Crossing Over with John Edwards....

[Gauracandra]

I'm curious if anyone in these forums has seen this program on the Sci-fi channel. I realize not everyone here will have access to U.S. television stations, but wanted to bring up the subject matter of contacting departed relatives.

 

The program features a psychic medium who 'contacts' relatives who have crossed over. I can't honestly say I fully buy it, but there are times when John Edwards is extremely accurate, almost to the point that you have to think something is going on. For those who haven't seen the program, basically John Edwards focuses in on certain members of the audience who he feels he is being pulled to and then starts to ask a bunch of rapid fire questions. The program specifically says that he has not met these audience members before, nor asked them any questions ahead of time. The questions tend to be pretty straightforward. From these questions he narrows down to the individual he is meant to communicate with.

 

I have seen some criticism of him stating that he is simply using a method called "cold reading". Basically this is where some people are really good at sizing people up quickly, and then slowly pulling out just enough information (hence the questions) to relay back some more information, which leads to getting more information in return. Something like that. But to be honest, I have had that in mind as I watched his program, and there are many times when the audience will give him no information, and he will pin point how the family member died, what was placed in the coffen, events that have happened since to the family etc.... And the audience members reactions are very honest. There is no way it could be staged, especially considering the program has been on the air quite a while and there have been many investigative reporters around trying to prove him to be a fraud. So I don't quite know what to make of it.

 

So relating this back to Vedantic philosophy, I'm curious as to the idea of contacting departed relatives. In the Bhagavad Gita Krsna says that those who worship the ancestors will go to the abode of the ancestors. What is the nature of this abode? Any information on the nature of this higher reality would be of interest to me.

 

Gauracandra

[nachiketa]

I've seen his show several times and would also like to know if he is really able to contact deceased family members.

 

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by nachiketa2 (edited 05-03-2002).]

[Bhaktavasya]

 

An elderly woman (83 years old) tapes his shows and insists I watch them with her. Although his readings or contacts are uncanny, I bring up reincarnation with her and she prefers to believe that after death everyone goes to a place where they look the same only younger and are there with all their friends and loved ones. She doesn't like the idea of reincarnation because she had a hard life, growing up during the Depression and has no desire to come back again. The Lord fulfills all desires, so maybe some people go to some kind of ethereal realm to meet up with their relatives for a while (a few decades being like moments outside of time as we know it). When I tell her that I want to come back again, which I do, she just shakes her head; "Whatever for?" she's asked me. I told her that it's like watching a movie, I want to see what happens to good old Mother Earth and the humans on Her.

 

[Gauracandra]

That question on reincarnation is why I was interested in the 'abode of the ancestors'. He never claims to be contacting a person you are looking for. Just that someone is coming through. So in an entire audience someone comes through, say from this plane, and then he looks though the audience to place that spirit with a particular person. So it doesn't really go against reincarnation. Those who have reincarnated simply wouldn't connect to him, and only those accessible would come through. Again, I wouldn't say I fully buy what he is doing, but it can be interesting.

[Guest guest]

I would like to know if it's Real. Isn't there someone who can show us? What about having him on a good talk show or like 20/20 or dateline? If it's unReal then it should be known. If he is Real then he has nothing to worry about and should welcome the investation.

[Gauracandra]

The more I've seen of this guy, and the quick as they come knock offs of him, the less convinced I am. I think it is cold reading.

 

I remember a test they did once with some psychic lady. They presented her with various pictures of people and asked her to describe them. They gave no clues one way or the other as she talked about them, so she had nothing to play off of.

 

She got them all wrong. One was a handsome serial killer, and she was saying all these nice things about him, and there were others. I don't recall all the details. But it was pretty clear she was a fraud.

[Mxyzptlk]

I was curious to find out more about this guy, especially after recently seeing another guy with his own similar show, and a "pet psychic" on the Animal Network who supposedly communicates with departed pets. I came across a couple of interesting articles:

 

http://bboard.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/2708/12

 

and

 

http://scientium.com/diagon_alley/commentary/editorial_concourse/mcnamara/edward.htm

 

They each give excellent accounts of "cold reading" and other techniques which most of these "psychics" utilize. For instance, Edwards routinely keeps his audience waiting, seated, for 2 hours before he makes his entrance. Microphones pick up conversations taking place amongst the guests, which gives Edwards some cues while he listens backstage. He also routinely briefs his audience that they must give him feedback in order for this "communication with the dead" to be successful. Also, the shows are heavily edited before airtime, which gives the producers a chance to reduce his "misses" and increase his "hits".