medium, and that they represent identities consistent with the medium’s left hemispheric sense of self. Comparing spirit controls with the alternate personalities of dissociative identity disorder, the authors discuss how the two are similar in several respects and suggest they may result from the same neurological processes.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
50th Annual PA Convention: Mediumship
medium, and that they represent identities consistent with the medium’s left hemispheric sense of self. Comparing spirit controls with the alternate personalities of dissociative identity disorder, the authors discuss how the two are similar in several respects and suggest they may result from the same neurological processes.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
50th Annual PA Convention: Psychological Variables
of the Centre for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes at the University of Northampton, UK opened the session by presenting his latest research on Paranormal Belief, Anxiety, and Perceived Control over Life Events. Roe and his coauthor, Claire Bell investigated the hypothesis that paranormal beliefs develop to allay the anxiety of living in an unpredictable and uncontrollable world by offering the promise of order and personal power. Although there is evidence from previous research to support an association between of perceived helplessness, anxiety and paranormal belief, they had not previously been considered together in the same group of participants. Roe and Bell asked 65 participants to complete a battery of questionnaires designed to measure state-trait anxiety, paranormal belief, and participants' estimates of the likelihood of stressful events in their lives as well as their perceived control over those stressful events. No relationship was found between perceived control over stressful life events and paranormal beliefs, but measures of state-trait anxiety correlated significantly with both perceived control and paranormal belief. The authors suggest a model that is broadly in agreement with the hypothesis that paranormal beliefs may develop in some people as a response to anxiety that is evoked by the perception that the world is chaotic and unpredictable.
Following the presented papers, the convention recessed for lunch, with two sessions on mediumship for attendees to look forward to in the afternoon.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
50th Annual PA Convention: Forgotten Pioneers of Parapsychology Panel
Max Dessior (1867-1947), a German philosopher-psychologist, is best known for introducing the term parapsychology, but what else is known about him? Gerd H. Hövelmann presented a short biography about his life. Dessior was considered a young genius and played the violin for the Great Emporer as a child. He was only 20 years when he coined the term 'parapsychology' and published over 100 scientific publications before the age of 26, after which he became a professor of philosophy at the University of Berlin. During his career, he was hired by the Imperial Government to do a study on war psychology. He wrote books on art, aesthetics, the history of philosophy, psychology in everyday life, and on the art of holding public speeches. However, the Nazi's virtually terminated his scientific career in 1933. In 1945, Dessoir's Berlin home was hit by a presumably American bomb, destroying his library and scientific files. He died, forgotten by many, in 1947, but not before writing an autobiography discussing his views on parapsychology. He ended his life as a reluctant believer at least in telepathy.
Carlos S. Alvarado discussed the life of American physician Rufus Osgood Mason (1830-1903), who was a figure in American psychical research. Born in Sullivan, New Hampshire, Mason initially studied at a seminary, and later went to medical school. He practiced medicine in New York City, where he distinguished himself for his defense of the therapeutic use of hypnosis. His major publication in psychical research was his book Telepathy and the Subliminal Mind (1897). Mason's contributions to the field centered about case studies of alleged supernormal phenomena and popularization of psychical research through a series of articles in the 1893 issues of the New York Times.
The career of surgeon and neurologist Orlando Canavesio (1915 - 1957), one of the pioneers of parapsychology in Argentina, was discussed by Alejandro Parra. Canavesio focused on medical and biological aspects of psychic phenomena and founded the Argentinean Medical Association of Metapsychics. He was interested in using EEG in psychical research to study brain activity associated with ESP performance, and did so with many self-claimed psychics. Canavesio's medical dissertation was entitled Electroencephalography in Metapsychic States and it was the first dissertation in Latin America based on a parapsychological topic. He attempted to place parapsychology within government institutions and universities and was a strong defender of the incorporation of parapsychology (or metapsychics) in the chairs of psychology medicine in Argentina.
Charles Edward Stuart (1907 - 1947) was an important member of the Duke Parapsychology Lab from 1931 until his death at age 39. Nancy Zingrone presented some of the highlights of his short career. Stuart obtained a BA in mathematics with a minor in philosophy from Duke University. While an undergraduate, he volunteered to be tested for ESP and wound up being one of the lab's "star" subjects. Stuart became a formal member of the lab after being awarded a Ph.D. in the Duke program in psychology. He contributed to the debate over statistical methods being developed in psychology and parapsychology, and took a lead in the Laboratory's interaction with its critics. In addition to co-authoring an early testing manual and providing a key contribution to Rhine's book Extrasensory Perception after Sixty Years, Stuart conducted and published a wide variety of experiments exploring and expanding upon the current methodologies in the field.
