According to a study conducted by Readers Digest Magazine for a poll it was astonishing that Britons were hard core believers of supernatural and psychic powers. About 50% of them said that they believe in possessing mind-reading and premonition ability. The study surveyed about 1,006 adults and 43% said that they could read others' thoughts or had their thoughts read by an expert. About 50% said that they had dreamt of an event before it occurred, 26% said they had knew when a loved-one was not keeping good health, 29% believed in near-death experiences and afterlife. About 62% of them knew who was ringing before they picked up the phone.
More than 10% thought they could influence machinery or electronic equipment using their minds. It is also found that women believed in psychic powers than men. But despite all this only 9% described themselves as psychic. Simon Bacon who is a lecturer at London's College of Psychic Studies and a practising medium said that psychic is always associated with an old lady in a gown with a crystal ball. About 74% of the people in the age group of 55 to 64 year olds believed in psychic powers. But Padraig Reidy, deputy editor the New Humanist magazine said that the idea of people possessing psychic powers was baseless. He said that as long as these stays as entertainment it is fine but when people start ruling their lives by it is of great concern.
