Psychic Powers

[Conman]

I wanna know if anyone here has, or claims to have, psychic abilities. Or if you know someone who has or claims to have. Lets have some stories. I know this is gonna draw alot of pokes and jibes but I think this is gonna be interesting.

And NO "I see dead people" funnipics! :roll: I know you fellas can't be serious for more than two threads! :lol: :lol:

Living in Asia, we get a lot of these stories which I will contribute later, seeing the popularity (or the lack thereof) of this thread.

Fire away! :wink:

 

[Da' Pimp]

I see this Being Moved to Links and Games, WHERE ALL POLLS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE!!!!!

So Yeah, Im Psychic :!: :lol:

 

[KABOOM]

I don't believe all those "psychics" like John Edwards or Ms. Cleo. I think all that is a load of shit. However, I do find it weird that on some occastions I know what someone will say to me before I even talk to them. Or when I am talking to someone, I will know what they will do next just before they do it. It freaks me out sometimes.

 

[Conman]

Here in East Asia, the most commonly known "psychic" is the Geomancer. Also known as Fengshui, Geomancy it is the art of balancing the forces of Nature to achieve the best conditions for your health, wealth and lifestyle. Strategically placed furniture, fittings and ornaments, the direction of certain doors, windows and water features, plus the understanding of the Chinese horoscope all come together in an intricate balance which is supposed to be ideal for each and every individual within a house, office or shop. It can mean the difference between failure and success, poverty or wealth, sickness and health.

There are two types of Fengshui ... the first is the modern by-the-book type. The Geomancers use scientific calculations to achieve their results. They also use reference books and materials to get their answers. Most of the time, they're horseshit, fly-by-night, conmen.

The second type is rare. Most of the time, they would be religous people or monks that have a "third eye" and don't use anything other than their fingers to make calculations. They "see" the "flow" of Ying and Yang (elements of Good and Bad) and with their intimate knowledge of the horoscope, the five elements (Metal, Wood, Fire, Water & Wind) and "feeling" the "flow" within the premises, they are able to give you advise which, for the most part, is uncannily effective.

One famous example is our Hyatt Hotel in the heart of town in Singapore. The story goes like this:

For many years since it was built, the Hyatt struggled to keep business in the black. Occupancy was poor, F&B struggled and business in general looked bleak. It fared worst of all the Hyatts around the world.

In comes a reputed Fenshui monk (I can't remember from which origin) and makes several major changes to the hotel. He repositioned the reception, lobby, entrances and layouts of the F&B outlets, shops and rooms, and most notably, the direction in which the front doors faced.

After almost a year of renovations, the Hyatt opened for business again. Not much in terms of decor or fixtures had changed as they did not have much money to buy new things. But the layout of the hotel had undergone a massive shift of positions. The front doors no longer opened out the conventional way; the main doors were now several doors which angled about 30 degrees towards the main flow of traffic.

Today, the Hyatt Regency in Singapore is the second best 5 Star hotel here after the Shangri-La, and the most sought-after address for business visitors. Their F&B outlets consistently win awards for excellence and the hotel boasts some of the finest brand labels in fashion and jewellery boutiques and has one of the most popular pubs on the strip.

Believe it! :wink:

 

[scottbritt]

I heard that Donald Trump had his Trump Tower redesinged by a monk that rearranged it according to the principles of Fung Shei and well hes fucking loaded so thats gotta mean something too.

 

[OCC-402]

re

The human brain has the capacity for much more advanced thought than currently realized, we only use about 5% at any one time. To discount the thought that it is not possible to communicate with other humans or predict events through though is foolish. This would be to say that the other 95% of brain is just filler. To say that the world is real is also a similarly ridiculous argument, as it’s only our perception. So I suppose no one can be truly right or wrong, it’s all just your perception of the world based on your experience and what you have accepted as the truth. Really anything is possible if you believe it is, if you willing to break from your comfortable reality. I myself believe in “physic ability“ just knowing it to be a tenet to human existence, but I’m not out to change anyone’s opinion. It can be there if you want it, and in some people it is more accessible. So there it is take what you will, my opinion has been voiced.

