The last time I saw Sylvia was this July in Los Angeles. I was dining with new friends at the California Pizza Kitchen of all places, and there she was sitting across the room from me. I was too gobsmacked to say hello, which I can’t help but regret. Sylvia has made deep and impactful changes in my life. Think what you will of her, I don’t give a damn, but without her influence, I would have been a very different person than who I am today. And so, I was very sad when I heard that she passed away this morning.

I was introduced to Sylvia by a friend in high school, who let me know that she was on Montel each Wednesday, answering audience questions. I quickly became addicted to her, charmed by her raspy voice, quick wit, and the genuine concern she had for others. Then, I devoured her myriad books on any number of subjects. Each one opened my eyes to a new subject that fascinated me endlessly. I’m not saying that I took each thing she said as the absolute truth, but rather, I appreciated the ways they opened my mind. I researched reincarnation, near death experiences, theories on the afterlife, ghosts, psychic investigations, astral projection, theories on ancient Egypt, and all sort of paranormal matters. This started a passion for the supernatural that I’ll have with me until I die.

When I was a senior, I saw her for the first time in person in St. Louis at one of her lecture tours. It was a fascinating time and though I hoped as hard as I could, I wasn’t chosen to ask her a question. When we meditated together at the lecture’s end, before the book signing, I focused my thoughts on my question. “What should I do with my life?” Of course, I still wonder that, but that night in St. Louis started me on a path that I might not have had the courage to do so if I hadn’t been there. I’ve meditated many times by myself, hoping for some kind of revelation, some kind of answers from the Other Side, but it was only then that I finally had results. My mind went someplace it never had and I found myself floating in a cloudy blue sky. As I zoomed about, I distinctly saw the Tour Montparnasse before me. This is one of the most dominating buildings on the Parisian skyline; there was my answer. Because I saw Paris, and because I could feel it was what I was supposed to do in that moment, I finally decided to attend pastry school in France.

While I was there, I wondered if this were the right thing to do. At that time, Sylvia had a webinar series where she would talk on a certain subject and then answer questions from the viewers. I would always submit video questions, but was never lucky enough to be selected. I fell asleep when I was watching the last webinar that would be broadcast while I was living in Europe and so didn’t watch it until I returned home.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I was cleaning the oven and heard this:

Well, she was right. And because of this prediction, I also went to Hollywood this summer where I saw her again. Quite full circle, isn’t it? I never put all the pieces together until just now. Even though I’m not a producer in Hollywood, I have no doubt that sometime in my life I will work in this industry. I write all the time and I have hope that eventually one of my works will be transformed into a film version. In fact, I don’t doubt that it will.

I saw Sylvia on another lecture tour, I nearly cried when she was on a blender infomercial with Montel, when I was on the Queen Mary I constantly thought of her, I continued to read her books, and I became a reverend along the way, finalizing a thought I once had in high school with that same friend who introduced her to me.

Many people doubt Sylvia’s predictions and the things she espoused in her life, and maybe it was a massive fraud, maybe she was nothing but a charlatan, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that she brought hope to her audience, inspiration to some, and relief to others. She made a difference to me. She completely changed my life and I have no doubt that I’ll meet her again (for the fourth time) on some other higher plane.