Mulan, we've talked about Sylvia Browne before. She's the only psychic that has tempted me to save up the money for a reading from her!
So far, I haven't - but I'm tempted.
Crossing-over with John Edwards
by Waygooder64 53 Replies latest jw friends
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RubaDub
I still watche Montel's show on Wednesdays to see Sylvia. I watched John Edward's show once, and he isn't specific enough. He never has names, just the "J" or "S" name thing.
Mulan ...
I agree with you.
When Edwards was on Meet the Press with Tim Russert, I detected the same thing. I recall him suggesting that the "D" word is a growing problem and Russert bit on it and said "Deficit." But he generally tends to speak in very vague terms.
***** Rub a Dub
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rem
Dark Uncle,
Thanks for your thoughtful reply.
>>Surely you're not suggesting that you know the length and width and depth of physical reality.
No, I certainly do not. But this is what science is exploring right now. I think of myself more as a pragmatist than anything. What actually *works*? Science has given us many things that actually work and explanations that are compatible with repeatable observations. Psychic powers, whether you believe in them or not, have not contributed anything to our understanding of the universe. I believe that if such powers were as real as some people claim, humans would have harnessed it for measurable results.
I would expect casinos to have signs forbidding psychics from entering, just as they forbid card counting. This tells me that even if psychic powers exist, they are not as powerful or useful as card counting when it comes to making predictions. Humans always try to exploit what powers they have.
I would expect to see some type of psychic radio that tunes into the frequencies that mediums are tuned into so we can here the voices they are hearing in their heads. If the frequencies are real, we should be able to pick them up not only with our brains, but with material instruments. Right now science and engineering has developed instruments that can sense things that humans have no way of sensing and never even knew they existed. I find that extremely odd... especially after nearly a century of paranormal research.
To me, what it comes down to is that paranormal claims just are nothing but a bunch of hot air. I see no definitive results. Everything is vagaries - just under the statistical significance level - no better than random noise. This is my reality - what works and what doesn't. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence before they are accepted.
>>There's that wonderful word: True. I think it's related to "truth" but I coud be wrong. Do you *need* them to be "not-true"?
No, actually as I've said before I think it would be great if they were true! Imaging the diseases we could cure with psychic healing... Imagine the faster-than-light communication and transportation we could have with channeling and OBE's. These are things that would greatly enhance our lives. In fact, when I started my research into such things I believed they were true! There is nothing in today's science that would be overturned if psychic powers were found to be true... it would just be another force added to the catalog. But I can't go off of wishes. I wish cold fusion were possible too and it would greatly benefit mankind. I don't need it to be true or untrue, but if it continually fails to work or have any solid theoretical backing then I will not put my faith in it.
>>You mention research. What did that entail? Were you counting subatomic particles in a bubble chamber? Were you observing test subject trying to manipulate chance with "their minds"? In all fairness, I have not done those experiments either-but it would be fun. I'd also state that lack of evidence is not evidence in itself.
I've read the books of many scientists who have done such research and who have analyzed the results of many such experiments. So far after almost a century of such published research, the results have been overwhelmingly negative. This goes quite contrary to the conventional wisdom based off of a multitude of anecdotes. But as statisticians are famous for saying: "the plural of anecdote is not data".
I would actually love to do such research myself. I too think it would be fun and it would be wonderful if anything were found. But so far nothing has been and the tests have become quite sophisticated. True absence of evidence is not evidence of absense, so there is no proof that the paranormal does not exist. There just isn't any evidence that it does. The fact that it is an extraordinary claim based on what we know about physics means that a rational person will require extraordinary evidence to believe in such a thing, seeing that proving a negative is impossible. Without extraordinary evidence, it is just like a million other baseless claims out there to me. This is just common pragmatism in my mind.
>>The mentality that is prevalent among scientists saddens me, they are no longer have an explorer's heart. They have sold the soul of science to politician's and corporations. True our lives are good, but I think they could have more quality.
