To ask if anyone has ever had an irrefutable experience with a psychic?

[BlueDressingGown]

I'm just going to be really honest and say that the reason I'm asking this is because I'm afraid of death. I really want to believe that there is something after death, and so in the past I've thought about speaking to a psychic. If they could tell me one thing - just one thing that couldn't be explained away - I could say to myself 'Ok, there is something else out there' and be content and not let the idea of 'the end' terrify me too much. Yes I should probably seek counseling.

So my question is - does anyone have an irrefutable experience with a psychic - something they were told that can't be explained away? Mostly the experiences seem to point towards it all being a load of hooey (which is what I believe, but I want to believe it's not). Psychics seem to give very general readings and most are frauds that pick up on things that the person has said and regurgitates them, right? My friend saw a psychic and apparently her dead father 'came through' and told her that she was having her garden done - and it was true! Like your dad would bother coming up from the spirit world to tell you some mundane crap from your own life that you already knew!

Yes a photo of my deceased grandmother sitting on a wall with her dog! Also my mother was with me. Before meeting my father she had been engaged to someone who died, she kept her old engagement ring hidden in a drawer-I had seen it and the ring part was broken-an image of this ring appeared in the crystal ball.
This is true and I do not know how to explain it.

PS-I had never seen that particular photo of my Gran-so I don't think it was one we had.

OP, you know perfectly well that the only 'irrefutable' experiences you will have recounted on this thread are ones written by credulous or vulnerable people, or people who were very young, or people who have subsequently convinced themselves that something irrefutable happened, because, let's face it, it's a better story of Madame Doris foresees the car accident/lottery win/triplet pregnancy than if she doesn't.

You could easily start a thread saying 'Did anyone go to see a psychic/medium just before a car crash/lottery win/triplet pregnancy, and the psychic didn't 'see' it at all?' and get hundreds of cheerful replies detailing the time Great-Auntie Mavis went to a medium who told her lovely messages about missing brooches and creaking wardrobe doors from dead family members, and was then knocked down by a bus on the way home.

And, coming back to your fear of death, would you really want the 'guarantee' of an afterlife? The afterlife promised by notorious fake mediums like Doris Stokes are attractively non-specific - no suffering, family members looking after one another etc - but what if one of the major religions' afterlife was what transpired? Would you want to know that you were being judged and sent to hell or purgatory for the sins of your lifetime? Would you want to actually believe in a doctrine of reincarnation that saw you sent back as some 'lower' form of a life because of what you had done in this lifetime?

If you think about it, there's nothing cosy about the belief in an afterlife/The ones promoted by most major religions are frightening and punitive. Isn't simply ceasing to be, and the recognition that we make our own meanings, a more positive way to live?

I wouldn't call my experience irrefutable-I am just recording what happened.
I don't consider myself either vulnerable or credulous.
I think a lot of "accurate" readings are based on internet research these days-if the psychic has any information about you at all.

However I stand by my description of the incident with the crystal ball.
I think my Mum was vulnerable at the time as she had had a series of bereavements and was looking for something.
Personally I just went with her and was open minded, leaning towards expecting rubbish-like "Do you know someone whose name begins with the letter J?"
OP, re death-if there is an afterlife you will still be you-if there isn't you won't know anything about it.
Better to put it from your mind and enjoy the life you have.

In 1996 magician and skeptic James Randi offered 1 million dollars to anyone who could demonstrate paranormal activity.
It remains uncollected.

A few years ago I was waiting at a bus stop with an older lady who appeared completely normal (when I say older, I mean in her 50s maybe, I was early 20s at the time). We had a wee chat about the bus being late, and whether it was going to rain and then she said out of nowhere "oh love, don't be sad about your baby, she was never going to survive, and you won't replace her, but you will have children, just not for a while".
I just stared at her then kind of mumbled "ok, right, thanks" and was mightily relieved when the bus came along!
I had lost a baby a year or so prior to this, and it was 7 years later before I had ds1, so she was right.....but I have no idea if she said mad stuff like that to people at bus stops all the time.

dominogacatgo

In 1996 magician and skeptic James Randi offered 1 million dollars to anyone who could demonstrate paranormal activity. It remains uncollected

Sorry to be a pedant, but Randi actually started the offer in 1964

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Million_Dollar_Paranormal_Challenge

• (it was increased to $1,000,000 in 1996.)

