Last month Gary's brush with the sceptic community was the subject of a (very) brief article by Tara Brady in the Harrow Observer, which was later picked up by Psychic News.
By Julia
Quote:
"psychic healer" controversy
Aug 28 2008 By Tara Brady
A row has broken out between a 'psychic surgeon' who believes he once cured a man of cancer and a campaigner who says he is a con man.
Gary Mannion, 20, from South Harrow, says he has been psychic since he was 13 but is furious a website called badpsychics.com ridicules his beliefs.
The spiritual healer, who practices at Gold's Gym in Sheepcote Road, Harrow, has even sought legal advice about the internet site which he believes is defamatory.
He said: "There are sceptics out there which is fair enough but this is a personal attack on me. They have been hounding me for months. They are spreading letters around and have set up a website.
"I have looked into taking legal action and spoken to a lawyer which cost me a couple of hundred pounds. He told me it would cost thousands of pounds to pursue and I wouldn't make my money back.
"Am I not allowed my own beliefs? If a scientist believes in God does that make him a crackpot because he cannot prove without doubt the existence of God?"
Mr Mannion was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and put on Ritalin from a young age. He is now a keen promoter of the New Age 'Indigo Movement' which believes children with ADHD represent a higher level of human evolution and may even have paranormal powers.
He said: "Indigo children are right-brain orientated. They are very psychic from a young age and are advanced spiritual beings."
The healer, who has no medical qualifications, also believes a man he once performed psychic surgery on was cured of cancer but was asked to remove this assertion from his website by Trading Standards.
He said: "A guy who was terminally ill with liver cancer came to see me and I performed psychic surgery. Two days later he went for a scan and the cancer had gone. Trading Standards asked me to change a testimonial on my site because they said if I claimed I cured the cancer I would be in breach of the Cancer Act. So I changed it straight away."
But Julia Atkinson, administrator of the badpsychics website, has been investigating Mr Mannion over the past year. She contacted the Observer and said: "I think the people of Harrow need to know about the claims and activities of Mr Mannion. We have gone through them with a fine tooth comb and cannot believe he makes such outrageous claims. The prospect of sick people being tempted to use Gary Mannion's services in order to avoid drugs and surgery horrifies me."
For more information visit www.garymannion.com or www.badpsychics.com
It was unfortunate that Ms Brady didn't include a link to this site, which contains much more info on Gary than
BadPsychics - nor would anyone who didn't click on the link know exactly how Gary first came under sceptical scrutiny in the first place. Still, I suppose I should be grateful that anything even slightly critical of Gary was published at all.
Now let's take a closer look at the article.
Firstly, I wonder who gave Gary his legal advice. Could it have been Lionel Hutz of
The Simpsons? Because a real lawyer, having made himself familiar with Gary's history of lying, evading questions and spouting utter gibberish, would have wasted no time in showing him the door. There's also the little matter of statements not being "defamatory" if they are true, and there is nothing on this site that will not stand up to legal scrutiny. Unlike Gary I check my sources carefully and don't make things up as I go along.
What are we to make of Gary's heart-rending cry "Am I not allowed my own beliefs?" Is it possible that he
still hasn't grasped the reason why sceptics have taken him to task? No-one is attacking Gary for his beliefs. I personally couldn't care less if he believes that there is a colony of fairies living in his underpants. Many people have patently absurd and/or dangerous beliefs but they keep them to themselves. But Gary is living out his fantasies by charging money for "healings" which, based as they are on the manipulation of non-existent "energies", can work only as part of the placebo effect, if at all. Had
BadPsychics not intervened, Gary's website would still be attracting the attention of desperate cancer patients by claiming that he cured terminal liver cancer in two days. As it is he now merely
implies that he performed this miracle.
Incidentally, if Gary would like to contact the patient - Rodger Andrews of Littlehampton - and ask him to provide statements from the doctors who examined him before and after the cure, I'd be happy to publish this information, unedited and in full, on this site. For all I know Mr Andrews may since have died from cancer, as was the case with a very similar testimonial used on the website of spiritual healer Andrew McKellar. But since Gary has also stated that doctors suppress evidence of cures brought about by alternative methods of healing I won't hold my breath waiting for a reply. This is a typical crackpot/conspiracy theorist ploy designed to account for the lack of hard evidence.
