As I am awake and listening to the radio I thought I would start a new thread. The discussion on the radio is of a male caller reporting that after his wife visited a psychic and was told she was going to meet a tall handsome stranger his marriage fell apart. He would like to see legislation and research introduced that would focus on :the impact of psychics on, their mainly, female clientele and the domino effect of this impact on the wider relationships and, he would like to see more legislation re: standards/practices. Although he and the radio show host state that "you cant legislate for stupidity". One of my good friends is a working psychic so I have seen many weird and wonderful things visiting him at his work and know a lot about what he does, charges, what he doesnt do etc.....
what do you all think (and arent you impressed, its 5.44 a.m!)

Tend to take it with a pinch of salt. I don't mean that I disbelieve that things of a psychic nature happen - just don't like people selling themselves as psychics with the implication they'll always 'get it right'.

Also I wonder what the point of it is. Take the example you gave - the psychic was trying to the predict the future wasn't (s)he? If so - why? If it's wrong, you were totally mislead, if it's right it's going to happen anyway - so why not just wait until it does and save yourself the £50 consultation fee.

I do believe in Psychics, but i have never been to see one, partly as im scared of what they might 'predict'.

I do know a lot of friends who have seen them though. Some have told me that the psychic they went to see was soooo obviously fake that they didnt believe a word they said, and begruded paying out the money - others have had fantastic meetings and that they confirmed a lot of stuff from their past which noone else could know, and also that 80% of what they have said regarding their future has come true.

I think if i had a good report about a psychic, and they were nearby i would definately go - but i would be apprehensive incase they said stuff i didnt like.

Apparently they should never tell you if someone close to you is going to die. Its against their rules, so at least i wouldnt hear anything like that.

I agree with Sf, tend to take it all with a pinch of salt.

I'm sure there is something out there and there is some contact being made. But I think alot of these so called "psychics" are just basically very good readers of body language, and the way they word things makes you think it is personal to you. But say those same words to another and they will think its personal to them.
I think they play on people's insecurities.

This is something in my life which has always interested me. Throughout my life there are times when I have felt a presence or known when someone was going to call or what someone was about to say. Some people might say this is just coincidence but I was always facinated to find out more.
My Dad told me a story about his grandma once. He said she knew when bad things was going to happen. He said one particular day she told my dads mum not to let my dad's dad go to work on this certain day because he would be killed. My dad's dad had always been a sceptic but his mum wasnt and insisted he not go to work on this certain day. Dad says the day his dad didnt go to work because of what his grandma had said the bloke who was on his job had a massive accident and was paralized from the waist down.
Coincidence???? I cant believe it was.
When I was 16 I went to see a man called Stephen Holbrook after seeing a advert in the local paper for an evening of clairvoyance. I went with some friends from work & we was totally amazed at how accurate this man was.
Since then I have seen Steven about 5-6 times.
My partners father came through on one occasion, stephen was able to tell us that
1 He wanted to die
2 There was two cars in the family
3 His wife now catches the bus sometimes
4 His wife had been having lots of headaches
& lots of other things to

On another occasion the lady who lives over the road from me had just lost her husband whilst on holiday came to. Her husband (Gordon) came through
He told her
1 He fought hard for his life (he did)
2 She kissed him on the lips while in the chapel of rest (she did)
3 She wanted to turn back & look at him on the way out but couldnt (correct)
4 She lives in a 3 bedroomed house
5 The electricty had been playing up (it had)
6 Gorden said no need to change the carpets (She was about to have a new living room & stairs carpet)
7 He could see lots of holiday planning ( She has since been on holiday mulitiple times)
8 His daughter had changed her hair & he didnt like it
Plus lots more

I could go on about other times people have come through when I have been to see Stephen but Id be here all day.................
All I can say is I definately believe there is something after death in this existance ............... as for people predicting our future??? I dont know.

Im seeing Stephen again in MARCH when he visits Retford again. Heres his web site in case anyone is curious & wants to see a medium in a group theatre. There are dates of Steve's tour up & down the country for the next few months.

http://www.steveholbrook.co.uk/

I found all of these interesting responses. I knew Survivorfan would bite the bait so I must be psychic.

I am very interested in this area because in my work I excercise 2 particular areas on a daily basis - perception and intuition. So, by logic, I should be developing some skill in this area - which I notice. I would describe myself as being good at assessment so I use written tool, listening, questioning and listening to my intuition and what else I am picking up. Broadly speaking, that could be termed psychic which I am fine about in context.

