The Mirror

Uri Gellers column is in The Mirror

Home page 1 page 2 page 5 page 6

Five steps to thin

It's getting colder, the beach is a long way off and this is the toughest time of year to focus on your weight and fitness. Theapproach of winter puts our bodies into pre-hibernation mode, and it's natural to want to eat like a hungry grizzly bear before settling down for six months in bed.

All the more reason, then, to fight back against flab. If you can be positive now, you can be positive all the year round.

Follow these four Mindpower steps to feel physically and mentally stronger.

One - name your target. It's not enough to say, "I want to lose some weight." Losing "some" won't give you a sense of

achievement. Take a tape measure and face the facts: make a note of your chest, tummy and rear measurements. Then decide how many centimetres you're going to shed.

Two - find out how. There's plenty of good informaton on the web and on bookshop shelves. Steer clear of fad diets, the kind that will be unfashionable by next summer. The best regime is simply healthy eating, with plenty of fruit, vegetables and grains, while cutting down on fat and sugar; sensible exercise, such as bicycling or aerobics; and lots of water. Two litres a day is good - more than three cups of coffee is bad!

Three - treat yourself with respect. You're getting your waistline into shape, so make sure the rest of you keeps up. Wear

your favourite clothes, get your hair done, and be determined to look good whenever you leave the house. Looking good means people treat you with more respect, which instantly boosts self-esteem.

Four - get on with it. Put your resolutions into practice, and be proud of yourself for applying your willpower. Planning to start next week, or next month, is just giving yourself an excuse to overeat and be lazy today. Looking after your body and hitting your targets are great feelings, guaranteed to put a smile on your face as the nights draw in.

Random numbers

All human minds are subtly connected on an invisible wavelength. It is this connection which makes telepathy possible - think of your brain as a television receiver, one of many millions spread all over the country, and capable of tuning in to images and messages at exactly the same instant as all those others.

We prove this every time Mirror readers beat the odds in my weekly Psychic Challenge and intuitively read my mind. Week after week, your correct responses are significantly better than chance would predict.

Scientists at Princeton, New Jersey, have set up a vast experiment with random number generators (RNGs) to prove the effects

of mind on matter. Computer RNGs are a kind of electronic device for flipping coins - they churn out endless streams of 1s and 0s, or 'heads' and 'tails'. Because the computers are wholly random, no patterns should emerge.

But at key moments in recent world history, the RNGs have converged to produce patterns described as "small, but very highly

significant," by Richard S Broughton, the former director of the Institute for Parapsychology in Durham, North Carolina.

The effect was first visible during the funeral of Princess Diana. It was repeated during the first hour of Nato bombing in Yugoslavia, around midnight on each New Year's Day, and at the moment of several major earthquakes.

Most dramatically, the 38 RNGs worldwide became aligned at 10.12am, New York time, on 11 September - the instant that a second airliner hit the Twin Towers. Roger Nelson, an experimental psychologist at the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research laboratory, says such an alignment would happen by chance only once every two-and-a-half years.

Scientists are baffled. Dean Radin, a parapsychologist in Nevada who has studied the effects of a full moon on gamblers' luck

in Las Vegas, admits he can't explain the incredible results: "What does it mean? It is still basically a giant experiment. It points in

the direction of some connection between mind and matter, but we don't really know."

Scientists

What an angry email I received last week from a chap who called himself a ?studying scientist? at a Scottish university. He took great exception to the notion that random number generators, those machines which churn out a patternless series of ones and zeroes, might somehow be responsive to great surges of human emotion.?Nonsense,? cried the studying scientist, and ?completely wrong?, and ?misinformation?. Where did I get these ridiculous notions?

Im sorry to ruin the nice safe preconceptions of stick-in-the-muds who believe that anything ?psychic? must be a conjuring trick ... but all my data about random number generators came from scientists at one of the most prestigious universities in the world, Princeton in New Jersey. The website is at http://noosphere.princeton.edu/

Mirror readers can be assured that everything I report in this weekly column is carefully researched and every fact double-checked. If you still find it hard to believe, well, that?s understandable ?;sometimes these stories blow my own mind too!

Many scientists, of course, are totally open-minded. Dr Fiona Steinkamp at the University of Edinburgh?s Department of Psychology has devised three brilliant experiments to test the intuitive powers of ordinary people.

