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Association WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 8 Issue 3 2016 Mindfield 83 9 Hövelmann

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Volume 7 MindIssuefield 3 Issue 2 Volume 7 field Issue 3 Mind The Bob Morris/ field KPU Celebration MindIssue

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The Bulletin of the T h e B u l l e t i n o f t h e P a r a p s y c h o l o g i c a l Parapsychological Association Association 2 The Bulletin of the .1 5. Parapsychological Association 7 Volume 5 6.1 Mindfield Issue 3 Volume 7 Issue 1 Volume 5 Issue 2 Volume 6 Mindfield Issue 1 mindfield Mindfield

The Bulletin of the Parapsychological Association 6.2 William The William on Volume 6 Issue 2 James Issue Mindfield Telepathy The William Braud The Eileen

and James WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 5 Issue 3 Mindfield 77 Issue Coly An Unpublished PF Lecture by John Beloff WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 7 Issue 1 Mindfield 1 Issue WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 5 Issue 2 Mindfield 37

1 Mindfield Volume 6 Issue 1 WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Robert Brunilde and Van de Mignani Arthur Castle Cassoli Hastings Issue

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Volume 9 Mindfield Issue 3

Has Science Developed the From the 80 Competence to 74 Editor’s Desk Confront Claims of by Etzel Cardeña the Paranormal?

by Charles Honorton (PA Presidential Address, 1975)

72 Mindfield Volume 9 Issue 3 2017 WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG | Mindfield Editor Etzel Cardeña, Ph.D. Art Director Nikolaos Koumartzis, M.A. | 2016-2017 Board of Directors President: Chris Roe, Ph.D. Vice President: Wim Kramer Secretary: Renaud Evrard, Ph.D. Treasurer: Roger Nelson, Ph.D. Board Members Gerd H. Hövelmann U, M.A., Edwin May, Ph.D., Peter Mulacz, Elizabeth C. Roxburgh, Ph.D., Christine Simmonds-Moore, Ph.D. Past President James C. Carpenter, Ph.D. Student Representative Christopher Cody, M.Sc. Executive Director Annalisa M. Ventola, B.A.

[Reflections] Ostensible 97 Daryl Bem 113 Clairvoyant and [Obituaries] Precognitive Experiences Jean Burns 104 Related to 100 The by Etzel Cardeña Air Crashes Star Gate by Maurice van Luijtelaar Program 105 Inge Strauch by Eberhard Bauer by Edwin C. May Abstracts in Discussions of 117 English from [Reflections] Survival of Death 107 the Zeitschrift 102 in the Psi K. Ramakrishna für Anomalistik Encyclopedia Rao (2017/1+2) by Carlos S. Alvarado WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 9 Issue1 3 2017 Mindfield 73 From the Bulletin of the of Bulletin The Parapsychological Association Editor’s Desk 9 Volume Issue 3 2017

news but also substantial fea- Koumartzis, and Annalisa Vento- tures, and having just made an la, to whom I wish good luck. index of the first nine volumes confirms that this was accom- Index of the First plished. These issues include Nine Volumes of the valuable bibliographies by Mindfield Gerd Hövelmann, very important For general information and archi- articles by Beloff, Braud, Honor- val purposes here is an index of ton, Roe and many other leaders the 9 volumes I edited, arranged in the field; reflections by Gauld, thematically and by volume and Carpenter, Targ, Tart, and other issue number, but not including my foundational figures; scholarly or the Presidents’ general col- | by ETZEL CARDEÑA, historical essays by Alvarado and umns, reviews of past conventions CERCAP, Lund University others, and tributes to import- and reports, or abstracts from ant people who died during the other publications: last 9 years. I have already cited his is my last issue some of the articles in Mindfield Articles relevant to as editor of Mindfield. in peer-reviewed papers and hope Parapsychology (bibliographies): Years ago, and before I that others will do the same. Hövelmann, Gerd, H., et al. 1(1) - knew I would be offered Mindfieldconveyed important T 9(2). the editorship of the Journal of ideas from its first issue, but it

Parapsychology, I approached the took some volumes for Nikolaos General articles: then PA Board of Editors to let Koumartzis to fully display his Alvarado, Carlos S., Discussion them know that they should start inventiveness in striking designs. of survival of death in the Psi planning for a new editor because I thank profusely all contributors, Encyclopedia, 9(3). I do not think it is healthy for any with special thanks to Carlos Anonymous. An anonymous organization to have the same Alvarado and Gerd Hövelmann overview of a recent report in person in the same unelected for being an intrinsic part of the Skeptiko, 2(3). position for many years, as the bulletin throughout, and to Niko- Beitman, Bernard D. Weird Coinci- PA has had. My goal for Mindfield laos Koumartzis for the layout. dence Scale, 4(1). was to transform a newsletter Mindfield is now in the hands of a Braud, William G. Brain & con- into a bulletin with not only troika, Renaud Evrard, Nikolaos sciousness, 5(3).

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My goal for Carpenter, James. Oh, to come in Luke, David. Parapsychology & from the cold, 7(1). anomalistic psychology in the Mindfield was Carpenter, James. Our PA, who, UK: A brief review, 4(2). what, whither, how lately? 6(2). May, Edwin C. The Star Gate pro- to transform a Carpenter, Jim. First sight: A mod- gram, 9(3). newsletter into a el and a theory of psi, 2(3). Mayer, Gerhard. The Zeitschrift für Carpenter, Jim. Shall we, can we, Anomalistik: A German journal bulletin with not should we? 6(3). on scientific anomalies, extraor- only news but Carr, Bernard. The legacy of Bob dinary human experiences, and Morris for the Koestler Unit and paranormal research, 3(1). also substantial beyond, 7(3). Mossbridge, Julia. Can humans Dean, E. Douglas. Parapsychology subconsciously predict the features, and is now a recognized science. future? 5(3). having just made How it was done, 8(2). Nelson, Roger D. Implications of Ertel, Suitbert, & French, Chris, the Global Consciousness Proj- an index of the Debate. Are psi effects repro- ect, 6(1). first nine volumes ducible under watchful skeptical Nachman, Ginette. Removing the conditions? 4(2). “para” from parapsychology, confirms that this Lao, Newman. Théodore Flournoy 4(1). and his work, 6(2). Palmer, John. PA publication sur- was accomplished. Haraldsson, Erlendur. Research vey, 7(1). about a century ago: The contro- Parra, Alejandro. Approaching a Braud, William G. Expanding psi versy about the Danish medium metamorphosis in parapsychol- research: Toward wider, wiser, Einer Nielsen, 3(3). ogy, 5(2). and more humane inquiry (part Hastings, A. Education about psi: Powell, Diane Hennacy. Evidence 1), 9(1). Lectures, courses, workshops, for telepathy in a nonverbal Braud, William G. Expanding psi 2(2). autistic child, 8(1). research: Toward wider, wiser, Hoffman, Donald A. Nature and Pratt, Erika A. Student corner, and more humane inquiry (part consciousness, 1(1). 7(3), 8(1). 2), 9(2). Honorton, Charles. Has science Roe, Chris A. Experimenter as par- Braud, William G. Toward more developed the competence to ticipant: What can we learn from subtle awareness: Meanings, confront claims of the paranor- the experimenter effect? 8(3). implications, and possible new mal? 9(3). Roe, Chris A. Has parapsychology directions for psi research, 3(1). Hövelmann, Gerd H. A path of trial made progress? 9(2). Cardeña, Etzel. A call for an open, and tribulation: An introduction Roe, Chris A. Is inconsistency our informed study of all aspects of to E. Douglas Dean’s report, only consistent outcome? 8(2). consciousness, 6(1). 8(2). Roe, Chris A. The problem of fraud Cardeña, Etzel. Eminent authors Kripal, Jeffrey J. Authors of the in parapsychology, 8(1). from other areas, 5(3). impossible: What the human- Roe, Chris A. What are psychology Carpenter, James. Many thanks, ities have to offer parapsychol- students told about the current 7(2). ogy, 6(3). status of parapsychology? 7(3).

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Røyne, Torstein T. Research on Watt, Caroline. 1985-2015: Cele- Koumartzis, Nikolaos. Psychical psychic abilities in Norway, 7(2). brating 30 years of the Koestler research in Greece, 5(1). Sandweiss, Samuel H., Timalsina, Parapsychology Unit, 7(3). Méheust, Bertrand. The case of Sthaneshwar, & Lief, Jonathan. Weaver, Zofia. Précis of “Other Alexis Didier (1826-1886), 4(3). A case of xenoglossy, 9(1). realities? The enigma of Franek Shoup, Richard. Quantum physics Kluski’s mediumship”, 7(2). Obituaries and parapsychology: Two views Abrahams, Steve, 5(1). of the same thing? 4(1). Historical articles: Achterberg, Jeanne, 4(2). Smyth, Carlyle. Can healthy, young Alvarado, Carlos, S. Bibliographies Burns, Jean, 9(3). individuals dream about the for the study of the old litera- Coly, Eileen, 6(1). intimate details of an unknown ture, 2(1). Cornell, Tony, 2(2). target individual? 7(2). Alvarado, Carlos, S. Charles Richet Fontana, David, 3(1). Storm, Lance. The ups and downs on mediumship & the uncon- Grad, Bernard, 3(2). of meta-analysis: Reviews of scious, 4(1). Hastings, Arthur, 6(2). Storm et al. (2010) and Hyman Alvarado, Carlos, S. Ernesto Boz- Hövelmann, Gerd H., 9(1). (2010), 3(2). zano and psychic phenomena, Johnson, Martin, 3(3). Targ, Russell, Puthoff, Harold, 5(3). Marabini, Enrico, 2(2). May, Edwin, & Humphrey Bev- Alvarado, Carlos, S. Old introduc- Mitchell, Edgard, 8(1). erly. Special orientation tech- tions to psychical research, 3(2). Roll, William G., 4(1). niques (U), 7(1). Alvarado, Carlos, S. Parapsychol- Ryzl, Milan, 3(3). Tart, Charles T. Comments on ESP ogy and the study of the mind: Schmidt, Helmut, 3(3). testing in response to Diane’s Changing the historical record, Schwarz, Berthold E., 2(3). videos, 8(1). 8(1). Strauch, Inge, 3(3). Taylor, John. The nature of pre- Alvarado, Carlos, S. Remarks on Thalbourne, Michael A., 2(2). cognition, 6(1). William James and psychical Van de Castle, Robert, 6(2). Tremmel, Michael. A very brief research, 5(2). Wilson, Colin, 6(1). history of psionics, 8(3). Alvarado, Carlos, S. Some forgot- Tremmel, Michael. Student corner: ten mesmeric phenomena, 7(1). Reflections: Paralit 101, 8(2). Alvarado, Carlos, S. The history of Bem, Daryl, 9(3). Tressoldi, Patrizio E. The case of parapsychology (part 1), 8(3). Braud, William, 3(2). non local perception. A classical Alvarado, Carlos, S. The history of Broughton, Richard, S., 5(2). and Bayesian review of evidenc- parapsychology (part 2), 9(1). Carpenter, Jim, 5(3). es, 4(2). Alvarado, Carlos, S. The role of Cassoli, Brunilde Mignani, 6(2). Van Luijtelaar, Maurice. Ostensible fraud in the development of Castro, Madeleine, 7(2). clairvoyant and precognitive ex- parapsychology, 9(2). Duplessis, Yvonne, 5(3). periences related to air crashes, Beloff, John. On William James, Evrard, Renaud, 6(2). 9(3). 5(2). Gauld, Alan, 2(1). Various. A tribute to Stan Krip- Evrard, Renaud. Pierre Curie, a Haraldsson, Erlendur, 6(3). pner, 4(3). foot in parapsychology? 3(3). Hövelmann, Gerd H., 9(2). Ventola, Annalisa. There is no Evrard, Renaud. Wikipedia, Lam- Irwin, Harvey J., 4(2). gate: On the PA and the AAAS, bert, and IMI’s “concealed fraud, Jahn, Robert, 4(1). 8(2). 6(3). Josephson, Brian, 7(1).

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May, Edwin, 7(3). of Western civilization, Athens. is worth paying attention to and Palmer, John, 5(1). Here is my review (I attended will be published shortly in the Ramakrishna, Rao K., 9(3). almost all events except for the Journal of Parapsychology. Jacob Rhine Feather, Sally, 3(1). Presidential Address, which will Jolij and Dick Bierman presented Roller, Marian, 5(1). be published in the forthcoming supportive data for an implicit Rosenthal, Robert, 8(1). issue of the Journal of Parapsy- psi effect in a stimulus detection Roy, Archie E., 5(1). chology). There was a preconven- task. Following a previous at- Stanford, Rex, 3(3). tion, open to the public and free, tempt at improving the technology Swann, Ingo, 5(1). Engaging the oracle, that included of ganzfeld, Mario Varvoglis and Targ, Russell, 2(2). presentations by senior figures coauthors described a new immer- Tart, Charles, T., 1(1). Roger Nelson, Chris Roe, and Ma- sive display system, the Selfield, Van de Castle, Robert, 6(1). rio Varvoglis, discussions on para- along with data from a study in West, Donald J., 2(3). psychology in Greece by Marilena which, again, serious long-term Avraam-Repa and Fotini Pallikari, meditators seemed to exhibit psi Research units: and a presentation on counseling effect but not other groups. Ed CERCAP (Center for Research on by Erika Pratte. I did not attend May spoke about the imminent Consciousness and Anomalous the preconvention but was told release of the 4-volume release of Psychology), 4(3). that it drew a large audience of the Star Gate archives, which he Division of Perceptual Studies at Greek people. Although regretta- describes in this issue of Mindfield. the University of Virginia, 2(2). bly most of them did not attend Adrian Ryan made a case for psi Institute of Paranormal Psycholo- also the PA convention itself, researchers sending their data to gy (Argentina), 3(2). which was rather sparsely attend- the data depository he has devel- Institut Métapsychique Interna- ed, I think that these events help oped under the auspices of the tional, 2(3). spread the word about serious SPR, found here https://www.spr. Koestler Parapsychology Unit, work in the field. The papers in the ac.uk/news/psi-open-data. And 1(1). convention followed, as typically there was a tribute to the inesti- Noetic Sciences, 3(3). in most conventions, an approxi- mable personal and professional NUPES, Federal University of Juiz mately normal distribution, with a contributions of Gerd Hövelmann. de Fora, 2(1). few outstanding papers, most at Various members of the au- Windbridge Institute, 3(1). a competent level, and a few that dience commented during the I consider subpar. Some of the, for general meeting about how For those interested in purchas- me, most interesting contributions difficult it was to follow record- ing hard copies of past issues included Peter Mulacz revelation ed PPT presentations, and some of Mindfield: http://www. of how many members of the very of us were critical about papers magcloud.com/browse/maga- important philosophical “Vienna on effects of drugs which did not zine/1335812 Circle” in the 20th century were refer to essential work done on interested or even engaged in psi the area previously. Finally, the research. For those measuring J. B. Rhine Address by a distin- correlates of psi experiences and guished Greek scientist left me I attended the 60th Annual Con- phenomena, a new Belief in the and others disappointed because vention of the Parapsychological Supernatural Scale by Malcolm while the presenter gave a coher- Association in one of the cradles B. Schofield and collaborators ent presentation of the idealist

WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 9 Issue1 3 2017 Mindfield 77 From the The Bulletin of the Parapsychological Editor’s Desk Association perspective in philosophy, he did As I write this editorial, on tail. So let me make a very serious not make links to parapsychology September 26th, I had not yet call to all of the incoming Board even when asked about it. To end received, despite repeated re- members to treat their posts, and the report on a better note, the quests, the official PA reports nor the financial deficits, with all the hotel staff was extremely helpful had the winners of the elections earnestness they deserve. to me when dealing with some been announced, thus I could malfeasance by the metro system, not commission the incoming the food provided by the hotel was president to write a column for definitely better than what I ex- this issue, nor can I include the Mindfield h a s pect from conventions, there was PA reports. During the business received the a live performance with ancient meeting a circa 4,000 US dollars following: Greek instruments, Pythia, which deficit (since I do not have the included a CD that can be ordered report I cannot give the specific Cornillier, Pierre-Émile (2017). from Nikolaos Koumartzis, and figure) was reported. I am alarmed The survival of the soul and its seeing the lighted Acropolis at at the repeated PA deficits for evolution after death. Hove, night from the hotel’s balcony was some years now, coupled to added UK: White Crow. A well-known a treat of its own. new expenses. When I mentioned French academic artist writes During the convention the PA this during the business meeting about his experiments with a announced the winner of the 2017 the Board members replied that it model who exhibited mediumis- Outstanding Career Award (Carlos would just take a few more new tic abilities. S. Alvarado), 2017 Outstanding members to make this deficit up, Koumartzis, Nikolaos (2017). Contribution Award (Stephan A. which I consider an inappropriate (2017). A glimpse of history: Schwartz), and 2017 Outstanding answer. I told the Board that at Psychical research in Greece Student Award (David Marcus- this pace of deficits the PA will during the 1930s. Athens, son-Clavertz). Congratulations cease to exist in 7-8 years. The Greece: Daidaleos. A booklet to them! I am especially proud of Board members responded that with photographs focusing on David because he is my erstwhile they were taking the matter seri- the flowering of psi research doctoral student and continuing ously and had been discussing it, in Greece during the 1930s. An collaborator. but when I asked for specifics, to English short version of ... The PA also selected these as quote Lewis Carroll’s The Walrus Koumartzis, Nikolaos (2017). the 2017 Parapsychological Asso- and the Carpenter, “answer came (2017). Angelos Tanagras. The ciation Book Award winners: there none.” This brings me to a lost diary. A study of proba- Woollacott, Marjorie (2017). more general issue that I became bly the most influential figure Infinite awareness: The awakening aware of when I served as PA in parapsychology in Greece of a scientific mind. Vice-President and then President, during the modern era, profusely Kean, Leslie (2017). Surviving which is that some members of illustrated (in Greek). Athens, death: A journalist investigates the Board of Directors seem to run Greece: Daidaleos. evidence for an afterlife. for election merely to add a line Luke, David (2017). Otherworlds: Evrard, Renaud (2017). Enquête to their CVs but do not commit Psychedelics and exceptional sur 150 ans de parapsychologie en themselves to working hard for human experience. London, UK: France. the organization and adopt all the Muswell HIll Press. The fore- Congratulations to the authors! responsibilities that running it en- most world expert in the rela-

78 Mindfield Volume 9 Issue 3 2017 WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 9 From the Issue 3 2017 Editor’s Desk

tion of psychedelics and psi and yesterday. It also underlines fieldeditor. And I have the sad other exceptional/anomalous the importance of alterations of task of honoring those preceding experiences provides a thorough consciousness in psi performance, us, in this case two women with coverage of the topic. a theme central to my own work. very different but valuable contri- White, John (2017). The psychic Reading older pieces of brilliant butions to the field, Jean Burns and the spiritual: What is the minds like those of Chuck Hon- and Inge Strauch. difference?Hove, UK: White orton or William Braud should be As we were coming to press Crow. The question in the title an entry requirement for anyone news came out that Yvonne is definitely pertinent and John wanting to do work in this area. In Duplessis has died. There was White has published many his guide to the SPR Encyclopedia not enough time to commision a books on these topics, including entries on survival, Carlos Alvara- proper obituary but Renaud Evrard two important edited books on do shows his profound historical sent me the following lines: states of consciousness a few grasp of all things psi and the ex- decades ago. traordinary ongoing achievement of the SPR online encyclopedia “Have you ever considered still Here is a link to a most enter- shepherded by Robert McLuhan. running a parapsychology lab in taining series of programs, often I hope that future Mindfieldswill your basement before your death? based on actual psi research and consider assigning similar summa- Or, being more than a hundred- anecdotal accounts, and with a ries. Edwin May provides a good years-old, urging your guests to melancholy musical motif. It is introduction to the 4 forthcoming test their parapsychological and well-worth watching! http://one- volumes on the Star Gate land- dermo-optical faculties? Yvonne step-beyond.info/ mark project. From the Neth- Duplessis cultivated a passionate And there has been a lot of dis- erlands, Maurice van Luijtelaar curiosity for human sensitivity for cussion in a closed psi list about a describes a couple of fascinating more decades than that the life of philosopher whose book got a PA ostensible precognitions of air the average human. She joined the award a couple of years ago and crashes (similar to Mary S. Stow- light on September 21, 2017, at has been involved in very contro- ell’s cases, published some years the age of 105, and probably took versial political activities. Robert ago), exemplifying how much we advantage of it to analyze the McLuhan provides the context of need thorough accounts of osten- infinite diversity of colors that she this issue in http://monkeywah.ty- sible psi phenomena as they occur loved so much. (To discover some pepad.com/paranormalia/2016/10/ in “real life.” element of her work, you can find psi-and-the-far-right.html Two éminences grises, Daryl my portrait of this “grande dame” My final Mindfieldis bountiful as Bem and K. Ramakrishna Rao, of French parapsychology in the I needed to include all the ma- offer summaries of their careers Mindfield 5(3) issue).” terials I had. I will start with the in the field. This issue also has pièce de résistance, a reprinting of abstracts in English of the latest Charles Honorton’s 1975 Presi- Zeitschrift für Anomalistik (thanks Adiós, goodbye, hej då, au revoir, dential Address (thanks to Ed May to Gerhard Mayer for sending auf wiedersehen, ciao! for sending me a Word version), them), with two entries by my where he provides an overview dear friend Gerd Hövelmann, who of the field and its criticisms, as accompanies me thus all the way trenchant and fresh as if penned to the end of my tenure as Mind-

WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 9 Issue1 3 2017 Mindfield 79 Has Science Developed the Competence to Confront Claims of the Paranormal? PA Presidential Address, 1975, by Charles Honorton

orthodoxy, or “mainstream,” since this is what defines and limits the scope of factual knowledge. Through its publication practices, establishment science controls the dissemination of research findings. Through the top-level policies of its executive councils, establishment science controls the disposition of research funds. And through our educational in- stitutions, establishment science teaches what is currently known and/or believed about the nature of reality. Has establishment sci- ence developed the competence Charles Honorton in his research laboratory at Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY to confront claims of the paranor- mal? xplaining their decision having the courage to raise this Before pursuing this question to publish a prelimi- question, and in order to explore further, I think it is important to nary report on “remote the issue further, I think it will be recognize that despite the impres- E perception” experiments helpful to examine both “estab- sive accomplishments of modern performed at Stanford Research lishment” science and “paranor- science and its applied technolo- Institute in the fall of 1974, the mal” science. gies, science has yet to come to editors of Nature openly posed grips with some of the fundamen- the issue whether science has Establishment tal problems underlying much of yet developed the competence Science what it currently regards as nor- to confront claims of the para- mal. Among the still unanswered normal. The editors of Nature It is appropriate to begin with es- questions of normal science are tablishment science, the scientific deserve a great deal of credit for these: What is the source of

80 Mindfield Volume 9 Issue 3 2017 WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Has Science Developed the Competence to Volume 9 Issue 2 2017 Confront Claims of the Paranormal? power of the atomic nucleus? How eral consensus on the reality of By 1940 there was, is biochemistry translated into ESP, at least a general consensus consciousness? Where is memory? on what constituted a good ESP if not a general These and similar questions tend experiment. Yet despite the ade- to be ignored, but are kept alive quacy of many of the experimental consensus on the by our truly great scientists, men studies, conceded even by the reality of ESP, at like Eddington, Eccles, Wigner, leading critics of the period, and and Wheeler. despite the continued accumula- least a general Those of you who are familiar tion of new experimental confir- consensus on what with the history of paranormal mations, the active confrontation research will, I think, agree that between establishment science constituted a good establishment science compe- and claims of the paranormal tently confronted claims of the went into hibernation for a decade ESP experiment. paranormal during the period we and a half. Between 1940 and the now call the “ESP Controversy” mid-1950’s, very little discussion assumption that ESP and other of the 1930’s. During the five-year of paranormal claims appeared paranormal claims are impossible. period following publication of J. B. outside the parapsychological While conceding the methodolog- Rhine’s Extra-Sensory Perception specialty journals. Virtually no ical and statistical adequacy of in 1934, the scientific community funding was available for research many of the experiments purport- responded as it should to any claim and graduate students who want- ing to demonstrate ESP, Price ar- of new discovery, by disseminating ed their degrees were strongly gued that since ESP is impossible, both positive and negative re- discouraged from pursuing para- experimental evidence that cannot search findings, by careful scrutiny psychological topics. Aside from otherwise be explained away of the experimental and evaluative occasional textbook and lecture should be regarded instead as techniques, and by encouraging references to obsolete criticisms evidence of experimenter incom- fresh replication efforts. of the early Duke work, establish- petence or dishonesty. Seventeen During this period, there were ment science, during this period, years later, in a cryptic Apology approximately 60 critical articles sought to ignore rather than to to Rhine and Soal, Price (1972) by 40 authors, published primarily confront claims of the paranormal. retracted these allegations. in the American psychological lit- In the 1950’s, the two lead- Our current situation shows erature. Fifty experimental studies ing interdisciplinary journals of definite signs that establishment were reported during this period, science published speculative science is once again attempting two-thirds of which represented attacks on paranormal research. to actively confront claims of the independent replication efforts Nature carried what in itself was paranormal. There are numerous by other laboratories of the Duke a “paranormal” claim, in the form indications of this, but I will dis- University work. The critical issues of Spencer Brown’s attack on cuss just two. While federal grant raised during this period were, for probability theory (Brown, 1953). support for parapsychological the most part, legitimate ones, Science gave special prominence research is still virtually nonex- and the experimentalists were to George Price’s article on Sci- istent in comparison with more quick to modify their procedures ence and the Supernatural (Price, conventional research on, say, to accommodate valid criticism. 1955). Price’s confrontation with military frisbee design, a begin- By 1940 there was, if not a gen- the paranormal began with the ning has been made in the support

WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 9 Issue1 3 2017 Mindfield 81 Has Science Developed the Competence to The Bulletin of the Parapsychological Confront Claims of the Paranormal? Association of a few projects. There is at least On the positive competent experimental reports now some inclination on the part with positive findings? of funding agencies to consider side, symposia on There is no more effective means individual proposals on the basis through which to answer Nature’s of merit, past accomplishment, parapsychological editorial challenge than to allow and the likelihood of continued methods and interdisciplinary consideration of success. both positive and negative find- Aside from providing financial research findings ings in this area. This would allow support for new research, the are becoming a the interdisciplinary scientific greatest contribution establish- community to know just exactly ment science can make toward the regular feature what is being claimed about the resolution of controversy over any paranormal; to assess for itself new claim, I believe, is to allow on the annual the degree of competence and the the dissemination of research programs of a level of development; and to stim- findings, both positive and neg- ulate new independent replication ative. In this regard, the current number of scientific efforts. confrontation between establish- societies, including Yet, despite encouraging indica- ment science and claims of the tions to the contrary, the current paranormal must be considered to the American status of the situation is still, I be highly ambivalent. think, subject to the constraints On the positive side, symposia Psychological imposed, in a well-known quote on parapsychological methods and Association and from the physicist, Max Planck, by research findings are becoming what I shall call “Planck’s Second a regular feature on the annual the American Constant”: “A new scientific truth programs of a number of scientific Association for the does not triumph by convincing societies, including the American its opponents and making them Psychological Association and Advancement of see the light, but rather because the American Association for the its opponents eventually die and Advancement of Science. The Science. a new generation grows up that affiliation of the Parapsychological is familiar with it” (Planck, 1949). Association with the AAAS in 1969 our admission into the AAAS, For the moment, I think we must has provided an important new Science has published only reports conclude that while Nature has forum for the dissemination and of negative findings. Since Sci- developed the competence to discussion of parapsychological ence is a highly selective journal, confront claims of the paranormal, findings, primarily through sympo- accepting only about 20 percent Science hasn’t. sia at AAAS annual meetings. of the reports submitted to it for Yet while the AAAS encour- consideration, the publication of Paranormal ages us to sponsor symposia at negative findings indicates that Science its annual meetings, its journal, the editors of Science regard the Science, continues to suppress the problem-area to be one of some Has parapsychology developed interdisciplinary dissemination of importance. If this is so, why has the competence to confront claims our research findings. Even since Science consistently rejected of the paranormal? Not as much

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Number of No. Reporting Statistical Significance Percent

Experiments (p ≤ .01) Significant

Duke Group 17 15 61

All Other 33 20 61

Laboratories

Total 50 35 70

*Chi square (Duke vs. Other × Significant vs. Nonsignificant) = 1.70 (df = 1; nonsignificant).

Table 1. All English-language ESP experiments involving statistical assessment of data, 1934-1939 inclusive*.

as we would all like, but much to the card-guessing experiments I suspect this may be especially more than anyone has a right to of the 1930’s and examine the true among those of us who were expect given the level of support, replicability of that work. The not around in the 1930’s (which, the degree of irrational prejudice, central claim upon which ESP was incidentally, accounts for about and the small number of compe- based during this period was for- three-fourths of the participants tent investigators who have been mulated as follows: “Is it possible at this convention). In fact, I was able to sustain themselves in this repeatedly to obtain results that surprised myself to find that this field. In fact, I suggest to you that are statistically significant when wasn’t so when I undertook a some of our paranormal claims subjects are tested for knowl- review of all of the English-lan- have much more support behind edge of (or reaction to) external guage ESP experiments reported them than many of the more stimuli (unknown and uninferable during the period between 1934 widely accepted claims of normal to the subject) under conditions and 1939 (Honorton, 1975a). The science. that safely exclude the recognized results of this survey, in terms of Let us examine the replication sensory processes?” (Rhine et al., replication, are shown in Table 1. status of findings in parapsychol- 1940, p. 15). This work involved a database of ogy and other areas of behavioral Even among parapsychologists approximately 3.3 million individ- research. Almost all of the discus- there is a rather widespread belief ual trials. As Table 1 indicates, 61 sion of this important topic has that most of the independent percent of the independent replica- occurred without the necessary replications of the early Duke tions of the Duke work were statis- bookkeeping. First, let us return work were nonconfirmatory and tically significant. This is 60 times

WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 9 Issue1 3 2017 Mindfield 83 Has Science Developed the Competence to The Bulletin of the Parapsychological Confront Claims of the Paranormal? Association the proportion of significant studies a suitcase, which he had carried replication of the ESP hypothesis we would expect if the significant all around India. Inside was an would still be highly significant. results were due to chance error. electronic random number genera- Of course, there is also experimen- tor. Just to illustrate what a little Replication in tal error and some of these studies technology will do for an impover- Parapsychology left much to be desired in terms of ished research area, this instrument and Other Areas methodology. Yet on the basis of is the third or fourth generation my own study of this literature, I version of an instrument that was It has become clear to me that the concluded that at least 33 of these introduced in parapsychology only replication status of parapsycho- 50 studies were methodologically five years ago by Helmut Schmidt. It logical findings must be viewed adequate on the basis of the exper- looked to me more like something within the larger perspective imental reports. one would find at Mission Control in of replication in other areas of The next question, then, is this: Houston than in a parapsychologi- research. Last year at Maimon- Were all of these laboratories cal research laboratory in deepest ides we completed a two-year suppressing mountains of nonsig- Brooklyn. Ed explained the myriad dream research project, which was nificant data? of controls that decorate the front supported by the National Insti- I think this is very unlikely, panel. “These knobs,” he said, tute of Mental Health (Honorton judging from the temper of the “allow us to ask ‘physics-type’ & Ullman, 1975). This project was times, but it is not necessary to questions about PK. This one allows designed to replicate and extend rest our case on this. It is le- us to adjust the trial rate from one our earlier telepathic dream work gitimate to ask what volume of trial every ten seconds to a million as well as to replicate certain research data could realistically trials in ten seconds....in millisecond nonparapsychological findings by have been generated during this increments, of course,” he added another investigator. This inves- period. It is important to recall, with a smile. tigator, while still analyzing data in considering this question, that Eager to play, we decided to run from a project begun six years in the 1930’s there were only a control series of random checks. earlier, had published several two funded research laborato- Several minutes and millions of preliminary accounts of findings ries in parapsychology, one at trials later, I suddenly realized based on general impressions of Duke University and the other at that we had just collected more his data. His tentative conclusions Stanford University. (I believe the trials in those few minutes than had gained fairly widespread ac- Stanford endowment still exists, had been reported during the en- ceptance, despite the exploratory although the Stanford officials tire 60-year period between 1880 character of his initial reports. To have consistently allowed it to be and 1939. make a long story short, we not used for other purposes.) It is also Even if we assume a position of only failed to replicate our own important to bear in mind that the extreme conservatism and allow telepathic dream findings, we also volume of reported work during for the possibility that for each failed to replicate three of the this period was 3.3 million individ- published study between 1934 four nonparanormal claims of this ual trials and that it takes time and 1939 there were five studies other investigator. to shuffle ESP cards and to record that were not reported and were Recently, a number of us have subjects’ guesses. nonconfirmatory (that is, 250 un- begun exploring the possible role About six months ago, my friend published studies with 16.5 million of mental imagery as a mediator and colleague, Edwin May, opened nonsignificant trials), the rate of of psi (i.e., paranormal information

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Two dozen research more established–nonparanormal– Let us begin by examining what is fields cannot be relied upon. My being reported right here at this laboratories are point is simply this: the problem of meeting and then step back and replication did not begin and does see how well or poorly some of represented on not end with parapsychology. In our findings are holding up relative the program fact, parapsychology may actually to similar earlier work. be in a better position vis-à-vis Two dozen research laboratories of this year’s replication than many other areas are represented on the program of convention. There of behavioral research. this year’s convention. There are 48 Let us take a brief look at the experimental reports with findings are 48 experimental publication practices of the Amer- based at least in part on signifi- ican Psychological Association, cance tests. Rejection of the null reports with for example. A number of studies or specific hypothesis is reported in findings based at have been reported of APA publi- 63 percent of these studies and by cation practices. I will summarize 17 different laboratories. Moreover, least in part on just two. Sterling (1959) sampled 73 percent of the studies reported significance tests. 362 research reports published in at this convention are of attempted three of the leading APA journals. replications of previously report- He found that while 97 percent ed findings. Of these, 43 percent flow). Six reports have appeared of the studies basing conclusions report significant confirmation of thus far relating ESP performance on significance tests reported earlier findings. to one very popular scale, which rejection of the null or specific I will now examine in somewhat purports to measure the vividness hypothesis, none of the research greater depth two areas that have of imagery. While three of these reports was of a replication of sustained systematic research studies showed some relation- previously reported findings. Sim- efforts over a period of years. My ship between psi and imagery, as ilarly, Bozarth & Roberts (1972) selection is somewhat arbitrary defined by this scale, the direction sampled 1344 research reports and reflects my own research in- of the relationship has shown a published in four additional jour- terests. There are other areas that disconcerting tendency to vary nals. They found that while 94 could serve equally well. from study to study. We might percent reported findings based on be tempted to ascribe such lack the rejection of the null or specific Internal Attention of consistency to that perennial hypothesis, less than one percent States scapegoat, the “elusiveness of was of replications of previous psi,” were it not for the fact that findings. I do not see how we can The first area involves the use similar reversals between this avoid the conclusion that it is im- of internally-deployed attention scale and a variety of nonpara- possible to assess the validity of states, brought about by a variety normal performance measures findings and degree of replication of means, to detect and register seem to be more the rule than the in many areas of psychology. paranormal information flow. We exception (Honorton, 1975b). Now let us return to our own can formulate the central claim I could go on, but I know that situation and examine the repli- or finding in this area as follows: many of you can provide similar cation status of research findings psi information flow is more easily instances of how the findings of in contemporary parapsychology. detected and recognized when the

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receiver is in a state of sensory Let us first examine some of as were men’s knowledge and relaxation and is minimally influ- the analytical considerations. control of magnetism when Gilbert enced by ordinary perception and For these we are indebted to wrote his treatise on the magnet? proprioception. the late Cambridge philosopher, (Broad, 1953). A good case can be made for C. D. Broad, whose theoretical Broad pointed out that psi inter- this claim on analytical grounds contributions to parapsychology actions need not involve conscious alone and the empirical support have not yet received the atten- experience at all, that those that do for it pervades nearly every aspect tion and recognition they clearly are merely the tip of an iceberg, and of our literature, from our studies deserve. Broad was among the that below the surface, psi interac- of cultural practices and sponta- first to suggest that if paranormal tions may occur as totally uncon- neous experiences to our clinical phenomena occur at all, they are scious influences on our moods, our case histories and experimental probably much more pervasive in dispositions, our thought processes, reports. our everyday lives than has tradi- and so on. As we have already tionally been recognized. Drawing seen at this convention and in the an analogy with the discovery of literature over the last several Let us first magnetic fields, for example, he years, experimental support for this wrote: far-out notion has begun to emerge examine some Had it not been for the two through the work of Stanford and of the analytical very contingent facts that there his associates (Stanford, 1974; are lodestones and that the one Stanford et al., 1975). considerations. element, iron, which is strongly As for the relative rarity of susceptible to magnetic influenc- recognized psi interactions (i.e., For these we are es, is fairly common on earth, the psi experiences), Broad’s analy- indebted to the existence of magnetism might sis of the conditions necessary have remained unsuspected to for the recognition of paranormal late Cambridge this day. Even so, it was regarded input makes it clear that these philosopher, C. as....[an] anomaly until its connec- conditions are normally seldom tion with electricity was discov- fulfilled. This analysis also makes D. Broad, whose ered, and we gained the power to it clear why psi experiences are produce strong magnetic fields at so often associated with internal theoretical will. Yet all this, while magnetic attention states. contributions to fields had existed and had been Suppose, recasting Broad’s producing effects whenever and analysis in the communications parapsychology wherever electric currents were terminology proposed by Mor- have not yet passing. Is it not possible that ris (1975), that the output of an natural mediums might be compa- information source served as an received the rable to lodestones, that paranor- influence on a sensorially-remote mal influences are as pervasive receiver. In order for the receiver attention and as magnetism, and that we fail influence to be detected and iden- recognition they to recognize this only because tified with its source, all of the our knowledge and control of following conditions are necessary clearly deserve. them are at about the same level and must be fulfilled:

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• The receiver influence must be deafferentation–sensorisomatic The association between para- detected. With human receivers, noise-reduction–and deployment normal information acquisition this means that the influence of attention inward, toward men- and internal attention states can must take the form of overt be- tation processes such as thoughts be traced back at least as far as havior or conscious experience, and images, which may serve to the Vedic period of India and the which the receiver can and does carry psi information, thus in- reports of siddhis or paranormal attend to. creasing the likelihood of detec- powers manifest in yogic medita- • The experience must be suf- tion. The utilization of imagery tion. Then there are the claims of ficiently prominent, or carry and other forms of mentation in the powers of entranced medi- sufficient impact, to allow the the processing of environmental cine men and the shaman of the receiver to distinguish it from information has been demonstrat- nontechnological societies; the among the many other, non- ed in studies of subliminal stimu- “higher phenomena of hypnotism” paranormal inputs, which are lation–which, incidentally, is also reported by the early Mesmerists; concurrently influencing him. In facilitated by internal attention the phenomenological descrip- this context, normal perceptual, states (Dixon, 1971). tions of cognitive strategies em- somatic, and cognitive influenc- The high incidence of paranor- ployed by gifted individuals, such es on the receiver may consti- mal experiences occurring be- as Mary Craig Sinclair; and finally, tute sources of noise. tween friends and relatives and the cross-cultural validation of • The experience must be stored the low incidence of occurrence dreaming as the state-of-choice in and reported prior to receiv- between remote acquaintanc- spontaneous psi experiences and er-source contact through es and strangers would also be psychotherapeutic case reports. normal channels, otherwise it expected, since there is naturally Now let us look at the status cannot be considered evidential. a greater likelihood of confirma- of controlled laboratory exper- • There must be subsequent tion in the former case. Unless imentation in this area. I have confirmation of a meaningful the source and receiver know been able to find 89 experimen- correspondence between the each other and are in relatively tal studies spanning a 30-year source and the receiver. frequent contact with one anoth- period and involving controlled er, the likelihood of confirmation investigations of psi retrieval in This correspondence must be is very low. Furthermore, unless internal attention states brought sufficiently unusual or consistent the relationship between the two about by dreaming, guided over repeated efforts to eliminate permits some degree of intimacy, imagery and hypnosis, medita- chance coincidence as a reason- it is unlikely that either would be tion, perceptual isolation, and able explanation. sufficiently uninhibited to share progressive muscular relaxation These detection criteria can ac- unusual personal experiences. (Honorton, 1977). At least two count for some of the most prom- Similarly, the high incidence of different laboratories have re- inent features of spontaneous crisis cases involving situations of ported work with each of these paranormal experiences. The high sudden, unexpected emotional sig- five procedures and this work incidence of spontaneous psi ex- nificance would be expected, since was contributed by a total of 26 periences occurring in dreams and such experiences carry more impact different laboratories or investi- other internal attention states and are more likely to be remem- gator teams. For present pur- would be expected, inasmuch as bered and recalled than relatively poses, I will examine these stud- such states are associated with trivial mundane experiences. ies primarily from the standpoint

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Procedure No. of No. of No. of Binomial No. of No. of Labs

Experiments Experiments Significant p less Labs Confirming

Significant at Experiments than*

p ≤ .05 Expected by

Chance

Dreaming 18 10 0.90 1 × 10-5 4 2

Hypnosis-guided 39 19 1.95 1 × 10-5 19 8

Imagery

Meditation 11 8 0.55 1 × 10-5 4 3

Perceptual 15 8 0.75 1 × 10-5 7 2

Isolation

Progressive 5 5 0.25 1 × 10-5 2 2

Relaxation

TOTALS 89 50 4.45 1 × 10-10 26 17

*Exact binomial probabilities calculated on the basis of the number of studies significant at p ≤ .05 out

of the total number of studies for each procedure.

Table 2. Replication status of experimental studies involving psi retrieval during internally deployed attention state, 1945-1975.

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of replicability. The question is ed, nonsignificant studies. I can- tude larger than for forced-choice this: How many of the studies not imagine how anyone who is guessing designs (Honorton, with each procedure and overall familiar with the amount of time 1975c). have reported clear-cut evidence these studies require and with Nor have I discussed the that paranormal processes were the level of support and research quality of methodology in these operating within the design of output of this field, could really studies. These experiments all the experiment, and how does believe that there are anywhere utilized standard procedures this number compare with what near this number of unreported for eliminating sensory contact we would expect purely on the studies; but let us assume that between source and receiver, for basis of chance error? For the there are. The rate of replication randomizing targets, and so on. purpose of this analysis, I am in this area would still be highly It is doubtful that any of them defining as “significant” only significant. would live up to the reputation those studies in which, on the Now let us compare these data for super-control enjoyed, for a basis of overall psi scores or with the new work being report- time, by Soal’s work with Shack- clearly stated prediction, the ed here at this conference. This leton and Stewart. But this is not investigators rejected the null year there are 11 experimental necessary. Each of these studies or specific hypothesis at the .05 reports involving psi and internal asked a question and provided a level or lower. These results are attention states, contributed by tentative yes-no answer, which, summarized in Table 2. five different laboratories. Six of in turn, led to another study, The replication rate with each these experiments report rejection in-house and by another labora- of these five procedures is statis- of the null or specific hypothesis. tory. This, after all, is how normal tically highly significant (p ≤ 10-5). This gives a replication rate of science operates, at least in its Overall, of the 89 experiments, 55 percent compared to the 56 better moments. The experi- 50 reported rejection of the null percent rate for the earlier work. mental claim results in another or specific hypothesis. This is 10 These significant confirmations are experiment rather than in a post- times the number we would ex- reported by four of the five report- humous attack on the integrity of pect on the basis of chance error. ing laboratories and this year’s an individual investigator. Soal’s Significant findings were reported crop is 10 times greater in propor- honesty would not now be the by 17 of the 26 laboratories; that tion than we would expect on the topic of idle speculation (Mundle, is, by two-thirds of the laborato- basis of chance error. This harvest 1973; Scott & Haskell, 1973) if ries involved. would still be significant if we he had had a replicable procedure Over 60 percent of these stud- were to posit five nonsignificant rather than a gifted subject. ies involved free-response ESP and unreported studies for each The existence of a new or hith- designs, which, as you know, are one reported at this conference. erto unrecognized natural phe- much more time-consuming than I cannot take time now to de- nomenon cannot rest upon unre- shuffling ESP cards. Neverthe- scribe some of the more interest- peatable experiments by isolated less, let us assume for the sake ing secondary findings related to investigators working with unique of extreme conservatism that for this area. Elsewhere I have shown practitioners. Gifted subjects have each published study there are that the information rate for psi much to contribute to our knowl- five that were not reported and studies combining free-response edge and understanding of psi, were not statistically significant. designs with internal attention but so far, we have largely wasted This would require 445 unreport- states is several orders of magni- their talents.

