Sylvia Browne

[Orrex]

Poll question: Sylvia Browne

[Waya]

1. Or the third choice.......

....Who cares?

[Orrex]

2. See, you can select that option by not clicking on the thread.

And as long as she preys on the vulnerabilities of the bereaved and the desperate, I'd say that she's fair game and worthy of critical discussion.

[ecstatic]

3. a psychic confronted a friend and I the other day

Said she saw something for both of us and gave us her cards. We were tempted to find out more but dropped it.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

4. I have known many genuine psychics in my life and have had myself

precognitive and other psychic experiences. Sylvia Browne, like all psychics, is not always correct, but then how many people can say that in regard to anything, that they are right all the time?

Why you are so vehement about her, I haven't a clue.

[immoderate]

11. It's called "confirmation bias."

People remember the "hits" and discard the misses. People doing research are warned about this in research design classes. I've heard of tapes of Sylvia basically giving the same reading to all her suckers clients.

This confirmation bias accounts for the so-called precognition feelings that many people have. You often have feelings that something will happen but you forget the ones that don't.

--IMM

[gateley]

5. I don't know -- but I had a personal reading with her years ago.

She was in Seattle and on a local show and at that time my mom had just died, my dad was THIS CLOSE to dying, so turning to psychics was kind of my way of doing what others do when they turn to their church.

Anyway, I called to make an appointment (it was a phone reading). The very nice older-sounding woman said where are you calling from? I said Seattle. She said "we're having a special rate for people from Seattle since Sylvia's there -- $250.00!" I just about fell over. I don't recall if it was for 1/2 hour or an hour, but I DO remember that the other psychics I was consulting at the time ranged from about $20 to $50 a reading. MAYBE someone charged $100, don't really recall.

Anyway, when I spoke with her I commented on how nice the woman was that I spoke with and she told me they're all family. (I think her son is a "psychic" now, too).

Remember, I was raw at the time. I wanted assurance that my mom was okay, wherever she was, and that my dad would be okay too, when he joined her, so I would pretty much believe anything I WANTED to, and morph any info I got into whatever it took to feel comforted.

Even being pretty fragile at the time, I thought the reading was crap. All I remember -- and what I'd rant about to my friends -- was her saying "Do you drive a car?" (yes - duh) "Look out for the front left wheel -- I'm seeing something in the front left of the car." I never looked at the tire, and I never had any problem.

I think she may feel she has SOME ability, but she sure has to know how much she embellishes, too.

[JeanGrey]

6. I think she is a con artist who preys on grieving and suffering

people and that is unforgiveable.

[roguevalley]

7. if they are genuine, they are worth their weight in gold for grief

counseling. I have consulted Laurie Campbell, have an appointment with George Anderson on May 28th, the day one year after my mother's passing and bought a ticket on a lark to see John Edward on June 27th. (my mom and dad passed -mom unexpectedly- ten months apart)

Laurie consults with police departments and was 100% accurate for me. She mentioned (among dozens and dozens of things, including full names of family already gone) how my mother liked the flower beds and to change the floors to wood from rugs, something I had only done five months after their passing. I never discussed it with either parent. I made the flower beds as a memorial to them. The only way my mother could have known about it was if she had been standing there watching me swearign at the cinder blocks as I lugged them. She mentioned so much I am still reeling over it. In a good way. :)

My parents let me know they are around me all the time. I also have an electrical feeling pass over me when I am upset or thinking about them. a good medium will help. a bad one can break your heart. go with a good one. www.foreverfamilyfoundation.org will help you.

[gateley]

10. I should have mentioned that

I've had readings with wonderful, truly gifted psychics. Sylvia Brown left a bad taste in my mouth, though.

[roguevalley]

13. I'm glad, gately. I find if I use a genuine one, it can make the difference

between life and death. I had a premonition about Mom's death four months before it happened. It is an awful thing sometimes.