The first you can do in bed. Dr Steinkamp asks subjects to listen to a relaxation tape and then make a note of significant dreams, to see if images can be implanted telepathicaly into people?s slumbers. The second is done over the worldwide web, with the psychologist asking people to imagine a picture which will be displayed later in the experiment via the internet.

The third is laboratory-based, where subjects will listen to a tape of drum-music while receiving telepathic signals. I find this especially fascinating, since the relationship between rhythmic, repetitive music and psi-ability has not been properly explored before.

If you?d like to get involved, you can email Dr Steinkamp at fiona@moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk and support some genuine, open-minded science. As Albert Einstein said: ?The most beautiful thing we can experience is the

mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.?

Bedtime star signs

The most common plea for healing I hear comes from people who aredesperate to beat insomnia. Here are some of my top tips, arranged by star sign.

Assertive Aries loves to keep fit - but don't exercise vigorously before bed, as you'll set the adrenaline flowing. A spot of

horizontal jogging is OK, of course...

Steadfast Taurus is fond of a nightcap. Try hot chocolate or maltedmilk sometimes, because even a small dose of alcohol daily ishabit-forming, and a depressant.

Gregarious Gemini can't resist partying into the small hours at theweekend. But this plays havoc with the body clock. To beat insomnia,get to bed on time.

Sensitive Cancer is a worrier. Make it a rule to worry about thingsonly when you can fix them. That rules out half your problems - and at 3am, nothing should be bothering you. Sort it out in the morning!

Lazy Leo likes to lounge in bed long after the alarm goes off. Buttoo much sleep is as bad as too little - you'll be tired during the

day, and reluctant to go to bed in the night.

Virtuous Virgo, that's not a cigarette in your hand, surely? Nicotineis always bad for you, but last thing at night it's an undesirablestimulant.

Refined Libra enjoys good food. Just don't indulge too much beforebed, because digestive juices play havoc with sleep.

Sexy Scorpio should turn off the TV and concentrate strictly on yourpartner. What do you need a TV in the bedroom for anyhow?

Optimistic Sagittarius must cut down on caffeine. Three cups ofcoffee in the morning can cause palpitations and sleeplessness manyhours later. Switch to water.

Movie-addict Capricorn can't resist the late-night shows. But if youcrash out on the couch, you'll never get to sleep when you finallymake it to bed.

Intellectual Aquarius treats bed as a place to catch up on readingand thinking. You're missing the point, brainy: bed is for sleep.

Emotional Pisces has to unwind properly. Start your bedtime routine -teeth, milk, pyjamas - an hour before you hit the sheets, and leaveyour worries beyond the bedroom door.

 

More memory power

I was delighted to find a full inbox of emails from you after I revealed some Mindpower memory techniques in the summer. The 'story' method links all the items in a list by weaving a fabulous,ridiculous narrative around them. Involve smells, colours and noisesin your story, and any list will be unforgettable.

Another fun and failsafe way to remember ten things is called the Memory Peg system: you create ten images that never change for the numbers one to ten, and involve those images in everything you have to memorise.

For instance, my symbol for '1' is Nelson's Column; you might want to think of a tall candle, or a signpost ... something 1-shaped.

My '2' is a swan, with its 2-shaped neck; you could also use a pairof eyes, or Churchill's victory-V. The '3' could be a violin, or

bra-cups, or the three-headed dog from Harry Potter.

My '4' is a horse (four legs, obviously). A five-legged UFO, a cricketer hitting a six, seven dolphins leaping, a spider (eight

legs), a policeman (999) and Laurel and Hardy complete the list.(Stan's thin, Ollie's round: side by side they look like a '10'!)

These images are pegs, to hang your memories on. Suppose you have to remember the nine planets of the solar system: your '1' mightbe a candle, and Mercury is the first planet, so conjure an image ofliquid mercury shining as it drips from the flame to the

candle-holder.

Venus is a goddess of love astride a swan, Earth is two blueplanets filling a lacy bra, the horse is eating a Mars bar, UFOs are

buzzing round giant Jupiter, the cricketer is sitting on an urn(Sat-urn), my long nose is fixed on a dolphin's face (Uri-nose ...

Uranus - get it?), King Neptune has spiders in his white hair andbeard, and the police are rushing to arrest Mickey Mouse's dog, Pluto.

