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Christopher Dufresne

I have to go and find out why Francine was suspended. Bummer as I was just about to welcome her and ask her if guides can dump people if they become too corrupted.

Great replies to her, Ex-M! :)
 
Minarvia said:
I have to go and find out why Francine was suspended. Bummer as I was just about to welcome her and ask her if guides can dump people if they become too corrupted.

Great replies to her, Ex-M! :)
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Thanks, Minarvia. If you find out, please let me know? I just asked about it over in forum community, too. :(
 
You know, I just remembered the video on Robert's site where his father said (iirc) that Sylvia would tell him (Christopher) to just "collect the money and move on," and when his father remarked on him doing such a shady business Christopher replied that what else could he do anyway.

I wonder if that is what your husband sees when he remarks that Christopher is too stupid to pull off a convincing stage act. Maybe that is why Sylvia latched onto him instead of her other son. Though I don't know anything about her other son or if he could, or would, ever be interested in carrying on the "family business."
 
Minarvia said:
You know, I just remembered the video on Robert's site where his father said (iirc) that Sylvia would tell him (Christopher) to just "collect the money and move on," and when his father remarked on him doing such a shady business Christopher replied that what else could he do anyway.

I wonder if that is what your husband sees when he remarks that Christopher is too stupid to pull off a convincing stage act. Maybe that is why Sylvia latched onto him instead of her other son. Though I don't know anything about her other son or if he could, or would, ever be interested in carrying on the "family business."
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Maybe so. My husband and Chris are about the same age and my husband knew him better than I did. When I first met Chris 20 years ago he was big into body-building and seemed very arrogant to me. Into his own image, not very bright - just very egotistical. That opinion only got stronger the more I found out about him over the years, but again it's just an opinion.

That said, it's common knowledge around there that Sylvia Browne worships the ground he walks on. If that seems like an over-statement, believe me it isn't. If anything, it's probably too mild. She now is like that with Angelia too.

Paul is more the businessman type. To hear Sylvia Browne tell it, Paul outgrew his childhood psychic abilities and Chris went on to "develop" his. He wasn't around much way back when but seems to be there a lot more now, helping with the business end of things, if I understand correctly. He would be an unlikely candidate to carry on the family show-biz. I'm not sure if they are still hoping Angelia might carry it on.
 
I have never formally met Chrostopher, but sat behind him at the Sylvia show on Dec 29, 2009.

He did not look like what I guess I would expect a "psychic" to look like. He looked sort of like a bouncer. Not someone I would want personal information from, that's for sure.

And during her show, Sylvia said:
That she has a son and she loves her son (after talking about how some parents have unlikeable children) and that he is one of the best people she knows and she loves to be with him (Christopher). She was quiet for bit and quickly said she has another son, but said "ehhh" and made a dismissive hand gesture. She quickly said that the second son is sweet too, but quickly stated that when mother's say that they love all their children the same, that is BS (the complete word).

I know I would love that if my mom said stuff like about me in front of an audience.

(Sylvia also when talking about family relations referred to her mother as a "bad seed". And that she took care of that old bat till she died at 91) The audience found this funny, btw.
 
I don't want to derail too much, but as Angelia is Chris' daughter is should be at least a little pertinent.

All her life, according to Sylvia's books, she has shown extra-ordinary psychic abilities and is the reincarnation of her beloved Grandma Ada and has active memories of her life as Ada. Even tho reincarnation so soon after death is rare, of course it occurred for SYLVIA.

And now Angelia is nearly grown. I wonder if she has been brainwashed, is just plain loyal, or will be resentful if and when she reads Sylvia's books. Also, even if she does take over the family "business" she'll likely have a lot of questions to answer and lots of criticism thrown her way. Perhaps that will, if nothing else, keep her from entering a life of...unsavory...means to live.
 
I wouldn't think brainwashed.. I think that might imply that Sylvia's special brand of woo is talked about in the house as being real. There's Gary Dufresne's interview (Sylvia says, about tarot readings,, something like "Screw 'em. Anybody who believes this stuff oughtta be taken.") and "These freaks only come out at night." Maybe I'm off but I don't think Sylvia believes it herself. I think her apparent total disregard for others (and at least partially for her own son) is an indicator too.
 
Minarvia said:
I don't want to derail too much, but as Angelia is Chris' daughter is should be at least a little pertinent.

