StopSylviaBrowne: Janet McDonald's Reading and Does Browne Smoke?

[RSLancastr]

Two new articles:

Janet McDonald's Reading (http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/janetmcdonald.shtml)
An author and attorney, she was not happy with her Sylvia Browne experience.

Does Sylvia Browne Smoke? (http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/doesbrownesmoke.shtml)
She says she does not. Others say differently. And - does it matter?

[clerihew80]

I remember reading Ms. McDonald's article some time ago. Very sad to hear of her passing.

Her story should be enough to belie this notion that all of Sylvia Browne's victims are unintelligent or uneducated.

As for Sylvia's claim that she doesn't smoke...how credulous does she think we are? Oh right, stupid question.

[Monza]

Sylvia doesn't smoke?! I had the TV turned to the Montel Williams show last Wednesday and my home smoke alarm went off.

[chran]

It's sad that Janet McDonald would pass away at such a relatively young age - I've never read any of her books, but the article was very funny!

Also, check out her her web page (http://projectgirl.com/) - you can still e-mail her! :jaw-dropp

http://forums.randi.org/imagehosting/thum_53164684d749d5193.jpg (http://forums.randi.org/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=6618)

[brettDbass]

The minutest of corrections on the Janet MacDonald story -

There was only one prediction which McDonald couldn't verify or refute - that she would life "a really long life."
The bolded word should be live.

Excellent articles there, Mr L. As always!

[monoman]

Another excellent article Rob.

I've been wondering about why she may still smoke but keep it a secret.
One possibility is that at some point in the past she attributed her spirit guide/psychic ability to the reason she/clients don't smoke.

[JeffJ]

I wish I didn't read these things, I get so angry.
What a disgrace. How does a long life without incapacitation turn into death in four years from an incapacitating illness?

Robert and others have provided an overwhelming amount of evidence which clearly proves she's a lying fraud thief. I so wish that every person who see's her on Montel, or elsewhere, or have heard of her in any way would read the whole SSB site.

Oh, and nice pic of Syvlia on the Cover of July 31 1988 edition of West magazine. She was absolutely lovely then and even more so now that she's had that great plastic surgery done. :vomit:

[PastBrowneFan]

Browne: My whole family has it, and we don't drink, we don't smoke. We have sort of this smoky voice. They used to call it a whiskey voice. My grandson has it, too.

Ask anyone that knows SB, and her son Paul, and they will tell you that Paul is, as referred to by her own Board of Directors of NS and Office Staff, the Drunken Son since he drinks so much.

I have seen him hungover and reeking of booze at lectures, and I have been told that after lectures he loves going to bars and hitting on women, telling them that he is SB's son in order to get ........................................

Great articles Robert.

[slyjoe]

Scientifically speaking, we could run an experiment. Light Sylvia on fire and see if she smokes. Real simple.

Again, great work RSL.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Scientifically speaking, we could run an experiment. Light Sylvia on fire and see if she smokes. Real simple..

And then throw her into a pond to see if she floats?

Again, great work RSL.

Seconded and more! :crowded:

[RSLancastr]

The bolded word should be live.Corrected, thanks!

Excellent articles there, Mr L. As always!And thanks againf, BDB.

Another excellent article Rob.Thanks, Monoman.

I've been wondering about why she may still smoke but keep it a secret. One possibility is that at some point in the past she attributed her spirit guide/psychic ability to the reason she/clients don't smoke.Another possibility I neglected to mention in the article: It might be difficult to explain a decades-long smoking habit when you sell $2,000 hypnosis training courses.

Great articles Robert.Thanks, PBF.

Scientifically speaking, we could run an experiment. Light Sylvia on fire and see if she smokes. Real simple.Let me know how that goes, joe. :)

Again, great work RSL.Thanks!

[RSLancastr]

Seconded and more! :crowded:Thanks, Gord!

[Blue Mountain]

And then throw her into a pond to see if she floats? <remaining portion snipped>
But does she weigh more or less than a duck?

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

I find it amusing that her own books contradict each other. One says smoking is an addiction she beat and another says she never smokes- and both are lies!

I hit Lexis Nexis looking for the episode where she says it but oddly enough nothing came up.

The closest thing was the SB said that her father's ghost sends her cherry flavored pipe tobacco into her home and she knows it must be him because she doesn't smoke a pipe.

That's gonna be her weasel-out : "I meant I have never smoked a pipe. I never said "cigarettes", now did I? "

I'm wondering why she would suddenly change her story from that she quit to that she never smokes. Maybe she had made a big deal out of quitting and attributed it to psychic powers and then had to cover up when she regressed.

