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The Experimental Evidence for Parapsychological Phenomena: A Review
Abstract
This article presents a comprehensive integration of current experimental evidence and theories about so-called parapsychological (psi) phenomena. Throughout history, people have reported events that seem to violate the common sense view of space and time. Some psychologists have been at the forefront of investigating these phenomena with sophisticated research protocols and theory, while others have devoted much of their careers to criticizing the field. Both stances can be explained by psychologists’ expertise on relevant processes such as perception, memory, belief, and conscious and nonconscious processes. This article clarifies the domain of psi, summarizes recent theories from physics and psychology that present psi phenomena as at least plausible, and then provides an overview of recent/updated meta-analyses. The evidence provides cumulative support for the reality of psi, which cannot be readily explained away by the quality of the studies, fraud, selective reporting, experimental or analytical incompetence, or other frequent criticisms. The evidence for psi is comparable to that for established phenomena in psychology and other disciplines, although there is no consensual understanding of them. The article concludes with recommendations for further progress in the field including the use of project and data repositories, conducting multidisciplinary studies with enough power, developing further nonconscious measures of psi and falsifiable theories, analyzing the characteristics of successful sessions and participants, improving the ecological validity of studies, testing how to increase effect sizes, recruiting more researchers at least open to the possibility of psi, and situating psi phenomena within larger domains such as the study of consciousness.
... Despite this, growing objective evidence from laboratory studies demonstrates their observable and replicable nature (see Cardeña, 2018 for a review). For example, one noetic experience, remote viewing, is the ability to access mental impressions about distant people and places that one would not usually access. ...
... The Star Gate data indicates that information psi is a scientifically valid phenomenon" (May and Marwaha, 2018a,b). This and other formal remote viewing studies result in significant metaanalytic effect sizes ranging from 0.17 to 0.39 (Cardeña, 2018). Remote viewing is just one noetic experience. ...
... Other's Minds represents mind-to-mind communication, which has objective and replicable evidence from multiple laboratory studies (Storm et al., 2010;Baptista et al., 2015;Cardeña, 2018;Storm and Tressoldi, 2020). ...
Noetic comes from the Greek word noēsis, meaning inner wisdom or direct knowing. Noetic experiences often transcend the perception of our five senses and are ubiquitous worldwide, although no instrument exists to evaluate noetic characteristics both within and between individuals. We developed the Noetic Signature Inventory (NSI) through an iterative qualitative and statistical process as a tool to subjectively assess noetic characteristics. Study 1 developed and evaluated a 175-item NSI using 521 self-selected research participants, resulting in a 46-item NSI with an 11-factor model solution. Study 2 examined the 11-factor solution, construct validity, and test–retest reliability, resulting in a 44-item NSI with a 12-factor model solution. Study 3 confirmed the final 44-item NSI in a diverse population. The 12-factors were: (1) Inner Knowing, (2) Embodied Sensations, (3) Visualizing to Access or Affect, (4) Inner Knowing Through Touch, (5) Healing, (6) Knowing the Future, (7) Physical Sensations from Other People, (8) Knowing Yourself, (9) Knowing Other’s Minds, (10) Apparent Communication with Non-physical Beings, (11) Knowing Through Dreams, and (12) Inner Voice. The NSI demonstrated internal consistency, convergent and divergent content validity, and test–retest reliability. The NSI can be used for the future studies to evaluate intra- and inter-individual variation of noetic experiences.
... (p. 1358) Given a wealth of clinical data about the prevalence of "uncanny" information sharing coupled with rigorous studies of extrasensory or psi phenomena that demonstrate nonlocal psychophysical effects (Cardeña, 2018;Jahn & Dunne, 2011), what is required is a naturalistic model of intuitive knowing that would incorporate both local and nonlocal perspectives while being subject to rigorous empirical validation and compliance with physical laws. The key building blocks of such a model include alternate states of consciousness 4 research and quantum information science. ...
... In spite of its marginalization by mainstream science, the evidence for psychophysical phenomena is very consistent (Cardeña, 2018). Multiple studies and meta-analyses supported by extensive databases and rigorous statistical and neuroimaging data demonstrate the existence of remote perception and mind-matter effects; telepathic awareness; distant intentionality; and both cognitive and emotional precognitive phenomena (for a comprehensive review, see Shapiro & Scott, 2019). ...
... Multiple studies and meta-analyses supported by extensive databases and rigorous statistical and neuroimaging data demonstrate the existence of remote perception and mind-matter effects; telepathic awareness; distant intentionality; and both cognitive and emotional precognitive phenomena (for a comprehensive review, see Shapiro & Scott, 2019). Cardeña (2018) sums up the current state of psi research as follows: ...
Intuitive response has been a cornerstone of patient–therapist interactions in all schools of therapy. In addition, persistent instances of “uncanny” intuitive knowing, such as “thought transference,” telepathic/precognitive dreams, distant awareness, and synchronicity have been identified since the very beginnings of psychoanalysis. These phenomena have remained on the fringes of scientific exploration, partly because of the lack of a conceptual model that would bring them into the mainstream of clinical work. The authors propose a Nonlocal Neurodynamics model that complements classical local-interactive forms of sensory (verbal and nonverbal) communication with nonlocal-participatory informational channels arising from the fundamental quantum/classical nature of the body/brain/mind system. We suggest the need for a metaphor shift in psychoanalysis in order to incorporate the latest developments in complexity science and quantum neurobiology, which allow for a meta-reductive informational perspective that bridges the Cartesian mind-brain divide and enables a unified picture of psychophysical reality. We use clinical examples illustrating a full spectrum of local and nonlocal clinical intuition to help clinicians utilize these concepts in their daily work.
... Strong taboos preclude open discussion of these topics in most Western academic settings (Cardeña, 2015;Schooler et al., 2018;Sidky, 2018). Thus, many may not feel comfortable transparently discussing or researching these topics, despite growing evidence for them in laboratories and real-world settings (Cardeña, 2018;Cardeña et al., 2015) and their rampant global prevalence (Bourguignon, 1976;Castro et al., 2014;A. Greeley, 1987;Haraldsson, 1985Haraldsson, , 2011Haraldsson & Houtkooper, 1991;Hunter & Luke, 2014, pp. ...
... A typical participant statement was, "I just know it." Numerous controlled experiments have explored the nature of general intuitive knowing (Cardeña, 2018;Cardeña, Palmer, & Marcusson-Clavertz, 2015;Radin, 2013;Schwartz, 2010). ...
... Inner vision, voice, and touch are well-evaluated noetic experiences. Inner vision, or what some people call remote viewing, has been formally evaluated in multiple studies and meta-analyses (Baptista et al., 2015;Cardeña, 2018;Dunne & Jahn, 2003;Milton, 1997). Inner vision has also demonstrated verifiable and practical applications, including the famous military Star Gate program run from 1973-1995(May & Marwaha, 2018a, 2018b, predicting the stock market, futures or other financial market information, sport event outcomes, locations of missing persons or criminal cases, and finding unknown archaeological sites (Schwartz, De Mattei, & Smith, 2019;Schwartz, 2019;Kolodziejzyk, 2013). ...
The term “noetic” comes from the Greek word noēsis/noētikos that means inner wisdom, direct knowing, intuition, or implicit understanding. Strong cultural taboos exist about sharing these experiences. Thus, many may not feel comfortable transparently discussing or researching these topics, despite growing evidence that these experiences may be real. The study’s objective was to qualitatively evaluate first-hand accounts of noetic experiences. 521 English-speaking adults from around the world completed an online survey that collected demographic data and four open-ended questions about noetic experiences. Thematic analysis was used to characterize the data. The ten most used codes were expressing to or sharing with others, impacting decision-making, intuition/”just knowing,” meditation/hypnosis, inner visions, setting intentions/getting into the “state,” healing others, writing for self, and inner voice. There were five main themes identified: 1. Ways of Engagement; 2. Ways of Knowing; 3. Types of Information; 4. Ways of Affecting; and 5. Ways of Expressing. Subthemes. Future research will include investigating the nuances of these themes and also establishing standardized methods for evaluating them. This would also then inform curricula and therapies to support people in these experiences.
... Strong taboos preclude open discussion of these topics in most Western academic settings (Cardeña, 2015;Schooler et al., 2018;Sidky, 2018). Thus, many may not feel comfortable transparently discussing or researching these topics, despite growing evidence for them in laboratories and real-world settings (Cardeña, 2018;Cardeña et al., 2015) and their rampant global prevalence (Bourguignon, 1976;Castro et al., 2014;A. Greeley, 1987;Haraldsson, 1985Haraldsson, , 2011Haraldsson & Houtkooper, 1991;Hunter & Luke, 2014, pp. ...
... A typical participant statement was, "I just know it." Numerous controlled experiments have explored the nature of general intuitive knowing (Cardeña, 2018;Cardeña, Palmer, & Marcusson-Clavertz, 2015;Radin, 2013;Schwartz, 2010). ...
