Sylvia Browne: Skeptics, Dark Entities and Other Challenges

ExMinister

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I found a copy of SB's latest book Mystical Travelers today and she has an entire chapter called Skeptics, Dark Entities and Other Challenges. :( I refused to waste my money to buy the book but some of what I recall: She refers to James Randi as the atheist who got "all upset and worked up" (or something to that effect) on Larry King when she was on with Van Praagh. She says she's just been around too long to buy into that and she couldn't figure out why the skeptic (James Randi, apparently) was "yelling and screaming" at them. She even claims that after the show Larry sympathized with her, saying she was a "good sport." Oh brother.

Of note, she specifically mentions the fact that there are now even hateful web sites directed against her. She says they are, of course, full of lies, spreading lies, in nothing but an attempt to stop her from doing "God's work."

She talks derogatorality about skeptics and atheists and claims it costs $25,000 to join the skeptic's organization (not sure which one she means) and for that price you get a mug and dinner with the leader.

One thing I found really sad - she tells a terrible story about her first husband, the one who came forward with his story on Robert's web site, where she now not only accuses him of being abusive, saying she feared for her children's safety, but goes on to say that after she left him, he ran over a child on a bike, was an alcoholic who married a recovering alcoholic and they both became born-again Christians and now they judge everyone. Do you suppose this is revenge for him coming forward? Oh, how I wish Robert would get busy and recover - we need him! I bet RSL would offer the ex-husband a chance to counter some of this latest claptrap from Sylvia.

I just needed to vent. Reading through that book sent my blood pressure sky high. Oh, and in another chapter she talks about how she started her hypnotherapy organization to help people, as if she had done it as a spiritual service for the world, and how she wants an old folk's home and a children's center (I think she said both) but that "takes money," and of course the implication is that she doesn't have any or she would start them, too - what crap. She fails to mention that through the hypnosis organization she gets to rake in lots of money, and with an old folk's home probably would not. Gee, wonder why one got started and the other didn't?!

Oh and once again she discussed how important it is to have moderate behavior in life, and she admits to... drinking coffee and wearing makeup! (No mention of chain smoking)

OK, I'm done venting.
 
Wow, thanks for this info, ExMinister. I sympathize with your rising blood pressure. I can't imagine how high it must have gone. Just reading your post sent mine up, too!

By now I think she's just preaching to her own choir. I doubt anybody new will buy into it. And even if her rants about Gary DuFresne are true, which I doubt, it has nothing to do with her "work for God" and makes her just look vengeful and petty, imho.
 
Thanks, Minarvia. I agree. I bet it's just damage control. But reading through the book, it is just so infuriating when she says things that I KNOW are lies and, even worse, accuses others (the skeptics, who are exposing the truth!) of lying, and there isn't a darn thing I can do about it, except come to this forum and vent! Which is a good thing, at least. Yes, I know it's the way she's always operated, but in this chapter about skeptics, the way she spins things to make herself sound good is even slimier than usual - such as implying that the skeptics are the opportunists who wouldn't be making money if not for people like her - as if the skeptics are profiting from her, as if she isn't the one who is the opportunist.

It's just lies upon lies, and people fall for it! Even a minor example like the part in the book where she refers to Lucifer as an "allegory," saying again that there is no actual entity called Lucifer - when I HAVE the trance tapes from many years ago where Francine states that Lucifer was an actual fallen angel. And goes into great detail about him.

In this book, she has re-spun her story about Dal, too. I'm sure she's aware of the information on RSL's web site on how she was convicted for securities fraud, so now she is claiming that it was ALL Dal's fault, and that, as she put it, even though she has forgiven him, he accepts all the blame and hasn't forgiven himself. She portrays herself as totally innocent, a martyr who had to pay for Dal's mistake with her own money.

She also defends herself regarding the information about the missing child that she and Van Praagh both got wrong, reiterating that she thinks she accidentally got the information on another child and that in spite of what the skeptics said, "no one is perfect." It's enough to make you sick.

She says: Why can't the skeptics just admit they are "anti-psychic" and be done with it?

I say: Why can't she admit she's an opportunist, knows she isn't psychic, and there is no Francine, and be done with it?! :mad:

Notably absent is any comment whatsoever on Shawn Hornbeck or Opal Jo Jennings.

She also was noticeably silent on the English literature degree.

OK, no more venting, I promise.
 
You can vent all you want, it's okay! Sometimes we all need to do that and Sylvia's enough to drive any sane person up a wall.

