I think most people reading this blog would agree with that statement and perhaps those same people would accept that there are some interesting limitations in our conversations. The need to group ideas together, to create labels, is a part and parcel of the way we use language to share personal experience.

Sometimes it is worth stopping to think about the presuppositions behind some of the comments individuals make in order to explore the beliefs which underpin the statements.

For example if someone says they are a ‘spiritualist medium’ then the presuppositions which underpin that statement are:-

• a belief in spirits
• a belief that spirits are the the ‘souls’ or equivalent of those individuals who have died
• a belief that human-to-spirit communication is possible
• a belief that such spirits have a need/desire to communicate with human beings
• a belief that they, the individual using the label spiritualist medium, has the ability to communicate with spirits
• a desire to provide evidence (proof) of survival beyond death to others

Now all this may be true BUT skeptics would point out that each  one of these presuppositions is worthy of critical assessment and hence the over-arching claim of ‘spiritual mediumship’ is not as easy to explore and discuss as would initially be imagined.

Of course, in the case of many spiritualist mediums, the presuppositions listed above are only a small part of the complex metaphysical constructs that are derived from them… the scope and nature of ‘ ‘the world beyond’; the journey of the spirit/soul and the nature of the universe itself.

Again everything they say could be true – but in rational terms many of these ‘constructs’ are non-falsifiable and beyond the scope of scientific inquiry.

It interests me that some of those who turn around and call skeptics ‘closed minded’ and ready to label when they fails to see the layers of labels and boxes their own ‘open minded’ approaches create…. and of course we are all trapped within the boxes and labels of the language we use.

Alan

Related articles

• Mediumship ~ of Service (chakralivingroom.wordpress.com)
• What do Spiritualists believe about God? (talkingtodeadpeople.wordpress.com)
• Psychic Speak (psychologytoday.com)
• Tricks of the Psychic Trade (psychologytoday.com)
• My Belief. (entrepreneurshunt.com)
• defining ourselves thru labels….. (lizardzen.wordpress.com)
• Internally and Externally based Self-schema’s (identityisdynamic.com)

We’ve made it through Elenin which kinda fizzled out like a damp sparkler and we’re into 2012 and yes change is in the air with the NEW LOOK Rational Mystic Blog….

Ok, so I know January is all but over, however I have been neglecting this blog – mostly because of the work that has been going into Penwith Radio in general and The Real Twilight Zone in particular. I really hope you’re aware of  both!

So. to kick things off in this new blog I thought I’d share a couple of skeptical videos – something that I hope will draw comment and provoke discussion.

The first is from Skeptic Michael Shermer

And the second from the magician turned skeptic – James Randi

Enjoy…

Comments welcomed and encouraged…

Related articles

• Magic ??? (mindalignment.com)
• Consciousness – Initial Thoughts (mindalignment.com)
• Real or Fake (seanceuk.com)
• Rambles of a Rational Mystic (mindalignment.com)
• Michael Shermer on Singularity 1 on 1: Be Skeptical! (Even of Skeptics) (singularityweblog.com)
• Loving A Conspiracy Theorist (randi.org)
• Support the JREF’s “Season of Reason” (skepticalteacher.wordpress.com)
• Word of the Day: Shermer’s Law (galileounchained.com)

I think if there is a consensus agreement about what a word means then those who use the word should know what they mean and/or be open to question or challenge.

Skeptic, Debunker and Cynic are often used inter-changeably with each other by those who often have an agenda which includes responding defensively to challenges of their claims.

Starting with de-bunker, an ugly word I think, but one that applies to any and all who set out to prove another persons claim to be wrong. The default position is one of incredulity; they are frequently closed minded and often lack the critical thinking faculties to effectively mount anything other than an emotional argument based upon rhetoric.

You will find debunkers of every colour and persuasion. From the paranormal naysayers to the New Age Space Cadet Science Denialists.

There have in common fixed thinking; closed minds and an inability to consider evidence contrary to their own narrow perspective. Some self-professed and even ‘trained’ scientists fall into this category as do the spiritual gurus proclaiming that their truth is the ONLY truth.

So Cynics – well their just cynical. Doubtful and distrusting of any opinion, evidence or experience that is not their own. The closed world of some of the conspiracy theorists is where you will often find these folk…,

We must differentiate between pseudo-cynics (those who think it is cool to be in cold towards any creative, spiritual, artistic, touchy-feely, modern science consideration of experience) and those who real-cynics with a sad, pessimistic and closed outlook on life.

