Mind over Matter I: Psychic Powers
In 1882, a group of eminent thinkers formed the British Society for Psychical Research to investigate paranormal phenomena, in the form of telepathy, mediumship, séances and apparitions.  In Alternate Realities (1976) we read that the researchers “spent decades in tightening their experimental designs” and found that “The evidence was completely solid that ESP did happen.” What, exactly, is ESP? This term is an abbreviation, and stands for extra sensory perception.  It was initially coined by the noted researcher J.B. Rhine, who founded a laboratory for the study of parapsychology at Duke University in North Carolina in the 1930’s. (For more information on his work, see the UMS course Psychic Skills). The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research (1991) describes ESP as a “general term” that includes clairvoyance, telepathy, and precognition, all of which are “modes of obtaining information about an event, object, or situation outside oneself without the use of any of the known sensory processes.” Let’s go over each of the three branches of ESP in turn.

Clairvoyance, a French word that means “clear-seeing,” is defined in The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research (1991) as “the faculty of getting information about physical objects or distant events of which no one else is aware.” Psychics with clairvoyant powers might be able to perceive auras, converse with angels and fairies, or view happenings in faraway places by means of a crystal ball, just to name a few possibilities. Akin to this power is the faculty of clairaudience, which The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research (1991) defines as “the paranormal hearing of sounds or voices, generally internal ones, through which information is sometimes obtained.” The legendary “daemon” who told Socrates not to do certain things would be called a case of clairaudience in modern terms.

Telepathy, also called “mind reading,” “thought reading,” “mental telegraphy,” and “thought transference,” is defined in The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research (1991) as “the communication of impressions of any kind from one mind to another independently of the recognized channels of sense.” Flashes of intuition concerning a close friend or relative can be classified as cases of telepathy when the other person later confirms the “impression.” Telepathic communication might also be possible between the living and the dead. Ancient sorcerers used the term “necromancy” to describe this phenomenon.

Psychometry, also called “object reading,” seems to combine elements of telepathy and clairvoyance. The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research (1991) describes psychometry as the act of “using extrasensory perception of a physical object to gain information about events or people once associated with it.” Such “information” might be impressed upon an object by the minds of those who once possessed it, and these “impressions” can later be read by means of psychometry. Telepathy would seem to be the form of ESP used in this case of object reading. However, it might be that an object receives impressions even in the absence of minds. In this case, clairvoyance would be needed to read all of the information contained in an object.

The term “remote viewing” may refer either to clairvoyance or to telepathy, and can also sometimes indicate the phenomenon known as “out-of-body experience.” Remote viewing does not carry the technical implications of these other terms, and can thus be used to denote visual experiences which cannot be strictly classified as one kind of psychic phenomena or another.

The power of precognition allows someone to have information about things that have not yet come to pass. Theological researcher Rhea A. White has documented the fascinating connection between precognitive powers and saints or “holy people.” Apparently, the ability to prophesy future events has a direct link with the ephemeral quality of holiness, or divine favor. This might explain why historical prophets like Joan of Arc had such deep religious convictions. The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research (1991) defines precognition as “the prediction or knowledge of random future events” excluding “the possibility of interference from present evidence.” By this definition, prophecies based on astrological calculations, like those of Michel Nostradamus, cannot be considered cases of precognition since they relied upon “present evidence” from the stars. Precognition can, however, take the form of a sixth sense that warns the psychic of immediate danger or immanent events. Cabalists who develop the ability to read signs of impending events by means of number encryption may be using a form of precognition. However, this too might be considered cheating, and the use of visible signs would force this skill into the category of clairvoyance, telepathy, or mere magick. It is interesting to consider the prophecies that were received by John Keel through his Mothman experiences, in relationship to the existence of precognition; what is your opinion on the connection between the two?

The strangest and most disturbing of all psychic powers might be psychokinesis, or PK. The expression “mind over matter” derives mostly from this power, since PK apparently gives people the ability to move physical objects using nothing but their minds. Psychokinesis is defined in The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research (1991) as “the direct influence of the mind on an external object without the intermediation of any known physical energy.” This power has long been associated with poltergeist phenomena, and investigators like J.B. Rhine, Carrol B. Nash, and George W. Fisk have documented many cases of PK and poltergeists in the 20th century. Poltergeists and their powers will be discussed in the following section.

Modern science seems to have accepted the reality of ESP, but the philosophical implications of psychic powers have not yet sunk in to the general consciousness. Most people still seem ‘stuck’ in the mechanistic view of the universe envisioned by scientists of the 18th and 19th centuries. Author Lawrence LeShan, in his book Alternate Realities (1976), writes, “The person who denies the possibility of ESP on scientific grounds is, indeed, expressing the point of view of the best scientific thought of 1875.” Starting in the early 20th century, a new branch of physics called “quantum theory” made discoveries that seemed to support the existence of psychic abilities. In his book The Illuminati Papers (1997), author Robert Anton Wilson claims to have found “a single scientific explanation for all the weird events that parapsychologists have classified under such conflicting labels as ESP, direct brain perception, clairvoyance, distant viewing, psychokinesis, out of body experience, and cosmic consciousness (Illumination).” Wilson goes on to write that “all such mystical brain functions are aspects of one phenomenon: a subatomic but universal intelligence system that receives, integrates, and transmits information at a level much deeper than the sensory appearances of what we call space, time, and separateness.”

Course Continued…