Theresa Caputo : A Breakdown

General Information:

Theresa Caputo is a 51 year old, self proclaimed psychic who became famous through her television show The Long Island Medium (on TLC)in 2011. She has two children and is recently separated from her former husband Larry. She claims she channels what she calls "Spirit" through her chakras and can control who and what type of information / spirits / energies connect with her. 

The Live Experience:

According to various sources, phones are not allowed to be on or out during the live shows. Multiple people have said they are vigilant about keeping peoples phones away. Another thing that left fans disappointed is Caputo's decision to push subscriptions for her "fan club" ($19.99) before beginning the live readings. During these "live experiences", she spouts general information and vague feelers until someone shows a visual or auditory response. She has not been seen walking up to anyone and relaying specific, detailed information. She asks questions and looks for objects in peoples hands / jewelry, etc and waits for a response from someone in the audience, especially if multiple people react to her vague starters. 

The generalized starters and feelers only turn more specific when she gets a clear reaction. An example from an article on Phillymag.com below:

"Did he write you a note shortly before he died saying IM SORRY?"

When there is no positive or affirming response, she will begin to back track, like so;

"The next time youre in a card store and you see a card that says IM SORRY, know that this is from him."

Some former fans even say that the live experience "was like pulling teeth" to make a genuine connection with an audience member. There was another alleged incident of the TLC crew grilling a guest on Long Island Medium about her deceased husband before she could film with Caputo and now thinks Theresa is a phony.

Her Methods and Excuses:

Caputo claims that she channels "Spirit" through her chakras and her "brain goes blank so I'm clearly channeling". She also claims to have been "brain tested", so her abilities MUST be true! 

One thing I and others have noticed is that she all too often acts like a therapist or grief counselor to her clients, when really she is giving nothing more than general, cliche comfort. 

"I always say it is not my fault or spirits fault that there are only so many ways that people can die and common burdens and guilt that we might carry." - Caputo

This seems like a huge cop-out to me. She is contradicting herself, saying on one hand she can completely control what and who connects with her and only allowing positive information to come through. Then back tracking again, saying she cannot help that she can only give general info and spews the same things to all her clients. Pick one and stick with it! As many actual mediums or people with abilities will tell you they cannot control who or what connects with them or what type of info comes out.

A former psychic has also claimed that Caputo is a "piggy backer", which means she back tracks and reconstructs her readings after she is told she missed the mark. 

Though she claims to make a difference in peoples lives and claims to truly help them, giving them false information and cliche comfort may not be truly helpful in the long run. If anyone was truly touched and helped by her, by all means, that's wonderful. But she isn't accurate or consistent enough for me. 

So, to sum this section up, Caputo is cold reader and may also be utilizing hot reading techniques (gaining info before meetings).

What others are saying:

Some guests that appeared on the show claim that Caputo is cold and ignores her fans off camera. Pushing past guests and making them re-do scenes to her liking. 

Howard Stern even claims that Caputo made outlandish demands in regard to her would-have-been appearance on his show. He also claims she demanded 45 minutes to an hour alone with the audience before filming could begin. 

"The Long Island psychic is not a psychic!" - Howard Stern


Conclusion and Rating: (rating based on a 5 star system one * = 1 star)

Truthfulness: **
Transparency: **
Accuracy: *
Specificity: *
Client Interaction: **
Price: * 
Consistency: *
Ability to help people: **
Average/Overall rating: 1.5 stars

Do I endorse or recommend her? NO

(The only information I could find on her prices were that private readings were between $50 and $175. Ticket prices vary as do group reading rates. However I have read elsewhere that she may charge by the hour and / or go up to $500 per reading)

The Issue With Orbs

Orbs: Orbs are often thought to be solid evidence or manifestations of spirits or spirit activity. Many self proclaimed gurus, ghost hunters and psychics will claim that they see or capture orbs in pictures and videos. However, there is little to no definitive evidence to suggest its paranormal in any way.

