Two Rhine Researchers Receive Bial Grants

By John G. Kruth

Dr. John Palmer and Dr. Christine Simmonds-Moore have received prestigious Bial grants for research projects in 2011. The Bial Foundation is an organization committed to discovering, developing, and providing therapeutic solutions within the area of health and is the world’s largest provider of grants for scientific research in Parapsychology.

Dr. Palmer is Director of Research at the RRC, Editor of the Journal of Parapsychology, has twice been the President of the Parapsychological Association, and has published over 100 research reports, literature reviews, and theoretical papers. He will be performing an experiment to evaluate the connection between the dissociative state and PSI. Psychological dissociation is a disruption of normal conscious awareness in an individual. Many people experience a mild form of dissociation while driving a car and listening to music, and musicians and artists have been known to purposely create a dissociative state in order to improve their creativity. Dr. Palmer presents a hypothesis that dissociative states can be exploited to enable better performance on PSI tasks. Through a motor automatism PSI task, exemplified by the automatic writing of the trance medium Leonore Piper as well as the modern Ouija board, Dr. Palmer will evoke a dissociative state and distract participants’ primary consciousness with a reading exercise while the dissociated consciousness performs the PSI task. The overall hypothesis to be tested in this study is that psychological dissociation improves PSI performance.

Dr. Simmonds-Moore is the Senior Research Fellow at the RRC and has been involved in research on paranormal experiences for over 10 years. She has taught courses in Parapsychology at Liverpool-Hope University and the RRC. She has numerous studies and research collaborations to her credit and has been performing research at the RRC since 2009. Her research project will examine the association between synesthesia and anomalous experiences that may include PSI. Synesthesia occurs when one sense involuntarily activates a different sensory experience. A person who experiences synesthesia may be able to see sounds, taste shapes, or hear colors. Dr. Simmonds-Moore’s study will attempt to identify individuals who experience synesthesia and explore how this relates to PSI and other experiences. Her research also examines the relationship between synesthesia, personality (a measure of positive schizotypy), and a range of anomalous and paranormal experiences. Her work will also develop a new scale to explore the incidence of synesthetic experiences in the general population.

Everyone at the RRC would like to congratulate Dr. Palmer and Dr. Simmonds-Moore on their grants and the opportunity to perform such important research under the Rhine umbrella.

Remote Viewing Group Update

The monthly meeting of the Remote Viewing group occurred on Wednesday the 17th, and we covered a lot of fascinating ground.

We have started setting aside some time in every meeting to share information that others in the group might benefit from. This includes discussing books, websites, movies, online education and videos, tweets, journal articles, experiments and even personal experiences related to PSI. Frankly, this sort of sharing was happening anyway and everyone got a lot out of it, so making it a planned part of the meetings made good sense, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

After that, I talked a little about getting PSI info related to other senses beyond the viual stuff we usually focus on, and I brought along a page of the CRV manual showing an example of CRV Stage 2 paperwork where multi-sensory data is gathered, such as smells, sounds and tactile info in addition to visual data. You can read and/or download the CRV manual.


Then we did a remote viewing session with an odor as the target. This was an unusual challenge that proved to be quite an eye opener, if you'll excuse the play on words. It forced the viewers to approach data differently, and pointed out the limitations of one's olfactory vocabulary. Amidst a bit of head scratching, we got into a discussion of how we normally put into words sensory and/or intuitive information, and what this tells us about how we use the data we get, whether it is visual or from our other senses.

We did not leave the Rhine Center with all the answers, but we did leave there with some new and important questions. No doubt, by next meeting on December 15th we WILL have all the answers, so you will want to make sure to be there. If you have any questions or comments, or want to be on the group's mailing list, drop me a line at Benton@Rhine.org. I look forward to hearing from you.
 
--Benton Bogle

The Psychic View

Show Date: Thursday November 4th, 2010
Psychic Access Talk Radio

Don't miss this week's show, anchored by Maureen, themed "Mind Over Matter" with special guest Dr. Sally Rhine Feather, founder of the Psychic Experience Group (PEG) at the Rhine Research Center and has over 30+ years experience as a clinical psychologist in mental health and psychiatric clinics as well as private practice in North Carolina and New Jersey.

As the eldest daughter of Dr. J.B Rhine, the "father of ESP research," Dr. Feather practically grew up at the Parapsychology Lab at Duke University, where her father's famous Zener ESP cards tests with selected Duke students led to “Extrasensory Perception” becoming a popular household word in America. She and her siblings served as test subjects in the earliest child ESP experiments conducted at the Lab. As a teenager, Dr. Feather's first job was serving as her father's assistant, rechecking experimental test data. She served as a research assistant both before and after college, meeting most of the well-known parapsychologists and various visiting dignitaries who came through the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory.
J B Rhine (Joseph Banks Rhine) is widely considered to be the "Father of Modern Parapsychology." Along with his wife Dr Louisa E. Rhine, Dr J B Rhine studied the phenomena now known as parapsychology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Dr. J B Rhine coined the term "extrasensory perception" (ESP) to describe the apparent ability of some people to acquire information without the use of the known (five) senses). He also adopted the term "parapsychology" to distinguish his interests from mainstream psychology. The lab became well known worldwide and served as a major training ground for researchers into extrasensory perception and psychokinesis using the quantitative experimental approach, including new testing techniques and methods of analyzing results statistically, making possible the comparison of results obtained under different laboratory conditions.

"Psychokinesis" (PK) was first studied in the early years of the Duke Parapsychology Lab when participants attempted to influence the outcome of falling dice by mental intention. Studies of PK have continued with more modern techniques at the Rhine Center and other laboratories around the world. However, except for the occasional poltergeist investigation, there has been little attention directed to PK experiences that occur spontaneously in everyday life.

The present study is designed to learn more about the broad general range of possible spontaneous PK experiences. In the current phase of this study, the focus is on those unexplained physical events that seem to occur specifically around the time of crisis, death or near-death. Typical reports collected include the falling or breaking of objects, unusual noises, unexplained behavior of animals, or the malfunctioning of electronic equipment that occur around the time of a crisis, near-death, or death of a family member or loved one. This show will bring insight based on science and above all support to individuals that have a story to tell.

Should Physicists Talk to Metaphysicists?

A video interview posted at BigThink.com, and thought you might be interested in the portion on quantum physics, in which I try to articulate grounds for physicists and serious metaphysical people to be able to talk.

Watch Video

--from Mitch Horowitz, author of Occult America

Mitch Horowitz will be presenting at the Rhine Center in April 2011.

What is the evolutionary advantage of PSI?

