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'''Sylvia Browne''' (born ] ]) is a bestselling ] ] on the subject of ] who is known as a ] and ].<ref>{{cite web '''Sylvia Browne''' (born ] ]) is a bestselling ] ] on the subject of ] who is known as a cold reader, fraud, quack.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.sylvia.org/home/about.cfm |url=http://www.sylvia.org/home/about.cfm
|title=About Sylvia Browne |title=About Sylvia Browne
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She is a weekly guest on '']'' and hosts her own hour-long show on ], discussing ] issues and giving callers advice in her role as a psychic. She is a weekly guest on '']'' and hosts her own hour-long show on ], discussing ] issues and giving callers advice in her role as a psychic.


Critics, such as ], say she is not a psychic but a ], and uses ] techniques to produce the ] of ] and ]. Browne's claims have been criticized in the media as false embarrassments.<ref>{{cite news Heroes, such as ], say she is not a psychic as she claims but a ], and uses ] techniques to produce the ] of ] and ]. Browne's claims have been criticized in the media as false embarrassments.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/roeper/222759,CST-NWS-roep22.article |url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/roeper/222759,CST-NWS-roep22.article
|title=Be not deceived: Psychics are in it for the cash, nothing more |title=Be not deceived: Psychics are in it for the cash, nothing more
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==Personal life== ==Personal life==
Born '''Sylvia Celeste Shoemaker''' in ], ], she is the elder of two daughters of Bill and Celeste Shoemaker.<ref name="NAU">{{cite news | url=http://www.novus.org/home/aumag.cfm | title=Soul Advice | publisher=] | date=December 2005 | first=Dann | last=Dulin | accessdate = 2006-08-18}}</ref> Born '''Sylvia Celeste Shoemaker''' in ], ], she is the elder of two daughters of Bill and Celeste Shoemaker.<ref name="NAU">{{cite news | url=http://www.novus.org/home/aumag.cfm | title=Soul Advice | publisher=] | date=December 2005 | first=Dann | last=Dulin | accessdate = 2006-08-18}}</ref>


Her father, Bill, was ] and Celeste was an ].<ref name="adventures">Browne, Sylvia; & Antoinette May (1990). ''Adventures of a Psychic''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc. ISBN 0-7394-0178-5</ref> Bill had many jobs including mail delivery and jewelry salesman, and served as vice president for a major freight line. Browne’s maternal grandmother, Ada Coil, who Sylvia claimed was a ] ], was a devout ].<ref name="adventures"/> To establish stability, the family decided to convert to ] and they were all ] together when Browne was a young girl. She said that visions started appearing when she was three years old and that her grandmother Ada Coil, helped her understand why she had them. Browne also asserts that her great-uncle also claimed to be a ] ] and was “rabid about UFOs”.<ref>{{cite book Her father, Bill, was ] and Celeste was an ].<ref name="adventures">Browne, Sylvia; & Antoinette May (1990). ''Adventures of a Psychic''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc. ISBN 0-7394-0178-5</ref> Bill had many jobs including mail delivery and jewelry salesman, and served as vice president for a major freight line. Browne’s maternal grandmother, Ada Coil, who Sylvia claimed was a ] ], was a devout ].<ref name="adventures"/> To establish stability, the family decided to convert to ] and they were all ] together when Browne was a young girl. She said that visions started appearing when she was three years old and that her grandmother Ada Coil, helped her understand why she had them. Browne also asserts that her great-uncle also claimed to be a ] ] and was “rabid about UFOs”.<ref>{{cite book
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Browne identified herself as having abilities beyond communication with spirits. During a ] discussion which included ] on ], ] she claimed to have "...helped child (sic) with seizures, that I cured a child with seizures. That I worked with 350 doctors. I mean, you don't know anything about this."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/03/lkl.00.html | title=Official transcript: Are Psychics Real? |publisher=] | date=] ] | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-03-15}}</ref> Browne identified herself as having abilities beyond communication with spirits. During a ] discussion which included ] on ], ] she claimed to have "...helped child (sic) with seizures, that I cured a child with seizures. That I worked with 350 doctors. I mean, you don't know anything about this."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/03/lkl.00.html | title=Official transcript: Are Psychics Real? |publisher=] | date=] ] | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-03-15}}</ref>

