Has anyone been to see a medium?

[Dreadful Scathe]

Please could someone explain the difference between a charlatan medium, and a non-charlatan medium?

Simply the charlatan is out to con and provably so, the real one isn't

[bigdjiver]

Were you thinking? Dance is a proven market where the research has been done ...

Claiming supernatural powers is also an area where the market has been proven.

How many personal recommendations do you think you would get on cold reading techniques plus some research? Wouldn't be enough I'm sure, and you'd hardly be the worlds gifts to con artists at a few £30 an hour gigs every so often.

Buy a box full of dice and keep throwing them and recording the results. One "lucky" dice will emerge with a very high frequency of rolling sixes. N mediums give readings, one gets a very high correct rating, that is the one that gets talked about. "I wasted 30 quid on a rubbish medium" is not the sort of news most people propogate. "It was uncanny, how could they have known that?" is.

It would be a poor businessman that spent their time researching customers that could not afford to pay the prices sought. 30 quid and hour keeps food on the table, but what a fake medium would seek out is those with a lot of cash. Wills are public documents. Read a selected few of those and it is possible to get loads of family information as well as the size of the potential returns. Make the first appointment with a new client in a few weeks time and get some time to research, go through their bin a couple of times etc.

30 quid is starters. You first dance lesson could have been free. How much have you spent on it since? I wonder how many mediums are mentioned in wills? I doubt their profession is stated.

This news quote is about a con artist pretending to be a medium not a medium who is a con artist - surely theres a difference, and its that difference the new law addresses. What this "23 year old" did has always been illegal.

The news quote is about an inept con artist who may, or may not be, an inept medium as well.

[Barry Shnikov]

If I were a charlatan medium I would keep files of clippings from the local newspaper and attend lots of funerals, chat around, listen and take notes. I would chat to clients to get clues to other clients and keep notes of those conversations too. Gossiping with people like local hair stylists or having relatives in such a business or in the funeral business would be good too. I could find out quite a lot from Internet searches, the voting register, old census details. A bit of cold reading skill with the odd concrete detail like the name of the pet budgie thrown in can work very well. The kids / grandkids names can be a strong clue to parents / grandparents / family names. I am sure those in the business have many other methods.

Many such persons use the far simpler process of having a receptionist or 'shill' client, or similar, who simply chats with the - um - client while the medium is 'finishing the previous consultation'. What astonishing details the medium is able to reveal with this simple ruse!

Shill: "My dad died, and I never said goodbye, that's why I'm here. What about you?"
Client: "It's my gran. I want to know that she wasn't in pain when she died in hospital."

dum de dum de dum...

A US medium/faith healer (can't remember which) was caught out (by James Randi, IIRC) using bugging devices to eavesdrop on the audience chatter when they were deliberately held for half an hour in the vestibule before the doors to the auditorium were opened...

His wife then radioed the pertinent information to him through an earpiece once the 'show' was under way.

[Barry Shnikov]

I am curious though as to how the change in the law will work, I thought that if someone practised in this area they had a 'gift' so how can that be policed? By the way this is a genuine question, I don't know how it would work.

It's a contract, as far as the formal world is concerned. 'In consideration of £x, receipt of which I hereby acknowledge, I undertake to use skills which I claim to have acquired/been born with to contact a dead relative or friend of yours for the purpose of facilitating a dialogue between you and the deceased.'

Until now, a medium could get away with claiming to have fulfilled that contract while simultaneously being unable to offer the slightest evidence that he or she had indeed done so along with other persons claiming paranormal powers the only people who could do so.

As I understand it such persons are not prevented from claiming that they have 'a gift' or 'powers', but if they do so, they must be able to prove it. Otherwise, they can stay in business by stating that their services are for entertainment only. Of course if they can prove it, they might as well go on and claim James Randi's $1,000,000. Even if they aren't in the medium business to make money, they might as well give it to charity or people in need, rather than leave it languishing in bank vaults and insurance company profit calculations.

[Dreadful Scathe]

Claiming supernatural powers is also an area where the market has been proven.

