This scientist called Jack Houck has filmed a lesson teaching spoon bending and seed sprouting and shows it online for free. His linked website has many lessons and believes he can allow us all to drop our beliefs of limitation and is willing to do it for all. I've seen one of these on TV and been to two Uri Geller workshops and if it can be done this guy will definitely show you how. He also has a written transcript of the lesson on his site plus healing, remote viewing and many more. I've had one go during the lesson and nothing yet, but living in hope!

PK party

Let us know if you managed to bend anything!

I remember the craze in the U.K. when I was a young teen. I remember concentrating on a stopped clock to get it started. It did actually start but I might have inadvertently jiggled the mechanics inside in the process to 'remind' it it still had some clockwork left! lol Never had any luck with forks though...

I find it extremely surprising that Uri Geller is still trying to push his tired parlour tricks more than two decades after being exposed by the Committee for the Investigation of claims of the Paranomal, and losing each court suit he subsequently brought for libel, slander etc. Details can be found under The Truth about Uri Geller in a well-annotated Wikipedia entry. The public has a relatively short memory and I guess duping the media is pretty easy..politicians do it on a daily basis.<g>

I was so bored by the time his intro was over, I couldn't stay awake for the "show!"

Talk about a human rain delay. Is he for real? I remember the name, but evidently never paid a lot of attention to what he did.

The thing about this seminar is it's totally independent of Uri Geller. This guy is a retured physicist who claims to have unlocked the ability of psychokinesis, and uses it as a gateway to many more powers to follow.

OK, he's not the greatest presenter, but looks way over 70 (80 even) and I wouldn't be travelling the world giving lectures if I was that age! But the fact he shares all his work free and all the ordinary people in the video are shown with metal twisted in ways impossible to do manually makes me think it would take a huge conspiracy if faked, and if it was what on earth would be the point? Uri Geller made millions from whatever he does, genuine or not, but this guy did it after retiring when he could sit at home and take it easy. You have to look at people's motives when something looks dubious and there are none here to make someone do it.

I really didn't mean he was a fake, sat. I just can't imagine such an odd presentation! The other man with the microphone, looked like his clothes were taken from the hamper! Geller obviously didn't need professional film makers, or props to make his point.

I guess he had sort of a "cult" following.

I didn't think you were veronikka, I was just wondering generally what Jack Houck's motives could be beyond what he claims. Uri Geller himself refuses to admit if he's a fake nowadays, which although removes some of my confidence in him doesn't stop the handful of others from claiming similar powers, or mean he necessarily is. When he held his hand out in front of me with radish seeds which proceeded to sprout about half an inch in a minute I can't see anyone being able to make seeds grow that fast. Jack Houck does exactly the same thing, and I also saw a film of a spoonbending class for children in California where half of them managed similar results. Had I seen the programme first I actually worked with one of the co-presenters who could have told me more (although I agree had it been 'doctored' in any way they wouldn't tell anyone).

I have also seen a man produce scented oil from his bare hands wearing no sleeves to hide anything. He did wipe his hands on a towel which could have contained it but another investigator asked him not to and he still managed it. The theory I was given is changing matter uses telepathy but transfers actual physical material rather than thoughts. Makes sense if you think of it that way. My investigations go on, and even though I thought I may have finally found a way to bend a fork after 34 years of trying nothing's happened yet.

I tend to be pretty skeptical about this sort of thing - many of the 'powers' are based on pretty standard magic techniques. They look amazing to you and I, because they are supposed to. Wow, how'd he do that, he had nothing up his sleeve!

The Amazing Randi is a magician who has made a bit of a career of duplicating so called paranormal activities, using standard professional magic. His books are very interesting - Geller is one whom Randi was instrumental in discrediting.

The thing is although magicians can reproduce most of these I know a few which I can do myself which are definitely not tricks. Now if you extend the known to higher levels then a few exceptional people may be able to use a force unknown to science, but it's true few if any have submitted themselves for investigation yet. But also I hear some places won't test them as it costs too much. And the excuses some make for not being tested like it doesn't matter to prove it to others etc doesn't cut it for me either. But there's definitely more, I just don't know how much yet.

Yes, that is the problem - one problem with testing telepathy and other psychic connection seems to be that it only works when it wants to and is 'shy' of rigid testing parameters. This could be perfectly true, but it also is a great shield for a faker to hide behind.

The scientific method has its limitations, but is still the best way we have of finding if a phenomena is 'true'. If another researcher, using the same methods, cannot produce the same results, then we cannot consider a hypothesis proven. If a certain branch of knowledge is not amenable to scientific method, I think the onus must be on those who are backing it to come up with an equally rigorous method of testing, before they can be taken seriously. It should not be up to the rest of us to take it on faith.

"Learn to be like Uri Geller"

No, I should not like to learn how to be a complete fraud who deserves all the tortures of Guantanamo, thank you.

Does anyone know Jack Houck's website?

Why is it that all these people with super powers spend their time bending spoons? There must be something more useful to do with their talents.

The lottery does suggest itself, as does espionage and the like.

Sylvia Browne, among others, has availed local police forces of her services in locating missing persons. Of course, she has failed rather spectacularly.

People, you've no idea how many curse words I have deleted from these last two postings. The depths of my contempt for professional psychics - John Edward inclusive - would startle you.

The purpose isn't really to bend spoons but to show our wider abilities in general, and I only say Uri Geller as no one else publicly claims to be able to do it. Just a bridge to something else although something I've never seen anyone else do directly besides him.

The ability problem is similar to others, a world class runner can't break a record or win a race every time so the same level for psychics isn't possible either. But Stu, as far as simple clairvoyance is concerned it just happens. Training helps the amount but most people can do it easily. I've been to classes and running tests for 16 years and rarely fails on a percentage basis- 70-80% is what it takes to call it a success and we get that most of the time. It's no different from TV reception but we can do it as well, albeit at a very low level so far in comparison.

We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one, mate, but I would like to know what some examples of the success you cite are.

Well I've listed them in a few places here, but my own (and many others') speciality is picking up information from strangers when we do readings. You can't fix them, you either get it right or not. I was on the phone to a woman and my first check is to see who is close to them. Clairvoyance is seeing things in your mind and I tuned into a woman that turned out to be her mother, I saw a picture and drew it, and went to her flat and she showed me a picture of her mother who was the same person I saw, with the evidence of the picture I showed her before I saw it.

Other people can demonstrate it just as well, I went to a clairvoyant who told me as I walked in I was in the healing profession and I'd just started a counselling course. She went on to see an old German/Austrian doctor, who was someone I'd been aware of wanting to be like all my life, and she gave him a name and said who he was and was my guide. It appears I was inspired into my profession by his spirit (even I'm not sure about spirits but know we can receive information from living people) and realised how it all fitted together, from a total stranger.

I also do the envelope with an image drawn inside it, and have shown others how to do it and shocked a few when on their first attempt it turned out they'd drawn almost exactly what I had. It happens most of the time and once I could do it asked for more and more unusual drawings which I tuned into just the same. Our thoughts are all electrical activity so no reason at all why they can't travel from person to person, although they are able to cover much greater distances on much lower power.

I was also shown how to see auras, extending my visual spectrum so I could see colours and light around people and things although rarely without the help of the teacher I stopped seeing long ago.

If these things are possible I can only hope more is, and was told by a student of the 'oil producer' that moving matter was no different from thoughts, you just draw material as you would data. That is logical whether or not able to demonstrate very often.

I think the only way I could bend spoons is with invisible rope and good acting skills.