BOOKS & MEDIA

There’s something about Aaron Harris that you feel before he even says a word. Maybe it’s the honesty, maybe it’s the way he holds space, or maybe it’s the fact that nothing about his story feels filtered or performative. As a healer, psychic medium, and spiritual advisor, Aaron has built a community rooted in grief, connection, and real human experience but what stands out most isn’t just the work. It’s the life behind it. In this conversation, we talk about sobriety, adoption, Two-Spirit identity, and what it actually means to live between worlds, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. This isn’t about perfection or having all the answers, it's about staying open, even when it seems impossible.

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Jessica Hernandez: Thank you so much for being able to hold space for myself, our readers/viewers, and those who are needing a sense of community so badly right now with the state of the world. I am so grateful for the opportunity.

Aaron Harris: You are welcome! I am so happy to be able to share my story of who I am and what I do, why this work has transformed my life in every aspect and continues to surprise me daily. Thank you so much. This will be so much fun!

JH: When did you first realize your sensitivity wasn’t something to turn down, but something to listen to?

AH: This question is tricky in itself. My first real experience communicating with a loved one was purely by accident. So turning it down was never really an option. I was curious from the beginning about what spirit or the loved one needed to communicate. It was truly mind blowing.

Some backstory, I was working on a documentary called TYLER as a videographer and editor. While I was editing the film, I had him come through. That was when I truly felt connected to the other side and received messages of love and hope.

JH: How has being adopted shaped your understanding of love, belonging, and identity?

AH: Being adopted is just one piece of my story, but it has really put life into perspective. Life truly is what you make it. I had a hard infancy, experienced bullying, and struggled with substance abuse starting at 15, giving into peer pressure that carried into adulthood. Understanding my generational trauma, my birth family, and the domestic violence and addiction around me, all while trying to find my true self and my gender expression, has been a lot. But finding myself through all of it has been a miracle. The love I give myself now, and how I’ve been able to find myself without losing my optimism and zest for life, means everything. I am not perfect. Mediums get put into this box of being perfect, like we can fix everything, but it is the opposite. I feel like many of us go through hard lives, and this ability becomes a way to give back to people who are still stuck in grief, addiction, loss, or even joy.

JH: What does being Two Spirit mean to you in your everyday life, not as a concept, but as something you live through?

AH: For me, this is not just about identity. I have worked so hard to get to where I am and feel comfortable in my body as a transgender man. Most of the time I live a pretty stealth life. It’s actually kind of funny. I’ve had people look at me confused and ask things like, “So you want to be a woman?” or say, “You wouldn’t make a very attractive woman.” It’s rude, but I laugh because it means I must be doing something right. This life path has been the most difficult, but also the most euphoric. Being in moments where I didn’t like who I was or didn’t see myself in the mirror helped me understand what it means to live in both worlds, as a young teen girl and now as an adult man. I will admit, it’s been real. Calling myself Two Spirit connects both my trans identity and my Native identity into my healing work. It honors myself, my culture, my practice, my lineage, and my ancestors.

JH: First, thank you for being that open. I want to sit with something you said because it feels important. You described that moment during the documentary like it entered your life, not something you went searching for. That changes how people think about mediumship. There is something striking about the way you describe that first experience. It was not something you turned on. It caught you off guard before you even had language for it. The detail about you editing and suddenly feeling Tyler come through shifts everything. It does not feel like you chose this path in a neat way. It feels like it interrupted you, like it came through your work and your focus. What stands out most is that you did not describe it as proof or spectacle. You described it as connection. Love. Hope. Like it changed something in reality for you in that moment. With your adoption and early life, there is a lot of contrast. Instability, trauma, addiction, bullying, but also a clear thread of you still reaching for meaning through all of it. You naming that mediums are not perfect is important. Sensitivity does not come from being untouched. It often comes from surviving things others could not sit in. There is honesty in the way you hold yourself accountable without shame. Saying “I am not perfect” lands more than perfection ever would. And with your identity, it feels less about labels and more about lived experience becoming whole. The way you describe being misread or judged but still finding humor in it shows real resilience. When you talk about living in both worlds, it does not feel like confusion. It feels like expanded understanding. Like you had to learn yourself from multiple angles just to exist. And ending it with “it’s been real” feels honest. Like you are still in it, not trying to wrap it up neatly.

JH: What does sobriety feel like for you, not as a milestone, but as a daily internal experience?

AH: To be honest. All i can say is FUCK. It has been a struggle. It’s had its amazing positives in my life but with the chaos of life right now economically politically socially it has been the hardest thing to keep at. Ive now been sober since 2021. Nayelli really gave me so much strength to find the sober path that I desperately needed to be on. I was getting worse from the drink. Each party would get a little more deep and heavy and when I reconnected with nayelli was starting to get into unfortunately a harder party scene and meeting her truly blessed my life and changed my perspective of my health, who to live for and how to start from the bottom. She’s been with me through so many lows and somehow loved me through everything. I would say that my sobriety now is still difficult but her love, Bucky and the community of amazing followers, clients, and friends has really changed my life and I see clearly what and who it's all worth fighting for.

