Are mediums a hoax??

Adam:)

Hello,

I used to believe in mediums but I'm not so sure anymore. There's a person I know who's passed on and would like to hear information about. However, I've seen programmes on TV that show that mediums are con artists and once they get your name and address they can do a few check ups like where you live etc and then pretend that they're reeceiving messages from the dead. So is there a medium out there that can prove me wrong and provide a name of the person that I know who died? Sorry for sounding so sceptical.
Thanks and no I'm not just looking for a free reading-I'd gladly pay!

Zombrex

Adam:) wrote:

Hello,

I used to believe in mediums but I'm not so sure anymore. There's a person I know who's passed on and would like to hear information about. However, I've seen programmes on TV that show that mediums are con artists and once they get your name and address they can do a few check ups like where you live etc and then pretend that they're reeceiving messages from the dead. So is there a medium out there that can prove me wrong and provide a name of the person that I know who died? Sorry for sounding so sceptical.
Thanks and no I'm not just looking for a free reading-I'd gladly pay!

Some mediums are a hoax obviously (just like some electrical engineers are a hoax), and as you say the methods used by these hoaxers have been exposed a number of times through out the years.

But one couldn't say (and shouldn't say, as per charter) that ALL mediums are a hoax as you couldn't possible know. It all depends on your personal beliefs. If you believe in an afterlife and spirits then it stands to reason that there would be a method of communication with these spirits. If you don't, well it is unlikely you will believe in mediums either. Also if you are aware of the methods used by hoaxers you will be more likely to be able to spot if you are being conned.

I think the resident medium Mysteria is on a "tempory leave of absance" at the moment, but I'm sure others can recommend a good medium in your area, or Mysteria can when she gets back.

6th

There is a huge thread stickied at the top of this forum about mediums and psychic that is a good place to look for peoples recommendations.

Wicknight is absolutely correct, there are frauds and hoaxers in every profession. You are always best to go with the recommendation of someone who has personal experience.

For me, I found June Davy in The House of Astrology excellent.

odonnell

So in a world of 6 billion people, you believe that because con artists exist, REAL mediums couldnt possibly be the real deal? Oh well... i guess all the fake brands and rip off armani suits must mean that addidas, nike, armani, etc must not exist!! by your reasoning anyway....

have a wee think first before you tar everyone with the same brush.

Yes there is such a thing as a psychic medium in my opinion, yes some are con artists, yes some ghosts are faked, or are natural phenomenon, yes real apparitions also exist.

Its not always black or white you know.

Adam:) wrote:

Hello,

I used to believe in mediums but I'm not so sure anymore. There's a person I know who's passed on and would like to hear information about. However, I've seen programmes on TV that show that mediums are con artists and once they get your name and address they can do a few check ups like where you live etc and then pretend that they're reeceiving messages from the dead. So is there a medium out there that can prove me wrong and provide a name of the person that I know who died? Sorry for sounding so sceptical.
Thanks and no I'm not just looking for a free reading-I'd gladly pay!

Zombrex

odonnell wrote:

Yes there is such a thing as a psychic medium in my opinion,

Can you recommend one to the original poster?

I think that is all he is looking for.

6th

I did already, but as i said he should check out the sticky on mediums & psychics.

Adam:)

Apologies for taking so long to respond. Thank you all for your responses. I didn't mean to 'tar every medium with the same brush'-I tried to make it quite clear that I wasn't by apologising for being so sceptical. Thanks for your help guys. And what sticky is at the bottom of the page?! Couldn't find it! Cheers:)

monkeyfudge

Here it is:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054883158

Personally I'd consider anyone charging for such a service to be dubious whether they are genuine or not.

Ziycon

Some Mediums (Not all) use methods called cold reading and hot reading, basicly cold reading is a method of obtaining information about a person based on their response to a very wide open question, the medium can say for example something like, "There is someone close to you thats not the best at the moment", they would then go on to say "its a male or female in your life" they would then go by your unaware response lets say you react to female, next they would say something like "Its a mother, sister, dauthger, girlfriend, wife" until they hit the right one and see which you responsed to most, they work their way through by your unaware response to certain situations but if their was no response at the first question they would drop it and pursue a different angle!

Thats just a very very basic example of cold reading. Hot reading is basicly where the medium will research you before the reading or listen in on your conversations before you have the reading!

Personnally i would never go to a medium.

Aisling&M

YES, Some are & NO some are not ......

Are all chocolates good?

YES some are (belgian yummy) and NO some are not (cheap cooking chocolate).

I am a medium and have knows some amazing ones so have to say from my experience there are some real ones out there. But I have a rational mind and have to say that if I did not experience it first hand I probably wouldn't believe it so I can understand the skepticism especially when frauds are exposed so visibly.

The principle of 'Bad News sells more papers' applies to this topic.

Oryx

I agree with Aisling...there are frauds out there, you have to use your judgement and common sense. If the medium or psychic seems suspect, and seems to be cold or hot reading you, get out of there:)

Oh and chocolate can be fattening... dont over do it. Mediums psychics have their function and can help you in some situations, but dont depend on them to provide all the answers. They have to come from you at the end of the day.

Ziycon

KatieK wrote:

...and seems to be cold or hot reading you, get out of there:)

I can be very hard to tell, even impossible if the person whats something to believe or a certain answer to be told!

magnumlady

I couldn't believe the amount of people at Derek Acorah that were giving him answers. He just seemed to be expanding from what they were telling him.

Oryx

Yes or no answers, with no other information offered, helps stop cold reading, or at least makes it more difficult. Readers going from the vague to the specific (Im seeing a person... a woman...yes...a mother?....no? a granny... eh... an aunt...? etc) are probably not doing so well. A good reader, even if they give the information bit by bit, should be bang on, and not backtrack or make the info 'fit'.

tuxy

odonnell wrote:

So in a world of 6 billion people, you believe that because con artists exist, REAL mediums couldnt possibly be the real deal?

the thing is you can show evidence to prove a medium is fake.
how could you prove one is real?