[Sylvia Clown]

LOVED the "Does Sylvia Browne Smoke?" article. Very sad to see that Janet McDonald died recently. I remember reading her "Crystal Bawl" article not long ago and liking it.

I think you should go back - or make a follow up article, perhaps - and mention her hypnosis classes, and her claims that she can do hypnosis - when she's a smoker. Hypnosis is supposed to cure someone of their smoking habit, right? Unless SB just doesn't want to hypnotize herself (or be hypnotized) to stop smoking!

It's silly that she hides the fact now, but I'm guessing it has to do with telling people she's "holistic" and practices new age medicine (like lecithin) -- all that Louise Hay "Heal Your Body" type stuff. Smoking is very bad to mix with the whole new age, take care of yourself with vitamins and only drink water and eat fresh green salads mantra.

Oh, and also... does SB use a wheelchair at times? From that article:

Nowadays, with venues being non-smoking anywhere inside, it would be hard for her to sneak out and smoke (since she uses the wheelchair), and I know that she can't smoke in the dressing rooms (unless she sneaks into the bathroom).


Now, it doesn't matter, but that's the first I've heard about SB in a wheelchair.

OK, so it does matter to my imagination... I can think about what fun it would be to grab the handle bars and give Sylvia a speedy ride down the block!

SYLVIA: FRANCINE!!! HELP ME!!!!

[SeekingTruth]

Now, it doesn't matter, but that's the first I've heard about SB in a wheelchair.

OK, so it does matter to my imagination... I can think about what fun it would be to grab the handle bars and give Sylvia a speedy ride down the lock!



SB is in a wheelchair most of the time now. She gets out of it to walk onto the stage for the Montel show and gets back into it as soon as she's outside of the view of the audience.

On GSB, Heather posted a picture of SB from the cruise prior to the Alaskan cruise and she was in the wheelchair in the picture. I was surprised that the picture stayed on the website. I expected SB to be furious that a picture was posted of her in the wheelchair and make her take it down.

Wait - could it be that the psychic doesn't know the picture is on the GSB website? Nah! She'd have to know - she's PSYCHIC right?

ST

[SeekingTruth]

Two new articles:

Janet McDonald's Reading (http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/janetmcdonald.shtml)
An author and attorney, she was not happy with her Sylvia Browne experience.

Does Sylvia Browne Smoke? (http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/doesbrownesmoke.shtml)
She says she does not. Others say differently. And - does it matter?

Once again, great articles RSL!

Oh, and for what it's worth, I just heard that SB was seen smoking in the kitchen of the community center where services used to be held just a few short years ago. Possibly an addendum to the article is in order?

ST

[PrincessIneffabelle]

SB is in a wheelchair most of the time now. She gets out of it to walk onto the stage for the Montel show and gets back into it as soon as she's outside of the view of the audience.

Why does she use a wheelchair? Why does she try to hide it?

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

When I saw her, she used a cane to get out of the limo and into the studio. She was on her feet but looked very shaky and frail and was walking slowly. I think she had a few people around her, too.

When she walked onto the stage, she did it on her own power.

[SeekingTruth]

Why does she use a wheelchair? Why does she try to hide it?

Maybe because she's such an advocate of self healing but can't heal herself??
Not something she'd want her "devoted followers" to know is my guess.

[RSLancastr]

I find it amusing that her own books contradict each other. One says smoking is an addiction she beat and another says she never smokes- and both are lies!Yeah, that takes some real doing... Thanks for trying to find the transcript. You might try searching using "husky" or "smokey" or "smoky" or "whiskey" rather than specifically for "smoke/smoking/cigarettes"...

I think you should go back - or make a follow up article, perhaps - and mention her hypnosis classes, and her claims that she can do hypnosis - when she's a smoker.Thanks SC, I am considering doing that.

Oh, and also... does SB use a wheelchair at times?Yup.

On GSB, Heather posted a picture of SB from the cruise prior to the Alaskan cruise and she was in the wheelchair in the picture. I was surprised that the picture stayed on the website. I expected SB to be furious that a picture was posted of her in the wheelchair and make her take it down.Actually, I seem to recall that the pic only shows a glimpse of one of the wheelchair handles. Until someone pointed out to me that that's what it was, I didn't notice it. I just thought she was sitting in a chair at the store's counter or something.

Wait - could it be that the psychic doesn't know the picture is on the GSB website? Nah! She'd have to know - she's PSYCHIC right?Now now, ST... you know she can't be psychic about herself! (Or anything else, for that matter...)

