This raises questions: Are all mediums frauds, and can we be sure that they are? Is it possible that some mediums may be receiving information from a demonic source? Is the classification of mediums as frauds a helpful response? Despite seemingly being debunked by skeptics, mediums still generate strong interest. Skeptics have denounced these mediums and attempted to expose them as frauds. Edward, Browne, and Van Praagh all have backgrounds that include heavy psychic experiences as well as research into the occult and psychic worlds. While Edward claims to be Roman Catholic, Browne and Van Praagh have openly rejected orthodox Christianity and embraced a nonjudgmental God more tailored to New Age beliefs. Sylvia Browne and James Van Praagh do not practice spirit contact in a vacuum they have complex spiritual beliefs spelled out in their books and expressed on talk shows.

Several movies, such as the hit, The Sixth Sense, have also made spirit contact the theme of their stories.

Edward and Van Praagh both have popular television shows, and all three have written best-selling books and have appeared on numerous talk shows. Much of this interest is due to the popularity of mediums such as John Edward, Sylvia Browne, and James Van Praagh.

(Nov.Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in contact with the dead. On the other hand, belief in the paranormal is not necessary to enjoy this book, or to appreciate the author's apparent commitment to rendering compassionate service to individuals in despair over unresolved emotional issues with deceased family members. His suggestion that flickering light bulbs, scrambled TV pictures and telephone hang-ups are contacts from these guides may not, however, convince many readers.

Van Praagh claims that humans are all blessed with benevolent guides, and offers introductory meditation and psychic exercises to help the reader experience their presence. Precise explanations of psychic phenomena are coupled with compelling stories of individual sessions of mental mediumship, which make up a good portion of the book: an elderly man celebrates his 50th anniversary with a deceased wife a son dead from AIDS assures his parents of his well-being. In his first book, the author sees heaven as a multidimensional world, permeated by ''pure love,'' where spirits reside once they have left their physical bodies and before they take up new ones. Communicating through a medium with lost loved ones can, according to Van Praagh, himself a medium, be a way for people stuck in the grieving process to work out their unresolved emotions.

Talking to heaven by james van praagh