Psychic: Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne is arguably the most well-known "celebrity psychic," with over forty books to her name, countless television and radio appearances, an immensely popular website, a non-profit organization dedicated to paranormal research, and her own church, Novus Spiritus, a Gnostic Christian house of worship. She has read for thousands of individuals and groups, and her clients include many well-known figures in entertainment, sports and politics. Her work has done much to popularize the new age movement, psychic practices and spiritual/paranormal concepts for the mainstream.
Because Sylvia Browne has been the most prominent psychic reader in the United States, she has been the target of many skeptics seeking to discredit not only her but the whole idea of psychic reading. While there have been a number of high-profile "misses" as far as her predictions have been concerned, there have been far more "hits" not mentioned in most reports. Whether or not you believe in her bona fide credentials as a psychic reader, and you may not, if you pay heed to the skeptics, you have to respect her for having helped so many millions of individuals to find meaning with her work.
Sylvia Browne: Childhood and Family
Sylvia Browne has been giving psychic readings for her entire life. At the ripe old age of 75, she shows no signs of stopping. Born in Springfield, MO, Browne's entire extended family has psychic gifts. Her great uncle was a UFO enthusiast and psychic reader, and her grandmother introduced her to the gift when she complained, as a child, of recurring visions.
Sylvia Browne has apparently passed the gift on to her son Christopher as well. Browne's website reports that, "if Sylvia is the best psychic in the world, Christopher is the second-best."
Legal Issues
Browne was convicted of grand theft and investment fraud in 1992; however, this hasn't diminished her popularity at all. Many of her supporters were convinced that the trial was invalid, and few people mention this episode in her history.
Moving Forward
Sylvia Browne's latest addition to her organization is the Sylvia Browne Hypnosis Training Center, a school for anyone who wants to help heal people through proven therapeutic hypnosis methods. Hypnosis is a powerful tool for behavior modification, and it is just one of many in Sylvia Browne's bag of tricks. She also plays an increasingly active role in her church, nominally Christian but open to adherents of all religious traditions.
Whatever you believe about her skills, Sylvia Browne is a psychic reader who has walked the walk all her life. She holds her core spiritual beliefs in angels, past lives and other paranormal concepts very dear to her heart, and this level of involvement is obvious to any who receive a reading from her.