Psychic or Psychosis? (Jesus Take the Wheel)

Three years ago, on September 13, 2023, I was lying on a fuzzy white rug on the floor of my son’s nursery, believing I was about to die. What happened over the next 43 minutes changed the course of my life forever.

In Part II of my near-death experience story, I’m finally sharing the full experience of what happened to me that day. I share what it felt like to believe my deceased loved ones were gathering to bring me home, the indescribable gravitational pull I felt throughout my body, holding my son and believing I was saying goodbye to him for the last time, and my experience of coming face to face with God and Jesus.

I also share what I experienced in their presence, including an overwhelming love unlike anything I had ever felt before, why I came away with an entirely different understanding of what it means to “fear God,” the life review I experienced, being shown a flash-forward of future events, meeting my future daughter, and the moment I believed I was given a choice to stay or leave.

And because this is Psychic or Psychosis?, I’m also looking back at the parts of the experience that are much harder to untangle three years later. I can question pieces of what I saw in my life review and what I interpreted about my future without questioning the supernatural encounter that changed me forever.

Please make sure you’re all caught up on Episodes 1 & 2 before starting this episode. Part I of the NDE story begins in Episode 2, and you’ll need that context for what happens here.

Normally, episodes will be around 24 minutes, but Episode 3 is a one-time exception. This story felt way too important to squeeze into a shorter episode, so this one is a little over an hour. There was A LOT to cover.

And fair warning, there are a lot of f-bombs. Don’t play this one in front of your kids. 😂

I know it might be tempting to skip ahead to the parts you’re most curious about (like coming face to face with Jesus), but please listen from start to finish. So much of what happens later only makes sense with the context of what came before it.

Listen on Substack, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. 🎧

And if you’re enjoying the podcast, please share it with a friend you think might resonate with my story. It helps more than you know.

You can also follow along with me on Instagram @monica.imani and @monicathemedium, and learn more about my work at monicaimani.com.

P.S. If you listen with the transcript feature turned on, please keep in mind that transcripts are auto-generated and may contain errors or typos.

Get full access to Psychic or Psychosis? (Jesus Take the Wheel) at monicaimani.substack.com/subscribe

Surprise. You’re getting an episode early. 🎙️

I’ve been promising that I would finally share my full near-death experience this Sunday, September 27th, and you still have my word. That episode is coming Sunday.

But when I sat down to record the story, it became clear there was no way I could tell it properly in one episode without either rushing through some really important pieces or giving you an insanely long episode. 😂 So for this one time, I’m breaking my every-other-Sunday schedule and releasing Part I early.

Because the story of what happened to me on September 13th, 2023 actually begins two days earlier.

In this episode, I’m taking you back to September 11, 2023 and one of the strangest experiences of my life: a moment involving a deceased friend of mine, a knock at my front door approximately ten seconds later, and a business card containing the exact words I believed I had just received from Spirit:

Freedom to choose. Power to save.

If you’re a paid Substack subscriber and read my September 11th essay, most of this episode will be familiar to you. If you haven’t read it, you can hear the entire story for free in today’s episode.

And then this Sunday, September 27th, Part II drops.

That’s where I’ll take you into the nursery with me and tell you what happened during those 43 minutes: the physical sensation I still struggle to describe, my encounter with God and Jesus, the choice I was given, and why, three years later, I still call what happened to me a near-death experience.

My experience did not involve my heart medically stopping or being resuscitated, so I understand that it may not fit everyone’s definition of an NDE. You don’t have to use the same words I do to hear my story. But I know with every part of my soul that what I experienced was a true NDE, so that’s what I will continue to call it.

Episode 3: The Day I Came Face to Face With God and Jesus (The NDE Story, Part II) arrives this Sunday.

Get full access to Psychic or Psychosis? (Jesus Take the Wheel) at monicaimani.substack.com/subscribe

Three years ago my life completely unraveled.

I’m finally ready to start telling the full story.

