1065 lines
79 KiB
Plaintext
1065 lines
79 KiB
Plaintext
DOME - Development of Mental Energy (tm)
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USER REFERENCE GUIDE
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Please read the information contained in this guide to learn
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how to operate the program to your best advantage. Included here
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are theories behind its design and strategies to obtain the best
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possible scores. It is especially important that you refrain
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from selecting User Start on the program menu until you fully
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understand its significance. (Use Demo Start to evaluate DOME.)
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If you haven't done so already, please read the file DOME.PRE
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before using the program. You can print the file by typing
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TYPE DOME.PRE >LPT1 at the DOS prompt. Do not in any way edit the
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file DOME.TXT as doing so may result in program failure when
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viewing the User Guide or Psi Reference.
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Program documentation (info contained in DOME.TXT and DOME.PRE)
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is copyright (C) 1991-92 by Project Dome. All rights are reserved.
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Table of Contents
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Section ViewPage
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I Introduction 3
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II The Menu Functions 9
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III Running the Exercise 18
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IV Strategies for Using DOME 21
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V Everyday Aspects of Psi 25
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INTRODUCTION
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Psi testing has traditionally been performed in a laboratory
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setting where subjects have been selected to participate in an
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experiment designed to allow for the demonstration of a subject's
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presumed clairvoyance, telepathy, psychokinesis, etc. Over the
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last few decades, large numbers of test results which are claimed
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to undeniably prove the existence of psi phenomena now comprise a
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great deal of the published literature on the subject. Although
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some of the test results seem to suggest, due to their extreme
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chance improbability, the workings of paranormal interaction, it
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has been later found that many of the experiments yielding these
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impressive results did not hold up to careful scientific
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scrutiny. Critics of the field have found most of the experiments
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to be seriously methodologically flawed, lacking adequate
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controls in many cases and thereby introducing the possibility of
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results obtained by trickery on the part of the subject. Because
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researcher bias can often also be an issue, other results were
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suspect in that they might have been faked. In essence, when
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deliberate researcher fraud or subject trickery could not be
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directly attributed to the reported results, neither could
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otherwise be totally ruled out.
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Furthermore, when subjects producing extraordinary results in
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a number of cases were subject to testing repeated by critical
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investigators using necessary, more stringent controls, the
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results were seemingly and oddly never repeatable. While
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parapsychologists have felt that some of the better-designed
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experiments have more than demonstrated actual psi abilities,
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critics of the field remain steadfast to this day in saying that
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better techniques and proof are required before science will be
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ready to open itself up to the acceptance of psi.
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The more traditional of the psi testing techniques has been
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with a widely used pack of 25 ESP cards. One of five symbols
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(circle, square, cross, star, or three wavy lines) appears on the
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faces of each of the cards and there are 5 cards bearing each
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symbol. A subject undergoing testing would exercise his/her
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presumed clairvoyance by guessing the symbol (or target)
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appearing face down on each card. So, there would be 25 guesses
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(or trials) in each pass (or run) through the ESP deck. In one
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run of the deck, 5 cards guessed correctly (hits) would
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correspond exactly to chance. The more cards guessed correctly
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over 5, the more likely to be due to something other than chance,
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presumably ESP. Not unexpectedly, skeptics have condemned tests
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of this type as being fraught with error, a major one dealing
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with the result of manufacturing inconsistencies in the design
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quality of the cards themselves. This may reportedly allow cards
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to be identified by visual cues, registering subconsciously or
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otherwise, which may exert a scoring bias after several runs of
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the ESP deck.
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Over the years, one of the more promising concepts in the area
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of psi testing has been the creation of automatic recording
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mechanisms to eliminate the possibility of recording errors,
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especially those arising out of an inherent bias on the part of
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the experimenter. These mechanisms, when used in conjunction with
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an automated (self-sustained, random, and controlled) testing
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procedure, not subject to flaws and therefore biases inherent in
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a human-administered system, may perhaps be the only chance
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parapsychology has to prove itself as far as psi testing is
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concerned.
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The workings of the DOME program are based on the
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aforementioned concept. DOME is a completely automated system in
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which the user guesses the nature of the target (one color out of
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a possible four, in this case) as pre-determined by the computer.
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Scores are saved automatically if you choose to save them before
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you begin the user run, not after. This way there can be no
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recording bias by choosing not to save the scores of lesser
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significance (closer to chance). Once a user run is started, the
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resulting score will be saved whether significant or not. The
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length of the run is user selectable (20, 30, 40 trials). Hence,
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exactly chance scoring varies with the trials selected (5 hits/20
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trials, 7.5/30, 10/40, on average).
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DOME brings the practice of psi testing home to you. Anyone
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can participate in using the exercise. Whether you do or do not
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believe in the existence of psychic abilities, DOME is infinitely
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worth trying to see if your beliefs have an effect on your
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ability to achieve significant scores. Parapsychologists
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generally feel that it helps to believe in order to score
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significantly above chance on an ESP exercise.
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Some researchers using automated testing systems, enhanced by
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feedback signaling to the user, have reported positive results
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with their continued use on subjects. Feedback lets the user know
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right away whether or not a trial has been guessed correctly.
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DOME employs an audio-visual feedback system, thereby providing
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the user with dual instant knowledge of the correctness of each
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impression received on a psychic (or intuitive) level as each
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trial is guessed. Here, if psi is in fact responsible for any
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extra-chance scoring, the possibility arises that this feedback
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system might be used to help an individual learn to recognize
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immediately which feelings were associated with the correct
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impressions, hits resulting. If, through this recognition
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enhancement aspect, these abilities can be developed to the point
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where they can be relied upon, they may prove invaluable for
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countless situations in everyday life.
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THE MENU FUNCTIONS
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DOME's menuing system makes it easy to get around and use the
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program's features. Menu items may be selected in a couple of
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different ways. You may use the left/right and up/down arrow keys
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or press the key corresponding to the first letter of an item on
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the menu bar to move the menu highlight to the desired choice.