JH: When you’re working with spirit, what are you actually noticing first: images, emotion, body sensation, or something else?

AH: When I first answer the call so to speak i usually feel a buzz on my left ear and thats how I know I've connected and through that channel i focus on my breath work and subconsciously my breathing pattern will change and I begin to feel an elevated feeling inside where I feel fuzzy and euphoric. When I listen intently I can hear clear as day the voices of departed loved ones and higher powers. It truly is such a crazy experience. I get words verbatim and usually read on emotional energy too so everything the loved one in spirit is feeling and the client plus my emotions its alot to take on when I'm connecting for my clients and folks on the live stream which I would say puts me in a niche in itself.

 JH: What’s something about grief that you understand now that you wish you understood earlier in your life?

AH: If I knew that love was truly the key to finding self and how to heal in a healthy way it probably would have saved me from drinking and getting into numbing the pain as an outlet. But to be honest I feel like everything had to happen for a reason as cliche and cheesy as it sounds. Every single thing I went through thus far has all pin pointed to the key factors of my abilities and advancement over the years of my mediumship and how I communicate with loved ones. I really am grateful for the good, the bad and the ugly shitty parts I had to go through to get here today. 

JH: When you are holding space for someone else’s grief, how do you tell the difference between what is yours and what belongs to them?

AH: It is honestly beautiful to feel the mix of emotions. I can feel the pain of what I am hearing and the depth of loss and grief.

That is where my love and care come in. I talk to people five to six nights a week, sometimes hundreds of people, and I want each person to feel seen and valued. Their loved one is still a real person, not just a spirit. I try to break away from the idea that this work has to feel mystical or distant. I want people to see the raw and real side of it. Your loved one is still who they are, even after death. I also feel my own grief. I think the pain I have been through helps me hold space for others in a real way. It gives them a place to sit with their emotions, even if they do not fully realize it yet. That is why I love typing the notes while I am hearing spirit/loved ones.

JH: Do you feel like your sensitivity is something you have to manage, or something you live inside of?

AH: That’s such a good question too omg. I would say that it’s definitely where I live 24/7. I live in both worlds regardless what other spiritualists and mediums say its where i am the most comfortable and safe in my brain. I can “turn off” the voices and live a normal life but it's more of a muted feeling and kind of like a distant hum. When I'm in the real world I do have moments where spirit does connect and those have been the most beautiful moments. I call it Theres Caputo-ing people when I go up to them and read them. It’s rare but it does happen and sometimes I just can’t help it. Loved ones are always calling!

JH: What is something people assume about you that is not actually true?

AH: Honestly, that I am a gay man. I get that all the time. It used to bother me, but now I see it differently. It is just part of who I am. I can be sensitive, emotional, and still be myself. I say girl a lot, I have feminine moments, but it is also my humor.At this point, I really do not care what people think. They are not living my life. I am just being Aaron. The harder thing for me is accepting compliments. People tell me my work has changed their lives, and it is hard for me to see that. It just feels like who I am and what I am meant to do.

JH: I want to pause on something you said because it says a lot about how you move through this work. You are not separating yourself from what you do. It feels like you are just living inside of it. When you talk about grief, you are not creating distance from it. You are bringing it closer and making it human. That idea that spirit does not erase who someone is, that they are still themselves, feels like a belief that shapes everything you do. There is also something powerful in you saying it is beautiful to feel all of it. Not everyone can sit in that kind of emotional intensity and stay open. The fact that you do that for so many people consistently says a lot. And with identity, I noticed how you moved through that answer. You started with what people assume, but then you grounded yourself again. You came back to just being Aaron and that feels so important. It shows a level of self acceptance that does not rely on what other people think. And what you said about struggling to receive praise, that is common for people who are actually making an impact. When something feels natural to you, it is hard to see how big it is for others.

JH: What part of yourself do you think people feel before you even speak?

AH:  My pain. My strength. My courage. My resilience. Tearing up as I answer this to be honest. My hopes I guess is that they feel safe, seen, and know that for the next 15 minutes when they book with me that they truly can be felt energetically and be met where they are even if they can't be there for themselves. They are going through the hardest and darkest moment of their lives possibly for the first time in their life like this and to be so vulnerable with a guy on tiktok live stream you know i hope creates a place of healing and community for them. That this place is truly healing for all. Any walk of life. Yes, even political. I keep my space available for ANYONE because we are human. This might be controversial but I truly have created a space for all. I literally am all the demographics that are targeted but if they can put aside differences that they see that i am safe and loving and they can maybe change the perspective of what they have been fed. That healing for all is truly what it is. 

