In this second of a three part series we’re going to cover a brief history of psychic phenomena. It should probably come as no surprise to anyone that people have been reporting psychic phenomenon since the very beginning of time all the way up to the present. What may surprise you is that these reports were widely accepted by many people including those who were quite well educated. As a matter of fact, many of the pioneers of modern science were believers in psychic phenomenon.
So when did modern psychic phenomenon come about? In order to understand this you have to go back to the beginning of the scientific revolution which was started by the British Royal Society in the 1600s. Men of real science were referred to as “natural philosophers.” Many of these natural philosophers like Isaac Newton were men who also believed in psychic phenomenon.
After the scientific revolution came what is known as the “period of enlightenment” which started in the 18th century around 1734. The first man of enlightenment was Franz Anton Mesmer who was a Viennese physician. During this period theories like “electricity” and “magnetism” were considered “invisible fluids.” Mesmer discovered another invisible fluid which he called “animal magnetism” which is supposed to be able to heal certain ailments without having to depend on the supernatural. He developed what is called Mesmerism. This induces a state of mind that today we call hypnosis. What Mesmer discovered in addition to this was that certain people had more of an affinity to be able to perform Mesmerism than others. These people were referred to as “gifted.”
The Mesmerism movement never really gained scientific acceptance and finally in 1784 The French Royal Society of Medicine and the French Academy of Sciences issued some negative reports on this movement. One researcher associated with Mesmerism, a Baron Carl Reichenbach, developed a vitalist theory to explain parapsychological phenomena. By the 1850s, though it didn’t go down without a fight, the Mesmeric movement finally came to an end but the teachings of the movement didn’t die with it. Partly because of changes in religious attitudes these teachings were repeated by others who called themselves “mediums” and started what is called the “spiritualist movement.” These people claimed to have contact with spirits of dead people. By the middle of the 19th century these mediums were found throughout Europe and in every part of society.
As psychic phenomenon began to spread, spiritualists began to break off from normal scientific society. This was quite evident in 1882 when a number of scientists left the Society For Physical Research located in London because of differences of opinion. Basically the scientists didn’t believe in psychic phenomena and the members who broke off did. This has since continued throughout history to the present day.
Today, we are more tolerant of people who claim to have psychic ability. You see them on talk shows TV and hear them with their own radio shows. As an enlightened society we no longer fear these people as they were feared years ago when many of them were persecuted and even killed. Still, many of us are still sceptical. Many of us also believe. It’s kind of like religion. We’ll never really know for sure who is right.
In the final article in this series we’ll go over some of the ways that psychics use their powers.
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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Psychics
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Remote Viewing is a psychical activity developed by various countries, including the Soviets, and used as a term by the CIA and the US military to define a psychic intelligence gathering activity. The origins of Remote Viewing are somewhat shrouded by its clandestine origins and there are various accounts.
In Remote Viewing, the viewer is given a target which is placed in a sealed envelope. This target is not physically identified or viewed by the subject, who attempts, nonetheless to connect with the object, in a protocol that somewhat resembles hypnotic induction. Remote Viewing embodies a procedure that attempts to induce the subject into an altered state of consciousness. Once induced, the subject then allegedly separates from his body and attempts to connect with the target through the “astral plane” or “ether.” In many ways this, component of Remote Viewing is almost identical to astral projection, which is being used to acquire information for intelligence operations.
Remote Viewing is said to have begun in 1970 in a CIA-funded project. Shortly afterwards, research began at the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, California. At this time, researchers Russel Targ and Harold Puthoff worked intensely with New York artist, Ingo Swann, who has recently written Superpowers of the Human BioMind, which is available on the Internet, which includes his purported true account of the history of Remote Viewing.
The next steps involved the formation of Detachment G, a group developed to study Remote Viewing; the initiation of INSCOM, an Army Major Command that governed Remote Viewing activities; the development of Gondola Wish, which attempted to monitor enemy uses of Remote Viewing, followed with the development of a working, intelligence collection group at Fort Meade called Grill Flame. In the late seventies, Grill Flame was integrated with SRI’s experimentation with Remote Viewing.