Thought I'd butt in here, as it makes it harder to claim it's not been won yet because "it's not even been 20 years". It's been 51 years. And no one has come remotely close. Funny that.

I went to a spiritualist church once with a group of friends from work - in the days before the internet. One of them was given an incredibly detailed 'reading' or whatever it is they do there. Others in the congregation were given very general readings where you think "yeah, yeah", but the bloke from our group was pretty shaken up by it - and yes, he was he a complete sceptic and had only come at the last minute because he fancied one of our group.

Most of it is complete hooey though.

No, nobody has ever, ever had an irrefutable experience with a psychic.

It's all smoke and mirrors. People cannot, categorically, talk to the dead.

"She was warned to be careful when driving" - well that applies to everyone driving, doesn't it? Wouldn't exactly call this an accurate prediction. But if anything that happens in traffic after that, from accident to minor scrape or any remotely dangerous situation, people will go "See! she knew!"

OP, maybe some counseling for your anxiety would be a better option?

I'm a non believer, but after my mum died I went to see a spiritualist.

I'd never seen the woman before, I don't have any public media profiles. She asked me to tell her nothing.

She was unbelievable. Told me everything about my dad who died when I was young, including his name. Named all other dead relatives. Talked about stuff down here, which she had no way of knowing, just no way at all. She was in a different town, and didn't even know my name. Told me about stuff in my childhood, which would never be known.

I still continue to not believe, but went back about 6 years later. again didn't give my name of any details. She was fucking amazing again. Just unbelievable.

I still don't believe, but am just not sure what to think. That woman didn't even know my name, but could tell me stuff that was just mind blowing

I played poker with tarot cards once.

I got a full house and four people died.

Psychics I don't believe in. No one can predict the future. What happens after we die I am not so sure about.

Have seen one medium who was very specific. She said she was in touch with two people who knew me, and gave me very specific information from both. Such as dying that it was a specific person's birthday and could I call them (this person was close to a family member who died, but not me and I did not know it was their birthday. And it was). However they gave no information about the future. I think that there might be something after we die, but that when you pass over you don't know everything or suddenly get all the answers.

saying not dying

Sorry, but no. It's BS.

I really don't buy the 'I was a total sceptic but I went along and they told me x, y or z and it was scarily accurate'

I am a complete sceptic, so wouldn't waste my time and money going to listen to someone I consider to be a liar and a fraudster.

The fact that people are prepared to go and waste their money on what is essentially a fairground act suggests that on some level they're prepared to accept the possibility that there may be some merit to it.

I went when I was 18 with a friend.

She didn't know I was coming and it was way before the internet. She knew who I would marry, how many children I would have, where I would live (on the other side of the world.. Not a concept I could really even grasp at that point ...Leave my country..Just was not happening) And that we would be financially quite okay.

I don't want to believe as my mind tells this cannot be. This is illogical.

However I listened to things that have subsequently come true... Things that no one could have known.

Or stories of kids with memories they shouldn't have of being fighter pilots etc.

It doesn't make sense. But one thing I do know is that, we as human beings, know very very little and even the things we think we know are constantly changing.

there was a similar thread where someone told a story about her great aunt (iirc), who had also seen a psychic and claimed that all significant life events she later had were accurately predicted by that psychic.
After she died, they found a note that she had written soon after visiting the psychic all those years ago, describing the predictions.

Surprisingly, they were totally off.

