The Truth About Spirit Guides, Signs & the Afterlife (MaryAnn DiMarco) - Episode 226

Today’s conversation is one of those big ones—the kind that answers questions you’ve probably had your whole life (but maybe didn’t know who to ask).

We’re joined by MaryAnn DiMarco—internationally recognized psychic medium, spiritual teacher, and author. What makes MaryAnn so special isn’t just her connection to spirit…it’s how grounded, relatable, and (honestly) funny she is about all of it.

No fear. No fluff. No fog machines required.

QUESTIONS WE DISCUSS

• Do we all have spirit guides?
• What actually happens when we die?
• Are signs real—and how do we know we’re not making them up?
• What are soul contracts and reincarnation really about?
• And how do we trust what we’re receiving?

This episode is both expansive and practical. It opens your mind and gives you real tools to start connecting with your own intuition in a way that feels empowering, not overwhelming.

This episode is about remembering what’s already inside you.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• You are supported...always.
• Intuition isn’t “special,” it’s natural: We all have intuitive abilities. It’s just about learning how to recognize and trust them.
• Signs are real, but subtle: Spirit communicates in ways that feel natural to you. The key is learning how to notice.
• You don’t need to be afraid of the unseen: This work is meant to feel grounding and empowering—not scary or overwhelming.
• Trust is the real practice: The biggest shift isn’t receiving guidance—it’s believing it.

If you’ve been feeling a nudge…a pull…a curiosity about something more—this is your sign. Welcome to your next level of awareness.

MORE WITH MARYANN DIMARCO

• Visit maryanndimarco.com to explore all of her offerings: events, teachings, mentorships, and more! 
• Check out her books, The Guide(s) Book, Medium Mentor, and Believe, Ask, Act -- plus pre-order The Guide(s) Book Deck
• Follow her @maryannthemedium

Visit seekingcentercommunity.com for more with Robyn + Karen and many of the guides on Seeking Center: The Podcast. You'll get access to live weekly sessions, intuitive guidance, daily inspiration, and a space to share your journey with like-minded people who just get it.

You can also follow Seeking Center on Instagram @theseekingcenter.

Transcript

Robyn: I'm Robyn Miller Brecker and I'm Karen Loenser. Welcome to Seeking Center, the podcast. Join us each week as we have the conversations and we, through the spiritual and holistic clutter for you, we'll boil it down to what you need to know now, we're all about total wellness, which to us needs building a healthy life.

Karen: On a physical, mental, and spiritual level, we'll talk to the trailblazers who'll introduce you to the practices, products, and experiences that may be just what you need to hear about to transform your life. If you're listening to this, it's no accident. Think of this as your seeking center and your place to seek your center.

Robyn: And for the best wellness and spiritual practitioners, experts, products, experiences, and inspo, visit theseekingcenter. com. Today's guest is someone who helps us remember that we are never actually navigating this life alone. . MaryAnn DiMarco is an internationally recognized psychic, medium spiritual teacher, author, and mentor. But what makes her so special is [00:01:00] how normal she makes us all feel.

No crystal balls and fog machines, just humor, heart, and incredibly practical wisdom about connecting to your intuition and working with spirit in everyday life. Her connection to spirit began in childhood, and today she teaches lightworkers, empaths, and spiritually curious humans, how to strengthen their intuitive abilities and use them in meaningful, grounded ways.

She's the author of believe Ask Act, media Mentor and her newest book. The Guides book, mapping out life's journey with Spirit by your side, which is essentially your roadmap to building a relationship with your team of spirit guides.

Yes, you have one or more than one. We're going to talk about the big questions today and what happens when we die, whether we all have guides, what signs actually mean reincarnation, soul packs, and also the practical stuff. How do we trust what we're receiving and how do we live with spirit in a way that feels empowering, and not overwhelming?

Let's get going. Hi, Maryann. Hi [00:02:00] 

MaryAnn: ladies. How are you? I do love a good fog machine. I think it set the tone. We could set the mood with a little fog machine. Yeah, let's do that. Oh, 

Karen: and I love your sense of humor so much in talking about all this stuff because it makes it real, it makes it approachable.

And this, honestly, is the conversation. All the stuff that Robyn just talked about in her intro, is the juiciest of the juicy stuff that we absolutely love to talk about. So cannot wait to dig into this conversation. 

Robyn: And let's talk about how it all started. 

it started in childhood for you, what did that look like? What did that feel like? 

MaryAnn: It felt normal for me as a child, because I have a mother who was. Very much and still is into all of this she was really into it. So when I came to her and I said I felt energy or I probably didn't say it like that.

I probably said, there was someone in my room last night and she was like, yeah, of course. Or I dreamt about a deceased relative. And [00:03:00] she'd say, oh yeah. And then she started to teach me about ascended masters and energy, and she was teaching me how to meditate at a very young age. I was, wanting to see my third eye when I was five and six and seven years old.

I would go to meditation classes with her and spiritual conventions and all kinds of fun things. So to me it was very normal until it wasn't when I became a teenager, I didn't want to do any of that. I wanted to be just like everybody else . And I didn't really necessarily push away from it, but I didn't actually embrace it or speak about it, obviously, the way that I do now.

for the most part, it was just normal part of my life. I didn't have any fear around it at all. 

Robyn: How did she welcome it into her world? Was it generational? Was, 

Karen: was she a psychic medium as 

MaryAnn: well? So my great grandmother. It's funny, being an Italian American, both sides of my family, through and through this, is not an unusual conversation to have.

 They are very religious, but they're [00:04:00] also very spiritual. And my great-grandmother would talk about seeing energies when she was young and alive. And I had the privilege of knowing my great-grandmother. My grandmother would talk about seeing energies. She used to read playing cards. And then my mom just really got into spirituality, it was the mid to late seventies and it was on trend.

And I think she was at a point in her life where she was very much questioning religion and the confines of religion for her school of thought. And she started diving into what she just found very interesting, and took it from there. It came very natural. So yes, generational and also just deep interest in it as well.

