Parapsychology, Anthropology, Mediumship, Phenomenology, Spiritualism, Paranormal, Supernatural, Folklore, Religion, Sociology

The Bible is full of references to magic and divination, but we rarely find attestations of witches and witchcraft, i.e. women performing acts of black magic. However, there is a mysterious passage in the Book of Ezekiel which seems to relate exactly that. In this compelling lecture Dr Alinda Damsma throws light on the identity and practices of these women, seeing them in the context of other known activities in the Ancient Near East. More info: https://www.treadwells-london.com/events-1/the-bibles-own-witches?mc_cid=27225007b0&mc_eid=50358b363f

The term sleep paralysis has been applied in order to, generally, denote experiencing what has been variously defined as a waking sleep: that is, being mentally alert and yet unable to move (or able to only make slight movements such as with the eyes and mouth, being able to look around and maybe able to speak).
Sleep paralysis has a very, very long history and thus many attempts have been made to explain it. In fact, so long is its history that we find various references to it within the Bible.

This paper investigates the relationship between psychoactive substances and so-called paranormal phenomena falling within the study of parapsychology. It is primarily concerned with extrasensory perception (ESP)—telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance—as well as out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and near-death experiences (NDEs). Psychokinesis (PK), aura vision, encounter experiences, and sleep paralysis only make a very limited contribution to this review as they are seldom related to psychoactive drugs within the parapsychological literature. The paper borrows widely, but by no means exhaustively, from parapsychology as well as transpersonal studies, anthropology, ethnobotany, phytochemistry, psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and neurobiology, particularly neurochemistry. It is organized into neurochemical models of paranormal experience (section 1), field reports of intentional and spontaneous phenomena incorporating anthropological, historical and clinical cases, and personal accounts (section 2), surveys of paranormal belief and experience (section 3), experimental research (section 4), and a methodological critique of the experimental research with recommendations for further work (section 5).

This essay examines a particular class of ghost movies: those where the ghost is ultimately refused and relegated to the realm of human imagination and trickery. It focuses on the case of Paul Leni’s 1927 The Cat and the Canary, to show how this film remediates a long tradition of spectacular entertainments based on the rejection of supernaturalism, and how such rejection has important consequences in the narrative frame and in the nature of the gratification invited in their audience. The chapter applies the concept the “spectralization of the mind,” proposed by literature scholar Terry Castle, in order to explain the narrative and conceptual role played by ghosts in this film. Particular attention is also given to the use of superimposition techniques and to the interpretation of noise as a sign of ghostly presence.

Current events in science imply that a new scientific revolution in physics is unfolding. This new revolution will be as much about mind and consciousness as it is about matter and physics. It will bring a new theory of physical reality that includes the consciousness that senses, interprets and interacts with physical reality. The new theory of consciousness will lead to explanatory models of the paranormal as well as explain how consciousness survives death. This prediction is not an optimistic 'pipe dream', but our present and future. A theory of this type has already been developed. It is based on a five-dimensional Einstein-Kaluza model of the space-time continuum. ‘Single field theory' or SOFT can easily account for paranormal phenomena and the survival of consciousness. Whatever theory finally succeeds in bridging the gap between mind and matter, indications are that it will have many of the characteristics of SOFT if it is not SOFT. Whatever the case may be, a valid theory that combines physical reality and consciousness is truly a theory to die for!

