"For me a great gift of being an intuitive is the ability to sense what cannot be seen."

I marveled at the flocks of purple-feathered turkeys and black Canada geese that lived wild, protected on federal land. Marcelle greeted me, smiling: "Welcome to Danbury." I gulped. Universes collided. There she stood, brown-skinned and exotic like a gypsy in her long, colorful floral skirt, jet black hair flowing--a hint of her Lebanese ancestry. But looming behind her was a double-wire fence made of razor blades with dagger points. I braced myself, took one long, deep breath. We headed in.

Prisons are not places of curves or color. Everywhere I looked there were angled concrete slabs, beige rectangular compounds, square vaulted doors that slammed shut at lockdown, and bleached-out benches, all screaming ninety degrees. Marcelle and I walked through the yard--about the size of two football fields--and entered the auditorium, a landscape that looked bleak but, even so, vibrated with palpable energy. For me a great gift of being an intuitive is the ability to sense what cannot be seen. Now, here, I felt invisible spotlights warming me like the sun, coming from the women's eyes. All around I watched hundreds of eyes looking up at us, questioning, searching, shining. Rough edges and softness mixed. Mysterious oval brown African eyes, wise crones' eyes, others bright blue or green. I could sense the humming of anger and fear, the restlessness beneath their skin ... and at the same time a subtle glow permeating it all.

"Good evening, ladies," Marcelle cheerfully greeted the crowd. "I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Orloff." I walked up onto the stage, cautiously sat down. I felt tiny, scanning the huge auditorium packed with a sea of khaki-uniformed women. I knew the externals of our lives couldn't have been more different. Also, I was a perfect setup to be stereotyped. Psychiatrist and intuitive healer from California? Come on. How many people, particularly on the East Coast, could have a field day with that? If only I came from the Midwest! I wondered if I'd be heard at all. I had to remind myself that the sign-up sheet for this workshop had been filled within twenty minutes. These women had all chosen to come, to give up their free time.

I began with basics. "How many of you were warned by your intuition not to commit a crime but didn't pay attention?" Nearly everyone raised a hand.

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