... Inner vision, voice, and touch are well-evaluated noetic experiences. Inner vision, or what some people call remote viewing, has been formally evaluated in multiple studies and meta-analyses (Baptista et al., 2015;Cardeña, 2018;Dunne & Jahn, 2003;Milton, 1997). Inner vision has also demonstrated verifiable and practical applications, including the famous military Star Gate program run from 1973 -1995 (May & Marwaha, 2018a, predicting the stock market, futures or other financial market information, sport event outcomes, locations of missing persons or criminal cases, and finding unknown archaeological sites (Schwartz, De Mattei, & Smith, 2019;Schwartz, 2019;Kolodziejzyk, 2013). ...
The term “noetic” comes from the Greek word noēsis/noētikos that means inner wisdom, direct knowing, intuition, or implicit understanding. Strong cultural taboos exist about sharing these experiences. Thus, many may not feel comfortable transparently discussing or researching these topics, despite growing evidence that these experiences may be real. The study’s objective was to qualitatively evaluate first-hand accounts of noetic experiences. 521 English-speaking adults from around the world completed an online survey that collected demographic data and four open-ended questions about noetic experiences. Thematic analysis was used to characterize the data. The ten most used codes were expressing to or sharing with others, impacting decision-making, intuition/”just knowing,” meditation/hypnosis, inner visions, setting intentions/getting into the “state,” healing others, writing for self, and inner voice. There were five main themes identified: 1. Ways of Engagement; 2. Ways of Knowing; 3. Types of Information; 4. Ways of Affecting; and 5. Ways of Expressing. Subthemes. Future research will include investigating the nuances of these themes and also establishing standardized methods for evaluating them. This would also then inform curricula and therapies to support people in these experiences.
... I believe this is unfortunate, especially for the categories of psi examined under laboratory conditions and vetted in refereed publications. Nevertheless, this research has recently gained more attention in major psychology journals (Bem, 2011;Storm, Tressoldi and Di Risio, 2010), and most recently with Cardeña (2018), who provided a comprehensive summary of the extant meta-analyses for psi evidence. Cardeña noted that the overall evidence 'provides cumulative support for the reality of psi, which cannot be readily explained away by the quality of the studies, fraud, selective reporting, experimental or analytical incompetence, or other frequent criticisms' (p. ...
... Recently, however, Reber and Alcock (2019) have strongly attacked Cardeña's (2018) presentation and broadly dismissed all of the paper's findings. They did so, however, without citing any flaws in the data or methodology. ...
... Z p Forced-Choice Cards Honorton andFerrari (1989) Storm et al. (2012) Table 1. A subset of the meta-analysis summaries of various psi modes, adapted from Cardeña (2018). Z = the cumulative standard deviation from the mean; p = the statistical likelihood of obtaining the test results while assuming the null hypothesis is correct. ...
The inherently subjective nature of consciousness severely limits our ability to make progress on the problem of consciousness. The inability to acquire objective, publicly available data on the phenomenal aspect of consciousness makes evaluating alternative theories very difficult, if not impossible. However, the anomalous nature of subjective states with respect to our conventional theories of the physical world suggests the possibility of considering other anomalous data around consciousness that happen to be objective. For such purposes, I propose that we examine the psi data gathered under laboratory conditions, which generally receive little attention. I wish to consider whether we have theories or frameworks of consciousness that attempt to account for subjective qualia but also fit the psi data. I argue that Russellian monism can be combined with an argument regarding quantum holism to arrive at a version of cosmo-psychism that fits very well with the psi data. While I do not argue that such a framework exhausts the theoretical possibilities, I do suggest we can move forward with a framework that has attractive theoretical features and is also consistent with objective data currently on the table.
... Both viewer and interviewer were blind to the target. Multiple meta-analyses of public domain and declassified experiments of this type have been conducted, and the results showed highly positive evidence in favor of a genuine phenomenon (Baptista et al., 2015;Cardeña, 2018;Dunne & Jahn, 2003;Milton, 1997). This apparent ability is now used for other practical applications, such as predicting stock market movements (Harary & Targ, 1985;Kolodziejzyk, 2013;Smith et al., 2014), locating missing persons (Mcmoneagle & May, 2004), and finding previously unknown archaeological sites (Schwartz, 2005(Schwartz, , 2019. ...
... Over 120 published experiments have used this protocol, comprising about 4,000 individual trials, and the overall hit rate was just over 30%. Multiple reviews and meta-analyses on this protocol have also been conducted (Baptista et al., 2015;Cardeña, 2018;Storm et al., 2010;Storm & Tressoldi, 2020). Articles discussing these results have been discussed and debated in one of the principal journals in academic psychology, Psychological Bulletin (Bem & Honorton, 1994;Hyman, 2010;Storm et al., 2010). ...
... Critical reactions to anecdotal reports have also tended to focus on their subjective nature and the many ways that such experiences can be misinterpreted as illusions, misperceptions, or distorted memories. Such critiques can be answered by pointing out that some of the anecdotal reports involved hundreds to thousands of documented case studies, and all the experiments mentioned involved controlled experimental paradigms that were repeated in multiple laboratories and dozens to over a hundred independent replications, with overall highly significant meta-analytic outcomes (Cardeña, 2018). In some of the earliest experiments, methodological flaws were discovered but later corrected with similar results, so insisting that flaws or fraud can be the only possible explanations is not supported by analysis of the data. ...
The nature of consciousness is considered one of the most perplexing and persistent mysteries in science. We all know the subjective experience of consciousness, but where does it arise? What is its purpose? What are its full capacities? The assumption within today’s neuroscience is that all aspects of consciousness arise solely from interactions among neurons in the brain. However, the origin and mechanisms of qualia (i.e., subjective or phenomenological experience) are not understood. David Chalmers coined the term “the hard problem” to describe the difficulties in elucidating the origins of subjectivity from the point of view of reductive materialism. We propose that the hard problem arises because one or more assumptions within a materialistic worldview are either wrong or incomplete. If consciousness entails more than the activity of neurons, then we can contemplate new ways of thinking about the hard problem. This review examines phenomena that apparently contradict the notion that consciousness is exclusively dependent on brain activity, including phenomena where consciousness appears to extend beyond the physical brain and body in both space and time. The mechanisms underlying these “nonlocal” properties are vaguely suggestive of quantum entanglement in physics, but how such effects might manifest remains highly speculative. The existence of these nonlocal effects appears to support the proposal that post-materialistic models of consciousness may be required to break the conceptual impasse presented by the hard problem of consciousness.
... It goes without saying that the assignment of anomalies to categories 2 or 3 depends on the beliefs and world models held in each case. The concept of "scientability" introduced by Weymayr, which was addressed in my last editorial, as well as the skeptical comment by Reber and Alcock (2020) on Cardeña's review article on parapsychological research (Cardeña, 2018), also mentioned there, show with their implicit "prohibition of research" a great similarity to the anti-scientific theology of Augustine and the dogmatics of scholastic natural philosophers who wanted to exclude the extraordinary and miraculous from the research program or at least disdained it. For "ideological skeptics, " "not-OK anomalies" and "sleeping anomalies" have no ontological reality and have congealed into "evidence" of credulity and false beliefs. ...
... Es ist selbstredend, dass die Zuordnung von Anomalien zu den Kategorien 2 oder 3 von den jeweils vertretenen Überzeugungen und Weltmodellen abhängig ist. Das in meinem letzten Editorial angesprochene von Weymayr eingeführte Konzept der "Scientabilität" wie auch der ebenfalls dort genannte skeptische Kommentar von Reber und Alcock (2020) zu Cardeñas Übersichtsartikel zur parapsychologischen Forschung (Cardeña, 2018) zeigen mit ihrem impliziten "Forschungsverbot" eine große Ähnlichkeit mit der wissenschaftsfeindlichen Theologie von Augustinus und der Dogmatik scholastischer Naturphilosophen, die das Außergewöhnliche und Wunderbare aus dem Forschungsprogramm ausschließen wollten oder es zumindest geringschätzten. Für "ideologische Skeptiker" haben Anomalien der Kategorien 2 und 3 keine ontologische Realität und sind zum "Beweis" für Leichtgläubigkeit und falsche Glaubensvorstellungen geronnen. ...
Curiosity is a vice that has been stigmatized in turn by Christianity, by philosophy, and even by a certain conception of science. Curiosity, futility. The word, however, pleases me. To me it suggests something altogether different: it evokes "concern"; it evokes the care one takes for what exists and could exist; a readiness to find strange and singular what surrounds us; a certain relentlessness to break up our familiarities and to regard otherwise the same things; a fervor to grasp what is happening and what passes; a casualness in regard to the traditional hierarchies of the important and the essential.
... future) events that become reality are extraordinary experiences (Barušs & Mossbridge, 2016;Kripal, 2019;Radin, 2009;Wargo, 2018). Thanks to the development of academic experimental psychology in the late 19 th century, these anomalous or parapsychological experiences and effects have been studied academically (Cardeña, 2018;Mossbridge & Radin, 2018;Roll, 1989). Jung (1963) used the term 'synchronicity' for those phenomena in which a connection of temporally separated events is experienced as personally meaningful, although there is no causal relationship between said events. ...
... Application of Bayesian statistics in meta-analyses has actually shown positive effect sizes for the anticipation of random future events (Bem et al., 2015), following initial significant results after classical hypotheses testing (Bem, 2011). Meta-analyses and systematic reviews of the existing literature reveal the presence of anomalous effects in many fields of Psi research (Cardeña, 2018;Mossbridge & Radin, 2018). ...