4. President’s Letter
New SPR President, Prof. John Poynton, asks whether the tide has turned for psychical research.
  6. The Medium
Dr Leo Ruickbie talks to Kai Mügge about his life and work as a physical medium, including the question of investigation.
12. The Séance
After the table levitated, what happened next? Dr Leo Ruickbie details his recent experience of a séance with Kai Mügge and the Felix Circle.
16. Listening to Tea Leaves
Ann R. Winsper asks whether electronic voice phenomena are genuine spirit communications or ‘audible tea leaves’.
19. Voices from Pennsylvania
Dr Peter McCue details his analysis of audio files purporting to be communications from the spirits of the deceased.
|22. Auditory Hallucinations
Dr James Paul Pandarakalam poses the question whether the source of auditory hallucinations lies beyond the material brain.
26. The Enfield Saga
Guy Lyon Playfair chronicles the history of the Enfield poltergeist from This House is Haunted to the TV drama The Enfield Haunting.
28. Macfadyen on Enfield
Actor Matthew Macfadyen reveals what it was like to play Guy Lyon Playfair in the recent Sky Living mini-series The Enfield Haunting.
30. The Enfield Effect
SPR Council Member John Fraser considers the increased interest in the SPR and asks what should be done about it.
31. No Coincidence
What happened when the Centre for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes went to Crete? Callum Cooper tells all.
33. Ex Libris
SPR Librarian Karen Patel reveals what is new on the library shelves.
34. Ghosts in the Machines
Brandon Hodge searches for the remains of the famous spirit room of Jonathan Koons.
36. Letters
Prof. Peter Mulacz responds to criticisms of his article in PR74.
39. Contributors
40. Events

The research will include the exploration of possibilities & boundaries of human and extraterrestrial communication in 21st century.

Pioneer 10 & 11 Plaque / The Ways to the New Plaque / Current ET Contacts will be the main linguistics topics covered.

We will base our research on the possibilities & limits of Universal Grammar by Noam Chomsky, discoveries of the traditional science then to pass to unconventional / heretical / non-ortodox research areas as xenolinguistics, higher spirituality, parapsychology, mysticsm & current spirituality.

Report on the "54th PA Annual Convention" (18.-21. August 2011), on the "7th Psi Meeting: Psi Research and Anomalistic Psychology" (17.-18. August 2011) and on the "6th Journey of Altered States of Consciousness", 16.-17. & 21.-22. August 2011

Подтверждена геомагнитная гипотеза полтергейста и мысль о том, что этот феномен может быть некой формой природных явлений, связанных с геофизическими факторами. Причём связь эта носит универсальный характер независимо от его географии. Выявление подобных взаимосвязей в каждом конкретном случае может служить маркером достоверности ПГ-процесса и дает ценную информацию психиатрам и психотерапевтам, оказывающим помощь жертвам полтергейста.


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The geomagnetic poltergeist hypothesis and the idea that this phenomenon may be a form of natural phenomena associated with geophysical factors have been confirmed. Moreover, this connection is universal, regardless of its geography. The identification of such relationships in each specific case can serve as a marker of the reliability of the PG-process and provides valuable information to psychiatrists and psychotherapists who provide assistance to victims of poltergeist.

Communication with the dead is not characteristically associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. However, lodged in the Rare Books Collection of the University of British Columbia is a remarkable diary kept by William Michael Rossetti. It consists of a small series of 27 handwritten folios entitled simply "Memoranda by himself." This diary is a meticulous record of twenty spirit-ualist séances that took place between 1865 and 1868, séances that attracted a number of Pre-Raphaelite artists, their friends, and family members. By 1865 spiritualism was practised widely throughout Britain. Though summoning the dead was by no means a recent preoccupation, it appeared in its modern form in America in the late 1840s, was brought simultaneously to England and the Continent in the early 1850s, and was widely disseminated by the 1860s. It was a highly controversial practice and drew in many famous names, for and against. Elizabeth Barrett Browning was an early convert, Charles Dickens a vigorous opponent, but its adherents ranged from Queen Victoria at one end of the social spectrum to Mary Marshall-poor, vulgar, but hugely eminent as the "washerwoman medium"-at the other. Séances, both public and private, took place throughout the country. Some were spectacular displays of showmanship involving large audiences; some were intimate, devout gatherings, while others took the form of after-dinner entertainment. The social, anthropological, and religious status of spiritualism has been much debated, but one important factor drove people to the darkened room of the medium: the desire to contact a dead loved-one. It was this motive that lay behind the séances in William Michael Rossetti's diary, since many of them were driven by Dante Gabriel Rossetti's desire to reach out to the dead Elizabeth Siddal. Though William was of course present at all the séances, not all were attended by his brother, and the "spirit" of Elizabeth Sid-The Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies, ns 29 (Fall 2020)

Entheogenic Plant Sentience – A private symposium. Tyringham Hall, September 2015. (Curator and compère)

Video trailer for the event: https://vimeo.com/156248371

Anton Bilton, Dr David Luke & Rory Spowers
Introduction from the hosts and curators

Dr Graham St John
The Pineal Enigma: The Dazzling Life and Times of the ‘Spirit Gland’

Dr Dennis J. McKenna
Is DMT a Chemical Messenger from an Extraterrestrial Civilization?

