Extra-Sensory Perception in this Realm

Kristy Snyder

Mrs. DeBor

AP English 11

18 May 2006

Extra-Sensory Perception in this Realm

Introduction: ESP is the amazing ability to communicate between minds, and has many different areas, and can be proven in various ways.

About ESP

Definition of ESP

What is ESP?

mind-to-mind communication

instantaneous

independent

sense of other worldliness

part of everyone

not reserved for gifted

Parapsychology

study of ESP

JB Rhine

Categories of ESP

Precognition

Knowledge of future

thoughts

events

Presentiment

type

future perceived emotion

Precog

Fictional term

Philip K. Dick

Precognition in Fiction

Minority Report

Spider-man

Clarivoyance

Knowledge acquired

About object

Without senses

History

French origin

“Claire” clear

“Voyance” seeking

Hindu texts

Siddhis

Meditation and discipline

Clairgustance

Taste without mouth

From spiritual realms

Clairsentience

Perception energy fields

Mistaken for empathy

Clairaudience

Hear with mind

Not normal range

Psychometry

Measure with mind

Hybrid

Telepathy

Definition

Aware of thoughts

No sensory channels

Origin

“tele” distant

“patheia” feeling

History

Bible

Ancients

Idealism

New idea

Quantum analogies

Possible cause

Psychokinesis

Influence object

Bending the spoon

Not strictly ESP

Sugar pills

Physical health

Areas of ESP

Aura reading

Definitions

particular atmosphere

surround person

magnetic energy field

felt and seen

provide insight

spiritual, emotional, physical

History

Buddhist priests, Shamans

Semyon and Valentina Kirlian

Aura on film

High voltage camera

Kirlian photography

First scientific evidence

Anatomy

Three sections energy

Components of life

Layers in color

Inner-most aura

Extends few inches

Thin white light

Protective shield

Can be drained

Color distortions

Shape distortions

Mid-section aura

3-4 inches

extend several feet

harder to see

emotions, traits, health

colors

Third-section

Long lasting

Past lives

Early memories

Lack of intensity

Translucent colors

More difficult

Mediumship

Definitions

Spirit world

Medium

Messages from spirits

speak other voices

cooperative effort

medium to spirit

Reasons Communication

Show information

Not on earth

Paranormal activity

Manifestation

Types

Mental Mediumship

Communication

Conscious

Must speak

Physical Mediumship

Manipulation

systems

energies

not medium spirit

on Earth

hear and see

Popular Mediums

Derek Acorah

Esther Hicks

Sylvia Brown

James Van Praagh

John Edward

Crossing Over

Sci-Fi

LIVING-TV

Reads audience

Communicates deceased

Discusses accuracy

TV show Medium

Allison DuBois

Contact dead

Law enforcement

Patricia Arquette

DA Devalos

Bridget, Ariel

Evidence for ESP

Experiments

Rhine Experiments

Joseph Banks Rhine

Duke University

Zener cards

25 pack

5 designs

guessing experiments

a sender

a receiver

Extrasensory Perception

Positive results

Not reproduced

Other Experimenters

Dean Radin

Presentiment

Calm, emotional

Correlation

Not conscious

Holger Klintman

Stroop task times

Color block RT1

Color name RT2

Positive results 1983

Carl Sargent

Hypnotized groups

Non-hypnotized

5 out of 25

11.9 out of 25

Ganzfeld Experiments

In isolation

Red light

White noise

Eyes covered

Some off

Some detail

Other Evidence

Morgan Robertson

Futility

Titan

Iceberg crash

Titanic

Iceberg crash

Casualties same

Upton Sinclair

Sketches

Wife reproduced

Miles away

Mental Radio

Alec Reeves

Pioneer digital communications

Inventions Michael Faraday

JayTee

Psychic

Sense owner

Ran porch

78 time

Conclusion: ESP is the pinnacle of mind power, and with all of its broad categories it composes an interesting field that many have studied throughout the years.

Extra-Sensory Perception in This Realm

It began as a dream. A simple dream, ending and initiating with the same mental picture – her dead body slamming into the ground. But as time progressed, so did the vision, consuming his mind even through his waking hours. Soon it transformed into his complete obsession, warping and distilling his sense of reality until the only thing that mattered was saving her. It replayed over and over – her sleek body leaping from the rooftop in a desperate hope for escape, a bullet lodging in her side on the way down, and the final fatal landing. He would not let it happen… He would not let her die… This selection is a description of one of the main predicaments in the movie, The Matrix: Reloaded. It illustrates the dilemma of Neo, who has visions of his love, Trinity, falling to her death. The name for this complicated gift is ESP, or extra-sensory perception (Thomas 1). Although perhaps not in such obvious manners as Neo, everyone holds the powers of ESP to an extent. They just may not know how to “tune in” to the spiritual frequency on which such phenomena’s occur (“How” 1). In fact, everyone has experienced contact with this realm, although they may or may not remember it (“How” 2). ESP is the amazing ability to communicate between minds, and has many different areas, and can be proven in various ways.

