Parapsychology and alternative medicine forums of mind-energy.net

More proof that consciousness is not an epiphenomenon or an illusion: 10 Amazing Examples of Mind Over Matter

anonymous — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:47:26 GMT

This article provides more proof that consciousness is not an epiphenomenon or an illusion. An epiphenomenon is a phenomenon that cannot influence the thing that cause it. The examples in the linked article show that consciousness can influence the physical body and therefore it cannot be an illusion or an epiphenomenon.

10 Amazing Examples of Mind Over Matter - Listverse

Drying Sheets
Multiple Personality Disorder
Placebo Effect
Nocebo Effect (Doctor cures dying voo doo victim by faking a lizard-ectomy.)
Dreams Cause Real Injuries
Yogis Nearly Stop Heart Beat
Sports Visualization
Block Out Pain
Positivity and Meditation
Boosts Weight Loss (Hotel maids lose weight when they are told their job gives them ample exercise.)

Victor Zammit's new book is released

Alexander1304 — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:21:50 GMT

Hello All,
As I see on the Amazon, Victor Zammit's new book is released:

A Lawyer Presents the Evidence for the Afterlife: Victor Zammit, Wendy Zammit: 9781908733221: Amazon.com: Books

Already 77 votes,75 -5*, 1 - 4* and 1 - 1*. 1* is actually not about the book but about suspicion "how is the book not released yet but lready has 35 votes?" - and comments on this post.

I have controvercial feeling about Victor. Some of his material seems to be dubious,as of that of David Thompson, but I think the book is valuable in its amount of gathered alledged evidence for an afterlife. Over all should be enjoyable read

Interview with Alex Tsakiris, take two

jacob — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:08:42 GMT

Almost six years after my previous interview, I've posted my second interview with Alex.

Interview with Alex Tsakiris of Skeptiko, take two | Mind-Energy

Interview with Alex Tsakiris of Skeptiko, take two (Blog)

jacob — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:02 GMT

Discuss here the following article from mind-energy.net blog.
Skeptiko podcast host, Alex Tsakiris had started his public journey into the world of psi research in January 2007. I had the opportunity to interview him about 5 months after he had started.

Six years and about 200 fantastic episodes later, Alex has agreed to a follow-up interview.

Despite starting the podcast without taking a position, just 5 months later you seemed to side with proponents of psi. I've got the feeling that in the following years you've established even firmly in the proponents camp. Is this where "following the data", as you love to say, led you?

Short answer � yes. My biggest surprise was discovering how weak the skeptical arguments against psi were. You hear these skeptical talking points like, "100 years of nothing", "pseudoscience", "lack of experiential controls", and it sounds like there's a raging scientific debate. But when I drilled into it I found very, very little substance to the Skeptical position.

Revisiting our previous interview reminded me that back then you had this initiative called Open Source Science. You wanted to duplicate some psi experiments, starting with the famous "Dogs that know" experiment of Rupert Sheldrake. I know you've done some work on it, but the project seems dead now. Even the web site redirects to Skeptiko.com. What happened to this initiative? Do you plan to conduct any experiments in the future?

I guess this kinda gets back to question 1 in that when I started out I thought there was a real scientific debate. I naively thought that more data would make a difference. Over time I came to understand that for most folks it's not about the data, it's about preserving their worldview.

Also, on a practical level, I found out how hard it is to do decent research. I spent a couple years and several thousand dollars on the "Dogs that Know" experiments. I even teamed up with some researchers at the University of Florida. We defiantly observed some dogs that knew when their owners were coming home, but turning that into a viable research project was much harder than I expected.

You also had an idea to do a movie. What happened to that?

The good thing about movies is that you can always say you're still working on it… yea, I'll go with that

The podcast touched on many subjects related to parapsychology, including NDE research, nature of consciousness, ESP research, mediumship, religion, and even UFOs. Today, what do you firmly believe in regarding these topics. What you don't believe is true? Where are you still truly skeptical?

That's what Skeptiko is all about… so you gotta listen to find out

In some of the older episodes you told about your personal experience with medium readings and even an OBE (am I right?). What did these personal experience teach you?