A selective quote, you only took the first part - the comparison is between types of research not types of "industry".

It would be a poor businessman that spent their time researching customers that could not afford to pay the prices sought. 30 quid and hour keeps food on the table, but what a fake medium would seek out is those with a lot of cash.

You claim that con artists will pretend to be mediums and research local information or "make it up" on the fly for any clients that come to them. Now you suggest they look for clients themselves, and rich ones too. Sounds like you are saying this to support your ropey theory on how mediums work Perhaps your next supporting post will be how they hunt down clients in their own homes in order to further maximise profits

The news quote is about an inept con artist who may, or may not be, an inept medium as well.

Sheer speculation with no evidence. Its about a con man; if you seriously think the lable "medium" can apply to him, then you've been conned too.

[~*~Saligal~*~]

There is a TV series on at present called, I believe, "Pushing up daisies." One of its premises is that if the dead could speak it would be much easier to solve murders.

I cannot see why anyone would exert themselves for a mere million if they had a line on where all of the loot / treasure is buried.

Parliament seems to have decided that the services of a medium are "for entertainment only".

Sorry... felt the need to correct the title... it's "Pushing Daisies" (I work for the entity that distributes the TV product)
(nice to see the show plugged)

[Tiger Feet]

Sorry... felt the need to correct the title... it's "Pushing Daisies" (I work for the entity that distributes the TV product)
(nice to see the show plugged)

I liked Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). the original version though.

(erm, a bit of a topic shift, but, well, erm...ho hum)

[Twirly]

It's a contract, as far as the formal world is concerned. 'In consideration of £x, receipt of which I hereby acknowledge, I undertake to use skills which I claim to have acquired/been born with to contact a dead relative or friend of yours for the purpose of facilitating a dialogue between you and the deceased.'

Out of curiousity, would that still be a contract, and therefore would the new rules still apply, if there wasn't a set fee, but a "suggested donation"? I understand that is how some mediums formulate their charges.

[Barry Shnikov]

Out of curiousity, would that still be a contract, and therefore would the new rules still apply, if there wasn't a set fee, but a "suggested donation"? I understand that is how some mediums formulate their charges.

If the dontations were not made until after the 'reading', it would probably be OK. If the donation was sought beforehand I think a court might feel that was simply a ruse to get round the law. Otherwise if there's no donation the medium can simply say "Sorry, nothing's coming through today. come back tomorrow."

[Barry Shnikov]

Out of curiousity, would that still be a contract, and therefore would the new rules still apply, if there wasn't a set fee, but a "suggested donation"? I understand that is how some mediums formulate their charges.

(continued)

In fact relying on donations is probably a very powerful device.

First, many people will use it to reassure themselves that they are dealing with an 'honest' or 'real' medium - something acheived with almost no effort on the medium's part, and which might very well be impossible to achieve in any other way (prior to the 'reading', that is.)
Second, it may very well increse the money the mark - sorry, client - is prepared to pay because he/she feels obligated to the medium in a way that he/she would not if a fee of say, £10, was agreed on beforehand. (See Levine's book ersuasion in which he shows how even things such as a humble bic biro can produce startling acts of reciprocation. All sorts of experiments have been conducted in this area.)

[Twirly]

(continued)

In fact relying on donations is probably a very powerful device.

*snip*

Second, it may very well increse the money the mark - sorry, client - is prepared to pay because he/she feels obligated to the medium in a way that he/she would not if a fee of say, £10, was agreed on beforehand. (See Levine's book ersuasion in which he shows how even things such as a humble bic biro can produce startling acts of reciprocation. All sorts of experiments have been conducted in this area.)

Same principle exists at the restaurant "Just Around the Corner", where you pay what you think the meal is worth...

[Barry Shnikov]

(See Levine's book ersuasion...)

Dur...Levine's book is actually called Persuasion.

(I like Ersuasion though - sounds as though it could be a useful word.)

[Baruch]

A US medium/faith healer (can't remember which) was caught out (by James Randi, IIRC) using bugging devices to eavesdrop on the audience chatter when they were deliberately held for half an hour in the vestibule before the doors to the auditorium were opened...