That might all seem eccentric, but you'll never forget it

Ghost stories

Ghost stories never go away. They just find new ways to haunt our minds, new terrors to inflict on our psyches. If you're of a nervous disposition, maybe you should skip straight to the psychic challengeat the bottom of this column - some of my subject matter this week isgenuinely unsettling.

Two years after the Blair Witch Project scared us out of our wits, another Hollywood scarefest is unleashed. John Carpenter,creator of The Thing and Halloween, has made Ghosts of Mars with two little-known actors, Natasha Henstridge and rapper Ice Cube.

I saw it in the States a few weeks ago and was chilled that a movie feeding on our fear of spiritual possession, the nightmare that

a ghost could take over your body, can be so potent in 2001. We have decoded the human genome, we have rationalised God into a Big Bang billions of years ago, but we still retain that primal knowledge that, at our centre, we are more than just flesh and bones.

We each have a soul. And the thought of anything taking over that soul is horrific.

Three years ago the Vatican issued new guidelines to priests faced with the ordeal of exorcising a demon from a human being.

These blood-chilling rituals are not confined to the big screen, such as the Oscar-winning The Exorcist. 'The existence of the devil isn't an opinion, something to take or leave as you wish,' said Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez

In September 2000 the Pope himself performed an exorcism on a 19-year-old woman who began roaring incoherent obscenities in a deep, booming voice in St Peter's Square. Whether her personal nightmare was rooted in possession or psychological trauma, the very real nature of the exorcism should be enough to convince anyone who is still uncertain after the tragedies of recent weeks that evil is not an imaginary concept in this life. It exists, and we must use everything in our hearts to combat it.

The *Nsync logo designed by Uri Geller.

At the astonishing party thrown by Michael Jackson to celebrate his 30 years as a solo artist, in New York ten days ago, I was delighted to spot some youngsters who have achieved extraordinary success since I last ran into them - Joey, Justin, JC, Chris and Lance, the boys of Nsync.

They greeted me as a mentor, which startled me. When we were introduced at a showbiz event in London's Covent Garden, a couple of years ago, I had enjoyed their sharp banter and sense of fun, and I'd immediately identified the talent and ambition which could take them to the top - which has made them, in fact, America's biggest pop outfit.

They'd wanted me to bend a spoon, and of course I was happy to oblige. But in New York they reminded me of something else which I had almost forgotten - "You designed our logo," exclaimed Justin "You grabbed a piece of paper and you drew this five-pointed star, and you told us if we put that star on the cover of our next single and featured it in everything we did, we would be Number One.

How did you know that?" Did you use the star, then?" I asked, pleased and surprised "Did we use it?" they chorused. "Look at the logo!" And I saw that the jaunty little star was stamped at the left of every logo - the name, an acronym made up of a letter from each boy's first name, incorporates my drawing like an extra letter. On the www.nsync.com website, the stars flash and glitter across their home page.

The five-pointed star has been a powerful symbol of benevolent magic since mankind first began to write. There is no doubt in my mind that the mysterious energies that flow from the pattern have supercharged Nsync's spectacular career.

"Uri, have you any idea how much you should have billed us for?" JC demanded. Over breakfast the next day I told my lawyer the story and he growled, "Just wait till I hit them with the invoice!"

But I'm very happy to make this a gift to the boys. After all, I couldn't be the fifth Beatle - so I'll style myself the sixth Nsync instead.

Uri adds: The happiness we all shared at Michael's party has turned to ashes with the catastrophe visited upon my beloved New York Please join me in praying for all the victims and their families.

I lived in the city for several years, and have many dear friends there, all of whom are shocked beyond belief. Everybody there knows someone who lost their life or whose family was affected.

In a mark of respect I have suspended my Psychic Challenge for this week, and I would ask all my readers who usually enjoy

trying to tune their minds into mine, to turn your thoughts instead to the human tragedy. I know, of course, that many of you will have been praying for the survivors and rescue workers. If you want to make a donation or offer help in other ways, I recommend the Red Cross website at www.redcross.org/

Spells

Scientists believe a chemical called oxytocin could be the key to love, a hormone which floods the brain and body causing overpowering feelings of affection and protectiveness. Generated in large quantities during childbirth, oxytocin is thought to be the spur to maternal bonding during the first hour of a baby's life - it is also present in both men and women after sex, when the emotional tie seems closest.

And it's not only people who produce oxytocin - other mammals, and even reptiles and birds, also make their own versions.