The skeptic (or sceptic) who simply asked questions and seeks out a wide range of possible explanations for what they asked to consider as fact or truth. They may have scientific world view in which evidence requires validation or they may have a humanistic/spiritual outlook which recognises the limits to scientific method but still wants to question what they are being told using critical and creative thinking,

Most sceptics will question evidence for and of the paranormal ….

Most sceptics will ask the same questions of scientific evidence ….

Nor all sceptics are atheists; some are deists; some ‘rational mystics’ since they will choose recognise the importance of non-material subjective experiences.

So before you use the word sceptic rather than cynic or de-dunker check yourself and make sure you know what you ARE saying.

Alan

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Well I guess I must be as I seem to be constantly commenting on the numerous conspiracy theories ‘out there’ with what I hope is some kind of rational perspective. You see I refuse to let even my mystical self wallow in unchallenged rhetoric – surely self development and empowerment on all levels is about questioning and discovery?

So what am I rambling about now?

Well the 2012 stuff (which I have written and podcasted about before) is still ensnaring people in a web of misinformation leading to panic. I read on one website that NASA were even fending questions like ‘should I kill my children now to save them the pain of the devastation to be wrought by 2012′?

I guess if the emotional damage was caused by the plot of the movie 2012 the maybe BUT if the concern is one of death from the skies, global earthquakes and world wide tsunami then….. perhaps not.

The latest bit of hysteria seems to be generated by Comet Elenin which is due to ‘come close’ on October 16th – so close to Samhain (Halloween) yet a couple of month before 2012!

There are SO many questions and that bastion of academic learning and scientific enquiry YOUTUBE is full of  the information you need to know but that scientists are keeping secret!!!

Well actually all of the answers are out there – nope not ‘out there’ but on the world-wide-web – if you want to look outside of your conspiratorial bunkers.

Information Point 1:

Russian astronomer Leonid Elenin discovered the innocuous little comet on Dec. 10, 2010, at International Scientific Optical Network’s robotic observatory near Mayhill, New Mexico.

Presently the comet is a faint smudge of light in deep sky exposures. By late August comet Elenin should be visible to the naked eye as a dim “fuzzy star” with a tail. Over a few weeks the visitor will speed across the spring constellation Virgo and toward Leo on its outbound leg.

I can’t find the specific reference for the origin of this ‘plot’ of the path of Elenin – but it does seem to fit the general consensus. It shows the closest ‘pass’ at .23 AU – an  AU is the distance between the Earth and the Sun (that’s around 93 million miles).

But I have seen this video and on some sites it is attributed to NASA -  together with this claim…


“NASA’s put a video up in their Buzzroom about Elenin, but it is not there anymore [it is on YouTube]. It was probably pulled down more due to its amateur nature rather than as part of any grand conspiracy theory, but the relative silence by NASA and the mainstream media regarding Elenin has the Armageddon chatrooms abuzz with theories of doom and gloom.”

A NASA Video -  ummm …. I somehow think not!

Information Point 2:

 As I write now the Comet is at least as far away from Earth than the Sun is – that’s 93 million miles or so Also, it is important to know that Comet Elenin is a loose agglomeration of volatile ices and dust a few miles across. It is therefore one hundred billionth the mass of our moon. (The relative difference is roughly the same as the mass of a mosquito vs. the mass of an oil supertanker.).

So any of the claims that this comet has ‘already’ caused global shifts, earthquakes, tsuman’s and triggered polar shifts is nonsense.

Information Point 3:

Current published NASA and other Astronmical Association sources confirm that the comet will pass no closer to us than 84 times the Earth-moon distance. Comet Elenin will sweep nearest to Earth on Oct. 16 at a distance of 21 million miles and be moving fast enough to travel the distance from Earth to the moon in under five hours!

Not close enough for an object if it’s size to have any major gravitational effect  upon the Earth – certainly nothing of the scale suggested by the 2012 doomsayers. Besides applying Isaac Newton’s laws of gravity, this means the comet’s tidal pull on Earth — at closest approach — will be approximately one-hundred trillionth the force of the moon’s tidal pull on Earth.

Information Point 4:

Comets and Planets don’t get on!.

This is an interesting comment from a real astronmers website – you know the folks that look at the sky, study it and have some kind of expertise in the workings of the solar system.

“What’s more, comets get the worst end of the deal when they venture near larger bodies — just like that mosquito slamming into the supertanker

Some comets dive-bomb the sun routinely. What happens? They disintegrate into pieces.

The same held true for comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 that was ripped apart by tidal forces when it ventured too close to Jupiter. When the comet pieces plunged into Jupiter in 1994, the planet simply belched a few mushroom clouds from titanic impact explosions.