My personal experience with medium readings demonstrated the reality of anomalous communication. As to the source of that communication, the simplest expatiation is survival of consciousness. I never was able to make it out of my body — lucid dreaming is as far as I got

Alex Tsakiris

I wonder how all that you've learned in these 6 years affected your personal life, your beliefs about the world, your relationships with friends and family. Can you share any of this?

The shift has been quite dramatic. I've become convinced that the evidence for survival of consciousness is overwhelming. I try to live that reality every day. Of course, "try" is the operative word… not sure my wife and kids think I try hard enough

Are there any people whom you wanted to interview but couldn't?

There are some Skeptics I would love to talk to, but these guys only do science interviews with folks that agree with them. I've found fundamentalist Christians are more open to debate than Skeptics.

You loved to talk about the "paradigm shift" in science, in which the mainstream scientific community will accept the existence of psi and divert more resources into the research and understanding the implications. Do you notice any such shifts in mainstream science in the last years?

Not really. Maybe a little more openness, but that's it. I don't think a system like the one we have that is totally enmeshed in materialism can bootstrap itself out of it.

Related to the previous question, from time to time there'll come out some books or some really interesting cases that reach the mass media, like "Proof of Heaven" book by Dr. Eben Alexander, whom you interviewed twice. the book was a bestseller and the person appeared all over mass media in the US. Yet again, it doesn't seem to move the scientific community interest in this topic. Why is that? What will it take to bring this paradigm shift?

I think most people are quite comfortable with this artificial, and fundamentally bizarre, divide we've created between "science" and "religion".

While the scientific community still remains mainly skeptical, it sometimes feels that there is much more openness on these topics in the general public. Perhaps the recent controversy over the TEDx talks of Rupert Sheldrake and Graham Hancock is a good example. It appears that the public reaction to the banning of these talks, as could be seen on TED's discussion forums on them, was not one-sided. In fact, the number of commenters in favor of these talks was impressive. What does this teach us?

That the wrongheadedness of this biological-robot silliness is self-evident to anyone willing to look with an open mind.

You seem to have succeeded to create quite a vibrant community over the Skeptiko forums. Discussions between proponents and skeptics are usually conducted in a civilized manner. And if not, moderators take care of it, bringing the discussions back on track. Personally, reading fascinating accounts of the personal experiences of different members of the community makes me wonder why some people still have doubts in the validity of psi and extended consciousness. What have you learned from the community?

I learned a lot from this wonderful community that you've been so much a part of creating… thank you by the way

What podcasts do you regularly listen to?

Hardcore History
Martini Shot
This American Life
Hidden Experience
Aeon Byte
Buddha at the Gas Pump

What are your plans for the future of Skeptiko?

In some ways I feel like a bit of a slow learner I mean, a lot of the stuff I've learned through Skeptiko has been out there, and in many cases known to me, for quite some time. So, why did it take me so long to come around? Maybe I'm more like the skeptics I rail against than I'd like to admit… married to a worldview… unwilling to give up my illusion of control.

I guess the future of Skeptiko will be driven by the misconceptions I'm willing to let go of? I guess we'll find out together.

Any closing words

Thx for doing this interview Jacob. And thx for being such an important part of Skeptiko… from the very beginning.

Click here to view the article.

A Theory of Physical Interaction in NDE's

LoneShaman — Wed, 22 May 2013 06:17:01 GMT

A very interesting lecture from Robert Mays addressing various aspects of NDE and the mind body problem.

Essentially he claims that the mind interfaces with the brain through finely structured oscillating electric dipoles. I find the theory quite compelling and does in my view account very well for many phenomena extending even beyond what he mentions in the lecture. I do believe we live in an electric universe from cosmology to biology so it does speak to me intuitively, It also resonates with my own experiences from deeply altered states of consciousness.

Physical interaction in NDE explains NDE aftereffects: solving the "hard problem" of cons. - 1 of 4 - YouTube
Physical interaction in NDE explains NDE aftereffects: solving the "hard problem" of cons. - 2 of 4 - YouTube
Physical interaction in NDE explains NDE aftereffects: solving the "hard problem" of cons. - 3 of 4 - YouTube
Physical interaction in NDE explains NDE aftereffects: solving the "hard problem" of cons. - 4 of 4 - YouTube

Just to add, I just found out Robert has posted here a few times. Cool!

