I would say that this article is more about what John Edward is up to in South Africa, rather than whether he’s real or not. But anyhow, you will get a slice of his experience as a public figure medium, and what it is like to deal with TV producers .
Archive for the ‘Famous Spiritualists’ Category
John Edward in South Africa
Saturday, November 21st, 2009Fox News
Sunday, October 18th, 2009October is the month that Spiritualism and related spirituality gets an up-tick, largely because of Halloween. YNN is our local Rochester, New York news station on Time Warner Cable, and we watch it quite a bit. This morning, I saw a spot on the Fox sisters, who are the folks credited with discovering Modern Spiritualism. The Fox home is close to Rochester, in Wayne County, and the site (which is now just the foundation) is protected by a shelter erected by the Spiritualist Church.
It’s a nice piece. Well done, and not the usual spooks-and-gooks affair that is typical of news coverage. Pastor Robin Higgins from the Plymouth Spiritualist Church in Rochester is featured in the spot, and she is the minister who married us last year.
Fun and games with names
Saturday, September 5th, 2009I got to tinkering with a name anagram site, specifically http://www.deanjackson.dj/nameanagram/index.php You can put in your name, and it will output words from the name, using every letter. Here are some interesting anagrams that are spiritual in nature.
Mediums of today:
John Edward’s anagram name is ODD WHEN JAR.
James Van Praagh’s anagram name is JAR VAMP SANE HAG.
Mediums of the past:
Helen Duncan’s anagram name is NUDE CHANNEL.
Margery Crandon’s anagram name is GRANDER ACRONYM.
D.D. Home’s anagram name is ODD HEM. Expanded to Daniel Douglas Home, his anagram name is ALIEN AGED HOODLUMS.
Famous Spiritualists:
Allen Kardec is known for Spiritism, and his anagram name is NAKED CELLAR.
Arthur Conan Doyle’s is not only the author of the famous Sherlock Holmes stories, but a famous Spiritualist. His anagram name is CARRY ON, HOUND TALE.
The Fox sisters, who were famous for communicating with deceased peddler Charles B. Rosna and founding Modern Spiritualism:
Kate Fox’s anagram name is FOX TAKE. When spelled “Katie Fox”, her anagram name is ATE OK FIX.
Margaretta Fox’s anagram name is FAT MARX TO RAGE.
Leah Fox’s anagram name is HOAX ELF.
Charles B. Rosna’s anagram name is NOBLER AS CRASH.
Skeptics and debunkers:
Joe Nickell is a skeptic, and his anagram name is JOKE IN CELL. Hmmm….. 
Harry Houdini, the famous magician, was also famous for debunking fraudulent mediums. His anagram name is OH! HID URINARY. His actual name was Erik Weisz, whose anagram name is WE IRK SIZE, or when spelled “Ehrich Weiss”, his anagram name is SHREWISH ICE.
Other spiritual things:
Near Death Experience’s anagram name is EXERT NEEDIER PANACHE.
Trance Mediumship’s anagram name is CRUMMIEST PINHEAD.
Full Trance Mediumship’s anagram name is MISPLACE MIRTHFUL NUDE.
Ouija Board’s anagram name is A BIJOU ROAD.
Spiritual Development’s anagram name is PRIMEVAL, INSULTED POET.
A few that make you think:
Spiritualism’s anagram name is I SIP ALTRUISM.
Spiritualist’s anagram name is IT IS ULTRA SIP.
Psychic’s anagram name is CHIC SPY.
Lily Dale’s anagram name is IDLE ALLY.
And last but not least, Mediumship is HIP DUMMIES. Hmmm…
Spiritism?
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009I’ve been aware of Spiritism for a long time, and had some vague ideas about the differences between it, Spiritualism, and Spiritualists. Tonia Wind’s article about the differences makes it clear.
I’m not sure I like the term, as it sounds so scientific, but according to Allen Kardec’s definition, I’m a Spiritist. One good thing about it is that it gets you out of the mess that the term “Spiritualist” is in. “Spiritualist” seems to have too many meanings that differ from each other in significant ways. For example, in some places, a Spiritualist is anyone who has contact with spirits of any kind, and in other places, it’s a term for those who belong to classic organizations like the National Association of Spiritualist Churches (NSAC) or the Spiritualist National Union (SNU) in the UK. “Spiritist” seems to neatly avoid all this.
