psychic abilities

Psychic phenomena has been popular throughout the world for many years. Throughout all cultures, there is some sort of belief in things that are paranormal, or psychic. In the past, psychic abilities were actually held in prestige, and people made life decisions based on the predictions of soothsayers, clairvoyants, and tarot readings. Nowadays, such things do not hold such precedence over people’s daily lives, but many people like to check magazines and newspapers for daily horoscopes, and call psychic hotlines advertised on television. Whether real or false, psychics and psychic abilities are at some point part of many people’s lives.

 

The word “psychic” is derived from the Greek word “psychikos” meaning mind or of the mind. People who believe themselves to have psychic abilities believe they can Access information not accessible to normal people. These abilities are accessed through Extra Sensory Perception. During earlier times, things such as astrology and fortune-telling were commonly practiced. People with psychic abilities were seen as advisors to other people’s lives, and even as judges. One famous psychic is Nostradamus, who made predictions in the 1800’s. His predictions are well read and referred to today. Some of Nostradamus’ predictions are also believed to have come into fruition.

 

In modern times, the psychic has become somewhat of a commodity. In the 1990’s, telephone psychic hotlines were vastly popular, and people called in by the millions to get advice about their personal lives. One such popular phone psychic was the infamous Ms. Cleo. However, she was later found out to be a fraud using a fake Jamaican accent. Many psychics, or people who claim to be psychics, have managed to make large businesses profiting from psychic abilities, and books, television shows, and other media based on those abilities.  Sylvia Browne and John Edwards are amongst the psychics have made fortunes amazing millions with their alleged psychic abilities to see the deceased, solve crimes and tell the future. With fame, comes great skepticism. Many challengers of Sylvia Browne have broadly researched her predictions and found many of them to be false, despite her claims of 85% accuracy. She had made various predictions of famous cases, and was grossly wrong on all of them. Despite this, she continues to profit from her television shows, websites, and books. John Edwards was also subject to equal scrutiny. It is reported that he made many wrong predictions on his television show, which also was reported to be heavily edited.

 

Despite the controversies surrounding famous psychics, people continue to pay for telephone readings, tarot card readings and consultations with psychics. Many people rely on people with psychic abilities to make major decisions in their lives. While scientific evidence has not proven the existence of psychic abilities or phenomena, there is still a commonly held belief in these abilities. Whether or not they may be real, it may never be discovered, but not all has to have a basis in science.