Dr Jeremy Narby
Amazonian Perspectives on Invisible Entities

Peter Meyer
Concerning the Nature of the DMT Entities and their Relation to Us

Dr Erik Davis
How to Think about Weird Beings

Dr Ede Frecska
The Second Foundation of Knowledge, True Visions, and Plant Sentience

Dr Andrew Gallimore
The Neurobiology of Conscious Interaction with Alternate Realities and Their Inhabitants

Dr Rupert Sheldrake
Morphic Resonance, Psychedelic Experiences and Collective Memory

Dr Rick Strassman
The Nature of the DMT Beings: Perspectives and Prospects

Graham Hancock
Psychedelics, Entities, 'Dark Matter' and Parallel Dimensions

Dr Rick Strassman
The Nature of the DMT Beings: Perspectives and Prospects

Dr David Luke
Entheogenic plant sentience and DMT entities: A summary of what we think we know

La realidad daimónica representa otra manera de entender los fenómenos relacionados con el mundo de lo misterioso. Para muchos, estará en la línea defendida por los escépticos pero  -con seguridad- nos llevará a cuestionarnos acerca de buena parte de los casos extraños que conocemos y, tras su lectura, nos será más fácil distinguir la realidad, llamémosla real, de la daimónica o psíquica.

El autor aborda el estudio de los fenómenos paranormales reprobando la doble actitud presente, por un lado, en la cultura oficial, al eludir las preguntas que deberían suscitar tales fenómenos sobre la naturaleza de la realidad y de la mente, y por otro, en la cultura popular, al tomar estas apariciones de un modo ingenuo, en su sentido literal.


Para Harpur se trata de fenómenos puramente psíquicos, siendo la psique el mundo, no sólo nuestras mentes individuales. Así, todos los seres fantásticos que han aparecido a lo largo de la historia (hadas, fantasmas, yetis, animales extraños,…) pertenecen al ámbito de la imaginación.

En el libro –publicado originalmente en 1995- se trata todo tipo de fenómenos anómalos, centrándose en lo relativo a la criptozoología a partir de la página 123, pero el autor dedica pequeños capítulos a los animales extraños a lo largo de casi toda la obra.

As I sat in a darkened séance room, holding the hands of my neighbours and singing along to popular songs on a cassette recorder, I felt a mixture of foolishness and nervous expectation. Neither 'believer' nor 'sceptic' I was open to experience whatever the evening had in store. The physical/trance demonstration was part of my research into mediumship and afterlife phenomena. Spirit possession and mediumship are not unusual topics for an anthropologist of religion, but by studying paranormal phenomena in the UK I had crossed a disciplinary boundary of academic probity, and risked being seen as gullible and academically unsound. A second boundary crossing involved the body of the medium. The discrete boundary we like to think unites our physical body with whatever other elements make us human (soul, spirit, consciousness, mind) was suddenly called into question. Assuming the séance was not simply an elaborate hoax, was it perhaps evidence that we live simultaneously on more than one plane of existence, and that direct communication between planes and their inhabitants is possible? This discussion is about boundary crossing, methodologically, in terms of subject matter, and ontologically, in seeking to understand how the world is constructed.

This article investigates the issue of faith healing in the Philippines as practiced by spiritists there. How does this happen? Who are what is behind it? Then it looks at what the Bible teaches about divine healing. The correlations and contrasts may surprise you.

In the field of Science of Religion and associated fields of the Human Sciences revisions about the limits of reality have begun, in response both to intercultural encounters as well as to a rising awareness of research on the complexity of reality in the natural sciences. These have elicited proposals that the perspectives of the "religious" and the "para-normal" should be distinguished. This resonates with traditions of empirical and theoretical research often marginalized by the prevailing Positivist ideology and by Cognitivism. It also resonates with suppressed cultural traditions. A cautious movement towards a wider and differentiated assessment of reality and of phenomena, to be approached in these two perspectives, can however be observed in scholarship of religion, and even in the fold of Cognitivist Psychology.
This presentation, held at the conference of the German Association for Science of Religion / DVRW in Potsdam in 2018 explores the field and argues for the validity and heuristic power of this distinction.