All her life, according to Sylvia's books, she has shown extra-ordinary psychic abilities and is the reincarnation of her beloved Grandma Ada and has active memories of her life as Ada. Even tho reincarnation so soon after death is rare, of course it occurred for SYLVIA.

And now Angelia is nearly grown. I wonder if she has been brainwashed, is just plain loyal, or will be resentful if and when she reads Sylvia's books. Also, even if she does take over the family "business" she'll likely have a lot of questions to answer and lots of criticism thrown her way. Perhaps that will, if nothing else, keep her from entering a life of...unsavory...means to live.
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I just always assumed this was a grifter family, and that no one on the inside actually buys the crap they peddle to the rubes.
 
Sylvia Browne also referred to her mother as a dark entity, even while she was still alive. Her dad clearly supported her and they were close.

But it has occurred to me that saying her mother was a dark entity might have been a means of poisoning the well, so to speak, making it very difficult for her mother to come forward and say anything negative about her. A similar thing could hold true for Gary Dufresne, also supposedly a dark entity. Even Dal Brown was a dark entity when he might have been a threat.

I don't know anything about how Angelia was raised. If they kept up the psychic pretense around her growing up, then what are they going to do when they want her to come on board? At a certain age, do they sit down and have a Fraud Talk?
 
Exactly, we don't know how Angelia was brought up. The adults plainly know the con, but who knows if she does? And her younger brother, Willie? (Was there a 3rd child, too?)

I just hope she goes her own way and finds happiness in a honest way.
 
Calculon said:
I have never formally met Chrostopher, but sat behind him at the Sylvia show on Dec 29, 2009.

He did not look like what I guess I would expect a "psychic" to look like. He looked sort of like a bouncer. Not someone I would want personal information from, that's for sure.

And during her show, Sylvia said:
That she has a son and she loves her son (after talking about how some parents have unlikeable children) and that he is one of the best people she knows and she loves to be with him (Christopher). She was quiet for bit and quickly said she has another son, but said "ehhh" and made a dismissive hand gesture. She quickly said that the second son is sweet too, but quickly stated that when mother's say that they love all their children the same, that is BS (the complete word).

I know I would love that if my mom said stuff like about me in front of an audience.

(Sylvia also when talking about family relations referred to her mother as a "bad seed". And that she took care of that old bat till she died at 91) The audience found this funny, btw.
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Sadly, some of what you heard her say were things "I" used to laugh at. Well, not quite those things, but similar things. Like "you know, people always say hate eats you up inside. I say, 'not if they enjoy it!' And I LOVE to hate my brother in law. It makes me feel...tingly inside!"

Now I don't laugh anymore. But at the time she sounded so "real" and down to earth and I identified with her on some things and frustrations she vented.
 
Dear Friends,

I just wanted to clear up a couple of misconceptions and offer you my view on some things you are talking about.

1. Please keep in mind that Sylvia writes a lot of things in her books that are not true. You have to remember that when you are reading about her family too. She writes whatever she wants. Angelia has never made any of those claims. Sylvia does.

2. This is a big one that you are missing: No one - this includes Sylvia, Christopher, ministers, & staff - talks about this all being one big scam and way to make money. Money is the ultimate result of their "business". It is true that Sylvia and Christopher's greed has taken over the way they live and behave- so they are driven to keep making money to support their lifestyle. This sometimes includes lying and bending the rules. However, they do not consciously think of themselves as a con.

I promise you that they really do believe that they are psychic. That is the reality they have created and they live in that reality and believe it. Whether you believe me or not, is up to you. But they don't sit around talking, winking, and elbowing each other in the ribs because they know they are full of it and taking advantage of people. They live in their own demented world and have convinced themselves of it. Now, Christopher probably believes it because Sylvia has influenced him all along. He has no other way to make a living. If you tell someone long enough that the sky is green and the grass is blue, they ultimately start agreeing with you.

You can't understand this because your line of thinking is so far from this. But you are dealing with greed, envy, a lack of education, poor self esteem mixed with narcissism and this is the result.
 
Minarvia and ExM:

You are correct. Most of Sylvia's fans like her because she seems like the down-to-earth, somewhat cranky but entertaining, grandmother type. People identify with that and recognize those qualities as being on "their own level". Then they build trust with her because of it. If regular people recognize what appears to be another regular person, but that person also happens to have something to tell them, they are inclined to believe it.

