Sylvia Browne (born Sylvia Celeste Shoemaker October 19, 1936) is an American author on the subject of spirituality who performs as a psychic and spiritual medium. She has made several appearances on Larry King Live , was a weekly guest on The Montel Williams Show , and hosts her own hour-long show on Hay House Radio, discussing paranormal issues and giving callers advice in her role as a "psychic".
Browne has been convicted of investment fraud and grand theft, and has been involved in numerous controversies regarding her claims and predictions, with reports about her failed predictions and claims appearing in several newspapers. Critics such as James Randi, with whom she has had a long running feud, say that she is a cold reader whose readings are indistinguishable from those achieved by mentalists using cold and hot reading techniques. Recent press coverage has asserted that she is overall inaccurate, claimed to have given insight into how she treats her fans, and reported her feelings about critics like Randi.
Biography
Browne was born in Springfield, Missouri to Bill Shoemaker and Celeste Coil and she is the eldest of their two daughters. Her father was Jewish and had many jobs including mail delivery and jewelry salesman, and was vice president of a major freight line. Her mother was Episcopalian, and her maternal grandmother Ada Coil was a devout Lutheran. However, Browne said in 2001 that she was Jewish.
Browne says that visions started appearing when she was five years old and that her grandmother Ada Coil, who she said was a psychic medium, helped her understand why she had them. Browne also asserts that her great-uncle was also a psychic medium and was "rabid about UFOs."
Browne started to give claimed psychic readings in 1974 and has attracted followings of supporters and detractors. She has given thousands of one-on-one readings and with a wide variety of groups and individuals; as of 2008, she charges $850 for a 20-30 minute telephone reading. Browne claims to have provided information to police departments and the FBI as a psychic detective.
In April of 2008, Sylvia Browne launched a new website billed as "an online spirituality destination that includes articles, blog postings, and videos from Sylvia."
Marriage and children
She was married to Gary Dufresne from April 1959 until 1972 in that time she moved to . Dufresne said in a February 10, 2007 interview that he does not think Sylvia has any paranormal abilities, and that she admitted it, saying that the gullible deserve to be taken advantage of. Sylvia acquired the surname Brown from Kenzil Dalzell Brown during the third of her four marriages, and added a final e after she was indicted on Security Fraud charges. In September 2002 she and Larry Lee Beck ended their marriage.
Sylvia says her son Christopher is psychic, and attributes this to a genetic predisposition. Her website says "If Sylvia is the best psychic around - then Chris is the second best."
Novus Spiritus
Browne is the head of the Sylvia Browne Corporation, Sylvia Browne Enterprises, and the founder of a church in 1986 in Campbell, California, known as the Society of Novus Spiritus.
According to its website, the church employs forty ministers, though only a small number are actually paid employees. Those that are paid also work for Sylvia Browne Corporation and Sylvia Browne Enterprises, and are members of the Board of Directors of Novus Spiritus .
Novus Spiritus refers to itself as "Gnostic Christian." It states that it follows the same traditions and teachings which Jesus himself followed, yet does not exclude Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, or Hinduism. The society teaches the Biblical works of Jesus Christ while also incorporating the Gnostic Gospels (ex: Gospel of Mary Magdalene), and says that while the Bible is a "marvellous book" and should be used as a teaching tool, it is not the "unaltered word of God".
Books
Main article: Sylvia Browne bibliographyBrowne is the author of dozens of books on paranormal and spiritual topics, including The Other Side and Back , Adventures of a Psychic , Astrology Through a Psychic's Eyes , and, most recently, All Pets Go To Heaven: The Spiritual Lives of the Animals We Love .
Paranormal claims
Browne says she knows what it is like in heaven. In her book The Other Side and Back , she says the temperature is a constant 78°F (25.6°C), that there are no insects–-unless one wants there to be, that pets go to heaven, and that one can build one's house wherever one wants unless it obscures the view of a river or some trees, in which case one needs permission. She asserts that the "other side" exists approximately three feet above ground level and at a "higher vibrational level" and so is difficult for humans to perceive. However, like other psychics, she claims to have been born able to perceive a wider range of "vibrational frequencies".
Browne declares that she can see angels and that they look similar to depictions in paintings, but have different traits depending on their "phylum". She has also claimed that they do not speak. Her granddaughter, who is purportedly psychic, claims to have witnessed the angels that Browne states surround humans.
Browne professes the ability to speak with her spirit guide, "Francine," and has given details of fifty-four of her own former lives as divined by her.
Introduction to predictions
Although Browne has made many public predictions, according to James Randi her accuracy rate has been no better than educated guessing. Her predictions include: that Bill Clinton was falsely accused in the Lewinsky scandal (proved incorrect); that George H. W. Bush would defeat Bill Clinton in the 1992 U.S. presidential election (Bush lost); that Bill Bradley would win the 2000 U.S. presidential election with the Reform Party coming in second; the "hiding in caves" of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein (found in a spider hole in the ground); the death of bin Laden (later reported by the Central Intelligence Agency as incorrect); a verdict of guilty in the 2005 child molestation trial of Michael Jackson (Jackson was acquitted); and the cure and prevention of breast cancer by the end of 1999.