I'm not sure where you got this feeling from. I have serveral friends who are actual research scientists and they don't seem to have this attitude. In fact, from what they tell me, they daily fight a struggle *against* politics and corporations for their love of pure science. I'm sure there are corporate and government scientists out there with the attitude that you describe, but from what I know from my association with real scientists is that the opposite is true. Think about it, scientists are paid pretty lousy salaries for the amount of education they go through and work they do. The ones that I know do it for the love of exploration and discovery - the love of pure science - and from what I understand, they are not in the minority. I really think that the people who help us understand the universe and help give us the quality of life we now take for granted deserve a lot more of our respect.
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rem
Personally, from watching Sylvial Brown, I feel she's worse than John Edwards. I mean, she *insisted* that this one young woman's mother was dead for christ sakes... and she wasn't dead. The scary thing about Sylvia too is that she tends to give out a lot of medical advice. I just don't understand how anyone can take her or the other mediums seriously.
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Steve Lowry
Hey Mary,
My experiences revolve around the Ouija board. Back in the very early eighties I met a woman (a self-proclaimed witch) who I dated a few times. On our first date she offered to bring out the Ouija. To which I said sure (I only cared about one thing and whatever it took, ya know?) Well, at first I thought she was moving the plastic thing but very soon I realized she couldn?t have known about the things is was speaking about. It was directed to me personally. Well, I went and got my own Ouija board the very next day and got into it whole hog. I am convinced due to my experiences over several months of experimenting with the Ouija that is not a psychological phenomenon. But something else drives the ?moving? piece.
I thought I have saved some of those stories from other posts onto my hard drive but I can?t seem to find them now. If you like I could tell some of my experiences.
Steve
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orangefatcat
"to me, Crossing-over With John Edwards I will state this, in the immortal words once spoken,
"A Sucker is Born Every Minute."
Love Orangefatcat
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Purple
A recent investigation by a show here in AUstralia revealed how he does it. Its simple. He has plants in the queue before the show who appear to be audience members. They start conversations supposedly about their lost relations and this stimulates conversations which are then noted. So if someone says oh yeah my mum recently passed away and I hope I hear from her and so on. The plants then probe innocently and get details.
Notice he often just says initials and then its your mum, uncle, cousin and so on then the audience member fills in all the blanks. He will often just mention something that seems incredibly related. I saw one where he talked about a feather and a mother and daughter picked one up in niagra falls and John said it was from the husband. Turns out she talked about it in the line up before the show. Yet it seemed he had pulled it out from nowhere. Its so simple when people really want to believe something. They also mentioned he used to get people to fill out questionaaires before the show too!
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Sirona
Some people can talk to the dead, some cannot. I don't know about John Edwards. Just because someone is a fluke doesn't disprove the whole phenomena.
Sirona
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Nathan Natas
Sirona said,
Some people can talk to the dead, some cannot. I don't know about John Edwards. Just because someone is a fluke doesn't disprove the whole phenomena.
Well, why don't you tell us who some of these people who can talk to the dead are?
Show us someone who is NOT a fluke, please.
It's not a "phenomena" - it is horse dung.
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Sunspot
***A recent investigation by a show here in AUstralia revealed how he does it. Its simple. He has plants in the queue before the show who appear to be audience members. They start conversations supposedly about their lost relations and this stimulates conversations which are then noted. ***
I can understand the instances where this possibly DOES happen---I've heard this before and I'm not "arguing" the fact....but WHAT about when he says things like, "when I go thgough your front door, and go down four stairs, there's a small room with a desk with an old airplane model on it"......and the person being read gasps in amazement and says, "That was my brother's room!" etc...
He does this so often, and ya KNOW that all the descriptions of this type could NOT have been "covered" for the "spies" to overhear! Or someone who has brought a ring or small thing to the show, that they stuck in their pocket and never TOLD anyone about---and he nails it and they are stunned! I just feel that it ALL can't be "staged" (although I AM gullible--hubby says so--and LOOKIT the CULT I followed for three decades, haha!) But I can't say I feel that J.E. doesn't have a gift....
hugs,
Annie..........off to buy beach-front property in Montana this morning....