On May 11, 1983 comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock swept within 3 million miles of Earth –- one of the closest comet approaches in modern times. The visitor looked as big as the full moon and sped across a wide swath of sky in just a few days.

That same day saw an explosion of protests in Santiago, Chile against the decade-long rule of General Augusto Pinochet. Unless you’re an astrologer, the comet’s influence was not to blame.

The closest ever-recoded flyby of Earth was comet Lexell in 1770, which passed at 1.4 million miles. On Jan. 26th that year a magnitude 9 earthquake took place off the west coast of the North America.

Similarly, many coincidences will happen this year that people will want to blame on comet Elenin.

The most bizarre link is that the comet’s closest approach to the sun happens on the 10th anniversary of the combined terrorist attacks on the U.S. “Is it a coincidence that Elenin could be seen as “Elevennine” (9/11 backwards)?” asks one conspiracy website.


In the cosmic scheme of things, comet Elenin is simply a nice target for backyard sky watchers to follow. But Earth as a planet isn’t phased at all.”



But does this satisfy the conspiracy buffs???

Clearly not… this was taken from a comment on a YouTube video…

“E.L.E.N.I.N. = Extinction Level Event Niburu Inbound Now. ELE pronounced like ellie, means extinction? level event. “Leonids” are meteors associated with a comet. So there’s your Leonid Elenin. Someone pointed that out to me and I see the connection, pretty clever code name.”

Ummm …. how about this one then …. P.R.A.T. – Poorly Reasoned Asinine Thinking

I mean all this fuss over a Comet – I wonder why there’s not as  much conspiratorial humbug and posturing about Vesta!

Vesta is much bigger than Elenin and so much bigger…. V.E.S.T.A is of course a VERY EXCITABLE TERRESTRIAL ANNIHILATOR …..

Vesta is 530 kilometers (330 miles) in diameter and the second most massive object in the asteroid belt and on n July 16 the asteroid will about 188 million kilometers (117 million miles) from Earth.(source NASA/JPL)

But still the Rapture is upon us and Elenin the messenger of doom…


“Scripture tells us God will use asteroids &/or comets chunks of the rebellious angels’ planet in future judgment.An impact originating in outer space will likely B the climax of the Gog / Magog War Rebel angels were judged with a blast of giant stones from Rahab destroying the civilization at Cydonia that once gave glory 2 God. According to Mosaic law stoning was the prescribed means of execution for those guilty of? idolatry, apostasy, blasphemy, divination, adultery, juvenile rebellion”-

Information Point 5:

There are claims that NASA has taken down references and projections re the comet adding to conspiracy speculations. Well as of right now I can say that the information is there….

JPL/NASA Elenin Comet Data

Information Point 6:

It’s not the comet it’s the tail !!!

Apparently the real risk comes from the gaseous tail of the comet. OK, so the comets tail is said to be around 900,000km in length and if you believe at least one internet source … has a fleet of UFO’s hidiing within it but is this a cause for concern?

The science of comets is well document and since the tail of a comet is largely ionised gas (not rocks and moons and dare I say flying saucers) it has been suggested that the “entire tail of a typical comet, at Earthly pressures and temperatures, would fit into a good-sized briefcase.”

 If I am being correct then a comet of course has two tails – one of gas and one of ‘dust’. The latter if coming close the atmosphere of a planet will simply burn up and may well result in a nice meteor shower.

Now here’s the thing – all of the diagrams you will see on YouTube about the approach of Elenin are oversimplified – they have to be. More importantly they are TWO-DIMENSIONAL so the relative positions (and implied closeness) of the comet and the Earth is not shown clearly. My point …. well again I defer to an experience astronomer…

“The comet actually passes above our orbit, missing Earth in the vertical direction by some 2.4 million miles. The chance for an impact is zero. Even stray meteors are extremely unlikely. We’re close but not that close. Keep this in mind too – comet tails point away from the sun. When Elenin and Earth are closest, its tail will be directed back and away from us…”

I think the point is that there are plenty of things to distract us from the real issues and challenges for our survival, If some of the creative energy put into the more outlandish of the conspiracy theories was put into solving global problems of war, hunger, poverty then perhaps the human race would be free to evolve. Again, the conspiracy advocates would have us believe that these issues are actually the consequence of other agencies – P2, NWO, Reptilians and the such – and folks like me are just the defenders of some secretive regime.