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Then to execute, either press <Enter> when at the highlighted
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selection or just simply press the displayed function key of your
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selection.
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| DOME |
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The psi exercise is initiated via this menu selection. The
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computer will run the exercise according to the settings you have
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chosen from the other menus. Demo Start and User Start function
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in exactly the same manner except for one important difference:
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Demo Start will not permit the saving of scores whereas User
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Start will save them automatically at the end of a run. The
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following note will explain the reason for this distinction.
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IMPORTANT: Since scores will automatically be saved, select User
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when you are genuinely attempting the exercise. Yet, good reasons
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exist why you might choose the Demo over the User function.
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Select Demo Start when:
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>> You are new at using the program and would first like
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to familiarize yourself with the feel and layout of the exercise
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>> You are demonstrating to others how the program works
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>> You are not really serious about trying to do your best
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or you are not in the necessary frame of mind to interact properly
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In addition, please keep in mind that should you choose User
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Start, be prepared to complete the entire exercise, as there is
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no way to cancel a User run. And since every score is destined to
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be saved at the outset of the User run, you should be somewhat
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prepared to try your best at the exercise. The section on
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strategies will provide some guidelines on how to do this.
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| Mode |
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The manner in which the computer generates the target colors
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for the trials of each run is decided by which mode has been set
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beforehand. In ESP mode, the computer has randomly chosen a
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target color which it holds in memory until a trial is guessed,
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immediately after which point the true target color is displayed.
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ESP, namely that of clairvoyance, would then presumably be
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responsible if significantly scoring runs were attained in this
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mode.
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In PK mode, the computer randomly and very rapidly cycles the
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four target colors in memory while it awaits your choice. When
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you interrupt the cycle by making your choice, the target color
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held in memory at the interruption point is displayed. PK
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(specifically micro-PK, or small-scale psychokinesis) would be
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responsible if the user (agent) was in some way exerting a mental
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influence as to cause minor shifts in the processing speed of the
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computer and therefore in the speed at which the computer cycles
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the target colors. The net result would presumably be a
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coinciding of the color chosen by the user with the target color
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held in memory at the exact moment in time.
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Then there is a problem of multiple interpretation. In PK mode
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the possibility exists that ESP is really responsible and not PK,
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or a combination of both. ESP could be at cause if the user is
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clairvoyantly or, better yet, precognitively picking up the
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target color in computer memory (or the target that will be in
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memory, in the case of precognition) at the exact moment a color
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is chosen and thus the cycle is interrupted. You may find that
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you receive psychic impressions of the correct color (due
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exclusively to ESP, by definition) in either mode.
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In PK mode, whether you are successful at willing your choice
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of the correct color (due to micro-PK) or whether you receive
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impressions in a similar manner to that of the ESP mode (due to
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precognition or clairvoyance), neither is the important issue.
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What is important is to utilize any method whatsoever which works
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best for you. In fact, you may want to stick with whichever mode
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produces your highest scoring, as the emphasis is on psi
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utilization in general. It may be best to think of the mode (PK
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or ESP) as referring more to the method of target color
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generation than to the actual underlying psi process which allows
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you to score a hit.
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Please note that a definitive test of effects due to micro-PK
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can only be accomplished through a system which utilizes a method
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of true random target generation, where the user tries to affect
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the outcome of the randomized process by "causing" certain
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targets to be generated over others. In computer systems (like
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the one you are using) the random process is algorithmically
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generated (i.e., according to a formula), which is to say the
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process is not truly random, but rather simulated, or pseudo-
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random. In other words, no way exists to mentally influence a
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change in the generation of targets since their outcome is
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predetermined for any point in the cycle.
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| Trials |
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The number of guess attempts in one run, i.e. the length, of
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the exercise is set by selecting this item on the menu. You are
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encouraged to stay with the Trials setting(s) of your preference.
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If you feel that 30 or 40 trials is too lengthy, stick with 20
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trials per run, especially if you feel that your scoring rate has
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exhibited a tendency to decline over the course of a lengthy run.
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| Options |
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Color 1 and Color 2 set the screen environment inside the
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target area and outside, respectively. Scroll through the
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available colors by using the up/down arrow keys, then set by
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pressing <Enter> or cancel by pressing <Esc>. You may find that
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certain screen colors, when suited to your tastes, appear to
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enhance your performance at the exercise. Incidentally, they will
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probably be the colors that make you the most comfortable and
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allow you to focus by putting your mind at ease. The sound
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feedback setting (on/off) may be also chosen under Options.
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| Scores |
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Choosing View on the menu will display the highest scores,
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categorized by trials, that have been achieved throughout your
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use of the program. The window is divided into an upper portion,
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which shows the top ten highest individual runs on record, and a
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lower part, displaying the top nine high score frequencies (number
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of times each score has been achieved) and run total (T) for the
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mode on which you are currently set (PK or ESP). Only record high
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scores are displayed, as these are the ones you want to beat.
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In order to know whether you have demonstrated actual psi
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abilities, you need to have your complete sample of scores
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evaluated by us. Use Mail on the Scores menu when you are ready
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to send us the scores. Since the program does not limit the
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number of scores it will accept as your sample, you must
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arbitrarily decide when to send them in. As a general rule, the
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more times you have used the exercise (and therefore the more
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scores you have saved), the better. At the very least, you should
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have run the exercise at least 20 to 30 times under at least one
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set number of trials. Lesser numbers of scores can still be
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evaluated, but may not give as good a picture of your true
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performance.
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After you have entered (or reviewed) in the registrant
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information window your name and full return address (with zip
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code, please), press F1 to print the scores. Do not worry about
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understanding what's on the printout, as the data is printed in a
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format which allows us to best analyze it. Additional information
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appearing on the printed sheet is also helpful to us by providing
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info about user preferences. No timed deadline exists by which we
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must receive the score printout, so there is no need to rush
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through the exercises. In fact, you may find that you achieve
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higher scores if you take your time and not attempt too many runs
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over too short a period of time. Scores can only be saved and
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later printed from within a registered copy of DOME.