It has always struck me weird that if PSI abilities are part of our brains and are biology related, then they would be exposed to the natural selection process. If that is the case, it seems like they would be SO beneficial that they would quickly spread throughout the population. But that does not seem to be the case, at least a conscious use of PSI seems to remain very elusive. I have heard lots of explanations, none very convincing. So it got me wondering…so I did some reading on the limits of natural selection. At that point I stumbled upon a related question, "What is the evolutionary advantage of mortality?" If passing on your genes is the goal, then intuitively you'd think the members of a group who could live longer would do better at that, just as a person with ESP would be expected to do much better at passing on their genes as someone without that trait. Regarding aging and mortality, gene research shows that mortality and the aging process is built into the system, it is genetically hardwired. How and why would such a thing evolve? The answer to that question is the same as for the one regarding the lack of conscious ESP traits in the species, too.


In nature, it’s a given that a population will expand to use the resources available. There is no "natural selection" pressure without limited resources. Without resource limits, the organism has more reproductive success if it simply reproduces more than the rest of the population. If that occurs, then the limits of available resources is reached as the population explodes. At that point, the adaptation to procreate unchecked is a pretty damning one and selected out. Given that it is more likely that resource availability varies, the natural selection process would make unchecked procreation rare.

So resource limitation is a given. That being the case, let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages in two populations, one that has members that age and die, and the other that has members that do not age and die. If there is a limited amount of resources, then there is a limited population that can be sustained. Once the immortal group has reached the limit of its population, since there is no turnover, there is no further mutation. But in the group that ages and dies, there is continued mutation/adaptation/selection over time. As changes in resources occur, either good or bad, the group that has aging and death can adapt from a wider variety of options, whereas the immortal group is stuck with a limited variety of adaptability.

If this is the case, then natural selection seems to reward variability and not just reproduction. The fuel of natural selection is variability, and it must produce this fuel to sustain the process. The process of natural selection seems to value the ability to adapt over the ability to reproduce as part of its mechanics. Any static trait simply becomes future resources to be exploited once a more adaptable trait evolves to consume it. One of the continuing points of great debate in the field of evolutionary biology is whether the process of evolution occurs with the individual or within the population. If we see variability as the life-blood of natural selection, then we see that evolution as a process occurs in the individual only as part of a population. Especially in the human population, interpersonal relationships promote variability.

I have found it curious that if PSI ability is working through our biology, which research suggests it is, and because the reproductive advantage of PSI is so overpowering, then why aren't psychic powers universal in human beings and any other animal that needs to compete for resources? What could possibly be more advantageous, if the lifeblood of natural selection is adaptability, than the ability to foresee environmental changes that need to be adapted to? If my PSI skills tell me where the best food is, where the tigers are that want to eat me are, and when the next drought will occur, then I certainly am more likely to pass that PSI trait along to the next generation than the poor souls without PSI skills. I have never heard a counter-argument that makes any sense, though if you have one I'd like to hear it, email me at Benton@rhine.org or post it in the comments.

Using the earlier understanding of why death is built into our biology, you can see why readily accessible psychic skills are going to be selected out of the population. While the conscious ego is designed by nature to protect and prolong life, if PSI skills were part of its toolkit then the variability would quickly be reduced in the population's gene pool. Even though the individuals could foresee future needs to adapt, that doesn't actually create new variability in the gene-pool, it reduces it by keeping the animals alive that have that certain gene for PSI and selecting out others. Curiously, the tipping point where the PSI ability would allow for increased adaptability comes when PSI information can be used to adapt, and the ability to do such logical planning and strategizing with information is relatively recent evolution-wise in humans. Looking at our present situation in the world with environmental and political crises all around us, its debatable if we've even reached that point yet. Bottom line, PSI skills can exist but not as conscious tools, so they show up as capricious events, usually to support interpersonal relationships, and then seem to disappear when most people actively try to utilize them. Given current environmental constraints, the process of natural selection is no friend of PSI ability.” -- Benton Bogle

Have Scientists Finally Discovered Evidence for Psychic Phenomena?!

Daryl Bem is one of our leading parapsychologists, and on our Advisory Board


In Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, the White Queen tells Alice that in her land, "memory works both ways." Not only can the Queen remember things from the past, but she also remembers "things that happened the week after next." Alice attempts to argue with the Queen, stating "I'm sure mine only works one way...I can't remember things before they happen." The Queen replies, "It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards."

How much better would our lives be if we could live in the White Queen's kingdom, where ours memory would work backwards and forewords? For instance, in such a world, you could take an exam and then study for it afterwards to make sure you performed well in the past. Well, the good news is that according to a recent series of scientific studies by Daryl Bem, you already live in that world!

Dr. Bem, a social psychologist at Cornell University, conducted a series of studies that will soon be published in one of the most prestigious psychology journals (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology). Across nine experiments, Bem examined the idea that our brain has the ability to not only reflect on past experiences, but also anticipate future experiences. This ability for the brain to "see into the future" is often referred to as psi phenomena.
Although prior research has been conducted on the psi phenomena - we have all seen those movie images of people staring at Zener cards with a star or wavy lines on them - such studies often fail to meet the threshold of "scientific investigation." However, Bem's studies are unique in that they represent standard scientific methods and rely on well-established principles in psychology. Essentially, he took effects that are considered valid and reliable in psychology - studying improves memory, priming facilitates response times - and simply reversed their chronological order
Read more here...

A Great Visit With Gary Schwartz

One of the many wonderful things about volunteering at the Rhine Research Center is the opportunity to interact with scientists doing important work in the field of parapsychology. I had the pleasure of meeting Gary E. Schwartz, PhD last Friday evening as he talked about his most recent research and his forthcoming book "The Sacred Promise", due out in January. His experiments over years with mediums has evolved over time to the point where he is able to develop strong research design, and his finding are amazing, and full of potential.

When the Rhines began their research many decades ago, there was a lot of hope that their scientific skills could finally show experimental evidence of an "afterlife". Many folks had lost loved ones in the Great War and wanted to be comforted with scientific proof of a spiritual realm. There were also a tremendous number of people reporting ghostly visitation and other communications, and many of these folks came to the Rhines for answers. At the time, studying such things with proper methods and controls was extremely difficult. Things are different today, as Dr. Schwartz is now able to work with improved research design and new technology. Has he discovered evidence of the afterlife? You are encouraged to read this book and judge for yourself. I assure you his findings will inspire you, they are amazing.

I also had a brief but enlightening chat with him before his talk about what I have been blogging about recently, that is multiple consciousnesses in our mind. From my reading and experiences with many remote viewers, and from his work with mediums, evidence seems to suggest that the true location of consciousness is not in your brain. The brain is a transceiver, like a radio or TV in that it is attuned to "you". Mediums and remote viewers can get information from other consciousnesses that exist. Sometimes anyone gets bits and pieces of anomalous info we cannot place, as our normal waking minds work to filter out any information that is not "you." As I mentioned in an earlier blog, any thoughts that any part of "you" does not fit into the well defined "you" is usually quickly rejected, along with some eye rolling. But this model of consciousness goes a long way in explaining a lot of phenomena, and I look forward to boring you more with it in the future.
-- Benton Bogle

 Listen to Gary E. Schwartz, PhD  interview with Frank Stacio on The State of Things



This inspiring talk led to much discussion afterwards at the reception.



Many people had questions for Gary E, Schwartz.