I'm not a believer generally, but many years ago I went with a friend to see one (her appointment, not mine). It was pre internet and she had no idea I was going along as it was a last minute thing. The stuff she told my friend about the future etc was pretty generic, but part way through her session she turned to me and told me not to worry about my grandad (who was in hospital at the time) as my nana was looking out for him and waiting for him to join her - she then told me my nana's name Esther Mary. My nana passed when I was 7 and I didn't know her middle name myself until I asked my mum when I got home. I've never been able to explain this and have to say it gave me comfort when my grandad died a few days later. I still don't really know whether I believe or not, but I do know that 99.9999% of the "mediums" out there are are fakes and I would never part with money to see one, but I can't explain what happened all those years ago!

Many years ago when I was a student, my friends and I went to a summer fair thing in our university town, just before the end of term. There was a little trailer and a fortune telling psychic man with pics of himself with celebs and stuff pinned up. For a bit of fun we decided I should get my fortune read.

I don't remember everything he said, but one thing was a woman I was close to was going to pass away next February, but I wouldn't be too sad because she'd had a good, long life. Well, obviously I was a student and so it's an easy guess that I might still have a grandparent. I joked to my dad that this guy had told me Grannie (in her 80s) was going to die in February. She wasn't even ill at the time. Well guess what, Grannie died on a few months later, in February!

The other thing I remember was him asking what I studied at university. I said computers and he shook his head confusedly and said "oh no, you're not going to work in computers - you're going to work in arts, performing... something like that". Up until then, I'd sung in the school choir and been part of a musical at my village Sunday school (virtually all the kids in the village were in it!). I worked in computers for a little while after university, then 3 years ago I became a professional singer and I only recently remembered that guy's prediction finally came true.

I don't believe the guy is psychic, but it showed how bloody good he was at what he did. He must have picked up stuff that I didn't even realise I'd said because it obviously involved various questions. Perhaps I let on somehow that I liked music and the thing about Grannie was a lucky guess (and rather bold to specifiy a timeframe!). I've admired the skill involved and think he could have given Derren Brown a run for his money given the opportunity.

I'm a non believer, but after my mum died I went to see a spiritualist.

I'd never seen the woman before, I don't have any public media profiles. She asked me to tell her nothing.

She was unbelievable. Told me everything about my dad who died when I was young, including his name. Named all other dead relatives. Talked about stuff down here, which she had no way of knowing, just no way at all. She was in a different town, and didn't even know my name. Told me about stuff in my childhood, which would never be known.

I still continue to not believe, but went back about 6 years later. again didn't give my name of any details. She was fucking amazing again. Just unbelievable.

I still don't believe, but am just not sure what to think. That woman didn't even know my name, but could tell me stuff that was just mind blowing

Many years ago, when I was 22 my then BF (now DH) and I went to a psychic meeting, just for a laugh.

The 'psychic' pointed at me and said 'Who's pregnant?' I said 'Me' and she smiled triumphantly.
I was almost 9 months gone and the size of a house!

She also mentioned various other things to me and possible dead relatives: no accuracy whatsoever.

I did see a jawdropping and utterly convincing psychic demonstration on stage last year, however.
It was Derren Brown!

OP you might enjoy Colm Keane's books, Going Home and Distant Shores, which are a collection of stories from people who have had messages from deceased loved ones. They're very comforting reads.

Went to one with friends from work, it was a night out for a laugh. Nothing very exciting except when she commented on a forthcoming wedding. I said something about it being my sister next year. She said no it will be this year and you won't go. I said I was a bridesmaid and it was next year, maybe a different wedding. She said it was this wedding but my sister would marry overseas and no family would be there.

Well my sister was marrying an Arab guy, due to political situation in his country they realised he wouldn't get permission to come so she packed in her job, went over there and got married.

Don't know how to explain it, was it just a bizarre coincidence or what? I don't believe in psychics but it was a bit strange.

Someone else linked this on a similar thread, I thought it brilliantly conveyed how convincing 'psychics' can be

m.youtube.com/watch?v=F7pYHN9iC9I