Karen: It's a very familiar story to me, Maryann, because that's how my grandmother and my mother were. they were dabblers, but they were fascinated and yet very religious too. And yet somehow they were able to find the balance because I think their curiosity overpowered their fear to a certain extent.

 when you talked to your mom about it, did she talk about things like intuition and how did you [00:05:00] develop your own to feel that you were secure enough that what you saw, you could really believe? 

MaryAnn: that's a great question because my mom spoke about straight up psychic medium.

Tapping into energy. She really went more toward the wooer side. I actually spoke to her about common sense intuition. I would say to her, mom, bring it down a notch. She would say to me, aren't you curious about your past lives? And I would say, why do I care? I'm here now. I speak about this in a very matter of fact way, because I really wanted to normalize it.

My mother actually made it incredibly wooey, which I did not want. met that with a lot of resistance. And so I spoke about it in very practical terms, like your gut instinct and your intuition. And yes, it's psychic stuff. And I know I can speak to the deceased, but can we talk about it in a really grounded, normal way, please.

Robyn: did you decide to make this your professional career? 

MaryAnn: When I was in my late [00:06:00] thirties. I was going through a divorce. I was very much having a hard time with grief, not only with the divorce, we had lost my dear father-in-law at the time. I had two little children. I had stayed home with them. I had a career in sales for a very long time, and then I decided to stay home with the children and I was really looking for a connection.

 And a friend of mine approached me about seeing a psychic medium. And I said, yeah, this would be the perfect time. But it turned out that the woman that I was seeing was actually a spiritual healer and teacher, and her name was Pat Longo. And she's recently deceased, my lovely pat.

But I got on the phone with Pat and I thought she was a psychic, so I said, oh, I have so many questions. Should I bring like pictures of my loved ones? And she said to me, and if you knew Pat, she was really a straight shooter. And she said, I'm not a psychic medium. I'm a teacher. I teach people how to get in touch with their psychic medium abilities or their healer abilities.

And I said to her, oh, I think I'm supposed to see you now. It just flew out of my mouth and I had been searching for [00:07:00] a long time. I read books and no one was really telling me how to do it. They were describing it. They were talking about their own experience, but not telling me how to do it. So I started taking spiritual classes with her without any intention of doing it as a profession.

I really just was so excited to finally make the connection and Spirit had other plans. people started asking me for readings and I didn't have a way of making money at the time or really have a solid career. I was doing little odd jobs. And so I said, okay, it's flexible and I love this and I'm having fun, and so why not?

And I started doing it for a living. Here I am. Was 

Karen: was there a moment along the way when you were starting to do readings where you were like, oh I can do this. I really know how to do this. You have that memory, 

MaryAnn: In class before I was doing readings, pat said something to me when we had our first meeting together, which was spirit comes in your own voice.

It's not a disembodied voice, it's something within you. that was it. It all clicked. Everything fell into place. Everything that [00:08:00] I had been experiencing my whole life, all of this information that I had been receiving through all of my clares

it was like, like everything just started to make sense. And within just a couple of weeks I was reading, I was still nervous about reading. Don't get me wrong, I didn't have like full confidence about it, but I knew I could finally do it. It was actually, I think more Karen, like a relief of finally understanding how to put this ability into place.

Karen: I could feel that relief for you because in the back of your mind, you still remembered yourself as this little girl who could see things, put it aside for a long time, maybe still channeled a little bit of mom and grandma of the possibility of, but we always say it's like when the student is ready, the teacher appears.

And it was like that crossroads in your life when you were ready to open yourself up to the possibility of who you really were. 

MaryAnn: Yeah. It was a relief and it was really exciting too. It was very fun when I first started out, to finally be able to 

craft this work in a [00:09:00] way that felt like I was giving service, obviously, and helping others.

I was really understanding finally how to normalize for myself this ability within and not have it be so strange. I met a beautiful community of people who were all of like mind. So yay, win-win. And I started to hone in on something that felt very natural to me. And within that came a service that just flowed and I truly enjoy it.

Robyn: And, how would you define spirit that comes to you? 

MaryAnn: I define spirit by loved ones who are deceased. Source God, source, light, whatever that is for you. Angels, angelic realm, guides. And at any given time, I can be speaking to them all at once.

Individually. It really isn't up to me. It's totally up to them. I am just the conduit. When I was younger and I was giving very strong, worded, opinionated advice as a [00:10:00] teenager and in my twenties, and I was like, aren't they listening to me? That came with a lot of frustration So we talk about like this certainty and when I knew it to be true, the advice part and the psychic ability.

I didn't recognize it as that. I didn't call it that. I just thought I knew, but now I know that I had been channeling whole time. 

Robyn: Totally. 

MaryAnn: That felt very natural and normal. Tapping into deceased loved ones and then delivering that message with intention, felt very different and I had to learn how to trust that and do that.

Robyn: And would you say that you're able to recognize these different. Realms because of frequency? Like how does that come through for you? 

MaryAnn: It comes through first by using all of my Clairs, clairvoyancy, Claire audience, Clair sentience, I feel, I hear, I taste, so all of the senses I'm using all at once to make connection and the frequency comes with practice.

Understanding what it feels like to be connecting to a loved one. I feel like someone just walked in [00:11:00] the room. I'm distracted off of my sitter and I'm looking around and going, oh, hey. Oh, I have someone here that feels like I'm welcoming people in.

When I'm speaking to guides or angelic or I'm doing energy and psychic work, I'm very much tuned into the energy of the sitter. I'm not really so much concerned about where that information is coming from. If I'm meant to define it for the sitter, I will means it's meant to be part of the reading, but for the most part, I'm just totally tuned in picking up on whatever it is that I'm supposed to say to them.

Karen: And so when you do a reading, do a variety of different. Energy has come through. So could it be my angels and guides along with my deceased grandmother at the 

MaryAnn: Sure they can all show up at the same time. It really depends on what Spirit wants and what Spirit wants is what they know is best for you. 