An open discussion about these forgotten pioneers followed the panel presentations. Then the attendees took a coffee break, where we got to chat over a banquet of fruit and pastries and look forward to the next session of presented papers on Psychological Variables.
Friday, September 21, 2007
50th Annual PA Convention: The Journey and Social Reception
The journey officially began when I picked up my friend and research partner Devin at a greyhound bus station in Albany, New York. From there we drove to Easthampton, Massachusetts to visit one of our former classmates from the 2001 Rhine Research Center's summer study program, who kindly fed us an excellent vegan meal and hosted us for the evening. It was so good to see and catch up with her after six years. The next morning, our mission was to drive, drive, drive...and then drive some more.
We crossed into the Canadian border into New Brunswick without a hitch, but it was getting late, so we set up camp at the first campground we could find. We ended up at Sunset View Campgrounds near Nackawic, where we got to watch the sun set over the St. John River. The next morning, we still had another five hours to drive to Halifax, with the conference beginning that evening.
Once we did arrive in Halifax, we had an hour to kill and I tried to find a place to dip my toes in the ocean, but we wound up at Point Pleasant Park, which had a nice set of trails and an artillery battery, but no beach front. *sigh*
Soon it was time to find our way back to the Holiday Inn for registration and social reception, which took place around a banquet of finger foods and a cash bar. There were a few faces that I hadn't seen since 2001 at the Rhine, so we got to play catch up. I also made fast friends with a few grad students who had traveled all the way from the United Kingdom for the conference. There were additional people there whom I had been in communication with via my internet and email activities and finally got to meet face to face.
The conference attendance was very small...maybe 50 people or so. Considering that there are almost 300 members and affiliates of the Parapsychological Association, I was slightly disappointed in the low turnout. Still, it was a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas with a group of specialists and shake hands with some of the established researchers in the field. It was intimidating and exciting at the same time, finally getting to meet the people whose research I've been reading for almost 10 years...it was almost like getting to meet my favorite super heroes. But parapsychologists are ordinary people with extraordinary research interests, something that I was reminded of throughout the four days of the conference, and something that I hope to impress upon Public Parapsychology readers as well.
Sadly, on day one I had to call it a night before my new friends did. The conference resumed at 9am the next day, and I still had to get to know the kind student at Dalhousie University who was hosting my stay through www.couchsurfing.com. I hadn't sold enough metaphorical candy bars to afford the Holiday Inn Select, but couch surfing was an excellent experience and the site is one that I'll be likely to use in my travels again.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
New Site: StreamsofConsciousness.org
Berkeley, CA, September 12, 2007 – Throughout history, an understanding of the nature of consciousness has been sought after through a variety of fields of research - philosophy, psychology, biology, neurology, physics, various spiritual and occult systems, and more. Often a seemingly concrete solution to the "problem" of consciousness in one field can be counter-balanced by an equally concrete and very opposite solution in another field. To fully understand and appreciate the mystery of consciousness, a multi-disciplinary approach is indispensable.
StreamsOfConsciousness.org is the brainchild of consciousness researcher Kevin Kovelant. The plural 'streams' was chosen deliberately, as the study of the nature of consciousness requires a multi-faceted approach. The website features an active blog and impressive array of links to consciousness and dream-related resources online.
“I created this site to be a gateway to the exciting research being conducted in consciousness studies and dream studies,” says site founder Kevin Kovelant. “While I don’t necessarily agree with the results or philosophical conclusions being drawn by all of the research being done in these fields, I believe it is important to keep the dialogue open in order to get a comprehensive view of these fascinating avenues of inquiry.”
For further information, please contact kev@streamsofconsciousness.org, or visit http://streamsofconsciousness.org, on the web.
Monday, September 17, 2007
IRVA Remote Viewing Conference
3-Day Remote Viewing Conference
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Jacques Vallee
"On the Software of Consciousness: Personal recollections from the early days of the remote viewing program"
When and where is it?
The 2007 Remote Viewing Conference will be held on October 19-21, 2007 at the Alexis Park Resort just off the Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada.
What is the IRVA Conference?
The event is sponsored by the International Remote Viewing Association, which was organized in 1999 by a group of experts that included the original creators of the government remote viewing program; Dr. Hal Puthoff and Russell Targ, along with other luminaries with long histories in the field, such as past-president of IRVA, Stephan A. Schwartz. Previous conferences have featured Ingo Swan, the father of remote viewing; Dr. Edgar Mitchell, founder of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, ESP researcher, and Apollo astronaut; Dean Radin, scientist and leading advocate of remote viewing and ESP; and legendary military remote viewer Mel Riley, just for starters.
What should I expect from this year's conference?