Anyone who loves animals cannot doubt that animals feel love too, and this research appears to prove that even the smallest creatures can feel the biggest emotion.

Trawl the internet for any data on parascientific phenomena, and you'll soon see that some people have other ideas about what

creates love. Dozens of US 'psychics' now advertise that they can cast love spells and mix love potions for you ... at a price, of

course.

One Californian witch, who calls herself Andreika, boasts: "I can cast a spell to make one love another, or cause a person to change his mind about a relationship, or bring two people together. My magical powers are beyond your imagination." The cost is $15.50, or about £10. Naturally Andreika has testimonials from satisfied customers: "For years I have been searching for a kind, loving man,' writes C.L. of Virginia Beach On July 14 you cast a love spell for me. On July 24 I met a Lieutenant Commander... I have never been so attracted so fast. We are now engaged to be married." Ten quid for a Lieutenant Commander! £20 might have landed her an Admiral!

You don't need to pay for magic, obviously. We are al magical creatures, especially where love is concerned. To meet the partner of your dreams, be prepared to open your mind as well as your heart. Instead of visualising Mr Right or Miss Perfect, imagine yourself in love. Let the feelings of forgiveness, affection and adoration flood your body.

Direct love at yourself, and towards the world. When your mind and heart are open, someone good will surely walk through the door!

Dogs

(What sort of dog would you be, David!?) What terrible things we say about dogs. Bad ideas and rotten projects

are described as 'dogs', unfashionably dressed woman are 'dogs', nasty gossip is 'bitching', ugly rumours 'dog' us, idlers are 'lazy

dogs'. And yet every dog I've ever owned has been hard-working, intelligent, friendly, faithful, brave and unconditionally loving.

Dogs are more reliable than people - give them an ounce of love and they'll reward you with half a ton of it! When my dogs look silently at me, I know they are thinking affectionate, eager thoughts - I wish I could say that for every human who stares at me without saying anything ...

I often think that my favourite friends are like dogs. My wonderful wife is something of a cocker spaniel: soft, very loving

and, I'm afraid to say, quite a bit more intelligent than I usually am. My riotous chum Shmuley Boteach, the rabbi who married Hannah and me earlier this year, is like a mad Jack Russell terrier, tearing energetically into everything and then chasing his tail till he makes himself dizzy.

Jonathan Cainer's face doesn't betray it but he's a bit of a bulldog - when he gets his teeth into something he doesn't let go.

And Mo al Fayed is a bloodhound, a big-chested dog with a stentorian bark who never lets up once he's on the scent.

If I could come back as a dog - and if we get any choice about reincarnation, I certainly shall - I'd be a greyhound. I love

to watch these sleek dogs run, putting every other animal to shame with their sleekness and agility. No human athlete can compare to a greyhound's grace. But they also have a sense of mischief which, to look at their elegant faces, you would never suspect.

Loyal, loving, athletic and a bit naughty - what better virtues could a human possess? Top dog!

prayer

Your health is at risk if you lose your faith in God, according to alarming new research from the University of Ohio.

A study by psychology professor Kenneth I Pargament showed that hospital Patients who believed God had 'abandoned' them were much more likely to die within two years than those who kept their trust in divine power.

"It's clear that religion has a darker side," Pargament warns. "It can be a source of solutions but also a source of problems."

Another top academic expert on religion, psychiatry professor Harold G Koenig at Duke University in North Carolina, backed the findings: "It's normal to ask God, 'Why is this happening to me? Did I do something wrong? Why aren't you responding to my prayers?' All these are normal feelings but people work through them usually, and people who can't, who get stuck there, they are going to have worse health outcomes."

If you are suffering doubts like these, perhaps because of illness or loss, please understand that what Professor Koenig says is

true: it's totally normal. Everyone's faith is tested. If you didn't sometimes question your faith in God, it wouldn't be worth very much, would it? The things we take for granted mean much less than the things we care about fervently.

When my faith wavers, I rely on a simple prayer. I stop asking for the usual blessings, such as health and happiness for myself and my family. Instead, I pray for strength.

Whatever life is going to send, I know I shall need strength to see it through. It may be good, it may be hard, but it won't be easy, for life never is

This prayer has never failed me. It reassures me that God is listening, and that I can draw on that divine power whenever I renew my faith and pray.

Crop circles

The images which have appeared in a Hampshire cornfield - an alien face and a stream of binary data - are too bizarre and too complex to be called crop circles. They are so complicated, in fact, that no one without a degree in computer science and astronomy could hope to understand them.