==Television and radio== ==Television and radio==
Browne is a frequent guest on US television and radio programs. She has appeared numerous times on '']'' as well as the '']'' and '']''. In 2005 Browne told '']'' ], a believer in the paranormal, asks her do private psychic readings.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6826824/site/newsweek/ | title=Predictions: Jacko Convicted, But Blake Gets Off| publisher=] | date= ] ] | first=Ramin | last=Setoodeh | accessdate =2007-01-31}}</ref> During these appearances she usually discusses her abilities with the host and then performs readings of audience members or callers. Browne is a frequent guest on US television and radio programs. She has appeared numerous times on '']'' as well as the '']'' and '']''. In 2005 Browne told '']'' ], a believer in the paranormal, asks her do private psychic readings.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6826824/site/newsweek/ | title=Predictions: Jacko Convicted, But Blake Gets Off| publisher=] | date= ] ] | first=Ramin | last=Setoodeh | accessdate =2007-01-31}}</ref> During these appearances she usually discusses her abilities with the host and then performs readings of audience members or callers.

Revision as of 17:38, 8 July 2007

It has been suggested that this article be merged with Criticism of Sylvia Browne. (Discuss)
Sylvia Browne
BornOctober 19 1936 (70)
Kansas City, Missouri
Occupation(s)self described psychic and medium
ChildrenChristopher Dufresne, Paul Dufresne
Websitehttp://www.sylvia.org/

Sylvia Browne (born October 19 1936) is a bestselling American author on the subject of spirituality who is known as a cold reader, fraud, quack. She is 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.

Heroes, such as James Randi, say she is not a psychic as she claims but a cold reader, and uses mentalist techniques to produce the illusion of mind reading and clairvoyance. Browne's claims have been criticized in the media as false embarrassments.

Personal life

Born Sylvia Celeste Shoemaker in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, she is the elder of two daughters of Bill and Celeste Shoemaker.

Her father, Bill, was Jewish and Celeste was an Episcopalian. Bill had many jobs including mail delivery and jewelry salesman, and served as vice president for a major freight line. Browne’s maternal grandmother, Ada Coil, who Sylvia claimed was a psychic medium, was a devout Lutheran. To establish stability, the family decided to convert to Roman Catholicism and they were all baptised together when Browne was a young girl. She said that visions started appearing when she was three years old and that her grandmother Ada Coil, helped her understand why she had them. Browne also asserts that her great-uncle also claimed to be a psychic medium and was “rabid about UFOs”.

In a March 2001 interview with Larry King, Browne stated that she is Jewish.

Browne began giving 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. Browne claims to have provided information to police departments and the FBI.

Marriage and children

She was married to Gary Dufresne from April 1959 until 1972, and is divorced from Kenzil Dalzell Brown. Sylvia acquired the surname Brown during the third of her four marriages, and enhanced it with a final e for her professional name. In September 2002 she and Larry Lee Beck ended their marriage.

Her son Christopher also claims to be a psychic, and Sylvia attributes this to a genetic predisposition. Her website says "If Sylvia is the best psychic around - then Chris is the second best."

Paranormal claims

Browne says she knows what it is like in Heaven. In her book Life on the Other Side, 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". Her granddaughter, who is purportedly psychic, claims to have witnessed the angels that Browne states come around 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.

Browne identified herself as having abilities beyond communication with spirits. During a Larry King Live discussion which included James Randi on 3 September, 2001 she claimed to have "...helped child (sic) with seizures, that I cured a child with seizures. That I worked with 350 doctors. I mean, you don't know anything about this."

Television and radio

Browne is a frequent guest on US television and radio programs. She has appeared numerous times on Larry King Live as well as the Montel Williams Show and Coast to Coast AM. In 2005 Browne told Newsweek Larry King, a believer in the paranormal, asks her do private psychic readings. During these appearances she usually discusses her abilities with the host and then performs readings of audience members or callers.

On some occasions other guests at her appearances have included skeptics, with James Randi being one of the more frequent. These shows often feature verbal sparring between the two, with both trying to convince the audience that the other is wrong. In March 2004, their feud escalated on the popular St. Louis radio program, The Paul Harris Show, when Randi came out and called Browne a liar, referring to her claims about Randi's Million Dollar Challenge and other statements she had made about Randi.