Once again, great articles RSL!Thanks!

Why does she use a wheelchair? Why does she try to hide it?I have been told it is due to an old hip problem, and that she claims that it was caused in a fight with one of her ex-husbands.

My guess is that it is a vanity/public-image thing (the woman has had a number of cosmetic surgical procedures, after all).

[Miss Anthrope]

My guess is that it is a vanity/public-image thing (the woman has had a number of cosmetic surgical procedures, after all).

Perhaps the next site should be StopSylviasSurgeon.com.

[Katana]

Perhaps the next site should be StopSylviasSurgeon.com.


Agreed.

Clearly, her plastic surgeon is as big a fraud as she is.

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

I gotta say, though, there is one person who very deservingly profits from all of SB's evil and that's whoever does her eyebrows. When I saw her in person, I admired the work on them very much.

And her makeup job is very good, too. I mean, nothing could make SB look good but you can tell she has a very good cosmetician.

[ChristineR]

Yeah, I once posted that I couldn't understand how a close friend of Kevyn Aucoin could be so unattractive. (Aucoin was a makeup artist who really could make anyone look like anything, i.e. Gwenyth Paltrow look like James Dean!) But then someone pointed out to me that Aucoin was sadly deceased at a very young age.

Had he been diagnosed earlier, he might have been treated. So much for being good friends with psychics.

[RSLancastr]

Agreed.

Clearly, her plastic surgeon is as big a fraud as she is.Actually, I disagree. Take a look at the before images, and you'll see that she actually looks younger now than she did then.

[zombiebex]

Kevyn was a friend of Sylvia? Ooh, I own all his books. Yeah, his death was very tragic, that man was an artist.

[Miss Anthrope]

I gotta say, though, there is one person who very deservingly profits from all of SB's evil and that's whoever does her eyebrows. When I saw her in person, I admired the work on them very much.

And her makeup job is very good, too. I mean, nothing could make SB look good but you can tell she has a very good cosmetician.

I'm sorry, but this comment in relation to SB just kept forcing this image to mind :)

http://forums.randi.org/imagehosting/1251746855dd8a72aa.jpg

[ChristineR]

Kevyn was a friend of Sylvia? Ooh, I own all his books. Yeah, his death was very tragic, that man was an artist.

Her picture's in at least one of the books. Face Forward I think.

[RSLancastr]

Long live Jambi.

[Katana]

Actually, I disagree. Take a look at the before images, and you'll see that she actually looks younger now than she did then.


:wackyskeptical:

Oh, I know. I was just being nasty.

[Forum, please disregard my last post.]

[zombiebex]

Her picture's in at least one of the books. Face Forward I think.

Aaah. I never made the connection. I usually reference Making Faces when I get dolled up. I loaned the books to a friend, too. I'll have to get them back and do some scanning.

[Steven Howard]

And again with the lecithin! Is she getting kickbacks from the Lecithin Council? Does she own stock in a lecithin mine? J. Paul Lecithin III, the great-grandson of the man who invented lecithin, doesn't sell as much lecithin as she does.

[kmortis]

Agreed.

Clearly, her plastic surgeon is as big a fraud as she is.

C'mon, be fair. He's only human, look what he's got to work with...



...um, ok, don't look. I can't afford to pay for any more psychiatric bills.

[Sylvia Clown]

Her picture's in at least one of the books. Face Forward I think.

You are correct, although I'm not sure if that's the right book. But I did see a picture of SB in a Kevyn Aucoin book where he made her look like Gina Lollobrigida.

ALSO - I remember he wrote (in the same book) about how Sylvia predicted some health issue regarding his mother, I believe. She went to a few doctors and eventually found out that she had what Sylvia told her.

I can't remember things like the name of the book or the exact problem that the mother (or whoever it was) had, but I definitely remember him making her look like Gina Lollobrigida.

[kbm99]

Good stuff, as always.

This link, however:

"Browne Lied, Delaware Died... - Entry on the "In Sylvia's Defense..." web site, highly critical of this article."

Doesn't seem to work. And in fact, I can't get

http://defendingsylvia.blogspot.com/

to open at all.

[RSLancastr]

Good stuff, as always.Thanks, kbm.

This link, however:

"Browne Lied, Delaware Died... - Entry on the "In Sylvia's Defense..." web site, highly critical of this article."

Doesn't seem to work. And in fact, I can't get

http://defendingsylvia.blogspot.com/

to open at all.Yes, that turned out to be a parody. Once the author realized that nobody knew it was a parody, he/she took it down.