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| Info |
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In addition to providing you with the ability to view the
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entire User Guide and Psi Reference from within the program, the
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Info menu allows you to print the registration form and Project
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DOME questionnaire by choosing Registration. Type your name and
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full return address including zip code in the appropriate input
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fields in the registrant information window, then press F1 to
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print. The registrant information is saved and utilized again
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when you select Mail on the Scores menu.
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RUNNING THE EXERCISE
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Once the exercise has been initiated via the selection of
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either Demo Start or User Start on the program menu, you may
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begin to use the key controls to select the target color of your
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choice. The target colors, and their associated key controls, are
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as follows: red, up arrow; yellow, down arrow; blue, left arrow;
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green, right arrow. The Num Lock may be in either setting. For
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ease of use, you can simulate the arrow key configuration of the
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AT-style, 101 keyboard with the Num Lock in the on setting and
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the center numeric key (number 5) doubling as the down arrow key
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(yellow). This configuration permits the resting of three fingers
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in a row on the controls, with the middle one controlling up and
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down.
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For each trial, you will notice that the color box
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corresponding to your key press becomes highlighted. At the same
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moment, the true target color is displayed in the appropriate
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box, remaining on screen for a predetermined amount of time
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(between one and two seconds) before it clears. Through this
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visual feedback, you will know instantly if your choice for the
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trial is correct (hit) or incorrect (miss). It is not necessary
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to wait for the screen to clear to move on to the next trial;
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choose targets at your own pace. The computer has already
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generated the next successive target while revealing the current
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target on screen, in ESP mode. In PK mode, the rapid-generation
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cycling of targets is ongoing at all times during the run. In
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addition to the visual feedback, a tone is sounded, having a high
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pitch for a hit or a low pitch for a miss. This auditory feedback
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can be enabled/disabled by selecting on the Options menu.
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You may view your status during a run by pressing <Ctrl-S>
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when in between trials, i.e., when boxes are empty. The status
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will inform you of the number of trials remaining, as well as how
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many hits have been achieved and the current settings. When a run
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ends, the proportion of hits in comparison to the outcome for each
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color is displayed by way of a hit scale. With the hit scale,
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you can visually tell which color targets you may have been
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inclined to guess correctly over any others. The upper graphic
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depicts (approx.) the actual number of correct guesses for each
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color (bar) over the actual outcome of each color (line), with the
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highest outcome number (the measure) displayed on the axis of the
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scale. These hits can also be viewed, in the lower graphic, as a
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percentage of outcome for each color (approx.).
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In terms of significant scoring, you should try to achieve
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high scores as far from chance as possible. Chance scoring is as
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follows: for 20 trials, 5 hits; for 30 trials, 7 or 8 hits; for
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40 trials, 10 hits. In order to determine actual significance due
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to psi (as opposed to chance) a complete set of user scores must
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be statistically analyzed. Project DOME will do this for you when
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you mail us your scores.
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STRATEGIES FOR USING DOME
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Before you begin an exercise, you should be in a mentally
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relaxed state, while remaining both alert and receptive at the
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same time. You should also be comfortably situated with no one
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around to disturb you, without distraction and under no time
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restrictions. Clear your mind completely. Remove all worry and
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doubt, otherwise you will restrain or completely suppress your
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mental powers. For honest skeptics, at least for the duration of
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the exercise, you must be willing to believe that you can rely on
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your psi faculties in order to score significantly. Faith in your
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abilities is fundamental to scoring well.
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Once this proper frame of mind is attained, begin the exercise
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by focusing your attention on the color boxes in the target area.
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You may now confidently await impressions of the correct target
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color. Do this with eyes either open or closed, whichever works
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best for you. Impressions will register as transient mental
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images and sudden feelings which impart a distinct, positive
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sensation about the correctness of the target. For example, you
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may perceive the target color as a mental flash and then score a
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hit by pressing the associated key for that target. An impression
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may also be felt in terms of the direction of the target, if not
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by color alone. Oftentimes, the first impression received
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intuitively is the correct one. In PK mode, when trying to
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influence target outcome, along with maintaining a firm
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conviction, your visualization of your selected target is helpful
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just before pressing the proper key.
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Psychically derived information registers at a specific level
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within the subconscious in a mentally unprocessed or elemental
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form. This registering occurs independantly of the conscious mind
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and its associated use of the five senses. When receiving psi
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impressions, you must take precaution against conscious
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interference (reasoning, imagination) which can lead you to
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incorrectly second guess your true intuitive impression of the
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correct color. Any guesses you make on the basis of conscious
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reasoning will generally not produce significant scoring. An
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example of this occurs when you try to figure out, on any
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successive trial, which target is most likely the correct one
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based on previous trial outcomes. Searching for a pattern or
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method by which to deduce your choices will not work as the
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target generation is random anyway. To aid you in suppressing
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conscious interference, keep your attention focused on the target
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area.
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It is not necessary to rush through the trials of a run; you
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determine your own pace. Take as long as you need to guess each
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trial. If you fail to perceive a target, avoid forcing your
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selection. Rather, while maintaining a relaxed and focused state
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of mind, try directing to your subconscious, for example, the
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following suggestion: "Reveal to me what is the true color of the
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target." With confidence, anticipate an impression of the correct
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color to then arise.
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Practice is essential in order to become skilled at using your
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psi ability. However, do not attempt too many runs in one
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sitting, especially if you notice a decline in your scoring. Take
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breaks, as many and as often as required to restore your ability
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to perform well. Concern yourself with the trial at hand only; to
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consciously dwell on past scores may interfere with your psi
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abilities in the current run. Stay motivated and keep a positive
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outlook, even if your scoring is falling short of expectation. It
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is unreasonable to expect high scores all the time, and it is
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expected that you will achieve chance and even below-chance
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scores occasionally. In fact, psi significance is determined by
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analyzing the achieved frequencies of all scores. Even if despite
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your best efforts you feel that you have failed to produce your
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desired scores, do not be discouraged. Psi effects are often
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subtle, and will perhaps show up only after the analysis of your
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complete set of scores has been performed.