In this first episode of Psychic or Psychosis? (Jesus Take the Wheel), I’m sharing why I’ve waited three years to talk openly about what happened to me, what it was like to lose trust in the very intuition I had built my entire career around, and what it has taken to rebuild my life.

This isn’t a podcast where I’m going to try to convince you that everything I experienced was spiritual. And it isn’t a podcast where I’m going to dismiss everything I experienced as psychosis either.

This is about the gray area.

And this is where the story begins.

In this episode:

00:00 — The Unraveling of a Medium

Three years ago, my life and career completely unraveled. After more than a decade of working as a professional medium, including having my own television series on Freeform, I found myself unable to trust my own mind and struggling to distinguish between spiritual downloads and symptoms of mental illness during a psychotic break in 2023.

02:57 — Why I’m Finally Telling This Story

Why I created this 24-episode limited series and my hope that sharing my personal testimony helps someone else feel less alone in their own suffering. I also address the sensitive topic of suicidal thoughts, what my work as a medium has taught me about suicide, and the misconception that experiencing psychosis makes someone an unfit parent.

06:15 — Motherhood, Forgiveness & Rebuilding

Looking back on the last three years of rebuilding my reputation, career, and personal life, the gratitude I feel that my son is healthy and thriving despite what I went through when he was young, and learning to forgive myself. How even the most painful chapters of our lives can sometimes lead to more beautiful and purposeful beginnings.

14:45 — Navigating Career & Stigma

The damage psychosis caused to my professional reputation as a medium, why I chose to be transparent about my mental health rather than simply continuing my career as if nothing had happened, and the complicated tension between being perceived as spiritually gifted and being labeled with a mental illness.

15:31 — Personal Transformation & Growth

Sobriety from marijuana, nearly four years alcohol-free, getting married, rebranding my business, and rebuilding my life. Why the delays in releasing this podcast may have been part of God's timing.

17:13 — Exploring the Spiritual Gray Area

Why this podcast isn’t about providing definitive answers, but exploring the gray area where spirituality and mental illness can become difficult to distinguish. Throughout the series, I’ll explore losing trust in myself, what I believed while I was experiencing psychosis, and what I understand now with the benefit of hindsight.

23:02 — Faith, God & the Name “Imani”

How a message I received during my psychosis ultimately led me to legally change my last name to Imani, meaning “faith,” and how my relationship with God and Jesus became a central part of my healing and surrender. I also set the stage for where this story really begins: September 13, 2023, the day I had an experience involving God and Jesus that would forever change the course of my life.

New episodes every other Sunday.

About the Podcast

For more than a decade, Monica Imani worked as a professional medium. She starred in two seasons of her own television show, Monica the Medium, wrote the bestselling book Messages from Above, toured the country as a medium, and taught thousands of people how to trust their intuition.

Then, in 2023, everything unraveled.

In Psychic or Psychosis? (Jesus Take the Wheel), Monica tells the story she’s been afraid to tell for nearly three years: a journey through spirituality, psychosis, motherhood, addiction, shame, faith, and ultimately, rebuilding her life.

What happens when someone whose career was built around intuition can no longer distinguish intuition from fear, signs from coincidence, or spiritual experiences from symptoms?

This limited 24-episode series isn’t about proving what was psychic and what was psychosis. It’s about exploring the gray area in between, questioning what Monica once believed, making peace with what she may never fully understand, and discovering what happens when certainty falls apart and faith is all that’s left.

Jesus, take the wheel.

Connect with Monica: Website: monicaimani.com

Instagram: @monica.imani & @monicathemedium

Get full access to Psychic or Psychosis? (Jesus Take the Wheel) at monicaimani.substack.com/subscribe

A little sneak peek. ♥️

Episode 1 of Psychic or Psychosis? (Jesus Take the Wheel) premieres this Sunday evening, September 13th.

24 episodes. One story I’ve been terrified to tell for almost three years.

See you Sunday. Jesus, take the wheel.

