quote:

---

cold reading
"In the course of a successful reading, the psychic may provide most of the words, but it is the client that provides most of the meaning and all of the significance." --Ian Rowland (2000: 60)

Cold reading refers to a set of techniques used by professional manipulators to get a subject to behave in a certain way or to think that the cold reader has some sort of special ability that allows him to "mysteriously" know things about the subject. Cold reading goes beyond the usual tools of manipulation: suggestion and flattery. In cold reading, salespersons, hypnotists, advertising pros, faith healers, con men, and some therapists bank upon their subject's inclination to find more meaning in a situation than there actually is. The desire to make sense out of our experience has led us to many wonderful discoveries, but it has also led some of us to many follies. The manipulator knows that his mark will be inclined to try to make sense out of whatever he is told, no matter how farfetched or improbable. He knows, too, that people are generally self-centered, that we tend to have unrealistic views of ourselves and that we will generally accept claims about us that reflect not how we are or even how we really think we are but how we wish we were or think we should be. He also knows that for every several claims he makes about you which you reject as being inaccurate, he will make one that meets with your approval; and he knows that you will remember the hits he makes and forget the misses.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Storm

I read a very interesting story in Tony Cornells book, Investigating the Paranormal. Tony had gone on an investigation at a Seance. While the medium could not get some information correct she began to speew out personal information about a crisis that Tony was going through at the time. The medium did not know anything about Tony and his problems. He concluded thaat it could not have been a ghost or spirit but that she must have copletely read his min

---

quote:

---

I read a book where a guy had a broken hand. But the guy was a freelance artist and couldnt work (and earn money) with his hand in a cast. Anxious for the bones to heal in a hurry, he tried various remedies. At one point, he put his hand next to a really powerful magnet. One day later, his bones healed. What do you think of that???

---

quote:

---

While the medium could not get some information correct she began to speew out personal information about a crisis that Tony was going through at the time

---

quote:

---

"Do You Believe In Ghosts?"
Do you believe in ghosts? There has always been a fascination pertaining to unexplained phenomenon. Individuals investigating these occurrences generally come from two schools of thought, the passionate defenders or the sceptics.

Tony Cornell is a psychical researcher who has devoted 55 years to the study and investigation of the paranormal and as he states in his book he remains sceptical, however, in certain instances he does admit that there has been the existence of phenomena that defied explanation.

With his book INVESTIGATING THE PARANORMAL, Cornell tries to make sense of some of the accounts of apparitions, poltergeists and mediums. Apparently, most of the findings mentioned in this exposition have never been published before.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Storm

...the frauds of Spiritualism.

---

quote:

---

Has there not been a time where you were thinking to say something and then all of a sudden someonelse says what you were thinking? Then you would say Hey I was just thinking that? I find this happens with people close to me. Like My husband, children, friends,etc. Then I have to think that because we are so close we can kind of expect what one is going to say? But it happens with strangers as well.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Storm

I agree with cold reading to a point. If we think that all who read minds only rely on cold reading then we give into the frauds of Spiritualism.
Has there not been a time where you were thinking to say something and then all of a sudden someonelse says what you were thinking? Then you would say Hey I was just thinking that? I find this happens with people close to me. Like My husband, children, friends,etc. Then I have to think that because we are so close we can kind of expect what one is going to say? But it happens with strangers as well. Am I cold Reading? What makes you think that John Edward is a cold reader? Don't let Spiritualism be your only basis for the truth
Energy does not die it merely gets dispersed. Einstein
We are balls of energy
Just because we have not discovered it does not mean it does not exist.
The possibilities are endless

---

quote:

---

Deconstructing The Dead:
Cross Over One Last Time To Expose Medium John Edward
By Michael Shermer

History is not just one damn thing after another, it is also the same damn thing over and over--time's arrow and time's cycle. Fads come and go, in clothing, cars, and psychics. In the 1970s it was Uri Geller, in the 1980s it was Shirley MacLaine, in the 1990s it was James Van Praagh, and to kick off the new millennium it is John Edward. Edward's star is rising rapidly with a hit daily television series "Crossing Over" on the Sci Fi network and a New York Times bestselling book "One Last Time." He has appeared, unopposed, on Larry King Live and has been featured on Dateline, Entertainment Tonight, and an HBO special.

Last year, Skeptic magazine was the first national publication to run an expose of John Edward in James "The Amazing" Randi's column (in Vol. 8, #3, available here at www.skeptic.com), a story that was picked up this week by Time magazine, who featured a full-page article on what is rapidly becoming the Edward phenomenon. There is, in reality, nothing new here. Same story, different names. In watching Edward I'm amazed at how blatant he is in stealing lines from medium James Van Praagh. It reminds me of entertainers, commedians, and magicians who go to each others' shows to glean new ideas.

Time's reporter Leon Jaroff, quoting from the Skeptic article, wrote a skeptical piece in which he reported the experiences of an audience member from an Edward taping. His name is Michael O'Neill, a New York City marketing manager, who reported his experiences as follows (quoting from the Skeptic article):

"I was on the John Edward show. He even had a multiple guess "hit" on me that was featured on the show. However, it was edited so that my answer to another question was edited in after one of his questions. In other words, his question and my answer were deliberately mismatched. Only a fraction of what went on in the studio was actually seen in the final 30 minute show. He was wrong about a lot and was very aggressive when somebody failed to acknowledge something he said. Also, his "production assistants" were always around while we waited to get into the studio. They told us to keep very quiet, and they overheard a lot. I think that the whole place is bugged somehow. Also, once in the studio we had to wait around for almost two hours before the show began. Throughout that time everybody was talking about what dead relative of theirs might pop up. Remember that all this occurred under microphones and with cameras already set up. My guess is that he was backstage listening and looking at us all and noting certain readings. When he finally appeared, he looked at the audience as if he were trying to spot people he recognized. He also had ringers in the audience. I can tell because about fifteen people arrived in a chartered van, and once inside they did not sit together."

---

quote:

---

and why can it not go beyond just those who are close...
Maybe someone like a medium...
Do the research on Spiritualism and you should understand what I mean
Not everyone just makes things up off the top of there heads for no reason...
Many people have very true and real experiences
Don't be a True Believer

---

quote:

---

Has there not been a time where you were thinking to say something and then all of a sudden someonelse says what you were thinking? Then you would say Hey I was just thinking that? I find this happens with people close to me.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Storm

Starman if you are a Scientist your brain then is also wired for pattern and correlation...
So why is it then Starman that when together with someone you see and hear similiar things? What is the force between ones who are together that create these visions these auditory sounds?

---

quote:

---

Do the research on Spiritualism and you should understand what I mean

---

quote:

---

Not everyone just makes things up off the top of there heads for no reason...
Many people have very true and real experiences
Don't be a True Believer

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Storm

We know the phenomenon exists?

---