Last updated 11/06/2007

For those people who are interested in researching into the history of hallucinatory experiences, I recommend two books from the 1890s that I looked through yesterday.

1) Parish, E. (1897). “Hallucinations and Illusions: Study of the Fallacies of Perception”. Walter Scott Ltd.; London. This book presents the results of “an exhaustive study of the German, English, French and American literature of the subject” (p.vi). It is chocka full of references to other studies/theories from the 1800s, and some from the 1700s.

2) Sidgwick, et al. (1894). ‘Report on the Census of Hallucinations’. In: “Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research”. Vol.X, pp.24-422. This is a report resulting from “the statistical inquiry into the spontaneous hallucinations of the sane” (p25), in which 17000 people were interviewed between April 1889 – May 1892. The following question was put to participants – “Have you ever, when believing yourself to be completely awake, had a vivid impression of seeing or being touched by a living being or inanimate object, or of hearing a voice; which impression, so far as you could discover, was not due to any external physical cause?” (p.35). “Of the 17,000 answers, 2,272 were in the affirmative” (p.36).

Traced and recommended by Brian Spittles, INTERVOICE Forum member (thanks Brian!)

For the Rev. Donna Jeanne Guerra, a story about Texas hold’em explains the monthly Psychic Fair in Tampa.

St Petersburg Times, September 24, 2006

There’s little chance you’ll believe her. She knows that, and it has nothing to do with being psychic or clairvoyant or hearing the voices of the dead.

But if you really want to understand why people have been coming to the Psychic Fair at Harmony Metaphysical Church on W Henry Avenue almost every month since 1962, it’s important to hear the psychic tell her story about Texas hold’em.

It’s not something she shares lightly, what with all the skeptics and haters and vandals who spray-paint inappropriate words on her church. But this is a story she likes to tell.

So follow her out of the Psychic Fair, past the candles and cards and tables occupied by waiting clairvoyants, take a seat on a bench outside and let the Rev. Donna Jeanne Guerra explain.

The story starts on a Sunday in the summer of 2004. Having ministered at church that morning, Guerra decided to spend the afternoon at her home computer playing solitaire. But when she tried to launch the program, it failed.

That’s when she heard the voices. They told her to go play Texas hold’em at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Before you scoff, let her explain what she means by “voices.” It’s that internal monologue inside most everyone. Like your conscience.

She calls it her “guidance” sometimes, or her “angels,” and she has learned to listen to the voices, to scrutinize chance and coincidence, to closely examine who we are and what we do in a universal context where there are multiple dimensions and mystical energies at play. She hones her skills by reading religious texts and books such as Sacred Power in Your Name and Lifestyles of the Rich in Spirit.

It’s something that has been with her since childhood she was raised Methodist, by the way and she says she has foreseen many incidents, though she will only tell you about them “off the record” because she doesn’t need the headaches.

It’s also important, before she goes on, to know that she does not endorse gambling.

So, voices heard, she headed to the casino, to the poker tables, to a seat with 10 other gamblers where she played her way through 30 minutes without winning a hand.

Okay, she told her guidance. You got me here and I haven’t won.

You’re playing for the jackpot, they said.

Next hand, she says, the dealer gave her an ace of spades and 10 of spades. Then came the flop: a king of spades, a queen of spades, and a four of hearts.

“I swear,” she said.

One more card.

It’s hard for people to believe what happened next, and that, in a way, is why the Psychic Fair has been held here month after month since 1962. This is a place where like-minded people, or at least people open to such things, sit at tables covered with Tarot cards and mystic crystals and experience a connection to community, to different dimensions, to things that are hard to explain, folks here say.

One of those people, a lady from Brandon who calls the reverend a shining light in a dimly lit world, is waiting for a reading in Guerra’s office.

So the psychic needs to go.

That card? Jack of spades. Royal flush. She says she won $11,368. She gave $400 to the dealer, paid $500 for a new kayak and gave the rest to the Harmony Metaphysical Church.

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