I'm opening this topic for anyone wishing to explore the science behind psychic phenomena. This science, as do all fields of science, has a long and storied history. It is fraught with fundamentalist taboos that keep it from being studied. Don't ever let someone convince you that psychic phenomena has not been studied or that there is no way to provide evidence. It has been studied and there is a robust body of science.
@michellepazicni tagging you here
@deetoo. There is research on the issue of premonitions and what ends out happening. The research is anecdotes they collected at IONS, the center for psychic research in Petaluma California.
My favorite, told by IONS senior scientist Dean Radin, is a woman who dreamed that a light fixture over her baby's crib would break off and crash onto her baby, killing him. In the dream, she saw a clock on the wall and noted the time. She woke up and told her husband the dream and he replied it's just a dream, go back to sleep. But she got up and brought the baby into bed with them. At the time in the dream, the fixture broke off and crashed into the crib. The baby was saved and the tragic outcome of the dream was avoided.
BTW, Harvard University has the largest collection of anecdotes about psychic phenomena gathered by William James near the turn of the 20th century. This work was done before the field of Psychology shut down psychic research due to religious and fundamentalist taboos against doing research on psychic phenomena.
@jeanne-mayell, I love what you shared about the IONS research. Whenever I haven't followed a strong gut feeling about something, I regret it.
When I was in counseling I was reluctant to share any of my psychic or paranormal experiences, until I worked with a Jungian therapist. (I believe my therapist would have loved the Thoth tarot with its rich symbolism.) I didn't know this at the time, but Jung believed in the reality of spirits and psychic phenomena. He strongly believed dreams contain nonphysical and spiritual meanings. After Jung began having visions and a near-death experience, his research and interest in the psychic realm grew stronger. His mother even became a medium and spoke in tongues. I read that Freud wrote a letter cautioning Jung that his interest in such phenomena could ruin his reputation as a serious scientist. Jung basically told Freud, don't worry about it -- this is something I need to do.
@deetoo I'm a Jungian therapist (and art therapist) and work mainly with spiritual people (and trauma). I hear that alot from people, that they have been nervous to share that with their therapist, I totally get it! That's why i'm glad I can offer my open services like I do to others! I love Jung so much.
@jeanne-mayell do you have more info I can look at regarding how/when/why the field of psychology shut down psychic research? I've always been fasinated with psychic research, I'm a licensed therapist, Jungian-based, an art therapist as well, and work with spiritual clients.
@michellepazicni. Nice to hear you are interested! I love this subject.
I put it together at one point and will have to get back to you about it. We could open a thread about the history of psychic research. It goes back 600 years, the investigations, starting with a famous English scientist -- the man who invented Boyle's Law.
He was a skeptic about psychic healing, but there was a celebrated psychic healer during the time. He decided he would investigate and ended up proclaiming that the healings were real.
Fast forward to the turn of the 20th century when what they called psychical research was a big thing. William James, brother of writer Henry James, was a physician scientist who launched a massive investigation of anecdotal experiences people reported. They filled some 80,000 pages of investigations. It was done out of Harvard University. James believed that psychic phenomena held the key to understanding the unconscious. Freud also believed it, but didn't want to go public with his thoughts because he was afraid it would jeopardize his ability to advance his Theory of the Unconscious. But there are letters from Freud telling James to push on.
There were big societies of psychic research during that day. One in the U.S. and one in England.
Nothing came of their investigations except that they were able to document thousands of personal psychic experiences that were validated. They had to validate every report with third parties agreeing that the experiences actually happened.
Once a year I teach a class on the science behind E.S.P. I will probably teach it over the next five weeks as part of my course Become Deeply Intuitive which is listed in the side bar.
I will continue this issue in a separate new thread. Do weigh in in the new thread, and I will write more after you respond.
More coming soon, but it helps if someone replies so I get tagged to add more. The. 20th century is loaded with research, not so much the 21st century since many brave researchers have aged out as far as I know. But I will fill in the blanks and take it up to about 2010. Don't know what people have been doing since then.
Copying this here from another thread @deetoo. There is research on the issue of premonitions and what ends out happening. The research is anecdotes they collected at IONS, the center for psychic research in Petaluma California.
My favorite, told by IONS senior scientist Dean Radin, is a woman who dreamed that a light fixture over her baby's crib would break off and crash onto her baby, killing him. In the dream, she saw a clock on the wall and noted the time. She woke up and told her husband the dream and he replied it's just a dream, go back to sleep. But she got up and brought the baby into bed with them. At the time in the dream, the fixture broke off and crashed into the crib. The baby was saved and the tragic outcome of the dream was avoided.
BTW, Harvard University has the largest collection of anecdotes about psychic phenomena gathered by William James near the turn of the 20th century. This work was done before the field of Psychology shut down psychic research due to religious and fundamentalist taboos against doing research on psychic phenomena.
@jeanne-mayell, great idea to start this new thread. Thanks!
@michellepazicni, too bad you weren't around 35+ years ago! Your methodology would have resonated with me. Back then, the manner in which most of my therapists dealt with trauma primarily involved talk and cognitive therapy. It was helpful to a point. Fortunately the field has changed a lot since then, especially as it relates to trauma.