As a child growing up in rural Ohio during the 1960’s, I suffered with an unusual affliction that caused the skin on my feet and ankles to swell and split apart. My mother, a troubled young woman with three children and five step-children, found a second job as a caretaker for an ailing, yet delightful old woman named Zola to help pay for the seemingly never-ending medical expenses. The two lonely women quickly became friends, relying upon one another for advice and comfort. As it became increasingly difficult for me to walk, Zola told my mother about a healer who was known to communicate with an Indian spirit to help people with health issues. Although the prospect scared my mother, she reluctantly agreed to a meeting to see if the strange woman could recommend something that would help.

My mother and I arrived at the healer’s home on a humid, hazy country morning. I had not slept well the prior evening, wondering how I would react when I got there. Would I be frightened? Would I laugh? The whole idea of a ghost being able to help me with my feet seemed pretty silly to me. Surely if I were a ghost, I reasoned, I would have better things to do than think about someone’s feet. I got out of the car, eyes scanning the secluded property to see if I could snatch a glimpse of a feathered headdress moving through the mist-shrouded trees. I felt something brush across my arm and jumped, falling backwards and yelping loudly. The healer stood before me, amusement lighting up her muddy brown eyes as she withdrew her hand from my arm and plucked a dangling cigarette from her lips. After introducing herself, she pointed to a small clearing with several rickety lawn chairs and asked my mother to wait there. Dropping the spent cigarette and adjusting the elastic top of her peasant blouse, the healer took my arm and helped me across the yard and into the house.

Once we were seated in her small, stuffy sunroom, she assured me that she knew of an ancient homeopathic remedy to soothe my wounds. She then asked if I would like to hear about my future. What ten-year-old wouldn’t say yes to that? Forgetting all about my feet for the moment, and not at all sure about what was going to happen next, I tried to ignore the fetid, musty smell of the chair cushions as she leaned forward and took my hands into hers. Her eyes rolled back into her head, lids fluttering rapidly. Speaking in a raspy whisper, she said that the Indian was speaking to her. Time stood still as she told me of many things, including my marriage at eighteen years old, my three children, and my becoming a sea captain and dying, at sea, when I was thirty-three. Coming out of her trance-like state, she swore me to secrecy about what had just occurred. I said little as my mother drove away from the small house, watching the woman through the car’s side mirror as she stared after us. None of her predictions came to pass: I have no children, avoided a trip to the altar when I was eighteen, and have lived well beyond my anticipated life expectancy. Ah well, at least the remedy she suggested for my feet worked beautifully. I am grateful for that, and for the life-long passion she ignited within me about the possibility of knowing the future.

My mother converted to Pentecostalism the following year. Shortly thereafter, she became convinced that there was something evil about Zola and her Wiccan beliefs in healing and prophecy. She quit both the job and their friendship. Ironically, she had chosen a religion that focuses heavily upon healing through the laying on of hands, and whose dogma espouses biblical prophecies as absolute truths, rather than as parables upon which to pattern life’s moral choices. Pentecostals also practice speaking-in-tongues and the related “gift of prophecy,” in which God grants to a select few the ability to interpret the spontaneous gibberish, and to occasionally divine future events. My mother insisted that my siblings and I join the church, attending services several time a week. The music was great — the cacophony of voices, tambourines, piano and organ would reach to the heavens in a deafening pitch. Inevitably, someone would break through the din by shouting out unintelligible grunts and syllables, which caused the crowd to go silent as they waited to see whom God would select to translate the message.

During the next few years, my mother became increasingly fanatical in her beliefs, enrolling us in Christian school and driving a wedge between normal society and us. My stepfather, realizing that she had replaced him with the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, left her to take up with her former best friend, whom she had also declared a sinner. As I grew older, my mother’s hypocrisy became increasingly apparent to me. I graduated at sixteen, immediately leaving Ohio and moving more than two thousand miles away to escape the insular, cult-like atmosphere of my mother’s world. I shunned the Pentecostal religion because I found its dogma to be frighteningly narrow-minded and judgmental towards anyone who did not share its beliefs. Still, this upbringing further whetted my curiosity about the possibility of accurately predicting the future. Was it really possible and, if so, from where does this knowledge come?

Doubting that Indian spirit guides held the monopoly on fortune telling, I began earnestly seeking many avenues of experience in the realm of the unknown. I learned to read tarot cards, slowly developing my skill in divining the “likely” future of those for whom I was reading. I explored runes, divination pendulums, and “Spirit-writing”, which is similar to freewriting in that one sits at a computer and types whatever comes into his/her head, non-stop, for at least ten minutes. I devoured books on the prophecies of Nostradamus; explored the intriguing life and works of Edgar Cayce; and spent countless hours attending churches that incorporate both prophecy and communication with the dead into their weekly services. Some of the messages I have received about my past and my future have been chillingly accurate, leaving me both fascinated about the source of this knowledge, and skeptical of those who might choose to use it to manipulate others through guilt, fear or awe.

I have often wondered if people are obsessed with knowing the future because they think that prophecies contain the answer to the meaning of, or purpose for, their lives. Perhaps they look to the future because they do not want to deal with their lives in the present. If life is a process of learning, and learning is often a hard process, then do people look to the future simply as a distraction from the work involved with life? Similarly, many people move through their lives in a mist of indecision, often choosing to stagnate in situations until circumstances force a change. If people found a way to know what the future holds for their lives, they would effectively remove the risks involved in making decisions. Unfortunately, this would also eliminate the opportunity to develop and demonstrate courage.

I believe that knowledge allows us to release fear. Following that line of thinking, people are often afraid of the unknown. What a relief it would be to know what the future holds. No anxiety… no worries… simply accepting the inevitable and shifting into auto-drive as we move through life. While that may seem initially appealing, wouldn’t it quickly become boring to always know in advance what was going to happen? The reality is that every decision is an act of blind faith, with potential outcomes either pleasing, or devastating, or somewhere in between. No wonder so many people want to know what their future holds. Wouldn’t it be great to know in advance if you were going to get that new job? Or, find true happiness in the eyes of that stranger staring at you from across the room?

From where does future knowledge come? Does it come from those who have passed on before us? Does it come from God (or Goddess), or the Greater Good, or the Collective Subconscious? Are some people “chosen” to have the gift of prophecy, or is it an innate ability shared by all mankind, but simply more fully developed in some than in others? So many questions, and there is likely no definitive way to answer them. Still, they say that life is about the journey rather than the destination. I suspect that this project will prove that to be correct, if nothing else.

As demonstrated by Holland’s writing, mankind has pursued knowledge of the future since the beginning of time. There are many reasons for this, including the most obvious: people have always looked for the purpose of their existence. Our species lunges desperately for possible answers to the meaning of life, much like our class has this semester. There is nothing unusual about people seeking to know the future when they are discontent with their present circumstances. Both Larner and I proved that one is more open to a psychic experience when miserable, rather than when he or she is happy. Further, there is nothing wrong with seeking distractions when one is dissatisfied with the trappings of his or her life. The possibility of choosing a distraction that may show how to make things better is an added bonus.

Life is full of potential – both to achieve greatness, and to fail miserably. Politicians and other famous people who use psychics, astrology and other esoteric means to help them maintain their success do not surprise me. Personal failure is bad enough, but consider a highly publicized mistake that could potentially impact an entire country. Why not hedge their bets whenever they can? One of the less attractive aspects of human nature is the tendency to avoid responsibility for many of life’s choices – especially those that result in failure. I have little patience for those who feel that predestination supercedes free will, or those who seek future knowledge as a way to avoid taking responsibility for their lives. I take the opposite approach: One of the reasons I chose not to marry at eighteen was because I believed that doing so would set into motion the chain of events that would lead to my death. Silly? Maybe, but I clearly remember considering the predictions made when I was ten years old while deciding not to marry my fiancé. As such, I took an active role in determining my future. I am ultimately responsible for my destiny – and for whatever missteps I take along the way.

 It is an intrinsic part of human nature to be afraid of the unknown. Since many people embrace the structure of religion to guide them, it is not surprising that many feel that seeking or possessing psychic abilities is in some way evil. I love the irony in this: faith-based religions rely upon the unquestionable belief in things that are impossible to prove, and yet a simple accurate prediction by someone like Jeanne Dixon catapults the zealots to rage that this knowledge comes from the devil. Others, taking a less judgmental approach, feel that mere mortals are not meant to possess either the knowledge or the proof of things unknown. In Perlman’s case, she went to great lengths to discredit the possible existence of psychic abilities, rather than attempting to approach the topic with an open mind. Disbelievers in psychic phenomenon tend to discard any prediction that may be correct in an effort to support their bias against it. Believers do the same thing, though; holding up those bits of information that are accurate, and then justifying or dismissing those pieces which are often blatantly wrong.

There is no way to declare with certainty the source from which knowledge of the past or future comes. Some say that psychics are simply good at interpreting body language, eye movements, and other subtle signals from their clients. Others believe that the law of averages comes into play. Throw out enough predictions and, eventually, the psychic will get something right. What about the possibility that this knowledge comes from the dead? The Indian spirit from my childhood may not have accurately predicted my future; but surely our dearly departed loved ones have a vested interest in our happiness and success. Why is it so hard to fathom, then, that they may be working from the other side — feeding us hints on what to avoid and how to proceed? Again, there is no way to prove this… but I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that I have been visited by my friend, my uncle, and others who have passed into the afterlife. It is comforting to know that they are watching out for me.

I read tarot cards. I have been told that I am pretty good at using them to accurately describe the events in a person’s life. I do not believe that I possess an unusual gift, other than my ability to fully focus upon another human being and to feel what they are feeling at that moment. Aren’t we all capable of empathy, if we open ourselves to the experience? There are many tools available for use in divining the future, including the methodologies of astrology and numerology, as well as items such as tarot cards and dice — often considered the “parlor tricks” of the craft. More often than not, it is the person seeking information that requires something tangible in front of them to better accept the experience as it unfolds. As I said in my introduction piece, I believe that a good psychic simply points people back to themselves, helping them to develop trust in their own instincts and intuition. The tools are merely props, setting the stage and helping the “audience” to focus on the events at hand.

I admit to sharing one more similarity with Larner. He needs his readers to understand that he tried, and failed, to escape the superstitions of his childhood… and so do I. I turned my back on the distasteful aspects of the Pentecostal religion a long time ago, but I continue to embrace the possibilities of life after death, healing, and prophecy. It doesn’t take a psychic to know that I will continue to pursue these interests for the rest of my life. Besides all of the psychological and spiritual reasons for my wanting to know the future, perhaps one stands above the rest: it’s fun! I believe that life is a thrill ride, filled with a series of experiences that evoke strong, personal reactions (both frightening and delightful) to help us learn not only about ourselves, but also about the world around us. My pursuit of the unknown is just one of the ways that I avoid Larner’s “life of sheer ordinariness.” To think that nothing exists beyond what can be proven is indicative of sheer arrogance. I remain fascinated by the unexplained… and look forward to that next opportunity to attempt another glimpse. As Holland said, mankind will continue to believe in the possibility of predicting the future, regardless of how many times those predictions are wrong. What she neglected to add was how much we thrill to the mystery when those predictions are right.

Much like Larner, I am using this writing assignment as an excuse to find comfort after a series of particularly difficult losses in my life. Both my father and one of my closest friends have died within the past few months, as has one of my animals. My favorite relative, a cousin who was more like a sister to me, abruptly ended our relationship without telling me why. My career is also in transition; while this has led to my return to college, it has also brought about its own share of worries and introspection. I had no doubt that I could remain objective in examining a psychic’s effectiveness; and yet, I also hoped to receive some insights and clarity about the staggering amount of changes taking place in my life.

The day of my appointment was dreary and drizzly, which matched my mood and contributed to a puzzling, growing sense of reluctance over meeting this woman. I could not understand this feeling, since I have long been fascinated about knowing the future, and in the methods used by fortune-tellers in making their predictions. To determine the psychic’s accuracy in reading the past, I took a small quilt that was made by my friend who died, along with some jewelry that belonged to an uncle who is also deceased. Information about my future, which is decidedly unclear, would be harder to gauge… but hopefully I would have some sense of whether the things she might say were likely to occur. Shaking off my feelings of gloom, I pulled up to a charming cottage with a perfect, postage stamp-sized lawn. Heeding the ‘enter’ sign on the front door, I faced a stylish older woman sitting at a dark wooden desk. She smiled, confirmed the appointment by my initials, and asked me to be seated. The interior of the cottage was not as appealing as the exterior; the former living room had been converted into a waiting area similar to many professional offices, except for the numerous knickknacks, pictures of angels, and other religious icons that cluttered the space. Sensing my discomfort, the receptionist engaged me in small talk until the psychic appeared from the back of the house.

The casually dressed, elderly woman beckoned me into what was once a small bedroom. It was uncomfortably warm. Her appearance was gentle and non-threatening; with her well-worn face, faded green eyes, and voice softly tinged with the sweetness of the south, she was the picture of someone’s grandmother – not the image that comes to mind when one thinks of a gatekeeper of the unknown. As I sat down at a small table covered with a pastel-colored cloth, I noticed a burning candle next to a short stack of dingy playing cards. The remaining furniture and the walls of the room were covered with a plethora of additional figurines, crosses and other artifacts; obviously, the detritus of the years she had spent perfecting her craft. For the next hour, she and I stared across the table at one another as she used the playing cards, astrology, numerology and palm reading to tell what she could of where I had been, and where I might be going. Having studied both astrology and numerology, I agreed with what she told me about my being a Gemini with a life path number of one. This does not prove her effectiveness as a psychic; it simply shows that she is well versed in those disciplines, which is not surprising for someone who has spent decades in the fortune telling arena.

Throughout the reading, she often relied upon a litany of well-used adages to express her thoughts on human behavior. It was glaringly apparent whenever she did so; her voice took on a chant-like cadence as she enlightened me about following my intuition, or figuring out what I wanted in life by first figuring out what I didn’t want. This became increasingly annoying; after all, I was paying for a psychic reading, not a recitation of Poor Richard’s Almanac, or a review of the pithy quotable quotes from Reader’s Digest. Still, I had paid the admission price for this ride and I needed to see it through until the end.

Her ability to read palms proved to be most impressive. Practically as soon as she took my hands in hers, she spoke of two coffins appearing within the lines of my right hand, signifying two recent deaths in my life. She accurately described how I felt about both people – clearly my friend and my father – and went on to tell of the broken relationship with my cousin. She saw my career in flux, predicting that this transition would result in tremendous financial success (hopefully so.) Similarly, when she held the items from my uncle and my friend, she was unerringly accurate in her descriptions of them. Her psychic abilities were startlingly showcased as she told me things about them that no one but I could have known, and certainly things about which no one could have guessed. She did not discern from the items that they had both died; however, when I told her that they had, she again amazed me by precisely describing how each had handled their respective illnesses.

Of course, she was also wrong about many things. She told me that my love life was barren when, in fact, I am fortunate to be celebrating fifteen glorious years with my mate. Not surprisingly, once I told her that she was wrong, she went into great detail about how we are meant to be together and how our many past lives had brought us to this perfect moment in time. She never went back to attempt an explanation when she got something wrong; she either found a way to justify what she had said, or completely ignored the error. She foresaw a move in my near future, which is highly unlikely as we love our home and are firmly rooted in the community. She also thought that I was a professional actor or a dancer – neither of which is true.

As with any counselor, she wasted no time in ending the session once my sixty minutes had passed. Ushering me out of the furnace-like room without the benefit of a hug or a handshake, she directed me to pay the receptionist and instantly turned her attention to her next customer — a woman anxiously waiting for her glimpse of the future. As I drove away, I realized why I had been so apprehensive before coming to see this particular psychic. From the initial phone call, it was clear that this was to be an impersonal experience – no names, thank you very much. The sterile, yet cluttered décor of the cottage, while clearly meant to lend an air of legitimacy to the enterprise, further contributed to my feelings of alienation. Yes, the woman was astoundingly accurate about many things and I have great respect for her gift. However, I was not given perhaps what was most needed – answers as to why I have recently experienced so many losses, or assurances that this period would soon end. At best, I was told repeatedly that I would someday be a professional writer and that all of these losses would contribute to my ability to move hearts and minds through my work, which sounds suspiciously like another adage to me. No matter how well intentioned, this woman’s impersonal approach to my life’s intimacies left me feeling disappointed by the experience.

Jeremy Larner examines his experiences with fortune-tellers, and the epiphany he experienced about the fears that drove his career, in his 1996 article, “Telling my Fortune,” for New Choices magazine. As with Perlman’s article for Washingtonian magazine, Larner thought it would be amusing to write about his visits to several psychics in New York and California. However, it quickly becomes apparent that Larner, unlike Perlman, at least reluctantly believes in the possibility that some psychics can accurately predict the future. He rationalizes this by pointing out that superstitious parents raised him. Although he implies that their convictions were restrictive and irrational, he nevertheless draws a correlation between his upbringing and his paranoia about failing in his life’s pursuits. Weaving his timeline between the 1960s and 1995, when he was visiting many psychics in preparation to write the article, Larner focuses on one psychic reading in 1969 that had a tremendous impact on him.

Disillusioned with life and preparing to divorce his first wife, Larner met with a Brazilian psychic in New York who predicted that his “old age held something very, very distinguished” – information he joyfully and “absolutely believed.” He goes on to tell of two other early occasions when he sought the counsel of psychics: one in the 1970s, when he was given seemingly valid information about his work, but also erroneous information about his parents; and the other in the 1980s, when information he was given about an ex-lover triggered an uncomfortable emotional reaction which resulted in his swearing off of psychics for many years. Back in 1995, Larner finds himself sitting with the same Brazilian woman with whom he had spoken 26 years earlier. She does not remember him, and the information she provides does not match what he had previously been told. Allowing us to see his present-day disillusionment (which coincidentally mirrors their earlier encounter), Larner describes himself as desperate to again hear that he will be distinguished in his old age. After the psychic cryptically flashes the Death card from the tarot deck and smiles, he realizes as he leaves that it wasn’t failure that he feared – it was “a life of shear ordinariness.” Making an analogy to a “heavy Sunday suit,” Larner concludes his piece by telling us that he no longer feels the weight of fear or obligation to be successful.

Lerner’s story exemplifies something that I have long suspected – people often seek to know the future because they are unhappy with where they are in the present. When he was told as a young man that he would be “distinguished” when he was older, those words not only alleviated his fears of failure, but also helped him to cope with the unpleasant circumstances with which he was dealing at the time. Larner’s struggle to come to terms with the superstitions and fears of his childhood represents a challenge that most of us confront throughout our lives. We all carry emotional baggage from our upbringing – and some of those bags are heavier than others. The contradiction between Larner’s not wanting to believe, and yet desperately needing to believe, powerfully reflects the struggle that many of us face in attempting to distance ourselves from the beliefs thrust upon us by our parents. Larner needs us to understand that he tried, but ultimately failed, in his attempt to escape the “net of superstition” in which he was caught as a young man. Perhaps this is his way of asking us to excuse his need to have his success and self-worth validated once more by glimpsing the future.

Most people spend their lives struggling with insecurities and bruised egos. Some would say that this is how we evolve. Larner wrote the best-selling book, Drive, He Said, and won an Academy Award in 1972 for Best Screenplay for The Candidate, starring Robert Redford. Although few people ever achieve this level of success, Larner’s insecurities clearly colored his amazing achievements and further serve as an example that, like many of us, the ego battle within ourselves may never be won. Some of us are able to learn from the battle, and some of us are destined to remain dissatisfied – never finding the contentment that we seek. In Larner’s case, he found a way to move past his disavowed belief in psychic ability and found the same woman that had helped him in the past; not surprisingly, at a point in his life when he was again feeling disillusioned. Consciously or not, he orchestrated the circumstances to get the answer he really needed, not just the one that he wanted to hear. One would hope that Larner finally appreciates how fortunate he is – not only in his career successes, but also in his personal evolution.

Works Cited:

Larner, Jeremy. “Telling my Fortune.” New Choices v.36 (1996): 64-67. OmniFile Full Text Select. Learning Resources Centers, Tidewater Community College. 27 Feb. 2008 <http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.ezproxy.vccs.edu:2048/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?recid=0bc05f7a67b1790e876228a26019b941bb27cc883f561c437514e360654af597f64e2532a8371911&fmt=H>. 

Interpretive divination is defined as using any of a vast number of tools from which to glean information about the future, such as tarot cards, dice, tea leaves, and crystal balls. Both Astrology and the 3,000-year old I Ching are well-known examples of interpretive techniques, with their use of the constellations and yarrow stalks, respectively. Perhaps the most gruesome illustration of interpretive divination is haruspicy, which was practiced by many cultures over the centuries and involved the ritualistic killing of animals and the use of their entrails for prophesying purposes. The use of computers is a more modern example that falls into the interpretive category; Ms. Holland mentions their use by astronomers and meteorologists and states that while short-term predictions tend to be fairly accurate, there are often problems with long-term forecasting attempts. The computer’s effectiveness is dependent upon the data entered into it by human beings and is therefore prone to miscalculations. She finished her piece by citing the prediction of a growing number of scientists that the evolving intelligence of robots may place mankind in danger of becoming pets for the automatons of the future. 

Is it possible to accurately predict the future? Ms. Holland’s article may not contain an answer to that question, but it certainly enhanced my knowledge of the evolving methods used throughout the ages in attempting to do so. As I began summarizing her piece, I quickly realized why she had chosen to write about prophecy at that point in time. I was a technology professional in the spring of 1999. The upcoming turn of the calendar pages to the year 2000 sparked a flurry of activity as my colleagues and I attempted to predict and prepare for whatever might happen with our potentially vulnerable hardware and software. As the time approached for the clock to strike midnight on the new millennium, paranoia escalated world-wide as people wondered if the old prophecies about the end of mankind might finally come to pass. Initially, it appeared that Ms. Holland’s article was written simply to educate on the development of and the distinctions between divination methods. After all, as with any featured article in Smithsonian magazine, one automatically assumes that the work will be informative, and either historically or scientifically based. Her article fits that assumption; however, it dawned on me that Ms. Holland was also subtly implying that the hype around Y2K was just that – hype. As we all now know, there were no catastrophic events resulting from Y2K; it was truly a non-event.

The article revealed brief glimpses into the author’s true feelings about whether it is possible to predict the future. I particularly enjoyed when she referred to the prophecies contained in the biblical book of Revelations as a “bad acid trip.” She also pointed out that the success of the “long-winded prophet” Nostradamus is based largely upon the many people who have willingly interpreted his quatrains, (similar to poems with four lines each), to fit a myriad of events throughout time. Surprisingly, I found myself doing the same thing while reading about one of his predictions concerning a terrorist attack that was to occur in Manhattan during the summer of 1999. Sure, the date was off, but is it possible that Nostradamus predicted the events of that fateful September day in 2001? Nevertheless, it would appear that Ms. Holland and I share a similar disdain for many of the absurd claims and barbaric methods used in the past to predict the future. I also agree with her conclusion that mankind will continue to believe in the possibility of predicting the future, no matter how many times those predictions prove to be inaccurate.

Holland, Barbara. “You Can’t Keep a Good Prophet Down.” Smithsonian 30.1 (1999): 68-72+. OmniFile Full Text Select. Learning Resources Centers, Tidewater Community College. 28 Feb. 2008 <http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.ezproxy.vccs.edu:2048/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?recid=0bc05f7a67b1790e876228a26019b941bb27cc883f561c43666f984184b0d404b2dd5e6b44abcab6&fmt=H>.

“You Have a Good Aura” was written for the January 2004 edition of Washingtonian magazine by Ellen Perlman, a staff writer at another magazine – Governing. Ms. Perlman walks her readers through her experiences in going to seven storefront psychics in the Washington, DC area, highlighting the contradictions in the information given to her by each individual. Ms. Perlman infuses her work with humor as she points out the methods employed by the psychics to entice her to spend additional money for services they insist are essential to her well-being. In six of the seven incidences, the psychics advised Ms. Perlman that she needed to have her aura cleansed, or that she needed to have her chakras cleansed, aligned, or widened. Defining her efforts as a “quality-control analysis”, Ms. Perlman reports on inaccurate, or at least disparate, predictions concerning the number of and gender of the children she may have. She covers relationships, including when she was to be engaged, when relationships were likely to end, and the age of the man to whom she would ultimately be married. Travel and career opportunities are also showcased in the article. Throughout the piece, Ms. Perlman carefully reinforces the seediness of the locations and the apparent lack of integrity and professionalism in the actions of the psychics. She concludes by explaining that the District of Columbia does not require proof of the ability to accurately predict fortunes in granting business licenses to psychics and reasserts her belief that the future is uncertain.

I enjoyed the humorous aspects of Ms. Perlman’s experiences. However, I was also disappointed that she made no attempt to balance her implied belief that all psychics are charlatans. She chose instead to focus her efforts on those in storefront locations, describing the run-down, seedy environments and picking apart the predictions given to her. Clearly, Ms. Perlman was targeting those readers who share her skepticism about the existence of legitimate psychics, rather than attempting to fully inform her readers on the topic. In my experience, I have seen my fair share of psychics who tried to trick me into spending more money on silly, unnecessary things such as energy balancing and cleansings. But, I have also spent time with decent, honorable individuals who lovingly guided me to look inside myself for the answers to the challenges in my life, helping me to develop trust in my own instincts and intuition. In this, I compare legitimate psychics to any other spiritual or psychological counselor, including ministers and trained psychotherapists. I have gone to psychics who have been amazingly accurate in telling me about events from my past, which is perhaps a better indicator of the efficacy of a psychic’s abilities than predicting the future. In one notable instance, a psychic refused to quote a specific dollar amount for her services, instead urging me to pay whatever I felt the information was worth – even if that meant nothing. Her integrity resulted in my being far more invested in what she had to say… and she was paid accordingly.  It seems to me that Ms. Perlman, had she been so inclined, could have easily canvassed the Washington area to include in her report experiences with psychics from whom other people were given information they felt was valid for their lives. Unfortunately, Ms. Perlman’s article does not begin to address my I-Search question as to why people are so obsessed with knowing the future. Still, her entertaining, if unbalanced look at psychics mirrors the beliefs of many people and is relevant for inclusion in my research.

Works Cited:

Perlman, Ellen. “You Have a Good Aura.” Washingtonian 39.4 (2004): 143-5. OmniFile Full Text Select. Learning Resources Centers, Tidewater Community College. 27 Feb. 2008 <http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.ezproxy.vccs.edu:2048/hww/advancedsearch/
advanced_search.jhtml;hwwilsonid=VNY3E0BG0J4X1QA3DILSFGGADUNGIIV0?prod=OMNIS#formTop>.

Steven Pinker, a cognitive scientist for MIT, wrote his 1997 New York Times article, “Why They Kill Their Young”, in response to two cases where young mothers had committed neonaticide — the killing of their newborns immediately after giving birth. He began by citing several popularly held beliefs as to why this occurs, including pathology, childhood trauma, and temporary psychosis, along with “a throwaway society, permissive sex education and… rock lyrics.” He then proposed a biological reason for neonaticide, contending that the practice was socially accepted and vital to the survival of many ancient cultures. As a result, Pinker theorized, mankind’s DNA (“brain circuitry”) may be predisposed to this practice. He goes on to examine the psychological and emotional responses of women and society to newborns, citing the rituals of christening and the Jewish bris as examples of mankind’s acknowledgement that “full personhood is… not automatically granted at birth.” He also points out the leniency shown to neonaticidal mothers by the legal system and by juries in both the United States and Europe. Transitioning to the topic of morality, Pinker used the abortion debate to exemplify that no clear boundary has been established as to what gives a person the right to life. He reflected on the “chauvinism” in believing that Homo sapiens are the only species to have that right, and included the belief held by several moral philosophers that the killing of “immature neonates” by their parents should not be considered murder, since they do not have fully formed consciousness and emotional responses. He ended the essay by pointing out that there is likely no resolution to be found for the moral, emotional and biological issues we face in considering this topic.

In response to Pinker’s article, Bruce Chapman of the Discovery Institute penned, “A Modest Proposal: Should We Change Our Minds About Infanticide?” Mr. Chapman’s plan of attack was clearly outlined in the first paragraph of his piece, which he began by saying, “The way you corrupt a civilization’s moral standards is seldom by frontal attack.” He used inflammatory phrases to discredit Pinker throughout his response, such as “supposed scientific studies” and “pseudo-science”. He compared Pinker’s article to George Orwell’s book, 1984, in which the government sought to deceive its citizens by changing the meaning of certain words to make them more palatable for the general public. In dissecting Pinker’s work, Chapman sometimes twisted facts and distorted the order in which the piece was written to support his own position. Chapman’s use of phrases such as, “a proposal to weaken civilization’s great taboo against infanticide” served to showcase his own biases and intense dislike of Pinker and his theories, rather than to present any compelling evidence to refute them. Perhaps this was most apparent when Chapman wrote, “There is no mention of evil, of the wanton breaking of a religious or moral code.” Mr. Chapman’s tone throughout the piece was sardonic and generally unpleasant; frankly, his work would have benefited if he had written it with some emotional detachment.

Chapman was not the only person to express moral outrage over Pinker’s article. I was amazed at the number of angry responses I found when searching for the original piece. Although I understand the inflammatory nature of the topic, I did not feel that Professor Pinker was trying to excuse the actions of the young women. If anything, his efforts to maintain objectivity were magnified when his own bias occasionally peeked through in his writing. He used words like “depraved” and “immoral act” as descriptors, and further alluded to his true feeling by saying “to understand is not necessarily to forgive.” I was intrigued by his perspective, but felt that there were some weaknesses in how he presented his theories. For instance, he cited age, poverty and social isolation as reasons for why neonaticide occurs, but there was not a strong correlation either to his biological theory or to the two women whose situations prompted him to write the piece. Also, although it may have been due to the medium in which his work was published, I was troubled by the number of times he used terms like “statistics”, “studies”, and “moral philosophers” without citing specific examples. Conversely, Pinker did a great job in summarizing the abortion debate and was clearly aware that his theories were going to anger the more conservative, religious readers of his article. In my opinion, he beautifully restated the morality versus biology concept in his closing paragraph, but apparently could not resist poking a stick at those conservatives by pointing out that “baby killers” can also be moral, “religious” women. I do not know Bruce Chapman, but his emotional, over-the-top response would seem to indicate that he is one of those conservatives (he was also part of the Reagan White House, which may further support this possibility.) In any case, Pinker’s theories are compelling; he is now a psychology professor at Harvard and has written several best-selling books on language and how the mind works. I am looking forward to reading more of his work.

For the Works Cited posting, please note that there are some interesting formatting challenges with this blog. As such, I am including the references to the two articles but am unable to match the MLA citation style.

Chapman, Bruce. “A Modest Proposal: Should We Change Our Minds About Infanticide?” Discovery.org. 21 Oct. 1997. 20 Feb. 2008 <http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=354>.

Pinker, Steven. “Why They Kill Their Newborns.” New York Times Magazine. 02 Nov. 1997. Rpt. in Rightgrrl.com. 20 Feb. 2008 <http://www.rightgrrl.com/carolyn/pinker.html>.

Prewriting Part I gets right to the meat of it, asking us to create a list of questions either related to the topic, or that ties back to the belief statements from last week’s assignment. From the first class, my thoughts on potential questions have centered on prophecy and the afterlife. As such, my free-fall follows along those lines and I have chosen to categorize my questions accordingly.

The Afterlife:

• How does death correlate to the meaning of life?
• Why do so many people believe that life goes on after death?
• Is there any way to prove that life and learning continue after death?
• Why do people seek answers for their lives from the dead?
• What makes people think that the dead know more than the living?
• What makes people think that dead folks are any wiser when they die than when they were alive?
• Is seeking knowledge from the dead a way for people to release their fear of death?
• Is death merely the “final exam” for the school of life?

Prophecy:

• Do people seek the meaning of life from prophecies?
• Why are people so obsessed with knowing the future?
• Are people obsessed with knowing the future because they can’t deal with their lives in the present?
• Does knowing the future release people from accepting responsibility for the decisions they make?
• Why do people look to prophets (ministers, teachers, friends, spouses) to tell them how they should live their lives?
• Is seeking knowledge of the future a way for people to release their fear of the unknown?
• Do people believe that knowledge of the future comes from the dead?
• What is the distinction between a prophet and the prophecies they speak?

Prewriting Part II asks us to choose the question that most interests us, employing the freewriting technique to explore our thoughts about it.

Why are people so obsessed with knowing the future?

Clearly, several of my other questions under the Prophecy category serve as the basis for my exploration of the topic. Are people obsessed with knowing the future because they can’t deal with their lives in the present? If life is a process of learning, and learning is a hard process, then do people look to the future as a distraction from the work involved with learning about life and themselves? Similarly, many people move through life in a mist of indecision, often seeking others to make decisions for them. How many people do you know who choose to stagnate in a situation until circumstances force a change, rather than having the courage to be decisive, regardless of the outcome. There is no risk involved if you already know the outcome, is there? There is also no opportunity to either build or demonstrate courage.

I said last week that knowledge allows us to release fear. Following that train of thought, people are often afraid of the unknown. What a relief it would be to know what the future holds. No anxiety… no worries… simply accepting the inevitable and shifting into auto-drive as we move through life. While that may seem initially appealing, I know that I would ultimately get bored if I always knew in advance what was going to happen. I’ll call it “roller-coaster mentality”; that is, my need to feel the thrill associated with life’s highs and lows – taking those risks and learning from the process. And make no mistake about it; each decision we make is stepping out in blind faith, never really knowing when the bottom is going to drop out from beneath us. Great fun, right? Still, wouldn’t it be great to know in advance if you were going to get that new job? Or, find true happiness in the eyes of that stranger staring at you from across the room? Tempting, isn’t it?

From where does future knowledge come? Does it come from those who have passed on before us? Does it come from God (or Goddess), or the Greater Good, or the Collective Subconscious? Are some people “chosen” to have the gift of prophecy, or is it an innate ability shared by all mankind, but simply more fully developed in some than in others? 

Prewriting Part III differs slightly from last week in that, instead of looking for the opposing point of view, we are asked to look at the question from a new perspective. “Why does it interest me?” “What has been my experience with it?” “What do I want to discover, or need to know, about the question?” Etcetera, etcetera… you get the point. My response is largely comprised of more questions, which seems an appropriate setup for further exploration.

The question I chose appeals to me for a number of reasons. I was raised in a Pentecostal home, where biblical prophecies were taught as Absolute Truth, rather than as parables upon which to pattern our moral choices. And yes, there was that whole speaking-in-tongues and receiving the gift of prophecy thing, both integral parts of my daily life. This upbringing tilled and fertilized my psychological soil, preparing me to ultimately explore the topic of prophecy as an adult (once I got over being bitter about the judgmental part of the Pentecostal dogma, of course). I love going to fortune-tellers! I learned several years ago to read tarot cards for both strangers and friends, having a better-than-average success rate in pulling their “likely” future from the energy I was interpreting. I have played with runes, divination pendulums, and “Spirit-writing” (which is suspiciously similar to freewriting). I have devoured books on the prophecies of Nostradamus; explored the particularly intriguing life and works of Edgar Casey; and spent countless hours attending churches that incorporate communicating with the dead and fortune telling into their weekly services. Some of the messages I have received about both my past and my future were chillingly accurate, leaving me both fascinated about the source of this knowledge, and skeptical of those who might choose to use it to manipulate others through guilt, fear or awe.

I think there are innumerable sources to explore this question. If chosen as the focus of my I-Search project, I would of course look to some of the above-referenced sources to gain insight along the discovery path. I would also enjoy using movies, TV shows, songs, and art to gain additional insight into the subject. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

In English 111, I found that narrowing my theses was one of the most challenging aspects of the course. I learned a lot through that process, especially in honing each thesis statement so that I would be pleased with my output while meeting the size requirements for each essay. In contrast, approaching a topic as broad as the meaning of life (the assigned topic for our I-Search project) is a bit daunting, but I am excited about working through the process. While I may not find the answer to the question I pose as my research statement, I am sure to learn something about my classmates and myself in the process.

Prewriting Part I requires us to finish the following twelve statements as a way to explore our personal beliefs:

• I believe that people spend too much time trying to conform to others.
• I believe that society should be more altruistic.
• I believe that government is not entitled to intrude into the private lives of its citizens.
• I believe that justice is not as balanced as it should be.
• I believe that knowledge allows us to release fear.
• I believe that science is an important tool, but is not absolute.
• I believe that reality, as most people understand it is an illusion.
• I believe that life is a continual process of learning.
• I believe that happiness is both a right and a privilege.
• I believe that goodness is a decision to be made every day.
• I believe that death is another step in our evolution.
• I believe that God expects us to accept responsibility for our own choices in life.

Prewriting Part II requires us to choose one of the previous beliefs, writing a paragraph that explores our thoughts about it. Since this is to be an exercise in free-writing, the resulting paragraph will probably sound more like a rant than a cohesive exploration of my feelings on the topic. Nevertheless, here it is:

I believe that government is not entitled to intrude into the private lives of its citizens.

Of the twelve statements, this is the one response that came most quickly to me. I believe that government has lost sight of the original intention of its existence – to represent the interests of the people that empower it. Instead, we have a long history of government officials making decisions about what is and is not appropriate behavior in the lives of its citizens. For instance, I believe that no one should have the right to dictate what people do with or to their own bodies, as long as those actions do not negatively impact others. I do not believe that government has the right to stop a person from ending his or her own life, particularly if he or she is experiencing overwhelming, debilitating physical pain. When did it become acceptable for our government to monitor our phone calls, or our mail, or our computers? I am incensed by the way our current officials wield terrorism as a justification to impinge upon our privacy and strip us of our rights. What about a person’s actions in his or her own home? How can we condone a government telling us what we can and cannot do in the privacy of our own bedrooms? Taking this a step further, government should fairly and equally represent the rights and interests of all of its citizens, not just those who fall within a certain “accepted” framework of cultural or religious beliefs. The government spends entirely too much time imposing itself as the “moral compass” of its citizens, rather than ensuring that all citizens are treated equally under the law.

Prewriting Part III requires us to consider that same belief from the opposing point of view. As such:

There are many laws created by the government that help guide individuals to make socially responsible decisions. Perhaps it is too idealistic to believe that what people choose to do with their bodies will not impact others in the community. For instance, a prostitute could potentially spread diseases by unsafe sexual practices. A person who chooses to take drugs could end up stealing from others to feed an out-of-control addiction. Although society has its share of prostitutes and drug addicts, the laws that address these two lifestyle choices serve to protect our communities and must certainly act as a deterrent for some people. In the case of suicide, doesn’t emotional anguish sometimes cause physical pain? People who are suffering physically or emotionally might not have the mental clarity to realize that their circumstances could possibly improve with time. Doctors who agree to assist these individual are legally culpable for their actions because they provide easy access to medications and related administration methods. Regarding the government’s decision to tap into our phone calls and email, isn’t it worth it if even a single life is saved because an attack is discovered before it happens? Regarding the government’s choices in how to assess and uphold the rights of each individual, it is sometimes necessary to make the best decision for the majority, even if those left in the minority perceive themselves as being mistreated. This approach obviously does not make everyone happy, but it does serve the greater good of society.