LGBTQ+Ñ Literary Festival kicks off this week in Los Angeles

Washington State-native Travis Holp is a psychic medium with close to 300 thousand followers on Instagram and 500 thousand on Tik Tok.  Known on social media as the Warrior Unicorn – a nod to his fighting spirit toward LGBTQ and mental health awareness issues, combined with his effervescent personality – Travis connects with those who have passed over and delivers messages to their loved ones in the physical world.  

Through one-on-one readings and large public events, he says he does it with one aim in mind:  that clients leave their time with him feeling a new sense of connection, clarity, closure and healing. He’ll make his Los Angeles debut at The Vault in the Beverly Center on Sunday, September 29, at 7pm.

Holp doesn’t recall when he discovered his psychic ability.   He simply remembers being very young, maybe four-years-old, and having long conversations with what people around him assumed were his imaginary friends but, he now realizes, were his Spirit guides.   “I can’t say there was one specific moment, but more like many moments throughout my life.”

It wasn’t until his early 20s when he decided to turn his skill into a profession.  “Early on in my journey, I read as many books on mediumship as I could find,” he continues. He quickly found himself inundated with Spirit hoping to connect with loved ones in the physical world.  

One of his biggest concerns became protecting his energy and learning to keep boundaries with the spiritual world.  

“My now mentor and friend MaryAnn DiMarco wrote this great book called Medium Mentor, and she has some great exercises for spiritual protection.”  

He also takes steps to nurture his special gift. “I regularly meditate and do things to raise my vibration like dancing to music.”  A favorite song of his to listen to before readings and live events is Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth”.

He believes most people have psychic abilities.  Some, like himself, are born with it, and others access it later in life. “Like any other ability, it is absolutely possible for a person to learn to connect for him or herself,” he says.  He often teaches people how to do it during sessions and at live classes.

The best way he has found to enhance mediumistic abilities is to actively participate in one’s own emotional healing.  He says the connection we have with ourselves is the foundation for mediumship.  “Like anything, it takes some training but I have gotten really adept at understanding the messages Spirit tells me,” Holp explains.   He sees Spirit in his mind’s eye, and he hears and feels their communications. “Spirit uses my own frame of reference and symbols to help me convey their messages.”

His main purpose with Spirit is being a vessel.  He views himself as the Guncle (gay uncle) of the Spirit world.   “I always tell it like it is,” he says, “but I’m careful to deliver information with kindness, joy, and hope.”  

Though both of his grandmothers “pop in” from time to time (he’ll feel their warm and loving energy and always enjoys it when they come to say hello!), he typically won’t read for close family members because he knows too much information about them.  However, sometimes Spirit does present itself for a loved one.  

When it does, Travis will thank the Spirit for coming but let them know that he prefers not to send a message. It’s all about keeping healthy boundaries between himself and his loved ones.

He does the same thing while on dates.  

“I don’t date much, but when I do and I tell a guy how I make my living, they often worry that I’m reading them.  I am not,” he insists.    “I may get little nudges here and there, like one time I felt the energy of a mom in Spirit for someone I was on a date with, and a few moments later, he shared his mom had passed from cancer a few years prior, but I won’t stop a date to deliver a reading.  It’s not very romantic,” he laughs. 

“I believe I am meant to help others along their healing journey,” he continues.  “Whether a client seeks guidance on a specific topic, wants to connect with a loved one in Spirit, or wants to deepen their own spiritual practice, I’m here to help like any great guncle who knows a lot of sh-t would.” 

He admits that he often surprises himself with the accuracy of his messages. “I especially love it when the two people shared a special word or song and then Spirit reveals that word or title to me so that I can relay it back to my client.  It’s validation, for sure, but it is also a fun feather in my cap.”

As far as the messages that he most often receives from Spirit, Holp says our dearly departed wish that we would let go of regret, guilt, and shame. “One of the things I have learned from Spirit is that most of what we carry isn’t necessary.  In the end, all that really matters is love.”

Travis Holp appears at The Vault in the Beverly Center (8500 Beverly Blvd, Suite 860) on Sunday, Sept 29th at 7pm. For tickets, visit: www.travisholp.com