If you’d like to learn more about Spiritism, and Allen Kardec, it’s famous founder, see Tonia’s Examiner page.
Maybe Ouija and Alcohol do mix
Saturday, July 11th, 2009Here is an article about the Ouija board. It adds some perspectives and ideas that I hadn’t thought about before in the context of Ouija. I also discovered that Bil Wilson, one of the founders of Alcohol Anonymous, was very involved in it and also received the now-famous 12-step program ideas from the spirits..
I’ve worked with the Ouija board quite a bit, and a few years ago, with the help of the spirit folks, I developed a new board. They told me that a pencil would be good as a pointer, because they could see the graphite in it pretty well, no matter how thin it was. I hadn’t heard of it before they told me, so it was neat to read the article and learn that other people have been told the same thing.
Sir Arthur on display
Saturday, May 16th, 2009Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the famous Sherlock Holmes stories, was also quite the Spiritualist. A number of his works are on display at the University of Michigan libraries. The exhibit is titled “Clues Beyond Sherlock Holmes: The Arthur Conan Doyle Collection at Michigan.” The exhibit items range from rare editions of his early books, to photographs, pewter statues, audio recordings, and a plush dog dressed as Sherlock Holmes.
If you’d like to learn more about Sir Arthur, you should check out this site – it’s concise, very descriptive, and easy to read.
Two of my favorite things
Saturday, April 18th, 2009Spirits (and mediumship) are my favorite thing to write about. But I also like another type of spirit – wine. I got introduced to wine maybe ten years ago through a number of business dinners and the like, and over time have developed a taste for it. I’ve learned a little about it, but I’m no wine snob, that’s for sure. My attitude is that there are only two kinds of wine, the kind I like, and the kind I don’t, and over time, which-is-which may change. I’m especially partial to a good red Zinfandel. Whites are another thing altogether. I keep trying them, and I have yet to find one as good as the reds I enjoy. The only white I’ve found so far is Reisling, and I’ve had a few that are pretty good.
Anyhow, Dan Aykroyd, who was initially famous for playing on Saturday Night Live and went on to more fame and fortune, is a man after my own heart. He likes both kinds of spirits too! In this article, he talks mostly about wine and his winery, but also about being a Spiritualist and Spiritualism in his family (on page 2). Come to find out that he got started with wine in Niagara Canada, right next door to Western New York!
Beg your pardon
Friday, January 9th, 2009
Helen Duncan was a medium in the UK during World War II who was put in jail for her mediumship, based on the UK’s Witchcraft Act. During a seance, she said that a ship had sunk before it was public information. Since then, the family has asked for a pardon in 2006 but it hasn’t been granted as of 2008.
Interesting reading, if you want to learn about the bad old days of mediumship. The BBC article above mentions that people were burned alive in the street, most of which were women. Bad old days indeed.
The sad thing is that it could happen again today. If you were to learn some type of government secret through mediumship and then opened your mouth about it, you’d be in big trouble. While burning people alive is mostly out of vogue these days, you would get jail time and/or be killed as a spy or traitor anyway, depending on the country you’re in and the prevailing mood. So if you ever get such information, you would be smart to keep it quiet and wait till it’s no longer sensitive before revealing it, which could be 100 years…
Little Known Facts about Sir Arthur
Friday, January 2nd, 2009
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was not only the creator of the fictional super-detective Sherlock Holmes, but also a famous Spiritualist.
I’m sure there are many resources out there on Sir Arthur, but here’s one that’s off beat, and includes a tidbit about his funeral proceedings, which was a little unusual.
Famous Mediums and Spiritualists
Thursday, October 16th, 2008If you want to learn about people of notoriety in the world of mediumship and Spiritualism, you should check spiritwritings, which has a number of biographies, including famous folks like Andrew Jackson Davis and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. There is a rather extensive book list as well.