Can Consciousness Comprehend Its Own Mechanics?

I wrote previously about the difficulty of studying a phenomenon with the phenomenon itself, in other words, "Can consciousness comprehend its own mechanics?".

We have to say "Yes" or else pull up stakes and move on to some other subject, but otherwise we really have to get a handle on how we work with the limitations inherent in this subject. My point in my last blog was that our ego-mind is designed to do one thing, and it is not naturally going to adapt to a multi-consciousness model of how perception works.

But from what I have seen, and many parapsychologists agree, along with most psychologists, that there are multiple consciousnesses at work in each of us. I have come to understand that the other consciousness seems to have different senses, what JB Rhine would describe as an Extra Sense. And again, we lump all these PSI phenomenon together as perhaps manifestations of one "Superpower of the Biomind" as Ingo Swann would call it, but in fact there may be multiple other senses in use by these other consciousness. So you are probably rolling your eyes at this point but that is precisely my point from the last blog, even suggesting such a mechanical structure for your mind is absurd, because the ego-consciousness cannot tolerate the idea. And that's as far as such speculation gets in most people.

Keeping in mind of course it could be a stupid notion, too. These blog entries of mine do not reflect the opinion of the RRC, and if you have any insight or concern you wish to provide regarding what I have written, please drop me an email at bbogle@triad.rr.com.

I could be barking up the wrong tree regarding sensory modalities for other consciousnesses. Take a look at the evidence, then place it in a multi-consciousness model, and see how it fits. Please resist the temptation to take the "black box" of Parapsychology and try to fit in it black boxes from other sciences, all that does is make a bigger black box. We will be having a guest speaker at our next Remote Viewing meeting on October 15th at 7pm. This person has been developing a data gathering website for PSI testing, and will be presenting the findings as well as the ideas that the evidence has suggested. This will be a great example of studying PSI with the data of the phenomenon, and I hope you can all be there.
-- Benton Bogle

Changing Our Universe

In a recent blog I talked about multiple minds or consciousnesses, and it is my, Rene Warcollier and scads of current parapsychological enthusiast's belief that PSI data, and other information too, comes to our waking consciousness from another consciousness. That is pretty standard fare. But what is not so typical is what I am about to suggest. As a matter of fact you may consider it a bit weird, but that is simply because your measure of weird is completely controlled by your ego-mind.

The ego mind is in charge, it is your normal, every-day consciousness that tells you who you are, and how the world works. It tells you what is weird and what is normal. It is the center from which you view the world, it is who "you" define yourself to be, and it is the point on the graph that you measure out every thing. For a much more thorough and thought provoking exploration of this idea, check out Mark Leary's book "The Curse of the Self".

It is a function of our normal waking ego-consciousness to define itself, then do everything it can to promote that self. So it is natural to note that some of the most horrifying and abhorrent things to the ego-mind are things that threaten its self-definition. The very idea of other consciousnesses sharing its space is unacceptable to the normal consciousness, and it does what it can to refute such things. As a matter of fact, look how the waking consciousness has labeled that other consciousness. We call it the "subconscious" or the "unconscious", when in fact it is quite the equal to the normal waking mind and in many ways superior, in the areas of memory, multi-functioning and creativity, not to mention PSI information. It certainly isn't "un-conscious", it seems quite aware and active and capable. We give it such unflattering names because it scares the ego-mind, along with other things like death and lack of "control". Our definition of this other consciousness, by describing it as under, below, beneath or alien to the normal mind, shows how the ego-mind wants to relate to it. But even though the ego-mind is designed to work toward greater "self definition" so it can take better biological care of itself, we limit our greater potential by alienating a real part of our psyche, and we also cut ourself off from the source of PSI data.

The history of modern psychology as a science has been one of gradually warming up to the non-ego-mind that exists in us. Many current self-help psychology books will help you "find yourself" and help you strengthen your ego-control. But others assist the reader in developing the self-assurance necessary to open up communication and friendly interaction with our other minds. My reading of the literature, and my personal experiences, as well as most religions, tell us that this consciousness that transcends the ego-mind is consciousness without selves. But this idea is so scary to the ego-mind, it mocks and fights attempts to view the universe as anything other than the product of the ego-mind. Psychology, parapsychology, and most if not all other sciences view the world through the lens of the ego-mind, and I suspect that future breakthroughs in the sciences will require a new point of reference in our understanding of consciousness and the ego-mind's place in it. When Copernicus asked his fellow thinkers to move the point of reference from earth to the sun, they struggled because it required them to change the universe. I have found that to work with Remote Viewing as we do in our monthly group, and in our daily sessions, we benefit from changing our minds, and in doing so, changing our universe. The associate consciousness in each of us is accessible, and it is there that the PSI data we are looking for is to be found. With a little patient, persistent and careful effort, just like you build a relationship with another, you can improve your communication with this associate-consciousness.
-- Benton Bogle

A Slightly Different Take on "How PSI Works"

I am re-reading Rene Warcollier’s “Mind to Mind” as published by Hampton Roads, with a preface by Ingo Swann, no less. It’s a wonderful book I would recommend to anyone interested in parapsychology and the early studies of PSI. My point here is not to critique the book but instead to point out how frontier science forces its participants to be uncomfortably adaptable in their evolving understanding of what they are observing. There is certainly a great deal of data showing the phenomenon exists, and certainly variables that can be tweaked to improve or degrade PSI events in a lab setting, there is not a model that describes how it works that is accepted by the field, and can be used to explain why changes in variables cause changes in PSI performance.

Mr. Swann in his preface points out how Mr. Warcollier’s contemporaries in the Institute Métapsychique International explored with a model for how PSI worked that was different from their British or American counterparts. This American model was looking for some sort of communication between the conscious minds of the participants as though they were physically connected through some faint communications channel. The French model was looking for the transfer of information to occur between non-conscious aspects of the subjects. Its this idea that lead to the use of the term “Extra-sensory” perception in that there are sensory modalities other than the 5 we are familiar with.

Of course this idea of multiple consciousnesses is not new either, Freud made the idea famous generations ago. From my own experiences it appears that there exists in each of us other consciousnesses that are processing information too, as our waking ego-consciousness does, though perhaps not limited to the single focus our ego’s have to work with. This other consciousness seems to use some of our five senses to get information and may process that information through our brains using the same brain areas our conscious ego-mind does. The other consciousness(s) seem also to have other senses, modalities to process information, than our ego-minds do, and this is where the PSI information comes in.

Perhaps, as we go through our day, sensory information is coming in and utilized by our ego-mind and our other consciousness, and they both are processing that information for whatever function they use it for. As they are perhaps sharing brain areas to process information, it is here that some PSI data “leaks” over into our conscious minds. It may be that the data passing through the neurons are in a pattern that is utilized one way for the ego-mind and another way for the other consciousness. Its may be similar to the way some machines process numbers in hexadecimal and some in decimal, and there are parts of the hexadecimal that are recognizable by a decimal number reader but not all of it, so the decimal processer is getting only part of the data.