JH: Do you feel pressure to perform spirituality because of your platform?

AH: A little bit of both. I try so hard to stick to a schedule while on the same coin I try to be as authentic and transparent about my mental health and I go through in my day to day life. I'm horrible at content but my live stream is my bread and butter and I can share my life and be open. With transparency I hope that I can mend the trust with private sessions. Some days its so fucking hard to even show up for myself. I try to balance everything while being a one man show and it truly gets hard for me. The pressure can definitely be felt when I mismanage my schedule and I'm scrambling to get things done with bills and such and I feel like my stress can be seen so that's been a little difficult. But I am hopeful that things will grow and evolve to a point where I am booked out for the next 6 months one day where the LIVEs can be back to being fun and open again. But I truly enjoy every day I get to see my regulars and make new friends!

JH: When you imagine your younger self, the version of you before sobriety, before clarity, before stability, what do you think that version of you would be most surprised by today?

AH: Oh gosh! Probably finding joy in the mundane and quiet to be honest. Being able to sit with myself and be content playing video games, painting, resting. The little things. Not having to drink or smoke to have fun. It's a little lonely and isolating because socially i dont haven't really put effort in finding sober friends or in person hang outs. My social life for the past 3-4 years has been my LIVE stream and outings with nayelli. Maybe that will change and I can meet people in person for live in person work and meet ups lol but I would say the quiet and peaceful moments of life. I still have stressful moments but it's getting easier. 

JH: What you said about people feeling your strength and resilience before you speak really stayed with me. That is not just presence, that is something people pick up on immediately. But what stood out even more is what you want them to feel after. Safety. Someone being in one of the hardest moments of their life and finding a place where they are not judged, that carries weight. And it is clear you take that seriously. When you talk about pressure, it does not feel abstract. It feels real. Schedules, money, responsibility, showing up for people while also trying to take care of yourself. There is a tension there between being a healer and just being a person trying to get through life. And you are honest about that. What I also notice is that you always come back to people. Community. Connection. That seems to ground you. And what you said about your younger self, that quiet being the most surprising thing, that says a lot. Finding peace in stillness after everything you have been through is not small. That is a huge shift. We’re getting closer to the core of this piece now, so I want to slow it down slightly.

JH: What does “healing for all” actually mean to you when you’re in a room full of very different people with very different beliefs?

AH: That we all share one common thing between us and that is pain. But also love. We all have experienced the loss of one person that mean the world to us, that we loved and who loved us. As a healer it’s where its like a rock and hard place to separate Aaron the person and Aaron the healer. Because i am a brown indigenous two spirit transman like my world and safety and my morals do feel compromised sometimes lol. Like if you connect with me then how truly deep are you in your belief system to not agree for me to live as myself and be happy. The healer part of me though see’s the deep human part of us that we share our pain and try to be vulnerable to have our loved ones come through. To be heard, connect, seen, and loved just how they were here in earth plane. Love really is the key for connection. 

JH: What’s something you’ve had to unlearn about what it means to be a “spiritual leader” or public healer?

AH: That i don’t need a script. That even upwards of 50 people on my live stream will sit with me and listen to my 4 hour rambles of deep spiritual topics and daily life and will continue to show up for me and hear me talk for the remaining nights of the week. I didn’t know I’m that entertaining lol for content too! Which is really the hardest for me. I get so in head of what even to talk about or how to present a topic. I feel like I'm getting a little better at it but you know people who follow will get what they get I guess. 

JH: And finally when you imagine the future version of your work, what does it feel like, not what does it look like?

AH: Feels like connection. A grief Community but of love and acceptance. That i never thought in a million years i’d reach this goal of 66,390. To some this number might look small but for me the number is crazy. In person tears, love, laughter, and remembrance. That we started at the very bottom of 25 community members and grew to 300 and then to 1000 and now somehow 66,390 have found their way to my work and are growing everyday. It’s mind blowing. But i would honestly say community. Im so excited to the future of my work and niche and how we can eventually take the live platform to an in person community and maybe even in person shows or in person healings one day. 

JH: There is something really clear after talking with you. This is not just about spirit. It is about connection.

You are creating a space where people can stay connected to their grief, their love, and each other without being rushed through it. Thank you for being this open, and for trusting me with your story. There’s a lot in what you shared that people are going to see themselves in, whether it’s grief, identity, sobriety, or just trying to figure life out in real time. It doesn’t feel polished, and that’s what makes it meaningful. It feels so honest. and refreshing. And I think that’s what people will stay with long after this conversation ends.

AH: Thank you so much for taking time with this and supporting this crazy work! It's been so fun and healing!

Catch Aaron on TikTok LIVE Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays @8PM Pacific Standard Time for readings, open chat, and grief support. 

- Follow Aaron on all socials @aaronharrislive

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