When you sit with a psychic medium, please trust that the information that you [00:12:00] receive is the information that you are supposed to be receiving. And the hope is that you're receiving a reading that is speaking in your own spiritual language. So I may read Karen very differently than I do Robyn, because the language and what has to come through and how the reading is conducted is at the good grace of spirit and my job is not to get myself in the middle of all of that.

My job is to translate and deliver over the best way that I can. 

Robyn: I love that. We're fortunate to have had a reading with you. What was so interesting. At one point, spirit was really trying to talk to me about my uncle and who is a living in this lifetime, but it was coming from my dad who's deceased, and he was showcasing a specific type of salad that my uncle eats.

And it was the way it was coming through. You're like, why is he showing me this wedge salad? I know where that's coming [00:13:00] from, but the point is that you are translating that for us. And Karen and I have had we've been really very fortunate to have so many readings in our lives so far.

And, what I would say is that. It's so important to us to find people who are able to translate and normalize this in a way that you, as someone who is sitting for a reading can understand. And we felt that on every level with you. It was like having just a conversation with spirit in all forms.

MaryAnn: I'm so glad. Because to me if I'm receiving a reading, I want it to feel relatable. And I think there's just something about how much I trust them over the years. I've just learned to trust that whatever it is that I need to say will come through. And that is, again, that's not on me.

It's going to be given to me. And even though I might share my personal experiences and stories, it's always relatable because they're using my frame of reference. [00:14:00] They're coming in and asking me, Hey, say this, talk about this time you, I don't know, rode your bike and you fell or talk about your brother and what a great athlete is.

It always comes up and it's relatable or it's something that is completely obscure and I have no idea why I'm seeing a wedge salad, but I have to talk about it. 

Robyn: You're like, I just have to tell you this is what I'm seeing. 

MaryAnn: The wedge salad. I don't know. and I'm happy to say, I have no idea why I am seeing this, because I might not know, but you'll know.

Karen: That's right. I think that's the other important part of the message too, is when you go for a reading, not to go with such a high level expectation that you're gonna be. Getting a specific message from a specific person about a specific thing to be open to receiving those messages. And as Robyn said, like being willing to do the translation even afterwards.

it's always a lot of information that's coming at you and it is very emotional. So you always can connect the dots, but sometimes it's hard to do it in the middle of the reading. , Maryann, how do you feel about death and the afterlife?

Has it [00:15:00] changed how you feel about it in any way? 

MaryAnn: Yes. I'm not afraid to die. When and how I get there is, I'm, I'm in no rush. I mean it's fabulous over there. but there's a couple of things. Yes, I know the process is beautiful. I trust what spirit has shown me, and we could talk about that.

but it also makes me appreciate life the lessons and the things that they have said throughout the years. And the thousands of people that I've read at this point. Oh my gosh, do I appreciate this space and how much I appreciate the smaller things, the little things and what I look for in humanity has definitely shifted as well through doing this work because they speak from such a place of honesty and incredible knowing.

Robyn: it's so true. And what do you think that most of the deceased loved ones that you talk to, want us to know 

MaryAnn: to live your life with love in your heart, to forgive [00:16:00] yourself, to forgive others. To let go of anger. Work through your fears, work through your doubts, learn your lessons, and try and understand them in a very productive way so that you can apply them to your life and enhance your soul.

Know that they are okay. Don't hang on to them. Just know that they are all right, that their soul continues to live on, that they are experiencing a whole new part of their soul's existence, and that it is tremendous and it is incredible, and that they have knowledge that we are not privileged to yet, but it is there.

The messages. Are consistent. They don't shift, they don't change. They might have different wording depending on the personality of the deceased soul, but for the most part, it is always the same. Take time to love one another. Take time to breathe in your life, be happy in life. Choose goodness for yourself and others.

It is consistent. It is over and [00:17:00] over again. Let go. Let love over and over again. 

Karen: I heard at some point lately, somebody talk about deceased loved ones. You know how they say, oh, they're always around you, almost like they're here at a radio frequency level.

That when they pass, they cross over to a dimension that they are literally really here, but we just can't see them because their frequency is different. Is that your belief too, Marian? 

MaryAnn: It is. My belief is that they have moved into, if you wanna call it another dimension, another timeline if you wanna call it just beyond the veil.

Yes. And for some reason I'm able to tap into that frequency. There's something about either the way my brain works, it's neuroscience, it's metaphysics, it's all of these things that, there's something about the fact that I'm able to just tap in ever so slightly in a way that I'm able to hear them, some of them communicate far better than others.

Which makes for very easy readings as opposed to maybe some challenging ones. But [00:18:00] there's something about just tuning into that frequency. And I often say it's like they're right in the next room and you're talking through a wall, just to be able to hear them. And then every so often maybe you lose a little wifi or something, cause people often ask me, how come they don't just come in and say, hi, my name is Joe. I passed from a heart attack. I died in March. It doesn't work like that. It is this very interesting and intricate way of just tapping into certain frequencies. And I wonder sometimes if they're all on a little bit of a different frequency too.

 It's interesting to lean into that school of thought and let them teach me. 

Karen: I love that though, because it does make me feel like it is possible for all of us to tune in. We all have the antenna, we just have to practice working with it and not be afraid and just allow ourselves to, lean in and be open to whatever messages may come our way.

I like that visualization of it, because then I think people can comprehend it in a different way. It's not like they're up in the clouds somewhere far in the er, that it is like literally on a different [00:19:00] energetic frequency level that they are physically here and that we can tune in ourselves.

MaryAnn: Yes, everybody can tune in. Every single one of you are psychic, and every single one of you can connect to your deceased loved ones on the other side if you choose. Just trust that you can. I don't know that everybody. Would go out and become a medium a little different, in that you're translating that information for others.

But Spirit does work through each and every one of us to get a message to somebody, that's for sure.