Since there would be more “leakage” if the two minds are processing the same data at the same time, that is why it helps in PSI testing to use “intent” to draw the attention of both consciousnesses to the same event. That is why PK and ESP data shows up more when the event is important, because both consciousnesses are attending to it and processing the event.

If you are curious about what things interest the other consciousness, just take a look at anecdotes about PSI events to figure that out. Go back and read Stacy Horn's recent book "Unbelievable" and examine the stories about what was effective in ESP research back in the early days of PSI lab work. It seems that the “other consciousness” is interested in emotion, relationship, novelty and life-changing events. I would suspect that adding more of these qualities to PSI research would be beneficial in increasing the occurrence of PSI. Re-reading Warcollier’s book and looking at other studies of paranormal events while keeping this other consciousness in consideration really shines a new light on one’s understanding of the PSI process. This slightly different take on “how PSI works” has evolved for me as I read over current studies, and reflect on the great wealth of research done in the past, such as those of Warcollier.
--Benton Bogle

Annual Convention of Parapsychologists was held in Paris in July 2010

The principal international scientific organization studying the nature of consciousness, the Parapsychological Association (PA), held its 53rd annual convention in Paris, France on July 22-25, 2010. Members of the PA who are engaged in the study of psychic (psi) experiences, including extrasensory perception (ESP) , psychokinesis (PK), psychic healing, precognition and survival of bodily death. Leading scientists and scholars from universities and laboratories around the world gathered to present and discuss their latest research findings on these sometimes controversial, but always fascinating, aspects of human consciousness.

Sally Rhine Feather, John Palmer, Sandra Shelton and Annette LePoris attended the conference. The event featured over 30 presentations on a variety of parapsychological topics. Sally Rhine Feather presented the results of a survey on psychokinesis conducted at the the Rhine Research Center by Dr. Feather and Dr. Christine Simmonds-Moore, a Research Associate at the Rhine Research Center.

Other presentations included historical and case studies of mediums, including a neuroimaging study of mediumistic trance, the effects of geomagnetic activity on psi, meditation and psychic functioning, anomalous mental phenomena studied in South America and Tibet, telephone telepathy, psychokinetic experiences, and the application of psi in archeology.
The convention’s keynote speaker was Paul Devereux, managing editor and co-founder of the peer-reviewed publication, Time & Mind - The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture. A research associate at the Royal College of Art and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Devereux was a Senior Research Fellow with the International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL) in Princeton for twelve years. He has written 27 books since 1979. His latest work, Sacred Geography, a look at ancient and traditional mindscapes, is due out in October 2010.
Other notable speakers included Russell Targ, a physicist and author who was a pioneer in the development of the laser and laser applications, and is best known in parapsychology for his pioneering research on "remote viewing," a form of ESP, sponsored by U.S. government intelligence agencies in the 1970s and 1980s. The winner of PA’s 2009 Career Award, Targ’s invited address was titled, Why I am absolutely convinced of the reality of psychic abilities, and why you should be, too. Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Saybrook University, fellow of the American Psychological Association, and author of numerous articles and books on dreams, hypnosis, altered states of consciousness, led a workshop on psi and creativity. Sally Rhine Feather was the recipient of the PA's 2010 Outstanding Career Award.

The conference was hosted by the Institut Métapsychique International and held at Enclos Rey in Paris.

About the Parapsychological Association:

The Parapsychological Association is the international professional organization of scientists and scholars engaged in the study of consciousness-related experiences and phenomena known as 'psi'’ (or 'psychic') experiences. The primary objective of such studies is to achieve a scientific understanding of these experiences. The PA was first established in 1957, and has been an affiliated organization of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) since 1969. It provides an international forum for scholarly exchange through annual conferences, generally held in North America or in Europe, and through the publication of its Mindfield bulletin. There are approximately 300 PA members around the world.

Photos courtesy of Sandra Shelton

New Issue of Rhine Online!

We are excited about this summer 2010 issue of our Psi News Magazine. Our general focus is on complementary and alternative healing techniques. Psi and healing is a topic that arises frequently in discussions, talks, and workshops at the Rhine, and one of great interest to the community at large. In fact, one of our current research projects started by the late Dr. Steve Baumann, and continued by Dr. Bill Joines is a study of photon emission in bio-energy healers.

Alternative healing is directly linked to psi. In a 2001 paper, Daniel Benor, MD, uses the term “psi healing,” in fact, to describe various healing techniques. He says:This paper accepts the existence of psi healing (also called spiritual, mental and paranormal healing) to be an established fact. The author has found 152 published studies of healing (Benor 1990; Benor in press). More than half of these demonstrate significant effects. There is thus more research on healing than on all the other complementary therapies combined, with the exception of hypnosis and psychoneuroimmunology. Psi healing demonstrates that the mind of a healer can alter the conditions of organisms, including cells in vitro, bacteria, yeasts, plants, animals and humans. In addition, there is evidence that healers may influence water, crystallization of salt solutions and enzymes. Some of these studies show significant effects of healing at a distance.

In terms of popularity in the mainstream world, what Benor calls “psi healing” may be one of the rare examples where the believers are coming close to balancing out the skeptics. For example, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, approximately 38 percent of adults and approximately 12 percent of children in the United States were using some form of complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) as of 2007, and the figure is steadily rising. These therapies include yoga, tai chi, massage, meditation, Reiki, acupuncture, shamanism, etc.

In this issue, we hope to illuminate some of these healing techniques. Dr. Katherine MacDowell, respected author and the founder of Ocean Seminary College, gives an overview of shamanic practice and techniques, especially as related to her personal tradition. Additionally, Dagmar Ehling, licensed doctor of Oriental Medicine, gives an extensive overview of acupuncture, Chinese medicine, and their guiding principles. Reiki, an energy healing technique that originated in Japan, works with the same conceptual understanding as acupuncture, and from my experience as a Reiki Master Teacher, I give a brief introduction to Reiki in an interview.
Jane Katra, PhD a renowned healer from the northwest United States, shares two powerful stories with us. In one, she describes a distant healing experience with Russell Targ, one of our recent speakers and the founder of remote viewing in the United States. In the other, she describes an extraordinary afterlife visit from Dr. Elisabeth Targ, associated with healing and comforting at a distance. You will have to read for yourself to understand the uniqueness of these interactions.

Some of our most common therapeutic experiences are the healing interactions we have with animals. We include two powerful examples in this issue. Sally Rhine Feather, Executive Director of the Rhine Center, shares with us a miraculous story of a human, Anthony Swaney, healing a small kitten through an energy healing technique. In the reverse, my article titled “The Healing Power of Dolphins” discusses the powerful ways in which an animal species heals us.

Jack Hunter, the editor of Paranthropology: Journal of Anthropological Approaches to the Paranormal, shares with us a powerful commentary on anthropologists and their experiences during field work. If an anthropologist is fully immersed in a ritual, the intended results of that ritual are typically undeniably experienced. In this way, anthropologists may sometimes be our closest scientific link between the worlds of mainstream science and ancient practices (such as shamanism, energy healing, and the like).