The Brazilian Spiritualist Christian Order Vale do Amanhecer (Valley of the Dawn) is the place where the worlds of the living and the spirits merge and the boundaries between lives are regularly crossed. Drawing upon over a decade of extensive fieldwork in temples of the Amanhecer in Brazil and Europe, the author explores how mediums understand their experiences and how they learn to establish relationships with their spirit guides. She sheds light on the ways in which mediumistic development in the Vale do Amanhecer is used for therapeutic purposes and informs notions of body and self, of illness and wellbeing.

Pierini, E., 2020, Jaguars of the Dawn: Spirit Mediumship in the Brazilian Vale do Amanhecer, New York; Oxford: Berghahn.

https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/PieriniJaguars

The word paranormal comes from the words "para" meaning beyond, and normal. So the term paranormal really means something that is beyond the normal scope of science or being beyond a scientific explanation.
Paranormal Investigating can be excited and scary at the same time. It takes a certain type of person to search for paranormal activity and if you really think about it, searching for ghosts or other paranormal activity is quite frankly, a pretty scary situation, which is why a Paranormal investigator must have a strong mental attitude, and be ready to not panic in stressful or dangerous situations.
This book is ideal for those who are new to paranormal investigation and also for more experienced investigators who want to learn more about how to apply a critical-path scientific approach. Perhaps most importantly, the book contains an entire chapter of information about precautions to be taken during paranormal investigation.

The temples of the Vale do Amanhecer (Valley of the Dawn) in Brazil and across the world are intended as 'spiritual emergency units' where mediums and their spirit guides provide patients with free assistance for health, relational, spiritual, and material matters concerning the person’s wellbeing. The therapeutic practice is known as 'disobsessive healing' and involves the release of causal spiritual agents considered to be affecting the person’s wellbeing. This paper discusses the Vale do Amanhecer’s etiology of illness and how mediums understand disobsessive healing as a complementary epistemology of healing, discerning spiritual and pathological experiences. Then, it examines how patients may draw their therapeutic trajectories across biomedical and spiritual contexts, sometimes developing mediumship as part of their therapeutic process. Approaching these therapeutic practices from the standpoint of affect and bodily experience may undermine the prominence of 'belief' in the study of non-biomedical approaches to healing, shedding light upon the relational, embodied, and lived-through dimensions of the notions involved in the therapeutic process.

Qigong—a regimen of body, breath, and mental training exercises—was one of the most widespread cultural and religious movements of late-twentieth-century urban China. The practice was promoted by senior Communist Party leaders as a uniquely Chinese healing tradition and as a harbinger of a new scientific revolution, yet the movement’s mass popularity and the almost religious devotion of its followers led to its ruthless suppression.

In this absorbing and revealing book, David A. Palmer relies on a combination of historical, anthropological, and sociological perspectives to describe the spread of the qigong craze and its reflection of key trends that have shaped China since 1949, including the search for a national identity and an emphasis on the absolute authority of science. Qigong offered the promise of an all-powerful technology of the body rooted in the mysteries of Chinese culture. However, after 1995 the scientific underpinnings of qigong would come under attack, its leaders denounced as charlatans, and its networks of followers, notably Falungong, suppressed as “evil cults”.

According to Palmer, the success of the movement proves that a hugely important religious dimension not only survived under the CCP, but was actively fostered, if not created, by high-ranking party members. Tracing the complex relationships among the masters, officials, scientists, practitioners, and ideologues involved in qigong, Palmer opens a fascinating window on the transformation of Chinese tradition as it evolved along with the Chinese state. As he brilliantly demonstrates, the rise and collapse of the qigong movement is key to understanding the politics and culture of post-Mao society.

Metaphysics, psychiatry, and physics all ignore what lurks within the shadow archetype of Earth’s ætheric layers. This thesis paper will explore our relationship with the independent, invisible, non-material forces that share our planet and exhibit a high degree of social and psychological agency.