The ability of ESP is obviously one that is quite brain-numbing. To have such a skill can instill a deep trepidation within the heart of the beholder. But what exactly is ESP? It is defined as the ability to have direct mind-to-mind communication with another being. This implies that it is instantaneous and independent of distance (Thomas 1). Others define it simply as a sense of other-worldliness. These parameters also specify that ESP is a part of everyone, and not just a sense reserved for the abnormal or gifted (“How” 1). Whichever definition is used, the point is still easy to come across. Those who study the phenomena of ESP are called parapsychologists, and their field of study is parapsychology (Thomas 1). J.B. Rhine, a famous parapsychologist, is often seen as the “father of parapsychology”, for his pioneering and popularizing of the subject (“Case” 2). Parapsychologists concentrate their studies within four major categories of ESP.

ESP can be divided into many types and areas, but all of these belong to one of the four major categories of ESP. The first of these four broad categories is known as precognition. It can be defined as a person’s knowledge of the future. This includes knowledge of both future thoughts or events (Thomas 1). Precognition can be further broken down into the sub-category presentiment. Presentiment is a type of precognition where future events are perceived through emotion (“Precognition”1). Because this information is passed through the channel of emotion, the receiver is not always conscious when such communication occurs (“Precognition” 1). Since precognition is such a mysterious event, it is often used as a key device in fictional stories. A fictional term for someone who can see the future is a “precog”. It is a term often used by Philip K. Dick in his fictional plots (“Precognition” 2). Such a term was featured in the movie Minority Report, and an example of it is seen in the movie Spider-Man with his “spider-sense” (“Precognition” 2). Both of these instances are extreme but true examples of precognition, and are ample displays of the first type of ESP.

The second type of ESP is known as clairvoyance. It is defined as the ability to acquire knowledge of an object or event without the use of the senses (Thomas 1). Origins of the word itself actually comes straight from the French language, with “claire” meaning “clear”, and “voyance” meaning “seeking”. So it literally means “clear seeking” (“Clairvoyance” 2). Clairvoyance dates back fairly far in history, appearing mainly in ancient Hindu religious texts. It is described as one of the siddhis, which are skills that can be acquired through meditation and personal discipline (“Clairvoyance” 1).

There are many sub-categories to this main category, since it is rather broad. One of these is clairgustance. Clairgustance is the ability to taste something without putting it in the mouth. It is said that these tastes originate from the spiritual realm (“Clairgustance” 1). Another type of clairvoyance is clairsentience. Clairsentience is the term for those who can feel by the perception of energy fields. Often, it is mistaken for empathy because the receiver thinks they are just picking up emotions, but they are truly mentally describing the energy being transmitted (“Clairsentience” 1). The third division of clairvoyance is known as clairaudience. This is the ability to hear things not within the normal hearing ranges (“Clairaudience” 1). However, the most arguable type of clairvoyance is psychometry. This form of clairvoyance is when the user is able to relate details about past conditions of an object or area just by coming in contact with it (“Psychometry” 1). Psychometry can be very useful in a murder crime, because if a gifted person “feels” around the crime scene and holds the murder weapon, they can obtain precise details about the murder in their mind (“Psychometry” 1). Nevertheless, because this phenomenon is based off feelings, many scientists debate its truth. All of these terms make up clairvoyance, which is by far the most broad category of ESP.

A third category of ESP, and probably the most popular, is telepathy. This is a person’s awareness of another’s thoughts, without any communication through the normal sensory channels (Thomas 1). The word itself has a distinct meaning, coming from the Greek “tele”, meaning “distant”, and “patheia”, meaning “feeling”. So it literally translates to “distant feeling” (“Telepathy” 1). Evidence of telepathy in history is incredibly rare. There are a few references to what appears to be telepathy traits in the Bible as well as other ancient peoples in their writings. However, the idea of individuals sending and receiving messages from mind to mind is a relatively modern idea (“Telepathy” 1). In this recent surge of mind communication idealism, scientists have come up with a theory that explains this part of ESP. Some suspect the theory of quantum physics explains the telepathy phenomenon. Comparing between the two fields, scientists have come up with both general and specific analogies between the unknown factor in telepathy and the unknown factors in quantum sciences. Because of this comparison, many parapsychologists now see that the effects of quantum science could be what causes telepathy (“Telepathy” 2).