Finally, we want to bring you closer to the current personalities and activities at the Rhine Research Center through a number of interviews:

Christine Simmonds-Moore, PhD, our visiting researcher, sheds light on her research, her interests, and her entrance into the world of parapsychology at a young age. Bob Gebelein, our featured volunteer this quarter, describes the work he does at the Rhine Center, his decision to move here to be closer to the Center, and his viewpoint about parapsychology and Harvard University.

Last but not least, we give an overview of the Rhine events from this spring and summer with an in-depth sample of two programs as experienced by Dave Roberts, managing editor of the Journal of Parapsychology, and an extensive interview with Joe McMoneagle, a recent popular speaker and workshop leader renowned for his acumen in remote viewing.

We hope you enjoy the issue. Please e-mail me at Jennifer@Rhine.org or my co-editor, Mark A. Schroll, PhD, at Mark@Rhine.org with any comments or suggestions for future issues, and do drop by the Rhine Center whenever you are in Durham, North Carolina.

Reflections on Rhea White's Presidential Address to the 1984 Convention of the Parapsychological Association

One of the many good things about not having read every book, article and research paper in the field of parapsychology is that I am regularly thrilled by a new find.

The downside of course is that I sure wish I had read Rhea White's Presidential Address to the 1984 Convention of the Parapsychological Association years ago. These presidential addresses usually cover a lot of ground, but there are some fantastic points she makes that shed a lot of light on current thinking in the field. You may have been present for her speech, or you may have read the article years ago, but something struck me at the beginning of the speech that may benefit us to take another look today.

Remember, its 1984 when the speech was made. The parapsychological world is just learning about Remote Viewing from Targ and Harary's book "Mind Race". Cellphones had just been invented, were the size of a brick, and wouldn't become widely used for another decade or two. In 1984, the Macintosh was introduced, the first personal computer using a mouse and a graphical user interface.

Rhea White's address emplored parapsychologist to break out of their current mindset in viewing PSI and its mechanics, since she felt new approaches were needed to discover productive areas of research. To stress the frustrating nature of PSI research at the time, she used the example of the telephone ringing spontaneously, as PSI events are almost always just as capricious.. She asked, how can we make it ring again, who is calling, why are they calling?

The telephone model, with a sender and reciever, was and still is a popular way of conceptualizing how PSI works. Her point in 1984 I don't think was to reinforce or support the sender/receiver idea of PSI, but to point out the difficulty in figuring out what is going on with a random phone ring, something we can still relate to in 2010. But my point here is to take her example and look at it in the light of our current telephone technology, and then update our view on how PSI works.

Back in 1984, for the most part, all calls had a sender and a reciever. Calls were carried with electrical signals on wire, from point A to point B. Other than the occassional thunderstorm, when the phone rang, it was because someone sent a signal on a line to make it ring. So back then, remote viewers talked about signal/noise ratios, and worked to make the signal stronger or the line noise less. To clean up the "signal line", efforts were made to insulate the line with all sorts of things, faraday cages, the ganzfeld, controlled remote viewing, hypnotism, you name it.

Modern phone technology is a little different. Signals from sender and reciever are sent out in every direction, the communication only occurs because the two locations share an agreed upon frequency upon which to transmit the signal. Hundreds of other signals are flying through the air at the same time, but your phone rings because it is receptive to a particular piece of information. The frequency can change with each use, if it does NOT change its an unusual conincidence. So if you get a call, then turn right around and try to find the sender again on that same frequency, it probably won't work. Many of the suggestions Ms. White makes for new approaches to research make a lot more sense if we update her 1984 phone technology to the present one.
Take this process and now think about the transmission of information in PSI events (if transmission of information is actually what is happening). Every person is receiving the information, but only if the person is tuned in to a particular signal will they get a useful communication. The other implications for updating our view of communication via "extrasensory perception" also provide new ways of working with research design and the "how-to" of PSI. I will leave all that up to the reader, my main point here is that evolving technologies such as computers, holograms, and many others give us an opportunity to likewise evolve our way of looking at PSI. Rhea White was asking readers in 1984 to change their course in researching and understanding PSI, and we can do just that by examining what new technologies can perhaps suggest to us about an old problem.
- Benton Bogle

A Report on Joe McMoneagle's visit to the Rhine from Benton Bogle

Joe McMoneagle visited the Rhine Center last weekend (June 4th and 5th) and it was once again an amazing event. Joe is considered by many to be the finest Remote Viewer alive, having been tested hundreds of times and having appeared on numerous live TV programs displaying his talent. He does not do a lot of appearances and virtually no training, but occasionally he visits the Rhine Center to enlighten us with his knowledge and fascinating anecdotes from his lifetime of work in the highest levels of military intelligence. Joe was a "psychic spy" for the military for almost 20 years, and helped develop what we know as remote viewing today.

The first thing you notice about Joe is that he's a friendly guy who is eager to help you learn about Remote Viewing. He's direct and thorough, so you learn from him that discipline and practice is centrally important in improving your RV success. He talked about his own method, and how important it is for each of us to find our own process, and to dedicate ourselves to it.

Like any other skill, RV is something you have to make a part of your life, you need to care deeply about it and pursue it. If you are interested in learning about how Joe does Remote Viewing, you will do yourself a big favor by reading his book, "Remote Viewing Secrets" where he spells it all out. The book Joe recommends you read to put it all in perspective is his book "The Stargate Chronicles: Memoirs of a Psychic Spy". Like his talks, it is full of stories from the development and application of the Military/Government program that flourished in the 1970s through the mid 1990s. Fascinating reading, and Joe shared many stories from those years that did not make it into the books, and follow-ups to impressive viewings.

He spent a lot of time answering the questions of the audience members in his Friday night talk, and did the same on Saturday after putting us through our paces with numerous Remote Viewing sessions. He worked with us as viewers and monitors during the sessions, and emphasized where we were getting it right, and where we needed to improve.

I had the good fortune to have Joe as my monitor on a few sessions, and he really kept me on task and guided me to use effective strategies to get the information I was looking for. You could tell from the chatter on breaks and afterwards that everyone there got a lot from the day's education, and we took a lot of great training home with us to apply to our future Remote Viewing.

The Rhine Center will be posting a video of the Friday evening program if you are interested in hearing what went on. If you have the opportunity in the future to go hear Mr. McMoneagle speak, its a great experience. Anyone interested in Remote Viewing as a practice, or the exciting stories of its application in the intelligence/political field, should pick up a copy of Joe's books and give them a good read.