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EVERYDAY ASPECTS OF PSI
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People who attune themselves to their psi abilities have
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reported advantages which enable them to live more secure, well-
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informed lives. The intuitive level of the subconscious is
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believed to protect the self by constantly monitoring the
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environment (through psi) for knowledge of events or
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circumstances of essential importance to the individual.
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Conscious awareness of this psi-derived information can be of
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assistance by guiding the individual to make the correct
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decisions in life.
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By relaxing and inwardly focusing the attention of the
|
||
conscious mind, clairvoyant or precognitive information may be
|
||
obtained in the form of impressions, i.e., images or feelings,
|
||
which register abruptly and then quickly vanish. Impressions,
|
||
when accepted at face value, should provide an individual with
|
||
the required knowledge to take the proper course of action when
|
||
faced with many decisions. However, imagination and reasoning may
|
||
interfere and incorrectly modify the impression, thereby reducing
|
||
its effectiveness in decision-making, so you must be careful when
|
||
interpreting your impressions.
|
||
|
||
In telepathy, another reported psi function, thought messages
|
||
are communicated by one individual, the sender, into the mind of
|
||
another individual, the receiver. Telepathically received
|
||
impressions register in a similar manner as clairvoyance above,
|
||
with the addition of the receiver concentrating on the sender as
|
||
well as the impending thought impression. When sending thoughts
|
||
to someone else, visualization of what you want to communicate is
|
||
important. Reinforced by strong feelings, images or thoughts
|
||
should be projected into the mind of the individual on whom you
|
||
are concentrating (the receiver). As a general rule, always
|
||
remember, whenever using psi abilities, the importance of faith
|
||
and conviction cannot be overstressed. The importance of practice
|
||
should not be forgotten either.
|
||
|
||
The aforementioned summary is provided mainly as a preface to
|
||
psi's everyday uses. Much has been written about the potential
|
||
applications of psi and how to make full use of such abilities to
|
||
work to one's advantage in everyday living. When you register,
|
||
the titles of some good reference works on the subject will be
|
||
provided. These will offer much more detail on the subject and
|
||
can be used to enhance your study and to further your psi
|
||
development.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
DOME - Development of Mental Energy (tm)
|
||
|
||
PSI REFERENCE
|
||
|
||
|
||
Some of the ideas presented in DOME are part of a larger field
|
||
of study known collectively as parapsychology, or psiology, the
|
||
study of psi. Though only some types of phenomena in this field
|
||
are directly relevant to the DOME program, others are of added
|
||
interest to Project DOME from a standpoint of human experience as
|
||
reported by individuals on occasion. What follows is a summary,
|
||
by no means complete, of some of the major phenomena reported, as
|
||
well as a mention of some of the surrounding issues of the field.
|
||
Please be aware that Project DOME does not intend to endorse any
|
||
particular viewpoint over another, but rather would serve to
|
||
provide information in these areas as they are interpreted by
|
||
those who are involved in their study.
|
||
|
||
Text is Copyright (C) 1991-92 Project Dome. All Rights Reserved.
|
||
|
||
Table of Contents
|
||
|
||
|
||
Section ViewPage
|
||
|
||
I Introduction 3
|
||
|
||
II Types of Psi ESP 8
|
||
|
||
PK 12
|
||
|
||
"Survival" Phenomena 15
|
||
|
||
III Problems In Parapsychology 22
|
||
|
||
IV Ufology and "Alien" Encounters 26
|
||
|
||
|
||
INTRODUCTION
|
||
|
||
Those involved in the field of parapsychology concern
|
||
themselves with the understanding and explaining of certain kinds
|
||
of occasionally reported occurrences which appear to lie outside
|
||
the realm of normal experience. Specifically, these phenomena,
|
||
labeled as "psi" (pronounced "sigh"), deal with an individual's
|
||
interaction with the external environment through a process as
|
||
yet unknown to conventional science. Such interactions can be
|
||
divided into two basic types: that of informational psi, or
|
||
extrasensory perception, known also as ESP, and that of
|
||
influential psi, or psychokinesis, known also as PK. A third area
|
||
of interest deals with the question of whether living beings
|
||
possess a spirit which can survive the death of the physical body
|
||
and subsequently interact with the living. This is referred to as
|
||
the "survival hypothesis".
|
||
|
||
Occurrences claimed to be due to psi fall into individual
|
||
categories based on their characteristics, as explained in the
|
||
following section, "Types of Psi". Oftentimes these categories
|
||
are not well-defined, especially when trying to classify a
|
||
reported psi happening. Multiple interpretations due to psi exist
|
||
for many of the types of reported occurrences, even well in
|
||
addition to the "normal" interpretations claimed by those who are
|
||
doubtful regarding psi's existence. Regardless as to explanation,
|
||
people react differently from one another to reports of psi
|
||
occurrences, especially to their own personal experiences which
|
||
may be attributable to psi. Some may express doubt or disbelief,
|
||
while others may become downright fearful, while others still may
|
||
ignore such occurrences entirely or without even consciously
|
||
knowing. The best reaction, though, is perhaps one of curiousity,
|
||
for it is through this that some insight, and thus understanding,
|
||
may be gained into the true nature of the experience.
|
||
|
||
Psi events fall into two general categories: those happening
|
||
seemingly on their own without any provocation, and those which
|
||
are caused intentionally. As such, the psi expressed under the
|
||
former is known as "spontaneous psi", while the latter is known
|
||
as "induced psi". Many tests have been designed for the induced
|
||
demonstration of psi (both ESP and PK) and have usually been
|
||
carried out in a lab equipped for this purpose. Results of such
|
||
tests vary widely and have been the subject of much controversy
|
||
from both within and outside the field. The Introduction to the
|
||
DOME User Guide contains more information about psi testing in
|
||
general. Most of the reported psi events are those which happen
|
||
to individuals rather unexpectedly, oftentimes surprising someone
|
||
in the home, office, or just about anywhere the experience takes
|
||
place. As such, these "spontaneous" occurrences are the ones
|
||
usually responsible for feelings of awe, shock, or bewilderment.