The last and perhaps most arguable category of ESP is called psychokinesis. It is a person’s ability to influence a physical object or event by merely thinking about it (Thomas 1). This would be prevalent is such occurrences as the bending of the spoon, in the movie, The Matrix. A little boy bends a spoon in half, just by looking at it. Some scientists do not consider this ESP (Thomas 1). For example, there is the ever-so-common fable of giving people sugar pills in place of real medicine, to see if it has the same effect as the medication. Often, it does, because the person’s mind still believes they are taking the medication, which will make them better. They are influencing their physical health just by thinking about it, which is not necessarily ESP. This category of ESP, as well as all of the other categories of ESP can be very valuable to have in one’s life, especially when a look is placed at the specific areas of ESP.

Within these categories of ESP are the more common areas of ESP. These are mostly the names the public knows and associates with ESP, and are the basically the occupations of ESP. One form of this is aura reading. An aura can be defined as a particular atmosphere or quality that seems to surround a person or thing and can be read (“Reading” 1). But this can be dwelled deeper upon. There is a magnetic energy field around all living and non-living objects, that provides insight on the spiritual, emotional, and physical aspects of the objects life. Understanding and interpreting this “aura” is what composes the art of aura reading (“Reading” 1). Aura reading goes back far in history. It is recorded in the ancient principles of both Buddhist priests as well as Native American Shamans (“What” 1). More recently, however, in 1939, Semyon and Valentina Kirlian scientifically proved the phenomena of aura reading by taking pictures of the field surrounding creatures with a high voltage camera. This method of Kirlian photography was the first real scientific method of capturing the glow surrounding a living object (“What” 1).

There is a specific anatomy that every aura follows. Each aura has three sections of energy, which describe a person’s components of life, and are shown in vibrant color (“What” 2). The first layer is the inner-most aura. This extends only a few inches from the body. It is often perceived as a thin white light, and serves as a protective shield from any spiritual harm (“What” 2). Also, it is able to be drained, which can cause a distortion of the color or a distortion of the shape (“What” 2). Next is the mid-section aura. This extends three to four inches from the body on normal occasions, but can indeed spread several feet outward (“What” 2). When compared with the inner-section, this layer can be difficult to see since it is always changing (“What” 2). It is the section of the aura that reflects one’s emotions, traits, and health. These are all represented by various colors (“What” 2). Lastly, comes the outer-section aura. It displays the long lasting emotions and mental nature of a human being (“What” 3). Information it contains can include past lives or early memories. When compared to the other layers, it lacks intensity and vibrant colors. Therefore, it is the hardest layer to perceive. It acts as the hidden history of a person, and can hold many of their secrets (“What” 3). The ability to read and aura, therefore, should not be taken lightly, and should be valued for the extreme sense of importance it can have in one’s life.

Aura reading is not too complicated, and can usually be achieved by those who try hard enough. It is not near the level of complexity associated with another type of ESP, mediumship. Mediumship involves communicating with the spirit world (“Mediumship” 1). A medium, one with the powers of mediumship, has the ability to receive message from spirits, or can speak in the voice of these entities rather than in their own voice (“Medium”1). This effort involves a cooperative effort between the medium on earth and the spirit sending communication from the spirit world (“Mediumship” 1). Spirits can choose to converse with a medium for various reasons. Some may want to present information, which can not be found through earthly means. Others may wish to cause a certain paranormal activity to occur, or to manifest themselves materially (“Mediumship” 2). From this sprouts the two types of mediumship, mental mediumship and physical mediumship. Mental mediumship is when the communication between the medium and the spirit is within the medium’s consciousness. Therefore, to relay the information to others, the medium must speak out verbally what is in their head (“Mediumship” 2). Physical mediumship differs slightly, in that it involves the manipulation of physical systems and energies by the medium. This means that instead of just making communication between the medium and the spirit, an action physically occurs upon the Earth plane. Persons other than the medium channeling the spirit can seen and hear this event, unlike mental mediumship (“Mediumship” 3).

There are many popular mediums today, who have exploited their gift as a profession. Some of these include Derek Acorah, Esther Hicks, Sylvia Brown, And James Van Praagh (“Medium” 1). But perhaps the most famous medium of this time is John Edward. This is because he hosts his own TV show, Crossing Over with John Edward. It is broadcasted on the Sci-Fi Channel, as well as LIVING-TV in Britain. On this show, Edward uses his gift to read the audience, communicating with the deceased acquaintances of the audience. The audience member who is chosen confirms or denies the accuracy of his statements (“John Edward” 1).

Another famous depiction of a medium can be found in the TV show, Medium. This show is based off the life of Allison DuBois, who is a real life medium. She used her abilities to contact the dead in order to help law enforcement agencies solve crimes (“Medium TV” 1). On the show, she is played by Patricia Arquette, who assists the DA Devalos in his pursuit of criminals. Her two daughters, Bridget and Ariel, appear to have inherited her psychic abilities (“Medium TV” 1). This show as well as the popularity of John Edward support the notion of ESP, as do many other facts.