 

[musicfreak]

In my personal opinion its not possible to communicate telepathicly or bend objects with your mind, so on and so forth. i have not once seen or heard of an experiment in completely controled conditions that proves any of these "powers" to be real. In regards to Telepathic communication, some people believe that these some times every day occurances happen because two people see the same thing which triggers the same reaction in both of them.

for example (as stupid as it may seem):
Two women, a mother and her daughter are waiting for a train after seeing the circus, the mother sees a flower in a pot next to them and points it out to the daughter. The train arives and they board, as they are putting away their bags the mother says "i wonder if he was wearing a yellow or red flower (refering to a random clown at the circus)". the daughter says "i think it was red".

Now because there is no refernce to the random clown it seems as if theres some kind of telepathic communication, at, at least, a subconcious level.

questions like this have been brought up with scientists and the answer given is that because they both saw the same clown, and they both saw the same flower at the train station there was some kind of connection made in both their brains which in turn made them think of that same clown. when the mother asked " i wonder if he was wearing a yellow or red flower" although seeming random it was acctually what both women were thinking about.

just thought you guys might find this intresting

~musicfreak

 

[Nizzle]

I knew this girl in high school who claimed she could see people's auras.

People who read auras are looking at colour and breaks in the aura to interpret the person's physical and mental state. The clearer the colour is, the more positive the energy. Cloudy, murky or pale colours in the aura have a negative meaning. Breaks in the aura, or large dark patches, can mean the onset of a physical illness in that area of the body. The area nearest the body tends to refer to the person's physical state; the layer of the aura which is further away tends to refer to the mental or spiritual state.

She and other members of her family used to go to these spiritual centers where they said that spiritual presence was most concentrated. She said that she talked to deceased people and that she performed these writings where dead people wrote messages through her. There's an actual name for them, but its escaping me.

There's just a lot of weird unexplained shit out there. Its hard for us to believe most if it without hard tangible evidence. I personally think there's plenty going on that we don't know about. Oh, and I love nekkidness.

 

[Conman]

The reading of auras dates back to 4th century China. Medicinal Pactitioners were known aura readers and could accurately tell what kind of sickness you were suffering from. Some of that practice still exists today ... if you believe it. I personally went to see a Chinese SinSeh (Traditional Medical Practitioner) to find out why I was feeling ill. Western trained doctors had put it down to water retention or urinary infection.

The Sinseh had me place my wrists, one at a time, on a small palm sized cushion. Each time, he felt for a pulse ... or so it may have seemed ... and wrote things down while he concentrated on whatever he was feeling/seeing. He then told me I had a minor kidney problem and that I would be developing a gout very soon. That was inevitable but what he could do was to prescribe some traditional herbal medication to prevent the next gout attack and heal the kidney. He also detected my Thyroid problem and chronic asthmatic history. I never said a word to him from the time I entered his "clinic" till he asked for my age, weight and height at the end of the session - for the prescription.

A week later, my left big toe and knuckle blew up in an excrutiatingly painful swell that lasted for two weeks. I went to get a jab at a Western doctor's clinic to ease the pain and the quack confirmed that it was gout. As it turned out, I am allergic to the only two medicines to treat gout and the quack recommended a herbal treatment instead. :roll: Urine and blood tests later showed up a problem with my kidneys.

I've been back to the Sinseh many times now and my condition is just about all cured now. Took almost two years but its good to have my health back. After so many visits, I asked the Sinseh how he knew or deduced his diagnosis. At first he was coy because he feared I wouldn't believe him. After much persuasion, he revealed that he read auras and "felt" the "flow" of blood (the Chinese call it "Qi" - pronounced Chi or Chee) through one's body. Apparently, all good Sinsehs have this ability.

Hard to believe ... but I won't fuck with it coz it worked for me!

:wink:

 

[Your_Ass]

Hello again everyone,

I say again because this is the third set of posts I've submitted to this thread. This one I will act like a total pussy and not offend anyone on purpose.

I just want to say that although conman, and others are entitled to their opinion on Psychic Powers, there is no scientific evidence that they exist. In fact, there is quite a bit of evidence to the contrary.