I think that you can give unintentional messages that's not even realizing and you're just handing over whatever spirit gave you. it's quite beautiful and it continues to fascinate me.

 Every Single time I connect, I'm fascinated. 

Robyn: And I know you also help teach people to, tune into, to that frequency. And when people are just starting out, how do you help them know that what they're feeling or seeing is not just made up? Because I think that a lot of people think that [00:20:00] they are literally making things up.

They come up with something in their head, they're like, Ugh, that can't be real. 

MaryAnn: Oftentimes when I'm working with students and I'll say, just spit it out. Oh, I feel stupid. And I'll say, just say it. And then they say it and the way it makes sense and how I'm able to validate it for them, or whoever's on the call with us is able to validate or in the class.

And then I love seeing their really, we have to lean into a space of trust. First and foremost. And even if you're, it's very natural to say, oh, I think I'm making this up. Or Is this me or is this them? I don't really know how to tell the difference. Let's just start with trust and the belief system that you can do this.

 Just start with that. And we're just conditioned to think a certain way. The more you believe, the more you trust, the more that conditioning starts to quiet and you hear the real voice. The truth, which is within each and every one of us, is that we are part of this light. We are part of these frequencies.

We came here knowing how to do this. This is not so unusual. [00:21:00] And if you just allow yourself and your soul to remember, it will all come flowing back in time. You just have to trust it and work on it and exercise it just like any other muscle. 

Karen: Such a good way to put it. I think all of us feel like we're making it up and I was just thinking as you were talking, I'd love your thoughts on this.

'cause what's occurring to me, as you're talking is our loved ones, whether we're related to them or not, they're part of our energetic family. We carry their memory, we carry their experience. Sometimes we carry their genetic DNA I'm trying to figure out how to phrase this question , but is that part of what you're reading in the person who's sitting in front of you is you're reading that energetic frequency of them and then it's connecting with the frequency of that loved one through that person is that, 

MaryAnn: it makes perfect sense to me.

I know exactly why you're saying that. Yes, it can be both. It can absolutely be both, and I'll give you the example. I have a deceased grandmother on my mother's side of the family, and I [00:22:00] truly believe that she has ascended. I don't feel her around me. And that is not a sad thing for me.

I'm excited for her. Something about either she reincarnated or she ascended. I believe that she ascended and that she has moved on. In other words, she is not coming back to earthly realm and that something takes place over there where the soul ascends and does something else, goes somewhere else. And when I have been read, people will say, oh, your grandmother on your mom's mom is here.

And then they'll read her. And I truly believe they are picking up on the energy that I carry for her, number one. And that they might be reading her records, they could be reading her information and what the soul left behind the story of her soul. That's just my theory on it. Also, however, if it wasn't her and my other grandmother who's always around me, I do believe, yes, she comes through, they're reading her through me, with me.

It's all working together, and that [00:23:00] this combination of energy, of self and her and soul and light and everything's working together to get the message across. So yes, I truly believe that it can be both. And I think the more you read too, I think you can understand how to start to tell that difference.

 But it really depends on your sitter and their needs and spirit. Of course. 

Karen: It's so beautiful if you think about it. , that's why you can honestly say your loved ones are always with you because you're carrying that frequency within you all the time. 

MaryAnn: Lifetime after lifetime.

We travel in soul packs. 

Robyn: Yeah. Let's talk about that. Let's talk about what you mean by a sop pack. 

MaryAnn: So soul packs, we travel together lifetime after lifetime. Your family, your friends fleeting moments with people. There's a rhyme and a reason why we keep meeting the same people over and over again, lifetime after lifetime.

And we're here to teach each other lessons. We are here to help each other out and be schooled all together. And we take on different roles in order to do that for each other in life. So for [00:24:00] me, will I see my grandmother again and deal with her in a different realm or maybe this one or whatever?

Yes. Absolutely. And so to your point, we carry each other always. All of us human race carries each other. We've all been something. Try not to judge. We've all been each other at some point. I It's so true. I, yes, we've experienced something. Exactly. And so that's why judgment is so harsh, because we've all been there and I truly believe that.

I think that we exchange energy constantly. And lifetime after lifetime. Hopefully we are learning to help each other out soul wise. 

Robyn: And I think too when you talk about soul packs, yes there is your immediate family and so forth, and you probably play different roles in different lifetimes with one another.

But it is also when you meet people. There is like a connection. I know when we met you, it was like, oh, I know you. Even though we hadn't met prior, it was like a soul [00:25:00] connection. It was just something inside you. And I think everybody listening, has had those experiences where it's oh my God, I could talk to you all day because there was this familiarity , . There is a connection and because we've all felt it. Yeah. And those I always call them Unlockings too.

MaryAnn: that's A beautiful way of putting it. You can have an unlocking with a stranger on a subway. 

Robyn: Yes. 

MaryAnn: That there's something about. Meeting somebody at that particular moment that your guides arranged for the two of you to meet in that moment, to have a particular conversation that maybe helped the both of you out.

And those memories, some of those things in my life are just core memories. 

 Just being with somebody and meeting somebody and having a conversation so necessary that on some level it just did something with your soul, something clicked and I believe that to be definitely kismet. 

Karen: and as we know, it can be with those people that drive us crazy too.

MaryAnn: Oh yes. They're here for lessons too. Isn't that so much fun? Yeah. Let's 

Robyn: talk about those [00:26:00] people. 

MaryAnn: I always say there's a past life meditation that I love to do, and you put on a piece of paper three people that have enhanced your life and three people that have challenged your life.

And you put those names down and then you go into the past life meditation and you see where those people have been placed and why. And you can see the roles that they've played and how fascinating it all is. And then it kind of clicks, you start to understand. Ah, that's why, because I believe you signed for the lessons, but not necessarily the experiences.

Robyn: Yes. Yes. '

MaryAnn: cause you know who would come back is what I always say. 

Karen: Exactly. I love the word that you use about mapping and this idea that you come into this physical form with an intention of something to learn. And we have that free will to make choices all the time. Totally.