Get full access to Psychic or Psychosis? (Jesus Take the Wheel) at monicaimani.substack.com/subscribe

Hi friends,

Wine & Spirits will be on a brief hiatus. I'll be back with a new episode on Wednesday, April 18th. I apologize for this unexpected announcement and I'm sorry to disappoint those of you who were looking forward to a new episode tomorrow. I've been dealing with some things in my personal life over the last few months that have been quite overwhelming for me and I need to take a break from podcasting in order to make my health and well-being a bigger priority right now.

The other reason for this hiatus is so that I can have some time to (hopefully) secure sponsors for future episodes which would help sustain the longevity of this podcast and keep Wine and Spirits going at at a more consistent quality and pace moving forward. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love sharing my spiritual and personal life experiences, delving into a variety of topics and tips, chatting with guests, answering your questions, and of course; giving healing messages from above!

But unlike many other podcasts you listen to, I create it all by myself and this isn't my full or even part-time job. I do every aspect from pre to post production of each episode in my free time and at my own expense, and since I currently don't have a form of revenue from the podcast, I can't afford to outsource any of the work. This is part of the reason why I've decided to focus on some other projects right now so that I can use a portion of my income along with 100% of any ad revenue I make towards covering the costs of hiring a freelance podcast producer/interview booker and audio editor. This extra help will allow for higher quality content in each episode -- additional/longer readings, interviews with experts in a variety of spiritual fields, and will also free up time for me to dive deeper into many of the topics that you all have been asking for. I may even be able to start releasing an occasional bonus episode!

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. All the support (the positive ratings and reviews, kind comments, sweet messages on social media, etc.) is what's made me not want to give up and I promise I'll be back before you know it!

Love,

Monica 

 

In the meantime- keep up to date with me by following on social media, subscribing to the newsletter on my website, or attending one of my upcoming live events!Upcoming "Messages from Above" Events: www.monicathemedium.com/events

Instagram/Twitter/Snapchat: @MonicatheMedium 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/monicathemedium

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, Monica’s boyfriend Tyler Scott joins the podcast as today’s special guest! And later in the episode, Monica surprises another lucky winner with a mini-reading filled with healing messages from her husband, parents, and niece.

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Monica's first book is out now! Messages from Above: What Your Loved Ones in Heaven Want You to Know is available in ebook and paperback on Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, and other online retailers. The audiobook (total run time: 9 hours 13 minutes) is narrated by Monica and available on Amazon, Audible, and Itunes (Apple Books). The hardcover and signed copies are available exclusively through Monica's online store. 

Monica's Website: https://www.monicathemedium.com 

Follow Monica on Social Media: @MonicatheMedium

This podcast does not have a set schedule, so remember to subscribe so that you're notified when new episodes are released! And if you enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating and a review for Wine & Spirits within the Apple Podcasts app!

Biweekly #MediumMondays are now switching to #WineWednesdays!

New episodes of Wine and Spirits with Monica the Medium will now be released every other Wednesday, beginning this Wednesday February, 7th. 

 

Monica's website: www.monicathemedium.com

Upcoming "Messages from Above" Events: www.monicathemedium.com/events

Monica's Instagram/Twitter: @MonicatheMedium

Part 2 of Monica's Health & Fitness themed episode! In the first half of this episode, Monica shares her full journey with food and exercise and what has worked for her in regards to how she lost 35+ pounds. In the second half of the episode (beginning at 22:16) Monica joins her trainers Sia and Stephen in answering listener's questions. 

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Monica's first book is out now! Messages from Above: What Your Loved Ones in Heaven Want You to Know is available in ebook and paperback on Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, and other online retailers. The audiobook (total run time: 9 hours 13 minutes) is narrated by Monica and available on Amazon, Audible, and Itunes (Apple Books). The hardcover and signed copies are available exclusively through Monica's online store. 

Monica's Website: https://www.monicathemedium.com 

Follow Monica on Social Media: @MonicatheMedium

This podcast does not have a set schedule, so remember to subscribe so that you're notified when new episodes are released! And if you enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating and a review for Wine & Spirits within the Apple Podcasts app!