INTERVIEW WITH URI GELLER

For some time, I wanted to engage with paranormal figure Uri Geller, about his life, career and work. This week, I was able to do just that. After a brief exchange via email, Uri invited me to phone him at home last Monday, so that I had an opportunity to talk candidly with him, and have time to put my questions to him. I was thankful for the chance, and agreed readily.

Uri has always fascinated me. Back in early 1999, and in the early 2000’s, I met with Uri several times. We exchanged emails, met at his shows and spoke frequently. As a fan and paranormal enthusiast, I was very grateful that he made such an effort. It seemed then, and does now, that he never tires of giving time to his supporters. We kept in touch, however, we lost contact after some time. I still continued to watch his work from afar, and enjoyed reading his books and seeing his shows. I never lost that spark of interest, and I knew he would make an ideal guest for this website. So, I cannot tell you how happy I was that he agreed to make time for me again.

Author Fiona, and Uri Geller, first met in 1999. (Author’s photo collection).

Say the name Uri Geller to anybody, and you will get a reaction. Some people are amazed and perplexed by his talents, others sceptical. Everyone has an opinion on the man. Through the years, he has been called everything, from magician, to paranormal enigma, to conman. Say what you will about Uri, but he has lived with many labels of judgment over the years.

I wanted to learn where it started. During our conversation, I asked Uri to explain how his life took such an unusual turn.

Uri said he saw strange lights in gardens in Tel Aviv. “I have many theories about what I saw. The most outlandish theory is that I saw a UFO – an extra-terrestrial vehicle. I also wonder if it was some kind of supernatural experience. My third explanation is that it could have been a geophysical occurance….an energy field that appeared. This event was validated by a witness – a retired air force office who saw me.” So, could this odd occurrence have led Uri to possess his powers? He is not sure. “I can’t answer for certain,” he said, “but it was shortly after that time when I had my first experience of a spoon bending – whilst I was eating soup.”

Uri bent my spoon, effortlessly. Did I see correctly, that the spoon continued bending even after he placed it on the table? (Author’s own photo collection).

After this, Uri’s life changed. He found he could bend metal objects with the force of his mind. Broken watches would begin to work if he handled them. He could often tell what people were thinking. I wondered if such an array of phenomena frightened him at any point. “No,” he insists. “Some said I was a freak, but I loved it. Some boys were good at school, some were good at sports. This was something different that I could do well.”

So, Uri branched out. He began doing demonstrations, and in order to refute the allegations that he was nothing more than a magician, Uri submitted himself for testing and observation at the Stanford Research Institute, amongst many other institutions. “I was validated by so many scientists. I think people will be quite shocked at how many universities and institutions that I openly worked with. Scientists who are closed minded are not doing a good job. They are supposed to go in with an open mind. I never liked being a lab rat, but I have done all I can do to prove myself.”

Uri spent many year taking his talents around the world. He astounded theatre audiences with his mind-reading ability. Experiments were successfully completed on live television. His spoon-bending caught the public’s imagination. Famous people wanted to meet him – Mohammed Ali, John Lennon, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, to name a few. Uri’s name was firmly on the map as being one of the biggest name’s in paranormal history.

I saw Uri’s car, which is decorated with thousands of items of bent metal. (Author’s photo collection).

Despite attempts by the media to discredit him, Uri remained confident in his abilities, and never shied away. “The sceptics were negative, but I soon learned that any publicity is good. I was in demand. They inadvertently added to the mystique.”

Uri was able to devote his life to his unique gift. TV shows, documentaries, movies (even The Matrix has a nod to Geller in it), theatre demonstrations and even, surprisingly, working with businesses to locate oil in certain parts of the world. His life, so far, has been nothing short of fascinating.

After meeting Uri myself, I personally have faith in his abilities. Yes, there are magicians who claim they can replicate what Uri does. Are theories true that magicians copy Gellar by using doctored spoons or cold-reading techniques?  Either way, there is something entirely different unfolding when you experience his work first hand. I have witnessed his mind-reading, and even had my own spoon bent. I was nothing short of impressed. The spoon appeared to keep bending even after Uri set it down onto a table. Those that have met him or witnessed his work largely agree. The man is an enigma, unique and inexplicable, but the evidence is before our eyes. Very few people would be willing to be tested under laboratory conditions unless they believed in their ability – and were comfortable to be studied under such scrutiny. Uri has always remained confident and comfortable regarding his unusual gift.

Uri always has love and respect for those who support him. (Author’s photo collection).

As any regular readers here will know, I am a paranormal enthusiast, particularly interested in hauntings. I couldn’t resist asking Uri his thoughts on the subject. “I do believe in life after death,” he said frankly. “Many years ago, Einstein showed us that energy cannot be destroyed. So where does our energy, our souls, go? I think there is something else.”

After all these years, Uri remains to be a divisive figure. Some love and adore him and his work, others feel wary and sceptical. Despite this, he has managed to bring many aspects of the paranormal to the public forefront, and engaged with many scientists in the field to aid our understanding of such phenomena.

Uri, to me personally, was warm, friendly and open. I am very thankful to him for his time and efforts in engaging with me, and I look forward to learning more about his work in the future.

To learn more about Uri Geller and his world, please visit his website: http://www.site.uri-geller.com/

Thank you for reading.