I have updated the links to it, but guess I haven't uploaded those updates yet. Rather than remove the link, I just added a note to the link explaining why it doesn't work. that way nobody would think I had removed the link because the article was so incisive, or some such.

[SeekingTruth]

Now now, ST... you know she can't be psychic about herself! (Or anything else, for that matter...)


Yeah, but SHE didn't post the picture - Heather did so that doesn't count.
Oh wait - she's also not psychic when it comes to those she's close to or has known for a long time.

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

I have a quasi-theological question.

Thinking of Browne talking about her father, it occured to me: how do you reconcile ghosts with spirit guides and reincarnation/ the Other Side and all the other things she also officially believes happens after death?

[RSLancastr]

I have a quasi-theological question.

Thinking of Browne talking about her father, it occured to me: how do you reconcile ghosts with spirit guides and reincarnation/ the Other Side and all the other things she also officially believes happens after death?I don't.

But I think this is her take on it...

A "ghost" is someone who has died and doesn't realize it, and has yet to "cross over" to "the other side."

A "spirit" is someone who has died and has successfully crossed over. They are between incarnations.

A "spirit guide" is a spirit who has chosen to be a living person's guide. Once they are no longer that person's spirit guide (for whatever reason), they can choose to be reincarnated.

[JeffJ]

I can't remember things like the name of the book or the exact problem that the mother (or whoever it was) had,

Could it have been Fibromyalgia? :rolleyes:

[Macoy]

No more whisky till you finish your tequila!

(Apologies to Leela & her family.)

[Minarvia]

Nice articles, Rob. I've always wondered about her smoking, too. Her voice and her hacking cough doesn't sound merely like a "natural whiskey voice" to me.
And I was sad to hear about Janet. She will definately be missed.
Her article was one reason I found about about the JREF Forum in the first place. Her article was informative, funny, and sad all at the same time. I particularly liked how she began with Sylvia as an eager believer then things went quickly downhill from then on.

[Sylvia Clown]

Could it have been Fibromyalgia? :rolleyes:

More than likely...

[Cactus Wren]

Sylvia doesn't smoke?! I had the TV turned to the Montel Williams show last Wednesday and my home smoke alarm went off.

That was because, as in all her interviews, she was blowing smoke.

[NobbyNobbs]

But does she weigh more or less than a duck?

Doesn't matter. Either way, she's a witch.

[Flo]

I don't.

But I think this is her take on it...

A "ghost" is someone who has died and doesn't realize it, and has yet to "cross over" to "the other side."

A "spirit" is someone who has died and has successfully crossed over. They are between incarnations.

A "spirit guide" is a spirit who has chosen to be a living person's guide. Once they are no longer that person's spirit guide (for whatever reason), they can choose to be reincarnated.


I see a problem there: given the fact that she ascribes a spirit guide to every single living person on Earth (or so it appears), and all those ghosts and in-between-incarnations-spirits, there must not be enough left to reincarnate ...

[Niobe]

The smoking thing really surprises me, I remember reading transcripts of taped readings and her clients indicating that she was smoking on the phone, recently.

[RSLancastr]

I see a problem there: given the fact that she ascribes a spirit guide to every single living person on Earth (or so it appears), and all those ghosts and in-between-incarnations-spirits, there must not be enough left to reincarnate ...How do you figure?

The smoking thing really surprises me, I remember reading transcripts of taped readings and her clients indicating that she was smoking on the phone, recently.Yes, since the article went up, I have heard from someone ho used to get phone readings from Browne during the 90s, who says that you could hear her smoking over the phone.

[Flo]

How do you figure?


Well, I'm not that good at maths, but if reincarnation has started early in human history and there's, say, 1 spirit guide, plus 1 ghost for every person alive there must be a dearth of spirits ready to reincarnate in the next generation - or a factory of new spirits somewhere ... of course, there's the theory of souls evolving from animals, but given the fact that she pretends that we'll find our pets (all aged 30 ?) on the other side ...

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

I always thought the problem with reincarnation was the exact opposite one: there are so many more people on Earth now than there ever were so where did all 6 billion souls come from?

Even more complicated if you add spirit guides, plus ghosts, plus everything else SB believes in.

[Flo]

CSICOP review of Edwards'book on reincarnation (http://www.csicop.org/si/9901/reincarnation.html)

Another stumbling block raised by Edwards is the steadily climbing world population. If the souls of every one of today's earthlings necessarily inhabited a body in a previous generation, and -- also according to doctrine -- no new souls are being created, and there were fewer bodies on the planet then than now, we would seem to be faced with a serious soul deficit. A few reincarnationists have attempted to sidestep this impediment with mind-numbing ad hoc gyrations (upgrading of animal souls, recruiting souls from other planets or dimensions, soul sharing, etc.), but the extremes to which these apologists have gone only underscores, as Edwards notes, how fanciful the whole reincarnationist enterprise really is.

and speaking of ad hoc gyrations (http://www.widdershins.org/vol8iss7/07.htm) with a grain of salt ...