In this process-oriented study, we examined the influence of the time dimension on Psi effects in two experimental conditions (present vs. future). For data collection, selected viewers with experience in the remote viewing method gathered information about targets that were distant in space (the present) and time (the future). The present condition was composed of binary truth statements consisting of two possible options related to current world knowledge. The future condition consisted of two options that were not yet determined at the time of viewing, but depended on the outcome of future mixed martial arts fights. According to the associative remote viewing (ARV) method, the binary outcomes of the present and future options were each associated with a photo, which had to be described by the viewers. An independent judge analyzed the viewers’ qualitative reports through binary correspondence ratings amounting to a hit (1) or no hit (0) per trial. Independently of the time condition, a Psi effect could be observed. The hit rates of the judge (0.88 and 0.62 for the present and future, respectively) were significantly higher than the expected value (0.5) under the null hypothesis (present: p < 0.001, ESP = 0.73; future: p = 0.027, ESF = 0.22; binomial distribution). In addition, the hit rates in the two time conditions differed significantly from each other (χ2 = 9.01; df = 1, p < 0.003). The results confirm the hypothesis that Psi is not completely independent of the time dimension and that the hit rate is influenced by a priori target probabilities. With regard to the Informational Psi (IΨ) theory, we will discuss the implications of a probabilistic future for the understanding of Psi effects.
... It is our speculation that the fifth force called psychic force exists due to the interaction of mind with body. In the same way to explain the four passive types of forces related to matter (gravity, electromagnetism, weak interactions, and strong interactions) by the concept of field, we assume another field called psychic field also exists, we can use this field to explain many parapsychological phenomena (Moreira-Almeida & Santos, 2012; Cardeña, 2018). ...
... Thus, many phenomena can be explained using this new force. The existence of this force (Psychokinesis phenomena) has more or the less confirmed (Cardeña, 2018). Of course, how to measure and control it needs further researches. ...
... Examples are paranormal beliefs and experiences, such as feeling the physical presence of deceased beings, and hearing unexplained noises or blows (e.g., Jinks, 2019). Other parapsychology perceptions include anticipation of unpredictable stimuli (called precognition), mind-and-mind communication (telepathy), and mind-matter interaction (e.g., Wiseman and Watt, 2017;Cardeña, 2018). These experiences constitute rationally impossible phenomena in scientific terms (e.g., Tobacyk, 2004;Musella, 2005). ...
... This is the case for pre-cognition (e.g., Tressoldi et al., 2009;Bem, 2011;Mossbridge et al., 2012;McCraty and Atkinson, 2014;Bem et al., 2016;Mossbridge and Radin, 2018), telepathy (e.g., Moss and Gengerelli, 1967;Krippner and Ullman, 1970;Honorton, 1985;Sheldrake and Avraamides, 2009), the anomalous reception of information or mediumship (e.g., Beischel and Schwartz, 2007;Kelly and Arcangel, 2011;Sudduth, 2013;Beischel et al., 2015), and the mind-matter interaction (e.g., Radin, 2006;Tressoldi et al., 2014). Studies of core "psi" phenomena experiences (see Cardeña, 2018;Jinks, 2019), such as these facilitate discussion regarding the possibility of the existence of alternative phenomena that transgress the bases of human perception (e.g., Utts, 2018;Cardeña, 2019). For this reason, these experiences are also called anomalous, since results are observed in favor of these phenomena that supposedly challenge the foundations of science (see French and Stone, 2014). ...
This paper presents the English adaptation of the Multivariable Multiaxial Suggestibility Inventory-2 (MMSI-2), a questionnaire developed specifically for psychological assessment and prediction of anomalous phenomena. The sample consisted of 613 respondents from England (47.6% were women and 52.4% men). All of them were of legal age (mean = 34.5; standard deviation = 8.15). An exploratory factor analysis was applied, and three confirmatory factor models were adjusted. Omega coefficients and test-retest designs were used for reliability analysis. The MMSI-2 has a valid internal structure consisting of five macrofactors: Clinical Personality Tendencies (CPT), Anomalous Perceived Phenomena (APP), Incoherent Manipulations (IMA), Altered States of Consciousness (ASC), and Openness (OP). Omega coefficients for CPT and OP factors were low but acceptable. Furthermore, test-retest trials were excellent for all scales and factors. The psychological factors CPT, IMA, and ASC predicted 18.3% of the variance of anomalous experiences (APP). The authors concluded the English MMSI-2 was a valid and reliable test for the evaluation of anomalous phenomena but recommend that subsequent research reviews the predictive quality of the underlying model.
... We don't know whether they have similar or different nature, but it is clear that local biofields can be studies using traditional experimental approaches and nonlocal effects are very hard to study using traditional approaches and so, they would require very different approaches. The existence of non-local information transfer and intentional influences is well established experimentally [36][37][38] , but the information on local nonelectromagnetic components of the biofield is scarce. When we speak about "local nonelectromagnetic components of the biofield" we imply that there are likely fields that are attached to the body like an aura, or an energy field, but which can not be measured by common electromagnetic measurement devices and which penetrate shields such as metal and water barriers which common electromagnetic waves do not. ...
... The nature of nonchemical signaling was studied by several methods: (1) it was shown that one biological sample, such as a fish embryo, a plant, or a cell culture dish can transfer biological signals to another biological sample via air or a quartz glass [7,9,10,41] , (2) electromagnetic waves were recorded coming from a perturbed biological sample or a developing embryo, and the properties of the waves were found to be indicative of the state of the sample [9,42,43] , or (3) it was demonstrated that electromagnetic waves of specific properties can produce specific effects in biological samples [5,6,9,41] . The nonlocal information transfer between people, sending thoughts and messages at large distances, influencing people at a distance and distant healing effects were demonstrated with high statistical significance [34][35][36]38,44,45] . Remote viewing was found to be statistically significant [46,47] . ...
... A lot of research on this topic has indeed been published in the fields of psychiatry (Lomax et al., 2011;Kamp et al., 2020), clinical psychology (Kramer et al., 2012;Roe, 2020), psychoanalysis (Eshel, 2006;Brottman, 2011;de Peyer, 2014;Si Ahmed, 2014;Reichbart, 2018), and cognitive neurosciences (Brugger and Mohr, 2008;Krippner and Friedman, 2009). A more specific approach to these experiences has also been developed by anomalistic psychology (Holt et al., 2012;French and Stone, 2013;Cardeña et al., 2014) and psi studies (Radin, 2000;Cardeña et al., 2015;Cardeña, 2018). These different lines of research, developing in complementary areas, underline that these experiences happen to people of all ages, regardless of their gender, their education, or their culture. ...
... Anomalistic psychology is also a useful area of knowledge to improve the understanding of the factors which may contribute to the emergence of anomalous experiences (Holt et al., 2012;French and Stone, 2013), especially the personality traits and related psychological factors (false memories, cognitive illusions, etc.) frequently associated with them (psychic permeability, fantasy-prone personality, trauma, etc.). Case studies and experimental psi research are also a useful resource concerning the more objective aspects of these experiences (Radin, 2000;Irwin and Watt, 2007;Cardeña, 2018). These different perspectives contribute to a global theoretical framework that guides the clinician's listening. ...
In this paper, we propose a clinical approach to the counseling of distressing subjective paranormal experiences, usually referred to as anomalous or exceptional experiences in the academic field. These experiences are reported by a large part of the population, yet most mental health practitioners have not received a specific training in listening constructively to these experiences. This seems all the more problematic since nearly one person in two find it difficult to integrate such experiences, which can be associated with different forms of psychological suffering. After having described briefly several clinical approaches already developed in this area, we outline the main aspects of clinical practice with people reporting exceptional experiences, in particular the characteristics of the clinician’s attitude toward the narrative of unusual events. We then present the core components of a Psychodynamic Psychotherapy focused on Anomalous Experiences (PPAE) based on three main steps: phenomenological exploration, subjective inscription and subjective integration of the anomalous experience. Such an approach, based on a non-judgmental and open listening, favors the transformation of the ontological shock that often follows the anomalous experiences into a potential source of integration and psychological transformation.
... Robot can only simulate the human being's consciousness phenomena but do not have the actual consciousness phenomena due to the lack of a mind. This mind-body model can explain many anomalous phenomena such as out of body experience, near death experience, mediumship, children claiming to have memories of a previous life (Moreira-Almeida & Santana Santos, 2012) and parapsychological (psi) phenomena (Cardeña, 2018). ...
... The SPR was the basis for what we nowadays call "parapsychology". The field of parapsychology studies the so-called psi phenomena, which can be divided in two categories: PK, or psychokinesis, and ESP, or extransensory perception, which in turn includes phenomena such as telepathy, clairvoyance, remote viewing, precognition, and retrocognition (Cardeña, 2018). Nearly a century and a half has passed and it is not yet clear whether parapsychology has fulfilled its purpose. ...
... These abilities range from commonly experienced intuitions or hunches to more unique experiences like remote viewing, the ability to know something about a place, object, or person that is inaccessible to the ordinary senses (Cardeña, 2018;Targ, 2019). The Quick Remote Viewing Task is a forced-choice task where ve images are presented in a horizontal row with a grey box above them. ...
