Entrepreneur, Shay Parker is this month’s Diamond Feature representing the ‘Beautiful Spirit’ that Bellesprit represents.  Although Shay says she isn’t a psychic, she is one of the biggest names within the metaphysical community.  She owns, manages, and operates many different business,’ all of which are extremely successful.  She founded both Best American Psychics and Best American Healers in an effort to provide a safe and professional service for those who seek guidance.  Both sites are Internet directories, which focus on promoting professional and accurate practitioners who are known experts in their fields. Even with the existence of the two sites mentioned above, she is also the host of 2 radio shows on the CBS network.  Shay gives freely of her spare time to mentor many in the metaphysical community.  Guiding and advising, she does it all without asking for anything in return. Born in DC, Shay grew up in an Italian American household with her parents and 2 siblings. “My parents worked all the time and had 3 jobs to make ends meet.  We lived hand to mouth.”  Shay begins to lighten the mood as she recalls her family dinners every night at the dinner table. “Mom would work diligently to cook the family meal and dad was always home for dinner.  We all sat at the dinner table and ate together. We were very close.” Shay recalls her Sunday’s spent with her family after going to church. She says that Sunday was one of her favorite days of the week where she could spend the day with both mom and dad and her siblings. “Holidays were made special,” she recalls, “We weren’t rich financially, but we were rich in family life.” Ever since Shay can remember animals have always been her first love.  As a child, she would rescue strays and bring them home to nurture and love. That love still remains today as an advocate for animal rights. Shay has dedicated her life to saving animals. Several years ago she founded the organization called Hope Through Havoc, an animal rescue service where animals are rescued from shelters and the streets. There she gives hope and love to abandoned animals. Her goal is to find caring individuals to adopt these animals as a loving addition to their family. When asked about Best American Psychics and if she herself was a psychic Shay exclaims, “No, I am not psychic!” So what prompted her to start her own business in the world of the metaphysical?  Shay shared a chilling story of an experience which changed her life forever, not as a child, but as an adult. Shay was well on her own as a young woman when she moved into a beautiful 100 year old cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. She lived in the guest quarters with her loving pets by her side. “I didn’t think of it as being haunted, but I started to have electricity problems, the lights would go on and off.” Shay considered herself a skeptic at the time and didn’t put much stock into these events being paranormal. Then one day a stranger commented to her that she had heard rumors of the old house being haunted by spirits and even asked, “Is your house really haunted?” This was the first she had heard of anything related to a haunting.  She thought it was odd that this woman was making reference to her home as being haunted. There were some weird things happening, sure, but her house haunted? She quickly dismissed the notion of anything paranormal going on, at least for now. As time went by, the activity heightened. Shay recalls a time when she had arrived home during a storm. It was pitch dark that night and it was storming badly. She was exhausted from a long night at work. She entered her darkly lit home and flipped on the light switch. The lights came on briefly and then they shut right back off.  She found herself shouting to the ghosts ‘Oh c’mon! Gimme a break!’ Shay explained what happened next, “I kid you not! The light turned back on; that heavy old fashioned light switch just snapped back up to the on position!”  She looked at the light switch and began to turn it off and on a few times. Dumbfounded, she just stood there and stared at it.  She thought, ‘maybe it was just a fluke.’  She still wasn’t convinced her home was haunted. The activity picked up when a strange female voice began coming from the bathroom. Her dogs would often bark at the bathroom at some unknown intruder.  Soon afterward, she adopted a cat named Chance and even the cat began to be aware of the ghostly presence.  She recalls a time when the mystery voice was calling to the cat. Chance got up and walked straight over to the voice. On one occasion Shay remembers being touched in a non-threatening way, thought it was odd and brushed it off.  The final turn of events was when she had a group of friends over for an evening of fun.  After everyone had left, one person remained to help clean up the kitchen. Suddenly Shay heard a loud cry from the kitchen. Her friend told her that she was tripped by an unseen entity and was pretty shaken up.  Shay recalls, “This was the turning point. Something had to be done. What was going on here? “  This was when Shay decided to call in a professional medium.  