James Van Praagh (b. August 23, 1958, Bayside, New York) is a and best-selling author and psychic medium. He has written several books dealing with spirituality. From 2002 to 2003, he hosted a syndicated daytime talk show entitled "Beyond With James Van Praagh." He subsequently partnered with CBS to produce several tv-movies and mini-series based on his books, including "Living With The Dead" and "The Dead Will Tell." He is currently the co-Executive Producer of the television series Ghost Whisperer on CBS. is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A typical residential street in Bayside. ... “NY” redirects here. ... Psychic is a term relating to or denoting paranormal extra-sensory abilities or phenomena that are apparently inexplicable by known natural laws, since they transcend the confines of our current understanding of what a human being is capable of. ... Mediumship is a term used mostly in spiritualism to denote the ability to produce psi phenomena of a mental or physical nature. ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ... CBS Broadcasting, Inc. ... Ghost Whisperer is an American television drama-fantasy-thriller that premiered on CBS September 23, 2005. ... CBS Broadcasting, Inc. ...

Early Life and Career

Van Praagh was raised as a Roman Catholic and at the age of fourteen began studying at a seminary; however he has described himself as experiencing spiritual phenomenon from a young age that eventually drew him away from conventional religious practice. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

He graduated from San Francisco State University, majoring in Broadcasting and Communications and subsequently moved to Los Angeles; it was there that he first discovered an interest in working as a psychic and medium after another medium told him it was his destiny. San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State, and SFSU) is a public university located in the southwestern San Francisco, California, bordering Lake Merced and Lowell High School, near Fort Funston and Daly City. ... In spirituality, a medium or spirit medium (plural mediums) is an individual who possesses the ability to receive messages from spirits (discorporate entities), or claims that he or she can channel such entities — that is, write or speak in the voice of these entities rather than in the mediums...

Van Praagh built his early career off of private readings, but quickly graduated to wider audiences with a series of audiotapes, books, and eventually the television appearances that gave him national exposure.

Career as a Medium

Van Praagh says that through his mediumistic abilities he receives messages from spirits and feelings about their presence that provide "detailed evidential proof that a loved one survived death."^[1] He says that most people who die go to Heaven and that all people are, to some degree, psychic enough to feel the psychic "energy" of the spirits of loved ones watching over them, though only certain people are sensitive enough to act as mediums and convey messages back and forth. Mediumship is a term used mostly in spiritualism to denote the ability to produce psi phenomena of a mental or physical nature. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Psychic is a term relating to or denoting paranormal extra-sensory abilities or phenomena that are apparently inexplicable by known natural laws, since they transcend the confines of our current understanding of what a human being is capable of. ...

He has been a regular guest on several television and radio talk shows, most prominently Larry King's cable talk show on CNN, where he often does readings over the telephone or with audience members.^{[citation needed]} He also offers paid private readings. At one time he suggested that he had a three year waiting list for his services.^{[citation needed]} Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger on November 19, 1933) is an award-winning American writer, journalist and broadcaster. ... The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ...

Criticism

Critics of Van Praagh accuse him of using the mentalism technique of cold reading to simulate psychic powers. ^[2][3] They point to several incidents in which Van Praagh's claims have been wrong, such as when he suggested to the parents of the abducted Shawn Hornbeck that the boy's body might be found in a railroad car.^[4] Hornbeck was found alive four years later, having been abducted but not killed, and the kidnapper was not a railroad plant worker as Van Praagh had suggested.^[5] Van Praagh has responded by asserting that his messages are often vague and hard to interpret and sometimes he mistakes their meaning, often re-interpreting them after the fact to fit new information. Many defenders of Van Praagh have claimed that much of the information he provides is too accurate to be put down to simple cold reading. Mentalism is an ancient performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, use mental acuity, principles of stage magic, hypnosis and/or suggestion to present the illusion of mind reading, psychokinesis, precognition, clairvoyance or mind control. ... For the theatrical training technique, see Cold reading (theatrical). ... Shawn Damian Hornbeck (born 1991) is a boy from Missouri, United States of America who made headlines when he disappeared from his family in Richwoods, Missouri, and later made headlines when he reappeared more than four years later. ...

Books by James Van Praagh

• Talking to Heaven: A Medium's Message of Life After Death
• Reaching to Heaven: A Spiritual Journey Through Life & Death
• Heaven & Earth: Making the Psychic Connection
• Healing Grief: Reclaiming Life After Any Loss
• Meditation with James Van Praagh
• Looking Beyond: A Teen's Guide to the Spiritual World
• Love always count: A referrence to what love does

References

1. ^ "Biography", vanpraagh.com, January 2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-31. 
2. ^ Review of Psychic Medium Van Praagh on CNN's Larry King Live
3. ^ Salon.com:James Van Praagh's friendly ghosts
4. ^ Randi, James. "SWIFT Newsletter January 19, 2007: Another Fabulous Failure", James Randi Educational Foundation, January 19, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-31. 
5. ^ "Living with Evil", Newsweek, 29 January 2007, pp. 48–55.

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) is a Fort Lauderdale, Florida non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Newsweek logo Newsweek is a weekly news magazine published in New York City and distributed throughout the United States and internationally. ...

External links

• James Van Praagh - Official Website
• James Van Praagh at the Internet Movie Database

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ...

Criticism

• The Art of Cold Reading
• Salon.com:James Van Praagh's friendly ghosts
• Ghost Whisperer Fan Site