Jess Stearn: A Life Well Lived

Shortly after awakening on March 27th, Tara told me she had dreamed about Jess Stearn in the pre-dawn hours. “He was illuminated in sunshine and looking younger and better than he has in years. He just smiled down at me, then kissed me on the forehead and gave me a hug.”

Tara and I spent the next half-hour sipping a morning cup of green tea and discussing the kind of welcome Jess would probably receive when he crossed over into spirit. We decided Edgar Cayce would be there along with many of his personal friends who had passed on. “I’ll bet Abenda will be there, considering how many years Jess and I have been close friends,” Tara said.

We knew Jess wasn’t doing well and had planned to stop and see him that morning on our way out of town to go to Sedona, Arizona to conduct the Psychic Seminar. Two hours later Tara called his house, only to learn from a nurse that he had died at 5 AM that morning.

Jess died exactly one month before his 88th birthday. During his life, he worked as a reporter for the “New York Daily News” and as an associate editor at “Newsweek,” in addition to authoring 30 books, including the bestseller, “The Sleeping Prophet: The Life and Work of Edgar Cayce.” Jess did not experience any of the diseases that plague the elderly, which may be a testimonial to his yoga lifestyle. He continued to write until a few months ago when he suffered a mild stroke. And he lived out his life in his beloved Malibu beach-house.

Jess’ “Adventures Into The Psychic” and “The Search for the Girl With Blue Eyes,” were two of the key books that influenced me to begin exploring the metaphysical field as a career sideline in the mid-seventies. In the early eighties, actress Susan Strasberg and metaphysical author/alchemist Pat Flanagan drew me into a party circuit that included Jess. We got to know each other across the table at LA dinner parties. In February 1983, I had a party at my Malibu house to announce the first Valley of the Sun Video-Hypnosis® tape. Jess arrived with family friend Tara McKean. The outcome of that meeting has been well told in Jess’ book “Soulmates” and my “Earthly Purpose.”

Four years before meeting my wife-to-be, Jess did a psychic reading for Tara and predicted that he would introduce her to the most important man in her life. He also foresaw her dressed in white on his patio. We were married on Jess’ beach-house deckTara dressed in white. There-after, Jess became part of all our family events, birthday parties, and social gatherings. Our daughter Cheyenne was born on Jess’ birthday, which bonded them as b-day buddies.

Over the years, we often invited Jess to dinner at our house. These are some of my favorite memoriesJess talking about his adventures as a reporter, his contacts with famous people, and his explorations of the psychic world. We encouraged him to put the stories down on paper. Many were included in one of his last books, “Meetings: A Reporter’s Notebook.”

Considering the life Jess led and the wisdom he communicated to millions, I’d say he had one hell of a run. In one of his after-death communications with Tara via automatic writing, Jess said, “I now find myself asking why did I want to hang on to that old worn-out life.”

But for many of us, he didn’t hang on long enough. We all wish you well Jess, and no doubt, we’ll meet again.

Dick Sutphen
Malibu, CA 4/2002