Memoirs of a Psychic Spy - A Radio Interview with Joe McMoneagle

Friday, June 04 2010 by Frank Stasio and Lindsay Thomas

For years, Joe McMoneagle was known as “Remote Viewer No. 1” during his involvement in a top-secret military program called The Stargate Project. The multi-million dollar federal program was set up to determine the potential for military use of psychic phenomena like ESP and remote viewing, the ability to gather information about unseen places or objects. The idea seems implausible, but the research project ran from the 1970s through the mid-1990s. McMoneagle has documented his experiences as a remote viewer in the book “The Stargate Chronicles: Memoirs of a Psychic Spy” (Hampton Roads/2002) and this weekend, he’ll speak to audiences at the Rhine Research Center in Durham, NC. First, he joins host Frank Stasio to talk about psychic experiments in the military and how remote viewing is used today.
Click Here to Listen

Seeking participants for study on individual differences and normal and paranormal pattern detection

Participants are needed for an ongoing study (funded by the Bial foundation) which is exploring individual differences in pattern detection. The study is exploring the observation that a lot of paranormal experiences occur against a random backdrop (e.g., reading the tea leaves and "electronic voice phenomena") and there is a human tendency to find patterns (e.g., seeing shapes in clouds). This study is looking particularly for people who are definitely disbelievers in paranormal phenomena to take part.

The study consists of filling out a questionnaire and then coming to take part in a computerized study comprising a series of visual noise and auditory noise trials (some trials have targets (weak stimuli and "ESP" targets associated with them, while others will be just random noise). The computerized part of the study takes around an hour and a half to complete and participants will each be given a cinema or book voucher worth $15 to thank them for their time.
The experiment is taking place in Durham at the Rhine Research Center (2741 Campus Walk Avenue, opposite the Millennium Hotel and near to Duke's West Campus)

Please see the study website at http://www.wix.com/simmonc/patternexperiment or contact Dr. Christine Simmonds-Moore or 919 951 8916 for more information or to sign up.

TWIN TALK ON WORLD TALK RADIO.COM

Dr. Bob Van de Castle is my guest on 5/28 Twin Dreams
Guy Playfair on 6/4 Twin Telepathy.

The number of twin births has doubled in 20 years. More than 2 in every 100 persons is now a twin or multiple. The chances of living in close relationship with a twin are increasing rapidly. Designed for twins, want-to-be twins, parents, children, spouses, partners of twins and anyone who finds twins fascinating, this program will entertain and inform. Society has feared, revered, and sensationalized twinship. Twin Talk will uncover the truth about twins. Dr. Mercy will spotlight the latest science on learned vs. inherited traits, raising twins, understanding twins, living with twins, and twin loss. Our guests will be researchers, therapists, authors, twins themselves and you. We will discuss mental telepathy, premonition, and after life communication. Dr. Mercy and the twins can guarantee that you will adapt to the post modern world of facsimiles and identicality once you know ‘It’s a twin thing!’ Twin Talk airs live Fridays at 11 AM Eastern on World Talk Radio Variety
Twin Services

Twin Articles

Twin Talk Fridays 11am ET

Rosemarie Pilkington

Rosemarie Pilkington paid the Rhine Center a visit recently and it was a great experience. She was an engaging speaker and thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end. She provided us with a wealth of information on the history of "table tipping" and seances from ancient times to the present. Her attitude and approach to the matter was professional but also enthusiastic, you really got a feeling that this subject was something she enjoyed learning about and sharing with us.

The Friday night event was on her book and experiences with the Dr. Bindelof case, and Saturday's all-day workshop covered a wider historical review and different techniques and advances made in this area of study. We got to work with many of the media on Saturday and those experiences were a lot of fun. We tried our hands at table tipping, Ouija boards, and spoon-bending and there was a good bit of useless silverware when we were finished. Rosemarie opened our eyes to a lot of possibilities with her visit and I'm looking forward to future events like this one.
contributed by Benton Bogle

Remote Viewing Group Update - Judith Morse Teaches Meditation Skills

The remote viewing group was excited about our guest on Wednesday night. Judith Morse dropped by to teach us about Meditation. If you have done much remote viewing, or been to any of the workshops of folks like Joe McMoneagle or Russell Targ, you know regular meditation is something that can really benefit a remote viewer. Both skills require practice, patience, and learning to control your attention. The same skills that make a good meditator make a good remote viewer. So Judith described some of the important types of meditation, she walked us through what we would experience, and then she helped us do some meditation there at the meeting. Meditation is at the same time simple and very involved, and Judith did a great job of explaining the fundamental process and the great potential this simple skill provides.

We had a pretty good crowd there, and from the discussion after the meditation training, it was clear that Judith's teaching had a real impact. Most of us had some experience with Meditation in the past, to others it was new, but all the comments were positive, and we had a great conversation as a group on how to work with our attention, how to quiet some of the mental noise that interferes with Remote Viewing, and of course the many benefits of Meditation. Though this meeting was unusual for us, I can see that we will need to bring Judith back periodically because of the value these skills have for people serious about remote viewing. Like all of our meetings, it was fun to see people learning new things, sharing their exciting experiences, and leaving the meeting with a sense of adventure.

As promised, at our next meeting we will be doing an outbounder session, as one of our group will be vacationing in Peru and will act as our outbounder "sender". If you aren't familiar with Remote Viewing jargon, an outbounder session was one of the first types of Remote Viewing developed by the early SRI/Military researchers. It involves a sender/outbounder and viewer (in our case, viewers). The outbounder goes out to a location that the viewers have no knowledge of, and at a certain time, the viewers do a session to get information on the location/experience of the outbounder person at that time. Normally, the viewer would later visit the same location that was viewed, but its doubtful we will fly the entire group to Peru (translated: ain't gonna happen). But our outbounder will take lots of notes and photos, and present this data to us later for feedback. In any case, it should be a lot of fun.

We will be meeting on May 12th in the library of the Rhine Research Center at 7pm, do not be late.

Russell Targ's Wonderful Presentation on Remote Viewing

Russell Targ's recent weekend visit to the RRC was absolutely fantastic and all you'd expect it to be. We had a huge crowd out for the Friday night event where Mr. Targ gave us a wonderful presentation on Remote Viewing and his history in the development of this skill. It was great to hear anecdotes of his experiences in the SRI and military programs, and how he interacted with some of the more famous viewers. He shared some of his insights into the nature of the phenomenon, and took lots of questions from the audience there. He showed a great sense of humor and a love for the science he talked with us about, which made his talk all the more enjoyable. Mr. Targ emphasized the way Buddhist thought sheds light on the PSI events we witness, and how important the reality of our connectedness is to our understanding Remote Viewing.

Then on Saturday Russell talked with us about the dynamics of Remote Viewing, and led us in a number of practices over the course of the day. Those of us attending received instruction from a person instrumental in the very creation of the Remote Viewing field. The different targets selected, and the varied procedures used highlighted the important considerations in any remote viewing session. We discussed the process and shared feedback on our experiences. As always in these group sessions, the shared knowledge of fellow viewers was a real boon to our learning. Russell added his own insights, gleaned from decades of experience in working with the best remote viewers in the world.