First; there is the James Randi Educational Foundation. For the past couple decades the JREF has offered a large sum of money to anyone who can prove any paranormal ability under proper observing conditions. Although many have tried, not one person has even come close.
http://www.randi.org/research/index.html

Secondly; there was the CIA study. In 1995 a CIA-Commissioned report evaluated 10 years of military testing of Psychic visions. After a decade of testing and 20 million dollars of our hard earned tax money, the CIA came to the conclusion that there was no greater than chance ability to foresee events or psychically view events (sometimes called clairvoyance or remote viewing).

Thirdly; there is Julie Milton and Richard Wiseman’s statistical digest of 30 ganzfeld experiments (go here for an explanation of ganzfeld experiments http://skepdic.com/ganzfeld.html) found that there was no psychic effect found in the testing.

The bottom line here is that Psychic Phenomena have been studied since there has been the ability to do so. In every scientifically correct study there has been no evidence that there is any psychic ability. If feng shui or aura readers work for you, its likely do to a couple of things power of suggestion and The P.T. Barnum effect (People want to be fooled).

 

[Conman]

Thats pretty outstanding research. Much of which I would have to agree with, coming from a scientific standpoint. I also believe that if anything, the power of suggestion is a, of not the, major player in these scenarios.

You said, "there is no scientific evidence that they exist" and again I agree. There is also no scientific edvidence that God exists nor intelligent life on other planets out there.

On the flipside, Science has also failed to explain how our brain works. Or how cancer can be stopped. Science is not a perfect science and is not a basis for explaining away what we don't know. That would be ignorant.

Not believing is not the same as not accepting. I was never a believer. I am still a sceptic today but as with everyone else on this thread, I accept that there are "things" out there that we will not figure out.

So in the meantime, we get a thrill out of experiencing the "unkown", sharing in the realm of the mysterious and discussing the impossible. The human animal is a curious being whose fascination with the unknown has driven us to become the most successful lifeform on this planet. We are not about to stop being curious just because science so.

Sidenote: you seem to have a fascination for this subject, or so it may seem, otherwise how would you have known about these references at all. :wink: Thanks for your input. The effort is much appreciated.

 

[Your_Ass]

Thats pretty outstanding research. Much of which I would have to agree with, coming from a scientific standpoint. I also believe that if anything, the power of suggestion is a, of not the, major player in these scenarios.

Thanks, I’m taking a psychology class in college right now, that’s where the majority of the studies come from. The CIA thing I heard about a couple years ago though.

You said, "there is no scientific evidence that they exist" and again I agree. There is also no scientific edvidence that God exists nor intelligent life on other planets out there.

I don’t believe in god for exactly that reason.
Also, I think the laws of probability would point to there being intelligent life in the universe.

On the flipside, Science has also failed to explain how our brain works. Or how cancer can be stopped. Science is not a perfect science and is not a basis for explaining away what we don't know. That would be ignorant.

Actually science can explain the majority of our brain biology, I’m not exactly sure what you mean by “how our brain works”. Cancer on the other hand is another matter; it’s just a disease like polio or anything else. There is quite a bit of research being done and they will find the cure quickly enough.

I’m not sure what you mean by “science is not a basis for explaining away what we don’t know” if you could tell me exactly what you mean I could better respond.

I find your attitude towards science a bit unnerving. You keep bringing up all these things that science can’t do, when nothing can do those things. Its not like aura readers can cure cancer, and besides I never claimed science is perfect. However, it is the ABSOLUTE best way to solve any problem or learn anything. Superstition, magic and psychic powers derail science and therefore human progression.

So in the meantime, we get a thrill out of experiencing the "unkown", sharing in the realm of the mysterious and discussing the impossible.

Oh me too, I love science fiction, (I’m a mega huge nerd, check my sig if you care to see how much of a nerd I am) if there was a vote to determine whether or not we want psychic powers to exist I would definitely raise my hand. But that’s not how things work. Things are evaluated by science, and science says, there are no psychic powers.

We are not about to stop being curious just because science so.

Science was FOUNDED on curiosity. Religion is a rudimentary form of science. Science and religion both share the same goal, to explain the unknown. Whether it’s where we came from, or how we biologically work, both science and religion attempt to explain that. I don’t think in order to accept science you have to stop being curious. In fact, I think in order to look towards science you MUST be curious.

Sidenote: you seem to have a fascination for this subject, or so it may seem, otherwise how would you have known about these references at all. Thanks for your input. The effort is much appreciated.