It's up to us what we do or don't do, but that the idea is that we come in with certain intentions of trying to learn things in this life and that Soul Pack comes to assist us for good or for [00:27:00] bad. 

To learn those lessons. 

MaryAnn: Yeah. It's fascinating. Yeah. And what I found with Soul Lessons and Contracts is that especially when I wrote the guides book.

I started to reflect on times in my life where things just felt so repetitive. Why was I doing the same thing over and over again making the same type of choice that wasn't serving me? And I finally realized, girl, this is like your lesson. This is your soul lesson. Let's work on this part of the contract.

And that's when I started to realize that repetitive themes, repetitive behaviors and choices that we make in this life and through relationships, job experiences, how we allow people to treat us, how we treat others. it's endless the amount of lessons that we can come here with. When I started to recognize 'em and recognize the pattern, I realized, oh, this is how we can break down soul contracts and how we can get to work on those with the help of our guides.

And I started to recognize the lesson through varied experiences. Once you recognize, [00:28:00] you then learn, and then you can apply the behavior that is more fruitful, then what you've been doing in the past. 

Karen: Yeah. I never thought that way. So you're saying go back and really look at those same, either mistakes that you keep making or choices that you keep making, and look at those as the spark of the lesson that 

MaryAnn: Yes.

I always say when I'm tired of my own story, when I keep hearing the same theme I talk about comparison syndrome in the book. I talk about, feeling inferior in certain rooms, not taking my seat at the tables. I mean there's a lot in there. When I started be exhaust myself, I decided it's time to learn.

It's time to get to work on these things. Let's figure out where this started, who gave it to me in the first place? What happened to me, what past life stuff. This life, I really went to town and I give you all the methods and ways to do that, and that allowed me to then have it all become productive. All become useful.

Every experience in [00:29:00] my life now had purpose, good, bad, or indifferent, had purpose. It also allowed me to move into beautiful lessons in my life. Lessons of embracing love in different ways, lessons of gratitude, lessons of just being in the now and understanding that in this moment is all that's important, and learning to appreciate the small things and accountability.

Loud word for me in the last few years, owning my own feelings. And I couldn't have done any of this without my guides. And it also made me realize we're never quite done with the work and that's okay. 

Robyn: when we talk about the guides book and you're talking about spirit guides.

For some people, they don't know what we're talking about. How do you Define a spirit guide? And then I know what you are doing in the book is you're gonna help us all build that relationship. how do we even start? 

MaryAnn: Our guides are our universal team on the other side that are assigned to us to help navigate our life.

 [00:30:00] their real purpose is not to give us answers. Their real purpose is to give us guidance. And to help highlight our higher self voice, the true voice of why we came here and what we know to be true within our souls. It's the voice that speaks to us from within that reassures us and helps us understand why we're here, what our services, and how we are meant to improve soul's path.

And that is what they're doing. They're trying to get us to trust that intuitive voice, the higher self voice They are a universal team comprised of angels, spirit guides, and loved ones, each with separate roles. Your loved ones are here to support you. They are here to guide you, give you little winks from the universe, but not really interfere all that much.

That's not really their purpose. I always say I think it's a conflict of interest. I don't know that they're really ready to do that. And some of us haven't had the greatest relationships with our loved ones on the other side. And so I always say, maybe you don't wanna be with that person all the [00:31:00] time.

And that's okay. Our spirit guides are Guide driven here to give us the winks, yes, from the universe, but are far more directive. They will say, maybe you should go left learning from this. Take a right, you know that's not right for you. You've made this pattern before. They're always on my case.

my guides are really straightforward, so they are like, stop your nonsense and get to work. they're hardcore at this point. I used to have really dreamy, lovely guides and now I just have these guides that get to the point. We all have one main guide, which is very comforting too.

One that ushers us in, ushers us out, and it's here for us always. And I talk about my mean guide in the book as well. Angelic realm. That's where the miracles happen. That's what your prayers go to. Angelic angelican source. That's where the, I need help. Show me the way, be here for me. We are not meant to do this alone, and I truly believe that angelic realm is probably the most supportive realm and the realm that can really interfere in the best of ways.

Karen: I know there's many examples in your book of how to [00:32:00] work with your guides, but if somebody was listening now and I was like I'd love to know One guide gimme one guide. 

How do you suggest one start. 

MaryAnn: If you're really good with visualization and you are good at meditating, but you don't have to be like a hardcore meditator, you can do this pretty basic.

I have a meditation in there where I call it speed dating with your guide. you visualize sitting across from your guide just like you would at a speed dating round, and let your guides sit in front of you. Trust what you're seeing, trust what you're hearing. Trust what you're feeling.

You can ask them a quick question if you like, receive the answer through all of your Claires, your senses and let that come through. You can also write your guide. Who are you right at the top of the page? Who are you and what is it that I need to know in this moment? That's actually my favorite question to ask a guide, especially straight outta the gate.

What is it that I need to know in this moment? It's open-ended. We wanna stick with open-ended questions and then allow the information to come through and don't stop writing. And this is paper to pen. Not on your phone, not on the [00:33:00] computer. This is paper to pen. And let that pen just fly and flow. And you should hear very positive and lovely and beautiful things coming through.

Encouraging. Learn how to do that. we wanna do grounding procedures and opening yourself up. And I talk about all good spiritual hygiene in both of my In Media mentor and in the Guides book. So make sure that you're following that type of protocol. And just start by writing, connecting.

I'm here, this is how I talk to my guides. Just like I'm speaking to you, both of you. I'm like, okay, so what are we doing? Not really formal about it. I used to be really formal, but now I'm like, what's up? I hear you. It's three o'clock in the morning. Why are you interrupting me?

what do I need to know? But I'm pretty casual and basic because they're my besties. They're your spiritual besties on the other side. So I encourage everybody to connect with them in your own authentic way. Do it in a way that resonates for you. You don't have to do it exactly like me, I'm just giving you prompts and different techniques, but create your own style.