Browne has also appeared on the television soap opera The Young and the Restless as herself in December 2006.

Books, business, and church

Browne has written a number of books. She is the head of the Sylvia Browne Corporation, 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, and 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 "marvelous book" and should be used as a teaching tool, it is not the "unaltered word of God". The tenets of the church have expanded, as discussed in her 2006 book "Exploring the Levels of Creation", including the idea a "Mother God" and "Father God". She further elaborated about this during a segment on the Montel Williams show while promoting the book.

Legal issues and criminal conviction

In 1992, Browne and her estranged husband were indicted on several charges of investment fraud and grand theft. The Superior Court of Santa Clara County, California, found that Browne and her husband sold securities in a gold-mining venture under false pretenses. In at least one instance, they told a couple their US $20,000 investment was to be used for immediate operating costs. Instead, the money was transferred to an account for their Nirvana Foundation for Psychic Research. Browne pled no contest to securities fraud and was indicted on grand larceny in Santa Clara County, California on May 26 1992.

Court documents show that Sylvia and her estranged husband Kenzil Dalzell Brown pleaded no contest to a felony charge of "sale of security without permit," made restitution, and received one year probation each. Dalzell's disposition included "County Jail 4 months with credit for time served of 21 days," while Sylvia's included 200 hours of community service.

Criticism and controversy

Main article: Criticism of Sylvia Browne

Browne has come under extensive criticism.

Concerning Browne's securities fraud conviction, the June 6 1992, the San Francisco Chronicle said that "Sylvia Browne claimed to have strong psychic 'feelings' that the mine would pay off." Browne said her inability to foresee her conviction was due to the fact that her psychic abilities do not work on herself.

In terms of her predictions, critics claim that she is a fraud who uses cold reading and other techniques. During the 2006 Sago Mine disaster while Browne was on Coast to Coast AM, a report that 12 of the 13 trapped miners were still alive didn't surprise Browne as she stated that she knew that they would be found. While she was still on the air the initial news report was found to be incorrect, 12 had died and only one survived. A number of critics castigated her such as FOX News reporter, Roger Friedman, in a critical piece entitled, "TV Psychic Misses mark on Miners". Skeptic James Randi wrote on his website "For anyone not familiar with the methods of these charlatans, this would appear to be a calamitous failure, a blow-out, a total screw-up - but not to anyone familiar with the callous lies of Sylvia Browne".

Randi has also repeatedly offered Browne the opportunity to take the James Randi Educational Foundation's $1,000,000 challenge. On September 3 2001, Browne stated on Larry King Live that she would accept the $1,000,000 challenge to demonstrate supernatural abilities in a controlled scientific test. However, as of 2007, Browne has not taken the challenge.

Books authored by Sylvia Browne

  • Browne, Sylvia; & Antoinette May (1990). Adventures of a Psychic Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc. ISBN 0-7394-0178-5
  • Browne, Sylvia; & Harrison Lindsay (1999). The Other Side and Back: A Psychic's Guide to Our World and Beyond New York, NY: Signet. ISBN 0-451-19863-8
  • Browne, Sylvia; & Harrison Lindsay (2000). Life on the Other Side: A Psychic's Tour of the Afterlife Dutton Adult. ISBN 0-525-94539-3
  • Browne, Sylvia; (2000). God, Creation, and Tools for Life Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc. ISBN 1-56170-722-8
  • Browne, Sylvia; (2000). Astrology Through A Psychic's Eyes Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc. ISBN 1-56170-720-1
  • Browne, Sylvia; & Harrison Lindsay (2000). Blessings From the Other Side New York, NY: New American Library. ISBN 0-525-94574-1
  • Browne, Sylvia; & Harrison Lindsay (2003). Visits form the Afterlife New York, NY: New American Library. ISBN 0-525-94756-6
  • Browne, Sylvia; (2003). Book of Angels Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc. ISBN 1-4019-0193-X
  • Browne, Sylvia; (2004). Mother God: The Feminine Principle to Our Creator Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc. ISBN 1-4019-0309-6
  • Browne, Sylvia; & Harrison Lindsay (2004). Prophecy: What the Future Holds for You New York, NY: Dutton. ISBN 0-525-94822-8
  • Browne, Sylvia; (2005). Contacting Your Spirit Guide Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc. ISBN 1-4019-0532-3
  • Browne, Sylvia; (2005). Secrets & Mysteries of the World Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc. ISBN 1-4019-0458-0
  • Browne, Sylvia; (2005). Phenomenon: Everything You Need to Know About the Paranormal New York, NY: Dutton. ISBN 0-525-94911-9
  • Browne, Sylvia; (2006). If You Could see What I See: The Tenets of Novus Spiritus Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc. ISBN 1-4019-0648-6
  • Browne, Sylvia; (2006). Exploring the Levels of Creation Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc. ISBN 1-4019-0891-8
  • Browne, Sylvia; (2006). Insight: Case Files from the Psychic World New York, NY: Dutton. ISBN 0-525-94955-0
  • Browne, Sylvia; (2006). The Mystical Life of Jesus New York, NY: Dutton. ISBN 0-5259-5001-X