In 1981, Brigadier General Albert Stubblebine, III assumes Command of INSCOM. The next year, Ed Dames, an intelligence officer who would ultimately play a large role in the publicizing and privatization of Remote Viewing, begins to use Grill Flame as a source of intelligence information. That same year, Ingo Swann discovers new and more powerful Remote Viewing Protocols.
In 1983, INSCOM connects with the Monroe Institute and starts sending recruits to take the Gateway Course to learn the art of astral projection. (see article on Astral Projection). That same year, Ingo Swann begins to train four US Army officers and a female civilian in Remote Viewing. One of those Remote Viewing officers is Edward Dames, CPT. Later on, Dames will be one of the trainers of Mel Riley, Lyn Buchanan, Gabrielle Pettingell & Dave Morehouse.
After his military work in Remote Viewing is over, Dave Morehouse decides to break publicly expose the existence of Remote Viewing to the private sector, a feat for which he pays heavily as record in his book, Psychic Warrior (St. Martin’s Press, 1996). Although Morehouse is not particularly successful in these efforts at the time, it is Ed Dames who becomes the major spokesman for Remote Viewing through Art Bell’s late night radio show. Dames rather disturbing, apocalyptic visions eventually leading him to the nickname of Doctor Doom. Ed Dames actively teaches and explores Remote Viewing’s possibilities. Private companies like Britain’s Paranormal Management Systems and America’s PSI TEK continue to explore the Remote Viewing World.
Teresa Edwards is the author of “The Most Haunted Secrets” - the ultimate guide to how psychics communicate with spirit world. For more details visit The Most Haunted Secrets
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Probably the most famous psychic today is John Edward who is the star of the amazingly popular show seen on the Sci Fi channel, “Crossing Over With John Edward.”
The show premiered in July of 2000. It’s a half hour program that has Edward appearing in a dark theater surrounded by risers that are packed with audience members, all of which would pay enormous amounts of money just to be in the same room with this man. The typical show features Edward walking around the risers making comments like, “I am getting very strong vibrations about a guy named Dave over here. I don’t know what it means. Maybe Dave is someone who has recently left this world…” And the spiel goes on and on. Ultimately there will be someone in the audience who nods in response to these statements, possibly signifying that Edward is right on the mark about something. Sometimes they will even shout or break down in tears. It’s great television but many sceptics feel that’s all it is.
The truth is, Edward’s show is nothing new. He is just one in a long line of many who have done this sort of thing, from the Fox sisters in the 1800’s to current celebrates like Rosemary Altea, Sylvia Browne, and James Van Praagh. What is unique about Edward however is that he seems to be the right kind of psychic, who just happens to be in the right place at the right time.
Part of his success probably has a lot to do with the public’s fascination with the occult. A recent Gallop pole indicates that 20% of Americans believe in one form of the occult or another, many believing that you can communicate with the dead, which just happens to be John Edward’s specialty. Oddly, 24% of women believe in communicating with the dead while only 16% of men believe this can be done. This may or may not be a comment on the gullibility of women and men. As for religions, 27% of Catholics believe in talking to the dead as opposed to only 16% of Protestants and 9% of Jews.
Whatever the reasons are for these numbers, Edward has cashed in on them. His show is on 5 days a week and the money that he makes from this can only be guessed at. His show is said to be responsible for a 33% increase in the Sci Fi channel’s ratings to a daily average of about 533,000 households. More importantly, the program is attracting more female viewers to a station that previously was male dominated viewing. The audience for Crossing Over is over 60% female.
Between his TV show and national exposure from appearances on The Today Show, This Morning, and Dateline, this has made his book “One Last Time” a national best seller.
And of course with all of this the question most asked is, “Is he the real thing?” Critics who have charted his predictions have estimated that his accuracy is only about 10 to 20%. Of course they also noted that the volume of his predictions far exceeds any modern day psychic. Whether John Edward is legit or just another great entertainer there is no denying that he has become one of the most popular psychics of all time.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Psychics
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