|
||
Examples include out-of-body experiences, precognitive visions,
|
||
apparitional encounters, hauntings, and poltergeist events.
|
||
|
||
The organized study of psychic occurrences is roughly one
|
||
hundred-ten years old. Since its beginnings, many obstacles have
|
||
stood in the way of progress. (See the section entitled "Problems
|
||
In Parapsychology".) Today, mainstream science is still reluctant
|
||
to take the psi issue seriously. Not only has the war between
|
||
critic and proponent of parapsychology been waged for over a
|
||
century now, but seemingly little progress has been made in the
|
||
direction of uncovering the truth about the nature of such
|
||
phenomena. To this end, parapsychologists still claim that psi
|
||
exists with very little question, and skeptics say that it is
|
||
just about all nonsense. Parapsychology has been described as a
|
||
legitimate area of scientific inquiry by those within the field,
|
||
and as an area of scientific heresy by those outside. Yet,
|
||
interestingly, otherwise traditional scientists can be found
|
||
populating both sides of the issue.
|
||
|
||
Parapsychology is often confused and improperly lumped
|
||
together with other subject areas of questionable scientific
|
||
validity, labeled as the "unknown", the "unexplained", or the
|
||
occult, such as, for example, astrology, numerology, demonology,
|
||
satanism, vampires, Bigfoot, New Age, Atlantis, and UFO's.
|
||
Parapsychology has as little to do with these "mysterious"
|
||
subjects as they have to do with each other. The grouping itself
|
||
is odd, for some are considered art forms; others are
|
||
metaphysical ideas; others hinge on existence of the
|
||
"supernatural"; others are preserved in legends and folklore,
|
||
while others may be deserving of scientific attention still (like
|
||
UFO's). Regarding this last point, some information on UFO's and
|
||
the "alien" abduction phenomenon will be included, not as part of
|
||
parapsychology, but incidental to it. It is nonetheless
|
||
interesting to note that much psi phenomena has been described to
|
||
occur during such reported encounters.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
TYPES OF PSI
|
||
ESP
|
||
|
||
The term "ESP" encompasses those specific instances of psi
|
||
occurrence which enable an individual to receive information
|
||
external to the mind without any use of the senses or reasoning
|
||
whatsoever. The first type of ESP, clairvoyance, pertains to the
|
||
perceiving of objects or conditions in current time. Although the
|
||
information is not acquired via the sense organs, these
|
||
perceptions are usually in the form of, but not limited to,
|
||
visions, and they may also be in the apparent form of sound,
|
||
feelings, and even smell. If the information is channeled over a
|
||
distance, as opposed to being received from the immediate locale,
|
||
this process is often known as "remote perception". On occasion,
|
||
one may get the additional feeling of actually visiting a distant
|
||
scene, and the term "traveling clairvoyance" may apply. As the
|
||
mind may be fooled into thinking that part of oneself has left
|
||
the body in order to perceive the surroundings of a distant
|
||
location, this is one interpretation for an out-of-body
|
||
experience, or OBE.
|
||
|
||
Dowsing, or radiesthesia, involves the use of a held object
|
||
(e.g., a rod or branch) to locate, in a process known as
|
||
"divination", underground substances like water or oil, whereby
|
||
the held object may be serving as as a focus for clairvoyant
|
||
ability. Psychometry, which is also thought to involve
|
||
clairvoyance, is the "reading" of an object or location for facts
|
||
about the object or its owner, or persons associated with some
|
||
location, often in connection to the past. In order for this to
|
||
be possible, it is presumed that an object or location has the
|
||
ability, through some type of "recording mechanism", to retain
|
||
some aspect or quality of its past surroundings or associated
|
||
events. Psychometry would then in effect be accomplished by
|
||
somehow sensing or viewing what has been recorded.
|
||
|
||
The term "haunting", especially in reference to its recurrent
|
||
and locality-specific aspects, has a basis in ESP. A haunting is
|
||
usually now interpreted as the psychometric replaying of the
|
||
recorded events of a location's past in the mind of an observer.
|
||
A major characteristic of a haunting is often that of an
|
||
apparition which appears to enact the same motions over again
|
||
when certain conditions exist, like specific time of day (or
|
||
night), time of year or season, and which may be sensed by only
|
||
certain individuals (who are unconsciously using psychometry to
|
||
"see" the event). Another interpretation for hauntings, and
|
||
psychometry in general, has to do with the concept of
|
||
retrocognition, another type of ESP. This refers to an ability to
|
||
sense, while mentally focusing on the object or location, actual
|
||
events occurring in the past, as opposed to using clairvoyance to
|
||
currently view a recording of the past.
|
||
|
||
Precognition, another form of ESP, deals with information
|
||
supposedly received from the future. The existence of this form,
|
||
of course, is dependant on whether it is possible for the future
|
||
to be fully established and, if so, whether this future
|
||
information can cross backward in time. One psi explanation for a
|
||
precognitive feeling may be the mind's demonstrative way of
|
||
informing or warning of a highly probably outcome based on
|
||
current conditions obtained clairvoyantly. This might also
|
||
explain why, through avoidance or otherwise, not all negative
|
||
premonitions come true.
|
||
|
||
The last major form of ESP, telepathy, relates to an
|
||
individual's awareness of thoughts and feelings which are present
|
||
in the mind of another. This apparent thought transference has
|
||
been found to be independent of distance, as has been
|
||
demonstrated in various experiments conducted over distances of
|
||
up to thousands of miles. Sometimes telepathy can occur quite
|
||
spontaneously, as has been reported, for example, in a few cases
|
||
where danger is involved. During these times, a person in trouble
|
||
might send out sort of a telepathic call for help, which is
|
||
"heard" by someone familiar to that person. Or, an individual may
|
||
try to warn someone of a potentially dangerous situation they are
|
||
aware of by trying to inform them or get their attention
|
||
telepathically, like by mentally calling the person's name, etc.