Janet McDonald, an author of books for young adults, describes her experience receiving a psychic reading via phone, for which she paid Browne $700. Browne predicted a "really long life" for McDonald, who died of cancer at 53 just over four years later.
In 2005 Browne told Newsweek that Larry King, a believer in the paranormal, has asked her to perform private psychic readings.
On September 3, 2001, Browne stated on Larry King Live that she would accept the James Randi Educational Foundation's $1,000,000 challenge to demonstrate supernatural abilities in a controlled scientific test. As of 2009, Browne has claimed that she has found it increasingly difficult to contact the Foundation or respond to Randi's enquiries.
A January 2007 episode of Anderson Cooper 360 featured Linda Rossi, Browne's business manager for 35 years, and James Randi. Randi proposed that Browne undergo a test where she would provide readings for ten sympathetic people, each of whom would then identify their own reading among the ten. Rossi declined on Browne's behalf.
Of her predictions that might be considered accurate, many are predictions that are easy to make. Examples from her list of predictions for the 21st century include: "Elizabeth Taylor ends up back at the Betty Ford Center"; "Neither Warren Beatty nor Donald Trump has any success in politics"; "Air travel reaches an all-time high, but because of overbookings and poor service, the airlines will need to revamp their scheduling practices".
Television and radio appearances
Browne has been a frequent guest on US television and radio programs, including Larry King Live , the Montel Williams Show , and Coast to Coast AM . During these appearances she usually discusses her abilities with the host and then performs readings of audience members or callers. Browne hosts her own hour-long show on Hay House Radio, discussing paranormal issues and giving callers advice in her role as a psychic.
On some occasions Browne is paired with other guests, including skeptics such as James Randi. These shows often feature verbal sparring between the two, with each trying to convince the audience that the other is wrong. One such Larry King show, in 2001, involved Browne agreeing to be tested by Randi to verify if her abilities were true. As of 2009 she has not yet conducted the test. In March 2004, their feud escalated on the popular St. Louis radio program The Paul Harris Show when Randi accused Browne of lying.
Browne appeared on CNN's Larry King Live eight days before the September 11, 2001 attacks, but did not predict the event. After the fact she claimed she had disturbing dreams involving a lot of fire in the week preceding the attack.
Browne has also appeared on the television soap opera The Young and the Restless as herself in December 2006.
Sago Mine controversy
On January 3, 2006, Browne was a guest on the U.S. radio program Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. At the start of the broadcast it was believed that 12 of 13 miners trapped by the Sago Mine disaster had been found alive. When Noory asked Browne if she had had any psychic premonitions regarding the men -- if she had felt "that
Psychic Predictions - The Psychic Detective
Psychic Predictions,psychic predictions for 2008,psychic predictions for 2009,Prophecy ... PREDICTIONS FOR 2006 - 2007 Report Prepared : June 2006
The Old New Thing : Raymond makes a psychic prediction for 2006
Gazing into the crystal ball. ... Raymond makes a psychic prediction for 2006. I have gazed into my crystal ball and emerged with a prediction for 2006.
Psychic Predictions For 2006, 2006 Hurricane Psychic Predictions 2006 ...
Psychic predictions for 2006. Hurricane psychic predictions for 2006. Earth quake psychic predictions for 2006 Britney Spears psychic predictions,psychic predictions on Madonna ...
Internet's Top Psychic Resource Announces Predictions for 2007
PR: CaliforniaPsychics.com, the net's Number 1 resource for psychic guidance, is continuing its annual tradition of giving curious readers a leg up on events to come.
Predictions for 2006 (and 2007)
Predictions for 2006 by psychics. Discover what we predict for the future with our 2006 prediction and 2007 predictions forums.
2006 Predictions
Elizabeth Baron, International Known Psychic Medium, media coverage for her Annual 2006 Psychic Predictions
Psychic Predictions, World Predictions.Celebrity Predictions, Psychic ...
( predicted on Jan 2006). this is to come. Update - (past and accurate psychic prediction) many floods and storms have hit the coast of queensland up to 2009 so far.
Psychic Predictions 2006
Psychic Predictions: Here are our psychics' predictions for 2006.
Psychic Predictions, World Predictions.Celebrity Predictions, Psychic ...
(predicted september 2006) True and Accurate Psychic Prediction. Kim I had prediction the sale of her house, forcasted months before. The dates were given as the 25th and 27th of ...
Psychic Blogger: Psychic Predictions 2006
« Energy | Main | Emotions – Part 2 » January 14, 2006 Psychic Predictions 2006. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all know ahead of time what was going to happen?