It's so much easier to just [00:34:00] be you. They know who you are. They're not asking you to be anything else. If you wanna go under the full moon and get your fog machine going with your crystal ball, if you are more comfortable going on a run and just putting some good music in your ears and hearing the knowledge that comes in, great.

Doesn't matter as long as it feels good to you. 

Robyn: That is such good advice. This also makes me think about when we talk about soul contracts and so forth, free will. 

Versus what is planned? and when we're talking about your spirit guides, do they know your plan?

 I would assume they know it. So they're helping keep you on track for what you came to accomplish in this lifetime. But let's talk about those are big concepts, What do you think in terms of free will versus what we have planned and how that all works together?

MaryAnn: I think that we sign up for the lessons, but not the experiences. And that's where free will for me [00:35:00] works because the experiences are being presented to us and our free will comes into play of how we choose to have those experiences affect us. And that is really powerful and very exciting because you have a choice.

You have a choice in your perception. You have a choice in your boundaries. It makes for incredible manifesting. When you realize that and what you realize is that by utilizing your free will in the most positive of ways you are speaking your manifestations into existence, good, bad, or indifferent, it's on you.

That's where the accountability comes in. It is one of the most powerful things I've learned by working with my guides. It's also one of the most challenging thing that I've learned by working with my guides because it puts the work on you. Years ago when I wrote Believe, ask Act, and I was so just starting out when I wrote that book, but that was what I was trying to convey, is that we can believe, yes, we have to learn how to ask the right questions, but it's up to [00:36:00] us.

 To get off of the meditation cushion to look at our manifestation board and put it into play, and that when opportunities come to you and are being presented to you, it is your job to say yes or no based on your intuition, based on what your free will is calling you to do. And that to me allows for both to exist.

Intuition, free will, psychic guidance, spiritual guidance, it all goes together. 

Karen: Can you work with your angels guides loved ones since technically, they know the plan, They're there to help guide you on the other side with the plan. Can you work with them to help you get through the fear of making those changes?

MaryAnn: Absolutely. the whole spirit guide book, the guides book that I wrote. Is all about making sure that you are not working around trying to bypass what you're here to experience, but to actually deeply understand it in a spiritual [00:37:00] way, in a therapeutic way, in a way that feels like intuitive understanding that you have never had in your entire life.

When you trust your guides to highlight and to show you the recordings of your life and everything that you have been experiencing. And there are things that came up for me in that book that I did not even address in all the years I've been doing this work. I never addressed it until I started writing the book.

That to me, is the best part of working with your guides. It's why they are here. They are our biggest cheerleaders. they're the friend that calls you out on your nonsense and they're also the friend that loves you the most. And knows what it is that you're trying to do here.

And they are yes, trying to help us, but they can't do the work for us. They're asking you to do it. What a wonderful feeling to not be alone while you work through fear. To know that you are universally supported, not only by God's source light, but by angelic realm and loved ones and these amazing guides.

It makes for a less lonely journey. I could assure you. 

Robyn: I'm just thinking about [00:38:00] even recently, how life has felt so overwhelming. 

MaryAnn: Yes. 

Robyn: And I know I'm not the only one. And I'm talking like personally and collectively all the things.

And I'm someone who doesn't typically have a problem sleeping. But I've been anxious lately. And I've been calling on my guides to help me. And I have to say for me, because I have worked out a way to receive messages in some way, I couldn't tell you at the moment who they're from, in terms of like their name, but I know that I'm getting messages and they just kept giving me reassurance like, keep going, it's gonna work out, sleep, you're gonna be okay.

All the things. And I'll tell you this week, for me personally, I have felt like, it is gonna be okay. Remember to trust it's all those things, but to your point of like when we need them the most and we all come to those points where you're like, I don't know what to do. even though I [00:39:00] feel intuitive.

I don't know, all the answers never will. And I think that's what you're saying too, and that's what they're here for. And no matter where you are on this journey, just know, even when you feel like you understand it better, you're still gonna wanna ask for the help.

MaryAnn: Oh, I always tell people don't look to me for an answer. I'm a student just like you. I'm just here giving you what I know to be true. And I hope that it helps you and I hope that it serves you. But every day I'm learning every day, even though I'm working with Spirit and I do this for a living we have this great relationship, spirit of myself and I love them, but I am learning all the time.

And to me, no one comes out unscathed. No way. Some more than others come out. Having a rough time when these moments of feeling frayed and feeling overwhelmed and my nervous system needs to be regulated these days on a daily basis. There's always something that comes up for yes, even a person like myself, person like guys who are into your [00:40:00] intuition and trying to understand who you are in this space and all the lovely things.

The tools are the tools and they are here to help us get to resolve, get to answers and deeper understanding. But the answers are within you. Your greatest tool is you. Your greatest tool is your higher self, your inner knowing, and your intuition. And if you rely on that, you'll be guided to the modalities that will help you.

Always, whether through self and others, you'll be guided. I promise you. If you just open your eyes and you pay attention and you don't second guess, the spirit provides. The universe is boundless and happy to give over all of the information that you need to help yourself heal, to help yourself feel even more joy to help yourself have deeper understanding.

It's all right there if you say yes to it, and I know because I do it. Yes. But I have different stages in my life. I'm Still doing it. And when all else fails, when you really are not getting the answers, or you're in a moment [00:41:00] where desperation just has brought you to your knees, please do not forget the power of prayer, the power of source, and tapping into that because it is right there for you.

And I truly believe that all of that energy helps. 

Karen: While you're talking to, and I'm thinking, it really is as, simple as asking for help. 

MaryAnn: Yeah, 

Karen: I think it's something we're trying to do so much on our own and to fix everything on our own. And we forget that, as you said earlier, there's this whole team of people who that is their whole reason for being, is to be there for us.

And we have to ask for that help. 

MaryAnn: Yes. And to Robyn's point, you are not going to know it all. 