Henry Stapp's Quantum Theory of Mind

sbu — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:24:15 GMT

I have lately been looking into some of Henry Stapp's work (http://www-physics.lbl.gov/~stapp/stappfiles.html) and find it quite refreshing. There are probably tons of criticisms one can drill into, I'm however especially interested in the cornerstone in the work, von Neumann's interpretation of QM (Consciousness collapses the wave packet).

So I googled the latest news from the frontline research of QM interpretations and found that the von Neumann interpretation apparently doesn't enjoy any widespread support among physicists. Worse, I found the former podcast guest Jerry Coyne's blog where he had posted the following snippet from an email by Sean Carrol:

Quote:

...quantum mechanics is hard to make sense of, therefore maybe God. The only thing raising it above the level of that would be the specific suggestion that somehow conscious minds play an important role in QM. This is indeed something that some of the pioneers considered, but that has largely fallen out of favor since then (not that it was ever very favorable). Note that Barr is not quoting modern researchers in the foundations of QM, but a litany of dead physicists (Wigner, Peierls, von Neumann, Jeans). Great men all, but we know more now than we did then. In particular, we understand what makes wave functions seem to “collapse”—the process of decoherence, by which detailed information in the wave function is lost through interactions with a complex environment. A conscious mind would count as a complex environment, but so would the air in your room. As usual in this game, as we understand things better the apparent need for a divine assist disappears. That’s not to say we completely understand the measurement problem, but the “God interpretation” of QM is not a leading contender among modern thinkers....

My question to the more physics knowledgeable debatters: Is it true that the classic interpretation Copenhagen/Von Neumann is losing popularity due to actual experimental findings (e.g. decoherence rather than collapse), or does Sean Carrol and others support the alternative interpretations on philosophical grounds alone (as these interpretations seems to supports their atheist position better).

My next question is if anyone is aware of any serious refutals of Henry Stapp's work?

Indication of anomalous heat energy production in a reactor device containing hydrogen loaded nickel powder.

mszlazak — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:58:41 GMT

http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1305/1305.3913.pdf

Finally! Independent Testing Of Rossi's E-Cat Cold Fusion Device: Maybe The World Will Change After All

i need help

confused — Tue, 21 May 2013 02:10:09 GMT

Im 14 and my great aunties always been telling me that i have the gift, she is a Psychic medium or whatever you call it and she says her great auntie was like it too, so she thinks it skips a generation and i thought it was a load of willy nilly until i started to get feelings of bad energy in rooms and when i go to new places and meet new people i feel like i have already been there and already met them and when im saying things to them it feels like ive spoke the same words to them before so sometimes i change what im about to say is this a good thing to do? also i dream about things that actually come true sometimes days later sometimes weeks or even years. my auntie says when im older the spirits will come and ask me if i want the real thing is this true? i just need you do give me some advice on this or tell me what its like if i seem like i am pshychic?:confused::o

Sean Carroll on Naturalism

jt512 — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:59:18 GMT

Theoretical physicist Sean Carroll was a guest on the most recent episode of philosopher of science Massimo Pigliucci's podcast. The topic of conversation was naturalism. I think you'll find this discussion provocative no matter where you stand on the skeptic�proponent continuum.

Sean Carroll discusses naturalism with Massimo Pigliucci

An Interview w/ Blue Science's Matt Pulver on Physics, Consciousness, and Pathological Science

jmag0904 — Sun, 19 May 2013 23:11:15 GMT

Good Afternoon All. Big fan of the skeptiko-community in general, and just wanted to share a bit of my own work. Below I've posted two links to a recent interview I conducted with Physicist Matt Pulver on Theoretical/Alternative Physics (Including Subquantum Kinetics, Electro-Gravitation, Alternative Cosmology, etc.), Spirituality/Limits of Perception, and the Sociology of Establishment/Materialist Science. Matt is a colleague of Physicist/Systems-Theorist Paul LaViolette.