There have been times even in the historical past when the birth rate of new babies worldwide did not match the death rate. So according to the theory of reincarnation, did some souls get put on hold for awhile in a spiritual wait zone until there were enough babies to go around? Or did they hang out in the turnips? Conversely, our current population explosion clearly demonstrates way more births than deaths. So does that mean that some babies are born with half-souls or no souls? There can't be that many souls waiting in turnips to fill the current demands!
Buddhists may help us out here. Buddhists seek to skip the Hindu wheel of birth, death and reincarnation altogether through discipline and meditation. They believe that they can reach a point at which independent identity is no longer relevant. The "soul" loses itself by merging with a universal mass of spiritual energy called Nirvana, something analogous to the universal mass of living energy that scientists call biomass. For the sake of discussion, let's call this "spiritmass."
That solves the mathematical problem, because math in the spirit world may not add up the same as it does here in the mundane world. If there is spiritmass, then some babies could inherit old souls directly and some may get new ones from the reservoir of spiritmass. Whatever the case, nature and nurture inevitably work to individualize the baby's identity, just like they individualize his or her body into a unique new person. Old souls are either absorbed into spiritmass or changed in their new incarnation and new souls are sprung from spiritmass. In either case, the old identity is lost. Tulip becomes turnip, and essence of Uncle Frank becomes Little Carol.

[Locknar]

RSL - What you really need is that caught "red-handed" photo showing SB smoking, or at least with a cigarette in hand. Wonder if the ex-husband you interviewed for one of your stories has such a photo?

[JoeTheJuggler]

RSL - What you really need is that caught "red-handed" photo showing SB smoking, or at least with a cigarette in hand. Wonder if the ex-husband you interviewed for one of your stories has such a photo?

It would need to be demonstrably recent, or she could claim that it was during the brief period when she smoked many years ago. (Yeah right!)

I'm thinking we need to get hotel records that show she always reserves a smoking room. (Either that, or she stinks up a non-smoking room.) I don't suppose those records are public.

[JoeTheJuggler]

FWIW: I'm 100% certain she quit smoking for good on the very same day that she received her M.A. in English.

[Locknar]

It would need to be demonstrably recent, or she could claim that it was during the brief period when she smoked many years ago. (Yeah right!)

I'm thinking we need to get hotel records that show she always reserves a smoking room. (Either that, or she stinks up a non-smoking room.) I don't suppose those records are public.


Not necessarily…. While she has never denied smoking, she has consistently stated “I don’t smoke” and implied strongly implied she has never smoked.

Even if an old picture, that would at least clarify the question “did she ever smoke”…or does she, and her whole family, just have a naturally husky voice?

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

On the Montel front, I still haven't come across any mention of her allegedly never having smoked on the show.

I can't account for why it's not there when Robert so clearly remembers it. Unless I'm missing something. :confused:

[RSLancastr]

Well, I'm not that good at maths, but if reincarnation has started early in human history and there's, say, 1 spirit guide, plus 1 ghost for every person alive there must be a dearth of spirits ready to reincarnate in the next generation - or a factory of new spirits somewhere ... of course, there's the theory of souls evolving from animals, but given the fact that she pretends that we'll find our pets (all aged 30 ?) on the other side ...Well, I'm not great at math myself, but I fail to see the problem (mathematically, anyway).

There are about six billion people on the planet today. Each of them has at least one spirit guide.

So, with six billion spirits in current incarnations, and another six billion serving as their spirit guides, that makes twelve billion spirits currently accounted for.

There are a few complications:

1. I think that Browne says that "dark entities" (such as her ex-husband and her mother) don't have spirit guides, and that as much as 60% of the population is "dark."

2. Some peole have more than one spirit guide (Browne has two: Francine and Raheim).

3. Can a spirit be the "spirit guide" for more than one person at a time? I don't know what Browne says about that.

Ignoring those complications for the moment, we have accounted for twleve billion spirits, half in current incarnations, half spirit guides on The Other Side.

Depending on who you ask, the estimate is that there have been anywhere from 69 billion to 110 billion people who have ever lived on the planet.

Given that, what do you see as the (mathematical) problem?