References

  1. Browne, Sylvia. "About Sylvia Browne". Retrieved 2007-01-02.
  2. Roeper, Richard (January 22 2007). "Be not deceived: Psychics are in it for the cash, nothing more". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2007-01-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. Boyle, Christina (January 18 2007). "She told them boy was dead: Crystal ball fails psychic in Mo. kidnap". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2007-01-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) (Link dead as of April 8 2007)
  4. Wright, Leif (January 25 2007). "Leif Wright column: Dupe or no dupe: Show exposes the superstition in nearly all of us". Muskogee Phoenix. Retrieved 2007-01-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Dulin, Dann (December 2005). "Soul Advice". A&U Magazine. Retrieved 2006-08-18.
  6. ^ Browne, Sylvia; & Antoinette May (1990). Adventures of a Psychic. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc. ISBN 0-7394-0178-5
  7. Browne, Sylvia (2005). Secrets & Mysteries of the World. Hay House. pp. 94–96. ISBN 1401900852.
  8. ^ King, Larry (March 6 2001). "Are Psychics for Real?". CNN/Larry King Live. Retrieved 2006-08-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. Nickell, Joe (September 2005). "Sylvia Browne's Latest: Ghost-Written?". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  10. Santa Clara County Court, Number: 1-02-FL-104268, Larry Lee Beck And Sylvia Celeste Browne, Dissolution Of Marriage/No Minor Children
  11. ^ "Novus Spiritus- FAQ". Novus Spiritus, Founder Sylvia Browne. 2006. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |retrieved= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  12. Browne, Sylvia (July 17 2000). "Life on the Other Side: A Psychic's Tour of the Afterlife ISBN 0-525-94539-3". Dutton Adult . {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. King, Larry (May 16 2003). "Larry King Live: Interview With Sylvia Browne". CNN/Larry King Live. Retrieved 2006-08-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. Larsen, Claus (January 2003). "Sylvia Browne: Fast-Food Psychic". Skeptic Report. Retrieved 2006-08-18.
  15. "Official transcript: Are Psychics Real?". Larry King Live. September 3 2001. Retrieved 2007-03-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. Setoodeh, Ramin (January 14 2005). "Predictions: Jacko Convicted, But Blake Gets Off". Newsweek. Retrieved 2007-01-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. Browne vs Randi March 2003 The Paul Harris Show
  18. Adams, Diane. "Young and the Restless Recap: [[December 18]] [[2006]]". Retrieved 2007-01-28. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  19. "Novus Spiritus- The Bible". Novus Spiritus, Founder Sylvia Browne.
  20. transcript of segment available from StopSylviaBrowne.com.
  21. ^ Nickell, Joe (2004). "Psychic Sylvia Browne once failed to foresee her own criminal conviction". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved 2006-08-18.
  22. "Spiritualist, Ex-Husband Plead No Contest in Securities Case" by Bill Romano, San Jose Mercury News March 9, 1993
  23. "Psychic Gets 1-Year Probation For 'Good Feelings' About Venture," by Sandra Gonzales San Jose Mercury News December 18, 1993
  24. "TV Psychic Misses Mark on Miners". FOX News. Retrieved 2006-08-01. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Unknown parameter |Last= ignored (|last= suggested) (help)
  25. Randi, James (January 6 2006). "In Conclusion". James Randi Educational Foundation. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |retrieved= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  26. Randi, James. "Sylvia Browne's Clock-Update". James Randi Educational Foundation. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |retrieved= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

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