Heather Bellamy spoke with Claire Hine

Claire: Well it was quite amazing. I'd been through a trail of destruction through relationships. I was looking for love. I'd lost my Mother; my Dad was very distant and I didn't really see my brother. I was living 500 miles away from home on my own in a flat. I went through many relationships looking for love and had come to a point where I thought I didn't want a relationship anymore, but I was looking for the truth. At this point God stepped in. I was a very spiritual person who'd searched all the avenues and religions you can think of; every thought process; all the psychology; but still had no answers. At around this time I had gone to London partying. I lived to party. I was skinny dipping on Portreath beach. I would do anything sensual to enjoy life, but was still empty. I went to a housewarming party in this kind of frame of mind thinking, I'm just so bored. I'm just so bored with life. Nothing seems to answer this hunger inside. At this very low key party a lot of the girls weren't wearing makeup, because they were rural country girls and I walked in all dolled up to the nines. At that party I was introduced to a young six foot four man called Greg Hine and he was the first person I ever met from being a very small child that I could not read and the gift I had was very strong. I could touch somebody's pen and work out what the name of the dog was at home and what their front door looked like and very detailed things about their personality, their past and their future. To be stood with this man and not have a clue who he was was very disconcerting.

Heather: Did that spark your interest?

Claire: When I met Greg he said something to me that changed my life. He said to me, what's God got to do with what you're doing? I couldn't answer him. I was in a complete dilemma because I thought that God had given me this gift, but if I really asked myself the question, I wasn't sure that he did have something to do with my gift. Very shortly after that I forgot him for some time and people said, 'Oh you know that man you met at the party' and I had completely forgotten him, because if I was to remember that question, 'what's God got to do with this', I would have to look over 21 years of my life and re-question everything I was and had done. I'd have to face some pain about my Mother's death and my Dad being the way he was. It was very deep questions and I felt like I could die if I asked that question; if what I'd been doing was wrong, and God was real, then I would have to be a completely different person.

Heather: So did you just shut it away totally and just carry on with the life you were living? What decisions did you make?

Claire: Greg read something from Deuteronomy to me. I'd never read the Bible apart from Sunday School little stories and I'd seen films as a child. I didn't really know the Bible, but I knew it was the word of God. I've talked to mediums since and they don't recognise the Bible as the word of God always, but I did. I knew that the Bible was the word of God, so to hear it say in Deuteronomy that mediums and spiritists and fortune tellers, astrologers, witchcraft and all those things are an abomination to God, I was really shocked, because my gift couldn't be from him. I could even do healing and it could look good, but it must be coming from another source other than God and that raised a lot of issues.

I said to myself that I will not read tarot cards; I will not listen to my spirit guide; I will not do any of these things until I know the truth. That sent me on a spiral. I'd met Greg in the February and about March time I thought I'm in such a dilemma and in such confusion, that I decided to take a holiday to Spain. I ended up just facing myself. It was like looking in the mirror. I went on holiday and ended up for a whole day just absolutely crying my eyes out. I'd come right to the end of myself. I had to face my Mother's death and the trail of destruction of relationships that I was in and admit that I was a lonely needy person who had got into this stuff only because I felt totally isolated; very different and misunderstood.

I was in that place of desperation and my flatmate had gone out for the day as they were all really upset with me because I couldn't explain what was wrong with me and I'd been crying for such a long time that I'd got exhausted. I'd bought a picture of Jesus in the market when I was there with the last pesetas that I had. I put it in the room with me and I was just crying my heart out. I looked at his picture and I said, 'Jesus Christ if you truly are who you say you are then you have got to do something with me because I cannot live this life like this any more'. With that I kind of went into what I think was a sleep of some kind, but it was a vision. I had this vision and it was unlike anything I'd ever had as a medium. It was so vibrant and colourful and I found myself on a grassy field and it was perfect grass; I've never seen grass without weeds in it before. I knew I was in heaven or in a paradise of some kind. Over the hill was Jesus. I couldn't see him but I knew he was just over the hill and he was going to come over the horizon and meet me. Suddenly I saw myself in this vision. I was dressed in white with many others dressed in white and we were waiting for God. With that I said to God, 'When I get back to Britain I will turn over a new leaf; I will never be the same again' and I fell asleep.