But that endearing quality in Sylvia, endearing to SOME-not all, has diminished. But the fans that she has left just don't see through it yet. She has become so wrapped up in money and fame, that she is now really apathetic, extremely impatient, and just doesn't care about other people's feelings. She's not there to help people anymore. She's there to collect her paycheck- a paycheck that she has to have because she and Christopher have gotten so far out there with their spending. If they can't pay for all this stuff, they will lose it.

ExM-sorry I called you Nancy before. :o
 
Hi Francine,

No worries!

Based on what you said, I feel bad for Angelia for having had the misfortune of being born into such a mess. Do you think she is likely to follow in Sylvia's footsteps one day?

That's interesting that you believe so strongly that Sylvia and Chris really believe they are psychic. I'm wondering if they let their guard down about it at home in private, or is it more like the case of a movie star who has come to believe they really are the made-up character they have come to identify with, or want desperately to be?

I can see signs of the second possibility and it's something I've wondered about for a long time.

I can't figure out, though, if Sylvia Browne really does believe she's psychic, how could she justify, to herself, faking trance sessions? What would be her justification for that? It seems nothing but a blatant and deliberate attempt to manipulate people.

ETA: Your take on Sylvia's personality change and her changing motives makes perfect sense to me in light of what I know about her myself. Sometimes I wonder if it's some kind of narcissistic disorder that lets her justify faking trances or doing other such things, bending the rules as you said, to achieve her own ends. That seems to be something she's been doing all along, even before the money and fame.
 
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Francine,

I have a question for you about Sylvia's behavior change over the years. Is it possible that she is have some mental issue? For example as my own mother is getting older she is becoming more brass and confrontational. But in my mom's case it has been stress related. I wonder if Sylvia's issues are from medical problems she is having or if she is starting down the road of getting dementia?

Anyway I just thought I would ask. Oh one other thing could you please ask what ever spirit guard I have to stop chasing my cat around the house and stop having conversations with my 3 month old granddaughter when i am trying to get her to sleep.

Thank you
 
ExMinister said:
Hi Francine,

No worries!

Based on what you said, I feel bad for Angelia for having had the misfortune of being born into such a mess. Do you think she is likely to follow in Sylvia's footsteps one day?

That's interesting that you believe so strongly that Sylvia and Chris really believe they are psychic. I'm wondering if they let their guard down about it at home in private, or is it more like the case of a movie star who has come to believe they really are the made-up character they have come to identify with, or want desperately to be?

I can see signs of the second possibility and it's something I've wondered about for a long time.

I can't figure out, though, if Sylvia Browne really does believe she's psychic, how could she justify, to herself, faking trance sessions? What would be her justification for that? It seems nothing but a blatant and deliberate attempt to manipulate people.

ETA: Your take on Sylvia's personality change and her changing motives makes perfect sense to me in light of what I know about her myself.
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ExM: To answer your question about Angelia, no way. She will not follow in her grandmother's footsteps UNLESS the same thing happens to her that happened to Christopher. That is, Sylvia allowed and encouraged Christopher to drop out of school at Grade 9 so he would be dependent on her. Then she dangled many carrots in front of him (cars, property, anything money can buy) and lured him into joining her in her line of work. He has no skills in any other capacity besides working out at the gym. Now he has to do this to support the lifestyle he's grown used to having.

Since Sylvia did this with Christopher, wouldn't it make sense that she would set out to do the same thing to Angelia, his first born? Sylvia never allowed the umbilical cord to be cut with Christopher. She is obsessive about Christopher. Sylvia makes all of that stuff up about Angelia because she WANTS TO BELIEVE IT. This is why she started writing that stuff about her from the beginning.

The nonsense, however, has caught up with her. This is not happening with Angelia. She is the opposite and is intelligent and independent. She's 17 and can figure things out for herself.

No, they don't let their guard down at home and talk about being con artists and such--I am with Sylvia most of the time as her guide. I can't stress enough that they don't do this to intentionally be deceptive. They don't look at it as a con job. It is the world that Sylvia created and they live inside that world. I think the trances are to justify it even further so Sylvia believes it herself.

You cannot think of this logically. You are not dealing with logical people.
 
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