Journal of Scientific Exploration

New Graduate-Level Education in Parapsychology on the Horizon

Jeffrey Mishlove — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:10:24 -0800

Is it Possible to Wake Sleeping People and Non-Human Animals by Staring at Them?

Rupert Sheldrake, Pam Smart — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:12:06 -0800

Some people say that they can wake sleeping people or sleeping non-human animals by staring at them. We investigated the natural history of these claims by examining more than 240 accounts submitted to us over a 30-year period by informants in the UK, US, Germany and several other countries. Most of these reports, 145 cases, concerned waking sleeping dogs and cats by staring at them; some described waking people up by looking at them, and some accounts were from people who had been woken by looks from animals or by other people. When animals were woken by people’s stares, 26% of them were said to have responded directionally by looking straight at the person who was watching them. Some people said that they themselves responded directionally to the stares of animals or other people as they woke, but the proportion of directional human responses was significantly lower (11%) than animal responses. Several informants said that animals were harder to wake by staring at them when they were dreaming. In most cases, possible explanations in terms of subtle sounds or chance coincidence seem unlikely. The ability to be woken by stares may involve a form of perception as yet unrecognized by science, for which we suggest the name scopegersis, from the Greek roots scop = “look at” and egersis = “awakening”. This putative ability seems closely related to the ability of people and many species of animals to feel the looks of unseen others when they are awake, known as the sense of being stared at or scopaesthesia. In both cases these responses may depend on the activity of the superior colliculus, a mid-brain region concerned with orientation towards environmental stimuli. These sensitivities may have evolved in the context of predator prey-relationships. We suggest experimental tests for investigating scopegersis in more detail.

The Case of Gnanathilaka Baddevithana: An Early Independent Investigation of One of Ian Stevenson’s Reincarnation Cases

James G. Matlock, Akila Weerasekera, Michael Nahm — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:13:21 -0800

This paper analyzes one of the first reincarnation cases Ian Stevenson studied, in 1961, and reported in Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation. The case of Gnanathilaka Baddevithana had previously been investigated by H. S. S. Nissanka, who kept records of his interviews in writing or on tape, making this one of fewer than three dozen published cases with records produced before past-life memories were verified. Unfortunately, because the book Nissanka wrote about the case was published only in Sri Lanka, and not translated until 2001, his investigation is little known. Because Nissanka’s and Stevenson’s investigations were conducted independently, by comparing their reports, one can evaluate to what extent Stevenson’s oft-criticized practices of spending only a few days in the field and working through interpreters impacted his presentation and conclusions. These practices are shown to have led Stevenson to miss considerable detail but to have had no effect on his evaluation of Gnanathilaka’s case. This suggests that criticisms of Stevenson’s methods are misguided and that, if anything, some of the cases he reported may be phenomenologically richer and evidentially stronger than he presented them as being, rather than the reverse.

Where is "Out There"?

Dan Graboi — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:14:45 -0800

Experimental evidence and verified individual accounts show that visual and other types of information from distant minds and environments can enter the conscious as well as the unconscious mind of an individual and can measurably affect brain and body function. The information appears to pass through every physical obstacle and does not degrade in quality with increasing distance in the path between source and receiver. No signal can be detected with current physical instrumentation. What is the medium in which this “psi-encoded information” appears to propagate? What is its format? What is its lifetime? Selected examples of apparent psi information propagation from differing types of sources are presented and analyzed. In order to account for the behavior observed in the examples, a worldview developed in the Advaitic thought tradition is considered, in which a non-physical domain interacts with the physical domain of matter-energy and spacetime. A main currency of the non-physical domain is postulated to be psi-encoded information. It is concluded that this information does not propagate through space. Other characteristics of the non-physical domain and its content are inferred from the examples. They provide a framework in which the nature of psi-encoded information and its processing may be further explored.