So does that mean these have to be genuine messages from extraterrestrials? Not necessarily ... the university results are out now, and perhaps some new graduate in computer science and astronomy decided to celebrate in a unique way!

Crop circle enthusiasts insist that these extraordinary pictograms are proof that a higher intelligence is trying to make contact with humans. Sceptics retort that, if the ETs are so clever, they ought to master email and radio broadcasts, instead of leaving cryptic clues in the corn.

I think we're all missing the point. One thing that's clear to me is that, if something or someone is making contact (and I have

believed in extraterrestrial intelligence for many years) they won't use conventional communiqués.

The Harvard psychologist Professor John Mack points out that we perceive the world differently when we dream from when we're awake. Dreaming and waking are both 'real' - but we don't accept dreams as 'reality'. Maybe, Mack says, we need to be in an 'unreal' state of mind to enter the real world of aliens.

In the same way, I have always been puzzled by people who claim to be atheists because they can't accept the notion of God as an old man with a white beard, sitting on a cloud and surrounded by harpists.

I don't perceive God that way either. Michelangelo used the image on his Sistine Chapel ceiling, but I don't imagine he really thought God liked sitting on clouds. It would be too damp, for one thing.

Michelangelo was painting God for the 'real' world to see.

But to really know God, and aliens, you must follow your heart and trust in a different kind of reality - spirituality.

Elvis Costello

"Writing about music," remarked Elvis Costello, "is like dancing about architecture." I feel the same, writing about the power of the mind - there are words for 'energy' and 'emotion' and 'spirituality' but they convey only a fraction of the richness which is in us. What words cannot supply, imagination must create.

I want you to use all your powers of creativity as you visualise this image: you are standing naked before a mirror, in the open air, under a hot blue sky Look at your body and accept everything about the way it is Be glad to see yourself. Whatever imperfections you imagine you might have, be grateful for them - they mean you're alive. There's no one on the entire planet who is perfect. Now you feel your body filled with strength. Something extraordinary is occurring: there is a lion beneath your skin. Literally, a lion, sharing your body. You see the incredible power of its sinews, rippling under your own muscles, and though nothing about your external shape has changed, you feel radically stronger inside. An athlete's running strip melts onto your body, magically covering your nakedness. You turn from the mirror and crouch - you're on the blocks at the start of a race. The lion in you is poised to spring. You scent the scorched running track and the sweat of the runners beside you You raise your head. At the end of the track there is no running tape or chequered flag - instead there is a personal goal, something which only you can supply. Whatever it is, in your career or your education or your lovelife, this goal is something you long to achieve Now you can. You have felt the lion within. You have awakened superhuman energy.

You hear the crack of the starter's pistol - now ace for your goal with all the fierce desire of the lion.

Carl Jung

Britain's favourite word, say the polls, is 'serendipity' - "thefaculty of making happy and unexpected discoveries by accident," explains my dictionary. My own favourite word is 'synchronicity', coined by the psychoanalyst Carl Jung. It means a "meaningful coincidence". My life is full of synchronicities, and I believe yours istoo - it is simply a matter of seeing them as they happen, and seeking the meaning.

For a true synchronicity, it is not enough thata coincidence occurs: that might be random. There must be a messagein the moment, a meaning to be unravelled A significant song might float into earshot throughout theday, a strange word might be repeated in shops and on the radio, a number might impress itself like a pattern on everything you do.

Watch for these things, and find the meaningI remember meeting a publisher and explaining to him the significance of the number 11-11 in my life. Wordlessly he led me tothe doors of his 11th floor office, where a massive silver '11' oneach door combined to make 11-11. "Synchronicity!" I exclaimed, and within minutes we had shaken hands on a contract.

Last night I received a list of interesting websites about Victorian psychics. One was Daniel Dunglas Home, the greatest of theSpiritualist mediums, and I forwarded the list to a friend whocollects data on Home. My friend rang me in shock a few minutes later. "How did youknow I needed information about Florence Cook?" he demanded. "I wasabout to ring you!" Florence Cook was another, much lesser medium. One of the links on the list concerned her, but I hadn't even noticed it. I had no idea my friend was about to call me about her, and I sent the information he needed without knowing. There's no other word for it - this has to be synchronicity.

