Chesterfield medium doubles as history professor in Japan

Caleb Amick, The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.
·2 min read

Sep. 29—CHESTERFIELD — Not many people can say they've taught college courses in Japan, lived at a spiritualist camp, and talked to spirits of the dead. But Todd Jay Leonard can.

Leonard and his husband live at Camp Chesterfield in a small cottage that doubles as a place where he practices Reiki, using spiritual energy to heal the body.

"I tell people, 'I live at my church,'" Leonard said just before a tour of Camp Chesterfield on Sept. 22 as part of a historic landmark conference.

Also a medium and spiritualist minister, Leonard interacts with people in all stages of life, including the afterlife.

Communicating with the dead is a defining tenet of spiritualism, according to Leonard. Such communication occurs through messages given by mediums.

During the historic landmark tour, Leonard, who serves as camp historian, took guests into the cathedral at Camp Chesterfield, where he explained how spiritualist church services are conducted.

Hymns are sung and a sermon is given, just like in many mainstream Christian churches; however, there's one difference — mediums are used at Camp Chesterfield.

People who serve as mediums participate during the service, delivering messages from the spirit realm.

Leonard on Monday traced his medium talents to childhood.

"My mother told me (later in life) that I would always say that I saw someone in my home," he said. "She just discounted it as the imagination of a child. Perhaps I did have some mediumship contact."

While training to be a medium as an adult, Leonard said, he discovered he had a spirit guide named Taly Wala.

Leonard said Wala channels messages to him, which he then writes down in letter form. Such letters are called "spirit letters," a tangible reminder that departed loved ones are near.

Leonard, a Shelbyville native, has lived in Japan for the past 35 years. He was introduced to the country as a 17-year-old foreign exchange student.

A professor at the University of Teacher Education in Fukuoka, Japan, Leonard teaches about cross-cultural understanding, history and English as a second language.

Leonard teaches his students to use historical events as an interpretive tool.

Follow Caleb Amick on Twitter @AmickCaleb. Contact him at caleb.amick@heraldbulletin.com or 765-648-4254.