soul. Sharing Michael’s messages with his husband brought healing to both of them and I gained a sense of purpose I hadn’t felt in a very long time. If I could learn to do this properly, how many others could be helped as well? I felt so honored that Spirit would consider me for this work.
I began to take classes and learn as much as I could. I wanted to be the best possible partner for the spirit world I could be and, best of all, I met others who were like me! People who could communicate with spirit, or were energy workers, healers, shamans, channelers and so many others! It was encouraging to know I wasn’t alone and, I was able to train with some of the best psychics and mediums, and at the same time, build an incredible circle of supportive and gifted colleagues.
I started to share more openly about the work I was doing. My husband built me a beautiful website and we created a space where I could do readings as well. He was training to be an energy healer as well so of course, the timing was perfect for both of us. One friend told another and pretty soon I was booked up and I’ve never looked back.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. I had to learn a lot about myself and deal with my issues and inner wounds before I could fully blend with spirit communicators. That’s never easy and the spirit side was eager for me to get started as well. As soon as I expressed a desire to reopen myself to spirit, the voices returned in a tidal wave of communication. I felt like Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost when the spirits learned she could hear them. They came in by the hundreds but I hadn’t learned to set boundaries and felt completely overwhelmed. I had to figure this out quickly or I would never be able to do this professionally.
Thankfully, it didn’t take too long. After several sleepless nights, my Aunt Dora, who’d long been one of my guardians in spirit, came to my rescue. She was a tiny, soft-spoken woman, barely 5 feet tall, and she came to me in a dream. With a huge crash, she slammed to the floor, one of those old style, deli-counter “Take A Number” machines. She yelled, “Take a number and she’ll get to you when she gets to you!”
That was it. The noise in my head began to dissipate and I had my first decent night’s sleep in a week. She explained that my boundaries were up to me and that I could decide when I wanted to connect, and when I didn’t, with the spirit world. That was life-changing for me. I was eager to help and honored to be of service to those who needed others to speak for them but I also knew I needed to be able to live my life. I already had another business, and I needed to be able to work and take care of my kids and my family.
Once I understood that I was in control, it became much easier to create the boundaries I needed to work with spirit in a way that would benefit us all. Boundaries are essential and I see so many empaths or budding mediums who still don’t understand and feel overwhelmed. Now, spirit and I work together, and I try to stay connected to my guides, to the light and Mother Earth. These things help me stay grounded and at peace, though a good massage or salt bath never hurts!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an evidence-based medium who connects with those in the spirit world, to bring forward messages as well as proof that the soul continues and our loved ones are still with us.
I am also a Certified Grief Educator, and I help people to better understand and process grief as they move through different aspects of that path. Grief is never easy and can come in many different forms. Learning to understand our grief can help make that journey a little easier to bear.
I am most known for Psychic and Mediumship Readings though I also offer Past Life Regression work, Angel, Oracle, or Tarot Card Readings, and Development Classes in Mediumship and Psychic work.
I am most proud of the reviews people leave after having worked with me and also to be listed as one of Orlando’s Best Readers. I’m also extremely proud of my online course to help empaths better understand the world around them and how they can move through it without becoming overwhelmed by other people’s energies and emotions.
It’s called Becoming An Empowered Empath and I’m overjoyed that it has already been able to help so many people.
I’m intuitive so each session is its own unique experience, and depending on what is needed, there are messages from loved ones, guidance about the future, life coaching, grief counseling, or whatever else the spirit side wants to share. I trust that they know what the person sitting across from me needs more clearly than I do and it is a joy to work on their behalf, to benefit others.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
When I was growing up, my father was very interested in astronomy and learning to navigate by the stars.
He had a sextant and would take me up on the roof of our house, in the middle of the night, to show me the stars and teach me what he had learned. My favorite part was when he’d use the mirrors to make it look like the moon was really on the street in front of our home. We had many wonderful talks up there on the roof.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://sharidworkinsmith.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shari_dworkin_smith_psychicmed/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empathshari/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcJNN4PWblUrCg0n8n02-6A
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/shari-dworkin-smith-psychic-medium-orlando
- Other: https://www.sharidworkinsmithlearn.com/courses/empowered-empath and https://linktr.ee/sharidworkinsmith