[Orrex]

14. Out of curiosity, how can you tell a genuine one from a fake?

[roguevalley]

15. There is a foundation that tests psychics and certifies them. you

can go to www.foreverfamilyfoundation.org and see a list. you can also talk to people about them. My Laurie works on police cases, some of which are going to court with her help. Sensing Murder on Discovery is about her and her friend who do this sort of thing. She thought, when we were agreeing on a time for this that I lived in Arkansas because the address on my card to her read Ak. That is alaska, not arkansas. that was the first indication that she knew nothing about me at all. She did tell me this:

My mother's favorite sister and in-laws: Margaret, Virginia and David. She said the names, boom, boom, boom. No spelling, no hesitation.

She said my middle name, Elizabeth, and said mom says, 'call her cath.' Mom did.

she described the inside of my house like we were on a tour and described to a 't' my fire place which is very unusual.

she said my father had planes, which he did. She said that moose crossed my yard (they do), that there is a 'christmas tree' in my front yard- a small fir tree was always the 'christmas tree' and mom wanted it to be lighted this year.

She said 'your mother has a hip AND knee problem' -she had just had a hip replacement and arthro on her knee.

She hated the cold-'standing in front of a window, can't get out very well due to cold- we were planning on wintering outside during the worst months because this is what my mom said.

Loved my veggies - I planted my dad's favorite veggies in memorial to him after he had passed the year before.

asked if I had a 'dirty rug'- I had dropped a paint brush on the rug in her room- and said 'rip up those rugs and put down floors. It will be okay.' I had decided five months after her passing to do the floors over in wood and was eaten up with the idea that the house would not be the same. A house is like a museum after someone passes. I was almost unable to sleep fretting over changes. She said do it and not worry.

The day before this, in a fit of anger, I told her out loud that I would not have Christmas this year, fuck it. Laurie: "Your mom says do Christmas and do it right." I did. :)

She said,'your mom wants to talk about the 'red bird'. My mother collected cardinals and we have about fourty all over the house.

There is more but this is all I can put here without looking at my notes. She healed my broken heart because there was no way she could know this unless my mom and dad were watching me and telling her. Mom said she loved the 'raised flower beds', something I had only built two weeks prior to this call and four months after her passing. She had to be standing there watching me.

A good one can save you. Laurie Campbell is the best.

EDIT: Please note that she told me not to say a word during this, the mark of the real mccoy. I didn't. She told me one thing after another and get this, it was supposed to be on October 22. but when she called, she said you are so sad, lets do this the next day. The next day was mama's birthday. :)

Also, this I remember: I had gathered up pictures of everyone in my family I could find, including a bunch from the 1800's. we have huge longevity. I told them to come and I would tell anyone alive whatever they wanted me to. When she read me, Laurie kept commenting on all the 'old people' that came, old meaning going back in time. she told me in all the years she was doing this, that had never happened before. Cool, huh? Peace to all who suffer.

[Wizard777]

17. I don't understand how they turn it on like flipping a switch.

I have this thing about predicting untimely deaths. It's like something speaks through me. I have no control over it. In my life I have warned, in graphic detail, about 10 people of their impending death. 9 of them died exactly the way I said they would. The 1 survivor is the only one that actually heeded my warning. He didn't do what I told him not to do. That is because he saw me predict his friends death. The weird part is it's always been attached to something very good. Like you win the mega millions and there I am telling you that if you cash the ticket you will die. But I have no control over it. It just happens. So I can't understand how they turn it on like flipping a switch.

[yasmina27]

27. Thank you

My sister just lost her husband last week, and I sent her the link to this website.

[roguevalley]

28. you are welcome, dear. they saved me. I wish her well too.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

44. I had a similar experience with a friend of mine who is a psychic medium. When the

love of my life passed over, she related loving messages to me from him. She then told me she was getting a weird visual of him. That he was wearing a long robe and he opened it up, showing that he was wearing women's panties! He loved to wear panties! My friend had no idea about that. I never shared that with her. She then said that she saw an older man who wanted to talk to me. He was hunched over a bit, and said she thought his name was Sherman and he had a message for my mother. She was very close with that, it was my great uncle Herman. The message was for my mother to watch out for falling. Unfortunately she didn't. She fell in front of a store and it took almost a year for her to recuperate.