|
||
|
||
PK
|
||
|
||
The concept of psychokinesis, or PK, deals with the
|
||
hypothetical influence of the human mind on objects or processes
|
||
external to it. Often referred to as "mind over matter", any
|
||
means by which the human mind can alter or affect a physical
|
||
system without direct or indirect motor contact must be done
|
||
through PK. Any individual who uses PK is known as an "agent". PK
|
||
can be divided in four areas of study, and two of them, macro-PK
|
||
and micro-PK, are often studied in the laboratory.
|
||
|
||
Micro-PK refers to PK effects which are to a slight degree or
|
||
on a microscopic level, the detection of which is determined by
|
||
the outcomes of several attempted applications, then analyzed in
|
||
comparison to a control. For example, in the PK mode of DOME, the
|
||
agent attempts to influence the random outcome of a particular
|
||
color. After many attempts, the score results can be
|
||
statistically compared to a control (chance) model to see if
|
||
micro-PK was responsible for the scores, as presumably would be
|
||
the case if they, as a whole, differed significantly from chance.
|
||
Macro-PK, on the other hand, deals with larger-scale, visually
|
||
observable effects, primarily concerning the reported movement or
|
||
alteration of objects, the disappearance and reappearance of
|
||
objects in different locations, and even levitations.
|
||
|
||
Another area related to macro-PK because of its visible
|
||
effects is the concept of the poltergeist occurrence. Contrary to
|
||
the popular presentation of this phenomenon by the media to
|
||
involve "evil" supernatural entities, parapsychologists now view
|
||
this experience as originating by and occurring around the
|
||
living. In any particular case, the occurrences generally involve
|
||
the strange movement, breaking, or rearrangement of objects, or
|
||
the unusual origination of sounds, and these happenings are
|
||
attributed to a specific individual around whom the events seem
|
||
to revolve. It is assumed that the events themselves are the
|
||
result of stressful situations involving the individual, who
|
||
unknowingly may serve as agent to utilize unconscious PK as an
|
||
outlet for the stress or as a means to alleviate it.
|
||
Psychic healing, the final PK-related area, involves an
|
||
individual's ability to heal injuries or illnesses of oneself or
|
||
of others through a technique of concentration and possibly hand-
|
||
covering. This supposedly enables the healer to focus attention,
|
||
and thus impart healing influences, to the required target area,
|
||
usually some specific bodily tissue or organ. Oftentimes the
|
||
healing is both complete and unexpected, and often rather
|
||
astounding as far as what should normally be expected by
|
||
traditional medicine. However, it has been suggested that such
|
||
healing is done, not through the use of PK, but through the
|
||
normal (psychosomatic) effects of psychology on the physiology of
|
||
the body, via some intricate, albeit unknown, connection between
|
||
the two. According to this idea, a person attempting to heal
|
||
another might really be instilling a suggestion to the
|
||
subconscious of the other person, which acts to initiate a self-
|
||
healing process.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
PHENOMENA SUGGESTIVE OF "SURVIVAL"
|
||
|
||
The third division of study in parapsychology has been the
|
||
subject of debate within the field for quite some time now. It
|
||
involves the issue of whether some part of consciousness - be it
|
||
a soul, spirit, life force, or whatever - can continue to exist
|
||
after the death of the body, or even just separate from the
|
||
living body. A few varied types of phenomena have been grouped
|
||
together as providing little more than suggestive evidence for
|
||
this so-called "survival hypothesis". The debate itself centers
|
||
around whether such events can be adequately explained by means
|
||
other than "survival", such as through psi, in what in some cases
|
||
(those implying direct spirit communication) is known as the
|
||
"super-ESP (or super-psi) hypothesis", or even through what is
|
||
known in psychology. Some types of phenomena in this area include
|
||
apparitions, out-of-body experiences (OBE's), near-death
|
||
experiences (NDE's), reported "possession" by spirits or demons,
|
||
mediumship, and the concept of reincarnation.
|
||
|
||
Reported genuine apparitions, or ghosts, appear to behave in a
|
||
purposeful and intelligent manner, unlike that of a haunting,
|
||
where through the presumed unconscious use of psychometry on the
|
||
location by a living person, the "recorded" image of a deceased
|
||
person may be seen to go through the same, recurring motions. The
|
||
seeming arrival of apparitions is often related to some crisis,
|
||
like dying, which suggests the serving of a need, possibly like
|
||
that of communication with the observer. Apparitions have been
|
||
reported at times to look like solid, living individuals, yet may
|
||
either be that of a living, dying, or a dead person. Sometimes
|
||
apparitions may look less solid, or less sharply defined, or may
|
||
even appear or disappear from view suddenly or unexpectedly. At
|
||
other times still, an apparition may be "sensed" non-visually, as
|
||
by feeling or hearing, or through a combination of means.
|
||
|
||
The existence of the OBE implies that some aspect of the mind
|
||
or consciousness can leave the body and travel. Although it has
|
||
been interpreted as a form of traveling clairvoyance, oftentimes
|
||
the individual having the OBE is detected or even "seen" at the
|
||
location being "visited", suggesting that indeed some part of the
|
||
mind has traveled there, and which may be effectively resolved by
|
||
ESP into an apparition in the mind of an observer. This
|
||
"apparition of the living" or "doppelganger" (meaning "double
|
||
walker") usually looks like, acts like, and even may itself be
|
||
mistaken for the actual person. Interestingly, even though he is
|
||
away having the OBE, this person usually has the additional
|
||
feeling of being at such a location and interacting with those
|
||
present.
