Paranormal Research

stevenmu

I thought it might be usefull to have a thread dedicate to listing interesting results of some of the many paranormal research projects in progress. I would ask that people confine postings on this thread to listing to serious research projects* and a quick description of them, other related projects, or serious pieces which seem to contradict their findings** . My hope is that this thread can become a kind of 'body of evidence' which Psi will see as being suitable to be stickied (and I hate stickies which have 20 pages of chit-chat you have to dig through to find anything usefull).

I believe that many institutions may not appreciate people 'deep-linking' directly to results as this can lead to them being taken out of context or mis-construed, aswell as not providing the deserved attention to the institution/group/indiviuals involved. Please link to at least the project's homepage, if not the homepage of the institution/group/individual.




*I realise that what may constitute serious research may differ from person to person so I really don't want to define it.

** i.e. proper sceptical pieces as opposed to ones which say 'meh, it's paranormal so they must be quacks' (comment not aimed at anyone in particular )

stevenmu

The Koestler Parapsychology Unit at Edinburgh University have conducted several studies into Ganzfeld ("Total Field") Telepathy (wikipedia link). The KPU homepage is at http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/ and details of these particular tests can be found by selecting 'Psi' from the left menu and then 'ESP' at the top. At the bottom of this page 'Ganzfeld ESP' links to a description of their methods, while 'Findings' links to some of their results.

The basic method of their tests is to have a 'sender' view a 'target' which is a video clip randomly selected from a group of four by computer. There is then a 'sending' period during which the 'sender' and 'reciever' are put in a relaxed state, the sender is reshown the clip while the reciever is encouraged to call out any ideas or images which enter their mind. The sender is able to hear the recievers mentation and is encouraged to try and mentally reinforce aspects which match the target clip. At the end of this period the reciever is the shown the four clips that the target was selected from and is asked to select which clip they feel the target was. (this is just a brief description, more complete details available at link above)

They have used slightly different variations on their methods with differing results, but with expected hit rates of 25% they have run tests which scored hit rates of 47%, which is certainly signifigant. Interestingly they have seemed to have found variations in the type of people tested, one test showed musicians with a hit rate of 56%, artists 50%, writers and actors 41%.

GuanYin

Ok, stickied.

Any posts not in line with what stevemu has asked for in the original post will be frowned heavily upon.

And by frowned heavily on I mean binned.

6th

Sorry double post.

6th

Real Ghosts, Ghost Hunting, and Quantum Physics

One of the benefits of a lifetime of afterlife communication is that I know a lot about ghosts … what they are and what they’re not. For instance, they’re not "caught between worlds." And they don’t need us to help them "move on." They’re exactly where they’re supposed to be. You don’t honestly think that God, the Creator of the Universe, would leave their eternal fate in your and my hands, do you?

You CAN say that they are "earthbound," but that’s because their consciousness never left the earth. And when you die, yours won’t either. We’re all right here together forever. That’s just the nature of the afterlife. Yes, knowing the laws of the afterlife can make these things a lot clearer.

Lately, I’ve been researching what folks believe about ghosts and hauntings. I’ve investigated the investigations. Repeatedly I’ve read, "We don’t use ouija boards, séances, mediums or occult methods." Yet it’s common for ghost researchers to accept, as an underlying condition of their investigations, the erroneous claims of psychics, mediums, and channels.

I’m referring to such concepts as "caught between worlds," "unfinished business," "earthbound souls," and ghost children in distress. At the same time ominous warnings urge vigilant caution in case non-human demons and malevolent entities are encountered. Oh, and don't forget the Hollywood expression, "Go to the light." Scientific research can’t be conducted properly on a foundation of superstition.

Let me tell you some things that are true about ghosts. Actually there are only two kinds of ghosts: real and not-real.

The real ghosts are everywhere. They’re in your home, in your car, in your school, and in your dreams. Ghost researchers call these interactive ghosts. I call them soul-ghosts, or disincarnate souls. I don’t care for the term, disembodied because they do have a body. We just can’t see it for the same reason that we can’t see sound waves and ultraviolet light. They’re outside the range of our sentient boundary.

Soul-ghosts are interactive. They reach out to you, and you feel no fear … absolutely none. They envelop you in a blanket of warm fuzzies. Real ghosts can be mistaken for angels. This isn’t a paranormal experience. It’s a supernatural and spiritual experience.

The not-real ghosts seem to be everywhere too, but only for people that believe they exist, or at least believe that they might exist. They rarely bother unbelievers. Ghost researchers call the not-real ghosts … residual ghosts. These ghosts seem to defy the Law of Conservation of Matter and Energy because they pop in and out of existence like virtual particles. The appearance of this type of ghost can be explained by quantum physics. From the Copenhagen Interpretation, which states that nothing is real until you look at it, to the holographic theory of the universe, all ghosts abide by the laws of quantum physics.

People that experience residual ghosts say that they seem to be caught in a time-loop replaying the same scene over and over. The above mentioned physics also apply to residual ghosts but with the addition of Schrodinger’s equations. For every "now" that we experience, a positive wave flows into the future and a negative wave flows into the past like concentric ripples created by a rock thrown into a pond.

The fact that some people experience residual ghosts is due to normal functions of human consciousness. Although some might rather think of it as a "glitch." Residual ghosts are unusual and fascinating experiences with natural causes.

Briefly, a few more types of not-real ghosts are poltergeists, demons, and shadow people. Abnormal psychology applies to poltergeists and demons. The physiology of the eye accounts for shadow people.