To return to the article, I'm amused by the way Gary compares himself to a scientist who believes in God. Evidently he doesn't understand that, unless the scientist in question is a creationist, he or she does not allow religious beliefs to influence their work. In any case, the outcome of a scientific experiment will be the same whether the person who performs it believes in God or not. But Gary's career is based on the fact that his New Age beliefs (ie pre-scientific drivel repackaged for a modern audience) are taken seriously by literally millions of poorly educated and credulous people who are standing in line to throw their money away. He is not the secular equivalent of a scientist who believes in God, he is a New Age crackpot peddling potentially dangerous nonsense.
A response to the article published on the
Letters to the Editor page provides a useful insight into how superstition and credulity erode critical thinking:
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If psychics can help, please do
Sep 11 2008 Harrow Observer
I am a psychic and I have known since I was 21 when I moved into my first home in the Crystal Palace area and found it to be haunted.
Since then I have been fascinated with ghosts and the paranormal.
I have visited many spiritualist churches and circles in order to develop my own psychic skills but like Gary Mannion I have had to put up with a lot of ridicule and speculation.
I have been accused of witchcraft and worshipping the Devil (whoever he is!). I have also had two investigators come to our church one time.
They left very disappointed that we don't do human sacrifices (besides you just can't get the virgins these days can you).
I happen to know Gary Mannion and he is a very nicely spoken young man and is well-behaved and doesn't give anyone any trouble; he wants to heal and bring comfort, so what's wrong with that!
Julia Atkinson said that she is horrified by sick people seeing Gary Mannion. Well, I am horrified about having hospital treatment with all this MRSA flying around and I am allergic to many forms of medication.
I cannot afford private care and also I have been writing since November to have an ingrowing toenail removed in which I will need to face my biggest fear - injections, six of them!
I am in a lot of pain and discomfort and if Gary or any other psychic healer can sort it out please let them be my guests.
Julia, worry about the teenagers stabbing one another and do something more useful and leave Gary Mannion alone.
TERESA ANDREWS
Incredible. The remote possility that she might contract MRSA in hospital discourages her from continuing medical treatment, so (being psychic herself) she supports the work of the "very nicely spoken" Gary Mannion and others like him. I wonder what she'd do if she were badly injured or suddenly taken ill with a life-threatening condition - refuse to go to hospital and seek out the nearest spiritual healer? I send the following reply to the Editor:
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It is obvious from the contents of Teresa Andrews' letter (11th September) that she has not read the criticism of Gary Mannion on www.badpsychics.com, a link to which was provided in Tara Brady's article. Unfortunately the piece did not include a link to my own site www.badpsychicsgarymannion.co.uk, which is a more detailed and thoroughly researched debunking of Mr Mannion's claims.
Gary Mannion may well be "very nicely spoken" but he has also violated the Cancer Act, which forbids any unqualified person offering to treat or cure the disease, by including on his website a testimonial from a man whose terminal liver cancer he upposedly cured in two days. Mr Mannion was forced to remove this claim by Brent and Harrow Trading Standards.
His publicity material makes much of the fact that he has worked with "leading medical professionals", yet when members of UK-Skeptics asked him to name them he could only come up with three - obstetrician Dr Gowri Motha; Manesh Naidoo, Head of Physiotherapy at Northwick Park Hospital; and homeopathic doctor Glen Davies. I attempted to contact all of them, only to discover that although Dr Motha knows Mr Mannion she shares my concern at what she refers to as his "extravagant claims" and has since asked him not to use her name in his talks. No-one called Manesh Naidoo has ever been employed as Head of Physiotherapy at Northwick Park Hospital (the position is currently held by Sangita Patel) and representatives of the hospital threatened Mr Mannion with legal action if he continued to name Northwick Park on his website. Glen Davies does not appear to be a member of any professional homeopathic organisation, and since Mr Mannion has declined to provide further information I have no reason to believe that such a person even exists. I leave Ms Andrews to decide if this is the behaviour of an honest man.
It is clear from the testimonials on his website that Mr Mannion's "cures", from which he seems to be making a very good living, are due entirely to the placebo effect. He may be genuinely deluded or simply a conman, but in my opinion he is exploiting the sick and/or gullible people who provide the New Age industry with millions of pounds each year. I have no intention of leaving Mr Mannion - and others like him - alone. And if Ms Andrews has any intention of putting her ingrown toenail into Mr Mannion's hands specifically to AVOID a course of injections I have to assume that she hasn't looked at www.garymannion.com either, since he is now falling over himself in his eagerness to make it clear to potential clients that his ministrations are complementary to mainstream medical treatment, not a replacement for it. Yet the site still includes testimonials from three people who sought Gary's help specifically to avoid hospitalization and surgery...evidently Mr Mannion's psychic skills don't extend to detecting contradictory claims on his own website!