 

Anger

My favourite phrase when anger boils up is "Let's sleep on it." I am not afraid of confrontation, and I know that many issues need to be faced and talked through - but many more, in my experience, are issues of the moment that will dissolve overnight. What seems desperately important at first sight can often be side stepped or simply resolved ... as long as the mind is operating coolly."Let's sleep on it," is the perfect cooling-off phrase.

It suggests that everyone concerned has a valid point of view; that we are all getting a little heated; that this is an important subject which deserves mature, rational treatment. Very often I wake up the next day and my old objections have melted away - even more often, the situation has sorted itself out and I've saved a friendship.

I know that my advice is not fashionable. Many therapists advise "letting your anger out," in screams and tantrums and foot-stamping. I believe that anger stirs up more anger - remember Michael Douglas in Falling Down, as the mild-mannered guy who loses his temper in a traffic jam and abandons his car, only to react with increasing violence to each new provocation? A psychologist at Iowa State University, Brad Bushman, ran an experiment to prove this, asking volunteers to work out their anger on a punchbag. Subjectssaid they felt better, but even angrier: "It's like using gasoline to put out a fire," said Bushman - "you are keeping the anger alive when you yell and scream."In any situation where anger is starting to bubble, you should never resort to threats, either verbal or physical. If you shake your fist, or say, "I'm going to punch you if you don't clam down," you will stir up more anger - in yourself and your antagonist. Threats always lead to escalation - they solve nothing. By the same token, stay away from foul language, insults and abusive name-calling. No one ever won an argument by calling their opponents "idiots"!

Sleep by Salvador Dali who In the 1970's Uri Geller was a pupil under.

Sleep

How wonderful it would be if you controlled your dreams - if you wanted to meet old friends or visit far-off places, and could, simply by taking command of your sleeping mind.The extraordinary truth is that you can do this, through a practice called lucid dreaming. The first step is easy: keep a journal, a bedside dream-book. Whenever you wake, try to emember that your dreams have been. If it's still the middle of the night, don't force yourself awake to make your jottings: a simple scrawl, a word or two, is quite adequate. Later, those scribbled words may be enough to bring the whole dream flooding back. Practice helps, and the more you experiment with keeping a dream journals the more clear your memories will become.

The next step for a lucid dreamer seems logically impossible. It helps to remember that dreams, above all, are not logical. When you feel the onset of a dream, tell yourself: "I know I am asleep. I know I am dreaming. I give myself permission to take control of this dream." At first this may cause you to wake up - you can counter this with calm preparation before sleep, using the same spoken formula: "I know I will dream. I give myself permission to take control of the dream, and to stay asleep as I do this." The freedom you permit your mind is vital. It's not enough to issue a command - "I will have a lucid dream!" The unconscious mind doesn't take kindly to orders.

When you have full control of a dream, it's like sitting behind a movie camera while watching yourself simultaneously on the big screen. One breathtaking test of your control is to take flight -to say, "Now I'm going to fly!" And you do, in the most extraordinary rush of dizziness and freedom. It feels as though you're wide awake, and at the same time it could only be a dream.

Spinner

Try this and amaze yourself: take a piece of paper. Cut a square about two-and-a-half inches on each side, and fold it from top to bottom. Open it up again. Fold it from side to side and open it up again. You now have a square piece of paper creased into four smaller squares. Fold it from corner to corner, open it and fold it along the other diagonal, corner to corner. Now you have a square divided into eight triangles. Pinching it along the diagonals, push it into a star shape.Take a needle and a little ball of Blu-tac. Stick the eye of the needle in, so the sharp tip points straight up, and place thepaper star on it like a hat. The needle's point should be at the centre of the paper where the creases meet, without piercing it, so the star balances. A light breath or a touch of the finger will set the star spinning smoothly.

Here's the amazing part. Without touching it or breathing on it, simply by cupping your hands around it, you can make the star spin. This is not air currents or body heat or sleight of hand. It is psychic power. Put your paper spinner on a desk or table and seat yourself in front of it. Bring your open palms towards the star. Curl your fingers around the spinner. Stare at it and breathe evenly and lightly. Gently will the star to turn. Urge it silently with your mind. Focus on it and persuade it.For 30 seconds or so it is likely that nothing will happen. Then the star may start on its axis, very slowly, probably in an anti-clockwise direction Incredibly, about 60 per cent of readers will be able to perform this feat of psychokinesis. It isn't anything occult or magical - it's just science that nobody knows how to explain yet. Many readers will find they don't get a result immediately, but success comes after two or three days of attempts..