|
||
|
||
Apparitions, both of the living and dead, can be explained in
|
||
terms of the super-psi hypothesis. In the case of the traditional
|
||
apparition of the dead, it can be said that a living person is
|
||
utilizing clairvoyance or retrocognition to obtain the necessary
|
||
information on the deceased person to enable himself to "see" it,
|
||
give it personality and intelligence, and meanwhile possibly even
|
||
utilize PK for any physical interactions. Apparitions of the
|
||
living (or dying) may be similarly detected by utilizing a
|
||
combination of telepathic communication (with the person at the
|
||
original location) to recreate the person's image and enable one
|
||
to interact with it (using telepathy and PK).
|
||
|
||
A fairly commonly reported phenomenon which is strongly
|
||
suggestive of the "survival" idea is the near-death experience
|
||
(NDE). This is often reported by individuals who may have in fact
|
||
been determined clinically dead for a time, the period during
|
||
which a few characteristic things, some of which suggest the
|
||
operation of ESP, are said to happen. Such would include the
|
||
viewing of oneself and one's location from a point outside the
|
||
body (like an OBE), an awareness of actual activity or
|
||
conversation in this location, the sense of being drawn towards
|
||
some bright light and through some tunnel, and the apparent
|
||
presence of deceased persons or a religious figure familiar to
|
||
the individual. An alternative explanation for a NDE associates
|
||
it with a physiological (or neuro-psychological) reaction to the
|
||
process of dying, during which time, bits of memory are stirred
|
||
and perceptual errors are caused. Here, it is assumed, of course,
|
||
that the experience (and everything else) ceases when the brain
|
||
is dead.
|
||
|
||
Reincarnation, the ancient idea that souls or spirits of the
|
||
dead are reborn in other bodies, relies on for its evidence a
|
||
technique referred to as "past lives therapy", used presumably to
|
||
regress a hypnotized person to their "previous lives". However,
|
||
it has been found that the mind can often unconsciously fabricate
|
||
such information, perhaps as a result of suggestion prompted by
|
||
the hypnotist, and thus the technique may be virtually useless to
|
||
provide proof of reincarnation. Even if the information provided
|
||
by the subject is subsequently verified as factual and could not
|
||
have possibly been known because of its obscurity, it is possible
|
||
to explain the obtaining of such information through ESP, as
|
||
either by clairvoyance or retrocognition.
|
||
|
||
The issue of mediumship involves the presumed contact or
|
||
communication with a spirit by some sort of telepathic means. A
|
||
medium, acting as a connection or channel for communication to
|
||
occur between the living and the dead, typically relays, to those
|
||
seated nearby, information in the form of messages from or
|
||
regarding an individual spirit who is "contacted". Oftentimes the
|
||
dead may appear to speak directly through the medium, and since a
|
||
medium may be in a trance state and unaware of what is going on,
|
||
this may be considered a case of what is called "automatic
|
||
speaking".
|
||
|
||
The voice of a medium may change when information is being
|
||
channeled, and other information may be given through automatic
|
||
writing, where the medium writes information without conscious
|
||
awareness of what the hand is seemingly doing on its own. These
|
||
and other such unconscious physical acts are not greatly unlike
|
||
that of reported "possession", where an individual's usual
|
||
behavior and personality are often suppressed or changed
|
||
drastically in accordance with the control supposedly imposed by
|
||
an "evil entity". Utterances of abusive language or gibberish and
|
||
the origination of unusual strength are often noted in such
|
||
cases, and an exorcism may be considered to "rid" the body of the
|
||
"spirit influence".
|
||
The super-psi hypothesis can be used to explain any apparent
|
||
spirit communication in terms of a medium's unknowing use of ESP
|
||
to obtain information from the living (telepathy) or from
|
||
existing records (clairvoyance) about a deceased individual.
|
||
Regardless of this, psychological explanations have been advanced
|
||
to explain other odd events that suggest the influence of a
|
||
discarnate entity or spirit on an individual. These explanations
|
||
apply to all situations where those involved (mediums or those
|
||
possessed) believe what happens to them is true and is in no way
|
||
consciously produced, such as by staging or faking. (This is a
|
||
big problem in the area of mediumship, especially when involving
|
||
physical occurrences and apparent direct speaking.) In such cases
|
||
as believed to be true, any odd behaviors may be the result of
|
||
certain mental disturbances or autosuggestions which can result
|
||
in dissociation, a mental state where normally conscious
|
||
activities come under subconscious control, and a secondary
|
||
personality may emerge, all seemingly without the individual's
|
||
awareness.
|
||
|
||
PROBLEMS IN PARAPSYCHOLOGY
|
||
|
||
The field of parapsychology faces a number of problems which
|
||
serve to degrade its image both in the eyes of the public and to
|
||
the scientific community. Criticisms brought on by skeptics have
|
||
an added impact, positive perhaps, by making it more imperative
|
||
that parapsychologists work harder and more carefully to provide
|
||
the "proof" which is needed for acceptance as a legitimate area
|
||
of scientific inquiry.
|
||
|
||
One big problem area deals with the negative and inaccurate
|
||
portrayal of psi occurrences or other issues of the field in the
|
||
media or on film. Almost anything one can view on television or
|
||
hear about in the news regarding parapsychology or reports of psi
|
||
is in some way usually either exaggerated, misleading, or even
|
||
flat-out wrong. Usually this is the result of the media's high
|
||
priority for ratings, which unfortunately often comes at the
|
||
expense of the truth. As such, it is virtually impossible to
|
||
derive factual information from such sensational depictions,
|
||
which should more properly be viewed as entertainment, if nothing
|
||
else. As far as psi-oriented movies are concerned, practically
|
||
nothing ever shown comes anywhere close to what actually occurs
|
||
in normal, everyday life, so that movies, in their often extreme
|
||
and overblown depictions of psi, are even less dependable for
|
||
providing accurate information to the public. (After all, they
|
||
are just movies.)
