My grandfather, a cynical but well read and well traveled old man, used to have a saying that he'd use all the time. He used to always say, ?they'll get you when you're coming or they'll get you when you're going.? although I think he applied this belief a little too broadly, nonetheless it is essentially true. Nowhere is it more true than in the world of mysticism. Either they'll rip you off by claiming that they have psychic abilities, or by convincing you that you can learn to have them yourself.
If you've ever seen online psychics, you know exactly what I'm talking about. There are literally thousands of these sites, claiming that they can heal you and lead you to success in love, business, and your personal life, all for only $.99 a minute. Apparently, there are many people out there who are credulous enough to believe that these people actually have psychic abilities. All I know is that if I had psychic abilities, I would not be working for $.99 a minute over the Internet.
And from there, it gets even more ridiculous. There are people who claim that they can actually teach you how to get psychic ESP powers. They claim that you can develop supernatural abilities from the comfort of your own home, provided that you buy their book. Of course, they provide no documentation to prove their claims, and so you just have to take it on faith. I have a cousin who used to read this stuff all the time. He claimed he had psychic abilities, and when I asked him to prove it to me, he accepted the challenge. He tried to read what I was thinking about, failed eight times, and then said that I just wasn't ?ready to see it? as if it were my fault that he was a fraud.
The shocking thing about many of the people who believe in psychic abilities, is that a lot of them are otherwise pretty sensible people. In most ways, my cousin is one of the most rational folks that I know, but when it turns to matters of the occult, he becomes a flake. I guess that it is important for him to believe in psychic powers. Maybe believing that he has psychic abilities gives his life some meaning and make him feel special. All I know is that it makes him look ridiculous, and that is a shame.