We explored personal development workshops’ transformative effects by evaluating participants’ transformative, noetic, transpersonal, and relational experiences during workshops and their association with interconnectedness, well-being, and extended perception measure changes in a prospective, uncontrolled, within-participant design study. Participants reported positive changes that a majority felt would affect their behavior and relationships. Perceived contact with the dead was associated with an increased interconnectedness, as was a meaningful experience with wildlife or animals. A meaningful experience with a person, place, or thing was associated with increased well-being. These analyses support the idea that engaging in personal development workshops is positively transformative.
... It is an area of controversial science that began in the late 1800s and continues today. Although several meta-analytic reviews demonstrate an overall psi e ect (for a review, see Cardeña, 2018), meta-analyses may su er from publication biases and selective reporting. For instance, a recent comparison of e ect sizes in meta-analyses and pre-registered replication attempts across 15 domains of psychology in general indicated that the former showed almost three times as large e ects (Kvarven et al., 2020). ...
Two experiments involving an international collaboration of
experimenters sought to replicate and extend a previously published
psi experiment on precognition by Daryl Bem that has been the focus
of extensive research. The experiment reverses the usual cause–e! ect
sequence of a standard psychology experiment using priming and reaction
times. The preregistered con" rmatory hypothesis is that response times
to incongruent stimuli will be longer than response times to congruent
stimuli even though the prime has not yet appeared when the participant
records their judgments. The con" rmatory hypothesis for Experiment 1
was not supported. Exploratory analyses indicated that those participants
who completed the English-language version rather than a translation
showed a signi" cant e! ect, as was the case in the original study; no
signi" cant departure from chance was found in data involving non-
English translations. Experiment 2 sought to enhance the predicted e! ect
by having each participant read either a pro-psi or an anti-psi statement
at the beginning of the experiment to test the hypothesis that a pro-psi
statement would produce a larger e! ect than an anti-psi statement. The
results did not support the primary psi hypothesis and there was no e! ect
in the English-language sample. However, there was mixed support for
the e! ect of the psi statement on performance; those participants who
received the pro-psi statement had a greater psi score than those who
received the anti-psi statement. As in the original experiment, neither
the experimenters’ nor participants’ beliefs were consistently associated
with the dependent measure. In sum, the pre-registered con" rmatory
hypotheses were not supported. The importance of the personality
variable Sensation Seeking, a component of extraversion, as a correlate
of psi performance is discussed as are the challenges and implications
for international collaborations and replication in controversial science.
... It is an area of controversial science that began in the late 1800s and continues today. Although several meta-analytic reviews demonstrate an overall psi effect (for a review, see Cardeña, 2018), meta-analyses may suffer from publication biases and selective reporting. For instance, a recent comparison of effect sizes in meta-analyses and pre-registered replication attempts across 15 domains of psychology in general indicated that the former showed almost three times as large effects (Kvarven et al., 2020). ...
Two experiments involving an international collaboration of experimenters sought to replicate and extend a previously published psi experiment on precognition by Daryl Bem that has been the focus of extensive research. The experiment reverses the usual cause–effect sequence of a standard psychology experiment using priming and reaction times. The preregistered confirmatory hypothesis is that response times to incongruent stimuli will be longer than response times to congruent stimuli even though the prime has not yet appeared when the participant records their judgments. The confirmatory hypothesis for Experiment 1 was not supported. Exploratory analyses indicated that those participants who completed the English-language version rather than a translation showed a significant effect, as was the case in the original study; no significant departure from chance was found in data involving non-English translations. Experiment 2 sought to enhance the predicted effect by having each participant read either a pro-psi or an anti-psi statement at the beginning of the experiment to test the pre-recorded hypothesis that a pro-psi statement would produce a larger effect than an anti-psi statement. The results did not support the primary psi hypothesis and there was no effect in the English-language sample. However, there was mixed support for the effect of the psi statement on performance; those participants who received the pro-psi statement had a greater psi score than those who received the anti-psi statement. As in the original experiment, neither the experimenters’ nor participants’ beliefs were significantly associated with the dependent measure. In sum, the pre-registered confirmatory hypotheses were not supported. The importance of the personality variable Sensation Seeking, a component of extraversion, as a correlate of psi performance is discussed as are the challenges and implications for international collaborations and replication in controversial science. Keywords: priming; expectancy effect; retrocausation; consciousness; sociology; precognition; psi; replication Two experiments involving an international collaboration of experimenters sought to replicate and extend a previously published psi experiment on precognition by Daryl Bem that has been the focus of extensive research. The experiment reverses the usual cause-effect sequence of a standard psychology experiment using priming and reaction times. The preregistered confirmatory hypothesis is that response times to incongruent stimuli will be longer than response times to congruent stimuli even though the prime has not yet appeared when the participant records his or her judgments. The confirmatory hypothesis for Study 1 was not supported. Exploratory analyses indicated that those participants who completed the English-language version rather than a translation showed a significant effect, as was the case in the original study; no significant departure from chance was found in data involving non-English translations. Study 2 sought to enhance the predicted effect by having each participant read either a pro-psi or an anti-psi statement at the beginning of the experiment to test the pre-recorded hypothesis that a pro-psi statement would produce a larger effect than an anti-psi statement. The results did not support the primary psi hypothesis and there was no observed association between belief and experience of ESP and psi outcome. However, there was mixed support for the effect of the psi statement on performance; those participants who received the pro-psi statement had a greater psi score than those who received anti-psi statement. As in the original experiment, neither the experimenters’ nor participants’ beliefs or expectations were significantly correlated with the dependent measure. In sum, the pre-registered confirmatory hypotheses were not supported. The importance of the personality variable Sensation Seeking, a component of extraversion, as a correlate of psi performance is discussed as are the challenges and implications for international collaborations and replication in controversial science.
... Furthermore, increasing evidence of puzzling nonlocal perceptions and nonlocal interactions traditionally classified as paranormal, (Cardeña, 2018;Cardeña, Lynn, & Krippner, 2017;Tressoldi & Storm, 2021;Walach, Tressoldi, & Pederzoli, 2016) and spiritual/mystic and nondual experiences (de Castro, 2017; Facco, Lucangeli, & Tressoldi, 2019; Taves, 2020, Josipovic, 2019; Mills, Barsotti, Blackstone, Chopra, & Josipovic, 2020) have also been reported as not compatible with the brain neurophysiological constraints. If they are facts, they cannot be rejected on the basis of their ostensible incompatibility with adopted axioms and theories. ...
The debate about the nature of consciousness revolves around two opposing theories: a) consciousness is a byproduct of the brain; b) consciousness is primary and manifests some, but not all its characteristics, by using the brain that functions as a filter. Although ostensibly odd from the materialist standpoint, the idea of the primacy of consciousness is a thousand years old and runs through the whole history of cultural, religious and philosophical traditions of both the East and the West (e.g., see Indich, 1995; Kastrup, 2018; Walach, 2020), a fact suggesting the need to reappraise it through a metaphilosophical approach (Facco et al. 2021). The aim of this opinion paper is to outline some scientific evidence supporting the idea of the primacy of consciousness.
... This apparent disinterest is not a matter of experimental intractability, because there is a directly relevant empirical literature. 6 Perhaps the deficit is due to what the traditional discipline of physics considers to be proper topics of study, which includes all aspects of the physical world but not postulated realms that reside somewhere in between physics and the psyche. 7 In any case, our approach to this topic has been to take seriously Planck's (and others) position, based on the philosophy of idealism, that consciousness is more fundamental than matter. ...
An experiment we conducted from 2012 to 2013, which had not been previously reported, was designed to explore possible psychophysical effects resulting from the interaction of a human mind with a quantum system. Participants focused their attention toward or away from the slits in a double-slit optical system to see if the interference pattern would be affected. Data were collected from 25 people in individual half-hour sessions; each person repeated the test ten times for a total of 250 planned sessions. “Sham” sessions designed to mimic the experimental sessions without observers present were run immediately before and after as controls. Based on the planned analysis, no evidence for a psychophysical effect was found. Because this experiment differed in two essential ways from similar, previously reported double-slit experiments, two exploratory analyses were developed, one based on a simple spectral analysis of the interference pattern and the other based on fringe visibility. For the experimental data, the outcome supported a pattern of results predicted by a causal psychophysical effect, with the spectral metric resulting in a 3.4 sigma effect ( p = 0.0003), and the fringe visibility metric resulting in 7 of 22 fringes tested above 2.3 sigma after adjustment for type I error inflation, with one of those fringes at 4.3 sigma above chance ( p = 0.00001). The same analyses applied to the sham data showed uniformly null outcomes. Other analyses exploring the potential that these results were due to mundane artifacts, such as fluctuations in temperature or vibration, showed no evidence of such influences. Future studies using the same protocols and analytical methods will be required to determine if these exploratory results are idiosyncratic or reflect a genuine psychophysical influence.
... The psi phenomena included in the list of NOMEs have been classified into two groups according to Cardeña [50] as extrasensorial perceptions (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK), which have already been investigated by several rigorous studies. Actually, the mentioned article by Cardeña summarizes the results of 11 meta-analyses of studies on ESP and PK for a total of over 1,600 subjects, supporting the possibility to check these phenomena and prove or disprove them and, thus, disclose the possible reality of at least part of them. ...