Ohhhhh...now she drags Van Praagh in on her error? How convenient. She's saying she isn't the only one to blunder; as if that makes her awful blunder/lying excusable. :rolleyes:

If she was genuine, I would think she would try to at least appear to take the "higher road" and not respond so desperately, inconsistently, and behave like a drowning person dragging down everyone around her just to keep herself afloat.

I haven't seen her website lately (I won't dignify it with a "hit") or her newsletter, which I have long abandoned subscribing for, but I certainly hope that she isn't telling everyone that she's happy that one of her most outspoken critics is ill in a hospital. No, come to think of it, she'll probably publicly wish him well and say she and her staff are praying for him just as she stated in a newsletter that she did when Randi had his heart trouble a while back. As you said, it would be a desperate attempt at damage control.

Hopefully, it is too late. But, if she's going to live to be in her nineties, as I think she stated in a book or two, it's not too late for her to get that blasted Master's Degree!
 
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I believe she said she would die when she was 88. Oh and just so everyone knows, she now charges $850 for a phone reading. Not sure if this means she now gives readings in more detail, has improved her accurate percentage rate, or psychic readings are also affected by inflated rate like everything else. Either way that is $850 dollars too much.

-Kyle
 
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I didn't even know she had yet another book out! :covereyes

What a shame that Robert can't mine this for material...any other time, this might have been big fodder for us!

Vent all you want. My blood pressure raised just thinking about it.
 
ExMinister said:
She says: Why can't the skeptics just admit they are "anti-psychic" and be done with it?
Click to expand...
She would have to provide credible proof of her paranormal claim, and then have "skeptics" (et all) deny/denounce/ignore such proof for the "anti-psychic" label to apply.

Her book(s) are nothing more then a money grab, catering to her believers who hang on her every word and/or trying to sway any that are undecided.

No credible argument is provided to support her claims...just nonsensical (and inaccurate) attacks on her denouncers.

She is just a fraud, who routinely and without remorse uses her victims for her own personal gain.
 
rjh01 said:
Here is where the $25,000 comes from (maybe)
http://www.randi.org/joom/support-join-the-jref.html

Did she mention the other options including the $100 fee?
Click to expand...

Yes that's probably where she got the $25,000 figure. And no, she didn't mention any other fees or options, so the truth that she deliberately omitted is that a JREF membership costs as little as $50 to $100. If I recall correctly, she was trying to imply that JREF (though she didn't mention it by name as I recall) is the money-making organization (as opposed to hers), but I'd have to go re-read that section.
 
Locknar said:
She would have to provide credible proof of her paranormal claim, and then have "skeptics" (et all) deny/denounce/ignore such proof for the "anti-psychic" label to apply.

Her book(s) are nothing more then a money grab, catering to her believers who hang on her every word and/or trying to sway any that are undecided.

No credible argument is provided to support her claims...just nonsensical (and inaccurate) attacks on her denouncers.

She is just a fraud, who routinely and without remorse uses her victims for her own personal gain.
Click to expand...


Agreed. I'm guessing she is making a half-hearted attempt at damage control for those fans who are still undecided, and that this is an attempt to discredit the web sites in advance to discourage as many as she can from even bothering to look.
 
As you can see, I haven't got the hang of the multiple replies in one post thing down yet!

Eeney, I wish Robert could mine this book too. It's the first one she's written in awhile that has some decent material for him to work with.

And CKyle, I noticed her price had gone up too. The last I heard, her office had been barely staying afloat these days due to a combination of investing in real estate from what I understand, living the lifestyle of the R&F (limos, etc.), and dwindling business due to the bad (truthful) publicity. That's based on second/thirdhand information, though.
 
ExMinister said:
And CKyle, I noticed her price had gone up too. The last I heard, her office had been barely staying afloat these days due to a combination of investing in real estate from what I understand, living the lifestyle of the R&F (limos, etc.), and dwindling business due to the bad (truthful) publicity. That's based on second/thirdhand information, though.
Click to expand...

It’s funny that you say that because awhile back I called her office to check on a supposable “5-year waiting list” she has according to a debate with one of the followers. Who by the way claimed he had waited 2 years to talk with her over the phone. As expected I had to leave a message and they would call me back…but they never did. At first I was thinking it was maybe because I am a man and they pick & choose whom they think is easiest to fool (sorry ladies but truth is you’re her mark). Then I thought maybe the supporter was either MORE then a supporter, or perhaps called and told them I was going to check like I said I was going to do. Although unlikely, I thought there was a chance. Now it seems that it is most likely because they are busy and moved on to bigger and better things. Makes a lot of sense to me. Why pick strawberries and get paid by the bucket load when you can just buy the field.

