4459 1571744592	The Truth About Medium: Extraordinary Experiments with the real Allison DuBois of NBC's Medium and other Remarkable Psychics Gary Schwartz         Support This Website! As an Amazon Affiliate, your purchase of this item provides needed financial support. Thank you!
Description At first glance, the title of this book is a little confusing as one is inclined to wonder why "Medium" is singular. However, the subtitle explains that the reference is to NBC's hit drama, Medium, based on the life of true-life medium Allison DuBois. And while the title also suggests an expose' of some kind, it is definitely not that, although the author points out that the television program is not completely based on fact. Dr. Gary Schwartz, the author, is the director of the Human Energy Systems Laboratory at the University of Arizona. In his 2002 book, The Afterlife Experiments, he detailed his early research with mediums, including John Edward, who hosted a popular television program, Crossing Over, for several years. This book picks up where Schwartz left off in the 2002 book, discussing his continuing research with other mediums, including DuBois. Schwartz clearly validates and praises DuBois and the other mediums discussed in the book. "As far as I can tell, they have an extraordinary and genuine gift," he writes. "They can do specific things with their minds - getting accurate information about deceased loved ones - that I had been educated to believe was impossible." Schwartz explains how he first met DuBois and her then medium-mentor, Catherine Yunt, and how he initially put them to the test. He also discusses subsequent experiments, including one with popular spiritual author Deepak Chopra and another in which the late Princess Diana seems to have communicated to a British journalist who had been a friend when Lady Di was alive. While recognizing that much of what he relates in the book will exceed the "boggle threshold" of many readers and will result in more hissing from his cat-like colleagues, Schwartz courageously pushes on in the pursuit of truth, pointing out that if we become more "survival-minded" we can find new meaning in life. While admitting that his current experiments do not provide definitive proof of survival of consciousness after death, he concludes that the available evidence is consistent with survival. Schwartz concludes the book with a prediction that "those of us who hunger for understanding the existence of life and the meaning of love will at some point be able to celebrate the reality of spirit and soul, and the magnificent intelligence of a universe that has equipped our species with the potential to discover scientifically this fundamental spiritual truth." As Schwartz states in the Introduction, if you already believe in survival of consciousness after death, the book "will make your heart smile." If you don't believe in survival and are befogged and cramped with lifelong materialistic prejudices, you'll probably just get a headache, assuming you take the time to read it. If, however, if you don't believe in survival but are open-minded, you may very well find yourself rethinking your earlier position. Unfortunately, you'll likely find many people in the second category - the pseudo-skeptics with blinded eyes and cloudy intelligence proudly parading under the "science" banner - attempting to discredit Schwartz, calling his research faulty and saying he is a traitor to science. They know nothing of the extensive research carried out by other esteemed scientists, such as Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir William Barrett, Sir William Crookes, Dr. James H. Hyslop, Dr. Richard Hodgson, and many others who came to the same conclusion as Schwartz after extensive studies of mediums. But these scientific fundamentalists along with the religious fundamentalists, who see it all as demonic, may very well be a necessary evil. Back in 1854, Victor Hugo, the famous French author, was communicating with high spirits through a medium and asked why God does not better reveal himself. The reply came: "Because doubt is the instrument which forges the human spirit. If the day were to come when the human spirit no longer doubted, the human soul would fly off and leave the plough behind, for it would have acquired wings. The earth would lie fallow. Now, God is the sower and man the harvester. The celestial seed demands that the human ploughshare remain in the furrow of life." In effect, absolute proof is not a good thing. However, for those who choose to give up ignorance and blind faith for the conviction that comes from research such as that being done by Schwartz, life, especially the final years, can be so much more enjoyable.
About the Author Gary E. Schwartz, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology, medicine, neurology, psychiatry, and surgery at the University of Arizona and director of its Human Energy Systems Laboratory. He received his doctorate from Harvard University, and has served as a professor of psychology and psychiatry at Yale University, director of the Yale Psychophysiology Center, and co-director of the Yale Behavioral Medicine Clinic. Explore similar items Life After Death: the Lab Evidence (Audio on Demand - The Unexplained) Afterlife Encounters: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Experiences (Books - New Science) The G.O.D. Experiments: How Science Is Discovering God In Everything, Including Us (Books - New Science) The Afterlife Experiments : Breakthrough Scientific Evidence of Life After Death (Books - New Science) List all New Science List all Books List all Books within New Science category