My Challenge to All Psychics
In response to today's article in the Times Union about a "psychic". I have publicly issued a challenge to all psychics. I will eat my hat while wearing diapers and listening to all of Britney Spears' albums on television for all to see if ANY psychic who takes James Randi's Million Dollar Challenge and passes. I have issued this challenge on the Times Unions "Read & React" section.
Here's the article which inspired this challenge:
Psychic conveys healing words from elsewhere
Marisha Alexander seeks to help clients come to grips with health issues
By CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, December 18, 2007
ALBANY -- Marisha Alexander sits in an hand-woven cane chair with a clipboard on her lap and a watch clutched in her hand, her eyes closed. She says spirits of the dead place words in her mind, and she passes them to her clients.
Alexander is a spiritual medium who says she has a talent for medical intuition, the ability to sense a health problem and the source of mental anguish.
She lives and works in a spacious, high-ceilinged apartment filled with antique furniture next to Washington Park. From a small, orange-colored room, Alexander advises clients about their past and future. She charges $125 an hour or $65 for a half hour.
"I don't give death sentences to people," said Alexander, a middle-aged woman with straight blond hair, blue eyes and a businesslike voice. She was a model and painter before she focused on spiritualism.
"The best readings are healing," she said.
Her clients come to her by word of mouth and include some doctors and nurses. Sometimes, physicians send patients to her.
"I'm definitely convinced that Marisha is legitimate," said Dr. Robert Weissberg of the Halfmoon Vitality Center in Clifton Park. He practices traditional medicine along with hypnosis and reiki, a Japanese technique for reducing stress.
Weissberg and several members of his family have had readings with Alexander. The psychic sensed cancer in Weissberg's wife, Mishka Luft, during a reading. Luft had been going to doctors to find the source of her health problems but they had not pinned it down as cancer yet. She was very anxious. It turned out to be a treatable form of lymphoma.
"Marisha said she should accept treatment, work with it and not let experiences in the past hold her back," he said. "It was really helpful to her in terms of setting her energy and getting help for herself."
Weissberg is not completely convinced dead family members are the source of Alexander's information, but he said she's definitely plugged in to some spiritual guidance.
He has sent patients to Alexander.
"I wouldn't use her guidance as a sole basis of a diagnosis, but I may use it to expand my consciousness about what's going on, and I may check it out," he said.
Anyone can hang a shingle outside their door saying they offer advice. But a psychic shouldn't claim they can diagnose a disease, said Glenn McGee, director of the Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical Center. Medical students spend a year of medical school on diagnosis, he said. He's critical of any physician who would use the services of a psychic.
"If anything happens that involves the psychic suggesting the disease is one thing when it's really another, you couldn't get a jury together that wouldn't say that was malpractice," McGee said.
But McGee doesn't begrudge anyone seeing a psychic on their own.
"Part of the reason that psychics have such appeal is the same reason that alternative medicine has such appeal: It's that they listen," he said. "We live in a time when it is hard to get a doctor's appointment that lasts longer than 10 minutes. I'll bet you that this psychic spends an hour or more with patients."
Alexander said most sessions last an hour and a half, but she doesn't offer diagnosis.
"It's illegal for me to diagnose because I'm not a physician, and I don't intend to be one," she said. "I'm giving guidance to people."
Alexander often advises her clients to seek medical attention. She suggest ways to alleviate their anxiety and handle the medical treatment they may need.
Alexander was born in Albany and grew up in Florida. Her father was in real estate but practiced hypnosis and past-life regressions as a hobby. Alexander married a Montreal businessman and lived in Canada for years before they divorced. She studied spiritualism at Lily Dale Assembly, near Fredonia, Chautauqua County, and has lived in Albany for the past five years.
Messages and words enter her mind in voices that are not her own, she said. She claims to have a very high accuracy rate.
"I don't think the messages are wrong, but my interpretations have been wrong," she said.
Debbie, a 55-year old Albany resident who asked that her last name not be used, is a believer. Debbie arrived at a reading with Alexander with a list of questions about her childhood and seeking advice on calming her tumultuous emotions and fears. Her knee bounced and hands clenched as Alexander worked.
Alexander relayed a message from Debbie's deceased mother.
"It's not her kind of thing, but she says meditation will be good for you," Alexander said.
Her parents are sending advice through Alexander on how to succeed, Debbie said.
McGee is skeptical.
"If it works, where's the data?" he said. "I think we should study it. We are putting billions into the study of alternative medicine, and I'm ready and waiting for studies that say psychics work."
Crowley can be reached at 454-5348, or by e-mail at ccrowley@timesunion.com.
Here's my response:
Why is the Times Union publishing and wasting our time with this woo-woo nonsense. Any “psychic” who claims to possess any manner of paranormal ability is a farce. There is NO evidence (other than anecdotal - which, as any scientist knows, is useless) that supports ANY psychic’s claims of special abilities. I challenge any psychic who is offended and feels they have some special ability to prove me wrong by taking James Randi’s Million Dollar Challenge. Details are available here: http://www.randi.org/joom/content/view/38/31/. Not only will I eat my cherished Australian hat on t.v. while wearing diapers and listening to ALL of Britney Spears albums back to back, the supposed “psychic” will end up A MILLION DOLLARS RICHER!! I will forward this additional challenge to Mr. Randi so that my performance could occur in conjunction the award ceremony. Until then, I strongly recommend ANYONE who is even considering going to a psychic or who has a family member or friend who is considering on going to or who is currently going to a psychic to do a little online research into “Cold Reading” - the psychics only tool. Info is available here: http://skepdic.com/coldread.html, here: http://www.randi.org/joom/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,80/, and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_reading.