Also, you might be assuming that souls/spirits don't get created until there is a body for it to occupy. I don't think that this is the case in Browne's theology.

On the Montel front, I still haven't come across any mention of her allegedly never having smoked on the show.

I can't account for why it's not there when Robert so clearly remembers it. Unless I'm missing something. :confused:It is possible that it is from a show which is too old to be in the lexisnexis database. If so, then it would have to be one of the older shows which I have taped. There are only a handful of those, so I will look through them to see if that is where I saw it.

Thanks for looking though!

[Questioninggeller]

On the Montel front, I still haven't come across any mention of her allegedly never having smoked on the show.

I can't account for why it's not there when Robert so clearly remembers it. Unless I'm missing something. :confused:

The older transcripts are at: http://www.transcripts.tv and are $9.95 each (19.95 for a DVD).

[RSLancastr]

Yes, there and at Burelles-Luce.

[articulett]

FWIW: I'm 100% certain she quit smoking for good on the very same day that she received her M.A. in English.

:D

[Steven Howard]

Well, I'm not great at math myself, but I fail to see the problem (mathematically, anyway).

There are about six billion people on the planet today. Each of them has at least one spirit guide.

So, with six billion spirits in current incarnations, and another six billion serving as their spirit guides, that makes twelve billion spirits currently accounted for.

There are a few complications:

1. I think that Browne says that "dark entities" (such as her ex-husband and her mother) don't have spirit guides, and that as much as 60% of the population is "dark."

2. Some peole have more than one spirit guide (Browne has two: Francine and Raheim).

3. Can a spirit be the "spirit guide" for more than one person at a time? I don't know what Browne says about that.

Ignoring those complications for the moment, we have accounted for twleve billion spirits, half in current incarnations, half spirit guides on The Other Side.

Depending on who you ask, the estimate is that there have been anywhere from 69 billion to 110 billion people who have ever lived on the planet.

Given that, what do you see as the (mathematical) problem?

The problem is that some or all of those 69-110 billion may have also had past lives, so you're counting some souls multiple times.

If Sylvia says there are new people born all the time, and that only some people are reincarnated, then the only question is why none of these first-timers ever seems to ask Sylvia about past lives.

But if everybody's lived at least one past life as a human being and if the same soul can't be reincarnated into multiple bodies simultaneously, then you have a problem. I don't know if Sylvia's religion has a creation myth or where she thinks the very first people came from, but I think it's safe to say that the very first humans cannot have been reincarnated from earlier humans. So reincarnation has to have started at some point. Call this Year X. If everybody who was born after Year X is reincarnated, then the total number of people who had ever died as of Year X is the total number of human souls that there are. That number is the cap on the total of the number of people alive plus the number of spirit guides plus the number of people in Heaven, or Summerland, or whatever Sylvia calls it. You can probably put an upper bound on X by finding the earliest date reported for somebody's second incarnation.

[RSLancastr]

But if everybody's lived at least one past life as a human being and if the same soul can't be reincarnated into multiple bodies simultaneously, then you have a problem.You are making some assumptions there which are not part of Novus Spiritus canon.

(The following is all my understanding of the Novus Spiritus take on all of this. It is not my belief.)

The number of spirits is huge, but finite. They were all created before there were any human bodies for them to inhabit.

As the first humans were created (I don't know if NS supports the Adam & Eve story or not), spirits entered them. As they had children, spirits entered those, and so on. As they died, the spirits went back to The Other Side (TOS). And so on.

At some point, a spirit was incarnated (entered a body as it was born) for the second time - the first REincarnation. Whether this was after every spirit had had a turn or not, I don't know.

So, the number of spirits has nothing to do with how many people had died when the first reincarnation happened.

That's how I understand their beliefs, anyway.

If any of the current/ex NS folks here read this, I would appreciate any corrections.

[Jon.]

You are making some assumptions there which are not part of Novus Spiritus canon.

(The following is all my understanding of the Novus Spiritus take on all of this. It is not my belief.)

The number of spirits is huge, but finite. They were all created before there were any human bodies for them to inhabit.

As the first humans were created (I don't know if NS supports the Adam & Eve story or not), spirits entered them. As they had children, spirits entered those, and so on. As they died, the spirits went back to The Other Side (TOS). And so on.

At some point, a spirit was incarnated (entered a body as it was born) for the second time - the first REincarnation. Whether this was after every spirit had had a turn or not, I don't know.

So, the number of spirits has nothing to do with how many people had died when the first reincarnation happened.

That's how I understand their beliefs, anyway.

If any of the current/ex NS folks here read this, I would appreciate any corrections.