This year features scientist and respected UFO researcher Jacques Vallee, model for the scientist character in Stephen Spielberg's classic "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Dr. Vallee recently revealed that he worked for many years with the government remote viewing program and was one of Ingo Swann's first guinea pigs in learning the CRV (controlled remote viewing) process upon which nearly all modern remote viewing methods are based.
Who will be speaking this year?
The 2007 Remote Viewing Conference will be kicked by Stephan A. Schwartz, who will be speaking on "Opening to the Infinite," exploring what remote viewing tells us about our nature as human beings.
Just a few of the three days of speakers this year include:
Dr. Jessica Utts, Professor, University of California at Davis
Lyn Buchanan, former military remote viewer and Director of P>S>I>
Major Paul H. Smith (US Army, ret.)
George McMullen, Archaeological Remote Viewer
Glenn Wheaton, founder of the Hawaii Remote Viewing Guild
There will also be an opportunity for all attendees to get some basic instruction in remote viewing and try remote viewing for themselves during the "out-bounder" experiment that is a regular and very popular feature of the conference.
www.irvaconference.orgor call toll free: 866-374-4782
(9:00am-4:30pm Eastern)
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Review of Unleashed
Unleashed: Of Poltergeists and Murder: The Curious Story of Tina Resch is a captivating narrative of the highly publicized events surrounding Tina Resch, from the bizarre occurrences of apparent poltergeist activity in her Columbus, Ohio home, to the mysterious murder of her daughter less than six years later. These events had been previously documented in the form of newspaper articles and conference proceedings, as well as in a segment of Unsolved Mysteries. However, in this book, readers get a behind the scenes look at the case through the eyes of William Roll, an Oxford-educated parapsychologist who acted as an investigator during the events of 1984 and as a friend during the tragedies that followed. With the assistance of creative writing teacher Valerie Storey, Roll's story takes on the tone of a novel, which readers will find easy to finish in just a few sittings and probably leave them agreeing with the adage that truth is stranger than fiction.
The first half of the book is largely devoted to the flurry of unusual activity that took place over two weeks in the Resch home. It began after Tina had an argument with her adoptive father, and ended when Roll and his assistant Kelly Powers left the home, taking Tina with them for further testing. There was a wide range of phenomena that took place in the home. Radios and TV's operated erratically (even while unplugged), the telephone lines became noisy, heavy furniture scooted to greet people, light switches flipped up and down without known human contact, and household objects flew about the house. During that brief period in the Resch home, flying objects had become mundane occurrences, while objects that stayed at rest became oddities. The events garnered the attention of many people in the community, including local religious leaders, journalists and photographers, as well as the famous magician James Randi.
is a unique contribution to the literature on anomalous phenomena. Whereas many reports of case studies end when the investigators pack their bags, a much larger story is presented here. This book is not just about poltergeists and murder; it is also about the cooperation of professionals, the dynamics between witnesses and skeptics, and the friendship between a parapsychologist and his charge. Roll has investigated many landmark cases over the years, and while most professionals in the field of parapsychology are familiar with the details of these cases, the intricacies have been less accessible to the general public, simply by virtue of the extensive vocabulary required to understand them. It is my hope that Roll will be able to publish more books of this nature about his experiences in the field. Such writings are good for the science of parapsychology in terms of public scholarship, and likely to inspire the next generation of young scientists.
This review previously appeared in:
Ventola, A. (2004). [Review of the book Unleashed: Of poltergeists and murder: The curious story of Tina Resch]. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 18, 703-705.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Jessica Utts in the News
Friday, September 07, 2007
Photography Exhibit
Psychical Research Classics Online
Enjoy!
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Review of The Gift
Research in parapsychology has tended to follow at least two different avenues of exploration. Many researchers have continued the work of J.B. Rhine by using applied statistics and experimental controls to study ESP in the lab. Others have followed in the tradition of Louisa Rhine, collecting and analyzing the reported spontaneous ESP experiences of people in everyday life. Through decades of research, both methods have yielded clues to solve the mystery of ESP and how it works. Yet as much as the
might be concerned only with case research. Indeed the majority of these pages contain accounts of people’s spontaneous ESP experiences in their own words. These experiences are clustered around several different themes, such as premonitions about death and disasters, ESP between people who are romantically involved, the ESP of mothers and children, and so on. There is also a unique chapter on the premonitions surrounding the terrorist attacks on September 11th, as well as a chapter discussing the inevitability (or not) of fate. Feather does not rely entirely on the
could serve as a prequel to any of the excellent introductory texts that are recommended in its final pages. However, parapsychologists and lay readers will still enjoy reading about these extraordinary experiences as well as reviewing the history of the field from an insider’s point of view.
Ventola, A. (2006). [Review of the book The gift: ESP, the extraordinary experiences of ordinary people]. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 20, 134-135.