SPIRITUALISM whats the opinion?

[D_Kissimmee Coldsore]

Derren Brown has written and made TV about how he uses cold-reading to portray himself as a psychic. I found it facinating. I think the TV show was called "Messiah", it might be available online. He convinces three self-claimed sceptics that he is contacting dead friends or relatives. That's how powerful the technique is.

 

[jason_els]

Oh for the love of heaven..... no, not all of them are in it for money. One medium my sister went to lived in a small tract house and accepted no money for her work. She asked that my sister give a donation to the Red Cross or a food pantry if she wanted to do something. The medium is well-known in my area and could make money doing what she does but she considers what she does as a God-given gift and refuses to accept anything personally. I've run into a few people like this. They don't ask you to return and they don't ask for money. Not everyone is a gold digger.

 

[D_Relentless Original]

Oh for the love of heaven..... no, not all of them are in it for money. One medium my sister went to lived in a small tract house and accepted no money for her work. She asked that my sister give a donation to the Red Cross or a food pantry if she wanted to do something. The medium is well-known in my area and could make money doing what she does but she considers what she does as a God-given gift and refuses to accept anything personally. I've run into a few people like this. They don't ask you to return and they don't ask for money. Not everyone is a gold digger.

Hi Jason, no that is what i was saying, no money exchanged at the church it was all free.

 

[D_Kissimmee Coldsore]

Oh for the love of heaven..... no, not all of them are in it for money. One medium my sister went to lived in a small tract house and accepted no money for her work. She asked that my sister give a donation to the Red Cross or a food pantry if she wanted to do something. The medium is well-known in my area and could make money doing what she does but she considers what she does as a God-given gift and refuses to accept anything personally. I've run into a few people like this. They don't ask you to return and they don't ask for money. Not everyone is a gold digger.

I wasn't suggesting they are all in it for the money, just highlighting an example of self-proclaimed fakery that was as accurate as anything else I've come across.

 

[Sergeant_Torpedo]

I accept what you have said about individual mediums not being mercurial in your experience. My experience has not been the same. I several times attended seances at Belgrave Square HQ, some of the readings seemed favourable on the surface, but with due respect I was not overly impresssed.

I have to reiterate that there is no consistency in the methodology. There are many things that cannot be physically explained; but what comfort is there in having the sweepings off of a dinner table? I don't like being too personal but as a younger man I sustained serious injuries and had so called spiritual healing. If it benefited me then I am grateful, but I see far too many people who in desperate straights get into the clutches of charlatan mediums. I am sure there are good people who practise their gifts for good and without gain. As for the psychologists who make rich pickings from debunking all mediums, they are as much scavengers as those they target.

 

[jason_els]

There is an entire community of spiritualists in Lily Dale, NY. Lily Dale is a co-operative of spiritualists meaning to live there you have to buy into the co-operative, be approved, and then you get a house. The entire community is open in the summer and people come from all over the world to experience living in a Spiritualist hamlet. They attend lectures, church services, and get readings. It's rather fascinating.

New York's Burned-Over District is a fascinating place. It's the birthplace of American Shakerism, Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventism, Spiritualism, the Oneida Community (group marriage Yaay!), and various other Utopian societies. It's bizarre. I think it has to do with the weather. Some parts of upstate New York are among the cloudiest places in the world.

 

[D_Chaumbrelayne_Copprehead]

There are some charlatans out there, but there are also some psychics, mediums, whatever who are serious about practicing their craft. Interesting that this subject has such heated opinions on both sides. I know people who are practicing psychics who take their work very, very seriously. And, I know some people who are clients of psychics who swear by them.