Does NS hold that every human has one of these spirits? I ask because in my brief reading on gnosticism (mainly in Bart Ehrman's books) it seems that some gnostics believed that not every person has a "spark of the divine" in them, and that only those who do can understand the Truth.

[RSLancastr]

Does NS hold that every human has one of these spirits? I ask because in my brief reading on gnosticism (mainly in Bart Ehrman's books) it seems that some gnostics believed that not every person has a "spark of the divine" in them, and that only those who do can understand the Truth.In my first draft of that reply, I went into a bit more of the complications in calculating the numbers.

1. Not everyone has a spirit guide. Those who are "dark entities" (like, say, Randi and me, and Sylvia Browne's mother) don't have one. And depending on when she is speaking, dark entities are wither "very rare" or are around 60% of the world's population.

2. Siome people (such as Browne) have more than one spirit guide.

3. I am not clear as to whether a spirit guide can be assigned to more than one living person at a time.

[Macoy]

I am not clear as to whether a spirit guide can be assigned to more than one living person at a time.

Yeah.

[Jon.]

Does NS hold that every human has one of these spirits? I ask because in my brief reading on gnosticism (mainly in Bart Ehrman's books) it seems that some gnostics believed that not every person has a "spark of the divine" in them, and that only those who do can understand the Truth.

In my first draft of that reply, I went into a bit more of the complications in calculating the numbers.

1. Not everyone has a spirit guide. Those who are "dark entities" (like, say, Randi and me, and Sylvia Browne's mother) don't have one. And depending on when she is speaking, dark entities are wither "very rare" or are around 60% of the world's population.

2. Siome people (such as Browne) have more than one spirit guide.

3. I am not clear as to whether a spirit guide can be assigned to more than one living person at a time.

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear enough. I was referring to the spirits that are incarnated in our bodies, not to the spirit guides. Some versions of gnosticism apparently hold that some, but not all, humans contain a "spark of the divine" which yearns to return to the "great Oneness" (NB: I'm just going from my memory of a fairly recent reading of a couple of Bart Ehrman's books about early Christianity). It seems to me that such a doctrine would avoid most, if not all, of the potentially difficult mathematical questions raised by the increase in the human population of the world, and I was wondering whether NS had adopted this meme.

[RSLancastr]

Not sure, but I think that they believe that all humans have a spirit.

[Macoy]

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear enough. I was referring to the spirits that are incarnated in our bodies, not to the spirit guides. Some versions of gnosticism apparently hold that some, but not all, humans contain a "spark of the divine" which yearns to return to the "great Oneness" (NB: I'm just going from my memory of a fairly recent reading of a couple of Bart Ehrman's books about early Christianity). It seems to me that such a doctrine would avoid most, if not all, of the potentially difficult mathematical questions raised by the increase in the human population of the world, and I was wondering whether NS had adopted this meme.

Do you think that people are 'spirits' thrust into bodies?

[Jon.]

Do you think that people are 'spirits' thrust into bodies?

No, I hold no gnostic beliefs whatsoever. I was just trying to compare NS' beliefs with what little I knew of older gnostic beliefs.

[Macoy]

There is a schism between judaism and christianty - but who cares?

[Reno]

You are making some assumptions there which are not part of Novus Spiritus canon.

(The following is all my understanding of the Novus Spiritus take on all of this. It is not my belief.)

The number of spirits is huge, but finite. They were all created before there were any human bodies for them to inhabit.

As the first humans were created (I don't know if NS supports the Adam & Eve story or not), spirits entered them. As they had children, spirits entered those, and so on. As they died, the spirits went back to The Other Side (TOS). And so on.

At some point, a spirit was incarnated (entered a body as it was born) for the second time - the first REincarnation. Whether this was after every spirit had had a turn or not, I don't know.

So, the number of spirits has nothing to do with how many people had died when the first reincarnation happened.

That's how I understand their beliefs, anyway.

If any of the current/ex NS folks here read this, I would appreciate any corrections.

sounds kinda like the Trill from Star Trek

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

I could be wrong but I think I remember Sylvia talking about how she and her close friend have the same spirit guide. Or maybe telling someone else that she/he and a close friend have the same guide.

I think she's said that a sg could be assigned to more than one person.

[SeekingTruth]

I could be wrong but I think I remember Sylvia talking about how she and her close friend have the same spirit guide. Or maybe telling someone else that she/he and a close friend have the same guide.

I think she's said that a sg could be assigned to more than one person.