A question …

Do these harbingers of doom and prophets of ‘the real truth’ offer solutions for the ills of which they speak outside of promoting their next book, their next conference, their next lecture tour. Conspiracy Theory is its own industry – perhaps funded by the same folk who the advocates claim are in charge of information…. they’re all in it together distracting us from achieving real empowerment of the human race!

Heck so what if the Elenin (Extinction Level Event) folk are right? Perhaps the world governments wouldn’t tell us; perhaps they would make secret plans…. perhaps ….

Perhaps then I should stop wasting my time on my personal learning journey and just enjoy the sun; the sea; the world and the nice things in my life before the cosmic death that is …..

So at the risk of being accused of being a government ‘patsy’ can I suggest you have a look at the NASA site where I for one think that there is more than a little expertise in things astronomical….NASA

Here’s another useful website DEEP ASTRONOMY

From the ‘horses mouth’ perhaps – SPACE OBS

Alan

I guess that this should not be that much of a suprise really as the whole basis of skepticism and scientifc inquiry is about “questioning”, “challenging” and mot merely “accepting” because we are told that ‘that is the case’!

My recent Educational Blog, about the problem of ‘teaching facts’ was driven by the need to promote healthy debate and rounded discussions of ideas. The Real Twilight Zone aims to open a weekly debate of the ‘unusual’ and of course Haunted Cornwall FM presents yet another space for discussion. However it does seem to me that ‘believers’ are perhaps more ‘closed’ than ‘skeptics’ with attitudes, values and beliefs that are often preseted as being ‘beyond question’.

In a recent Psyhology Journal (Current Psychology) there is an article by Jesse M. Crosby, Scott C. Bates and Michael P. Twohig entitled “Examination of the Relationship between Perfectionism and Religiosity as Mediated by Psychological Inflexibility” (Current Psychology)

In essence there seems to be a link between psychological inflexibility and resistance to change and, what could be called, adherence to strict religious systems, the need for perfection (and hence procrastination) and the ability to challenge beliefs.

Now I know that Psychology has been defined as “the science of telling you things you already know using words you don’t understand” (unknown source) – and so the common sense nature of the points being made are obvious.

However… and here is the question for you to consider – how open are you to the idea of change, the possibility that what you believe is the result of dogma or cultural indoctrination, the need to really consider your own opinions from different perspectives?

Alan

For background please look at my earlier posts…

Armageddin It & 2012 And All That Jazz

Now, let’s dismiss from this discussinon, any talk of ‘spiritual transformations’ which may or may not occur in 2012, but keep focussed on those claims which can be verified…. this means the scientific claims.

As far as I can determine the key claims about the 2012 doomsday event are:-

The Mayans

• The Mayan Calandar runs out so they ‘knew’ the world would end.
• The Maya knew this because they were great astronomers and were able to ‘work things out’. 

Comment:

The calendar ‘runs’ out so what?

The truth is that there are Mayan inscriptions with ‘predicted dates’ well beyond 2012 – proponents of the 2012 end really need to check their archaeology.
 
Yes they were ‘advanced’ and of course we shouldn’t underestimate their achievements BUT are you willing to accept these kind of comments….

• Alignment with the Galactic Centre
• Planet X
• Polar Shifts

Comments:

Taking the last one first. Any one who has studied Geography to even an elementary level will be familiar with the idea of Plate Tectonics. What such people may also know was that this idea was also linked, or grew out of, the concept of Continental Drift – initially an observation about how certain coastlines seemed to ‘fit together’ like pieces of a large jigsaw. (Look at South America and Africa for example).

Current thinking is that the earths crust is divided into a number of relatively internally stable “plates” are blocks of earth crust. Most of the volcanism and earthquakes of any major significance occur at the boundaries of these plates. Some ‘plates’ are moving away from each other and new crust is being created on the ocean floor. Some ‘plates’ are moving together so that crust is being destroyed at these boundaries. Hence the continents, which are on some of the plates, are part of some slow, “dynamic dance” around the surface of the Earth (apologies for the flowery, poetic metaphor).

Studies of the sea-floor show a history of the Earths magnetic poles – and yes there have been regular, in geological terms, magnetic reverals – the poles shift. This is largelt due to the internal geology of the Earth; the way it acts like a ‘self-exciting dynamo; and the physics of rotating masses.

However, no matter how much I write on this topic you could say that as I am not a planetary scientist what do I know? (Well my BSc is actually in Geology and Earh Science – but of course I’m not published in that field)

However people seem to be willing to accept information from far less informed sources….

For example:-

Please note the ‘tone’ of the above passage – does it present a considered, reflective argument.