Most psychics I know would have had a difficult childhood experience like alcoholic background/abuse/neglect etc and as children it was very important for them to know what was behind the door before they turned the key. A safety mechanism ie a stretch in perception, developed in order for them to see beyond their current situation. (my understanding anyway).

Working psychics tend to see 3 groups of people: out for a laugh/travel reading re:romance/work etc; people with interest in spiritual/occult etc; and people in distress, often with unresolved issues/mental health problems etc.

From my experience of 1 psychic who does have an ability he can mirror/reflect someones pain and their knowledge of particular circumstances. This mirroring has a feel good effect (psychological technique). His ability to know past information is more difficult to understand how. His ability to read the future I think is impossible but you can suggest a trend that someone may follow. I can do that.

There are many psychics who are fake. There are no restrictions/guidelines re: practice/charges/liability. As a lot of vulnerable people attend this "service" I would like to see some acknowledgement via standards of those who do have an ability and some dismissal to those who are blaggers.

The whole area is, for me, quite interesting. If someone told me I was going to die tomorrow, meet my prince charming, win the lottery it doesnt excite me or scare me. Maybe I will, maybe I wont. I am not so sure about other beings communicating - there is no real body of knowledge here but maybe there are forces around that are challenging to know and understand.

My thoughts anyway...

My Dad told me a story about his grandma once. He said she knew when bad things was going to happen. He said one particular day she told my dads mum not to let my dad's dad go to work on this certain day because he would be killed. My dad's dad had always been a sceptic but his mum wasnt and insisted he not go to work on this certain day. Dad says the day his dad didnt go to work because of what his grandma had said the bloke who was on his job had a massive accident and was paralized from the waist down.
Coincidence???? I cant believe it was.

My mother in law did something similar to this. We call her 'the witch' as she speaks to dead people (ooohh many stories to tell), and can put spells on others :ohmy: *note to self, never p*ss off mother in law*

But one year (about 20 years ago) so called her daughter (Vanessa) to tell her not to go horse riding that day as she had seen an accident that was going to happen. She was too late, and Vanessa (a skilled horse rider) wasnt there.

Anyway - she had gone horse riding, and the horse, which was normally very placid threw her off, and she ended up in hospital for 6 months and died twice. Luckily she was revived, and lives today to tell the tale. The scars over the bottom half of her body are unreal though.

My MIL also saw her dog was about to die, and that another puppy would come along. She saw the breed, and knew what to call it. 2 days later another daughter brought a rescue puppy for her to have - and sure enough it was the same breed as the dream she had had.

It might be a coincidence, but so much stuff has happened to that woman its untrue.

Her husband (Gordon) came through
He told her
1 He fought hard for his life (he did)
2 She kissed him on the lips while in the chapel of rest (she did)
3 She wanted to turn back & look at him on the way out but couldnt (correct)
4 She lives in a 3 bedroomed house
5 The electricty had been playing up (it had)
6 Gorden said no need to change the carpets (She was about to have a new living room & stairs carpet)
7 He could see lots of holiday planning ( She has since been on holiday mulitiple times)
8 His daughter had changed her hair & he didnt like it
Plus lots more

To be honest Kimmy although I realise this kind of thing might bring comfort to someone who is bereaved, I think you have to accept that it probably only means something to them because they want to believe it.

I can't believe for one minute that if someone lives on in a spirit form they would want to discuss the living room carpet.

tonee, I'm probably being dumb here, but can you clarify the first post for me? Did the caller's wife meet the tall handsome stranger and the marriage fall apart as a result, or did the caller's wife expect to meet a tall handsome stranger and the marriage fell apart because she thought there was something better round the corner?

If it's the second one, that's quite interesting as it shows the damage that can be done by expectation alone.

I see what your saying survivorfan. You would want to say I love you etcetc. But any one could say that ............ the fact of the person knowing about something so specific such as the carpet idicates something more than saying Ilove you.
A medium can say "I've got john here with me, he says he saw you drop the eggs on the floor yesterday ..... he was laughing" & that can mean so much more than "Ive got John here with me & he says he loves you" just because its so different & specific.

Kinda hard to understand but if someone from spirit wants to make contact then they will need to mention things like "the carpet" for it to be believeable

Kinda hard to understand but if someone from spirit wants to make contact then they will need to mention things like "the carpet" for it to be believeable

Or (forgive me here) if the spiritualist wants to make themself sound believable it's the sort of thing they might choose to say?

tonee, I'm probably being dumb here, but can you clarify the first post for me? Did the caller's wife meet the tall handsome stranger and the marriage fall apart as a result, or did the caller's wife expect to meet a tall handsome stranger and the marriage fell apart because she thought there was something better round the corner?