Addicted To Love

When we check our horoscopes, we are looking most of all for love. However much love surrounds a human being, it can never be enough - and we are always grateful for more. I'm a Sagittarius, and each morning I turn to this page of the paper, hoping that Sagittarians can look forward to an extra dose of affection. Is there a cuddle in the stars for me today?

Like many famous people, I'm a glutton for love. My mother adored me and of course I'll never know any other love like it - she still lives with my family, in her own apartment at the side of our home. But my father was often distant, preferring to carouse with girlfriends instead of giving love to us.

I consciously tried to make up for this with my own two youngsters, and as any parent knows the love that floods from children is limitless and unconditional. My wonderful wife is just as demonstrative in her affection. But am I sated? Of course not - I need more and more love. Like Robert Palmer, I'm addicted to love. My close friend Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who also had a heart-breakingly difficult relationship with his father, has often told me of the agonising moments of loneliness that afflict him. Yet he has an adoring wife and seven children.

To receive love, we have to give it. I've learned that the only sure cure for loneliness is to open up my heart and to thrus out bundles of love like a millionaire gambler flinging around £50 notes on Gold Cup day. I hug my children as soon as I see them. I tell my friends at the end of phone calls, "I love you." I call people when I haven't seen them for a day or two, and I make no excuses: "I just wanted to hear your voice," I tell them. "I love you." And you know ... the only thing that feels better than being loved is to love other people !

Distant Elephants

You're a nice person, and you don't like to disappoint people. After all, you're reading this page - that suggests you are at ease with your spiritual nature. You may already have developed some of your psychic abilities.

But there's a downside to being nice. You share other people's woes, and that makes you vulnerable. A kind, loving, generous human being is always open to exploitation by people who see love as a weakness. I don't suggest you should ever change your nature or become cynical. What you must do, however, is learn to protect your vulnerable side.

You probably receive daily mailshots from charities. Every one of them has a heartbreaking story to tell, and a fine record of helping the needy. You can't pledge donations to them all, but how can you avoid feeling bad when you put one in the bin? Make a list of the charities you'd like to support. You might want one focal charity, and two or three minor ones. The main one will probably be linked to some event in your family; perhaps the others could be international charities, which often have schemes whereby you can give as little a £2 each month and still achieve a great amount.

When other people ask for donations, you can refuse if you wish by saying: "Thanks, but I already support other specific organisations." No genuine charity fundraiser will fail to appreciate your forethought.

Other good causes may make demands on your future time. I am often invited to celebrity events, months in advance, and I apply the theory of Distant Elephants. A herd of elephants on the horizon may look small and unimportant - but when they're on top of you it's a different story. Far-off appointments are like distant elephants: when the time rolls around, they will fill your whole calendar.

Imagine the elephants are close up, and accept only the ones you could deal with right now.

Elaine Paige sang Memory in Cats !

Memory

Read this list once: cat, candlestick, bucket, roses, peppermint, flamingo, taxi, pyramid, hamburger, stained glass. Now turn away and see how many you can remember in a minute. How did you do? If you could recall more than four, you have an active, sharp short-term memory. But try again, this time by reading the list as part of a story.

A fat ginger cat walks along a shelf and knocks a heavy golden candlestick off. It falls into a bright red bucket of water, with such a splash that a tidal wave sweeps through the room and into the garden where it washes all the petals off the roses. A woman at the garden gate is soaked, and the petals stick to her. On the woman's head is a vast feathery pink hat. She sniffs the rose petals, and they are pungent with peppermint. She is so shocked that she lets out a squawk - her hat squawks too, unwraps itself from her head and flaps away. It's a flamingo, and it lands on a black London taxi, which drives the bird straight to Eygypt. At the foot of a pyramid, in the dusty heat, the cabbie gets out to buy a hamburger from a nomad, but when he bites into the bun he gets a shock: the burger is made of stained glass.

Now turn away and tell me the ten items on that list, by running through the story. I bet you get them all!

That's the power of the mind. By using your imagination and all your senses, you activated your memory, which you couldn't do when you were trying to recall a dry list. See how you used colour, temperature, wetness, taste, sounds and textures - plus your sense of humour - to make the list come alive.

Next time you have a few things to remember, create a strange and wonderful story about them in your mind. It's a guaranteed memory tickler.