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Microdynamic It is time we take Helmut Schmidt has replaced Psychokinesis Cox’s BBs with electrons and parapsychology has substituted solid-state data The second area I have selected and its phenomena paths for Cox’s paper straws. His for special attention involves seriously, that we electronic random generators psychokinesis on microphysical show good randomness when run systems. The central claim or find- stop being defensive in unattended control checks and ing in this area may be formulated with people who are highly significant departures from as follows: a human observer randomness when human subjects provided with sensory feedback to skeptical but are attempt to exert feedback-guided an external source of randomness unfamiliar with the influence. Schmidt has found in a produced by a microphysical pro- serious literature series of highly ingenious experi- cess can, by attending to the feed- ments that the internal complexity back signal, effect an influence of this field, its of the instrument does not appear on that microphysical process better research, the to affect the degree of influence, with the result of decreasing its and he too concludes that PK is randomness. degree of control, goal-directed (Schmidt, 1974). Order out of disorder, as a and advances in Since Schmidt introduced this function of intention, perhaps. methodology. line of research five years ago, The history of PK, even more than 16 microdynamic PK experiments that of ESP, is tainted with fraud, of the PK target. When J. B. and have been reported, primarily by malobservation, and uncontrolled Louisa Rhine salvaged PK from Schmidt and his collaborators. The events occurring in suspicious the darkness of séance rooms results are summarized in Table 3. circumstances. Despite the appar- and noisy tables, they introduced ently good controls employed a light, dice, and quarter distribu- Thirteen of these 16 studies, century ago by Sir William Crookes tions of the half-set. over 80 percent, yielded statisti- in his investigations of D. D. Home, Yet despite the “overwhelming” cally significant outcomes. This is or the Naples sittings with Eusapia evidence for PK provided by the 16 times the number of significant Palladino, or even the impressive quarter distribution data, I believe studies we would expect on the credentials of certain members of psychokinesis might have died basis of chance error. However, the “Metal Benders’ Guild” in con- prematurely in the late 1940’s had since data collection is so much temporary Great Britain, such ob- it not been for the work of W. E. faster in this area, let us assume servations have never carried great Cox. Ed Cox nurtured PK research for the sake of extreme conserva- conviction outside the small circle for nearly two decades. He re- tism that for each of these re- of firsthand observers present. placed the dice with, among other ported studies there are 10 which Moving from the macroscopic things, BBs running down paper were not reported and which are effects associated with polter- straw pathways, and his research not statistically significant. That geists, hyperactive tables, and provided some of the first really is, let us posit 160 unreported, compass-needles, into the arena strong evidence, not only for the nonconfirmatory studies. Even if of controlled experimentation, occurrence of PK, but also for the this were so, the replication rate perhaps the most obvious trend hypothesis that PK is goal-direct- for microdynamic PK would still be has to do with the shrinking size ed. highly significant.

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Report Experiment p less than Now let us compare this with the new work being reported here at this conference. This year there Schmidt (1970) Preliminary Series .12 are seven experimental studies of microdynamic PK, contributed Main Series .00087 by four different laboratories. Five of these seven studies report significant confirmation of micro- Schmidt & Pantas (1971) Preliminary Series .0124 dynamic PK influence and these -5 positive replications are contrib- Series I 6.3 × 10 uted by three of the four reporting laboratories. This is a 71 percent Series II .0093 confirmation rate, is 14 times the number we would expect by chance error, and compares nicely Matas & Pantas (1971) .0143 to the 80 percent rate for the earlier studies. Andre (1972) Experiment I .1067

Taking Experiment II .0093 Parapsychology Seriously Honorton & Barksdale (1972) Group Experiment .034 It is time we take parapsychology and its phenomena seriously, that Individual Ss Experiment .826 we stop being defensive with people who are skeptical but are unfamiliar -6 Single Subject Experiment 3.4 × 10 with the serious literature of this field, its better research, the degree -5 of control, and advances in meth- Schmidt (1973) Exploratory Experiment 5. 6 × 10 odology. I believe that it is time for -8 us to go to the journals such as Confirmatory Experiment 2.1 × 10 Science and to the funding agencies in Washington and demand that Schmidt (1975) Experiment I .00084 they at least examine our serious literature before they reject our papers and our grant proposals. We Experiment II .0017 can present a strong case for our field and it is time that we do so. Stanford et al. (1975) .0069 I really wanted to take this occasion to develop some specu- Total Significance: chi square = 202, df = 32; p < 10-10 lative areas, but considering the slender basis of support that is currently sustaining this field, Table 3. Survey of all microdynamic PK experiments, 1970-1975.

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I decided upon the present ap- this would have the effect, not of that we can begin to exploit these proach. Most of the participants providing an endorsement of any similarities to advantage in using at this conference are here at claims, but rather of stimulating subliminal versus psi compari- great personal expense, do not critical discussion and further rep- sons. Those of us who have been know whether their research will lication. I can see no basis of justi- involved in free-response psi be supported six months or a year fication for the refusal of journals research have not had any real ba- from now (if it is supported now), such as Science to accept research sis of comparison in terms of how and cannot publish their research reports of good quality. strong our psi mentation-target in any journal but those that have correspondences are relative to a circulation of less than 2500. Subliminal strength and quality of correspon- We must not continue merely be- Stimulation and dences in a weak sensory setting. moaning the fact that parapsychol- Biofeedback A beginning has been made in ogy is not accepted by establish- this direction (Smith, Tremmel, & ment science; we ought not to feel There are some very provocative Honorton, 1976), and to the extent that, despite the fact that we know parallels between two areas of that the same kinds of stimulus our literature and what we are do- nonparanormal research and the distortions and transformations ing in our laboratories, there must two areas of paranormal research occur in both subliminal and psi be something wrong with the work I have focused on in this address. tasks, we can have greater confi- since it is not accepted; we should These areas of “normal” re- dence in the informational charac- not continue to play the game that search are subliminal perception teristics of our psi findings. In fact, eventually, after all, science is ob- and biofeedback. I do not have I suggest that this may be a useful jective and our findings will eventu- time to explore either of these in prototype for a new methodology ally become accepted on their merit. great detail, but I would like at for studying psi processes, one I do not believe this. We have been least to highlight a few points that that moves us away from a strict- struggling against irrational preju- I think are of special interest. ly theoretical baseline in assess- dice for a long time. Patience goes I think anyone who is familiar ing the significance of psi results. only so far and I think that if the with the internal states work in The implications of biofeedback situation is going to change, we are parapsychology and who has read for parapsychology have usually going to have to change it. Norman Dixon’s (1971) careful been discussed in terms of devel- Our findings deserve better than survey of the subliminal percep- oping biofeedback shortcuts to they have received from the scien- tion literature must be struck by psi-conducive states. I agree that tific establishment. If our work is the parallels. Both subliminal and this is potentially very important, faulty, it should be criticized, but psi influences are facilitated by but I would also suggest that the criticism must be substantive, internal attention states, both are what has been referred to as the not a priori. The scientific commu- subject to subtle experimenter ef- goal-directedness of psychokine- nity has an obligation to assess, fects and situational factors, and sis is found also in biofeedback in without prejudice, the serious re- both involve the transformation the form of passive volition. Rob- search in this area. The only way in and mediation of stimulus influ- ert Thouless (1951) described the which this can be done is through ence through ongoing mentation mind-set associated with his own dissemination of research reports processes. Perhaps the similarity success in PK dice experiments to a wide scientific audience. As is no more than skin deep, but the in the late 1940’s as “effortless the Nature editors suggested, point I wish to emphasize now is intention to succeed.” This de-

92 Mindfield Volume 9 Issue 3 2017 WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Has Science Developed the Competence to Volume 9 Issue 2 2017 Confront Claims of the Paranormal? scription would immediately be Has science developed claim. And perhaps it is. Basma- recognized by contemporary bio- jian and a number of other bio- feedback researchers as passive the competence to feedback researchers have resur- volition. Elmer Green (1973-4) has confront claims of rected the concept of volition as a described passive volition with the paranormal? metaforce to account for this type an analogy to farming. He says, of control. Is it possible that PK “A farmer (a) desires a crop, (b) I believe the most has always been closer to us than plants the seed, (c) allows nature satisfactory answer to we’ve realized? This is, for the to take its course, and (d) reaps.” present, farfetched speculation. We are puzzled by the fact that Nature’s question is We now have the methodology a subject can psychokinetically this: we have begun and the beginnings of a technolo- influence a process, which he to develop competent gy, however, to begin asking such knows nothing about solely on questions on an empirical basis. the basis of intention to succeed approaches to the and the guidance of a peripheral paranormal. We have Normalization of feedback display. Yet this is ex- the Paranormal actly what occurs in biofeedback. developed at least a Let us take the example of single few approaches that Has science developed the com- motor unit control. The motor unit work well enough to petence to confront claims of the is the functional unit of striated paranormal? I believe the most muscle. It consists of the nerve allow us to build upon satisfactory answer to Nature’s cell body, located in the spinal them. question is this: we have begun to cord, its axon, terminal branches, develop competent approaches to and all the muscle fibers sup- the paranormal. We have developed plied by these branches. A single tion of perhaps 100 or 200 which at least a few approaches that spinal motor neuron may supply are within an area of pick-up of work well enough to allow us to anywhere from a half-dozen to an electrode pair. They can sup- build upon them. The job will not several hundred muscle fibers. It press all of the units, fire single be done until we have succeeded is now known, chiefly through the units, they can manipulate those in eliminating the “para-” and have work of John Basmajian (1972) units, turn them on and off easily, normalized these phenomena. This that a human observer can learn they can suppress the one they will require further articulation of to isolate and control single motor started with, pick up another one, the positive attributes and anteced- units using sensory feedback tech- train it, suppress it, turn to a third ent conditions of psi, as well as the niques. This despite the fact that and then, on command, they can determination of the role of psi in most subjects do not even know respond with signals from the our normal life experience. We are what cells look like or where they unit that you choose for them to beginning to make progress in this are located. Here is Basmajian’s respond with.” direction, on several fronts, and I (1969) summary of his results: I think it is safe to say that ten have tried to indicate a few of these. “...normal human beings can years ago the voluntary control of I believe we should give up quickly, in a matter of 15 or 20 a single cell would almost certain- our “para-” terms, even the one minutes, be trained to isolate only ly have been regarded, along with that serves to identify this As- one motor unit from the popula- psychokinesis, as a paranormal sociation. Psi phenomena are as

WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 9 Issue1 3 2017 Mindfield 93 Has Science Developed the Competence to The Bulletin of the Parapsychological Confront Claims of the Paranormal? Association relevant to physics and, I suspect, Helmut Schmidt psi research have also been suc- to neurophysiology, as they are cessful subjects. Both J. B. Rhine to psychology. We are studying lent me a manual and Robert Thouless were able to psychophysical interactions, and I random number demonstrate PK effects with dice. would suggest that the term psy- generator and since The French pioneer in the cogni- chophysics more properly identi- tive study of psi, René Warcollier, fies the range of activities we have I was teaching at the was successful as a percipient in called parapsychological. time, I decided to do telepathy-oriented drawing exper- My own inclination, which is iments, and so on. Among our cur- provisional and subject to mod- a group experiment rently active experimenters, Wil- ification as a result of new data, with my students. liam Braud was one of the most is that we are, along with physi- I formulated the successful receivers in the Braud’s cists and neurophysiologists, on work on psi and progressive relax- the threshold of a new scientific hypothesis, based on ation. Rex Stanford was success- enterprise, that we are beginning Ted Serios, Kulagina, ful in an EEG/telepathy-oriented to do some serious psychophysical study with Ian Stevenson. Robert reality-testing, perhaps to erect a and other macro Morris showed that it is possible bridge connecting the perennial du- PKers, that unlike ESP, to gain nonrandom entry points in alities of mind and matter, physics PK may require a high tables of random numbers using and psychology. We are, I believe, a complex psi procedure. (Morris’s dealing on an empirical basis with level of arousal and studies on cognitively complex psi what Eddington called “mind-stuff” activation. provide further evidence for the and what we have found thus far goal-directedness of psi.) supports the notion that mind is a My own accomplishments as a real force in nature. I suggest that imenter. Experimenter effects subject mainly involve a series of in the years ahead it will be useful represent a sort of skeleton in our PK experiments that I reported for us to reconsider the type of collective closet. This is a topic we several years ago (Honorton & theory proposed in various forms discuss not infrequently in private, Barksdale, 1972). Helmut Schmidt by Frederic Myers, Henri Bergson, but seldom in public. We are con- lent me a manual random num- and Sir John Eccles, that the brain cerned with the possibility that we ber generator and since I was is a transmitter of mind rather than ourselves, as experimenters may, teaching at the time, I decided its generator, and that mind mani- to some extent, be the source of to do a group experiment with fests through the brain by psycho- the psi influences we observe in my students. I formulated the kinetic influence on neural tissue. our laboratories. hypothesis, based on Ted Serios, Of course, there are different Kulagina, and other macro PKers, Observation and kinds of experimenter effects: from that unlike ESP, PK may require a Participation in experimenter fraud on one end high level of arousal and activa- Science of the scale (as we learned last tion. I had my students alternate summer) to experimenter psi on PK runs in which they tensed and In closing, I would like to speak the other end of the scale. I think relaxed. The results were very briefly about one other area of psi it is interesting to note that many nice: the muscle tension runs were research, the role of the exper- of the successful experimenters in associated with significant psi-hit-

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ting. The overall results were run by me, manually depressing difference between pre- and post- significant and this was due to the the random generator response test deviations was again signifi- contribution of the muscle tension buttons and attempting not to cant (p = .002). condition. I returned to the labora- exert a psi influence on the instru- It appears that John Stump tory very pleased with myself for ment. Sample A was collected has confirmed Jule Eisenbud’s having confirmed my hypothesis. before the experimental data and hypothesis about what he has I then set Warren Barksdale to Sample B was collected after the colorfully termed the “individual the task of replicating this exper- experimental data. Taken sepa- mind-prints” of the experimenter. iment with 20 individual subjects, rately, each sample provided good I frankly do not know what to do following the same procedure for randomness. What John Stump about this problem and I am sure relaxation and tension. His exper- found, however, was that looking that most of you don’t either. But iment yielded only chance results. at the difference between the two we had better start giving serious We then decided to run a third samples, there was a significant consideration to these experi- experiment in which I would be the difference for each of the four menter psi effects and, to show solo subject and Warren would be analyses. Since this was a two- at least that we are not alone, I the experimenter. choice generator, we looked for will close now with a comment I tensed and relaxed, and we sequence effects: how many times from the distinguished Princeton alternated which of the two dis- did “red” follow “red”; how many physicist, John Archibald Wheeler, play lights was target for an equal times did “red” follow “green”; which I think is pertinent to this: number of runs, and so on. The “green” follow “green”; “green” Insofar as we’ve learned to muscle tension runs were about follow “red”? In each of these four understand the quantum principle, 3.5 standard deviations above cases, a nonsignificant positive it’s the small tip of an iceberg chance and the relaxation runs or negative deviation in Sample A that tells us that the momentum were about 3.5 standard devia- was followed by a nonsignificant and the position of an electron tions below chance. Again, my deviation in the opposite direction are not qualities that exist inde- hypothesis had been confirmed. in Sample B. The overall result of pendently of us, but depend upon The question that now arose in this was associated with a proba- our consciously making a decision my mind, however, was who were, bility of 10-5. The experimental hy- to measure the position and the or was, the subject in that first pothesis itself was only confirmed momentum in order to bring these successful experiment? at the .001 level. features into evidence. I think that Recently, my very good friend John Stump went a step further. through our own act of conscious- John Stump really threw me a He used this post hoc analysis ly choosing and posing questions curve. When my study dealing as a pilot study. His confirmation about the universe we bring about with another type of experimenter consisted of going back to an in some measure what we see effect, involving the demeanor of earlier study, which I had reported taking place before us. Therefore, the experimenter as an influence with Malcolm Bessent as subject I think the word ‘observing’ is in- on subjects’ psi performance, (Honorton, 1971). Again there adequate. A better word is ‘partic- appeared (Honorton, Ramsey, & were pre- and post-experimental ipation.’ We are going to come to Cabibbo, 1975), John examined random checks; and again the appreciate that the universe itself the control data. In this study, randomness was good within each in some strange way depends there were two samples of “con- sample, but with deviations in upon our being here for its proper- trol random checks.” These were opposite directions, so that the ties (Wheeler, 1973, p. 32).