Thank you very much for taking an interest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEVBRJs85Qg

John Maguire | Fostering Public Intelligence and Wisdom

Do you think the future might already be written

OC68 — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:58:46 GMT

And when people have dreams of future events that turn out to be true is that suggestive of this? Like say someone has a dream about a disaster happening in some city in Siberia that they've never been to, never dreamed of, never really thought of, and within a day there's an earthquake in that city- do these sorts of dreams imply the person is somehow tapping into a future that is already written? What are some of the other possibilities?

ways to help spirits cross over?

sk9 — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:08:06 GMT

My husband passed away a year ago. Of late, I was sensing his presence around me. Small incidents like smelling his perfume at bedtime, feeling guilt having his favorite foods, sudden craving for alcohol(I don't drink, and he was an alcoholic), feeling his touch had been happening. Since I am taking help from a transpersonal therapist, I shared this with him and he asked me to meditate and talk to my husband. He guided me into it and I met my husband. My husband appeared drunk, old and sad. He said he couldn't live without me and wanted to stay on with me. I asked to stay on and be happy with us and see how well we were all doing. As I talked, he slowly turned younger, happier. We continued talking and I kept reassuring him that he went because it was time for him and we experienced whatever we did as a result of our previous life( I have had a past life regression that explains well what was happening in this life). As I talked, he slowly transformed to his younger self filling up with light. By the end of it, he was a young child with wings, dressed in white light . He thanked me and then danced away and I came out. I am feeling better too.

My question is: Did I help him cross over or is it just my imagination? I couldn't talk about this with my therapist because this happened in two parts- one part in his office and the last part at home, later that same day. Does anybody have any idea about this?

The Power of Rituals

Sandy B — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:43:14 GMT

Little rituals really do work - Salon.com

Quote:

Recent research suggests that rituals may be more rational than they appear. Why? Because even simple rituals can be extremely effective. Rituals performed after experiencing losses � from loved ones to lotteries � do alleviate grief, and rituals performed before high-pressure tasks � like singing in public � do in fact reduce anxiety and increase people�s confidence. What�s more, rituals appear to benefit even people who claim not to believe that rituals work. While anthropologists have documented rituals across cultures, this earlier research has been primarily observational. Recently, a series of investigations by psychologists have revealed intriguing new results demonstrating that rituals can have a causal impact on people�s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Quote:

People perform mourning rituals in an effort to alleviate their grief � but do they work? Our research suggests they do. In one of our experiments, we asked people to recall and write about the death of a loved one or the end of a close relationship. Some also wrote about a ritual they performed after experiencing the loss:

Quote:

I used to play the song by Natalie Cole �I miss you like crazy� and cry every time I heard it and thought of my mom.

Quote:

I looked for all the pictures we took together during the time we dated. I then destroyed them into small pieces (even the ones I really liked!), and then burnt them in the park where we first kissed.

We found that people who wrote about engaging in a ritual reported feeling less grief than did those who only wrote about the loss.

Quote:

Despite the absence of a direct causal connection between the ritual and the desired outcome, performing rituals with the intention of producing a certain result appears to be sufficient for that result to come true. While some rituals are unlikely to be effective � knocking on wood will not bring rain � many everyday rituals make a lot of sense and are surprisingly effective.

Opinions about authors Carl Japikse and Robert Leichtman

Ninshub — Sat, 18 May 2013 22:10:42 GMT

I've just read a stirring article in the new IANDS Vital Signs issue by Carl Japikse where he talks about the issue of ideologies (secular and religious) poisoning our minds and keeping us in the dark about the real data that's out there about out true nature as spiritual beings.

It's an edited down version of a chapter of his recent book:
Isms & Schisms: Carl Japikse: 9780898048599: Amazon.com: Books

Anyway, my question is if people have read any of the (many!) books by Japikse and Leichtman (who have co-authored quite a few) and if and what they would recommend.

I know these books (two volumes of Enlightenment) are popular:
The Revelation of Light: Robert R. Leichtman, Carl Japikse: 9780898041712: Amazon.com: Books

Amazon.com: The Light of Learning: Activating Our Divine Possibilities (9780898041705): Robert R. Leichtman, Carl Japikse: Books

I also know that Leichtman wrote a series of 24 books of mediumistic interviews (Edgay Cayce Returns, Shakespeare Returns, etc.) and he's spoken well of by George Meek in After We Die, What then?

Feel free to share your opinions if you've read any of these books by these authors! :)

Why is psi so elusive? A review and proposed model

Juan — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:47:03 GMT

Why is Psi so Elusive? A Review and Proposed Model

Do you agree with this article? Do you have any reason to favor one hypothesis over the other?