Last Friday, one of the world's most well known psychic detectives was a guest speaker at the Stedman Auditorium. Noreen Renier started out years ago as a single mother working in public relations and advertising, with no interest in the paranormal. She was totally unaware that she might have any special abilities. And then, quite unexpectedly, one night while visiting friends, she claims that she "connected" with one of their deceased grandmothers!
This was the remarkable beginning to her unconventional career as a psychic! And although there are not an abundance of real world applications for work in this area (not yet,anyway!) Noreen began working with law inforcement helping them to solve crimes. By her report, she has now been involved in more than four hundred cases in the United States and six foreign countries. She has been featured in numerous television programs, and has authored two books.
In person, Noreen appears to be about as open and down to earth as a person can be. She says she is as astonished by the dimension of her capabilities as are the clients who utilize her services. While apparently she has located missing persons, and led police and FBI agents to criminals they were seeking, she admits that, left to her own devices, she can hardly find her way around the supermarket!
In her talk, Noreen intrigued the audience when she presented cases and discussed various aspects of her work. While she omitted many of the more graphic and disturbing details, it is clear that what she does is quite serious and involves situations that fortunately most of us will never have to deal with. These include murder, abduction, tragic accidents, and mysterious disappearances.
The method she uses to obtain her knowledge is known as Psychometry. This involves her holding an object, such as a piece of jewelry, or an article of clothing , belonging to someone and accessing information. For reasons we don't entirely understand, these revelations come to her through visions or impressions. While this is happening, she often goes into a trance state, and when finished, often has no recollection of what she said.
While there are a known number of people who appear to have this gift---of being what is called a psychometrist----Noreen feels that anyone is capable of it. When recounting her first experiences, which as stated, were quite a shock to her, she then made an effort to develop her skills by learning different techniques, and ongoing practice.
Now, in addition to her forensic work, Noreen gives courses and workshops to help others develop their own psychic abilities. It is her belief that one's sixth sense can be trained ,just as any of the other five senses, to evolve to greater levels of mastery. She recounts that her students have been able to produce amazing results.
As with all areas of PSI, the underlying mechanisms of psychometry, need to be subjected to much more scientific research. At the Rhine, we are planning to commence controlled studies with many gifted individuals to assess their abilities. We hope that in doing so, we might not only illuminate the mysterious capabilities of the mind, but also put an end to the ongoing controversies in the scientific world with regard to the paranormal.
-- Cynthia Nigro, Ph.D.
