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 Parapsychology-Meaning "beside psychology," is a field of study concerned
with the investigation of evidence for paranormal psychological phenomena
(such as extrasensory perception, telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis).
It is also known as psychical research. Scientists in this field, including
the psychics who work daily in this field, know first hand that there are
many, many details that go into maintaining a highly accurate database, and
more often than not, it may take months, if not years or decades for all of
the information to be obtained and founded accurately.
A long-held, common-sense assumption is that the worlds of the subjective
and objective are completely distinct, with no overlap. Subjective is "here,
in the head," and objective is "there, out in the world." Parapsychology is
the study of phenomena suggesting that the strict subjective/objective
dichotomy may instead be part of a spectrum, with some phenomena
occasionally falling between purely subjective and purely objective. We call
such phenomena "anomalous" because they are difficult to explain within
current scientific models.
These anomalies fall into three general categories: ESP (terms are defined
below), PK, and phenomena suggestive of survival after bodily death,
including near-death experiences, apparitions, and reincarnation. Most
parapsychologists today expect that further research will eventually explain
these anomalies in scientific terms, although it is not clear whether they
can be fully understood without significant (some might say revolutionary)
expansions of the current state of scientific knowledge. Other researchers
take the stance that existing scientific models of perception and memory are
adequate to explain some or all parapsychological phenomena.
In spite of what the media often imply, parapsychology is not the study of
"anything paranormal" or bizarre. Nor is parapsychology concerned with
astrology, UFOs, searching for Bigfoot, paganism, vampires, alchemy, or
witchcraft. In popular usage, the basic parapsychological phenomena are
categorized as follows:
Telepathy: Direct mind-to-mind
communication.
Precognition: Also called premonition.
Obtaining information about future events, where the information could not
be inferred through normal means. Many people report dreams that appear to
be precognitive.
Clairvoyance: Sometimes called remote
viewing; obtaining information about events at remote locations, beyond the
reach of the normal senses.
ESP: Extra-sensory perception; a general
term for obtaining information about events beyond the reach of the normal
senses. This term subsumes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.
Psychokinesis: Also called PK; direct
mental interaction with physical objects, animate or inanimate.
Bio-PK: Direct mental interactions with
living systems.
NDE: Near death experience; an
experience reported by those who were revived from nearly dying. Often
refers to a core experience that includes feelings of peace, OBE, seeing
lights and other phenomena.
OBE: Out-of-body experience; the
experience of feeling separated from the body, often accompanied by visual
perceptions as though from above the body.
Reincarnation: The belief that we live
successive lives, with primarily evidence coming from the apparent
recollections of previous lives by very small children.
Haunting: Recurrent phenomena reported
to occur in particular locations that include apparitions, sounds, movement
of objects, and other effects.
Poltergeist: Large-scale PK phenomena
often attributed to spirits, but which are now thought to be due to a living
person, frequently an adolescent.
Psi: A neutral term for
parapsychological phenomena. Psi, psychic, and psychical are synonyms.
Parapsychology employs a number of research methods in studying the
possibility of psychical phenomena. Among these is the experimental
approach.
Psi phenomena have occurred in all cultures throughout history, they
continue to occur, and some of the reported phenomena have been persuasively
verified using scientific methods. Because psi seems to transcend the
assumed limits of material functioning like BBNS(Brain, Body, and Nervous
System), some interpret psi as supporting the idea that there is something
more to mind than just the BBNS, that there is some sort of "soul," or the
like.
Parapsychology is interesting mainly because of the implications. To list a
few examples, psi phenomena suggest (a) that what science knows about the
nature of universe is incomplete; (b) that the presumed capabilities and
limitations of human potential have been underestimated; (c) that
fundamental assumptions and philosophical beliefs about the separation of
mind and body may be incorrect; and (d) that religious assumptions about the
divine nature of "miracles" may have been mistaken.
Physicists tend to be interested in parapsychology because of the
implication that we have a gross misunderstanding about space and time and
the transmission of energy and information.
Biologists are interested because psi implies the existence of additional,
unexplained methods of sensing the world.
Psychologists are interested for what psi implies about the nature of
perception and memory.
Philosophers are interested because psi phenomena specifically address many
age-old philosophical problems, including the role of the mind in the
physical world, and the nature of the objective vs. the subjective.
Theologians and the general public tend to be interested because personal
psi experiences are often accompanied by feelings of profound, ineffable
meaning. As a result, psi is thought by some to have "spiritual"
implications.
And you are interested in this subject too, that is why you are here.
We offer Parapsychology studies including different courses:
introduction to parapsychology, introduction to the mind over matter,
regression through multi-level awareness, a practical approach to the world
of divination and magic, introduction to the occult and supernormal, an
investigative analysis of psychic communications.
Join our program today:
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