Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne es una escritora estadounidense superventas que escribe sobre temas de espiritualidad y trabaja como psíquica y médium. Nació con el nombre de Sylvia Celeste Shoemaker, el 19 de octubre de 1936 . Trabajó como invitada semanal en el programa de televisión The Montel Williams Show y tuvo su propio programa de radio de una hora de duración en la Hay House Radio, presentando temas sobre lo paranormal y dando consejos a los oyentes como psíquica. Críticos como James Randi han argumentado que Browne utiliza técincas mentalistas para producir la ilusión de lectura de la mente y clarividencia. En varios periódicos estadounidenses han aparecido informes acerca de sus profecías erróneas. (Link dead as of 8 April 2007) Biografía Browne was born in Kansas City, Missouri to Bill Shoemaker and Celeste Coil; she is the eldest of two daughters. Her father was Jew ish and had many jobs including mail delivery and jewelry salesman, and was vice president of a major freight line. Her mother was Episcopalian, Browne, Sylvia; & Antoinette May (1990). Adventures of a Psychic . Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc. ISBN 0-7394-0178-5 and her maternal grandmother Ada Coil was a devout Lutheran . To establish stability; the family decided to convert to Roman Catholicism and they were all baptised together when Browne was a young girl, but Browne said in 2001 that she was Jewish. Browne says that visions started appearing when she was five years old and that her grandmother Ada Coil, who she said was a psychic medium, helped her understand why she had them. Browne also asserts that her great-uncle also says to be a psychic medium and was “rabid about UFO s.” Browne started to give claimed psychic readings in 1974 and has attracted followings of supporters and detractors. She has given thousands of one-on-one readings and with a wide variety of groups and individuals; as of 2008, she charges $850 for a 20-30 minute telephone reading. Browne claims to have provided information to police departments and the FBI . Matrimonio e hijos She was married to Gary Dufresne from April 1959 until 1972, and is divorced from Kenzil Dalzell Brown. Sylvia acquired the surname Brown during the third of her four marriages, and enhanced it with a final e after she was indicted on Security Fraud charges. In September 2002 she and Larry Lee Beck ended their marriage. Santa Clara County Court, Number: 1-02-FL-104268, Larry Lee Beck And Sylvia Celeste Browne, Dissolution Of Marriage/No Minor Children Sylvia says her son Christopher is psychic, and attributes this to a genetic predisposition. Her website says "If Sylvia is the best psychic around - then Chris is the second best." Paranormal claims Browne says she knows what it is like in heaven . In her book The Other Side and Back , she says the temperature is a constant 78° F (25.6°C), that there are no insects–-unless one wants there to be, that pets go to heaven, and that one can build one's house wherever one wants unless it obscures the view of a river or some trees, in which case one needs permission. She asserts that the "other side" exists approximately three feet above ground level and at a "higher vibrational level" and so is difficult for humans to perceive. However, like other psychics, she claims to have been born able to perceive a wider range of "vibrational frequencies". Browne declares that she can see angels and that they look similar to depictions in paintings, but have different traits depending on their "phylum". She has also claimed that they do not speak. Her granddaughter, who is purportedly psychic, claims to have witnessed the angels that Browne states surround humans. Browne professes the ability to speak with her spirit guide , "Francine," and has given details of fifty-four of her own former lives as divined by her. Medios de comunicación Browne is a frequent guest on US television and radio programs. She has appeared numerous times on Larry King Live as well as the Montel Williams Show and Coast to Coast AM . In 2005 Browne told Newsweek that Larry King , a believer in the paranormal, asked her to do private psychic readings. During these appearances she usually discusses her abilities with the host and then performs readings of audience members or callers. On some occasions other guests at her appearances have included skeptics, with James Randi being one of the more frequent. These shows often feature verbal sparring between the two, with both trying to convince the audience that the other is wrong. In March 2004, their feud escalated on the popular St. Louis radio program The Paul Harris Show when Randi came out and called Browne a liar. Browne vs Randi March 2003 The Paul Harris Show "Instead, she's been spreading lies about Randi, who has been holding his tongue, but has now decided to fire back at her both on his website and on my radio show, with no holds barred." Browne has also appeared on the television soap opera The Young and the Restless as herself in December 2006. In April 2008, Sylvia Browne launched a new website billed as "an online spirituality destination that includes articles, blog postings, and videos from Sylvia." PRNewsiwre. "http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS70713+10-May-2008+PRN20080510" The Ultimate Long Distance Call. Reuters. 10 May 2008 Books, business, and church Browne is the head of the Sylvia Browne Corporation, Sylvia Browne Enterprises, and the founder of a church in 1986 in Campbell, California , known as the Society of Novus Spiritus. According to its website, the church employs forty ministers, though only a small number are actually paid employees. Those that are paid also work for Sylvia Browne Corporation and Sylvia Browne Enterprises, and are members of the Board of Directors of Novus Spiritus . Novus Spiritus refers to itself as " Gnostic Christian." It states that it follows the same traditions and teachings which Jesus himself followed, yet does not exclude Buddhism , Judaism , Islam , or Hinduism . The society teaches the Biblical works of Jesus Christ while also incorporating the Gnostic Gospels (ex: Gospel of Mary Magdalene ), and says that while the Bible is a "marvellous book" and should be used as a teaching tool, it is not the "unaltered word of God". Novus Spiritus Study Groups and Churches are not allowed to teach anything other than what Sylvia Browne has written, thus excluding any other religious or spiritual texts. --> Predicciones Entre las predicciones de Sylvia Browne, figuran:
- Bill Clinton había sido calumniado con respecto al escándalo de Monica Lewinsky (profecía que resultó falsa luego de que Lewinsky y Clinton confesaron ambos en el juicio).