Aim of this paper is to review the state of the art of so⎼called altered states of consciousness, anomalous experiences, and exceptional human experiences, showing the need for reappraising the whole topic and gather them under one roof. The term Non⎼Ordinary Mental Expressions (NOMEs) and a new classification of non⎼pathological ostensibly odd phenomena is introduced, emphasizing their epistemological, transcultural and interdisciplinary implications with their huge implications in medical and psychotherapeutical clinical practice.
... The future (the prime) seems to have retroactively affected the picture-related pressing of the button in the present. In the psi literature, this effect is attributed to an automated precognitive process, i.e. the unconscious anticipation of an upcoming event in the future (Cardeña, 2018;. It has been argued that such predictive anticipatory processes may represent an unconscious attempt to prepare organisms for future events (Mossbridge, Tressoldi & Utts, 2012;Mossbridge, 2019). ...
Previous studies have shown that the choice reaction time to a positive or negatively valenced photo can be influenced by following positive or negative words. Congruent photo- word pairs led to shorter reaction times than incongruent pairs. Since the potentially influencing word appears after the button is pressed, this effect has been described as a retroactive psi effect (Bem, 2011, Exp. 4). The present paper reports on two studies that replicated the original English retroactive priming task using German words. Two new analysis methods are applied by (1) assessing whether the influence of a classic anterograde priming effect is detectable, which is not, and (2) controlling in study 2 for potential false positive effects by utilizing a specially designed sham control task. By applying confirmatory analyses criteria, the anomalous cognition hypothesis concerning a positive psi effect is rejected in both studies. Exploratory post-hoc analysis shows a significant positive retroactive priming effect in study 1 for men only and an overall weak significant negative priming effect in study 2. We discuss these ambivalent findings as typical anomalous result patterns in experimental parapsychology. Through these results, both those who are sceptic of anomalous cognition and those who believe in it can find confirmation of their assumptions.
... Third, preregistration would identify both the primary outcome and the sample size required to achieve an acceptable level of statistical power. Ironically, the lack of attention to pre-registration and justifying sample sizes contrasts with research on paranormal phenomena, where study registration and a priori power calculations have been employed for many years [76]. ...
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Abstract
Background
Research into paranormal beliefs and cognitive functioning has expanded considerably since the last review almost 30 years ago, prompting the need for a comprehensive review. The current systematic review aims to identify the reported associations between paranormal beliefs and cognitive functioning, and to assess study quality.
Method
We searched four databases (Scopus, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, and OpenGrey) from inception until May 2021. Inclusion criteria comprised papers published in English that contained original data assessing paranormal beliefs and cognitive function in healthy adult samples. Study quality and risk of bias was assessed using the Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies (AXIS) and results were synthesised through narrative review. The review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and was preregistered as part of a larger registration on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/uzm5v).
Results
From 475 identified studies, 71 (n = 20,993) met our inclusion criteria. Studies were subsequently divided into the following six categories: perceptual and cognitive biases (k = 19, n = 3,397), reasoning (k = 17, n = 9,661), intelligence, critical thinking, and academic ability (k = 12, n = 2,657), thinking style (k = 13, n = 4,100), executive function and memory (k = 6, n = 810), and other cognitive functions (k = 4, n = 368). Study quality was rated as good-to-strong for 75% of studies and appears to be improving across time. Nonetheless, we identified areas of methodological weakness including: the lack of preregistration, discussion of limitations, a-priori justification of sample size, assessment of nonrespondents, and the failure to adjust for multiple testing. Over 60% of studies have recruited undergraduates and 30% exclusively psychology undergraduates, which raises doubt about external validity. Our narrative synthesis indicates high heterogeneity of study findings. The most consistent associations emerge for paranormal beliefs with increased intuitive thinking and confirmatory bias, and reduced conditional reasoning ability and perception of randomness.
Conclusions
Although study quality is good, areas of methodological weakness exist. In addressing these methodological issues, we propose that authors engage with preregistration of data collection and analysis procedures. At a conceptual level, we argue poorer cognitive performance across seemingly disparate cognitive domains might reflect the influence of an over-arching executive dysfunction.
... The parapsychological database is jagged so far. While we do have many extremely intriguing phenomena on a phenomenal level (Braude, 1986(Braude, , 2017Grosso, 2016), strong and well-documented cases, and highly significant meta-analyses summarizing research fields or experimental paradigms across researchers, variations, and time (Cardeña, 2018;May & Marwaha, 2018, 2019a, 2019b, critics are also correct in pointing out that it is not possible to name one single parapsychological experiment as foolproof and resistant to experimental replication (Alcock, 2003;Reber & Alcock, 2020). It is also true that we have a replication crisis in psychology in general, i.e., the inability to externally replicate experiments that were thought to be proven (Open Science Collaboration, 2015;Schooler, 2011). ...
We have reported previously on positive effects found in the matrix experiment. This is a setup where a random event generator (REG) drives a display, which participants are instructed to “influence” at will, i.e., in a psychokinesis (PK) setup. The difference of this matrix experiment from standard micro-PK REG experiments was that the deviation from randomness was not measured, but a large array of 2025 correlations between the behavior of the participant and the behavior of the REG was tested. This previous experiment was significant, and we devised a consensus protocol, which was deposited before commencement, according to which we conducted two independent replications with the same experimental setup and equipment. In the first experiment 64 participants conducted the experiment in one location under the experimental guidance of KK, in the second experiment 40 participants conducted the experiment in another location under the experimental guidance of HV. The analysis used a non-parametric randomization test with 10,000 iterations. None of the two experiments was significant. While in the first experiment a very small, but non-significant effect was found, in the second experiment no effect whatsoever was detectable. Sensitivity analyses did not suggest that the effect was in fact there but overlooked by our analysis. We discuss the findings in the context of the larger debate around replicability of parapsychological (PSI) research results and our theoretical model. This starts from the assumptions that such PSI effects are likely effects of a generalized form of entanglement correlations, and a consequence of this model is that such effects must not be used for the transfer of signals. Classical experiments, however, are detectors or extractors of signals in or from systems. This seems to be prohibited. Thus, the replication problem and this failed replication is likely part of the systematic nature of these effects. This makes it unlikely that experimental research alone will be successful in the long run demonstrating PSI effects. Our conclusion is that the matrix experiment is not a replicable paradigm in PSI research.
... Many psychological factors that may play a role here have been demonstrated in well controlled experiments and meta-analyses of peer-reviewed literature. Telepathy, remote viewing, clairvoyance, precognition, presentiment and psychokinesis, (see Fig.5) have been experimentally demonstrated up to high levels of confidence, and invite to incorporate such information in current science, [Pereira, 2003: Cardena, 2018. Many relevant investigations in this field have shown, that a large percentage of humanity has reasons to believe in ESP of some kind. ...
We submit a generalized interpretation of quantum physics on the basis of resolution of quantum indeterminacy, emerging from an integral and simultaneous change of physical relationships at the Planck scale. This model postulates "space-time instants of now" framed by us as "blinks of change" in the physical world. These "instants of now" can only be conceived as permanent conscious moments if they attain sufficient novelty and are regarded by us to be the basic building blocks of scale-invariant consciousness and the fabric of reality. We postulate that a transactional wave interaction of local and nonlocal information occurs within a discrete timeframe between each prior and subsequent "instant of now". The "Standard Reference Frame", created according to our premise, generates a general aspect of quantum entanglement in the universe, thereby providing nonlocal relations that affect all physical change. The proposed quantum physical model not only provides a basis for resolution of quantum uncertainty by causal self-observation of the universe, it also explains the existence of universal consciousness and puts the very nature of time and cause-effect relationships in a new perspective. The concept is conceived as a basic ontology for our cosmos, from which many of the current physical theories for mind/matter reality can be directly derived. It thereby offers insight into the well-known "implicate and explicate order" interpretation of David Bohm as well as the concept of "actual occasions" of Alfred North Whitehead. Our concept bears some similarities with Cramer's Transactional Interpretation of Quantum Physics, but partially differs from a recent hypothesis postulated by Lee Smolin on the nature of Qualia. Importantly, our concept requires a recurrent wave modality that returns to itself that generates an intrinsic aspect of entanglement. This ensures a self-referential information flux that can be fully accommodated by toroidal geometry and intrinsically integrates the aspect of universal consciousness. The toroidal geometry that is implied, allows the access to a 4 th spatial dimension that may reflect a sub-Planckian domain of mathematical relations and geometric forms (phase space), functioning as an implicate order. We believe that the present novel interpretation of quantum physics invites relevant views on individual consciousness of living organisms and their interconnection via cosmic musical master-code.
... So etwa, wenn die experimentelle Psi-Forschung global als nur bedingt erfolgreich beschrieben wird und der Eindruck entstehen kann, es gäbe keine soliden Nachweise für Psi-Effekte in Labor-Experimenten. Hier wäre allein schon der Hinweis auf den Überblicksartikel von Etzel Cardeña "The experimental evidence for parapsychological phenomena: A review" wertvoll gewesen, der 2018 im renommierten American Psychologist erschienen ist (Cardeña, 2018). Man gewinnt den Eindruck, als sei dieses das Thema AgE allgemein behandelnde erste Kapitel eine eher ungeliebte Pflichtübung gewesen, die die Autorin notwendigerweise "abgearbeitet" hat. ...