The members of the remote viewing group that meets monthly at the RRC, the staff on hand, and all the visitors from across the country in attendance shared a wonderful few days of Remote Viewing education. Mr. Targ's scientific knowledge and practical Remote Viewing skills, as well as his joy in exploring the non-local connections we share added up to a marvelous experience. Hopefully we will have him back for another visit in the future, and the Rhine Center is very grateful for the learning event he provided us. We are likewise looking forward to other Remote Viewing events in the near future, such as the PSI games on Friday, and visits from Joe McMoneagle and Dale E. Graff later this summer. Please contact the RRC soon if you are interested in these events.

- written by Benton Bogle

Rhine Center to Screen the First East Coast Showing of Something Unknown!

Friday, May 7, 2010

7:30 to 9 pm

at the Stedman Auditorium, Durham, NC

"Something Unknown is Doing We Don't Know What" is a moving story of a woman's spiritual journey to uncover the science of psychic experience. Under the guidance of Dr. Charles Tart, her journey explores and answers many questions about psychic and paranormal phenomena. Dutch filmmaker Renee Scheltema goes straight to the scientists, psychics and healers for straight answers about psychic and paranormal experiences:
Can we predict the future?
Can our thoughts and intentions affect the physical world?

Can we be spontaneously healed?

Are we “mysteriously” connected?

The film documents evidence that the mind can affect matter. It demystifies psychic and paranormal experiences and presents rare glimpses into laboratory experiments, spiritual healings and declassified government archives. “Something Unknown” reveals scientific evidence that consciousness can influence the physical world. It uncovers decades of pioneering research conducted by governments, universities, and independent scientists to explore quantum physics principles that indicate humans are interconnected and have extended capacities of consciousness that transcend time and space.

Buy your tickets in advance.

The Aftermath of Russell Targ Weekend

Dear Volunteers & Friends,

Thank you so much for your support and help to make this past weekend program with Russell Targ such a huge success. With about 100 folks on Friday evening and about 40 attendees for Saturday's all-day workshop, our volunteer operation was put to the test. . But our speaker Russell seemed extremely pleased with his first visit here with us, felt very good about his response from the audience and thanked me for the very nice party in his honor last evening. The fact that he got a standing ovation from the workshop participants last evening is a tribute to the whole operation as well as to Russell's special inspiring way of facilitating remote viewing and sharing his knowledge, wisdom and Buddhist insights with us.

Once again I thank you for your help in making this one of the most successful programs that we have sponsored at the Rhine Center in my memory.
Sally

Dear Sally,
What a magnificent weekend! Russell Targ selflessly brought his beautiful, powerful, and soothing energy to the Rhine and I know everyone was fascinated by his presentation, attracted to his persona, and attached to his colorful humor. And as for my participation in the workshop, I had great success with the experiments. He is the first teacher in 20 years who was able to dial me into his particular method of clairvoyance in a seamless and powerful manner. What a treat! My RV partner and I were thrilled!

As I watched you two together, I witnessed a bright, charged aura of intellectual/spiritual greatness -- two giants of the psi world. I'm glad you're pleased with the outcome. The standing ovation at the end of the day was not just for Russell -- it was for you as well.
--J. Roy

We'd love to hear comments from others who attended the workshop.
Russel Targ's Website

Targ’s notes from My Big Toe (Theory Of Everything), by Thomas Campbell

Greetings,
I just spent a weekend with Thomas Campbell, who is a physicist working with NASA at Huntsville. He has written a big, 800 page book called "My Big Toe," a theory of everything. He has a number of interesting and original ideas in our various fields of interest, which I have summarized below for your entertainment.
Warm regards,
Russell

Targ’s notes from My Big Toe (Theory Of Everything), by Thomas Campbell
Weekend workshop, Campbell, Calif., February 20-21, 2010

• Theory and experience are both necessary for understanding. 
• We live in a Reality, based on Physics and Matter, PMR 
• Don’t just pay attention to the stage and the sets, there are also people. 
• Notice the big picture. 
• The relationship of physical reality to consciousness is fundamental. 
• There is no objective reality. Everything is statistical. Bit to it. (John Wheeler) 
• Reality is a digital simulation. Consciousness is information. [Empty of meaning] 
• The purpose of consciousness is to lower its entropy and become love. 
• Growth is essential. Evolve or die. 
• A form of nonphysical energy exists, capable of changing itself. 
• Consciousness is a form of nonphysical energy. Assumption One. 
• It is not possible to describe the superset in terms of the subset. Assumption Two. 
• [You can learn Word, but you have no access to the operating system.] 
• Our purpose is to learn the rule set [the organizing principles] for the system. 
• It is hard to make “the system” serve your ego, since that is not its purpose. 
• The system wants to reduce entropy [and increase coherence]. 
• [This can be done, but it requires energy.] 
• Consciousness will inform quantum mechanics when consciousness is understood. 
• Consciousness is outside of space and time. 
• Love lowers ones entropy promoting health. 
• Fear increases entropy, chaos tears the self apart creating illness. 
• Ghosts, little people, and UFOs all are in an alternate reality outside of space and time. 
• Data is spread all over the hard drive, like David Bohm’s implicate order. 
• Our intention modifies the probability of events!

Remote Viewing Group Update

One of our group regulars, Scott, gave a great presentation on the relationship between Local Sidereal Time and Remote Viewing at our recent meeting. He presented the studies that have occurred over the years regarding the phenomenon and related issues, and Scott also discussed some of the theories as to why the relationship between the stars in the sky and our ESP on the ground occurs. It was fascinating, and of course initiated a great deal of discussion within the group. We also did a remote viewing session for a target Scott provided, and we had a good time discussing the processes we use to get target data.

Our next meeting will be Wednesday March 10th at 7pm in the Tanous Library there at the RRC. This will be mere days before the center hosts Russell Targ, one of pioneers in the Remote Viewing research and applications field. Both events will be a thrill to anyone interested in Remote Viewing.

More About Spoon Bending

On January 29th the Rhine will be having a "Spoon Bending Party" facillitated by Bill Joines, Carl Blackman  and Bonnie Albright. This is one event where you will want to buy your tickets in advance as the seating is limited.

I posted these two videos of Diana Gazes The Lighteam, who led hundreds of spoonbending workshops. She now resides in Mt. Shasta and leads workshops and gives private sessions.

Remote Viewer's Group Report from Benton Bogle

Last night's Remote Viewer's meeting was once again a thrill. I arrived good and early, and after a brief altercation with the security system, I plopped down my equipment to get ready for the meeting. I had brought along a target for Remote Viewing practice. We like to try at least one target per meeting. The Remote Viewing meetings usually consist of a short presentation on one of a wide range of topics, some discussion about the topic, a remote viewing session, and then reflections and observations on our experiences in the session. It's extremely helpful and fun to be able to sit with other viewers and share insights, knowledge and experience regarding our Remote Viewing.