Are we dealing with a self-serving, predatory race using an advanced form of psychological warfare that’s terraforming our reality through the human mind? Or is this predatory intelligence an aspect of some elaborate alchemical process, which, on a macro scale maintains our reality’s harmonious balance?

The profile points from the Missing 411 book series, curated by author and publisher David Paulides, were used to guide the Review of Literature.

Part One of the review of literature compares these profile points to similar cases found in the book, Time Storms, by Jenny Randles to reveal the destructive way in which the predator interfaces with humans and through the human environment.

Part Two of the review of literature features researchers from multiple disciplines that report how the predator has been embedded within the fabric of our reality from the beginning and can at times be a catalyst for an alchemical transformation.

The Discussion identifies the patterns of the predator in our surroundings and how we can collectively gain insights that could lead to more of us getting off the predator’s buffet table.

This study was carried out to help demystify traditional medical practices in Zimbabwe and assist people in understanding Zimbabwean traditional medicine. The Zimbabwean traditional religion involves a hierarchy of spirit mediums differing in the way they practice traditional medicine, as well as the origin and power of the spirit(s) that possess(es) them. MaGombwe, mediums of angels of God, occupy the highest level on the hierarchy. The second level is that of maSadunhu, the spirit mediums of the original leaders of clans who look after the interests of members of their clans. The third level is that of maTateguru, the spirits who look after the interests of the families they left behind. These spirits of great grandparents are complimented by spirits of grandparents who possess their mediums only to get a specific thing done and then disappear. The fourth level is occupied by N'angas, the 'real traditional medical practitioners.' These mediums may be possessed by spirits from any of the above levels, and differ from mediums at the original level in that they charge clients and the powers of their spirits are lower. The spirits at any of the levels are complimented by maShave, spirits that were created to perform specific tasks. The role of the spirit mediums is to service spiritual and medicinal interests of people. Training at the different levels of spirit mediums involves rigorous and tedious apprenticeship systems, and the mediums are willing to cooperate with other service providers if certain conditions are met. ______________________________________________________________________________ Médecine traditionnelle au Zimbabwe Takawira Kazembe Département des sciences et d'éducation mathématique, faculté d'éducation, Résumé Cette étude a été effectuée pour aider à démystifier les pratiques médicinales traditionnelles au Zimbabwe et pour aider les gens à comprendre la médecine traditionnelle Zimbabwéenne. La religion traditionnelle Zimbabwéenne implique une hiérarchie d'esprits médiums qui diffèrent dans la manière qu'ils pratiquent la médecine traditionnelle, aussi bien que dans l'origine et le pouvoir de(s) esprit(s) qui les possède(nt). MaGombwe, médiums des anges de Dieu, occupe le plus haut niveau de la hiérarchie. Le second niveau est celui de maSadunhu, les esprits médiums des chefs originaux de clans qui s'occupent des intérêts des membres de leurs clans. Le troisième niveau est celui de maTateguru, les esprits qui s'occupent des intérêts des familles qui sont laissées en arrière. Ces esprits d'arrière-grands-parents sont loués par les esprits des grands-parents qui possèdent leurs médiums seulement pour accomplir une chose spécifique et puis ils disparaissent. Le quatrième niveau est occupé par N'angas, les « vrai praticiens de la médecine traditionnelle ». Ces médiums peuvent être possédés par les esprits de n'importe lesquels des niveaux au-dessus, et diffèrent des médiums au niveau originel parce qu'ils font payer les clients

The identification of deviant burials as those of ‘vampires’ is a feature of excavated skeletons from sites across Eastern, Central and Southern Europe as well as the Balkans. Based on a close reading of historic and folkloric sources researchers have sought to match features of excavated sites with narrative descriptions drawn from vampire legend and myth. This study critically reviews the recent claims based on sites in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Poland and Slovakia. Whilst it is found that there was a widespread belief in vampires across Europe, it is argued that it is difficult to make absolute claims for ‘vampire’ burials on archaeological grounds as in most cases there are alternate and equally compelling interpretations of the data.