I'll already sent out emails to James Randi and to Cathleen Crowley about my challenge.
Here's a couple videos available on YouTube that expose Cold Reading for what it is:
Here's the article which inspired this challenge:
Psychic conveys healing words from elsewhere
Marisha Alexander seeks to help clients come to grips with health issues
By CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, December 18, 2007
ALBANY -- Marisha Alexander sits in an hand-woven cane chair with a clipboard on her lap and a watch clutched in her hand, her eyes closed. She says spirits of the dead place words in her mind, and she passes them to her clients.
Alexander is a spiritual medium who says she has a talent for medical intuition, the ability to sense a health problem and the source of mental anguish.
She lives and works in a spacious, high-ceilinged apartment filled with antique furniture next to Washington Park. From a small, orange-colored room, Alexander advises clients about their past and future. She charges $125 an hour or $65 for a half hour.
"I don't give death sentences to people," said Alexander, a middle-aged woman with straight blond hair, blue eyes and a businesslike voice. She was a model and painter before she focused on spiritualism.
"The best readings are healing," she said.
Her clients come to her by word of mouth and include some doctors and nurses. Sometimes, physicians send patients to her.
"I'm definitely convinced that Marisha is legitimate," said Dr. Robert Weissberg of the Halfmoon Vitality Center in Clifton Park. He practices traditional medicine along with hypnosis and reiki, a Japanese technique for reducing stress.
Weissberg and several members of his family have had readings with Alexander. The psychic sensed cancer in Weissberg's wife, Mishka Luft, during a reading. Luft had been going to doctors to find the source of her health problems but they had not pinned it down as cancer yet. She was very anxious. It turned out to be a treatable form of lymphoma.
"Marisha said she should accept treatment, work with it and not let experiences in the past hold her back," he said. "It was really helpful to her in terms of setting her energy and getting help for herself."
Weissberg is not completely convinced dead family members are the source of Alexander's information, but he said she's definitely plugged in to some spiritual guidance.
He has sent patients to Alexander.
"I wouldn't use her guidance as a sole basis of a diagnosis, but I may use it to expand my consciousness about what's going on, and I may check it out," he said.
Anyone can hang a shingle outside their door saying they offer advice. But a psychic shouldn't claim they can diagnose a disease, said Glenn McGee, director of the Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical Center. Medical students spend a year of medical school on diagnosis, he said. He's critical of any physician who would use the services of a psychic.
"If anything happens that involves the psychic suggesting the disease is one thing when it's really another, you couldn't get a jury together that wouldn't say that was malpractice," McGee said.
But McGee doesn't begrudge anyone seeing a psychic on their own.
"Part of the reason that psychics have such appeal is the same reason that alternative medicine has such appeal: It's that they listen," he said. "We live in a time when it is hard to get a doctor's appointment that lasts longer than 10 minutes. I'll bet you that this psychic spends an hour or more with patients."
Alexander said most sessions last an hour and a half, but she doesn't offer diagnosis.
"It's illegal for me to diagnose because I'm not a physician, and I don't intend to be one," she said. "I'm giving guidance to people."
Alexander often advises her clients to seek medical attention. She suggest ways to alleviate their anxiety and handle the medical treatment they may need.
Alexander was born in Albany and grew up in Florida. Her father was in real estate but practiced hypnosis and past-life regressions as a hobby. Alexander married a Montreal businessman and lived in Canada for years before they divorced. She studied spiritualism at Lily Dale Assembly, near Fredonia, Chautauqua County, and has lived in Albany for the past five years.
Messages and words enter her mind in voices that are not her own, she said. She claims to have a very high accuracy rate.
"I don't think the messages are wrong, but my interpretations have been wrong," she said.
Debbie, a 55-year old Albany resident who asked that her last name not be used, is a believer. Debbie arrived at a reading with Alexander with a list of questions about her childhood and seeking advice on calming her tumultuous emotions and fears. Her knee bounced and hands clenched as Alexander worked.
Alexander relayed a message from Debbie's deceased mother.
"It's not her kind of thing, but she says meditation will be good for you," Alexander said.
Her parents are sending advice through Alexander on how to succeed, Debbie said.
McGee is skeptical.
"If it works, where's the data?" he said. "I think we should study it. We are putting billions into the study of alternative medicine, and I'm ready and waiting for studies that say psychics work."
Crowley can be reached at 454-5348, or by e-mail at ccrowley@timesunion.com.
Here's my response:
Why is the Times Union publishing and wasting our time with this woo-woo nonsense. Any “psychic” who claims to possess any manner of paranormal ability is a farce. There is NO evidence (other than anecdotal - which, as any scientist knows, is useless) that supports ANY psychic’s claims of special abilities. I challenge any psychic who is offended and feels they have some special ability to prove me wrong by taking James Randi’s Million Dollar Challenge. Details are available here: http://www.randi.org/joom/content/view/38/31/. Not only will I eat my cherished Australian hat on t.v. while wearing diapers and listening to ALL of Britney Spears albums back to back, the supposed “psychic” will end up A MILLION DOLLARS RICHER!! I will forward this additional challenge to Mr. Randi so that my performance could occur in conjunction the award ceremony. Until then, I strongly recommend ANYONE who is even considering going to a psychic or who has a family member or friend who is considering on going to or who is currently going to a psychic to do a little online research into “Cold Reading” - the psychics only tool. Info is available here: http://skepdic.com/coldread.html, here: http://www.randi.org/joom/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,80/, and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_reading.
I'll already sent out emails to James Randi and to Cathleen Crowley about my challenge.
Here's a couple videos available on YouTube that expose Cold Reading for what it is:
Click to view