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References B. Wolman (Ed.), Handbook of para- high-speed random number generator. psychology. New York: Van Nostrand Journal of Parapsychology, 37, 105-118. Reinholt Co. Schmidt, H. (1974). Psychokinesis. In Honorton, C., & Barksdale, W. (1972). E. D. Mitchell (Ed.), Psychic explora- Andre, E. (1972). Confirmation of PK ac- PK performance with waking sugges- tion: A challenge for science. New York: tion on electronic equipment. Journal of tions for muscle tension versus relaxa- Putnam. Parapsychology, 36, 283-293. tion. Journal of the American Society for Schmidt, H. (1975). Observation of sub- Psychical Research, 66, 208-214. Basmajian, J. (1969). EMG Feedback. conscious PK effects with and without Proceedings of the First Annual Meeting Honorton, C., & Ullman, M. (1975). time displacement. In Parapsychological of the Biofeedback Research Society, Comparison of sensory and extrasen- Association (Ed.), Research in Parapsy- 2, 4. sory influences on dreams.Final Report chology 1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scare- Basmajian, J. (1972). Electromyography prepared for the U. S. Public Health crow Press, 116-121. Service, National Institute of Mental comes of age. Science, 176, 603-609. Schmidt, H., & Pantas, L. (1971). Psi Health (MH-21628). Bozarth, J. D., & Roberts, R. R. (1972). tests with psychologically equivalent Signifying significant significance. Amer- Honorton, C., Ramsey, M., & Cabibbo, conditions and internally different ma- ican Psychologist, 27, 774-775. C. (1975). Experimenter effects in ex- chines. Proceedings of the Parapsycho- trasensory perception. Journal of the logical Association, 8, 49-51. Broad, C. D. (1953). Religion, philoso- American Society for Psychical Re- Scott, C., & Haskell, P. (1973). “Normal” phy and psychical research. New York: search, 1975, 69, 135-150. Harcourt-Brace. explanation of the Soal-Goldney experi- Matas, F., & Pantas, L. (1971). A PK ex- ments in extrasensory perception. Na- Brown, G. S. (1953). Statistical signifi- periment comparing meditating versus ture, 245, 52-54. cance in psychical research. Nature, nonmeditating subjects. Proceedings Smith, M., Tremmel, L., & Honorton, C. 172, 154-156. of the Parapsychological Association, (1976). A comparison of psi and weak 1971, 8, 12-13. Dixon, N. (1971). Subliminal perception: sensory influences on Ganzfeld menta- The nature of a controversy. New York: Morris, R. L. (1975). Tacit communication tion. In Parapsychological Association McGraw-Hill. and experimental theology. In Parapsy- (Ed.), Research in Parapsychology 1975. Green, E., & Green, A. (1973-4). Regu- chological Association (Ed.), Research in Metuchen, N. J.: Scarecrow Press. Parapsychology 1974. Metuchen, N.J.: lating our mind-body processes. Fields Stanford, R. G. (1974). An experimental- Scarecrow Press, 179-198. within Fields, 10, 16-24. ly testable model for spontaneous psi Honorton, C. (1971). Automated forced- Mundle, C. W. K. (1973). The Soal-Gold- events. I. Extrasensory events. Journal choice precognition tests with a “sensi- ney experiments. Nature, 245, 54. of the American Society for Psychical Research, 68, 34-57. tive.” Journal of the American Society Planck, M. (1949). Scientific autobi- for Psychical Research, 165, 476-481. ography and other papers (transl. by Stanford, R. G., Zenhausern, R., Taylor, Honorton, C. (1975a). Error some place! F. Gaynor). New York: Philosophical A., & Dwyer, M. (1975). Psychokinesis Journal of Communication, 25, 103-116. Library. as psi-mediated instrumental response. Journal of the American Society for Price, G. R. (1955). Science and the su- Honorton, C. (1975b). Psi and mental Psychical Research, 69, 127-134. imagery: Keeping score on the Betts pernatural. Science, 122, 359-367. Sterling, T. C. (1959). Publication deci- Scale. Journal of the American Society Price, G. R. (1972). Apology to Rhine and sions and their possible effects on infer- for Psychical Research, 69(4), 327-332. Soal. Science, 175, 359. ences drawn from tests of significance Honorton, C. (1975c). Receiver-optimi- Rhine, J. B., & Pratt, J. G. (1940). Ex- – or vice versa. Journal of the American zation and information rate in ESP. Pa- trasensory perception after sixty years. Statistical Association, 54, 30-34. per presented in the symposium, “The A critical appraisal of the research in Thouless, R. H. (1951). A report on an Application and Misapplication of Find- extra-sensory perception. New York: st experiment in psychokinesis with dice ings in Parapsychology,” at the 141 Henry Holt. Annual Meeting of the American Asso- and a discussion on psychological fac- ciation for the Advancement of Science, Schmidt, H. (1970). A PK test with elec- tors favoring success. Journal of Para- New York City, January 27, 1975. tronic equipment. Journal of Parapsy- psychology, 15, 89-102. chology, 34, 175-181. Honorton, C. (1977). Psi interactions Wheeler, J. A. (1973). Interview in Intel- and internal attention states. In B. Schmidt, H. (1973). PK tests with a lectual Digest, June 1973, p. 32.

96 Mindfield Volume 9 Issue 3 2017 WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Reflections Daryl Bem

Describe your magic tricks designed to simulate career in psi re- psi phenomena. (Some readers of search and why Mindfield may be aware that Russell did you get into it? Targ was also a young mentalist during that same era.) I am currently in the advanced I have maintained this interest Eriksonian stage of psychosocial ever since, performing both close- development informally known as up and stage mentalism up through the “drooling-into-the-gruel” stage. my professional years as a college In contrast to many of my similar- professor. I was also a member of ly-situated peers in parapsychology, the professional “Psychic Entertain- however, my psi-research age is ers Association” (PEA) along with quite recent, reaching back only to psi-skeptic Ray Hyman and psi-ag- 1994, the year that Charles Honor- nostic Marcello Truzzi. (As Tru- ton and I published a review of his zzi’s polls of the PEA membership autoganzfeld experiments in Psycho- revealed, knowing how to produce Daryl Bem, Cornell University logical Bulletin. fake psi does not predict beliefs in Two distinct paths led to my late- genuine psi.) life interest in psi, one personal and My professional path to psi re- subway stops away) so that gradu- one professional. The personal path search began in college: I obtained ate students could enroll in courses began at age eight when I received a B. A. in physics at Reed College offered at the other institution with- a magic set from my aunt and uncle in 1960, and then went on to MIT out additional tuition charge. The and became an amateur magician to seek a Ph. D. in that field. At the civil-rights movement was becoming (aka “Daryl the Great”), performing time, MIT was interested in “edu- an active force in the United States at children’s birthday parties for $5 cating the whole man”—yes, they at that time and I was fascinated by per performance—more if I helped meant man—and encouraged gradu- it and the resultant changes in public the hosts clean up after the par- ate students to have minors unre- opinion toward racial issues. So, I ty. As I moved into adolescence, I lated to their majors. MIT had an ex- declared social psychology to be my began to specialize in “mentalism,” change agreement with Harvard (two minor field and enrolled in a Harvard

WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 9 Issue1 3 2017 Mindfield 97 The Bulletin of the Parapsychological Reflections Association course called “The Psychology of My involvement in tablished laboratory in Princeton, Race Relations” taught by Profes- New Jersey, to critically examine sor Thomas Pettigrew. Pettigrew’s psi research began his autoganzfeld procedure from the course was a life-changer for me, in 1983, when perspective of both an experimental and I decided to switch fields as soon parapsychological social psychologist and a practicing as feasible. The Woodrow Wilson mentalist. That collaboration re- Foundation, which was supporting researcher Charles sulted in the publication of our 1994 my first year at MIT, gave me permis- “Chuck” Honorton Psychological Bulletin article: “Does sion to change fields at the end of psi exist” Replicable evidence for an the Fall semester, taking whatever invited me to his anomalous process of information courses I needed to prepare myself newly-established transfer.” Sadly, Honorton died of a for my change of field. I re-applied to heart attack at age 46, only 9 days graduate schools and enrolled in the laboratory in Princeton, before our article was accepted for Social Psychology Doctoral Pro- New Jersey [...] publication. He had encouraged me gram at the University of Michigan, to run an autoganzfeld study of receiving my Ph, D, three years later of criminal suspects. My wife, Sandra my own at Cornell and to join the in 1964, specializing in public opinion Lipsitz Bem, and I were invited to Parapsychological Association, both and attitude change. I also became join the faculty of the Psychology of which I did. a civil-rights activist at Michigan, Department at Stanford in 1969; and In 2000, I began my own research joining the Congress of Racial 10 years later, we joined the facul- on precognition at Cornell, present- Equality (CORE). I was arrested in a ty of the Psychology Department ing progress reports at PA conven- peaceful demonstration in Ann Arbor at Cornell University. During these tions in 2003, 2005, and 2008. The the same year that Bernie Sanders years, I conducted research in sev- final report, “Feeling the future: Ex- was arrested in a CORE-sponsored eral areas of personality and social perimental evidence for anomalous demonstration in Chicago. I was fined psychology, including group risk-tak- retroactive influences on cognition $5 for “loitering.” My mother was ing, self-perception, the continuity of and affect,” appeared in the APA convinced that I would never be able an individual’s personality through Journal of Personality and Social to get a job after that. time and across situations, and the Psychology in 2011. To encourage My first academic job was a joint development of sexual orientation. external replications, I made rep- appointment in the Department Sandra and I were also activists lication packages publically avail- of Psychology and the School of in the Feminist movement during able; and in 2015, Patrizio Tressoldi, Industrial Administration at Carnegie the Seventies, doing studies that Thomas Rabeyron, Michael Duggan, Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, showed how sex-biased job adver- and I published “Feeling the future: which became Carnegie Mellon Uni- tisements discourage women from A meta-analysis of 90 experiments versity soon thereafter. In addition applying for jobs for which they are on the anomalous anticipation of to publishing in the usual academic well qualified. We also served as ex- random future events” in the open journals, I also published a brief pert witnesses in legal proceedings access journal F1000Research. The textbook, Beliefs, Attitudes, and involving cases of job discrimination. experiments in the database came Human Affairs, in 1970, and testified My involvement in psi research from 33 laboratories in 13 coun- before the US Senate Judiciary Com- began in 1983, when parapsycho- tries and produced an overall effect mittee about how making false con- logical researcher Charles “Chuck” greater than 6 sigma. fessions might affect the memories Honorton invited me to his newly-es- These experiments were quite

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controversial and were widely dis- Century. In reading about that histo- because it most challenges our in- cussed in both professional jour- ry, however, I have been impressed tuitions and simple physical models nals and websites. They were also with the sophistication displayed of how it might operate. I tend to publicized in the mass media and in by many of the earlier pioneers. I agree with those of my colleagues popular science publications such also appreciate how parapsychol- who believe that precognition may as New Scientist, Discovery, Wired, ogists were virtually forced by be the fundamental psi process, and Psychology Today. Ironically, skeptics to invent methodologi- and recent conferences between one of the most intelligent media cal safeguards even before more physicists and psi researchers over discussions of the research emerged traditional disciplines had come to the nature of time reversal and cau- from my appearance on the hu- grips with the need for them (e.g., sality have inspired me to refresh morous Colbert Report. Clearly the parapsychology’s invention of the my now-outdated understanding of pinnacle of my career! The experi- double-blind study). It seems to me quantum mechanics. ments were also incorporated into that this continues today: Parapsy- At the personal level, I am still the recent discussions concerning chologists are among the first to most comfortable and competent replication issues, meta-analyses, adopt new procedures, safeguards, with designing and conducting lab- Bayesian vs. frequentist statistics, and statistical procedures. Many of oratory-based experiments. Simi- the need for pre-registered studies, my parapsychologist associates are larly, my belief in the reality of psi is and the prevalence of Type I errors among the smartest and sophisti- based on experimental data rather in scientific and medical literatures. cated scholars I have met in my pro- than on personal psi experiences There was a even a circulating fessional career. Not unexpectedly, of my own or informal accounts of rumor, based on my career as a they are also more open to a more apparent psi reported by others. But performing mentalist, that my radical view of reality than most I do not advocate this as the only research was part of a strategy to of my university colleagues, with model for parapsychological inquiry. embarrass the field of psychology clear disagreements among them The success of parapsychology in by subsequently revealing either on fundamental epistemological both theory and application lies in that my experiments were a hoax and methodological issues. In short, the diverse phenomena it seeks to or, alternatively, that by strictly I find parapsychology intellectually address and the methods it em- following the standard, prevailing very exciting, redolent of my days ploys to encompass that diversity. experimental and statistical proce- as an undergraduate at quirky Reed I agree with my colleague Stephan dures of psychological research, one College 60 years ago. Schwartz that the future success could demonstrate something even of parapsychology is likely to be as far-fetched as psi. Were you to start indexed by the degree to which it again, what would ceases to be a distinct field and be- How do you see you focus on? comes instead a force for promoting the field now as Where do you the consideration of psi phenomena compared to the think the field in many other disciplines. beginning of your should go? career? Any regrets or I am still close enough to the begin- other things you Unlike most of my age peers in ning of my work in psi that I doubt would like to add? parapsychology, I did not personally I would change much in retrospect. experience the history of parapsy- I still find precognition the most in- No. chological research during the 20th triguing of psi phenomena precisely

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he U.S. government’s military and intelli- gence communities funded anomalous whether the intelligence alluded T to by the Soviet Bloc research in cognition (AC; aka informational psi, remote viewing, extrasensory this field posed a national security perception) and psychokinesis threat. If so, the first and foremost question was: are such capabili- (PK) applications and research for ties real and implementable? All 23 years at a total level of sup- aspects of the research and ap- port of about US $19,443 million. plied program were in support of In the early years, it was known this primary mission. Did the Star | by EDWIN C. MAY, Laborato- as a “psychoenergetics” program, Gate program satisfy this objec- ries for Fundamental Research in keeping with the Soviet term tive? Yes, and here is why. between 1973-1995, 17 were for the phenomena. Although • Between the SRI and the remote returning customers for the RV- small in terms of what is usually viewing (RV) operations group HUMINT collection product—an budgeted for traditional programs at Ft. Meade, a total of 504 sep- 89.5% customer return rate. It within these organizations, such arate intelligence missions were seems highly unlikely that there funding represented the largest tasked by a variety of agencies would be such a high customer support in the history of the field that required 2865 individual return rate if the RV-HUMINT of parapsychology. remote viewings to accomplish information were not worthy of The raison d’être of Star Gate the stated missions. such attention. was primarily to determine • Of the 19 client agencies Another way to answer this ques-

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tion would be to query each tasking awarded to subcontractors many eral population possesses a agency as to the mission-by-mis- of whom were in the psi research natural remote viewing ability. sion assessment. These data were arena. The overall research direc- • Remote viewing ability does not not available. A third way to answer tion, which was even specified by degrade over time. this question would be to provide the Central Intelligence Agency as • At this time, there is no quan- such an assessment by outcome early as 1975, was to examine the titative evidence to support a measures that might be contained physics of the phenomena—how training hypothesis. in the CIA declassified data re- is it possible for information to • Natural scenes are significantly lease. But only a small number of transcend space and time—and better than symbols as targets such assessments were released. what are the characteristics of in- for remote viewing. Perhaps this is so because, in the dividuals who may have a natural • Remote viewing quality is indepen- tasking agency → collector → gift. These investigations involved dent of target distance and/or size. analyst → tasking agency cycle it is cognitive psychology, physiolog- • There is no evidence to support rare that the collector receives any ical, and personality variables. the idea that a psychoenergetic direct feedback as to the success or Often Star Gate is generally con- interaction with the physical failure of any given task. Until 1985 sidered a CIA program; however, world exists. when the US Army Medical Re- the CIA was responsible for only • Electromagnetic shielding is not search and Development Command 1% of the Star Gate funding. effective against psychoener- issued a 5-year, $10M contract to Uncharacteristic of such a small getic acquisition of information. SRI, there was little research activ- US Government-funded program, • A potential central nervous sys- ity. Since the funding communities Star Gate captured the attention tem correlate to remote viewing were satisfied with the intelligence and direct involvement of very se- has recently been identified. product, they were mostly uninter- nior individuals across the govern- ested in how psi worked. ment. These included, US Presi- For all the Star Gate years, the Some application-oriented qual- dents and Vice Presidents, directors program was overseen by inde- itative research was conducted; of the CIA, Defense Intelligence pendent scientists, medical people that is, what are the parameters to Agency, many elements of the De- (IRB), and policy experts to assure find better remote viewers, what partment of Defense, and members the quality of the work. The de- are the best protocols for good of important committees in the Sen- tails of the program will be avail- production, etc. Also, when the ate and House of Representatives. able in four large volumes called intelligence communities learned In a government-requested me- the Star Gate Archives. Volumes of psi activity in the former Soviet ta-analysis, the results of the SRI 1 and 2 of this archive contain the Union, other East Bloc nations, and research from 1973-1988 were: entire research reports in remote the People’s Republic of China, the • Remote viewing (RV) can provide viewing from 1972–1995; the Star Gate researchers were asked useful intelligence information. psychokinesis research, present- to determine the degree to which • Laboratory and operational ed in Volume 3 of this archive, these claims were true. remote viewing show the greatest found insufficient evidence for the Over the years, SRI and SAIC potential for practical applications. support of the mind-over-matter had a total staff of 20 full time • Experienced viewers are signifi- hypothesis; Volume 4 contains people, nine consultants and cantly better than the general memorandums, letters, reports, two visiting scientists. Addition- population. and reviews originated by govern- ally, nearly $700,000 USD were • Approximately 1% of the gen- ment personnel.