KEYWORDS
ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY, SIXTEENTH CENTURY, SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, VAMPIRE, DEVIANT BURIAL, PLAGUE, BLACK DEATH, FOLKLORE, PAGAN, BURIAL, WITCH, BALKANS, EASTERN EUROPE, CENTRAL EUROPE, SOUTHERN EUROPE, BULGARIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, POLAND, GREECE, ITALY, SLOVAKIA, LESBOS, VENICE, APOTROPAIC, VAMPIRIDZHIJA, PERPERIKON, SOZOPOL, PROSTEJOV, CELAKOVICE, DRAWSKO, GLIWICI, SOUTHWELL, KILTEASHEEN, LAZZARETTO NUOVO, NACHTZEHRER, KAMIEN POMORSKI

Wątki orientalne stanowią istotny komponent powstających na Zachodzie nurtów myśli ezoterycznej okresu międzywojennego, a ezoteryzm polski nie był pod tym względem wyjątkowy. W tym kontekście Indie zaczęły być postrzegane jako źródło odnowy, nadzieja na obudzenie i odrodzenie Europy. Ezoterykiem, który chętnie czerpał z tego źródła wątków był jeden z najbardziej wszechstronnych przedstawicieli polskiego środowiska ezoterycznego okresu międzywojennego, lwowianin Józef Świtkowski (1876–1942). Bogactwo jego zainteresowań, a także aktywność, jaką podejmował nie tylko zresztą na polu ezoteryki, sprawiła, że był on postrzegany zarówno jako ekspert w tym zakresie, jak i swego rodzaju "zwornik" ezoterycznego Lwowa. Był on twórcą jednej z najbardziej rozpowszechnionych interpretacji jogi, którą oparł w przeważającej mierze na myśli Rudolfa Steinera. Najważniejszą pracą dotyczącą jogi, jaką przygotował Świtkowski, jest "Wstęp w światy nadzmysłowe. Radża joga nowoczesna", w którym znalazł się pełny wykład jego poglądów na temat jogi - tak teoria, jak i wskazówki praktyczne.
Praca naukowa finansowana w ramach programu Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego pod nazwą „Narodowy Program Rozwoju Humanistyki” w latach 2016–2019: Kultura polska wobec zachodniej filozofii ezoterycznej w latach 1890–1939 (0186/NPRH4/H2b/83/2016).

Beliefs happen to be the most significant indicators of a person's overall personality and provide us a window on his mental constructs. The study of the paranormal activities and phenomena has been riddled with controversy since its conception and previous researches revealed mixed and contradictory findings. The present study focuses to study correlation between paranormal beliefs and the religious beliefs across different religious groups, among individuals of different age groups and socioeconomic status. Significant positive correlation was found between religious beliefs and paranormal beliefs as well as between religious beliefs and the traditional religious beliefs, psi and witchcraft subscales of the paranormal beliefs scale. Muslims scored higher on the traditional religious beliefs subscale in comparison with the Hindus. On the other hand, among the Hindus a higher degree of endorsement of witchcraft was observed. However, so far as the Christians are concerned no significant differences were observed either on global paranormal beliefs or any of the subscales of the paranormal beliefs. Socially marginal groups were found to be more susceptible to paranormal beliefs. They scored higher on psi, witchcraft, superstition, spiritualism, precognition as well as the total-paranormal beliefs scale.

This study presents the movement history of Instrumental Transcomunication (ITC) and analyzes the discourse of supporters. We understand ITC as one of the possible uses and appropriations of communication technologies. ITC is a practice in which contact with spirits is believed through communication technologies, which capture sounds and images supposedly generated by the media. The theoretical framework is based on media archeology and technological imagery. We consider communication technologies as extensions of man, according to Marshall McLuhan. We understand that ICT reflects an imaginary of human extrasensory extension.
This study is a chapter of the book "Communication, languages and religions", published in January 2020, in Brazil.