- George H. W. Bush (padre) derrotaría a Bill Clinton en las elecciones presidenciales de 1992 (Bush perdió).
- Bill Bradley ganaría las elecciones presidenciales del año 2000,
- Saddam Hussein estaba escondido en las montañas en Iraq (pero fue encontrado en el 2003 escondido en un pozo en el patio de una casa de familia en una aldea cerca de Tikrit , su pueblo natal)
- Osama bin Laden había muerto (que más tarde la CIA informó que seguía vivo).
- Michael Jackson saldría culpable en el juicio de 2005 por abuso sexual a un menor (Jackson fue sobreseído).
- Para fines de 1999 se encontraría la cura del cáncer de mama .
- Browne apareció en el programa de Larry King Live (en CNN ) ocho días antes de los ataques del 11 de septiembre del 2001 , pero no pudo predecirlo (aunque después del hecho dijo que había tenido sueños perturbadores acerca de un gran incendio).
- En el show de televisión The Montel Williams Show’s New Years Predictions , predijo que Brad Pitt y Jennifer Aniston tendrían un bebé ese año. Pero la pareja nunca tuvo un hijo, y se separaron en 2005.
- No pudo contactar a Randi.
- Ya no quiere ni necesita ese dinero.
- Ni Randi ni la Fundación tienen un millón de dólares para pagarle en caso de que ganara.
- Randi no quiere poner el dinero en fideicomiso (en manos de un tercero de confianza).
- Lectura en frío
- Sesgo de confirmación
- Efecto Forer (falacia de validación personal)
- Lectura en caliente
- WikiSource.org ( The People vs. Sylvia Browne: El pueblo de EE. UU. contra Sylvia Browne, texto de la resolución del juicio; en inglés).
- Sylvia.org (sitio oficial; en inglés).
- SpiritNow.com (nuevo sitio de Browne).
- Novus.org (The Society of Novus Spiritus, Sociedad de Nuevos Espíritus: iglesia liderada por Browne).
- HayHouseRadio.com (show en línea de Sylvia Browne).
- SkepticReport.com (cronología de la contienda entre Browne y Randi ; en inglés).
- Randi.org (James Randi desafía a Sylvia Browne; en inglés).
- Randi.org (vídeo de Sylvia Browne con Larry King).
- MyWeb.Tiscali.co.uk (lista de predicciones de Sylvia Browne, con columnas de «cierto» y «falso»; en inglés).
- Csicop.org (críticas al periodista Larry King, «King of the Paranormal», rey de lo paranormal; en inglés).
- FoxNews.com («TV Psychic Misses Mark on Miners», de Roger Friedman, 2006; en inglés).
- Salon.com (en inglés).
- Sylvia Browne's 2008 and 2009 Predictions - from new SpiritNow.com website
- Wayback Machine - Past predictions appear here
- Browne's predictions for the year 2000 Still viewable directly from her site.
- Browne's indictment (image)
- Browne's indictment (text)
- Video: Browne's predictions analyzed January 19, 2007 Live with Anderson Cooper on CNN (CNN Video)
- (Browne and James Randi )
- (Browne and John Edward )
- (Browne's manager and Randi)
- (Browne's manager and Randi)