By the way, on the 11th and 12th October Gary will be appearing at a Mind, Body, Spirit Festival in Cambridge. His publicity material seems to be a little out of date since he's still 19 years old, performs "non-evasive" surgery and has worked with leading medical professionals. I wonder if they're the same leading medical professionals who turned out to be Dr Gowri Motha, "Manesh Naidoo" and International Homeopathic Doctor of Mystery Glen Davies?!
The
Harrow Observer article was later picked up by
Psychic News, who got in touch with Gary to ask his opinion of the piece. Gary stated that the article was "very badly written", and for the first and possibly the last time I'm in full agreement with him. The
Psychic News article continues:
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"BadPsychics seems to have a personal vendetta against me and are attacking everything but my psychic surgery."
It's news to me that we've been careful to avoid criticizing Gary's psychic surgery. He has so many fingers in the woo pie we can't be expected to keep up with everything. Just be patient, Gary, and I'm sure an opportunity will present itself soon enough.
Quote:
"They are also sending a load of untruths around about me which I have explained to them."
No, we are merely trying to ensure that
Gary's multiple untruths are made known to the venues at which he appears and the vulnerable people in danger of falling for his act. And Gary has explained precisely NOTHING to us. He merely attempted to laugh off his phoney references as silly mistakes and has failed to provide evidence for anything else, including that amazing cancer cure.
The article goes on to mention the tests Gary is undergoing at the hands of Professor Archie E Roy - convinced believer in psychic phemomena - and Patricia Roberts, who thinks she's psychic. I think it's safe to assume that their tests won't be too...well,
testing. He also says that the investigators will report back to a charity called PRISM, "Psychical Research Involving Selected Mediums". This would appear to be a complete waste of time as PRISM (founded by Professor Roy) was wound up quite some time ago.
Quote:
Gary is also taking part in research with Dr Harry Oldfield, which involves various tests including work on brain functions.
"When I worked with him, my brain produced multiple waves which is evidence of spirit," he he claimed...
Dr Harry Oldfield is one of those strange people who manage to combine an orthodox academic career with a sideline in woo. He was mentioned in one of Tom's posts on UK-Skeptics:
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SCIENCE WEEKEND - SOUND HEALTH IN A NEW LIGHT
8th - 10th August 2008.
Sound and light are intrinsic to our make-up at all levels of our being, and mental, emotional and ultimately physical dis-ease is a result of our discordance or disharmony with Nature and our Divine Self. As humankind sees dissolution of the old scientific paradigm in favour of the reintegration of science and spirituality, healing techniques based upon sound and light as once practiced in Ancient Egypt are again coming to the fore. While today's pioneers are applying modern technology to researching and utilising these underlying Cosmic Principles, our innate ability to heal is also being increasingly recognised.
Once again we welcome Dr Harry Oldfield Dip. Ed. D.Hom. (Med). Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society and Member of the Queckett Society based at the Natural History Museum. He is author of "Harry Oldfield's Invisible Universe" and co-author of "The Dark Side of the Brain".
Harry has been an invaluable friend and enthusiastic supporter of Hourne Farm since its inception. He will be speaking on "Sound and Light Application to Healing" and on "Intimate Dimensional Reality".
Other speakers include Gary Mannion the 20 year old indigo child with amazing psychic and healing abilities. Gary will give demonstrations of psychic surgery.
http://elaine-thompson-soundtherapy.com/events_hournefarm.php
Have a look at Dr Oldfield's website:
http://www.electrocrystal.com/ And don't miss his thinly-veiled claim to have cured, or at least stabilized, a woman's breast cancer:
http://www.electrocrystal.com/spirdest0212.html Back to the
Psychic News article:
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Gary added that he had accepted a challenge from BadPsychics and will soon be undergoing a test with Chris French. "I have accepted everything put to me by BadPsychics," he commented. "And since doing so, they have not posted anything new on me."
Whoa there, boy! The test to which you refer will be devised jointly by Professor Chris French and "blindwatchmaker", who happens to be a member of both BadPsychics and UK-Skeptics. BADPSYCHICS IS NOT OFFICIALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TEST IN ANY WAY. And I don't know what you mean by "I have accepted everything put to me by BadPsychics", because at the moment we know no more than you about what the tests involve. As for not posting anything new - I think you should monitor both BadPsychics and BadPsychicsGaryMannion much more closely!