If it's the second one, that's quite interesting as it shows the damage that can be done by expectation alone.
sorry - 2nd option which is why the husband was phoning in ie the damage to the marriage based on a false premise.

There's a guy called Ian Rowland who can teach you exactly how to be "psychic". It's called cold reading.

Anyone who saw the Derren Brown show "Messiah" will know what I mean. He was able to give false readings that told people the name of their dead loved one and masses of personal detail, names, places, events, etc, that only the dead person and the person he was doing the reading for knew.

Of course he wasn't communicating with the spirit world, he was communicating with the person he was reading for. Difference is that Derren is quite happy to expose the fakes at the end of it.

If you believe in all this but haven't seen his work, I'd strongly advise you to do so. It may well alter your opinion.

Incidentally, the type of reading you usually get (such as from tarot readers) is even easier to do. Basically it's all about using stock phrases that apply to everyone, but not in an obvious way, such as:

"You definitely have had experiences that could be psychic"
"You have undeveloped potential"
"You have suffered some deep hurt in your life"
"You often hide your true feelings"
"Other people don't know the real you"
"You sometimes feel misunderstood"
"You are stronger than you think"
"You have some habits you would like to be free of"

And predictions that can bring about a result, such as:

"You may find yourself looking for a new career path" (add "You'll end up turning a hobby in to a career" for good measure)
"You are going to take time out for yourself"
"Your luck is going to change"

Etc etc etc...

If you get it wrong it doesn't matter, human psychology dictates that as they've paid you, they'll only remember the stuff you got "right", they'll interpret what you've said to mean something that fits their expectation (e.g., "She said I'd meet a man in uniform, and Phil was a Policeman once so she got that right!), and they'll just forget the stuff that didn't "fit".

Personally I find the whole business a bit sordid to say the least.

Ceri, I was so peed off because I missed Derren's Messiah due to a video malfunction (i.e. I set it wrong), but the guy is quite remarkable when it comes to exposing fakes. I've also seen other programs where so called 'psychics' are exposed for what they really are.

We all know the likes of David Blane can't really fly. When a magician saws a person in half we know it's just an illusion. And yet people still fail to apply the same laws of logic and common sense to psychics even when there techniques have been exposed as just another form of trickery and illusion. Why?

I'm a cynic too, as Ceri says, it's only too easy to throw out lots of general information and score a 'hit.' The thing is that the folk who seek the help of such people are 'self selected,' they want to believe in the first place, and that's half the battle. I believe that there is nothing after death and the 'spirt' of a loved one only lives on in the minds of those who knew them. It's that memory that they fit the information to.

I'm a cynic too, as Ceri says, it's only too easy to throw out lots of general information and score a 'hit.' The thing is that the folk who seek the help of such people are 'self selected,' they want to believe in the first place, and that's half the battle. I believe that there is nothing after death and the 'spirt' of a loved one only lives on in the minds of those who knew them. It's that memory that they fit the information to.
Crossing into another realm here, but if there is nothing after death this is a very lonely life, I think. I have been lucky enough to be around people who have been dying, and subsequently died - I dont follow a religious code but it would take some convincing (paradoxically) for me to come round to thinking our physical bodies are the beginning and end. Just doesnt do it. There is, from my experience, psychic energy what that means in terms of spirits etc I have no real knowledge but there is enough experience here to arouse curiosity and an enquiring mind. Maybe I dont want to shut the door to other ways of being because of the horrible implications of that notion. I'll ramble to myself now.....

It's ok Tonee, I've seen many a death myself and like you consider myself priviliged to have done so, but I don't see how a stance of no life after death makes the life that has been lived any less full, in fact I'd say the reverse is true, that the life has ended makes it's living (in memory) that much sweeter.

As I said before, the spirit does live on, but in the memories and the minds of those who'll miss them. Yes, I've felt something too when I've been with someone at the time of death, but I regard that as a projection of my own feelings of respect and honour, rather than something from the person I'm with.

As I said before, the spirit does live on, but in the memories and the minds of those who'll miss them..

Question time, VoR! Do you think we have a 'spirit' in us or do you think we are soul-less machines?