... Analogous to religious symbols that psychologically influence believers, we contend that the physical (or psychological) cues in "haunted" locations often affect the attitudes and behaviors of paranormal believers. We should note that some academic authorities question whether anomalous experiences, such as reported at haunted places, can be explained entirely as cognitive biases or illusions but instead might represent genuinely parapsychological phenomena (e.g., Cardeña, 2018;Maher, 2015;Storm & Tilley, 2020). Nevertheless, most recent research focuses on understanding the psychological effects of these kinds of experiences-beliefs and not on contrasting their authenticity or ontological validity (for an overview, see Laythe et al., 2021). ...
Stress Reduction Theory (SRT) ostensibly explains why natural environments have positive effects on mental health. However, there is debate about the particular characteristics of natural environments that best foster psychological well-being. In this research, we analyze the effects of supposedly “haunted” natural environments on people’s stress levels. The abandoned village of Marmellar was chosen because it is a protected natural area, has numerous associated supernatural legends, and the popular media claims it is actively “haunted.” This site was visited by a total of 208 participants, evenly balanced by self-reported believers in the paranormal vs. non-believers. Before and after the visits, the participants completed three questionnaires that measured their (a) stress levels, (b) suggestibility, and (c) neurasthenia (i.e., general fatigue or irritability). As predicted, the paranormal-believers showed significantly higher levels of stress, suggestibility, and neurasthenia than the non-believers. Paranormal-related beliefs and attributions related to the Marmellar environment specifically predicted 39% of the increase in stress levels. Paradoxical to SRT, our findings suggest that beliefs can override the role of biology in appraisal processes responsible for “sense-of-place.” The risks and benefits of paranormal attributions in the context of personality are discussed.
... The mind-body problem is a debate concerning the relationship between thought and consciousness in the human mind, and the brain as part of the physical body. In the same way to explain the four passive types of forces related to matter (gravity, electromagnetism, weak interactions, and strong interactions) by the concept of field, we assume another field called psychic field also exists, and we can use this field to explain many parapsychological phenomena (Moreira-Almeida & Santos, 2012;Cardeña, 2018). ...
... Over the last century, research has progressively strengthened the empirical evidence for telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and other psychic or "psi" phenomena, while expanding the variety of situations and protocols under which they can be observed and studied. Nearly 20 meta-analyses of classes of psi phenomena support the conclusion that effects observed in controlled laboratory conditions are far beyond chance expectation and are not adequately explained by methodological problems or biases attributable to analytical or publication procedures (Cardeña, 2018;Tressoldi & Storm, 2021). Publication of topical reviews and meta-analytic reports in mainstream journals has broadened awareness of the research results -and provoked lively exchanges -and this has fostered a more informed and nuanced view of psi in some quarters of the scientific community (Mossbridge & Radin, 2018;Schooler et al., 2018). ...
Objective: Four laboratory studies and an online experiment explored psy-chophysical (mind-matter) interactions with quantum entangled photons. Method: Entanglement correlation strength measured in real-time was presented via a graph or dynamic images displayed on a computer monitor or web browser. Participants were tasked with mentally influencing that metric. Results: A statistically significant increase in entanglement strength was obtained in experimental conditions across the four lab studies (p < 0.02), with particularly strong results observed in three studies conducted at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (p < 0.0002). Modestly significant results (p < 0.05) were observed in a high-quality subset of entanglement samples in an on-line experiment. Control experiments using the same equipment and protocols, but without observers present, showed results consistent with chance expectation in both the lab and online studies. Conclusion: These outcomes suggest that the fidelity of entangled states and the nonlocal resource they entail may be mutable in systems that include conscious awareness. This is potentially of interest for quantum information technologies such as quantum computation, encryption, key distribution, and telepor-tation. The results are also relevant for interpretations of quantum theory, especially
... The world will always operate with the causal-effect law and this law can be revealed by human beings through finding out more hidden variables. Bell's exclusion of the hidden variables is due to the assumption of locality and all the hidden variables related to mind is global [33][34][35]. ...
... Despite the obvious relation between mental and brain processes in everyday life, Greyson questions the "received knowledge" that mind (or, in some discussions, consciousness) can be completely reduced to brain functioning, a conclusion that is supported by other bodies of evidence. They include the recent work on terminal lucidity, in which long-term senile and other CNS-damaged patients become lucid hours or days before dying, a literature to which he has also contributed (Batthyány & Greyson, 2021), and research on psi phenomena suggesting that organisms are affected by temporally and spatially distant events (for a review see Cardeña, 2018). ...
Near-death experiences (NDEs) remain opaque to our full understanding. What to make of accounts by some of those who have had brushes with death (sometimes with cessation of recordable brain activity) and "come back" to tell about having left their physical bodies and arrived to timeless realm of pure love and acceptance in which they encounter divine beings and their dear departed, and from which they may be asked to return to their painful bodies and ordinary lives? Psychological and cultural theories fail to explain the consistency of core aspects of NDEs, despite some cultural variations (e.g., Belanti et al., 2008), and physiological theories are often little more than evidence-free speculations contradicted by the extant data (cf. Greyson,
... Speculations include that a major difference between a phenomenon of extrasensory faculty and a phenomenon of a purely physical nature may lie in the engagement of human consciousness as an indispensable experimental factor that, however, cannot be easily replicated (Jahn, 1979;Atmanspacher, 1999;Cardeña, 2018;Nelson, 2018). And a gifted person presumably would enhance the yield of an experiment on ESI (Marwaha & May, 2017). ...
This report summarizes three “eyeless sight” experiments and reaffirms the authenticity of the phenomenon of clairvoyance (extrasensory perception). On 2014 and 2015, a total of 37 trials were conducted. Each trial involved a computer printing a 5-character permutation (e.g. 37K9J) in bold type on a piece of paper which was then folded to conceal the text. The “eyeless sight” practitioner was a girl who had previously been trained to develop her “eyeless sight” ability. The practitioner held the folded specimen between her thumb and forefinger. After adjusting to a specific state of consciousness (Second Consciousness State, SCS), the practitioner visualized a “ Third Eye Screen” (TES) in front of her forehead. The five-character string was then automatically perceived on the TES by the practitioner. After the perceived image stabilized, the permutation was reported to the researcher and transcribed. The whole experimental process was recorded on video cameras. The mean chance expectation for the correct hit rate of a five-character permutation is p≈10-70 and is vanishingly small. The importance of the SCS and the image generation process on the TES is discussed.
Key words: Eyeless sight - Extrasensory perception (ESP) - Psychokinesis (PK) - Third Eye Screen (TES) - First Consciousness State (FCS) - Second Consciousness State (SCS) - recognition of characters with fingers (Clairvoyance)
Introduction
It is commonly believed that psychic ability, like many mental and physical traits, runs in families. This suggests the presence of a genetic component. If such a component were found, it would constitute a biological marker of psychic ability and inform environmental or pharmacologic means of enhancing or suppressing this ability.
Methods
A case-control study design was used to evaluate differences between psychic cases and non-psychic controls. Over 3,000 candidates globally were screened through two online surveys to locate people who claimed they and other family members were psychic. Measures of relevance to the claimed abilities (e.g., absorption, empathy, schizotypy) were collected and based on those responses, individuals with indications of psychotic or delusional tendencies were excluded from further consideration. Eligible candidates were then interviewed and completed additional screening tests. Thirteen individuals were selected as the final “psychic cases,” and ten age-, sex-, and ethnicity-matched individuals with no claims of psychic ability were selected as controls. DNA from the saliva of these 23 participants was subjected to whole-exome sequencing. Two independent bioinformatics analyses were blindly applied to the sequenced data, one focusing exclusively on protein-coding sequences and another that also included some adjacent noncoding sequences.
Results
Sequencing data were obtained for all samples, except for one in the control group that did not pass the quality controls and was not included in further analyses. After unblinding the datasets, none of the protein-coding sequences (i.e., exons) showed any variation that discriminated between cases and controls. However, a difference was observed in the intron (i.e., non-protein-coding region) adjacent to an exon in the TNRC18 gene (Trinucleotide Repeat-Containing Gene 18 Protein) on chromosome 7. This variation, an alteration of GG to GA, was found in 7 of 9 controls and was absent from all psychic cases.
Discussion
The most conservative interpretation of these results is that they result from random population sampling. However, when the results are considered in relation to other lines of evidence, the results are more provocative. Further research is justified to replicate and extend these findings.
New peer-reviewed journal on anomalous experience and cognition
Many spiritual traditions include accounts of supernormal psi-like powers that are sometimes associated with fasting and vegetarianism. For example, shamans may use fasting to support apparent abilities such as controlling the weather, and many yogis who are strict vegetarians are said to exhibit powers such as psychokinesis and telepathy. In more modern times, a number of authors such as Hereward Carrington and Rudolf Steiner have related fasting and vegetarianism to both spiritual and psychic development. However, there has so far been little empirical research into this potential relationship. My presentation will present a thematic analysis of interviews with seven ‘psi adepts’ (those who practise psi in a professional capacity) to examine their understanding of how fasting and vegetarianism affect their sensitivity to psi and how this work might form the basis of an optimal psychic nutrition.