Since the first public demonstration of Mediumship in 1849, mediums have been accused of fraudulent behavior.  Today the debate continues as the SNU set guidelines for physical séances to protect the reputation of their establishments. Additionally, the Internet continues the discussion through blogs, YouTube, and websites. Although, there will always be skeptics, the role of Spiritualism in contemporary physical mediumship tends to be neglected as materialism overshadows spirituality. The need to make a living can turn physical mediums into “mixed mediums,” where part of their séance is real and part magic trick. This thesis explores physical mediumship from the Seven Principles, the foundation of Spiritualist philosophy, to examine its truth or falsity.

Darstellung der Elemente der "Esoterik"; trotz Überlappung der Themenbereiche bestehen massive Unterschiede zur (wissenschaftlich vorgehenden) Parapsychologie. Glaubensbereitschaft vs. wissenschaftliche Erkenntnis;  Aspekte der Psychohygiene - die Parapsychologie als Esoterik-Kritik

The subjective experience of feeling consciously connected with others and our environment--to that which is larger than ourselves--has been found to promote physical and mental health, or well-being. Various ways of evaluating this sense of connectedness have been studied under controlled scientific conditions. Through these studies, more has been learned about the effect of connectedness, ways of facilitating a sense of connection, and how to approach some objective understanding of its physical basis and human value. Evidently, we do share a interconnected rapport with others and with nature. However, we may have formed the contrary habit of dissociating and repressing a sense of connectedness for reasons strategic to our individual survival. Nevertheless, individual and global health could depend on therapeutically confronting these choices--both personally and socially. (Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 1996;2(3):39-45)
Darwin's concept, "survival of the fittest," was not meant to refer exclusively to "superior" individuals. He wrote, "Those communities which included the greatest number of the most sympathetic members would flourish best and rear the greatest number of offspring."1 Similarly, over thousands of years, religious, political, and intellectual movements have promoted various kinds of human sympathy, successfully enhancing the lives of individuals.
Today, an international community is held accountable for engineering worldwide cooperation. How will humanity--composed of so many segmented systems, each with its differing beliefs--come to adopt a capacity for sympathy through a sense of connectedness, such that we and the ecosystem of this planet survive and flourish?
Until recently, the concept of connectedness was treated as not suited for scientific study. However, with improvements in instrumentation and changes of interest, various kinds of connectedness are now being explored in many areas of research. Over the past 30 years a significant number of studies have been conducted, and these have scientifically begun to
determine its value and extent. A sense of connectedness appears to be a more fundamental and profound natural characteristic than is commonly recognized. Receiving the Nobel Prize in 1971, Neptali Ricardo Reyes (pseudonym, Pablo Neruda) said that the poet must achieve a balance "between solitude and solidarity, between feeling and action, between the intimacy of one's self, the intimacy of humankind, and the revelation of Nature."

In the face of the rapidly changing forces and stresses of global modernity many local peoples are seeking to reclaim
their own sense of values and identity through forms of religious and cultural revitalization.
Unlike many nativist movements that seek economic or political power through religious symbols, certain of these groups are "religions of
the self" concerned primarily with the nature of being-in-the-world. This study explores the revitalization of an ontology of
selfhood in the face of the stresses and changes of modernity.

More specifically I explore the dynamics of the indigenization of selfhood rooted in the embodied agency of individuals within a Taiwanese folk sect called the Compassion Society. In describing and analyzing people's lived experiences of ritual and praxis within the Compassion Society I show how the body is the "existential locus" of culture and selfhood from which this indigenization is produced.

The study reframes our understanding of cultural revitalization from an epistemological to an ontological one. The concern here is not
merely renewal of native "modes of thought," but a revival of native "modes of being." In order to do this I provide a background of the
historical and conceptual context of Chinese religious heritage in which this revitalization is framed. The structure
of temple and ritual life is presented in order to provide a picture of the sacred lifeworld. Drawing on first person
accounts, I then offer a radically empirical perspective to illuminate the ontological particulars of people's lived
experience. This illustrates the way in which selfhood is formulated in the matrix of embodied experience and praxis
within the Compassion Society.

The study situates itself within recent efforts of psychological anthropology to explore the processes of
embodied agency and self-making as the nexus of cultural productivity. This effort expands our understanding of the
indigenization of selfhood from an epistemologic concern with cognitive knowing to an ontological concern with people's
embodied being-in-the-world.