Something was definitely going on here, the animals knew it, her friends knew it, and finally she knew it. Shay called a local medium to help make sense of these bizarre happenings. She wasn’t sure what to expect from the medium’s visit and wondered what would transpire by having this stranger whom she didn’t know come into her home to talk to spirits. Finally she heard a knock on her door. The lady was invited in and asked if she may take a look around. She quietly walked through the home taking careful stock of each room, yet not uttering a word. Shay observed the woman from afar not sure what would happen next.  The medium then went back to the bathroom and Shay started to say what she had experienced there. The woman said, “Wait! Stop! Give me a minute. What’s happening in here?” The Medium then began to explain, “This is where it happened, in this bathroom. There was a death in the bathroom, a female…,” she let out a long pause and continued, “She fell and hit her head, it was an accident. Her name is Carolyn,” another quiet pause,” And she is happy you got the cat. She loves cats! She has been here for many years.” When asked about her friend who had been tripped, the medium went on to explain that the reason Carolyn tripped the friend was because her friend did not like the animals! From that moment Shay‘s eyes were opened. Helpful and honest, the medium charged her normal fee and left. Shay stated, “I could have been rooked and been taken advantage of. She could have said I was experiencing a possession and try to string me along insisting more money would solve my problem, but the medium did nothing of the sort.” Shay was very thankful for the medium. “I had been telling my sister the whole time about the experiences I have had with the haunting. She had been at the house and didn’t have any experiences, but she knows I am a left brained person and she believed me.” It had finally made sense with all the bizarre events her animals were picking up on. This is the day that had changed her life forever. Shay began to research everything she could get her hands on in relation to psychics and mediums.  She did her homework and wanted to change others’ lives in the same way hers had been changed that day. “I began to delve deeper into it. I wanted to know what I was talking about.” Shay began to build the foundation for what is now known as Best American Psychics, a directory of proven psychics and mediums. “I feel very fortunate that I came out of it with a positive experience. I started to sketch the layout and how I wanted it to be different. I wanted credentials. It wasn’t about the money. I wanted to limit the number of psychics that I recommended and only have 50 people that are really gifted.” Shay has very strict guidelines when having a psychic or medium added to her business. She hand picks all of her psychics and requires them to do a series of interviews and readings before they are accepted. “We test on so many different levels, including an eloquent delivery. Our testers have been trained to look for accuracy of the information being given. The person is also asked to do 2 readings, first by one of our testers, and again by a volunteer client. We like to have 2 different opinions before asking a psychic to come on board. We want to know without a shadow of a doubt that the psychic fits the quality of standards set by the service. The volunteers are prepped so that they know not to give the psychic any information.” Shay does this because her main concern is for the safety and privacy for her clients. There is a code of conduct set in place in which all must follow; for example, not to share any information about the clients to anyone. The psychics are not allowed to ask for other fees outside of the reading which keeps it safe. She asks that all the psychics remain professional outside of the service which includes their personal Facebook and Twitter pages.  “Clients see these things and if a psychic seems to have a hang-up about a particular group of people or ideas it makes BAP (Best American Psychics) lose credibility.” Shay’s main concern is for her clients. She ensures that they receive the best, safest and most positive experience that the service has to offer. Today Shay owns and operates Best American Psychics and Best American Healers. She is excited about a new project in the works called Ripple This!, which will be launched in late January. In addition to her services, she also hosts 2 of her own radio programs, Metaphysical Minds, and Best of The Best which are aired on the CBS Radio Network featuring many of her psychics and healers from the directory. Shay has interviewed such celebrities as Melissa Etheridge, Lisa Williams and John Oliver just to name a few. Somewhere in between everything she does, there still remains her devotion to the animals which is a love that runs deep. The sky is the limit for Shay Parker. She never ceases to amaze those whose lives she has touched. Many of the psychics she works with associate her with the popular song by Bette Midler, ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ “It might have appeared to go unnoticed, but I’ve got it all here in my heart. I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it. I would be nothing without you. Did you ever know that you’re my hero? You’re everything I wish I could be. I could fly higher than an eagle, ‘cause you are the wind beneath my wings.” And rightfully so!]]>