The term “noetic” comes from the Greek word noēsis/noētikos that means inner wisdom, direct knowing, intuition, or implicit understanding. Strong cultural taboo exist about sharing these experiences. Thus, many may not feel comfortable transparently discussing or researching these topics, despite growing evidence that these experiences may be real. The study’s objective was to qualitatively evaluate first-hand accounts of noetic experiences. 521 English-speaking adults from around the world completed an online survey collected demographic data and four open-ended questions about noetic experiences. Thematic analysis was used to characterize the data. The ten most used codes were expressing to or sharing with others, impacts decision making, intuition/”just knowing,” meditation/hypnosis, inner visions, setting intentions/getting into the “state,” healing others, writing for self, and inner voice. There were five main themes identified: 1. Ways of Engagement; 2. Ways of Knowing; 3. Types of Information; 4. Ways of Affecting; and 5. Ways of Expressing. Subthemes. Future research will include investigating the nuances of these themes and also establishing standardized methods for evaluating them. This would also then inform curricula and therapies to support people in these experiences.
This meta-analysis is an investigation into anomalous perception (i.e., conscious identification of information without any conventional sensorial means). The technique used for eliciting an effect is the ganzfeld condition (a form of sensory homogenization that eliminates distracting peripheral noise). The database consists of studies published between January 1974 and December 2020 inclusive.
The overall effect size estimated both with a frequentist and a Bayesian random-effect model, were in close agreement yielding an effect size of .088 (.04-.13). This result passed four publication bias tests and seems not contaminated by questionable research practices.
Trend analysis carried out with a cumulative meta-analysis and a meta-regression model with Year of publication as covariate, did not indicate sign of decline of this effect size.
The moderators analyses show that selected participants outcomes were almost three-times those obtained by non-selected participants and that tasks that simulate telepathic communication show a two-fold effect size with respect to tasks requiring the participants to guess a target.
The Stage 1 Registered Report can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.24868.3
Abstract: This study obtained novel data regarding mediums’ accuracy when reporting different types of information and the relationship of accuracy to mediums’ learning styles and sensory modality preferences (LS/SMPs). The medium participants in this study were 12 Windbridge Certified Research Mediums (WCRMs) who were previously screened and certified using published criteria; 11 females, 1 male; average age: 58.9 ± 2.4 years. The mediums’ accuracy scores when asked, under blinded conditions, specific questions about a deceased person (physical description, personality, hobbies, and cause of death) were compared. The means (± SE) of 21 accuracy scores for each of the four question types varied (physical description: 53.9% ± 5.2%; personality: 67.0% ± 7.1%; hobbies: 49.4% ± 5.5%; and cause of death: 41.3% ± 6.5%) but no differences requiring further statistical analysis existed. Accuracy scores were also compared to participant responses to the following LS/SMP questionnaires: the Index of Learning Styles© (ILS), the Barsch Learning Style Inventory (BLSI), and the Learning Channel Preference (LCP). Correlation analyses indicated no significant correlations between accuracy and LS/SMPs although moderate correlations between the different question types existed. Though this sample size was not large, it may be appropriate to conclude that none of the four types of information requested is more or less difficult to report during a mediumship reading than any other. This finding is consistent with mediums’ descriptions of their experiences as passive perceptions and of the deceased as autonomous entities. Further, individual characteristics categorized as LS/SMPs may not impact mediumistic abilities. In addition, the multi-modal nature of mediumship would suggest that individual sensory preferences are irrelevant to accuracy. Future research may wish to explore the relationship of LS/SMPs to the anomalous acquisition of information not regularly experienced as autonomous.
The term “noetic” comes from the Greek word noēsis/noētikos that means inner wisdom, direct knowing, intuition, or implicit understanding. Strong cultural taboos exist about sharing these experiences. Thus, many may not feel comfortable transparently discussing or researching these topics, despite growing evidence that these experiences may be real. The study’s objective was to qualitatively evaluate first-hand accounts of noetic experiences. 521 English-speaking adults from around the world completed an online survey that collected demographic data and four open-ended questions about noetic experiences. Thematic analysis was used to characterize the data. The ten most used codes were expressing to or sharing with others, impacting decision-making, intuition/”just knowing,” meditation/hypnosis, inner visions, setting intentions/getting into the “state,” healing others, writing for self, and inner voice. There were five main themes identified: 1. Ways of Engagement; 2. Ways of Knowing; 3. Types of Information; 4. Ways of Affecting; and 5. Ways of Expressing. Subthemes. Future research will include investigating the nuances of these themes and also establishing standardized methods for evaluating them. This would also then inform curricula and therapies to support people in these experiences.
This article was completed as part of the requirements for the Rhine Education Center’s Theories of Psi course. It provides a brief historical background for the parapsychological phenomenon of psychokinesis (PK), explores the current theoretical and mechanical components of PK, discusses measurement and observational techniques used by parapsychologists, and suggests areas in which further study is required.
Editorial: Bigelow, BIAL, and the Funding of Parapsychological Research very good idea, although, the composition of the think tank would play a crucial role. Perhaps it helps to develop a corresponding awareness of the problem that allegations have since been made against one of the essays that won an award from the BICS jury. The CORT case described there is mainly based on the information provided by the child's father, which has evidently been documented in a questionable manner and presented very selectively in order to be able to present a beautiful and consistent "story". 8 Even though, with more than 200 essays, each up to 25,000 words long, that had to be dealt with, the jury cannot be blamed for not having become suspicious when assessing this already very well-known case, this new revelation shows how important it is to have an experienced and critical cast of such panels and groups. Concealed scientific work that is bad or even fraudulent has always existed and will probably always exist. Fortunately, there are also regular exposures of such abuses (see my editorial in the last issue [Mayer, 2021b]). In the precarious situation of parapsychological and anomalistics research, this is especially important. We hope that Bigelow will be open to appropriate suggestions as his science funding efforts continue. Scientific expertise in the field of parapsychological or anomalistics research should be the central criterion in the formation of an interdisciplinary think tank, because money and good will are not enough to bring about real scientific progress. 9 Editorial: Bigelow, BIAL und die Förderung parapsychologischer Forschung Leidenschaft und Engagement sollten bei allen "echten" Wissenschaftlern 10 zu finden sein, also bei solchen Vertretern, die in der wissenschaftlichen Tätigkeit nicht nur eine von vielen Berufs-und Karrieremöglichkeiten sehen, zwischen denen es sich zu entscheiden gilt. Bei "echten" Wissenschaftlerinnen steht das Erkenntnisinteresse an erster Stelle und ist nicht dem Streben nach Karriere, Ruhm und anderen Gegebenheiten des "Wissenschaftsspiels" untergeordnet. 11
In this paper the explanatory gap of the philosophy of mind is explored, and found to have a similar structure even in different framings of the mind–body problem (MBP). This leads to the consideration that the MBP may be a special case of the more general whole-part problem: how do properties of wholes arise from the particular assembly of isolated parts? The conclusion is argued that only an approach of mereological holism offers (some) solace from the explanatory gap problem, exchanging it for a reverse explanatory gap problem that has more promising prospects for future solution, possibly in the form of integrated information theory. These considerations, along with the problem of explaining qualia lead to a proposed solution to the MBP in holistic cosmopsychism.