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K. Ramakrishna Rao

Succinctly de- with parapsychology under the scribe your career tutelage of J.B. Rhine brought in psi research about a kind of metamorpho- and why did you sis, transformation of a tender get into it? minded philosopher into a tough empirical researcher. It took me A major part of my mature several decades to finally return professional career has been to my roots. devoted to parapsychological research. My entry into para- How do you see psychology was prompted by the field now as the manifest incompatibility compared to the between classical Indian psy- beginning of your chological thought and the then career? K. Ramakrishna Rao current psychological ethos dominated by the behaviorist When I entered the field, I had tradition, and my perception great hopes that parapsychology disillusionment. I have become that parapsychology could be would have reasonable answers increasingly conscious that we an appropriate bridge between to many of the riddles that are a on a dead-end road. This the two – a bridge to connect puzzled and brought me into the should not be construed, howev- the Brahman with behavior, field. After 50 years of close in- er, to mean that parapsychology as it were. However, my tryst volvement, there is some kind of has made no progress at all and

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If I were to start Any regrets or anything else you again, I would would like to add? first look into my I have no regrets for spending so own tradition. This much of my time pursuing para- psychological research. It helped would naturally me to grow in many ways, and lead me to Yoga to appreciate better the nuanc- es of science and especially the psychology, what nature of and problems involved it can tell us about in pursuing research in contro- versial areas. I wish to add a line resolving the above of advice to those thinking about that all its past was a wasted entering a field of study like effort. Rather, the massive data referred riddles parapsychology. Be fully pre- it has accumulated with much and puzzles. pared to face challenges, frus- rigor and great tenacity remain trations, and unanticipated haz- data that raise many questions above mentioned riddles and ards; and at the same time seek but provide few answers. What puzzles. The goal would not be satisfaction in the fact that there I am looking for are answers. to collect evidence for psi, but is a wholesome purpose behind They are simply not there. I need to explore ways of cultivating your difficult quest to explore the to turn elsewhere looking for psi so as to manifest it in our unknown and non-natural. That reasonable explanations. behavior more reliably. Applied should give you a peculiar joy psi would be my priority. We that has its own charm. Were you to start need to focus our research on again, what would you focus on? how psi manifests in and guides Where do you our real lives so as to gain think the field insights into ways of cultivating should focus? it. There is in my view little that connects the current research If I were to start again, I would results with psi in real life. This first look into my own tradition. needs to be bridged by more This would naturally lead me relevant and ingenious meth- to Yoga psychology, what it ods that judiciously bridge the can tell us about resolving the divide between life and the lab.

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| by ETZEL CARDEÑA, relationship of psi phenomena CERCAP to presently known physical laws; consciousness and free met Jean Burns in the 1980s will and their relationship in one of the wonderful to presently known physical conferences on shamanism laws; thermodynamics and in organized in California by the nature of entropy” (http:// I www.parapsych.org/users/ my vibrant friend Ruth-Inge Heinze. The two could not be jeanbur/profile.aspx), in which more different, Ruth-Inge an she listed dozens of her pub- anthropologist with a back- lications. She was the asso- ground in performance and a ciate editor of the Journal of “no holds barred” intellectual Consciousness and is probably attitude, Jean a shy and gen- best known in parapsychology tle soul with physics degrees for co-editing Psi Wars (Al- think has received the atten- from the University of Califor- cock, Burns, & Freeman, 2003) tion it deserves by the field, nia, Berkeley, and the Univer- and proposing physics models namely attempts to make psi sity of Hawaii. Jean listed her to explain psi phenomena (e.g., phenomena more controllable interests in the PA webpage Burns, 2011). She also wrote (Burns, 1972). as: “ parapsychology and the a book on a topic that I do not

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orn on April 4, 1932, in Dresden, Germany, Inge Strauch (IS) studied from B1952 to 1956 psychol- ogy at the University of Freiburg Inge im Breisgau. In the same year she became a research associate of Professor Hans Bender (1907- 1991), the pioneer of academic Strauch parapsychology after WWII, who had founded in 1950 his indepen- (1932-2017), a German Pioneer of dent “Institut für Grenzgebiete der Psychologie und Psychohygiene” Experimental Dream Research (IGPP) [Institute for Border Areas of Psychology and Mental Hygiene] at Freiburg. As part of the IGPP of psychic phenomena at the PF | by EBERHARD BAUER, research into “mental hygiene,” headquarters in collaboration IGPP, Freiburg IS started with an empirical with W. Grey Walter. In 1962, she investigation into the activities spent several months at Rhine’s a professor of psychology at the of a German “spiritual healer” by lab in Durham, NC, doing quanti- University Saarbrücken where she determining the sociological make- tative ESP research. IS has left an stayed until 1976 when the Uni- up, expectations, and attitudes of unpublished delightful diary of her versity of Zurich offered her a chair a group of 650 patients who came private experiences at Rhine’s lab in clinical psychology. She occu- voluntarily to see this healer at the and her encounters with the social pied this academic position until IGPP. For this pioneering work she and cultural life in Southern US in she retired in 1999. During these got her Ph. D. in 1958 (for an En- the early 60s. During these years, years IS published, together with glish overview see Strauch, 1963). she wrote for the German Journal her students, numerous empirical During this time, IS discovered the of Parapsychology several reports studies on the phenomenology of major scientific challenge of her on the early PA Conferences held dreams. In her book In Search of life, doing experimental work into in New York (Strauch 1960/61; Dreams, written with her collab- dreams and dreaming in connection 1962/63). Back in Germany, she orator Barbara Meier, IS analyzed with altered states of conscious- continued with a “normal” ac- 500 REM dreams, collected in her ness. In 1961 and 1962, support- ademic career in psychology at Zurich sleep laboratory, in refer- ed by a generous grant from the Freiburg University. In 1968 she did ence to sex differences, children’s Parapsychology Foundation (PF), her habilitation thesis on experi- dreams, and waking fantasies IS conducted EEG research on mental sleep and dream research (Strauch & Meier, 1992). Of special dreams at the Mount Sinai Hospi- (“Investigations on Experiences interest for her was the longitudi- tal and on the neurological basis during Sleep”) and became in 1970 nal development of quality, quanti-

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Inge Strauch in the role of the agent in a telepathic dream experiment (credit: Leif Geiges, c IGPP Freiburg). ty, and habits of sleep, the subject Selected the laboratory. In R. Cavanna (Ed.), of her last book (Strauch, 2010). On Bibliography Psi favorable states of consciousness (pp. 46-54). New York: Parapsychology August 24, IS died in Zurich at the Foundation. Strauch, I. (1961/62). Vierter jährlicher age of 85. She presented at two Kongress der Parapsychological As- Strauch, I. (1978). The case for telepa- PF Conferences on alterations of sociation [Fourth Annual Conference thy as revealed in sleep research find- ings. In B. Shapin & L. Coly (Eds.), Psi consciousness two methodological of the Parapsychological Association]. Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie und and states of awareness (pp. 221-37). papers on how to influence the Grenzgebiete der Psychologie, 5, 75-78. New York: Parapsychology Foundation. content of dreams telepathically Strauch, I. (1962/63). Bericht über den Strauch, I. & Meier, B. (1992). In search (Strauch 1970, 1978). For many fünften jährlichen Kongress der Para- of dreams. Results of experimental dream research. (Translated from Ger- years, she was also a member of psychological Association [Report on the Fifth Annual Conference of the Para- man by Martin Ebon.) Albany: State the IGPP council supervising and psychological Association]. Zeitschrift University of New York Press. stimulating experimental work into für Parapsychologie und Grenzgebiete Strauch, I. (2010). Schlafgewohnheiten der Psychologie, 6, 85-93. altered states of consciousness. und Schlafqualität. Von der späten Strauch, I. (1963). Medical aspects of Kindheit bis ins Erwachsenenalter “mental healing”. International Journal [Sleep habits and sleep quality. From of Parapsychology, 5, 135-165. late childhood through adult age]. Stuttgart, Germany: Schattauer. Strauch, I. (1970). Dreams and psi in

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hose of you familiar with with current plans to enlarge it the Psi Encyclopedia considerably. know that this is a free online reference work Overview of T Survival Evidence about parapsychology sponsored by the Society for Psychical A general introduction to the topic Research. The project, edited by appears in philosopher Stephen Robert McLuhan, began in 2014 Braude’s article Postmortem and it is work in progress. Due to Survival. As stated by Braude: the magnitude of information to “There is undoubtedly no shortage be covered it is estimated that of cases at least superficially sug- the main topics will be adequate- gesting postmortem survival. But | by CARLOS S. ALVARADO, Parapsychology Foundation ly covered by the year 2020 (for for all of these there are non-sur- information about the purpose and vivalist explanatory options which scope of the project see https:// any clear-headed appraisal of the between survivalists and non-sur- psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/about). evidence must consider seriously vivalists (see Braude’s The Super One of the main areas repre- and which those favoring surviv- Psi Hypothesis). One of the things sented to date, and the topic of alist explanations must strive to I like about Braude’s take is that my comments, includes some of rule out.” Explanations that need he mentions that many who reject the entries relevant to survival of to be considered include conven- the living psi hypothesis arguing death. This includes essays about tional ones such as inaccurate that it takes an unprecedented phenomena, cases, mediums, observation and psychological degree of high psi functioning fail and ideas. In addition to present- processes such as dissociation to consider that “survivalists are ing information about the topics and cryptomnesia. committed to positing compara- covered, I will suggest further In addition, Braude considers bly impressive psi on the part of additions with the understanding psi and acknowledges the con- the deceased or the living, simply that the encyclopedia is ongoing troversy that exists on this issue in order to explain how evidence

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suggesting survival was manifest- individual in whose life those of the regression cases more plau- ed in the first place.” Although I do events occurred. Taken at face sible.” not pretend to solve the debate value, these cases indicate that Other topics reviewed by jour- here (and I have much sympathy some children remember lives nalist Karen Wehrstein are Adult for the survival agency), I think they experienced in a previous Past Life Memories Research, points like this remind us of the incarnation. Fifty years of research People Who Knew Each Other in complexity of the subject, which has produced significant evidence Past Lives, and Twins Reincarna- Braude explores in the rest of his that supports this.” tion Research. Erlendur Haralds- essay. It is important to examine Other essays are about more son summarizes his research in the assumptions of both camps specific topics. Tucker has an Psychological Studies of Children and then focus on the best cases. article about Birthmarks. James Claiming Past-Life Memories. I Braude gives good summaries of G. Matlock has detailed entries believe this is one of the most investigations and cases, but I about Experimental Birthmarks interesting areas of reincarnation wish he had devoted more space and Birth Defects, Patterns in research. Different from most to more detailed descriptions Reincarnation Cases, Replacement other survival (and reincarnation) of this material. For example, a Reincarnation, and Xenoglossy in research that centers on veridical reader not familiar with the Piper Reincarnation Cases. Matlock’s phenomena to show that there or Leonard mediumship will have contributions are among the best may be a surviving self that can difficulties getting a flavor of the articles on the topic in the en- present evidence of identity, this actual material and why it im- cyclopedia, being both open to work, of which Haraldsson is prob- pressed researchers in the past. reincarnation and critical at the ably the leading researcher (e.g., Other entries in the work may help same time. The latter is shown Haraldsson, 1997), is an attempt with this, especially as the project in the following comments in the to connect cases to psychological develops further. xenoglossy article: “Usually it is only a few words that are spo- Reincarnation ken, and when responsiveness The most Cases in conversation is attested, the frequently level of proficiency is low. An The most frequently discussed important caution is due here, discussed survival survival topic in the encyclopedia though. Although the testimony to date (August 2017) is that of seems sound in these cases, in topic in the research with children who claim most of them investigators had to remember previous lives. A no opportunity to observe the encyclopedia to good place to start is psychiatrist subject speaking, and only rarely date (August 2017) Jim Tucker’s Past Life Memories have voice recordings been made Research (Overview). He writes: for evaluation later. Much more is that of research “The children say that they work must be done before we remember experiencing various can be confident that responsive with children who events from the past, and they xenoglossy is possible, but these claim to remember have associated emotions that spontaneous cases suggest that it are appropriate for the deceased is, and that makes the xenoglossy previous lives.

