Another Friday the 13^th is upon us.  And the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute estimates that more than 17 million people suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia, or, in laymen’s terms, fear of Friday the 13^th. Forever curious about the energies at work in our beloved metropolis (and whether or not Friday-the-13^th-inspired superstitions are merely a myth), we enlisted the help of Manhattan-based “intuition specialist” Mayumi Harada.  Here, Harada discusses the coldest corners in the city, contacting John Lennon’s spirit, and how to channel your past life.  In her own words:

How would you explain what you do, to a perfect stranger?
Psychic readings, intuitive readings.  I try to draw the line [between myself] and people who have psychic powers, where it’s more based on fear factor, and makes you scared.  They burn a candle, then ask for $5,000.

And your method?
I pick information from the future, past, past life… anything you can imagine.  I’m more focused on the future… to make the impossible possible. 

Do you think that fate determines the course of our lives?
I would like to think you’re in control.  Your willpower is stronger than your fate.  Your fate becomes just the history or the record of how you got there.  Everyone has intuition, but it’s often easier to live off knowledge from a past experience rather than living according to intuition.  I try to stick with intuitive knowledge and bring out other people’s intuitive knowledge… to find out how to activate that. 

How long have you lived in NYC, and where do you live now?
20 years, and 86^th Street and Central Park West. 

You’ve written quite a few best-selling books on the subject of intuition.
Yes, I’ve written five.  When I published my first book it was endorsed by Yoko Ono, so it got a lot of press. 

When did you first meet Yoko?
2000 or 2001. 

So is it safe to assume you’ve been in contact with John Lennon’s spirit?
Yeah.  Well, I did a reading in his room, at his place so I did see him. 

Can you talk a little bit about the interaction?
No, [laughs] I shouldn’t.

How would you describe the way the spirits travel?
They move around freely - like you or me. 

Have you found that certain parts of New York, certain blocks or buildings, house distinct energies or spirits?
I can talk about the places that I feel are energetic.  Living in NYC you always have to expend your energy.  Every corner has different energy.  One corner looks more vivid; some look very cold, very dark.  If I pick the side with cold energy I get exhausted just walking.  If I pick the more energetic, peppy corner I feel energized. 

So it’s all about being in tune with that energy?
Yes.  When you are in tune with your universal energy, you’ll never hit a traffic light.  Have you experienced that? 

Definitely.  Especially with catching the train, or missing it.
Exactly.  And sometimes to get where you want to go, you never have to stop.  Try not to lose that when it’s happening.  Try to choose the sunny side of the street and go along with it and you will never have to discharge your energy. 

Which places in the city have particularly strong energy?
23^rd street, the south side is much more energetic than the north.  Madison Square Park

A past-life tour?
As you walk through the exhibits, you’ll find some connection with an era, so much so that some people have felt like they’ve lived there during that time.  I’m not crazy about past-life though.  You can’t do much with it anymore.  But it can provoke unknown talents sleeping inside of us.  You can reach out for it by doing that type of past-life tour.  The Metropolitan Museum or the Museum of Natural History.  If you feel like you’ve see it before, think about what you were doing around that time.  Your imagination will guide you. 

Anywhere else?
In Central Park, the large rocks, I feel the gravity of the earth. And the Great Lawn always has positive energy.  People just go there for pleasure, so it’s a safe place… always the same. And the South Street Seaport.  It’s a place to discard all the negative energy.  If you have something to let go it’s a great place to go throw it into the water. 

So, in light of today being Friday the 13^th, do you think there’s a correlation between the supernatural and the superstitions that surround this particular day?
No [laughs], not in my experience.  For me the only days like that are during a full moon.  On a full moon people tend to go overboard and make very aggressive decisions, which throw you out of control.  I don’t make any decisions on that day.  I feel like I can’t leave the floor. If you’re falling in love on a full moon, I say think twice. 

To go back to the spirits, are they as present and as scattered about the city as the living?
They’re just like alive people.  Our system just doesn’t catch that.  I personally try not to see except when I give readings though.  Otherwise it’s like being bothered by someone I don’t know.

Can you just turn it on and off?
When I’m really tired I’ll see them.  One time I was trying to catch a cab and when an open one pulled up I saw someone inside, so I just waited.  The cab driver kept telling me to get in but I saw a man sitting in the back.  And, of course, there was nobody. After 9/11 I saw a lot of visions of deceased people who were looking for their families.  They were in shock and concerned about their families.  I would see them night after night. 

When did you first start having these visions?
I lost my father at the age of 7 in a car accident and I knew it was going to happen.  I kept talking to him and seeing his vision after he died.  I kept it to myself for a long time.  In my past life I think I was a psychic who was tortured so I never wanted to talk about it [laughs]. As a teenager my channels were all open so I saw a lot of visions.  If I didn’t tell anyone about them I would get sick in my stomach.  So I had to start telling people, and that’s how I trained it. 

And you also do voice coaching for pop stars?
I do voice coaching for Japanese pop artists.  Teenage pop stars.  They come to the states and stay anywhere from two weeks to three months. 

Can you sense if their careers are bound for success or failure?
Oh yeah, but I would never say anything. 

~Alisa Gould-Simon