|
||
|
||
Another big problem revolves around the widespread fraud that
|
||
has occurred in the past and even still turns up today in
|
||
connection with the field of parapsychology. Fraud has shown
|
||
itself in a number of ways. The false assurances and fabricated
|
||
information given by phony psychics and mediums have enabled them
|
||
to profit off the credulous public, all during which time they
|
||
proclaim themselves genuine. Psychic surgeons and faith healers
|
||
have preyed off the vulnerability of the sick and dying by
|
||
offering cures which are promised in exchange for large sums of
|
||
money. Individuals have lied or used trickery to substantiate and
|
||
promote their own paranormal events, hoping for a chance to
|
||
profit in some way, such as might be gained through media
|
||
attention. Researchers sometimes have resorted to faking lab
|
||
results in order to support their own views, while at other
|
||
times, test subjects have cheated during experiments, often using
|
||
techniques borrowed from magic to fool observers, including the
|
||
researchers themselves. For this reason, having a magician around
|
||
to view any claimed paranormal events is always a good idea,
|
||
except, of course, when the magician gets fooled, which can
|
||
happen on occasion.
|
||
|
||
Nonbelievers in psi feel that paranormal phenomena can, in
|
||
general, be explained by normal means. Aside from the occasional
|
||
debunking of a phony psychic or fraudulent report of psi, the
|
||
skeptics feel that the remainder of the reports each have their
|
||
explanation in the normal workings of human psychology. Based on
|
||
what is known, the human mind can and often does make mistakes.
|
||
Perceptual errors result because normal sensory information, in
|
||
the form of neural impulses, is resolved and modified by the
|
||
subconscious, with its fears, beliefs, expectations, and the
|
||
like, so that the end result of what is perceived by the brain
|
||
may be very different from what exists objectively, or external
|
||
to the individual. People are fooled by magic because of this
|
||
fact. In addition, it is easy at times to put together logical
|
||
connections regarding events which are in fact not linked, such
|
||
as when a coincidence occurs. Where a normal event may not have
|
||
been misperceived or its cause misunderstood, skeptics feel that
|
||
any one of imagination, dreaming, or of mental impairment,
|
||
disorder, or illness may be responsible for what is labeled as
|
||
"psi". Today, good parapsychologists are especially aware that
|
||
many apparent psi reports have normal explanations, as they are
|
||
often the first to discover them.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
UFOLOGY AND "ALIEN" ENCOUNTERS
|
||
|
||
Although the subject of UFO's (ufology) is a distinct and
|
||
separate field from parapsychology, a couple of reasons exist for
|
||
its inclusion here. First, reports of UFO's and their
|
||
"occupants", not unlike reports of psi, seem to indicate a type
|
||
of human experience which occurs spontaneously, often leaving
|
||
those involved in a state of emotional upset, and second, many
|
||
reported UFO and "alien" encounters also include details of psi
|
||
functioning. Psi events often reported in connection with UFO-
|
||
related activity include telepathic communication with "UFO
|
||
occupants", clairvoyant and precognitive images and dreams, out-
|
||
of-body experiences, apparent psychokinetic levitations, and even
|
||
apparitional encounters.
|
||
|
||
Independent UFO-related reports, which may include stories of
|
||
"alien" visitation, often have many details in common. Aside from
|
||
the obvious characteristic of strange lights appearing in the
|
||
sky, those experiencing more involved "contact" report, in
|
||
addition to the above psi happenings, such events as localized
|
||
power outages, temporarily non-functional electrically dependant
|
||
devices (from appliances to automobiles), periods of time which
|
||
cannot be accounted for, and even the sudden appearance of
|
||
strange bodily scars or markings. Under hypnosis, oftentimes so-
|
||
called "buried memories" are brought out, with those involved
|
||
occasionally relating details of bizarre medical examinations
|
||
administered by humanoid, though clearly non-human, and seemingly
|
||
intelligent beings. As for the beings themselves, three to four
|
||
different "types" are often described, at least one appearing
|
||
human, the others less so.
|
||
|
||
As is the case in parapsychology, reports of UFO's and their
|
||
presumed occupants are subject to the same types of criticisms.
|
||
Although clearly the experiences exist from a subjective
|
||
standpoint, no hard "evidence" exists as such to indicate any
|
||
sort of objective reality. Skeptics have pointed to various
|
||
influences for the types of experiences reported, among them
|
||
misperception, misinterpreted normal events, imagination,
|
||
autosuggestion, fraud, and even psychological problems. The
|
||
utilization of hypnosis has been generally deemed unreliable by
|
||
skeptics, due in part to the suggestability factor which may
|
||
result in fabricated stories originating from the UFO "victim".
|
||
There is no doubt that in the past many reports and photographs
|
||
have been faked, and as with parapsychology, this only
|
||
complicates matters, making it that much more difficult for
|
||
science to truly take the issue seriously.
|
||
|
||
In the past, while investigating the UFO issue, national
|
||
governments appear to have fallen into a pattern of automatic
|
||
dismissal of UFO-related reports as either fakes or misunderstood
|
||
natural events, and today this still remains the subject of much
|
||
controversy. UFO groups worldwide contend that the large volume
|
||
coupled with the consistency of reports seem to indicate that
|
||
something strange is indeed going to this effect, or at least
|
||
much more than governments are willing to admit. Cover-up
|
||
allegations have thus resulted, while in the intervening time,
|
||
people reportedly still continue to experience and be affected by
|
||
UFO encounters.
|
||
|
||
Other events presumed to be UFO-related by some are the
|
||
mysterious appearances of the so-called "crop circles" in
|
||
countrysides around the world, with those found in England
|
||
drawing the most attention of late. Even if their intricate
|
||
patterns can be explained through normal processes, despite
|
||
whatever scientific consensus is eventually reached regarding
|
||
their formation, the very fact that such observable, modern-day
|
||
enigmas can exist should suggest to science that the genuine need
|
||
for inquiry into reports of UFO's and the paranormal may be right
|
||
before us, if not overdue. Then just maybe, perhaps, the truth
|
||
about such phenomena can eventually be uncovered, and denial,
|
||
dismissal, or ignorance will become a thing of the past.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|