Why The Name Change?

Is Kevin Fortune really Kevin Braheny? Or is it the other way around? It’s time to tell the story. I was born Kevin Braheny into a loving but strict Irish-Catholic family in 1952. I learned all the proper conditioning of that culture but I was not conscious of it nor of its positive and negative effects until I was much older. It was the beginning of my spiritual practice, however, and for that I am grateful.

I was always drawn to and fascinated by clairvoyants and psychic phenomena. I loved the mystery and the feeling that there was a consciousness beyond my own personal human one. I felt inspired by the possibility that there was much more to me than what I knew. I also carried conflicting emotions and beliefs as I was growing up. My own intuitive strengths were at odds with what I was supposed to be and believe. I felt weird and too sensitive but kept that hidden. I knew when someone was saying one thing but their energy was saying quite another. What was I to do with that information?

I learned as much as I could about ESP and intuition and spent as much time with psychics as I could. Years later I had a fortuitous meeting. A friend told me about someone who channeled a Grand Spirit named Dr. Peebles. The name made me smile right away as it sounded kind of silly. From the moment Dr. Peebles began speaking to me, however, I knew that my life was changing. His words were clear, his voice was loud, and I could feel him speaking not only in the room but inside my own mind. I had several sessions with him coming through two different people until I met William Rainen. My intuitive development from that point on accelerated. I felt like I had jumped onto a train that was going about eighty miles an hour. William has been my friend and mentor in the intuitive and psychic arts for over 25 years.

OK, so what does this have to do with the name? I first went into full-trance channeling by “accident” in 1985. I was shocked that it had happened and closed it down until I could decide if that was really OK for me. About 10 years (and several lifetimes) later it began to happen again. Dr. Peebles told me through William that he knew that one day he would speak through me and that it was happening sooner that he thought.

In 1997, my brother Dan passed away and I went back to the Chicago area from California to attend the services with my brother John and my sister Mary, and to assist and be of comfort to my mother. I had stomach pains for three weeks after that. I had been feeling that even with all my musical and healing talents, with all the things that I had innovated, and all the people that I had taught, that I could never reap the rewards. I found that I didn’t believe I deserved them. I was taught that self-promotion was shameful and that you should give but never receive. I knew something had to change and in my next session with Dr. Peebles I mentioned this and wondered about changing my name. He said that I had outgrown the name Braheny. Its vibration was now a limitation to the expansion into the rest of this lifetime. I’m proud of the name and this limitation does not apply to my dear family, only to me. He said that there was another name for me in the Spirit world but that he couldn’t give it to me. I had to ask for it while in trance.

I went into trance again and again. I asked over and over. Still no name. I delighted in coming up with cool names but every time I asked, I heard that it wasn’t the one. Three months later when I was picking William up from the airport (I sponsored and promoted his visits to my area) he asked me if I had gotten the name. I said “No.” “Did you ask?” he said. “Yes, I’ve asked a lot!” “ Well did you shut up and listen?!” Hmm. So that very night I went into trance and the name FORTUNE lit up in front of me. Fortune? It wasn’t a name I would have though of. I kept checking in to see if that was right and every time a got a “Yes.” A few days later when I had my meeting with William and Dr. Peebles, William asked me if I had gotten the name yet. “Fortune” I said. William broke into a laugh that threatened to break the windows. He was very excited and said that three years ago he had been shown that that would be my new Spirit name. He wasn’t allowed to tell me as the Spirit name must come from Spirit through me alone. He said that it is rare to hear it on the first try. Well, it wasn’t the first time I had asked, but it was the first time I had listened. Dr. Peebles told me that one’s Spirit name is often private, only spoken by one’s self. The name Fortune was to be my public name. It is about abundance, expansion, and destiny on all levels.

Changing my name was not without its turmoil. What do I do with Braheny? I have so many music fans around the world who know that name and the musical experiences that are associated with it. I use the name Kevin Braheny Fortune to connect my long-time fans with who I am now, but when I say my name it’s Kevin Fortune.