-Kyle
 
Clairvoyant_Kyle said:
It’s funny that you say that because awhile back I called her office to check on a supposable “5-year waiting list” she has according to a debate with one of the followers. Who by the way claimed he had waited 2 years to talk with her over the phone. As expected I had to leave a message and they would call me back…but they never did. At first I was thinking it was maybe because I am a man and they pick & choose whom they think is easiest to fool (sorry ladies but truth is you’re her mark). Then I thought maybe the supporter was either MORE then a supporter, or perhaps called and told them I was going to check like I said I was going to do. Although unlikely, I thought there was a chance. Now it seems that it is most likely because they are busy and moved on to bigger and better things. Makes a lot of sense to me. Why pick strawberries and get paid by the bucket load when you can just buy the field.

-Kyle
Click to expand...

During the height of the Montel years she did have a long waiting list, but this is no longer the case, other than the need to work around her traveling schedule. Also, when I was a minister I often heard complaints from fans who had called to schedule appointments or otherwise ask questions and were never called back or had to wait weeks before anyone called them back. Keeping in mind that the enormous staff Sylvia claimed to support (hence part of the need for such high prices) was in fact a handful of overworked, underpaid ministers and others, all wearing multiple hats, and at times they literally just didn't have time to call back due to the huge volume of e-mails and messages they had to field. Add to that a bit of habitual unconcern/rudeness on the part of some staff members.

At any rate, rumor has it that now all of that has changed and business has dwindled, so it seems very unlikely that there is any real waiting list, and if they are claiming one, it is probably just a sales tactic. My impression is that as of about a year ago, they were getting pretty desperate to drum up business.

Perhaps you are right and she is on to bigger and more lucrative things - the hypnosis center, the $1000 per person salons, though $850 for a 15-minute phone reading is still a nice sum of cash for a few minutes' time!
 
I'll bet she found Vegas too embarrassing and something she could not control and that's why she/her staff stopped her farewell tour.
I wish she'd just say "farewell" period. We'd all be better off, methinks.
 
Minarvia said:
I'll bet she found Vegas too embarrassing and something she could not control and that's why she/her staff stopped her farewell tour.
I wish she'd just say "farewell" period. We'd all be better off, methinks.
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I agree - interesting coincidence that she quit Vegas so soon after her run-in with Robert. IMO, she's too greedy to say farewell, and her sons don't want her to retire for the same reason.
 
Well, she's giving away a free reading-maybe that'll drum up business for her: http://www.spiritnow.com/
:D

(Not sure if that is a new or an old site...checked the Wayback Machine, but it can find no cached pages for that address. Hmmm...)
 
Minarvia said:
I haven't seen her website lately (I won't dignify it with a "hit") or her newsletter, which I have long abandoned subscribing for, but I certainly hope that she isn't telling everyone that she's happy that one of her most outspoken critics is ill in a hospital. No, come to think of it, she'll probably publicly wish him well and say she and her staff are praying for him just as she stated in a newsletter that she did when Randi had his heart trouble a while back. As you said, it would be a desperate attempt at damage control.
Click to expand...

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if she claims RSL's illness is an example of her ability as a psychic. Remember, when RSL saw her show in Las Vegas, she did say that "something bad would happen to him" when she saw him outside after the show.

If she does, SB will have sunk to an all time low.
 
ExMinister said:
Thanks, Minarvia. I agree. I bet it's just damage control. But reading through the book, it is just so infuriating when she says things that I KNOW are lies and, even worse, accuses others (the skeptics, who are exposing the truth!) of lying, and there isn't a darn thing I can do about it, except come to this forum and vent!
Click to expand...

The book is available on Amazon. It has no reviews yet... why not write one? A calm, but negative, review? With even your casual perusal, you seem to have effortlessly picked out contradictions, if not outright lies...

Just a suggestion! There is a something, a little something, perhaps, that you could do; maybe it'll make you feel better, as well as informing others on Amazon? (I'm not suggesting that you should, or feel obliged to, mind you.)

And rant all you like about SB. Secretly, we love it.

Cheers
M
 
desertgal said:
Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if she claims RSL's illness is an example of her ability as a psychic. Remember, when RSL saw her show in Las Vegas, she did say that "something bad would happen to him" when she saw him outside after the show.

If she does, SB will have sunk to an all time low.
Click to expand...

The way Robert tells it she actually said, "Someone will be dealing with you." I doubt she could twist that into a psychic prediction about his health unless she wants her fans to believe she's got evil forces at her command or the ability to curse people.
 
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