According to SB, Dal Browne's spirit guide is Raheim. When they divorced and Dal (according to SB) became a dark entity, Raheim became another of SB's guides because dark entities can't have guides. So Sylvia has 2 guides, Francine and Raheim.

Of course, now that Dal is back in her life, I'm assuming he has his guide back.
Although that brings up another interesting point - according to SB, when a person "goes over to the dark side" (gosh, I feel like I'm in a Star Wars movie here :) ) they can never "turn white" again.....so since she's back with Dal, I guess she's living with a dark entity - but then - what is it they say "it takes one to know one" right?

ST

[ChristineR]

I don't remember where I heard this, but apparently you can change spirit guides. I've always assumed this had something to do with reincarnation and death shuffling things around.

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

Dark entities: James Randi, Robert Lancaster, Sylvia's mother, Sylvia's ex-husband.

If it's this easy, I'm gonna just say my ex-boyfriends, upstairs neighbor and ex-boss are "dark entities". As is Michael Bay, George W.Bush and Tatu.

[zombiebex]

Oooh, so "dark entities" (aka skeptics) don't have spirit guides? Neeeat. Now I know what to ask Sylvia if ever I meet her on Montel...

Me: Sylvia, do I have a spirit guide?
SB: Sure you do, honey, his name is Maurice.
Me: Are you sure??
SB: Yeah, I'm looking right at him.
Me: Because I love reading StopSylviaBrowne.com and think you're a fake and a liar. Doesn't that make me a spirit guide free dark entity?
SB: ... Oh, I think he's the spirit guide for the lady sitting next to you. Yeah, you don't have one.

[RSLancastr]

:D

Actually, I don't think she has stated that all skeptics are "dark."

Hell, she calls herself a skeptic...

[PastBrowneFan]

But, she does call her ex-husband a Dark Entity, and this ex is back in her life again.

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

SB is in a wheelchair most of the time now. She gets out of it to walk onto the stage for the Montel show and gets back into it as soon as she's outside of the view of the audience.

On GSB, Heather posted a picture of SB from the cruise prior to the Alaskan cruise and she was in the wheelchair in the picture. I was surprised that the picture stayed on the website. I expected SB to be furious that a picture was posted of her in the wheelchair and make her take it down.

Wait - could it be that the psychic doesn't know the picture is on the GSB website? Nah! She'd have to know - she's PSYCHIC right?

ST


Seeking Truth, do you know if she might be going deaf? She hardly understood what was being said to her alot of the time on Montel's show; constantly had to have it repeated to her and no wonder as she's going on 71...but then again Montel seemed to have the same problem.

So deafness or dumbness? :D

[SeekingTruth]

So deafness or dumbness?

Neither would be my guess.
Actually, I haven't heard anybody talk about SB being hard of hearing. As for dumb - she didn't get where she is today by being dumb

ST

[EHocking]

Seeking Truth, do you know if she might be going deaf? She hardly understood what was being said to her alot of the time on Montel's show; constantly had to have it repeated to her and no wonder as she's going on 71...but then again Montel seemed to have the same problem.

So deafness or dumbness? :DAn old lawyer's/barrister's court trick. They advise their client that if they start to get frazzled, ask for the question to be repeated - buys you a little time.

Not surprised a cold reader uses the same tactics to think up some bollocks while being interrogated (with apologies to lawyers and barristers).

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

Seriously? You could be right but she honestly didn't seem to know what was being said to her. I was surprised; I'd have thought a con artist's number one stock in trade would be to constantly be on their feet.

Perhaps she just wasn't paying attention...she looks bored out of her mind most of the time.

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

I mean, she honestly seemed to give the impression she was going deaf or senile at times. Totally didn't get what was being said to her. People were repeating their questions three or four times.

Totally misunderstood alot of questions, too. At times, she launched into a reading and was halfway through before the person being read interrupted her to tell her that was totally not what he/she was asking.

Like the shouting match between Sylvia, Montel and the Hispanic man. Or this tiny girl who lost her boyfriend who stood up and started explaining what she wanted, only to be asked to repeat it again, have her question misunderstood and to be given a really shoddy reading. The boyfriend's mother who was with her even stood up and tried again. Took Sylvia and Montel a while to even get who she was. Then Sylvia gave her the same answer.

[EHocking]

Seriously? You could be right but she honestly didn't seem to know what was being said to her. I was surprised; I'd have thought a con artist's number one stock in trade would be to constantly be on their feet.

Perhaps she just wasn't paying attention...she looks bored out of her mind most of the time.I really couldn't say for sure - I can't stand watching the woman for more than a few minutes. the thought just struck me though.