Psychic medium James Van Praagh returned to discuss such topics as spirit guides, souls, healing, and messages from the Other Side. Calling himself and an "ambassador of the spirit world," he said his mission is not only to bring through evidence for life-after-death, but to show how to live a spiritual life in the physical world. People tend to reincarnate in "soul families," groups who have traveled into many lifetimes together, and take on different roles such as the mother or the child-- "like a play where we take up different characters each time," he explained.

In the case of when children die, sometimes it is their soul's mission to help the living from the Other Side, Van Praagh continued. We never die alone-- there are always deceased friends and loved ones who greet or prepare for the arrival when someone crosses over, he added. Working with a team of spirit guides, Van Praagh said he can sometimes bring about healings, as well as clear the auras of people. He shared one of his healing meditations in which a green ball of light coming from their heart is visualized. Anything that is placed into that light is healed and filled with harmony and peace, he said.

Van Praagh expressed concern over the increased number of ghost hunters/investigators. They need to know how to protect themselves, as they can unwittingly acquire attachments of spirits that can influence or possess them, he noted. In the month of June, he is conducting a Spirit Blog Contest on his site, and in the fall, he'll be appearing at International Mediumship Week in Rhinebeck, NY.

Venus Transit

First hour guest, reporter and astrologer Eric Francis talked about why the rare Venus transit across the sun on Tuesday night is a turning point for relationships, value and meaning, as well as correlating with the Mayan Calendar and the predictions of 2012. The planet Venus will be seen as a black dot going across the sun. Astrologically, it's a unifying event in which the sun (typically considered a masculine element) interacts with Venus (a feminine element representing passion), and this offers a significant opportunity for people to reconcile conflicts or opposing goals, he commented.

News segment guests: Greg Hunter, Catherine Austin Fitts