Throughout the years, many people have tried to disprove ESP. Because of its radical ideas and spiritual content, many scientists fail to believe in it, even though certain experiments prove it. The most famous of those experiments would be the Rhine experiments. These were conducted by Joseph Banks Rhine, a botanist at Duke University, and involved the use of Zener cards (“Extra-sensory” 2). Zener cards, also called ESP cards, come in a 25 pack with five different designs, and are used to test ESP ability (“Extra-sensory” 2). In these experiments, Rhine used a guessing format, which included a sender who sent the cards and a receiver who guessed them. He published his results in the book Extrasensory Perception. It included positive results, although others could not reproduce them in such splendor (“Extra-sensory” 3). This experiment was the first and most popular proof of ESP, yet there are others to support it.

In 1997, Dean Radin set up experiments to check for presentiment. Radin showed participants “calm” and “emotional” photos, and viewed their responses. Some people had a correlation between their biophysical parameters and content, and it was not a conscious response, would suggest the existence of ESP (“Precognition” 2). Another experimenter was named Holger Klintman. He used a stroop task experiment, where a color block, called RT1, is flashed and is followed by a color name, called RT2. The participants must say if they match, and their times are recorded. Klintman obtained were positive results, and he published them in 1983 (“Precognition” 1). The next experimenter, Carl Sargent, also set up experiments to prove ESP. Sargent recruited 40 college students, and divided them into groups that would be hypnotized and would not be hypnotized. Then, both these groups were subjected to the testing of Zener cards. The non-hypnotized group ended up getting five out of 25 correct on average, which would be the results of chance. However, the hypnotized got, on average, 11.9 out of 25 correct, which would again support the idea of ESP (“Extra-sensory” 2). Another type of experiment performed is the ganzfeld target experiment. It focuses on isolating the receiver, and depriving them of all sensory information to make it easier to focus on the ESP reception. The receiver lies in a room with dim red light, listening to white noise and having their eyes covered. Most receivers were way off in their guesses of the objects the senders gave to them, but a few were able to describe the images in striking detail (“Case” 3).These scientific experiments give abundant display of proof for ESP, yet there is more to be found in other evidence not produced in the laboratory.

By taking a look at various events in history, verification of ESP is evident. In 1898, Morgan Robertson wrote a book entitled Futility, which came to him in a trance. This book portrays a story about a huge luxury liner called the Titan, which crashes into an iceberg late one April night, killing hundreds of people. Exactly fourteen years later, the Titanic crashed into an iceberg under the same conditions, and hundreds of people died from the lack of lifeboats, just like in the story (“Case” 1). Another incident involving ESP occurred with the author, Upton Sinclair. He discovered that when he and others made sketches, his wife could reproduce them, even when miles away. Sinclair wrote a book about this experience, called Mental Radio, in 1930 (“Telepathy” 2). Alec Reeves, a pioneer of digital communications, also accepts ESP. Reeves believes many of his inventions were prompted by the dead Michael Faraday. He used this knowledge to try and perfect spiritualistic telecommunication devices (“Extra-sensory” 2). In England, a dog named JayTee was claimed to have psychic abilities. It seemed that whenever his owner was leaving work to come home, he could sense it. JayTee displayed this by running out to the porch whenever he felt them leaving the work. Whenever this theory was tested, it showed that the dog was at the window 78 of the time when the owner was on the way home (“Extra-sensory” 4). As it is apparent, ESP has been tested in various ways, yet it always seems to prove itself viable in the end.

ESP is the pinnacle of mind power, and with all of its broad categories it composes an interesting field that many have studied throughout the years. Through this amazing ability, a greater quality of life and a deeper exploration into the spirituality of the world can be peered upon. With the power of ESP, nearly anything is possible. The only limit is the power of the mind. Because of this, extreme awareness must be taken into consideration when unleashing the potential inside of oneself. ESP should only be used for the good of oneself… as well as the good of others. This is the motive of Neo as he risks everything he knows to change his psychic visions of the future… Every night the dream came, and every night, he woke up panting. Until, one night, one very fateful night… it came true. He was on a mission, a mission to save the world, when he realized that this was it. This was how his dream went. It was being played out in real life. No longer was it a dream, but a reality. He was in another place, away from his Trinity, yet he could see in his mind what was happening at that very moment. He knew the insidious abhorrence that was about to occur, and he knew he had to stop it. So he flew. Spreading open the threads of the Matrix, he lifted his projected self through the air, and came to see her within seconds. There she was, her lifeless body falling off the roof in a discarded fashion. He pulled every ounce of strength he had and flew with his most furious force. Closer and closer she came to the ground, yet closer and closer he got to her body. Time was the only barricade in this race against gravity, yet only one could win. Suddenly, he felt her in his arms, and pulled up from his steep dive. He had her, in his possession, cradled between his grip, and he would never let her go.

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