MEDIA INTEGRITY ALERT: Oprah Promotes the Paranormal Again!
SkeptInq@aol.com
Fri, 18 Sep 1998 11:54:21 EDT
COUNCIL FOR MEDIA INTEGRITY ALERT
<A HREF="http://www.csicop.org/cmi/">http://www.csicop.org/cmi/</A>
OPRAH WINFREY PROMOTES MEDICAL INTUITIVE CAROLYNN MYSS
Yesterday, Oprah Winfrey did it again. She devoted an entire program to a
guest touting paranormal abilities without providing scientific, critical
balance. Medical intuitive Caroline Myss appeared claiming to diagnose
audience members using only her "visionary powers." Like James Van Praagh and
other guests in the past, Winfrey promoted Myss' books and seminars.
Promotional copy for the program from Oprah Winfrey's website is provided
below. You can check it out for yourself by going to:
<A HREF="http://www.oprah.com/show/scoop.html">http://www.oprah.com/show/scoop
.html</A>
SKEPTICS NEED TO RESPOND. Uncritical presentations of the paranormal and
pseudoscience sway public opinion and belief, especially when touted by cult
of personality celebrities like Oprah Winfrey.
E-MAIL OPRAH at HarpoScoop@aol.com and demand that future programming provide
balanced scientific criticism.
IF YOU WATCHED YESTERDAY'S PROGRAM you can post a review by going to CSICOP's
Council for Media Integrity Website at
<A HREF="http://www.csicop.org/cmi/reviews/submit.html">
http://www.csicop.org/cmi/reviews/submit.html</A>.
READ A REVIEW OF CAROLINE MYSS' BOOK by CSICOP Senior Research Fellow Joe
Nickell by going to:
<A HREF="http://www.csicop.org/articles/myss/index.html">http://www.csicop.org
/articles/myss/index.html</A>
___________________________________________________________________
PROMOTIONAL COPY FROM OPRAH WINFREY'S WEBSITE
<A HREF="http://www.oprah.com/show/scoop.html">
http://www.oprah.com/show/scoop.html</A>
In Search of Wellness
Caroline Myss is nothing short of amazing. Time and again on today's show she
pinpointed the causes (and often, the cures) of our audience members'
maladies. Caroline is not a gifted physician, but a medical intuitive who uses
only a patient's name and age -- and her own gifts -- to diagnose with 93%
accuracy. Her visionary powers extend far beyond the origins of illness,
however, illuminating the core of what it means to be physically, mentally and
emotionally "healthy."
A Life of Power
Caroline has possessed her gift since childhood. During the show she told a
wonderful story of reading a friend's mother and stating that her second
marriage wasn't consummated -- without knowing the meaning of the word. As an
adult Caroline has lectured to thousands, appeared in dozens of newspaper and
magazine articles, and written two best-selling books
-- Anatomy of the Spirit and Why People Don't Heal and How They Can.
The Power of Our Spirit
Caroline says her gift has nothing to do with being "psychic" (a word she
dislikes). Instead, she believes her skill is something we're all born with.
We can all sense when something is wrong with someone else. "It's a basic part
of the human design," she says. The difference is simply that her skill is
more refined, and if there's one basic message to her teachings it is "we have
to listen to the power of our spirit."
Terrifying Things
Spirit or intuition, according to Caroline, is that part of us that kicks in
before the intellect. "What people think is intuition and what I know it to be
are different," she explains. "What people want is the power to see the future
so they can outrun fate." Instead, intuition is an energy that most often
calls for change. That can be overwhelming, because "change is the most
terrifying thing in the world to people."
It's random and means a loss of control -- "the second-most terrifying thing
in the world."
Forgive and Get
One audience member who Caroline read -- Brad, a 38-year-old man who's
suffered from migraine headaches since he was 12 -- suffers from anger and
disappointment. "Your fundamental question is, Why isn't this working? It's
like a mantra," said Caroline, who added that forgiveness is the key to
healing, saying "I'm no longer going to trust the fact that life should be
logical and orderly. It doesn't work that way. I'm not going to count on
ordinary justice to work the way I'd like it to work. One of the first codes
of healing is make no judgments, have no expectations and give up the need to
know why things happen as they do."
Remembering Your Spirit
Today we also learned that anything can help you remember your spirit. We
heard from a woman who swings on her porch, using that space and time to bond
with her children, spend time with her husband and gain a sense of calm,
security, and hope for the future. How do you remember your spirit? Tell us in
the What Brings You Happiness entry inside Be on the Show!
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