Brown Lot
Sylvia Browne: Psychic or Charlatan?
It seems like the more I engross myself in the metaphysical subculture, the more I hear that Sylvia Browne (psychic medium) is a deceiver. When I initially began hearing these rumors, I thought it was just the skeptics. After all, she's one of the most well-known psychics in the world, so I figured the skeptics were targeting her because they deemed her as the exemplar of psychics. However, I've had a few 'gut-feeling' experiences, that made me feel somewhat uneasy about Browne. I didn't think too much about these experiences at the time. However, I'm now starting to hear these accusations come from a different batch of people --other psychics!
My Initial Feelings about Sylvia Browne
A few years ago, when I really started absorbing any metaphysical information I could get my hands on, I downloaded a lecture given by Sylvia Browne on spirit guides. I remember feeling a little 'off' by the whole lecture. I couldn't really pinpoint it at the time, and still can't exactly, but something about it didn't feel right. I remember having the feeling that she was more focused on entertaining than educating. At the time, I didn't think she was a fake; after all, she's a celebrity psychic --how can she be that popular and be a phony (I knew it was possible, but not probable). I figured I just didn't like her style.
A few months later, I was at my local Borders scanning the New Age section. I saw a whole row of books written by the same author, Sylvia Browne. Now, I know this may sound prejudice, but as soon as I saw more than a dozen books by the same author, I was immediately turned off. When leafing through some of the books, it seemed like she was regenerating her old books into new ones. I started to think of her as more of a capitalist than a clairvoyant. I know that just because someone publishes a lot of books doesn't necessarily mean they're an exploiter; however, in this case, I got the distinct feeling that she was in it for the money, and not --as virtually all psychics stress the importance of-- in it to help people. There's nothing wrong with making a lot of money --psychic or non-psychic-- however, being a sellout isn't exactly the most altruistic characteristic. Nonetheless, I still thought she was a real psychic, just a greedy one.
Psychics Against Sylvia Browne
A few weeks ago, I was listening to the Psychic Teachers radio program. The psychic teachers, Deb Bowen and Samantha Fey, both mentioned that they weren't too fond of Browne. They seemed somewhat reluctant to talk about it, which I can certainly understand. A central theme of the show is positive thinking, so they certainly weren't going to get all negative. Also, from my experience, psychics usually stray away from talking about those that they think are frauds (e.g. James Van Praagh, when asked if he knows of any well-known 'fake psychics' by Coast-to-Coast AM host George Noory. Van Praagh stated that he did, in fact, know of a very well-known phony psychic(s), but wouldn't reveal who.). The discussion lasted for less than a minute, but it was the very first validation I received about my initial feelings on Browne --coming from respected, practicing psychics, nonetheless!
Ever since the psychic teachers' validation, I've been on the lookout for a psychic who I can personally ask to opine on the Browne matter. Well, yesterday, while at my local metaphysical store, I stumbled into a conversation with the store's operator, who's also a practicing psychic. In the middle of the conversation, the Browne question popped in my head. I thought, I had to ask her opinion. However, when the words started coming out of my mouth, for some reason, I couldn't remember Browne's name; so, instead, I started to describe: "Do you know that psychic whose written a bunch of books..." She responded in a loathing voice, "Sylvia Browne?" She then went on to express her disapproval of Browne. She even added that one of her good friends (or maybe it was her sister-in-law) witnessed Browne's deceptive preparations before the taping of an episode of The Montel Williams Show, a talk show that frequently features Browne as a guest. She said Browne was backstage with a group of people, and she seemed to be coaching them (although she couldn't hear what Browne was saying). Later on, when the show began filming, sure enough, the audience members Browne called on were the people she was talking to backstage --they were planted in the audience. In astonishment, I asked "How can she get away with that? Montel Williams has to know what she's doing." She said, "I'm sure he does know. They've been best friends for years."
More on Sylvia Browne
Since writing the upper-portion of this article, which I wrote less than 24 hours ago, I've continued to uncover more and more instances that are leading me to believe that Sylvia Browne is suspect.
In 1992, Browne, and her estranged husband at the time, were indicted on eight counts of investment fraud and grand theft by the Superior Court of Santa Clara County, California. Browne pleaded no contest to securities fraud. She was sentenced to one year of probation. You can see the original indictment document here. When reading the document, you'll notice her last name is spelled "Brown", and not "Browne". Why the sudden addition of the silent "e"? It's purely speculation, but maybe she modified her name slightly in an effort to conceal her criminal history --just a theory.
A few years ago, Browne, on The Montel Williams Show, told the parents of missing 11-year-old, Shawn Hornbeck, that their son was dead. There are reports from the father of the missing boy, stating he and his wife were told by Browne that she'd be willing to 'provide more information' if they scheduled an appointment --a 20 minute reading at $700-750! However, Browne has denied this allegation. And here's the twist, about three years later, Shawn Hornbeck was found alive! This obviously sparked a storm of controversy. Browne made public apologies, posted an open letter of apology on her website, but --according to the boy's family-- never personally apologized to them.
Conclusions
It's not fair to give someone a charlatan status based on a gut feeling, or a rumor. There are people who can, and will, always find something bad to say about anyone. However, considering Sylvia Browne's rap sheet --in both a literal and figurative sense-- I think it's fair to say, at the least, that Browne isn't the most moral or ethical person.
It's true that no psychic is ever 100% accurate --no one, psychic or not, is ever 100% accurate in their field of expertise. For example, Tom Brady, one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, only makes about 63% of his passes (and the legend, Michael Jordan, in a typical game, would have about the same accuracy, 60-70%). Granted, athletes and psychics are like apples and oranges, but nonetheless they're both still human (and fruit, respectively). Therefore, Browne was being completely unprofessional when predicting the death of the missing boy --especially on national TV; she knows she's not 100% accurate, so she never should have taken a chance. She should have been responsible, and considered the unnecessary turmoil she would cause if she was wrong. Moreover, if the father's allegations are true, she should have personally apologized to the parents, and offered them a free additional reading to begin with --have at least a little empathy, especially if you're an intuitive (she should have been able to literally feel their pain).
I'm still convinced that she's a lot more concerned about money than helping people. Again, virtually every psychic stresses the importance of making altruistic endeavors a priority. This doesn't seem to be the case with Browne.
Is she really a psychic? I don't know for sure. I don't know enough to say that she's a phony, at least in a psychic sense. I've heard some respected psychics say that if you're not using your psychic gifts for the greater good, than you can lose them (i.e. the gifts). So, maybe she was psychic at one point in her life then lost it.
Is she suspect? Absolutely. In the past, my gut feelings were seldom, but accurate. I knew there was something 'off' with her. If you take all the instances I wrote about into account individually, it's unfair to classify Browne as a deceiver. However, if you add them up and look at them collectively, there's certainly cause for suspicion.
See the original article at The Metaphysical Experience blog.
About the Author
The Metaphysical Experience is a blog that's not afraid to confront life's big questions.
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