One of the questions I am asked most frequently is "How did you become a psychic?" It brings to mind the old Chinese proverb: A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

      In 1987 I had reached the lowest point in my life. I was an advertising agency executive who was desperate to change careers and I had just gone through a painful divorce. My life was miserable, I felt completely stuck, and I truly had no earthly clue about how to change things. One evening, alone in my apartment, I became so overwhelmed with despair, loneliness, and frustration that I began to sob. Through my tears, I pleaded aloud: "I need some help! Why does everything have to be so difficult? What am I going to do with my life? I can't stand this anymore..."

     The next day, the advertising agency was a typical, chaotic whirlwind of activity, and it wasn't until early afternoon that I finally had a moment to close my office door and begin to work on an important proposal for a Fortune 500 client that I was trying to win.

     I suddenly felt shivers running up and down the length of my body, as if I had been connected to a low voltage electrical current. At that moment, I felt an invisible hand encircle my left wrist. By the size of the fingers, I knew it had to be a male hand. Although there was no one else in the office but me, I could physically feel the hand grasping my wrist in a very gentle, non-threatening way. In no more than a few seconds, the sensation stopped. I was spooked and utterly dumbfounded. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before! I jumped up from my desk and scurried into the hallway.

     I was still spooked, so I walked out into the reception area and found my secretary hard at work in front of her computer. I asked if she had seen anything out of the ordinary, and she replied, "In this office? You're kidding me, right? When isn't something weird going on?" Her sarcastic, down-to-earth response made me smile, and it calmed me. Striding back to my office, I assumed that what I had experienced was stress-related. That was it, I told myself! The advertising agency was going through some severe financial difficulties, and my ex-husband was my business partner. Who wouldn't be going crazy? Maybe I needed to find a good therapist...

     Blessedly, the rest of the afternoon was uneventful and I was able to finish the proposal. I picked up some Chinese carryout and made my way slowly through the gridlock of Houston's rush hour traffic. Once home, I changed into pajamas. After feeding my cat, Winston, I put an old Thin Man movie in the VCR, and in an exhausted stupor, sat down in front of the television to eat.

     The moment I picked up my fork, the goose-bump electrical-current sensation started again. This time, it was much stronger. Then some movement caught my attention. My eyes widened with shock and astonishment as a ghostly apparition began to take shape in my tiny living room.

     In mere seconds, it had taken the tangible form of a man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties. He was wearing a dark suit that looked as if it could have been at the height of fashion in the late 19th century. He had piercing blue eyes, dark hair combed away from his face, a strong jaw with a cleft, and had a rugged build. He just stood there and smiled at me. My fork clanged to the plate, and in a panic, I screamed, and jumped up from the couch. I had never been so frightened. A man had just broken into my apartment! But can a... ghost...break in? These things just didn't happen to me! Was I becoming delusional? Did I need a padded cell? This was definitely not the result of money problems or working with my ex-husband. Nearly hysterical and flooded with adrenaline, I quickly realized that I had no escape route. The apparition, or whatever he was, could easily grab me if I tried to dart past him. In this small apartment I had nowhere to run. The apparition just stood there smiling.

      My scream awakened Winston. He yawned, then caught sight of the uninvited guest. Poised to flee, I watched in amazement as Winston casually stretched, and then eagerly trotted along the back of the couch toward the man. The man held out his hand and gently stroked Winston under the chin. By all appearances, my usually reserved Persian cat, who was disdainful toward all humans but me, was interacting with someone he apparently knew and liked. But then it occurred to me that this man wasn't...human! The apparition made no move to approach me---he simply stood and smiled. Then to my further amazement, he started to speak!

      He said his name was John Reid and that he was an angel sent to help me because I had asked for help the night before. He assured me that I had nothing to fear; and, that he had come to tell me about my destiny and what the future held in store.

      On that fateful day, my journey of a thousand miles began.

Stay tuned for Kim's new book on her life as a psychic.

To order Kim's current books, How to Talk With Your Angels and Discover Your Spiritual Destiny, click here