You're just not. And I think the misconception that we have in the spiritual space is that we have to work on our manifestations and hyperfocus on them and continue to talk about them in a way that, is just every day they're on your vision board.

I don't know. I think that's exhausting. What I'd rather do is put my intentions out, set it, and forget it, and then [00:42:00] come right back to the now. Show me here in this space what I need to do in this moment in order to continue to move forward, continue to honor this moment. And to me it's less stress when I do that.

And I think it puts less expectation on the universe and what you're asking of them. What they're here to do is show you the breadcrumbs. We are supposed to be picking them up and saying yes to that. So yes, Robyn, we're not supposed to know everything all the time, and if we do, please let me know because we can write a great book.

Robyn: I agree.

MaryAnn: Part of it the mystery of life should be a bit of a mystery. makes 

Robyn: it yes. 

MaryAnn: Interesting.

Robyn: Yeah. I feel like we all signed up for this great adventure, We signed Up to put together the biggest puzzle ever, which is our life, and I would say too, that if you have been guided to listen to this podcast, it's for a reason. There is a breadcrumb in this podcast episode for you to hear and act [00:43:00] on. If it's to get your book and start to understand better how to communicate with your guide, awesome. If it's to talk to a deceased loved one and you never really thought about it, I'll never forget the first time that I read this article about a medium who was talking about her life in this new book that she had coming out.

And I had mediums come through the doorways of the Oprah Winfrey show prior, yet nothing had sparked something in me to be like, I should talk to my deceased father. But that did. It was the timing. I was ready. It was all the things. And I think for someone listening today that this is probably serving in that same way for them.

MaryAnn: I hope so. 

Robyn: Me 

MaryAnn: too. That's why I wanna talk about it all the time. 

What keeps me motivated? I remember just wanting so badly to hear mediums speak in a way that was teaching me something or bringing me to a point of understanding of what all of this was. And so when I [00:44:00] got in a position of finally doing this work where I'm teaching and giving over, I was like, I wanna teach everybody how to do this because I think it's one of the most beautiful gifts the universe can give This great understanding and so to your point, yes, divine timing is perfection. I was meant to speak to Pat at that very moment, all of those years, that curiosity building up, me sitting in her class and trying to understand how to use these abilities and give readings over it, the divine timing.

If you trust that, my gosh, what a story it will tell, try not to fight your divine timing because they always know better. It's amazing to me. They always know, 

Robyn: and I'm sure that when someone sits down and they start to map out their life, they'll see that those moments and that there's nothing wrong.

there's no wrong choice. They're just choice 

MaryAnn: if you call it wrong, it's wrong. If you say it's wrong, then you're making it wrong. If you say, that is a moment that I learned X, Y, and Z, guess what? It's not wrong anymore. It was a moment and 

Karen: That's the key, [00:45:00] Maryann, I think it is.

look for those repetitive moments in your life. Look back or the decisions that you made and why you made them. I've done that in my life. I have my own book about life mapping as well and it was such an aha for me and it gave me so much self-forgiveness as well. There were so many things that I did along the way and I was like, oh, that was a mistake.

But what I really looked at the choice that I made and the why and what I learned and where it took me, I was able to have a whole different. Vision of myself, and it does change everything. I also will say I love that exercise if anybody who's listening walks away with just one thing, it's try that exercise of writing to your guide and asking them their name and just seeing what comes it sounds crazy to do it, but it's the way I started.

I know Robyn started that way as well, it's the beginning of a daily conversation that you can have and if you write it down, you have it forever. And I love going back in my journals and looking back. It's some of the conversations [00:46:00] that I had and the loving advice and feedback and that's the key that everybody needs to remember too, is.

When you've connected it will blow your mind how much love is in that message and how much they wanna help. So I think those are the nuggets that I'm walking away with from today's conversation. 

MaryAnn: I'm so with you on that. And the validation. They're not trying to trick us. Pay attention to the signs.

Ask them to send you the signs. Just believe them when they do and believe them when they don't. That it's all in your best interest, but they are not trying to confuse us. We have a tendency to complicate things and think about it and let our ego and our fear get in the way and all of these things.

But if we just lean into spaces of trust, it will clear up all of that static and you'll be able to hear them with far more clarity. 

Robyn: Do you do that exercise every day? 

MaryAnn: No, I speak to them like, I'm like, what do you mean? What do you want? I really have the formality for me has left the building.

[00:47:00] and I think it's just because I'm doing this every day for work and for me the natural way that I do it, I will definitely do a meditation. I'll definitely make conscious connection for sure. I absolutely will do that. When I feel called to, when I feel deep feeling to get that done and to make connection when they ask me to, I'll definitely do it.

But for the most part, I'm in constant conversation with them. Yeah. Constant conversation. 

 Yeah. Loved one's a little different. I'll do meeting hours in heaven. I have that meditation in media mentor where you create a space with your loved one that feels familiar to the two of you. And I love that meditation. I do that all the time. When I wanna connect to a loved one, my own loved ones, I will go into different spaces either at my great-grandmother's house or my aunt's house. And I love to meet up with family that way. Yeah, 

Robyn: you gave that exercise to me last time we spoke, and I've been doing it, and I wanted to say thank you for that because it never dawned at me to do that.

And I have a couple of spaces with two [00:48:00] different deceased loved ones that I've really been able to connect in a more meaningful way because 

MaryAnn: of it, it doesn't help you trust because you 

Robyn: Yes. 

MaryAnn: The visualization, you know what your loved one sounds like. You know what the space looks like. It feels familiar.

I always give students that one to start off with because you could feel it in the body. The knowing. 

Robyn: there's something about the feeling of that space that you choose. 'cause it's going to be a safe place. And so just inherently, it helps.

Karen: And it's a memory too that you've had of that experience. Yes. Frequently being in physical with that person. 

Robyn: Yes. 

MaryAnn: And you have total new conversation One of the biggest thrills that I hear is that people do that meditation. when they've had tough relationships with a deceased loved one on the other side, and they now have a whole new relationship with them.