Anyway, before anyone arrived, I placed the target ( a small box containing one of my work gloves) on top of some other boxes there in the library where we have the meeting, out of sight of the meeting area. Then I went back over to the table and set up the laptop, projector and screen. I greeted folks and chatted with them as they entered, and at the designated time we started the meeting. The presentation was on "Relating to the Subconscious" and I talked about many things I had learned about relating and interacting with the subconscious, and we all shared strategies and ideas about this topic. Then we did our Remote Viewing session. Keep in mind no one there knew what or where the target was. Earlier things we had remote viewed at other meetings included vacations, photos of famous events, objects there in the building, a wide range of targets. We took about 20 minutes to do our session, and when we finished everyone put down their pens and paper and I retrieved the box. I opened it and poured out the glove onto the table in front of the group. The participant to my right gasped and held up the session notes. The first two words on the page: Box, Glove. The next participant to the right started their session with Appaloosa horse, and embossed on the back of the workglove was a horse. The other participants got bits and pieces of the information on the target, and everyone was excited about the results. And of course, it was a lot of fun.

I am very much looking forward to our next meeting on February 10th at 7pm in the Alex Tanous Library there at the RRC. I hope to see you there.

The Remote Viewing Group meets on the second Wednesday of every month. It is open to the public.

Spiritual Beings having a Human Experience...

This past Friday evening (1/8), I had the good fortune to attend one of the most meaningful presentations I have experienced in a very long time, Mitch Krucoff speaking on what he calls the "Intangibles" to be integrated into traditional western healthcare. These Intangibles include prayer, imagery, thought, touch, music and so on. I wasn't the only one to feel this way about the evening. When Mitch finished speaking, not a sound was to be heard. The entire audience sat in silence, wrapped in the significance of what he had just shared with us. For those who weren't fortunate enough to be there, do not despair, a videotape of the presentation will soon be posted on www.rhine.org. Mitch has been on the Board of the Sri Satya Sai hospital since 1990. Now there are two of these hospitals and you will learn about them in the video. He is also a cardiac surgeon at Duke Hospital, so he speaks about medicine from both sides of our globe with plenty of direct experience.


One of the more powerful messages for me from this evening was to focus on how far western medicine has come in bringing what used to be Alternative, then Complementary Medicine into its venue. We now call it Integrative Medicine. The change in those words is significant. Yes, we have a long way to go, and we must remember that substantial progress has been made. Again, solid details are on the Krucoff video. We in America are certainly at a point where the redefinition of appropriate healthcare is high on many lists of discussion topics. There are many, often diverging, views as to what that redefinition should be.


I would be interested in seeing the thoughts of others on this topic, particularly if you attended Mitch's presentation or watch the recording of it. Let's not talk about the problems. There is plenty of talk about those in other places. Let's talk about the promising signs of progress as well as actionable ideas which can be implemented to accelerate that progress. The actionable ideas that we can do ourselves, rather than those which tell others what they must do, will be of particular interest.


With deep appreciation for Mitch Krucoff and the message he brings to light, I look forward to seeing your thoughts. - Pam Olson, Assistant Director of Rhine Research Center

For more information on Sathya Sai Baba International Sai Organization.

A Case of Deja Vecu

Hi,

My name is Art Funkhouser and I am scheduled to give a talk and lead a workshop on déjà vu this coming June at the Rhine Center.

At the beginning of 2004 I put a questionnaire about "déjà experiences" up on the Internet (at http://silenroc.com/dejavu ) and by the end of 2009 over 2600 persons from all over the world had filled it out and helped contribute to our store of knowledge about these intriguing and often baffling phenomena. At the beginning of 2009 mywebsite http://www.deja-experience-research.org/ went on-line and since then an average of ca. 10 visitors a day have had a look at it. Toward the end of December, 2009 I received the account I'll share with you here (and on the website - with the writer's permission). I thought some might find this interesting:

"Over the past several months I've had a near-constant experience of deja vecu. Something will happen, and in the process I'll remember that I had a dream about this exact moment and I'll know just what comes next. I remember almost all of my dreams, including the mundane ones. What's convinced me that it's not somehow a trick of memory, though, is that I always remember when I had the dream and what I felt as I dreamed and when I awoke.

"One of the things I find odd when I compare my experiences to the experiences recounted on your site is that often the dream precedes the actual event by several months if not years. For example, the very first time I remember this happening was when I was thirteen, and the dream occurred when I was six. I was on the side of the stage in a rehearsal for a local kid's musical program when the director decided to take a quick break. During the break, the younger kids were sent home, and as they left one of the boys went up to me and my friend and hugged us goodbye. She remarked at how sweet and cheerful he was when he walked away. I remembered the dream when the boy broke off from the rest of the kids and ran over to us, and the rest of the scene played out exactly as I had dreamed it seven years previous. The way the stage was set and lit, what we were wearing, the boy's face and voice and my friend's comment - everything was the same.

"Up until about nine months ago, I would get the occasional deja vu experience but then something shifted. I'm almost 19 now, and I've already had my fair share of odd experiences but, in a way, the past several months have been the strangest ones so far. I used to think the future wasn't set in stone, that every little thing that happened had an effect that changed the whole world, and that there were an infinite number of futures and parallel worlds for each moment in which something could change. Now, experiencing deja vecu several times a day has led me to wonder if maybe the future (or at least parts of it) truly cannot be changed.

"What I've noticed is that the things I dream of are hardly ever important to me at the time of the dream, and often don't even make sense, but when the event happens it's something that makes me really happy or shocked or some other strong emotion. It's not always an event, per se, either. I read a lot, and sometimes I'll start on a book when I recognize the opening scene from one of my dreams. I'll take a moment to remember the dream, and as I keep reading it'll turn out that I dreamed about half of the book. Actually, this just happened to me earlier today and I finally realized why I had dreamed about falling from a railroad car as it vanished (ironically, this book is all about dreams; it's called Dreamhunter). Very rarely do my dreams last more than a few hours of an actual experience, though (I'm a fast reader). The same thing has been happening with anime episodes, manga chapters, and even discussions on forums, which are all the things I'm really into right now.

"I guess my point is, I've noticed that the events, when they occur, are things that are mundane but important. I get stronger feelings about them than about anything else. Perhaps this helps the idea of time loops, where the important things stick in your memory? I don't know how else to explain it other than seeing the future, and like I said, I've always believed in a changeable future and it's hard to think that that idea might be wrong. But if it really is seeing the future in dreams, then... Feeling deja vecu almost all the time has been both empowering and greatly unsettling due to that notion. "Reading the various accounts of deja vu on your site was a huge relief. I'm so glad I'm not the only one going through steady and specific deja vecu. I sure hope that someone is doing serious research on the deja phenomemons, and that whatever the cause is it will be discovered and made public knowledge sooner rather than later. Sites like yours, and other places where people can recount their experiences, should help quite a bit.

"Thank you so much for making this site! I hope my own account can enrich your knowledge of the phenomenon and help others feel like they're not alone in their experiences in turn."

By sharing this wonderful note, I am hoping others will now feel motivated to relate their experiences in comments to this blog. It would also be really great to see you at either the Rhine Center lecture or the workshop at the end of June.