Past lives, in the view of intuitive counselor Corby Mitleid, are not for entertainment. She says they are for healing, service and opening doors. Corby has read tarot since 1973 and calls herself a practical psychic. In this conversation with Jeremy Van Wert, she explains what a reading covers, why she protects your free will and how to spot a fake.
ᛉKey takeaways
- Corby says a good reader presents options and information, then leaves the decision to you, and she steps in only when a client describes being in danger.
- She describes a fake psychic as someone who hooks strangers, invents fears and sells expensive rituals, and she reminds people that even the best readers are only about 85 percent accurate.
- Corby believes past lives matter only when they connect to your life now, and she begins a past life reading with an obsession, a phobia or a place that pulls at you.
- Her tool for finding purpose is a sentence of passion, which she describes as how you live rather than what you do for a job.
- When you are upset, Corby suggests asking what you are upset about, why, and what you think would happen if you stopped being upset.
- She ends with the story that taught her compassion: sometimes people just need to know they are valued.
ᛃ Moments in this one
ᚠWhat does a practical psychic do?
Corby Mitleid is an intuitive counselor and certified tarot master who says she began reading in 1973. Her pitch is short: she is a practical psychic, not someone who promises you will meet a man with blue eyes at a bar. She says her work is to show you your opportunities and how to get through the tough stuff, then hand you a toolbox.
She compares herself to a doctor who chooses between a scalpel and an X-ray. Part of her work is talking to guides, and part is using her left brain, shaped by years as an executive recruiter. She keeps the mood light on purpose, since in her view laughter brings shielding down and lets information in.
ᚢHow does free will fit into a psychic reading?
Corby says about 95 percent of her readings start with some version of "does he love me?" She lays out options, such as staying the course, a serious counseling talk or leaving, and then the decision belongs to the client. If they choose to stick it out, she says she has to "zip it," because otherwise she would be taking their free will.
Her one exception is a client who says they are being harmed or are in danger, and then she explains how to leave safely. She also says that if you bring her the same questions every year, she will cut you off like a bartender.
ᚦHow to spot fake psychics
Corby tells of a show in Toronto where, she says, a booth owner grabbed a passerby off the aisle, a practice psychics call hooking. The woman left crying after being told her family would die in two weeks unless she bought 400 blessed candles.
Her warning signs follow from that story: being pulled in off the aisle, being told what to do instead of being given information, and being frightened into paying for a ritual. She adds that even the best readers are only about 85 percent accurate. She hopes to pass good ethics to the next generation, including that you have no right to judge another psychic.
ᚨWhat do past lives mean, and what is karma?
Corby offers the image of an actor. In her example, Matt Smith plays a doctor, a prince and a very different character later on. The characters do not know each other, but one actor brings them all to life, and she compares that actor to the soul.
She describes karma as five things, not carrot and stick: healing, service, contrast, unbalanced energy and healing of beliefs. In her view, past lives are "to heal, serve, open doors," and a past life is useful only when it connects to now. Readers who want to explore their own patterns with a licensed therapist can look at Jeremy's individual therapy and coaching.
ᚱPast life reading stories from Corby
To find a past life, Corby asks for an obsession, a phobia or a place. One client worried that her 29-year-old son would not live more than a mile away. Corby says she saw Utah Beach in 1944, with the client as the commanding officer who pulled him to safety, and the client replied that her son had called her sergeant since he was three.
Corby also gave Jeremy a short reading. After he described a hard few years in his career, she said she saw him as a nineteenth-century physician who followed homeopathy against his father's wishes, with a curious "golden retriever" mind. Jeremy said the description suited him. These are Corby's beliefs and experiences, and no outcome is promised.
ᚲHow to find your sentence of passion
When people ask for their purpose, Corby says she will not tell them, because a purpose someone else gives you is just another "should." She prefers a sentence of passion, which she calls your vapor trail. Hers is to cross the bridge from fear to fearlessness and fly.
She describes a client who was a mechanical engineer and volunteered with hospice. Her sentence was "my heart is eased when I lead the weary home," and it showed her where to put her attention. If you want a community for this kind of open reflection, Thriving Spirits, the Mindful Mutiny community, offers real conversation, live Fireside Chats and a course library.
ᚷThree questions to ask when you are upset
Corby suggests asking what you are upset about, why you are upset about that, and what you think would happen if you stopped being upset. She says people rarely explore the reasons. When her first husband said he was leaving, she asked herself these questions, realized she did not want to lose her friend, and says they stayed friends for years.
If you would like a straight read on whether therapy or deeper work suits you, Jeremy offers a way to find out whether you are a fit.
ᚹThe story that taught Corby compassion
Corby closes with a memory from 1960, when she was seven. A man sat by a restaurant door with his cap on the ground. Her father helped him up, walked him to the lunch counter and told the waitress he could order anything he wanted.
When young Corby asked why he did not just hand him a sandwich outside, her father said, "Honey, sometimes people need to know that they're valued." She says the moment changed her life, and that her last name, Mitleid, means compassion in German.
Psychic, mediumship, past life and energy claims in this episode are the guest's personal beliefs and experiences, not facts or predictions, and are not a substitute for medical, legal or mental health care. Psychedelics and plant medicines may be illegal where you live and aren't right for everyone. Nothing here is a recommendation to use any substance.
ᚨ Questions people ask
What is a practical psychic?
Corby Mitleid uses the term for a reader who gives you opportunities, warnings and tools rather than predictions of fate. She describes her job as handing you a toolbox, and she says you have your own answers and she is there to help you find them.
Do psychics take away your free will?
Corby says a good reader presents options and information, then lets the client decide. The one time she steps in is when someone describes being harmed or in danger, and then she explains how to leave safely.
How do you spot a fake psychic?
In this episode, Corby points to hooking strangers into a booth, scare tactics tied to payment, and a reader who claims to have all your answers. She notes that even the best readers are only about 85 percent accurate.
What is a past life reading for?
Corby believes a past life reading is for healing, serving and opening doors. She asks clients to start with an obsession, a phobia or a place, and says a past life is useful only if it connects to where you are now.