The relationship has carried on with a much more positive tone, which is just fascinating to Wow. 

Robyn: Interesting. that is, 

Karen: that is a great idea. [00:49:00] Wow. 

Robyn: And one more thing before we end. I wanted to bring up something that you said earlier in the conversation, which is that you're not afraid to die, which I say all the time now because of our work and because of my own experiences being able to talk to deceased loved ones.

 can you just talk about that for one more moment Because I think people's biggest fear universally is dying. 

And I think the more that we can help them abolish that fear 

MaryAnn: dying is a part of life. It's just your next step into the next phase of your soul's life.

I often say sometimes it feels like when you're ripping off a bandaid, you take that little like quick breath and then you're in the next realm. Spirit has shown me themselves passing. I've experienced it on different levels

i've had the honor of being bedside with people and they've also shown me themselves in tough states physically, whether in a coma or, they're really out of it [00:50:00] because of pain management and whatever else. And they've shown me themselves outside of the body, no longer experiencing what the body is experiencing, which is just incredible to me.

They have shown me so many, they have shown me so many moments of relief that they have experienced that the soul no longer feels. The complications of this human life that they have let go of all the worries, all the fears that they are consumed by acceptance and love and validation of their life and who they are.

And they completely are in full understanding of why they came. All the answers are given, and within that comes a profound sense of freedom. That to me, when I'm channeling it through a deceased loved one, the relief that they allow me to empathically feel is [00:51:00] such a gift that I don't even know how to put it into words.

 The freedom of just soaring their soul, just soaring and. I'll give you, years ago I read a family who, I did not know this at the time. I was looking at them in a crowd and I said, your son has passed. And they said, yes. And I said they're showing me this that I knew of this little boy who had been bound to a wheelchair his whole life coming out of the wheelchair.

The family had literally made this beautiful headstone of him freeing himself from this wheelchair and the family. And I said I know this is a well-known headstone, but I'm seeing it for you and this is what he's shown me. Their son too had been bound to this to a wheelchair for his life.

And what he was showing me was his complete release of his physical woes. Everything was released. I'll never forget that reading because [00:52:00] not only was it it was just so beautiful and profound, but it was so symbolic. Not only his physical body, but his soul, his everything is released.

And to me that is just so incredibly comforting that we let go and we let love and that's that. 

 And we move on and we continue on. 

Robyn: Wow. 

That 

MaryAnn: answers your question. 

Robyn: It does. 

MaryAnn: good. I wasn't sure, spirit had me going on, but it is the truth.

And I have seen it over and over and over again. And just think it's a beautiful miracle. And I hope when I read people I don't read a lot anymore, but when I did, and when I do, I hope it brings some sort of relief to families who are in grief, because grief is one of the hardest emotions to deal with.

 And for me, it's just miraculous on that other side. No, I'm not afraid to die. Like I said, how do I get there? And what I don't know. 

Robyn: I agree, 

 and neither am I. but I wanna bring that up because it is something, for me, I lost my dad when I was 12 and he died really young.

He was [00:53:00] 41. And I say to my family and to my friends all the time I may not be here tomorrow. No day is promised, and I wanna make sure you know I love you. And that no matter what realm I'm in, I will always be a part of you and I'll find a way to talk to you. So just know that, and I joke, but I mean it.

And so it's, 

MaryAnn: it's true. 

Robyn: It's something that I feel really passionate about and wanna help other people not be so scared and so tied to. This physical plane and physical body. I think the more that we can release that the freer we can even feel right now. Yes. Like right now in our, just knowing , you're gonna be okay, we are gonna find each other no matter what 

MaryAnn: We are. And they are waiting for us. They are right there. Even if they've ascended, even if they're coming back. You will understand. And all will be well. it's really the most incredible part of doing this work. I feel honored to have a little bit of a sneak peek.

Karen: And also thank you for shifting into the [00:54:00] teaching because it is so important. I think more than ever, there's so many who wanna learn, who innately know that they can do it, but just don't know where to start and don't yet trust themselves to be able to do that. And even for the grieving family members who are missing a loved one so much, just to be able to give them that.

Vantage point of the other side of the fact that their loved one is still very much attached to them. Even that gives them that hope and comfort of the possibility. They may not be able to get there fully yet, but I think the more we can give them that evidence that our loved ones are so nearby, it'll help them even in their own lives and even looking forward to what's to come in their own lives.

MaryAnn: it's the honor of my life to channel for families. It really is the honor of my life to do that. I'm just always happy to do it, and I'm never bored and I'm always fascinated, and it's the honor of my service to hopefully bring a moment of peace to families and grief. 

Karen: [00:55:00] I always say too, that at the end of your life, Maryann, when you transition, it'll be the ticker tape parade that you have, because you'll know everyone you know.

Robyn: That's 

Karen: true. Remember Mary, 

MaryAnn: I know you. 

Karen: I've never thought about it like that. 

MaryAnn: Yeah. Making a bunch of friends on the other side. You know what, Karen, you're the first one to ever say that to me. I never thought of it that way, but Sure. Gotta. 

Karen: You're gonna be like, overwhelmed, with the party.

That's 

Robyn: so true. They're gonna like stadiums. 

MaryAnn: Thanks for that. I appreciate it. 

Robyn: Thank you so much for sharing all of this wisdom today and some of those personal stories and. Your soul and time with us say, really we're very grateful. We know this will be the first of many conversations and to find out more about Maryann, her books and offerings, you can visit Maryann DiMarco.com.

We'll have that in our show notes. You can also order the guides deck, which is available for pre-order now. It comes out [00:56:00] on April 14th, so depending on when you're listening to this, it may be before then. So you can find out more about that, on her website as well. So that's Maryann DiMarco, D-I-M-A-R-C o.com.

Thank you so much, MaryAnn. 

MaryAnn: Thank you so much for having me. I love you ladies. I really appreciate Love you too, our conversation. Thank you.