In 1987 Don and Linda Pendleton booked a private session with me.

They brought three friends along, one of whom was a skeptic of all things paranormal. As with all my group sessions, I only knew the first name of the person booking the appointment and did not know the names of others in the group. It's a policy I implemented near the beginning of my work as a medium--when setting appointments. I ask for only the first name.

I welcomed Don and Linda and their friends into my home in Palos Verdes, California, inviting them to have a seat. As with all private sessions, I sat in my chair about twelve feet in front of them and briefly explained what was about to happen.* By intent, I did not converse with them or ask any questions.

When I came out of trance 60 to 90 minutes later, everyone was smiling and laughing. Per usual, I had no memory** of what Spirit (Dr. Peebles) or the individuals in attendance had said. I think Don and Linda may have been ribbing their skeptic friend who openly, if a tad reluctantly, declared he was no longer a skeptic. They shared with me the specific information and insights they had each just received that had 'blown them away.'
 

The Gathering Place and a Dance

Subsequently, Don and Linda regularly attended my weekly public demonstrations Tuesday evenings in W. Los Angeles which I called The Gathering Place where I would sit in a chair on a slightly raised stage in front of the audience and go into my trance state. One to five minutes later, Dr. Peebles would come soaring through in full voice, filling the room with commentary filled with humor and compassion from the other side--intelligence from the afterlife.

It was after one of these evenings that Don and Linda informed me they'd like to write a book about Dr. Peebles and my mediumship. I think my initial response was a dumbfounded, "Really?" It took me about one nano-second to say yes. I agreed to provide them private sessions with Dr. Peebles which they could use as they saw fit in the writing of their book. Furthermore, I would have no preview or influence on the content of the book.

Two years later their beautiful book, To Dance with Angels, was published. Don Pendleton was a prolific and successful author (see The Executioner series, for example), while Linda Pendleton has continued writing and self-publishing both fiction and non-fiction. She remains a dear friend to this day.

I'll always remember with great affection Don's soulful laugh, not to mention his passionate support of my mediumship, a subject which in the 1980's did not have nearly the popularity of today.  Alas, he is no longer with us in this world. I love you, Don.

Warm regards,
Thomas Jacobson

* In the first months following my initial contact with Spirit, I developed a process for deepening my trance state such that Spirit (Dr. Peebles) could more fully, more effectively use me. I realized early on that my goal and responsibility as a voice medium (trance medium or channel) was to achieve an inner state of being that was not only exceptionally sensitive but instantaneously responsive in body and brain to outer stimuli as well. One or the other is insufficient; it must be both. This dynamic state is exceedingly difficult to accomplish because one must entirely suspend judgment before the fact, prior to every moment of contact.

** After the first year of my development as a medium, I began losing memory of what had occurred during the sessions until, finally, I lost all memory of what was said either by Dr. Peebles or people speaking to Dr. Peebles though I always had 'emotional memories.'

Follow-up from Linda Pendleton ... 2018

Don and Linda Pendleton's contact with Dr. Peebles through the mediumship of Thomas Jacobson was life-changing for the authors. As writers and researchers of many areas of the paranormal, their studies into near-death experiences (Don had two of his own), past life regression, spirit communication, miracles, angel encounters, were invaluable. As a result of writing To Dance With Angels, both Don and Linda looked at life in a somewhat different way. The magic and beauty that they both believed life held, was intensified by their new discoveries as they communicated with Dr. Peebles through Thomas Jacobson.  

When the book was published nearly three decades ago, the authors wrote: "This was a book that had to be written as we could not keep this information to ourselves."

Linda Pendleton states that over the years, readers have said that the spiritual psychology of Dr. Peebles has been not only inspirational, life-changing, and healing, but has given new understandings of life and death. She is pleased to be able to continue to share To Dance With Angels and the work of Thomas Jacobson and Dr. Peebles, as an e-book edition, as well as print. It is the hope that To Dance With Angels will be considered a classic in spiritual literature for generations to come. 

Linda Pendleton's fascination with the terrestrial life of Dr, James Martin Peebles led her to publish a follow-up book, Three Principles of Angelic Whispers.