I have had the same feeling of that electric charge go through me and know that it is Tony checking in on me. I also have on tape an EVP of his telling me that he loves me. It was done in absolute silence in my home, and it is very clear.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

8. I said

she knows she is full of crap.

She has to know it. It would be impossible for anyone to talk themselves into believing the monumental amount of shit she "predicts"

Even a broken clock is correct twice a day.

I could start making wild assed predictions and hit the mark once in a while and then conveniently "forget" all the lame predictions I had made.

Paleeze - her shit about angels is fucking moronic.

[TZ]

9. Good on you for doing this!

Ya know, I think she's done her act for so long, I really think for the most part she really beleives her own crap..But she knows on some deep subconcious level she's a fraud-she'll never admit it to herself I would think. Self delusion is a powerful thing
So my answer would kind of be both I suppose.

[immoderate]

12. Some self styled "psychic" tried to pull this shit on me recently.

He was supposedly getting messages from my dead father. The technique is called cold reading. He was really rattled when I wouldn't give him any feedback. So his guesses were going all over the place. I wrote about it here.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=263x32565

These people are running a scam, like faith healers. Problem is even intelligent people fall for this stuff.

--IMM

[QueenOfCalifornia]

18. Didn't you

ask him what color your Dad's socks were?

That's what I asked a woman who started doing the same thing to me. She asked if my father was dead. I asked her to tell me. She wasn't sure if it was my Dad but there was a dead man someplace in my life. I shrugged and said "What color are his socks?" She thought this was a real question even though it was my typical sarcasm... She told me he was wearing grey socks. I acted impressed.

[frogmarch]

16. She knows she's full of crap

That's why she hasn't followed through after her acceptance of James Randi's challenge.

http://www.randi.org/joom/about-sylvia-browne.html

All so-called "psychics" are phonies.

EDITED to say that the above link is for a page about Sylvia Browne on James Randi's website.

[Kaleko]

29. How do you know that "All so-called "psychics" are phonies" ?

Have you studied and tested them all throughout the millenia?

[frogmarch]

34. Yes.

[Kaleko]

35. Yes... Well, then you've just debunked yourself with that

outrageous claim.

:hi:

[frogmarch]

36. Outrageous questions demand outrageous answers.

:P

[Kaleko]

42. Dodging and weaving

is all that's left for authoritarians whose blanket statements have been proven false. As predictable as night following day.

Have a good one, by the way.

[Orrex]

46. Here's how

The claims made by psychics are entirely unverified by independent evidence. Additionally, if their claims are true, then it means that all of our understanding of physics and chemistry is flawed, despite the fact that these have been independently verified countless times over and with a great deal of precision and specificity.

In short, any alleged psychic is a phony if he or she can't verify his or her claims to a degree of certainty sufficient to unseat all of modern physics and chemistry. That's true of current frauds and frauds through the millennia.

I'm sorry if that's objectionable to you, but it's the fact of the matter.

[BuelahWitch]

19. There are frauds in every profession

The doctor who gives you an operation you don't need, which makes things worse than they were before you were sliced open.
The auto mechanic who makes you come back again and again but never really fixes whats wrong with your car.
The lawyer who convinces you that you have a case when you don't (but still collects his fee).

All of these people "prey" on people who have a problem. It's called greed. I'm sure there are people on DU who indulge in it a bit too.

My point is Sylvia Browne is not the Great Satan. She got a few predictions right and knew the right people who put her in the public eye. That doesn't mean that there aren't people with psychic ability who are trustworthy.