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There are several realistic presentation of charac- Nissanka is one of a few cases in ter and emotional identification which there was a written record entries about on the part of the subject have of the information the child gave reincarnation convinced many people of the re- before the case was formally ality of reincarnation. Alternative investigated. “Before she was two cases. A long, parapsychological explanations years old Dilukshi Nissanka began include ESP and exposure to the to speak about a previous life in and useful list of memories of deceased humans. Peravatte in Dambulla, some 80 Some narratives have been traced miles distant, which ended when cases taken from to printed sources, suggesting the she drowned in a stream. She Ian Stevenson’s presence of cryptomnesia... There refused to address her parents as remain serious reservations about mother and father, and requested writings [...] the authenticity of memories re- to be taken to her previous moth- covered under hypnosis, especially er.” Of at least 22 statements given the phenomenon of false made by her, most were verified.” aspects of the children, expanding memory syndrome.” Twelve of the statements were our understanding of the phenom- There are several entries about completely or partially correct, 4 ena in different directions. Har- reincarnation cases. A long, and were wrong, and the other 6 were aldsson writes that he found that useful list of cases taken from Ian ambiguous. some of the children who remem- Stevenson’s writings is presented bered other lives had more be- by Robert McLuhan in Children Mediumship havior problems (argumentative, Who Remember a Previous Life. quarrelsome) than a comparison Also interesting is Wehrstein’s To date there are only a few en- group. Also, in a study of children Famous Past Life Claims and tries about mental mediums. They from Sri Lanka he found that: “The Matlock’s Reincarnation Accounts include Guy Lyon Playfair’s Chico great majority expressed general Pre-1900. These articles give a Xavier, Michael Tymn’s Leono- happiness with how their lives good idea of the variety of individ- ra Piper, and Willin’s Rosemary had developed. Their educational uals that say that they remember Brown. There are two articles by level was higher than that of their previous lives. In addition, there Tymn and Braude about Pearl Cur- generation... They seemed to be are summaries of specific cases ran: Patience Worth (Pearl Curran) living normal productive lives... On authored by Haraldsson (Diluk- and Patience Worth (analysis). the whole the data showed that shi Nissanka; Nazih Al-Danaf; The article about Piper presents they had fared reasonably well in Pretiba Gunawardana; Purnima a good broad overview of this life, apparently somewhat above Ekanayake; Thusita Silva; and important case of mediumship. the average for their age group in Wael Kiwan), McLuhan (Kumkum Several classic investigations Sri Lanka.” Verma; Jagdish Chandra; Ratana are summarized, among them The topic of hypnotic regres- Wongsombat; and Sunil Dutt Sax- those of Richard Hodgson. Tymn sion is covered by Melvin Wil- ena), and Wehrstein (Imad Elawar; writes about the “George Pelham” lin in Past Life Regression. The James Leininger; and Titu [Toran (George Pellew) communicator: author states: “In combination, Singh]). “Hodgson noted that the commu- the obscurity of the information, Haraldsson’s case of Dilukshi nicator appeared to be lifelike. He

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also remarked that among a total is that Maraldi connects the work refers to communications purport- of a hundred and fifty individuals Flournoy conducted with this ed to come from Raymond Lodge, whom he arranged to sit with Pip- medium with what has been called the son of Oliver Lodge, who died er, from the time of Pelham’s first “the evolving field of subliminal in World War I in 1915. These appearance to the time of writing, psychology” (Miranda, 2016, p. mediumistic communications as many as thirty had been known 29), that is, the developments formed the basis for the famous to Pelham: in each case Pelham about the capabilities and func- book Raymond, or Life After Death recognized them and greeted tions of the unconscious mind (Lodge, 1916). them by name, with one single that were developing at the time, Raymond was a book that exception, a woman who had been and that greatly influenced both fulfilled various roles. Lodge’s a child when Pelham knew her. psychology and psychical re- book was an expression of the Pelham did not, however, rec- search. Furthermore, Maraldi has hardships of war time, and more ognize, or greet by name, any of rightly stated, in my opinion, that: particularly, of personal and those whom he had not known. “Hélène Smith illustrates the in- national bereavement in England Hodgson argued that this was fluence that exemplary cases may (Kollar, 2000). It was to some consistent with what would be have on the development of re- extent a response and a message expected if Pelham had survived search programs, especially for its of comfort for people to deal with death and found himself able to implications for the then-emerging the great amount of loss of life communicate.” fields of psychical research and due to the war. More relevant An interesting contribution, dynamic psychiatry...” to psychical research, Raymond and one not focusing on survival, On a different issue, it is import- presented evidence for veridical is Everton de Oliveira Maraldi’s ant that cases and arguments like mediumship, and included Lodge’s essay about Hélène Smith (whose Flournoy’s, which are not sup- discussion about various aspects real name was Catherine-Élise portive of survival, also appear in of the process of communication Muller). She was mainly inves- the encyclopedia. The importance that are not discussed in the entry tigated by Théodore Flournoy, of this for psychical research was probably, and understandably, to who documented and interpreted pointed out over a hundred years keep it short. In these comments in psychological terms her com- ago by James H. Hyslop (1906). Lodge was also critical of medi- munications about previous lives Fortunately discussion of conven- umistic descriptions of spirit life in India and France, as life on tional explanations has not been in the beyond. He wrote: “I should planet Mars. As Maraldi stated neglected in other articles, such think, myself, that they are of about Flournoy’s work: “For him, as those about Rosemary Brown very varying degrees of value, and Hélène’s romances were prod- and Leonora Piper. peculiarly liable to unintentional ucts of a subliminal imagination, Various other topics are also sophistication by the medium. their content based on her previ- discussed, as in the entries about They cannot be really satisfactory, ous memories and experiences, The Cross-Correspondences as we have no means of bringing incubated and creatively combined (Trevor Hamilton) and Book Tests them to book. The difficulty is in the subliminal regions of her (Tymn and McLuhan), and specific that Feda [the medium’s con- mind.” One thing I like about this cases and sittings (Tymn’s The trol] encounters many sitters, article, and which I would like to Junot Sittings (Leonora Piper); and though the majority are just see in other entries, if relevant, Tymn’s Raymond). The latter

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inquirers, taking what comes and reviewed by Beischel and Zin- (Overview), Braude’s Theories saying very little, one or two may grone (2015). Further topics that about Collective Apparitions, and be themselves full of theories, may be added are xenoglossy Haraldsson’s Deathbed Visions and may either intentionally or via mediums, mediums that play Research. There is also a sum- unconsciously convey them to musical instruments and that mary of the Cheltenham Ghost, the ‘control’; who may thereafter produce drawings and painting authored by the SPR, I assume retail them as actual informa- without training, and mediumistic McLuhan. tion, without perhaps being sure literature. whence they were derived. Some Other Topics books, moreover, have been pub- Apparitions lished of late, purporting to give Several other topics are includ- information about ill-understood The topic of apparitions only has a ed with information relevant to things in a positive and assured few entries, but the encyclopedia survival of death. This includes manner, and it is possible that has three good overview articles. near-death experiences (Nancy the medium has read these and These are Peter Hallson’s Ghosts Evans Bush’s, Distressing Near- may be influenced by them. It will and Apparitions in Psi Research Death Experience; Penny Sartori’s be regrettable if these books are Near-Death Experience), posses- taken as authoritative by people sion (Wehrstein’s Shiva-Sumitra; unable to judge of the scientific There is certainly Sharada), terminal lucidity (Mi- errors which are conspicuous in chael Nahm’s Terminal Lucidity), their more normal portions; and not a shortage and transplant cases (Braude’s the books themselves seem likely Transplant Cases Considered as to retard the development of the of relevant Evidence for Postmortem Sur- subject in the minds of critical mediums, among vival). Other relevant articles are persons” (Lodge, 1916, p. 192). Douglas Stokes’s Physicalism and I am sure that other articles them: Geraldine the Soul and Patricia Pearson’s about specific mental mediums Phenomena Relating to Danger, will appear in the near future. Cummins, Ermance Death, Bereavement. There is certainly not a shortage Much about survival is found in of relevant mediums, among Dufaux, Eileen J. entries about various individuals. them: Geraldine Cummins, Er- Some of them are Alvarado’s Er- mance Dufaux, Eileen J. Garrett, Garrett, Gladys nesto Bozzano, and Charles Richet, Gladys Osborne Leonard, Hester Osborne Leonard, Braude’s C.J. Ducasse, and Tymn’s Travers Smith, Minnie Soule, and Richard Hodgson. With one excep- Rosina Thompson. There is also a Hester Travers tion (SPR’s Erlendur Haraldsson) need for more discussion of spe- there are no entries about modern cific topics. Because the entries Smith, Minnie researchers. There is also material for the encyclopedia focus on the relevant about survival in my com- old literatures, there is a need for Soule, and Rosina ments about a book by Bozzano: comments about modern medi- Ernesto Bozzano’s Phénomènes umship research, which has been Thompson. Psychiques au Moment de la Mort

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(Psychic Phenomena At the Mo- effective as a reference source in very time consuming task and one, ment of Death). I hope that future presenting information about the I believe, that is going well. articles will focus on many other variety of existing theoretical is- important works. sues about survival. Because this Acknowledgement is a work in progress it is not hard Other Additions to find topics that need to be in- I wish to thank Nancy L. Zingrone cluded. They include articles about for editorial suggestions. In addition to more discussions specific phenomena in particular of phenomena favorable to the time periods, countries or cul- survival interpretation, more tures, an example being Matlock’s References articles about specific alternative Reincarnation Accounts Pre-1900. explanations of the phenomena Similar entries should be written are needed. Although the topic is for topics such as apparitions, Beischel, J., & Zingrone, N.L. (2015). Mental mediumship. In E. Cardeña, J. not ignored, it would be useful to mediumship, and NDEs. Similarly, Palmer, & D. Marcusson-Claverts (Eds.), have long entries about these ex- overviews of the writings of influ- Parapsychology: A handbook for the 21st planations An example would be ential individuals about survival, century (pp. 301-313). Jefferson, NC: McFarland an essay about cryptomnesia such such as those of J.B. Rhine and as Stevenson’s (1983) systematic Ian Stevenson, would be wel- Haraldsson, E. (1997). Psychological comparison between ordinary children overview, which perhaps could be come. Furthermore, it could be and those who claim previous-life mem- reprinted in the encyclopedia. The very informative to have entries ories. Journal of Scientific Exploration, same may be said about person- comparing different approaches to 11, 323-335. ation dissociative phenomena. An the study of survival. Hyslop, J. H. (1906). Borderland of psy- entry presenting a good overview chical research. Boston, MA: Herbert B. Turner. of the topic of personation in Concluding hypnosis and various cases of sec- Remarks Kollar, R. (2000). Searching for Ray- mond: Anglicanism, Spiritualism and ondary personalities would inform bereavement between the two World readers that such personalities I have offered various suggestions Wars. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. can be very realistic, even when for new entries in the spirit of Lodge, O. J. (1916). Raymond, or life there is no reason to consider offering constructive suggestions after death. New York: George H. Doran. them to be spirits of the deceased for future developments, but I Miranda, P. (2016). Taking possession (see Braude’s entry Mediumship recognize that it is all too easy to of a heritage: Psychologies of the sub- liminal and their pioneers. International and Multiple Personality). point at omissions in a publication Journal of Jungian Studies, 8, 28-45. Although survival can be a po- like the Psi Encyclopedia when the Stevenson, I. (1983). Cryptomnesia and larized issue, with some positions overall area is so multifaceted and parapsychology. Journal of the Society bordering on fundamentalism, I the project is, of course, ongoing. for Psychical Research, 52, 1–30. find that the articles in the en- Its editor, Robert McLuhan, is cyclopedia tend to be balanced. actively working to increase the Even when their authors favor a number of entries by qualified particular view, they do not fail to individuals not only in the area of mention the opposite argument. survival of death but also in the In this way the encyclopedia is rest of parapsychology. This is a

112 Mindfield Volume 9 Issue 3 2017 WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Eminent authors from others areas who researched and/or were supportive of the validity of psi phenomena during the last 150 years

Ostensible Clairvoyant and Precognitive Experiences Related to Air Crashes

ylvain Ephimenco, a morning, the day before yesterday, French writer and jour- when I feel a hand on my forehead nalist who lives in the and hear a voice saying to keep SNetherlands, reported in calm. Calm? I just escaped dead, the newspaper Trouw his noc- surrounded by an inferno and turnal impressions related to bombarded by pieces of wreckage. Germanwings Flight 4U 9525, I am going to sit at the rim of the that crashed March 24, 2015, in bed and try to clear my thoughts. the French Alps, 100 kilometers ‘Suddenly you became very rest- less and loudly screamed ‘oh no’ north-west of Nice. This disaster | by MAURICE VAN says the voice next to me. with an Airbus A320-211, which LUIJTELAAR I can tell her precisely why resulted in the death of all 144 I shouted this. I am regularly brother. The white room in which passengers and six crewmem- plagued by nightmares, but this we stay has huge windows and a bers, was deliberately caused by one was very realistic. Further- glass ceiling. This room with ideal co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who had more this anxiety dream had two view looks mostly like an aquari- been under psychiatric treatment. special characteristics: it con- um or a control tower. Suddenly I Ephimeco’s newspaper article tained both colors and sounds, hear from afar a humming sound. appeared on March 26, two days whereas I always dream in shades The ominous humming that ap- after the crash (Ephimenco, 2015). of grey without hearing anything. proaches turns into the sound that Ephimenco described his noctur- I was just now in Aix-en- can be produced by a defective nal impressions of the crash thus: Provence, where I have lived for clothes dryer. It comes closer and “It is roughly four o’clock in the years, in the company of my elder closer and the noise transforms in

WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 9 Issue1 3 2017 Mindfield 113 Ostensible Clairvoyant and Precognitive The Bulletin of the Parapsychological Experiences Related to Air Crashes Association an unbearable uproar: humming, crash and later that day an El Al Near the end of his story, hissing and the squealing noise freight airplane fell on the Bijlmer. Ephimenco mentions that ten braking lorries at high I just had a bad dream and speed would make together. A wanted to get rid of a deep-root- Dutch homemaker shadow darkens the glass ceiling ed feeling of displeasure that Lieneke van den Hoek, totally. I look upstairs and shout haunted me since the day before who predicted the to my brother ‘it is an airplane!’ I yesterday, by writing.” see the shape that buzzes slowly Near the end of his story, Ephi- crash of a Boeing 747 over the glass ceiling. A hulking menco mentions Dutch home- cargo aircraft (El Al and raving colossus with under- maker Lieneke van den Hoek, who Flight 1862), into two neath the hull and at the ends of predicted the crash of a Boeing the wings flashing blue and red 747 cargo aircraft (El Al Flight apartment buildings lights. In that moment I think very 1862), into two apartment build- in the Bijlmermeer clearly: the airplane is in nosedive ings in the Bijlmermeer neighbor- neighborhood of and is almost crashing on us. At hood of Amsterdam on October less than hundred meters from the 4, 1992. This accident resulted in Amsterdam on ‘aquarium’ the machine disap- a total of 43 deaths according to October 4, 1992. pears with a thunderous explosion officials: the crew of three persons in a blaze. I shout ‘oh no!’ and try including captain Itzhak Fuks, bricks and metal flying all over. to find shelter behind a pillar. Time one passenger, and 39 people on After her vision ended she knew to feel a soothing hand on my the ground. The actual number of that, as before, friends of “the forehead. victims might have been higher other world” wanted to show her Approximately eight hours later because many residents lived il- things that were going to happen. the first messages seep in about legally in this neighborhood. After When she was quiet again she the crashed Airbus A320 that ten years of investigating differ- saw an apparition of a man who was on its way from Barcelona ent aspects of this crash, Pierre told her: “You have to warn them to Düsseldorf. Flight 4U 9525 Heijboer (1937-2014), who lived in Lieneke, what you just saw will from Germanwings flew against Bijlmer and was a journalist of the happen soon, tomorrow”. Getting a mountain. 10 minutes earlier newspaper De Volkskrant, wrote a out of bed, Lieneke went down- it passed by Aix-en-Province at voluminous book in which, among stairs, to write down: “Schiphol” an altitude of 11,500 meters. At other things, he discussed Van (the Amsterdam airport, 30 kilo- that moment it started its fatal den Hoek’s predictions and their meters from Hilversum), “airplane descent. The machine had its last reception (Heijboer, 2002). In his crashes,” “problem hydraulic radio contact with the air traffic book, Heijboer described how Van system,” “blue and white colors,” centre of Aix at 10.30. den Hoek was lying alone, reading “17.30,” “pilot Fuck.” What do I want to say or prove in her bed in her Hilversum home, The next day Lieneke tele- with this? Nothing at all. I am not between 22 and 23 pm of Satur- phoned Schiphol airport, where able to predict the future and I am day, October 3, 1992. After about Ine van Veen from the information not a paragnost, and totally not 10 minutes of reading she experi- desk took the call and received Lieneke van den Hoek who on 4 enced a terrifying vision, seeing a her warning with all the afore- October 1992 called Schiphol to blue and white Boeing 747 drill- mentioned details. Van den Hoek report her vision. She warned of a ing through the wall, with glass, emphasized her seriousness,