It’s more or less a fascination for reason and logic. Psychic powers oppose reason and logic, which is why I am so fascinated with debunking them. Also, everyone who is a psychic (literally everyone) is trying to take your money. Ever heard of a psychic working for free? Neither have I. There are some psychics (Houdini actually discovered this during his debunking of séances) that actually slip into believing that they have powers. But it’s important to remember that just because they believe they are doing the right thing doesn’t make them any less a con artist. Lying to your self doesn’t mean lying to other people is ok, especially if they charge for it. (note: that was stolen almost word for word from the Showtime show, Penn and Teller: Bullshit, episode: Talking to the Dead)

 

[Conman]

Your replies never fail to provoke some serious thinking.

Again, you provide sound basis for your ... should I say ... case. Nary a point to contend but I do have a response with regard to our science topic.

Modern Science as we know it is largely, if not wholly reliant on technology. The advancement of science has been recipocrative to the advancement of technology. Ancient science was based on trial and error to a detrimental degree whereas technology has allowed us to reduce the detriment and discover new realms of our world. Its amazing when you consider that only after 2500 years of written science, that in the last 100 years, we have achieved more than history could provide. This is also true with technology and industrialisation.

Thus my point; If science is limited by technology, how can we use science as an authority for the supernatural?

The supernatural, if it indeed does exist, should transcend S&T. Maybe not in our lifetime, but surely in the future, S&T may be able to justify or explain away the existence of the supernatural. By saying "explain away", I mean to dismiss the unknown only because S&T cannot or does not have an explanation or evidence of its existence. That would be ignorant.

How many times in history have we, the human being, been so correct and ignorant only to be embarrased later when proven wrong; The world is flat, there is no cure for plague, Pearl Harbour is safe from enemy attack, etc.

My take on this subject, which is one of the reasons for this thread, is to gather more opinions so that I can draw some sort of conclusion through looking for it and not finding anything, rather than:
"Psychic powers oppose reason and logic, which is why I am so fascinated with debunking them." - It is quick and easy to take a life, but a neverending and impossible quest to understand its miracle.

Footnote: We are beginning to stray from the point of this thread, which is to share experiences or stories of the psychic kind. You may put in your final say with regard to debunking the theories afterwhch I would like to continue on topic. Thanks for your insight. Stimulating stuff. :wink:

 

[Your_Ass]

Your replies never fail to provoke some serious thinking.

Thanks

If science is limited by technology, how can we use science as an authority for the supernatural?

There is no other authority we can trust. We can use our perception, what we see, hear and feel. But study after study (not to mention the entire concept of stage magicians) have proven that you can’t always trust what your eyes tell your brain you see, hear or feel. Not the mention that when we rely on a subjective source, like our perception, we tend to come to whatever conclusions we want. Only though objective scientific analysis should we evaluate anything, including psychic powers.

The supernatural, if it indeed does exist, should transcend S&T. Maybe not in our lifetime, but surely in the future, S&T may be able to justify or explain away the existence of the supernatural. By saying "explain away",

This is a great example of circular logic, the first part of the proof must be true for the second part to be true. Since there is no evidence the first part is true, the second part is not true either. But regardless, S&T can evaluate psychic powers. When I say, “there is no evidence to support the existence of psychic powers” I don’t mean that no one has looked. Since there has been the ability to study psychic powers people have studied it. And always with the same result (that is to say nothing). Science and Technology freely dismiss, justify and explain every psychic phenomenon that exists. In fact, if there was even 1 psychic power that couldn’t be explained, they could be 1 million dollars richer by accepting the James Randi challenge.

I mean to dismiss the unknown only because S&T cannot or does not have an explanation or evidence of its existence. That would be ignorant.

I agree, that would be ignorant, unfortunately that is not what’s going on. What’s going on is S&T have evaluated psychic powers for decades and have always found a reasonable explanation for EVERY ONE. Not 1 repeatable psychic power has even been proven. If you in fact believe in psychic powers you do so on faith. Since there is absolutely no evidence that they exist (which in and of itself is evidence they don’t exist.) I would say that to believe in something despite scientific evidence that it doesn’t exist would be ignorant.

How many times in history have we, the human being, been so correct and ignorant only to be embarrased later when proven wrong; The world is flat, there is no cure for plague, Pearl Harbour is safe from enemy attack, etc.