So, what’s the truth about ghosts? Do they exist? Yes, of course they do. Can the scientific method be used to investigate them? Yes, they use measurable amounts of energy. Can you record their voices and photograph ghosts? Yes, but one needs to be alert to pattern recognition tendencies.

The science of ghost investigation has the potential to make a huge difference in a society still tormented by superstition and fear. You have the equipment. You have the rationale. And you have the compassionate desire to help others.

Written by Robbin Renee Bridges
Date Posted: 09/15/2005

Copyright 2005 Robbin Renee Bridges

About the Author:

Robbin Renee Bridges, a chaplain and grief counselor for more than thirty years, is the author of numerous published articles and the landmark book, "A Bridge of Love between Heaven and Earth: Self-Induced Contact in the Afterlife." For more articles about death, ghosts, and the nature of the souls in the afterlife visit http://www.spirit-sanctuary.org/

Interesting article even if i dont subscribe to it all.

stevenmu

Dean Radin at the Boundary Institute has conducted reasearch into precognition (well presentiment to be exact) by measuring the galvanic skin response (and other physical indicators) of subjects prior to showing them images which may be either calming or emotionally charged. The basic idea is that a picture which creates an emotional response in a subject will trigger a change in their physiological measurements. If this change is measured prior to the image being shown then precognition could be said to have occured.

PDF's outlining the experiments, presenting and analysing the hypothesis and results are available here


(also contains a summary of their ongoing web based tests and some other interesting papers)

stevenmu

I'm going to just link to a site here because they have their own very good page summarising research with links to papers. The site is the Cognitive Sciences Laboratory, and their online library is here. Both the library and the site as a whole are definitly worth a read for anyone interested in the paranormal abilities humans possess.

6th

Ok I found this article very interesting thought its connection to Star Wars will get it piss-ripped a bit.

The Field tells the story of a group of frontier scientists who discovered that the Zero Point Field - an ocean of subatomic vibrations in the space between things - connects everything in the universe, much like the Force in Star Wars.

Full Story

mysteria

How does a book written by a journalist who did 4 years research qualify as " paranormal research projects in progress?" Check out:
www.ufopsi.com/articles/parapsychology
Academic research and teaching
+ Abteilung f�r Psychologie und Grenzgebiete der Psychologie
+ Anomalous Cognition - Amsterdam
+ Center for Frontier Sciences - Welcome
+ Index Forschungsprojekt PR�KOGNITION - PSYCHOKINESE
+ Koestler Parapsychology Unit - dynamic
+ Koestler Parapsychology Unit
+ Parapsychology Research at Northampton Nene University
+ Perrott-Warrick Research Unit
+ Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research
+ Research at Liverpool John Moores University

Associations and research centers

* ANPSI - Ass. Naz. Pranoterapeuti e Sensitivi Italiani
* Bay Area Paranormal Research Society
* Bio-Emission Laboratory
* Exceptional Human Experiences Network EHEN Transpersonal Psychology Transcendent Consciousness
* GWUP e.V. - Homepage
* Institute of Noetic Sciences - Home
* International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) (Near-Death Experiences)
* Intuition A Link Between Psi and Spirituality
* Intuition Network Home Page
* ISLIS homepage(E)
* Monterey Institute for the Study of Alternative Healing Arts
* Mysterium Online
* One Star In Site - Paranormal Investigation and Consulting
* PEER Program for Extraordinary Experience Research
* Psi Explorer Home Page
* TASTE - The Archives of Scientists' Transcendent Experiences
* The Bruno Gr�ning Circle of Friends. A world-wide association for spiritual help and healing through the teachings of Bruno Gr�
* The Institute for Frontier Science - HealthWorld Online
* The Paranormal Network
* Welcome to Berkeley Psychic Institute.
Sorry I don't know how to put links up.
.

6th

Theres an Irish Institue as well isnt there? I know your involved with it but i dont think it would be taken the wrong way if you listed it - Ireland needs to make its mark in my opinion.

6th

The VERITAS Research Program of the Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health (formerly the Human Energy Systems Laboratory) in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona was created primarily to test the hypothesis that the consciousness (or identity) of a person survives physical death.

The VERITAS Research Project:

Discovering the Truth about the Survival of Consciousness
and the Continuity of Life


Research Aims

Mediumship Communication Research Project

The Mediumship Communication Research Project was designed with five major research aims in mind:

• The first aim is to develop the capacity of mediums to obtain targeted information identifying a discarnate as well as information regarding the afterlife. Within this aim we will investigate scoring methodologies and the screening of potential mediums.

• The second major aim is to examine the conditions affecting a medium's reading. This includes comparing non-blinded, single-blinded, and double-blinded readings between the same sitters and mediums; examining conditions that impair or enhance the performance of the medium (i.e., trance mediumship, factors about the sitter, factors about the discarnate, factors about the medium); and investigating the source of errors in a reading (i.e., using electroencephalographs). This aim will also examine the explanation behind these findings.

• The third aim involves mediumship training. We will investigate the development of mediumship, predisposing factors, age-related factors, and mediumship instruction answering the question: can mediumship be taught?

• The fourth aim of the project is to examine the source of a medium's information (i.e., discerning between telepathy with the living, reading “dead” information stored in the universe, or getting information from a discarnate).

• The fifth aim will compare genuine and fake, “cold,” or computer-generated readings.

Link Here