Oryx

This kind of discussion goes on here quite a bit. How to prove something paranormal is real. I dont think, by its very nature, that mediumship lends itself to scientific analysis. I think proof rests with the weight of information given, versus the chance of producing this information 'accidentally' or by guessing. The information given is not like picking a card from a deck of 52, where you can work out the exact statistics for getting it right by chance. The information is generally specific to a person or situation. I mean, what are the chances of getting details such as physical description, name, age and such correct in combination, by pure guess work? (of course you would need to establish that cold/hot reading could not be a factor.)

The problem also is that the reading is a personal interaction between two people (and one spirit ) and 'proving' facts in a case like that is like proving the effectiveness of say, counselling. You can only see the effectiveness as an overall result. One readers description of a person, or interpretation of an event may vary subtly from actuality, but the basis for it may be correct.

stevenmu

Are mediums a hoax ? Certainly some are, and certainly some are not, or at least some genuinely believe in what they are doing. Whether or not the yare genuinely in touch with spirits is another question which really comes down to a matter of faith. Personally I'd look at it as something to try out of interest, but not something to be taken too seriously or relied upon for anything of consequence. Even the best genuine mediums can't guarantee results, everything may go exactly as you'd want, or maybe nothing will happen.

SkepticOne

A hoax implies a deliberate attempt to mislead. As stevemnu points out, this need not be the case. A lot of information is passed on intuitively through body language in ways that both the sender and receiver might not be consciously aware. We can't call this a hoax even though no paranormal means are employed.

solas

I agree,some folk genuinely beleive that what they are doing is acting as a medium with "the otherside", I'm just not so sure that what they are doing is genuinely communicating with spirits. I think spirit needs to be defined a little more before anyone can make such claims.

hello to all btw


[edit:maybe they're subconsciously picking up personal information via the "bee " field ]

6th

solas wrote:

[edit:maybe they're subconsciously picking up personal information via the "bee " field ]

Funny on one hand but very possible on the other.

solas wrote:

hello to all btw

hello, you've missed you

Oryx

Interesting point, solas (hello btw ) Ive often wondered how much of any reading is picked up from the sitters aura/mental telepathy/bee field.

solas

neat trick all the same and still qualifies as some level of paranormal eh..activity. Personally I'd have to see with my own eyes or have some independant adjuicator confirm the existance of spirits before I'd accept info recieved as being genuinely from spirit. *shakeshead*
(good to see you katie)

6th

Like someone said earlier, hoaxing is more about intent than anything else.

solas

in saying that for what I've seen personally and experienced, I've been able to convince myself that it's all in the head, so when it comes to others they'd really need to dig deep before I'd buy but if it helps people through grief or gives them something to believe in then what the heck eh?

dreamingoak

i realise this thread is a little old now, but i am a clairvoyant medium. ill be the first one to say that nothing is cast in stone especially regarding the future, and that ive been wrong before, but i have been able to help a lot of people to come to terms with the passing on of a loved one , and i always try to do the very best i can. i often can get defining features, such as the person smoked heavily, or was very possesive over their china! the humour of the spirit world never ceases to amaze me. in short, If adam is looking for a reading still, i will do my best to help him out, if he's interested.

mossieh

Has there ever been a single documented scientific study of a medium at work that proved that was happening was real and not cold reading or invention? Just one uncontrovertible example?

Occams razor: all things being equal, the simplest explanation is probably the correct one. The simplest explanation for this phenomenon is cold reading.

If people take comfort from it, well and good but for a medium to charge money for this 'service' is taking advantage of the bereaved in my opinion. True comfort and sympathy for a bereaved person should not cost money.

6th

What about counselling? Or therapy?

mossieh

6th wrote:

What about counselling? Or therapy?

Do you think that the services provided by trained psychology and medical professionals are equivalent to those provided by mediums?

Do you think that some charlatan pretending to talk to a dead relative is as constructive and honest as a therapist helping a bereaved person to come to terms with the fact that the dead person is gone?

Besides, there are several free bereavement counselling organisations in Ireland.

6th

mossieh wrote:

Do you think that the services provided by trained psychology and medical professionals are equivalent to those provided by mediums?

Do you think that some charlatan pretending to talk to a dead relative is as constructive and honest as a therapist helping a bereaved person to come to terms with the fact that the dead person is gone?

Besides, there are several free bereavement counselling organisations in Ireland.

You say pretending but I've experienced some very good mediums & psychics first hand.

No I dont think they are at all equivalent to medical professionals but are compareable to some counselling.

Yes there are free bereavement services, I've know some that have helped people and some that did them no good.

I'm as against charlatans as anyone but my personal experiences have shown me its not all charlatans.

mossieh

6th wrote:

I'm as against charlatans as anyone but my personal experiences have shown me its not all charlatans.

Which leads back to my first question:
Has there ever been a single documented scientific study of a medium at work that proved that what was happening was real and not cold reading or invention? Just one uncontrovertible example?

meanmachine3

A discussion like this can go on for a life time and still there will be both believers and non believers.what it basically boils down to is " fear of the unknown". what we know about the paranormal world is only about .001% of it's true nature.there are thousands of people out there with these gifts and most of them will stay hidden. the only way someone is going to believe in any of this ,be it a seer, medium , healer,a physic etc. is to experience it first hand. alot of these people who have these gift/gifts dont like using what they have. for anyone that does have any of the gifts the first encounter is one of the most scariest and yet magnificent experiences a person can have in a lifetime.