Went to see a medium
Discussion
I had a little play at this yesterday. What fun. A tarot reading.
She started by saying "don't tell me anything, I don't need any information from you". Then as she shuffled the cards she said "Do you have a fireplace in your house, or anyone you know?". Very off-hand, as though we hadn't started yet.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I'm seeing a fireplace".
"You told me not to tell you anything"
"well" slightly huffy "you can say Yes or No, I need to know if I'm on the right track".
The medium was completely off-guard. She assumed that I was bought-in even when I said I was a little sceptical but had an open mind. This continued even when I sprang a trap on her: She’d trawled through names and asked if there was a Jack or a Joe who had passed over, then when I said there wasn’t she moved on and on. I said “Not a Jack or Joe, but a Jake”. She said “ah, yes he’s with me, he’s talking to me”, and I said “That’s odd because Jake was my dog”.
If I was in her position I would have called it a day there and then, but she kept on for quite a while. Eleven names in total, one hit that I didn’t acknowledge, I tried to encourage her down another path, “I was very young when Henry died” (another dog) but she didn’t pursue it. At one stage she said “was he 40? 50? 60? Older? Younger?”. I said “Now you are fishing, and she said “yes, yes, sorry”.
The crunch came when I started asking how the tarot cards altered what she saw. If two of the cards we had out come out in a different order what would it have meant. I suspect she thought I knew something about tarot (I don’t). She accused me of nit-picking, but ultimately she said it wasn’t my fault, it was hers. She could read anyone without having any information from them, it wasn’t my scepticism or lack of co-operation it was purely that it wasn’t working for her.
She asked if I wanted to be there and if I’d come under duress. I hadn’t I was there with my wife who has been a couple of times before and believes, and yesterday went in before me. Unfortunately the medium refused to see the two of us together, so my wife still thinks that she gave nothing away in her readings.
After the card questioning incident she called it a day and said she’d only charge £15 for half a reading.
People go to Mediums to be cheered up, and you know what? It works.
Simon
She started by saying "don't tell me anything, I don't need any information from you". Then as she shuffled the cards she said "Do you have a fireplace in your house, or anyone you know?". Very off-hand, as though we hadn't started yet.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I'm seeing a fireplace".
"You told me not to tell you anything"
"well" slightly huffy "you can say Yes or No, I need to know if I'm on the right track".
The medium was completely off-guard. She assumed that I was bought-in even when I said I was a little sceptical but had an open mind. This continued even when I sprang a trap on her: She’d trawled through names and asked if there was a Jack or a Joe who had passed over, then when I said there wasn’t she moved on and on. I said “Not a Jack or Joe, but a Jake”. She said “ah, yes he’s with me, he’s talking to me”, and I said “That’s odd because Jake was my dog”.
If I was in her position I would have called it a day there and then, but she kept on for quite a while. Eleven names in total, one hit that I didn’t acknowledge, I tried to encourage her down another path, “I was very young when Henry died” (another dog) but she didn’t pursue it. At one stage she said “was he 40? 50? 60? Older? Younger?”. I said “Now you are fishing, and she said “yes, yes, sorry”.
The crunch came when I started asking how the tarot cards altered what she saw. If two of the cards we had out come out in a different order what would it have meant. I suspect she thought I knew something about tarot (I don’t). She accused me of nit-picking, but ultimately she said it wasn’t my fault, it was hers. She could read anyone without having any information from them, it wasn’t my scepticism or lack of co-operation it was purely that it wasn’t working for her.
She asked if I wanted to be there and if I’d come under duress. I hadn’t I was there with my wife who has been a couple of times before and believes, and yesterday went in before me. Unfortunately the medium refused to see the two of us together, so my wife still thinks that she gave nothing away in her readings.
After the card questioning incident she called it a day and said she’d only charge £15 for half a reading.
People go to Mediums to be cheered up, and you know what? It works.
Simon
sstein said:
I'd love to go in and wind these planks up. However, I know I would just get angry. As someone said a couple of posts up.. Frauds and Charlatans.
-
Stuart
You don't have to get angry because you can be smug that you have the upper hand and they don't know it. Read the book on cold reading from www.ianrowland.com first.-
Stuart
Simon
my mum used to go to one when i was younger, it was always funny listening to my dad's opinion of the whole thing when he came back from dropping her off.
like you mention though simon, people go because they want the be cheered up or feel better about past events. much like religion, i know it all b
ks but if it brings someone comfort then i have no quarrel with it.
however, it would be an entirely different matter if a medium was using this influence to extract money or exert power over someone i knew. in that case, it would be more than just a quarrel.
like you mention though simon, people go because they want the be cheered up or feel better about past events. much like religion, i know it all b
ks but if it brings someone comfort then i have no quarrel with it. however, it would be an entirely different matter if a medium was using this influence to extract money or exert power over someone i knew. in that case, it would be more than just a quarrel.
Went to see one years ago with my sister. I was unemployed at the time and she said that I would work with my brother. A couple of years later I got a job in the design office where my brother was the boss, been there for 10 years now with only my brother and I left after many cutbacks. 
eldudereno said:
Went to see one years ago with my sister. I was unemployed at the time and she said that I would work with my brother. A couple of years later I got a job in the design office where my brother was the boss, been there for 10 years now with only my brother and I left after many cutbacks.
I would bet that most people *work* with their brother at some point in their lives. It's how you interpret it that matters.I've worked with mine:
- Laying a patio in my garden for a pizza and beers
- Repairing each others cars
- I did a cash-in-hand programming job for him
I haven't sat in an office with him 9-5 yet, but then the medium didn't specify that did she?
I'm not a believer, whether life after death, religion, UFOs etc. But, cold reading is real, and quite a gift. If the 'con' isn't abusive, then I don't mind the mumbo jumbo. I wouldn't try to 'catch one out'; I just wouldn't go.
In medical double-blind tests, sometimes the placebo works...
In medical double-blind tests, sometimes the placebo works...
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff