Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Fascism is not dead.

I had reported a little time back that my report/article on Rev. Hoyt Robinette's precipitated art seance would be published by the Zerdin Buzz Sheet in the UK. To my surprised frustration, the editors insisted that the medium must "approve" the article before they would publish it. I protested strongly against this bizarre, anti-journalistic stance as irrational, illogical, and plain stupid. Each email became increasingly less comprehensive to me in terms of understanding this approach. I emphasized that this stance does nothing to increase the deliverance of truth, and instead, increases ignorance via censorship -- something mediums have had to suffer over and over again. I finally ended my protest by resigning from their organization, citing that because of their policy, there is no guarantee that anything reported in their magazine is true beyond what the medium approves as true. Out of curiosity I sent the article to the medium, explaining that the editors required his approval of whether or not it should be published. The article was nothing if not favourable. Here is part of his reply:

"I was and am very flattered with the article as written. I must hasten to give my thanks to you for such a well written article. I, after reading it, consulted my spirit teacher, Dr. Kenner, who told me it was not an article that would be taken as well as I had taken it. He said it would not be good to "advertise" myself in such a manner and that I should refrain from giving my approval for the publication of the article."

Of course this heightens my personal suspicions of fraud at the trumpet seance, although the precipitated art was genuine. It seems clear (to me) that the medium fears too much attention in arenas that are beyond his control. As long as he can control the circumstance through pre-arranged and pre-approved tours for demonstrations, it's less likely he will be scrutinized and questioned.

I imagine the medium may be quite surprised when he finds that the archivist at Lilydale has accepted and entered the article into their public display records.

6 Comments:

At Tue Sep 04, 10:32:00 AM 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I recently attended a demonstration with Hoyt and found the whole song & dance a fraud. The loose taping and blindfolding of his eyes allowed him to look down his nose at the "billets". He just recited names on them and gave expected and vague answers to the questions. The box he brings the basket out on holds the pre-made cards. A participant who was added late did not get a card. He left and "meditated" on her and voila...produced one, but her name was spelled wrong. Could spirit make that mistake? The pastels on 1 card were scratched off. The image underneath did not scratch off. Could it be a photocopy of an old photo of someone onto a 3x5 index card? What a phony!!

 
At Tue Sep 04, 01:06:00 PM 2007, Blogger August Goforth said...

Thanks very much for sharing about your experience, which sounds somewhat like mine with some differences. It also seemed to me that Hoyt was clearly looking down his nose and reading the information. My group was allowed to see that the basket appeared empty. A late participant seemed to receive her card with no reported problems. Perhaps the misspelled name was of significane to the receiver (i.e., a departed person who always spelled the name wrong, which would validate the contact.) I would be greatly interested in seeing a card that suggests some kind of terrestrial reproductive process, such as photocopying. My card was clearly not produced by any such means, as I have continued to study it with very powerful lenses.

What was on the card you received?

 
At Wed Dec 12, 04:47:00 PM 2007, Blogger tokunbo77 said...

August goforth: I read and reread your article and still cannot figure out what your point is, how can you deem one part of rev hoyt's sessions authentic and another fraudulent? I attended his spirit card reading and private consultation in summer 2006; he introduced me to my guides and had intimate knowledge of my deceased friend's husband's , i was informed that i would be fired from my job and leave the country (US) i did not balk at the info nor did i doubt it, I trusted the process because i went to the session to find answers not to bring negative energy that feeds on ones own insecurities...anyways i digress; long story short i am now in this godforsaken country ( UK) and i did loose my job, i would give my right arm to have another session with rev Hoyt it was truly a life changing experience for me, you as a supposed spiritual person should know you get what you put into the universe, if you bring negative energy into a situation you cannot expected the unverse to change your views, the universe dose not OWE you or anyone else anything, nor do your guides; they are there to help not for show and tell, i find your article and anonymous comments very disrespectfully and degrading.

 
At Wed Dec 12, 06:20:00 PM 2007, Blogger August Goforth said...

Thanks for your interesting impassioned comment. Inquiring minds want to know! And it's good to hear that you're actively seeking answers. Information is something I thrive on and so have accumulated a very large and extensive library of books and other materials about spiritualism and mediumship. It's been well-documented for over 100 years that many mediums, often with great gifts, have been discovered to be faking results and practicing deception. I encourage you to continue to become self-informed and investigate this yourself.

In much the same way we all lose certain abilities – like running fast, or being able to remember things – mediums often lose abilities, due to aging, stress, substance abuse, even the weather – and so on. Sometimes the abilities come back, sometimes not. So, for example, while their clairsentience is in full working order, their clairvoyance or clairaudience might not be. Or in the case I presented, the precipitated art was able to manifest, but the trumpet phenomena was not. Ethics and a sense of reality come into play, which get mixed up for all kinds of reasons. Mediums don't necessarily cheat because they're bad people, but sometimes because they're totally human. They want to please others and give them something, even when there's nothing to give; even when, for whatever reason, the conditions at hand prevent spirit contact or manifestation. Human pride prevents some from simply saying, "I can't, not tonight." Human ego also encourages deception to avoid the anxiety of humiliation of not being able to perform or deliver the goods, after everyone's expectations have been formed and heightened.

Many mediums have been women, who, in those early days, were rare in that they were actually forming their own kind of business in order to be self-supporting and to take care of their children, something frowned upon and even persecuted by the reigning patriarchy who saw women as weak and dependent. To lose income in a time when women were likely to end up on the street or in the poorhouse was not an option; so if deception was the only thing to prevent that from happening, that would be the logical and human choice.

Of course if someone is practicing deception as a matter of course – especially in modern times, they are deceiving themselves as well as others, a lose/lose situation. When you pay somebody for a service, including a medium (never mind the nonsense that it's a "donation") you owe yourself to be a smart and informed consumer. (Many of the best mediums, decades ago, accepted no payment as they quietly practiced and demonstrated.) As a conscious, awakening human being, you use your senses to assess your environment. If you prefer to let someone else tell you what is and what is, it might be your loss. I'm glad to hear you're insisting on relying on your own experiences, because that's all you have.

I agree with you that the Universe doesn't owe us anything, simply because as a child of the Creator Source, each of us has already inherited all the gifts that were ever created -- Its love knows only how to give All to me and to you, as individualized forms of Its formlessness. One of the greatest forms of this love is knowledge of Self – the same Self we share with our Creator Self. Truth is a lesser form of knowledge, as truth unceasingly changes into endless forms. So what might be true for you or for me now, might be less or more true in a different place or time. I wish you much light for you on your way to these new states of existence.

 
At Tue Jul 01, 02:10:00 AM 2008, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I noticed that Hoyt spends time in or near the room and is listening to people and their concerns. Is this necessary for his messages?

He has the only light in the room. Why are we in the dark while he can see. The charade with the taping of the face all the way up the forehead is insulting. Meanwhile, the bidge of his nose is left gaping. All he needs is one tape closing that.

I wish I had not spent the money or made the trip. I have since learned that he will never be invited back to a S.C. town for fraud. It is amazing how people don't want to question him. Wake up. He may be a good medium but he is doing parlor tricks for a lot of money.

 
At Fri Dec 17, 02:07:00 AM 2010, Blogger ellede said...

That publish-only-what-we-say attitude is like an experience I had a few years ago, August. I briefly attended a Spiritualist Church, and submitted an article about Louis and me to their newsletter. It didn't appear; I asked the editor and he said it had been vetoed by the President of the group (whose husband was the minister). It took some doing for me to get hold of this woman to find out why she banned my article. First she asked if it was a novel, then when I told her it was true, she came down on me like I was a village girl who the squire had got pregnant. If that wasn't bad enough, she presumed to judge Louis' behaviour. Love between this plane and Spirit apparently isn't allowed, according to her. I just got the feeling at the time she was hiding from something; even her makeup was mask-like.

However I was most fortunate to find out quickly what that group is like - they fancy themselves a capital-C Church with all the authoritarianism that can go with it. There's actually a website dedicated to the nastiness that other members have experienced, and we're talking harassment that might get them sued. I'm very grateful to be long clear of all that!

I should've guessed something was weird when I saw the minister, really ... he dressed like a 19th century revivalist preacher! :P

 

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