Humm, I don't think I do belive that we have a 'spirit' actually, or at least not something that is separate from us, as in another part that breaks off when we die.

I think the 'spirit' of a person lies in the essence of what they were (or are) like as a person, what they laughed at, how they made others feel, an encapsulation of them in other's minds if you like. I think the 'spirit' of a person is therefore a product of the minds of other's, of those who remember us...so that they will see something and say "Oh yes! so and so would have loved that" the knowledge that makes them say that is what I would call 'the spirit'

Does that make sense?

Edit: I would argue that a soul and spirit are not the same thing though, the soul, to me, is more about what we know and feel ourselves, others may know our spirit and be able to describe it, but I think the soul is personal and internal to us, although it can be revealed in poetry and song if we choose to share it.

Humm, I don't think I do belive that we have a 'spirit' actually, or at least not something that is separate from us, as in another part that breaks off when we die.

I think the 'spirit' of a person lies in the essence of what they were (or are) like as a person, what they laughed at, how they made others feel, an encapsulation of them in other's minds if you like. I think the 'spirit' of a person is therefore a product of the minds of other's, of those who remember us...so that they will see something and say "Oh yes! so and so would have loved that" the knowledge that makes them say that is what I would call 'the spirit'

Does that make sense?

Edit: I would argue that a soul and spirit are not the same thing though, the soul, to me, is more about what we know and feel ourselves, others may know our spirit and be able to describe it, but I think the soul is personal and internal to us, although it can be revealed in poetry and song if we choose to share it.
Interesting perspective and one which I think I get (stumbling a little) but I do disagree with. With exactly what, I dont know, but I think I return again and again, that if this world was just about birth and death it doesnt make sense to me. So spirit yep within the person only no what else remain curious I lean towards the Buddhist perspective here

Yes, I understand Tonee, but I'd say the 'sense' of life, the 'point' if you like, is what you make it whilst you're here :)

Who we are depends on the way the neural pathways in our brain form. That's what shapes how we think.

I can't really see why life does not "make sense". What is so difficult about being born, living and dying? I can't imagine anythng simpler. I think we just fill the gaps in with various bizarre philopsophies (all unproven) just to avoid the truth - if you screw this life up, no one suffers but you, and there isn't a "second chance" to get it right. Neither is there anything "wrong" with seeing the wonder of the things we all take as mundane. There is nothing particularly EXCITING about my life, but then there isn't anything EXCITING about most people's lives. However, I see a great wonder in everything around me, and feel thankful for so many things - precisely because I DO believe this is all there is.

As VOR says, I think this philosophy is what makes me appreciate life MORE, not less. :)

I get what you both are saying, I just dont buy it. It doesnt make sense to me and I know that I am repeating myself. There are far too many complexities in this life, for me, to say this is it. I am going to stick to my guns and say that I remain curious about all that I dont know and I think I dont know quite a lot..........

Humm, I don't think I do belive that we have a 'spirit' actually, or at least not something that is separate from us, as in another part that breaks off when we die.

In some ways it's all speculation isn't it. But maybe it boils down to the question of are we related to something infinite or not?

In my early teens I started to get the unsettling feeling that I was, although this came from within me - we were not a churchgoing or religious family and I didn't read about such things either. I say unsettling because it made me think of myself as someone with a separate relatedness to the universe rather than just being the son of such and such parents living at such and such an address in such and such a year and the feeling worried me.

As far as do we just live and die and that's it - might it not be like the plant that you see grow and flower and die. The plant has lived for a year, and appears to your eyes simply to have an ephemeral existence. But buried away out of sight is the bulb or rhizome. The plant is gone yet the rhizome remains.

In some ways it's all speculation isn't it. But maybe it boils down to the question of are we related to something infinite or not?

In my early teens I started to get the unsettling feeling that I was, although this came from within me - we were not a churchgoing or religious family and I didn't read about such things either. I say unsettling because it made me think of myself as someone with a separate relatedness to the universe rather than just being the son of such and such parents living at such and such an address in such and such a year and the feeling worried me.

As far as do we just live and die and that's it - might it not be like the plant that you see grow and flower and die. The plant has lived for a year, and appears to your eyes simply to have an ephemeral existence. But buried away out of sight is the bulb or rhizome. The plant is gone yet the rhizome remains.

Thats a good analogy. I am glad I started this thread because it does make me think more about all of this - and I am more certain now that I dont know and I am more certain that I am curious and both of these things are guides for me as I wander down the road of uncertainty. If that makes any sense at all (it does to me).