His wife then radioed the pertinent information to him through an earpiece once the 'show' was under way.

That would be Peter Popoff. .

[clarabella]

[quote=rubyred;472240]I have decided to go to see a medium next week,

Hi Rubyred,

Just wondering if you have been to see the Medium yet and if so what was your experience?

x

[Tazmanian Devil]

I have decided to go to see a medium next week, my reasons are around the difficulty I have had in coming to terms with a death in the family, not a recent one I hasten to add. I have to admit I am nervous about it to an extent, and not entering into the experience lightly, but I wondered if I could get some answers so as to try to understand my situation better. I wondered if others have had experience of going to see mediums and what they were? I invite your thoughts please?

......and of course before the joke is aired medium in this case has nothing to do with size.

Hi ya hunny,

Being Pagan I see a medium 2 - 3 times a year. Sometimes it can be very hard especially when you are still grieving someone or need some closure. One time that sticks in my head in particular is when my best friend past on, I didn't go to see a medium for a while, then when I finally did I got so much comfort aswell as a little upset from my reading.

It can be very shocking when you go for your first reading, as most people are unsure if they belive or not when they first go, all I will say is go, see if it helps for you. You might not get all the awnsers you are requiring but it will certainly help to guide you towards some sense of closure/understanding of your particular situation.

I will suggest that you go to see a medium that is recomended by someone that has been to see the same one. The medium I have started to use is called Ron heron, He is brilliant. I have seen him twice now, he tapes the whole session so you can listen back whenever you like. Also he is mobile so goes to any location and will do a group of you in single sessions in one evening. If you want to know his details pm me.

I hope it goes well for you hun

[Isis]

Hi Rubyred,

Just wondering if you have been to see the Medium yet and if so what was your experience?

Here you go:

Thought I would feed back my experience, and I stress it purely subjective and I mean no disrespect to people who get comfort from consulting mediums.

It didn't work for me, she said it was the worst sitting she'd ever had. I don't know what it was about me or her but there was no connection, what she told me could be applied to almost everyone and was too wide sweaping and general for me to take on board. I was not trying to be unreceptive but I kept coming up with if ands and buts in my head, and would get really frustrated, because she kept pulling me back to things that weren't significant for me. Then she said that if these things don't mean anything to me now then they might be for the future, well lets see!!!

Funnily enough when we had a glass wine together afterwards we got on really well. I am glad I went for the experience but its not for me.

[Barry Shnikov]

That would be Peter Popoff. .

That's the bloke. Now selling packets of miracle water, any size to suit your pocket, comes from a top secret location where it acquires miraculous properties.

Its most notable achievement is separating gullible fools from their money...

[Tiger Feet]

That's the bloke. Now selling packets of miracle water, any size to suit your pocket, comes from a top secret location where it acquires miraculous properties.

Its most notable achievement is separating gullible fools from their money...

Like the very large, very wealthy soft drink manufacturer who started selling tap water in bottles a few years ago. They're still trading happily, although they withdrew the water when they got rumbled. Nothing to do with God or dead people, but they were still conning the public and they're a hell of a lot more powerful than this kind of twit...

[Dreadful Scathe]

Like the very large, very wealthy soft drink manufacturer who started selling tap water in bottles a few years ago. They're still trading happily, although they withdrew the water when they got rumbled. Nothing to do with God or dead people, but they were still conning the public and they're a hell of a lot more powerful than this kind of twit...

Very true. But then Coca-Cola is flavoured water and a con in itself. Just not as much of one

[Lory]

He told my Mum (via the medium) that he was with her every minute of every day and that if she felt a breeze on her cheek or neck (which she had commented on to me…) it was him kissing her.

Personally I hate the idea of this and I think I'd find it more disturbing than anything.

I'd feel as though I was being spied on and that every decision I made for myself, would be based on how that person was going to also view it.

What about if you fancied Kinky sex, what a turn off to think your, husband, parents or grandparents were all watching

EDIT = Nan, if your reading this... shut your eyes