Many of you will have seen the hot news that three girls have been found after having been missing for more than a decade. This in itself is newsworthy, but what grabbed me about this scenario is behind the scenes. Sylvia Browne, the TV psychic who appeared on the Montel Williams show, actually predicted in a psychic reading that one of the girls was dead. It poses the question that if a psychic as renowned as Sylvia can get it wrong, just who can you believe?
Sylvia Browne's website states that she charges $550 for a telephone psychic reading (1). Regarding the incident, Ms Browne says on her website, "I have been right more than wrong... Only God is right all the time..." (2). The social networking site Facebook is alive with comments about this, from those calling her a fake, to fans who are pledging support for her and saying that everyone gets it wrong sometimes. Fair point, but where does one draw the line between a mistake and a fraud?
Psychics get a lot of bad press as it is. Good readers are very few and far between. Yes, there are indicators in the Tarot and other tools that readers use, but both the reader and the client have to remember that nothing is carved in stone. We all have free will. Energies surrounding situations can change in a heartbeat. At best, a reader is looking into one of JRR Tolkein's Palantirs, and seeing vague images of what may or may not come to pass.
I wish Amanda Berry and her friends and family the very best. I also wish this for Sylvia Browne, I truly do. We can all learn a lot from this episode, whether it be as a reader and how to better present what we might see, or whether it is as a client and how to better use our own discernment.
I believe that intuitive advisers truly do have their role in society. I also think that Hollywood has a lot for which to answer. As the old proverb advises, "Trust in God, but tie your camel."
(1) http://www.sylviabrowne.com/
(2) http://www.sylviabrowne.com/g/Sylvias-Statement-on-Amanda-Berry/189.html