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requested to pass on the informa- pm, but its departure was delayed Alek de Jong paid her a visit tion to somebody in command, left until 6.20 pm). In his book, Heijbo- and he thought it wise to send her telephone number, and asked er describes how Van den Hoek’s a professional to find out if she to be called back. She did not dare warning had reached the airport could contribute to the investiga- to mention the name of the cap- police (Rijkspolitie Dienst Lucht- tion of the air crash (Elias, 1993, tain, “Fuck,” that she had heard vaart at Schiphol) but they could who mentioned the “male psychic in her vision (his name turned out not prevent airplanes from taking H. W.” to maintain Van der Hoek’s to be Itzhak Fuks). Ine van Veen off, because more than half of all anonymity). It was decided that passed the information on to the airplanes in the airport including she would be visited by psychol- airport police. But Lieneke re- those of KLM, El Al, and other air- ogist Jan Smit, manager of the ceived no return call from Schiphol liners, were blue and white. Press Nationaal Lucht- en Ruimtevaart airport. So a few hours later she officer A. van der Bent from airport Geneeskundig Centrum at Soes- called again, and telephone opera- police (Rijkspolitie Schiphol) terberg (National Medical Center tor Karin de Jong took her call. De stated: “Afterwards we profoundly for Aviation and Space Travel). On Jong: “In the afternoon that lady discussed if we should have acted November 12, 1992, Smit visited called again, apparently because on the information which that Lieneke at her home and recorded she had not been called back. lady gave to us on October 4. The the conversation. He was im- She told the same story she had result was that we justly had not pressed by credible details of the given to Van Veen who had spread taken action” (Bent, in Klinken, flight given by Lieneke that were the word … That lady predicted 1993). But later, officials who were only known to investigators who a calamity with a blue and white intrigued by Van den Hoek’s warn- had seen data from the digital plane, caused by a fault in the ing contacted her, among them the flight data recorder. He did not hydraulic system… My colleague press officer of the state aviation believe his ears and asked her if passed this information on to the police Alek de Jong. (Heijboer military police and it would hap- calls the press officer Alek de He was impressed by pen at 18.35”. De Jong answered Jong, and he is called by journal- that the information had already ist Leo de Ruiter “H. de Jong.” De credible details of the been passed on: “Your information Ruiter was the first to write about flight given by Lieneke is known to the persons who need the air crash predictions that that were only known to know it ” (Heijboer, 2002, p. 39). Lieneke made from her Hilversum That Sunday evening a bewil- home, under the pseudonym of to investigators who dered Lieneke saw on her TV Carel Elias. Lieneke van den Hoek had seen data from images of the terrible Amsterdam had cooperated with De Ruiter crash site and was angry that under condition of anonymity, so the digital flight data she had been unable to prevent a instead of using her name, De recorder. He did not disaster. The plane from El Al had Ruiter wrote “male psychic H. W. believe his ears and made a stopover at Schiphol on its from Amsterdam”). After his visit way from JFK airport New York to to Lieneke, Alek de Jong thought asked her if she would Ben Gurion International Airport in it wise to send a professional to agree to participate in Israel, and crashed fifteen minutes find out if she could contribute to after it departed from Schiphol (it the investigation of the air crash. a meeting in a flight was scheduled to depart at 5.30 (Heyboer, 2002). simulator at Schiphol.

WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 9 Issue1 3 2017 Mindfield 115 Ostensible Clairvoyant and Precognitive The Bulletin of the Parapsychological Experiences Related to Air Crashes Association she would agree to participate in lot that was utilized for bringing The story of the a meeting in a flight simulator at pedals closer so that the co-pilot Schiphol. Van den Hoek agreed could exert more force. Van den prediction of the Bijlmer and then “went into trance.” She Hoek provided the correct wind crash by Lieneke van told the astonished psychologist direction and wind velocity for den Hoek almost looks that on December 21, another the phase of the flight that was Dutch airplane would crash in reenacted, and illustrated actions too good to be true. Gent, Belgium (Van Klinken, 1993). of the crew members in their One should consider the The location Lieneke predicted last minutes. After the session was wrong, but in the morning of Lieneke asked the psychologist if possibility that Heijboer 21 December 21, 1992, Martinair her contribution would be of any might have made up flight 495, a DC-10 that came from use. He answered: “I do not know essential parts of it or Schiphol, crash-landed in severe yet. We will have to see.” Smit, a weather conditions on Faro Air- member of the Christian Reformed exaggerated them. port, Portugal, leaving 54 passen- Church told a journalist: “I came gers and two crew members dead. in contact with things that I want in which Van den Hoek is not Martinair is a Dutch airliner. to keep at a distance henceforth” mentioned at all. Rob van Gijzel, At first, leading investigator H. (Smit, in Klinken, 2002). He talked former member of parliament, who N. Wolleswinkel would not give on TV in 2002 about the data on investigated the Bijlmer crash for permission for the use of a flight wind direction and wind veloci- years, called Heijboer’s book thor- simulator, which would cost 6000 ty that Lieneke provided: “That ough and substantiated. Although guilders per hour, to reconstruct made an enormous impression not all assertions in the book can the flight that ended in the Bijlmer on me, because nobody can know be proved, Heijboer provided some crash. Finally he agreed because this” (https://www.youtube.com/ new evidence or earlier assump- his boss, Minister of Transporta- watch?v=8RQah3ttndc). But the tions (Van Gijzel, in Van Engelen, tion Hanja Maij-Weggen, was very reconstruction of the flight in the 2002). interested because she had had simulator was not successful Heijboer took Lieneke van den psi experiences during childhood. according to press officer Henk Hoek very seriously. Once, he In the evening of March 18, Houtman from the Ministry of asked her to tell him something 1993, in the hall for flight simu- Traffic and Water Management about himself. She said: I see a lators at Schiphol, Lieneke met (Houtman, in Klinten, 1993). grandmother with a small boy Huub Corsmit, captain of a Boeing Several questions and uncer- and a sheep in his hands. Heijboer 747, a flight engineer, aviation tainties with regard to the circum- recalled he had a photo of him- psychologist Jan Smit, and Leo stances of the Bijlmer air crash self with a lamb in his hands and de Ruiter, reporter of the mag- remain unsolved. Many persons looked for it in his home. He found azine Paravisie whom she had living near the crash site reported a photo of himself as a boy with a requested to come along. Van physical problems and there were sheep in his hands (Klinken, 2002). den Hoek went “into a trance” rumors that chemical substanc- Of course a lot of persons from and subsequently mentioned a es were part of the cargo of the rural areas could have been pho- keyboard that the flight engineer crashed El Al airplane. On April 22, tographed during their youth with used. She furthermore described a 1999 the final report of a parlia- a sheep. Pierre Heijboer, a son of handle near the feet of the co-pi- mentary inquiry was presented, a miner, was born and spent his

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youth in Hoensbroek, in the Dutch struction of the flight under the of the El Al plane, one could have province of Limburg, where sheep guidance of Smit. agreed with Van Klinken’s conclu- herding was not uncommon. So How reasonable is the hypoth- sion that: “The first prediction, of this vision could have been a cal- esis that psychologist Jan Smit October, 4 could still be explained culated guess. lied or had been wrong about by considering it a lucky guess The story of the prediction of his memories? He was a highly .. (but) the second prediction, of the Bijlmer crash by Lieneke van competent witness who, because the Faro disaster makes the affair den Hoek almost looks too good of his affiliation to the Christian quaint. Although the prognosis to be true. One should consid- reformed church, was general- was unsound, the date was right” er the possibility that Heijboer ly averse towards paranormal (Van Klinken, p. 16). might have made up essential phenomena. Smit gave consistent parts of it or exaggerated them. testimony in December 1993 when But there is independent corrob- he was interviewed by journalist References oration of some key facts. Jour- Jan Klinken for the newspaper nalist Gijs Zandbergen received Reformatorisch Dagblad, and in confirmation from Schiphol October 2002, on television in Elias, C. (1993). Had de Bijlmerramp voorkomen kunnen worden?” (Could the telephonist Karin de Jong that Netwerk. In the months after the Bijlmer disaster have been prevented?), she and her co-worker had re- two crashes Lieneke made several Paravisie, 8(10), 22-27. ceived the warning calls the day other predictions to the inves- Engelen, M. van (2002, September 25), before the air crash. Zandbergen tigators. Smit was critical and Hilversumse voorspelde Bijlmerramp was employed as a journalist by remarked that she made so many en belde op (Woman from Hilversum predicted Bijlmer disaster and called). the newspaper De Volkskrant, predictions that half of all planes Het Parool. as was Pierre Heijboer. Could from Schiphol would have crashed Ephimenco, S. (2015, March 26). Crash. they have fabricated or antedat- if these later predictions had come Trouw, 20. https://www.trouw.nl/home/ ed Lieneke’s phone calls? This true. The psychologist proved to crash~a5a32298/ seems unlikely, because they be a person of high ethical stan- Heijboer, P. (2002). Doemvlucht. De would have had to collaborate dards, trustworthy and critical. His verzwegen geheimen van de Bijlmer- with the two telephonists and the confirmation of Lieneke’s predic- ramp (Damned flight. The suppressed secrets of the Bijlmer disaster). Utrecht, airport policemen who received tions and clairvoyant perception Nehterlands: Het Spectrum. Documents their messages on the same day. of the correct wind direction and and other resources and witness infor- High ranking officials of Schiphol the wind velocity during the short mation of Heijboer’s book are at http:// www.mstsnl.net/doemvlucht/index.html and official investigator H. flight of the crashed plane was not Klinken, J. Van (1993). Blauw en wit. De Wolleswinkel had been informed given lightly. voorspelling van de Bijlmerramp (Blue of the calls by airport police, We come to a final evaluation and white. The prediction of the Bijlmer and decided it could be useful to of the strength of Van den Hoek’s disaster), Skepter, 6(4), 15. engage the help of Lieneke for two air crash predictions. Not- Klinken, J. van (2002, September 30). further investigations into the withstanding the parapsycholog- Onderste boven (Upside down), Reform- atorisch Dagblad, 3. causes of the crash. They con- ical relevance of the predictions, sidered their sources of informa- their practical usefulness was Zandbergen, G. (1999, February 5). Bijlmerramp? (Bijlmer disaster?). De tion credible enough to spend a limited. If Lieneke had not predict- Volkskrant. https://www.volkskrant.nl/ considerable amount of money to ed correctly the time of the crash, archief/bijlmerramp~a536330/ hire a flight simulator for recon- the colors, and technical defects

WWW.PARAPSYCH.ORG Volume 9 Issue1 3 2017 Mindfield 117 Abstracts in English from the Zeitschrift für Anomalistik (slightly edited) ZfA 2017/1+2

Anomalistik. Geschichte und the role of a neutral party in the by GERD H. HÖVELMANN (†) wissenschaftstheoretische process of assessment by the Grundfragen scientific community. The last decades of the 20th century in (Anomalistics: History and Scien- paragraphs are dedicated to the Germany, mainly with horses and tific Basic Questions), pp. 11-30. discussion of the legitimacy of dogs. No substantial differenc- Gerd H. Hövelmann (†) anomalistics as well as its bene- es can be identified with regard fits for science. to the methodological quality In this article, an overview of the as well as the dubiousness of history and theoretical scientific Forschung zum Problem the interpretation of the data. fundamental questions of the der “denkenden” Tiere. Die Instead of an expectable ad- research field of anomalistics is Fortschreibung einiger alter vancement or improvement, the given. After discussing the use Fehler flaws, fallacies, and other short- and demarcation of the term (Animal “language” research. The comings are perpetuated, and anomalistics, the importance of perpetuation of some old mis- the then mentioned reasonable the sociologists Roger W. West- takes), pp. 31-51. criticism largely ignored. Effects cott and Marcello Truzzi for the Gerd H. Hövelmann (†) of experimenter expectations on newly developing research field the animals’ productions as well is pointed out. According to Tru- In this article, different approach- as various immunizing strategies zzi, anomalistics basically fulfills es to the investigation of the with regard to the achievements four functions: (1) supporting capacity of animals to achieve of the animal subjects are only the scientific assessment in the higher cognitive abilities, and some of the problems that still context of diverse alleged anom- particularly linguistic capacities, characterize this kind of re- alies; (2) contributing to a better are presented and critically dis- search. Accordingly, the present- understanding of the process of cussed. Thereby, contemporary, ed findings have little meaning scientific assessment; (3) devel- almost exclusively US ape lan- with regard to the assessment oping a conceptual framework guage research is compared with of higher cognitive capabilities of for categorizing and assessing animal language experiments animals. alleged anomalies; 4) assuming conducted during the first three

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Remote Viewing: Eine deviation from the expected val- beings themselves stabilize. In Proof-of-Principle-Studie ue, therefore, we discuss wheth- highly developed brains mind can (Remote viewing: A er an anomalous information arise with consciousness. With proof-of-principle study), pp. transfer occurred. the help of non-locality in quan- 83-104. tum systems, the tunnel effect Maximilian Müller and Marc Wit- Wie aus Protyposis Energie, and the quantum-physical phe- tmann Materie und Bewusstsein nomenon of an “extended pres- entsteht. Eine Theorie zur ent” the phenomena of telepathy, This is a proof-of-principle study Erklärung des Aufbaus der Welt precognition and teleportation of the remote viewing method, sowie parapsychologischer can be explained. which is based on the original Phänomene protocol of the Star Gate pro- (How energy, matter, and con- Das Phänomen der “Kröte im gram financed by the American sciousness develops from proty- Stein.” Eine kommentierte military and conducted between posis. A theory of explanation of Übersicht über den Diskurs 1978 and 1995. In our study 36 the structure of the world and of zu einer Anomalie in Deutsch- randomly selected participants parapsychological phenomena), land were first stimulated with a pp. 105-123. (The phenomenon of the “toad- ganzfeld device and then par- Stephan Krall in-the-hole.” A commented over- ticipated in a remote viewing view of a discourse of an anoma- session. Solely by relying upon A physical explanation of the ly in Germany) pp. 124-146. their spontaneous perceptions, connection between mind and Ulrich Magin they were asked to describe and consciousness with matter draw sketches of one of six pho- has not yet been conclusively The phenomenon of the “toad- tos (the targets) enclosed in an achieved. The article describes a in-the-hole” was scientifically envelope. Following this session new monistic view of the world discussed in Germany. Generally, the six photographs were openly based on the research of Thomas a block of stone is broken in a presented and participants were Görnitz following Carl Friedrich quarry and a living toad jumps asked to form a correspondence/ von Weizsäcker’s Ur-theory. out of a hole in it, seemingly confidence rating related to their The substance on which be- alive after hundreds of years in own records. Overall, 14 of 36 ing is based is the protyposis, its natural prison cell. The topic participants judged the photo, which represents the totality of appears far off today, but was which was actually in the enve- abstract and primarily mean- of relevance well into the 19th lope, with the highest confidence ingless quanta bits (AQIs). The century. These cases enabled and correctly identified it. Re- quanta of energy and matter are informed speculation of the age garding a binominal distribution formed from the protyposis that of the earth, the occurrence of and an expected value of 6, the has arisen since the Big Bang. the Deluge, etc. This paper gives probability for such an event Through the interaction of pho- an overview of the material pub- happening by chance lies at tons with matter in living struc- lished in the 18th and 19th centu- p<0.0009 and is therefore highly tures, abstract quantum infor- ries in Germany on this topic. significant. Distribution of indi- mation can become meaningful, vidual rank orders of the target because life is based on informa- also showed a highly significant tion processing, with which living

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