If you are trying to link those examples if ineptitude with science than you are fighting a losing battle. Science is built on being wrong. Every scientific advancement, airplanes, lasers, whatever, was preceded by a thousand versions that didn’t work. That’s the great thing about science, when it is wrong, it corrects itself. If you tried to spend your time listing all the times science has been wrong, you would stay busy the rest of your life.

"Psychic powers oppose reason and logic, which is why I am so fascinated with debunking them." - It is quick and easy to take a life, but a neverending and impossible quest to understand its miracle.

Science, logic and reason are NOT the easy choice. The easy choice is believing that magic causes the sun to rise and set, that the earth was created by a bearded dude who lives in the clouds. Science tackles questions that have been answered for centuries. They double check the work of everyone. Truly science is NOT the easy choice, it is indeed the harder choice.

Footnote: We are beginning to stray from the point of this thread, which is to share experiences or stories of the psychic kind. You may put in your final say with regard to debunking the theories afterwhch I would like to continue on topic. Thanks for your insight. Stimulating stuff.

I find our conversation to be stimulating and fun. Does our discussion in some way inhibit other people from sharing their psychic experience?

 

[Conman]

I find our conversation to be stimulating and fun. Does our discussion in some way inhibit other people from sharing their psychic experience?

I do too find it stimulating but in some way, others may feel intimidated or lose interest with all the technical talk. I don't want this thread to die like that. I want more input of experiences and stories and others' perspectives on this topic.

You and me can go on forever as, in some stange way, we do have a connection with this subject. Lets do this again on the next page after we get more meat to chew on. Thanks Y_A.

 

[moxdevil]

I admit i am an extreme sceptic when it comes to claims for the paranormal or supernatural. Still we only use around 10% of our brains, and some in the medical profession admit that possitive thinking can have an effect upon one's recovery- the use of placebo's attest to this -is this not the power of the mind.

Personally i don't believe in the psychic abilities of well known tv psychics, nor would i take for granted what a supposed psychic told me. I don't see how the mind can function apart from the body.

I agree completely with Your Ass's statement of science- it is the difficult path, simply because once on it you realise that the more one gains answers the more one realises that they actually know so little. Science could well be an endless path, never providing the elusive answers to life's greatest questions- but it is a honest and challenging path, and for that i'll stay on it and reject the number of opiates out there.

 

[Cman]

I have the psychic ability to predict an ass kicking in Conman's future.

 

[moxdevil]

That's not psychic ability, that's an educated guess :mrgreen:

 

[Conman]

Well, about the only bit of update on this topic really involves me.

Last year, I went through a slow period. Barely raked in US$15'000 for the whole year. My wife, who is big on Fenshui, decided to do something about it. After much consultation and research, she made quite a few changes around the house and made me adopt some new habits. She changed the color scheme of the house to be ready for the new Chinese Year (which started on 9 Feb 2005) and moved a few things around, most notably, the position of my work stations and sitting direction. She then proceeded to buy a "Wealth Bowl" and several water features as well as a "Gold Pot". In the water features, each one had a specific number of fish of differing colors. Each of these items are placed in a 'strategic" position for optimum benefit. ie; the wealth corner of the house, health centre, etc.

On the very day of the turn of the Chinese New Year, my phone rang twice with three confirmed projects amounting to more than US$12'000 over a three month period. Since then, I have not had a day's break from work. Projects are still coming in hard and fast and I am quickly running out of HardDisc space. I have not done anything differently nor am I marketing myself at all, let alone aggresively. I just hope this goes on (although it leaves me little time to be on this board). One of the habits I had to stop was the soccer punting (which is why the soccer thread is lacking my usual tips for the weekend).

So once again, I maintain; Even if you don't believe in this shit, don't fuck with it. I ain't gonna. Hell, I'm making money for some reason or other ... and if it is Fengshui at work, its not bothering me one bit.

 

[Duke E. Pyle]

I never saw this thread! Anyway i wanna point out that it is not unrare at all that psychics are called in to help solve murder cases and such "by" the police. I figure that if we knew for sure it was indeed 100% impossible than this thread would never have existed and the cops wouldn't waste their time. Does that leave enough room for a little open mind for the sake of possibility?