Orbs are not a clear signifier of spirit activity nor are they accepted as admissible proof of a haunting or activity to any reputable mediums, spiritual investigators, or the like. Unfortunately, unlike tv, spirits don’t really form in balls (orbs) or circle around us. They are energy, yes, but there’s no proof of them actually manifesting this way. Most likely this is dust, bugs, a camera glitch, lighting issue, particles in the air, etc. so many variables can cause what LOOKS like an “orb” when in fact it’s something completely mundane or normal.

Photos or video taken in dim rooms using flash or light from the camera, can cause orb-like shapes to appear. I’ve seen many photos and videos like this and even had it happen to myself. Below you'll find a prime example of false orbs in a picture of a group of my friends in a basement with low lighting, flash and other odd light sources. And there’s actually nothing spirit related in the basement.

Common factors that come across as so called orbs are as follows:

DUST

INSECTS

MOISTURE IN THE AIR/ROOM

LIGHT

LENS FLARE

There is an excellent article, with visual examples on Exemplore.com entitled "Tips On Debunking Orbs". (Author: L Sarhan)

False orbs can occur with ANY type of camera! It is commonly believed that you can totally avoid the getting false evidence with a polaroid or old camera, but this is not true. Both modern, digital, or vintage cameras can pull up orb like figures and give you false evidence. 

Orbs are also claimed so often that it seems every other day someone believes they've captured groundbreaking evidence of the haunting they think is happening in their house, or evidence of an urban legend apparition. This is problematic and makes the paranormal far too accessible, in a not so good way. It causes misinformation and surrounds the topic in an over simplified mysticism, like a child's fairytale. These ideas have been amplified by shows like Ghost Adventures, who routinely showcase orbs as "evidence" of what they were seeking. 

My best advice? Be very weary of orbs or anything captured on camera that looks like a photo chemical burn. (Example below)

First attempt at homemade ROSE WATER

Homemade Rose Water Recipe

4-8 cups of distilled/clean water (amount of water depends on how much you want to make)

Fresh roses of your choice ( I used yellow because they have significant meaning, I also added fresh lilac petals from my lilac bushes )

*Make sure that the roses / any flowers you use DO NOT have pesticides on them! 

Essential Oils (optional)

I personally used the following essential oils:

White Angelica

Ginger

Lemon

*All essential oils must be food grade / therapeutic grade. Make sure all oils and ingredients used are up to standard and totally safe

Bring water up to a simmer and add flowers

Simmer the flowers until they begin to lose their color and wilt

Add a few drops of essential oils (optional)

Simmer for about 5 more minutes to incorporate the oils

Take off the heat and let it cool

I personally left the petals in while the mixture cooled

Drain the mixture and bottle the rose water 

I used a spray bottle and a mason jar

*Always spot test and avoid ingredients you are or may be allergic to

*I added a small pinch of salt just to keep the mixture from molding / spoiling

Herbal Teas - Cloud Walking Tea by Nuwati Herbals

During my recent trip to the Foxwoods Reserve and Casino, I picked up a couple of teas I found in one of the shops that featured native made products and mostly native owned businesses, which is refreshing to see!

I came across some bottles of tea by Nuwati Herbals. The first tea I picked up was the Cloud Walking Tea. I am someone who has quite a bit of trouble sleeping and staying asleep, so I was happy to find something natural that might help me out. 

What I really enjoy about this particular tea is that the effects of it are slow releasing. In other words, youre not going to be suddenly knocked out after drinking it or have the heavy grogginess and confusion that sometimes comes with fast relating sleep aides or other teas like this. 

The recommended serving size is 1 tablespoon per cup of tea. I found this amount of tea to be a little too strong for me, so I cut it down to about half a tablespoon and this worked perfectly. 

The taste is very floral and earthy. I did notice that the finishing note on this tea is quite bitter, at least to me. So, I personally add a little bit of sugar, honey, agave, cherry juice, whatever type of natural sweetener I have on hand. I personally add about a teaspoon or two and it cuts the bitter flavor just enough where its not so strong or noticeable. 

Nuwati Herbals only features loose teas, so I recommend either purchasing one of their tea bags or using one of your own tea infusers. However, I do recommended making sure that the infuser has much smaller holes / strainer to prevent bits of the leaves from getting into your tea if youre using your own. Using a mesh strainer is also a good idea if you have one.