[TZ]

20. The problem is

Medicine has a sound scientific basis. WELL documented basis.
Despite what some say here. There is NO sound scientific evidence for the existence of psychic phenomena.
Tell me how a psychic is different from a faith healer? None. Neither is legitimate except for certain people who believe without evidence in it.
Sylvia Brown has done a GREAT deal of harm to people. She is a highly paid scam artist that preys on peoples grief. Just as bad as snake oil merchants who prey on sick people and promise help while selling sugar pills.
Laws exist, cars exist, medicine exists. Psychic phenomena? Doubtful.

[BuelahWitch]

23. I could say that some doctors do the same

I have been a victim of one, so I know. But I know the skeptics will never agree. The quack doctors will still dance all the way to the bank regardless of my opinion. And Sylvia Browne will continue to do so despite yours as well.

[TZ]

24. There are regulations and laws on doctors

And schools and licenses. Med school? Residency
To compare medicine and psychics. Please. Even if I was inclined to believe in it (and yes I am a skeptic) you CANNOT compare the two. Its apples and oranges.
Come back when they have a government agency that regulates what they sell.

[roguevalley]

30. I won't try and make you get it. you don't have to. but those of us

with some sensitivity or who have seen geniune articles, we know its true. until you get a genuine article, I don't think you will ever get it. that's okay.

[Orrex]

45. Forgive me, but I don't believe that you've seen genuine articles

Or that some "sensitivity" exists in this regard. We're not talking about the ability to play the piano or to curl your tongue, ablities that some people have and some do not; we're talking about the claim that certain people can sense phenomena for which their is no evidence other than the testimony of people who claim to believe in the phenomena.

That's simply insufficient to demonstrate the existence of anything, much less a phenomenon that would entirely rewrite physics and biology. At most, you will convince those who already believe or those who demand no real evidence.

You are of course welcome to believe in whatever you'd like, but the most that you can say definitively on the matter is this: "I believe that these phenomena exist."

[BlooInBloo]

31. The difference, of course, is that her profession is ITSELF a fraud.

[AlCzervik]

21. she and that other charlatan, John something or other are disgusting pieces of shit

that take advantage of people when they are most vulnerable.

Fuck her and all like her.

[MonkeyFunk]

22. She's a first-class con artist

and has been convicted for fraud.

Why anybody believes a word she says is beyond me.

[tkmorris]

25. The same reason people believe...

The same reason people believe, well, let's just say plenty of other things without evidence. It in some way comforts them to do so. Many things in life, especially the death of loved ones, are very hard to accept emotionally. People will grasp at anything that relieves them of some of that pain.

There have been times in my life that I wished I had that capacity for self-deception. Usually I am quite happy that I don't, but every once in a while something occurs that helps me to understand why some people indulge themselves in that fashion.

[BlooInBloo]

26. Whoozat?

[Musty]

32. She's a very good snakeoil salesperson.

Even when she's confronted with how wrong she is, she comes up with something the gullible, like Larry King, believe.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[squawk7700]

37. The amazing thing is that there are suckers who actually believe in those kinds of assholes.

Truly astounding.

[easttexaslefty]

39. Hopefully you will never lose

someone you love more than life itself. Anyone who can give me hope that my son is okay and that I will be with him someday, is hardly an asshole. You can call me a sucker or whatever but its pretty much whatever gets me through the night at this point

[squawk7700]

40. I'm sorry you have apparently suffered a big loss but it doesn't change my

opinion of these charlatans.

[easttexaslefty]

41. far be it from me to try to change your mind

however you could check the insulting language.

[rucky]

38. I'm getting a clear reading that... that...

Sylvia Browne is full of crap.

[StarryNite]

43. I believe in psychics

but not Sylvia.

[ConsAreLiars]

47. Every good con artist "believes" in the crap they sell to their marks,

at least for so long as the scam works. In the meantime, they also know it is a scam. So Option One. People like that are utterly amoral and yet able to somehow convince themselves that they are truly helping others, at least until they find it unprofitable and turn to some other scheme.

Natural born self-aggrandizing swindlers.