Psychic

A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses. The word "psychic" is also used as an adjective to describe such abilities. Psychics may be theatrical performers, such as stage magicians, who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot reading to produce the appearance of such abilities. Psychics appear regularly in fantasy fiction, such as in the novel The Dead Zone by Stephen King.

A large industry and network exists whereby psychics provide advice and counsel to clients. Some famous psychics include Courtney Davy (famous psychic detective with her partner in crime) Edgar Cayce, Ingo Swann, Peter Hurkos, Jose Ortiz El Samaritano,Miss Cleo,John Edward, and Sylvia Browne. Psychic powers are asserted by psychic detectives and in practices such as psychic archaeology and even psychic surgery.

Critics attribute psychic powers to intentional trickery or to self-delusion. In 1988 the U.S. National Academy of Sciences gave a report on the subject and concluded there is "no scientific justification from research conducted over a period of 130 years for the existence of parapsychological phenomena." A study attempted to repeat recently reported parapsychological experiments that appeared to support the existence of precognition. Attempts to repeat the results, which involved performance on a memory test to ascertain if post-test information would effect it, "failed to produce significant effects", and thus "do not support the existence of psychic ability," and is thus categorized as a pseudoscience.

Divinatory, esoteric and occult tarot

Tarot reading is a subset of Cartomancy, which is the practice of using cards to gain insight into the past, current and future situations by posing a question to the cards. Variations on the reasons for such belief range from believing on guidance by a spiritual force, to belief that the cards are but instruments used to tap either into a collective unconscious or into their own creative, brainstorming subconscious. The divinatory meanings of the cards commonly used today are derived mostly from cartomancer Jean-Baptiste Alliette (also known as Etteilla) and Mlle Marie-Anne Adelaide Lenormand (1776-1843). The belief in the divinatory meaning of the cards is closely associated with a belief in their occult, divine, and mystical properties: a belief constructed in the 18th century by prominent Protestant clerics and freemasons.

Major and Minor Arcana

Tarot decks of seventy-eight cards have fourteen cards per suit plus the twenty-two trumps or only the twenty-two trump cards. The trumps and suits were part of a trump style game with many historical and national variations. It was Ellic Howe, writing under the name Ély Star coined the terms 'major arcana' and 'minor arcana' In modern times suit cards are Pentacles, Swords, Cups, and Wands. Trumps are cards like the Fool, The Magician, et al. Since the introduction of the cartomantic and occult tarot there have been ongoing attempts to "get it right." Subsequently the names of both have been played with over time.

Mediumship

Mediumship is the practice of certain people—known as mediums—to purportedly mediate communication between spirits of the dead and living human beings.

Attempts to contact the dead date back to early human history, with mediumship gaining in popularity during the 19th century. Investigations during this period revealed widespread fraud—with some practitioners employing techniques used by stage magicians—and the practice started to lose credibility. The practice still continues into the 21st century, with high-profile fraud uncovered as recently as the 2000s.

Scientific researchers have attempted to ascertain the validity of claims of mediumship. An experiment undertaken by the British Psychological Society led to the conclusion that the test subjects demonstrated no mediumistic ability.

Several different variants of mediumship exist; arguably the best-known forms involve a spirit allegedly taking control of a medium's voice and using it to relay a message, or where the medium simply "hears" the message and passes it on. Other forms involve materializations of the spirit or the presence of a voice, and telekinetic activity.

People in Luck

Les Veinards English: The Lucky, is a French comedy film from 1963, directed by Philippe de Broca and Jean Girault, written by Jacques Vilfrid and Jean Girault, starring France Anglade and Louis de Funès (uncredited). The film is known under the titles: "People in Luck" or "The Lucky" (English titles), "Die Glückspilze" or "Fünf Glückspilze" (West Germany), "I fortunati" (Italy).

Cast

Phil McGraw

Phillip Calvin "Phil" McGraw (born September 1, 1950), known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality, author, psychologist, and the host of the television show Dr. Phil, which debuted in 2002. McGraw first gained celebrity status with appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the late 1990s. In 2015, Forbes listed his earnings at $70 million for the previous 12 months, and ranked him the 15th highest earning celebrity in the world.

Early life

McGraw was born in Vinita, Oklahoma, the son of Anne Geraldine "Jerry" (née Stevens) and Joseph J. "Joe" McGraw, Jr. He grew up with two older sisters, Deana and Donna, and younger sister Brenda in the oilfields of North Texas where his father was an equipment supplier. During McGraw's childhood, his family moved so his father could pursue a lifelong goal of becoming a psychologist.

McGraw attended Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park, Kansas. In 1968, he was awarded a football scholarship to the University of Tulsa, where he played middle linebacker under Coach Glenn Dobbs. On November 23 of that year, McGraw's team lost to the University of Houston 100–6, which is one of the most lopsided games in college football history. Coach Dobbs retired after that season and McGraw transferred to Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.