I know what you did...

[pbray]

Last night the STAR RWA chapter kicked off their annual conference with a presentation by local psychic Phil Jordan, and I went along with jennifer_dunne so she didn't have to drive alone.

I'm a tad conflicted when it comes to psychics. I firmly believe that some people have psychic abilities, but I'd prefer if they kept their knowledge to themselves, thank you very much. It's certainly not the kind of thing that a properly bred New Englander would ever do in public.

I wasn't enthused about the talk--all I basically knew about Phil was that for many years he had done a dinner theater show in the area where he did readings for the audience. Honestly I was expecting something like "Crossing Over With John Edwards" only tackier.

I had chosen a seat at a table in the back, but as luck would have it, when Phil came in he wound up sitting next to me. I took a deep breath, introduced myself, shook hands with Phil and his assistant, and then turned on the "gracious hostess" switch which is another product of my New England breeding. We may not like you, but we can kill you with politeness.

When it came time for his talk, Phil turned out to be an engaging speaker, telling tales of his childhood, how he came into his psychic abilities, and discussing stories of his work with various law enforcement agencies. He answered questions including one on the portrayals of psychics in the media (he likes how the show Medium portrays psychic visions). He finished up by doing several readings for the audience, where the visions ranged from the mundane (a failing deck for one person, plumbing problems for another) to the life-changing (a granddaughter in one woman's future). Some of his information was absolutely dead-on, and since I knew the audience members I'm also confident that he couldn't have been fed this information ahead of time. Other information seemed off to me, but without interrogating the person who received the reading it's difficult to judge.

To sum it up, all in all it was an interesting night.

Comments

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Ooh. That does sound like an interesting evening. Kinda wish I coulda gone!

[libwitch.livejournal.com]

I actually work very closely with a number of psychics from Canada and US, and man, I so dislike Jordan. I find him to be arrogant, and he frequently does get information fed ahead of time. I walked in on such a discussion that he was having with a hostess of a party.

Of course, he also refuses to read with groups of less then 15 when he does group work. Why? Because that way his odds of getting somethign right increases - he can make a statement that hints to a pregnancy, and chances are good someone will show a slight reaction.

But then again, thats just me. I have just seen that other side of him too much - especially when I have worked with other psychics who I have seen give cold readings.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Fascinating that you've had a chance to work with other psychics. How did you meet them and what kind of work do you do with them?

As for Jordan, I had the feeling that his readings were a mix of talent and showmanship, but assigning percentages between the two is where things would get interesting. The one person I was sure of was my friend Thea, since I walked in from the parking lot to the event with her, and thus knew neither he nor his assistant had a chance to chat her up (or overhear her) before his talk. So if her son in the army does produce a granddaughter in the next two years, I'll have to mark that down as a confirmed positive.

[libwitch.livejournal.com]

It started with working on occasion with a friend who is a professional tarot reader (she and I are both certified readers through the American Tarot Association, I think its called - its been along day). I started meeting others when she did shows...and then it just networked out. There are a lot of damn good readers in Cananda, where you really can make your living doing this sort of thing. I also know a lot of people who are trained psychics in Spirtiualism through the time I spent in Fredonia, which is right outside of Lilydale.

One even you might want to check out is the MUM fair in Allentown....it happens right around the automn equinox every year. ITs hundreds of psychics, readers and healers in one place. Very cool.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Interesting. jennifer_dunne is also a tarot reader. I tend to ask her opinion on this kind of stuff since she's also good at picking out genuine talent from the frauds and wannabes.

My personal bias is that I don't want to know. I won't ask and you won't tell works for me.

Though once when I was in college I went with some friends to a palm reader, only to have the reader refuse to tell my fortune. I've inherited a family trait where my palms are covered with hundreds of lines, and this apparently overwhelmed the poor woman who gave me a refund and then asked me to leave :-)