Journal of Scientific Exploration, Volume 35, Issue 3, Fall 2021
This work, presents a minimal augmentation of physical cosmology to admit conscious volition acting on the physical world, invoking a biologically, psychically and cosmologically symbiotic universe, which resolves the central enigma of existential cosmology – the nature and role of subjective experience – thus providing a direct solution to the "hard problem of consciousness" and the problem of autonomous volitional will. This is essential for human ability to consciously affect the physical world, personal responsibility and scientific consistency with criminal and civil law on intent. The cosmology is thus entirely consistent with quantum cosmology and empirical neuroscience. Where it differs, is in refuting the assumption of causal closure in the brain which is scientifically unprovable in the quantum universe. Occam's razor then cuts in favour of the empirical experience of subjective conscious volition over the physical universe, confirmed by veridical perception of our own volition, eliminating pure materialism as inconsistent. Section one formulates a Darwinian pan-psychic cosmology, resolving the hard problem of consciousness and the central enigmas of existential cosmology, and eschatology. The symbiotic cosmology involves complementarity between the physical universe and the "mind at large", which is manifest in primitive forms in quantum uncertainty, edge-of-chaos dynamics, biogenesis, and procaryote excitability. Attentive consciousness emerged in a discrete transition accompanying the endosymbiosis between archaea and bacteria to form the eucaryotes, encapsulated in cellular consciousness in the excitable eucaryote cell mediated by social signalling molecules, later resulting in multi-celled organisms in the conscious brain as a coupled neuronal system, utilising the same palette of signalling molecules. The symbiosis in eucaryotes extends to sexuality as polarised genetic co-evolution and symbiosis with endogenous transposable elements comprising half the human genome. This extends to biospheric symbiosis in which survival of the "fittest" by natural and sexual selection is actually survival of the most successful co-symbionts because, whether parasites, hosts, predators or prey, their individual survival is mediated by the overall survival dynamics of the biosphere as a whole avoiding boom and bust to achieve climax diversity. It then overviews cultural traditions and current research into psychedelics. Because natural analogues of neurotransmitters in living species have proved capable of precipitating ego-dissolution and reversion to "primary consciousness", these gain a significance in consciousness research complementary to that of the LHC in cosmological physics. This process has pivotal importance for avoiding humanity causing a mass extinction of biodiversity and possibly our own demise, instead becoming able to fulfil our responsibilities as guardians of the unfolding of sentient consciousness on evolutionary and cosmological time scales. The panpsychic aspect invokes a deep relationship with animism as the founding cosmological view of Homo sapiens which later evolved to become the world religious traditions. Affirming subjectively conscious physical volition, via quantum indeterminate brain states, is the only point of divergence from the standard scientific world view, with all other aspects, especially the cosmology's evolutionary basis, following core scientific principles. Nevertheless its implications are radically transformative because (a) it opens the entire subjective realm of conscious cosmology to exploration and pivotally, (b) it invokes biospheric symbiosis as the climax cosmological condition of perennial survival in the universe, without which humanity will suffer a Fermi paradox extinction, through evolutionary and/or cultural instability. Biospheric symbiosis is the climax evolutionary manifestation of Symbiotic Existential CosmologThis work, presents a minimal augmentation of physical cosmology to admit conscious volition acting on the physical world, invoking a biologically, psychically and cosmologically symbiotic universe, which resolves the central enigma of existential cosmology – the nature and role of subjective experience – thus providing a direct solution to the "hard problem of consciousness" and the problem of autonomous volitional will. This is essential for human ability to consciously affect the physical world, personal responsibility and scientific consistency with criminal and civil law on intent. The cosmology is thus entirely consistent with quantum cosmology and empirical neuroscience. Where it differs, is in refuting the assumption of causal closure in the brain which is scientifically unprovable in the quantum universe. Occam's razor then cuts in favour of the empirical experience of subjective conscious volition over the physical universe, confirmed by veridical perception of our own volition, eliminating pure materialism as inconsistent. Section one formulates a Darwinian pan-psychic cosmology, resolving the hard problem of consciousness and the central enigmas of existential cosmology, and eschatology. The symbiotic cosmology involves complementarity between the physical universe and the "mind at large", which is manifest in primitive forms in quantum uncertainty, edge-of-chaos dynamics, biogenesis, and procaryote excitability. Attentive consciousness emerged in a discrete transition accompanying the endosymbiosis between archaea and bacteria to form the eucaryotes, encapsulated in cellular consciousness in the excitable eucaryote cell mediated by social signalling molecules, later resulting in multi-celled organisms in the conscious brain as a coupled neuronal system, utilising the same palette of signalling molecules. The symbiosis in eucaryotes extends to sexuality as polarised genetic co-evolution and symbiosis with endogenous transposable elements comprising half the human genome. This extends to biospheric symbiosis in which survival of the "fittest" by natural and sexual selection is actually survival of the most successful co-symbionts because, whether parasites, hosts, predators or prey, their individual survival is mediated by the overall survival dynamics of the biosphere as a whole avoiding boom and bust to achieve climax diversity. It then overviews cultural traditions and current research into psychedelics. Because natural analogues of neurotransmitters in living species have proved capable of precipitating ego-dissolution and reversion to "primary consciousness", these gain a significance in consciousness research complementary to that of the LHC in cosmological physics. This process has pivotal importance for avoiding humanity causing a mass extinction of biodiversity and possibly our own demise, instead becoming able to fulfil our responsibilities as guardians of the unfolding of sentient consciousness on evolutionary and cosmological time scales. The panpsychic aspect invokes a deep relationship with animism as the founding cosmological view of Homo sapiens which later evolved to become the world religious traditions. Affirming subjectively conscious physical volition, via quantum indeterminate brain states, is the only point of divergence from the standard scientific world view, with all other aspects, especially the cosmology's evolutionary basis, following core scientific principles. Nevertheless its implications are radically transformative because (a) it opens the entire subjective realm of conscious cosmology to exploration and pivotally, (b) it invokes biospheric symbiosis as the climax cosmological condition of perennial survival in the universe, without which humanity will suffer a Fermi paradox extinction, through evolutionary and/or cultural instability. Biospheric symbiosis is the climax evolutionary manifestation of Symbiotic Existential Cosmology. To fully cover all aspects of the evolutionary process leading to humanity's cultural explosion, the current edition fully expands the cosmology into an extended evolutionary synthesis, including gene-culture co-evolution, evolution of the human genome, sexuality and language and the impact of cultural evolution on societies, institutions, religions and world political responses to the existential crisis we all face. Social processes, including prescriptive religions, have brought about a paradigm of patriarchal dominance over woman and nature that has exacerbated the way technological civilisation and corporate processes, lacking a genetically stable paradigm, have caused sweeping deleterious impacts to the biosphere through human niche construction by agriculture, farming and urbanisation, causing habitat destruction and species extinction; energy resource demands, leading to climate and biodiversity crisis; and nationalistic militarisation, conducive to nuclear holocaust, so that gene-culture-biodiversity coevolution has become a sine qua non for human survival. Section two discusses the tragic consequences of failing to address naturalistic cosmological reality in the monotheistic religious tradition. Section three covers biocrisis, climate crisis nuclear holocaust and other existential threat to humanity and the diversity of life.y. To fully cover all aspects of the evolutionary process leading to humanity's cultural explosion, the current edition fully expands the cosmology into an extended evolutionary synthesis, including gene-culture co-evolution, evolution of the human genome, sexuality and language and the impact of cultural evolution on societies, institutions, religions and world political responses to the existential crisis we all face. Social processes, including prescriptive religions, have brought about a paradigm of patriarchal dominance over woman and nature that has exacerbated the way technological civilisation and corporate processes, lacking a genetically stable paradigm, have caused sweeping deleterious impacts to the biosphere through human niche construction by agriculture, farming and urbanisation, causing habitat destruction and species extinction; energy resource demands, leading to climate and biodiversity crisis; and nationalistic militarisation, conducive to nuclear holocaust, so that gene-culture-biodiversity coevolution has become a sine qua non for human survival. Section two discusses the tragic consequences of failing to address naturalistic cosmological reality in the monotheistic religious tradition. Section three covers biocrisis, climate crisis nuclear holocaust and other existential threat to humanity and the diversity of life.
Introduction:
In the current resurgence of studies investigating anomalous information reception (AIR) in mediumship, it has become a major challenge to balance ecological validity and rigorous control.
Objective:
To describe the method and present preliminary findings of a new controlled semi-naturalistic protocol combining ecological validity and control to investigate AIR in psychography (automatic writing), a form of mediumship that does not allow for instantaneous feedback.
Method:
Experienced Brazilian psychography mediums and bereaved sitters were selected and blinded to each other until the automatic writing experimental sessions began. Mediums were continually monitored and filmed during all the procedures. Sitters filled in questionnaires on grief, spirituality, and paranormal beliefs. Investigators controlled all information received by the mediums: names of the sitter and deceased, age and cause of death and short interviews (usually ≤ 1 min). The experimental automatic writing sessions took place under the view of sitters and researchers. Immediately after the sessions, and then a few months later, sitters rated how likely the letter is to have come from their deceased loved ones.
Results:
A total of 142 sitters and three mediums participated, producing 26 automatically written letters to 21 sitters. Mediums felt comfortable with the protocol. Most sitters were women (82.4%) and had completed higher education (57.8%). Sitters who received letters had higher grief scores. At the time, 96.2% of letters were considered definitely or probably from the deceased relative, with a small but significant decline (92.3%) a few months later.
Conclusion:
The new controlled semi-naturalistic method was well accepted and seems to be promising as a complementary method for investigating AIR in mediumship. Information obtained by mediums during sitters` brief interviews is a limitation, but they were registered by video recording and will be taken in consideration in the future analysis that will explore further the accuracy and probability of leakage of verifiable items of information in the letters.
Although there is plenty of evidence for the existence of the biofield, the evidence that DNA interacts with it is very limited. Therefore, the idea that the biofield is created by the mass of DNA in the organism remains a hypothesis. We will first briefly summarize the existing evidence and then briefly review our studies, in which we used computational genomics to reveal the traces of resonance signaling in the genome and provided statistical evidence for this resonance signaling.
Freud’s writing on the topic of thought-transference stimulated controversy among analysts and original reflection on psychoanalytic understandings of the psyche. The notion of telepathy has also contributed significantly to the development of fundamental psychoanalytic concepts, including transference, projective identification, and primary forms of symbolization processes. The notion of telepathy, especially in light of current trends in post-Bionian and field theories, is used to outline an epistemological framework in which the clinical relevance of this notion becomes clear. Epistemological questions raised by telepathy and how this notion relates to the most originary and primary forms of the intersubjective relationship are addressed before questioning the conditions for the emergence of telepathy, its integration within contemporary psychoanalytic theory, and its ontological nature.
We propose registration-based prospective meta-analysis, in which the decision to include or exclude a particular study is made prospectively based on the preregistration for the study. A study that will be included in the meta-analysis must be registered before data collection begins for the study. The studies will typically be independently initiated and funded, and not part of a large preplanned research effort associated with the meta-analysis. The decision to include or exclude a study in the meta-analysis will be made shortly after the study is registered and typically before data collection starts for the study. In effect, the registration for an individual study is used to prevent bias in a subsequent meta-analysis as well as to prevent bias in the individual study.