Reissner’s Fiber at the Intersection of Neuroscience and Mysticism: An Evolutionary Perspective

Lawrence Wile — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:16:06 -0800

During their evolutionary transition from apes, Homo sapiens developed the capacity to create mental worlds. While conferring a selective advantage and leading to wondrous intellectual achievements and transformative technologies, this capacity set humankind on a historical trajectory that is approaching the potential for its extinction. The genetic and anatomical basis of humankind’s unique mental capacities is unclear. However, the perinatal regression of Reissner’s fiber (RF) in humans, an enigmatic, strategically located filament originating from the center of the brain, is a likely factor.This study explores the hypothesis that the originators and transmitters of religious mystical traditions were rare individuals whose RFs persisted into adulthood. They perceived the fiber with its surrounding sensory neurons and experienced higher states of consciousness generated by it. Those perceptions have been transmitted in prescientific, mythological, symbolic language as the “subtle body,” the supposed intermediary connection between humans and the divine, bridging the gap between materiality and immateriality, and expanding consciousness beyond the limits of reason. Ultimately, this connection is the purported means of redemption. The secrets of mystical religious traditions are lost under the dust of fallen Babel. However, the identification of RF with the central axis of the “subtle body” presents a path toward their rediscovery. Emerging biotechnologies offer the potential to reverse RFs perinatal regression. Advanced technologies, such as real-time neurofeedback using quantum models, present exciting opportunities for the scientific study of consciousness and have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of spirituality and reality.

Exploring the Link Between Paranormal Phenomena and Plasma Balls

Miguel Arsenio Galán Santos, Stanley Koren — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:21:54 -0800

This article explores the relationship between many paranormal phenomena and a proposed type of plasma ball, with two electrically charged layers, referred to in this paper as “Electro-balls”. It provides a framework to explain these weird phenomena as different manifestations of Electro-balls and the mechanisms behind them. These manifestations include unexplained phenomena such as ball lightning, strange sounds in the sky (skyquakes), UFOs/ UAPs, haunted houses, poltergeist phenomenon, levitation, cattle mutilations, cryptids, angels & demons, demonic possessions, etc. It also discusses the electroball formation, its characteristics, and its effects on the environment.

FieldREG Measurements in Egypt: Resonant Consciousness at Sacred Sites

Roger D. Nelson — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:23:06 -0800

Over a two-week period, various “sacred sites” in Egypt were visited by a group interested in the spiritual qualities of the ancient temples, pyramids, and tombs. The group engaged in informal ceremonies, including chanting and meditation, to pay respect to the sacred sites of the ancient Egyptians. A portable random event generator and palmtop computer were used to generate and record ongoing random sequences accompanied by a time-stamped computer index and onsite notes of relevant observations and activities. Pre-planned hypotheses predicted anomalous deviations of the sequences during visits to the sacred sites, including the inner sanctum or Holy of Holies in each temple and all the interior chambers of the pyramids. A further prediction was made that resonance- or coherence-building activities of the group, including chanting and meditation in these special locations, would also correlate with anomalous deviations. Both formal hypotheses were confirmed with a combined associated probability of 2.7x10^-6. Other categories of data provided context and helped to distinguish the sources of the anomalous effects.

A Look Back at Georgina Bruni’s Book: You Can’t Tell the People: the Definitive Account of the Rendlesham Forest UFO Mystery

Carl Grove — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:24:10 -0800

The Foundations of Controlled Remote Viewing

John B. Alexander — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:25:12 -0800

The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage

Henry Bauer — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:26:17 -0800

First Review: Inside the U.S. Government Covert UFO Program: Initial Revelations

Jack Brewer — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:27:22 -0800

Second Review: Inside the U.S. Government Covert UFO Program: Initial Revelations

Micah Hanks — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:28:28 -0800

Peter Andrew Sturrock 1924-2024: Founder of the Society for Scientific Exploration

William Bengston — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:29:39 -0800

Announcements Winter 2024

Brian Laythe — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:32:26 -0800