Perhaps the following is less….. emotional…

Scientists have a theory that is quite similar to the Mayan prophecies of the planets alignment. This theory is called pole shifting, in which the position of the north and south pole change, which could cause world wide disaster, massive tsunamis could wipe out coastal cities, hurricanes on every continent, it would be major catastrophe, unlikely as it seems a Princeton University study suggest the poles have shifted before and that the north pole was in the middle of the pacific, which would put Alaska at the equator

Well the mention of Princeton University makes the whole thing seem credible, execpt it’s clear that the ‘scientific evidence’ points at polar shifs (which has mentioned above are well documented) and should not in anyway be seen to give credence to the rest of the diatribe..

Let’s look at what planetary scientists do say on these issues (the following comes from NASA)..

And, to quote from two other sources…

I am happy to include the references for all of the quotes in this blog – it would be reflect upon how often that happens in the doomsayer blogs….

It doesn’t matter what your particular brand of spirituality is (and yes The Rational Mystic does have a spiritual side !) any form fanaticism is distasteful and why Harvard University are giving their name to such vitriolic rhetoric is beyond me…

This is Christian Supremacy and really belongs back in the Dark Ages…. I mean all religious/spiritual meovements can become ‘retard
ed’ in their thinking …

If you feel like telling Harvard, a supposed institute of ‘learning’ how you feel then here’s the addresss…

deansoff@hsph.harvard.edu

Here’s the email I have sent for your information..

“Esteemed Dean

Sincerely

So, there we go….

Where do you stand?

Alan

The key question is that is this more Sloppy Science and Mushy Mysticism or is there something more here?

The bulk of the material for this show, the downloads and references will be on The Real Twilight Zone, but Ron’s files were uploaded here. Please respect the copyright on this material (Ron Pearson 2011) and visit TRTZ for more information; to listen live; download the post-show podcast and follow-up notes.

Well there is a reference (Earth, Moon, and Planets  Volume 88, Number 3, 123-129, DOI: 10.1023/A:10165711147) and the article was entitled Variation of Lunar-Solar Tidal Force and Earthquakes in Taiwan Island of China Juan Zhao, Yanben Han and Zhian Li

However quoting a single source to support an idea is really valid. Following up this resource I find that the claim of ‘solar tidal studies being its infancy’ to be a little misleading. There are a range of papers and articles on this issue (simply follow the links above, Google the authors names and check citations an cross references) BUT there are two glaring objections to the way the above paragraph seems to raise the status of the quoted paper (it was ‘illuminating’) and the objections dismissed (scientists still give no credence).

Again peer review and scientific method is intended to ensure that all research can be reported as being rigorous and methodologically ‘sound’. I’d like to think that messers Zhao, Han and Li appreciate that.

Also a correlation does not prove causation!

Just because the occurrence of two events can be mathematically linked (saw the population of Storks and the number of Human Births) does not mean that one causes the other. Again checking the literature it is obvious that the researchers involved in this are looking for mechanisms.

Let’s just throw in an observation here…

The Super Moon thing is about the relative orbits of the Earth and the Moon.

The erstwhile author I have been quoting from says..

“If you’ve always suspected that you have extrasensory perception, here are six signs that you indeed might be psychicTHOSE WHO HAVE made a lifetime of the study of psychic phenomena suspect that most, if not all of us are psychic to one degree or another. I’m sure most of us can point to events in our lives that indicate instances of telepathy (communication of thoughts) or precognition (knowing what is going to happen).“

Perhaps it’s only happened once or a few times.

Perhaps, however, it happens to you quite frequently.

Can you then be considered truly, strongly psychic?

Here are six signs to look for.

1. You know the phone is going to ring and who is calling
We have all experienced this phenomenon, and when it happens once in awhile we can chalk it up to coincidence. Or perhaps there are people who call you regularly at expected times. Those instances we can dismiss.

But have you ever sensed a phone call from someone totally unexpected – perhaps someone you haven’t heard from in years? Then the phone rings and it is that person! This could be an indication of the psychic phenomenon known as precognition – knowing something before it happens. And if this kind of thing happens on a fairly regular basis, you might be psychic.

Rational Thought:  Difficult to validate because of confirmation bias

2. You know your child, or someone else very close to you, is in trouble

We all worry about the safety our loved ones, especially when they are separated from us. Quite naturally, parents carry a deep concern about their children when they are at school, off with other children, or away on a trip. But we temper this worry or concern (or try to) with reason and an acknowledgment that our loved ones cannot always be under our supervision.

There have been many cases, however, in which a parent knows that her child has been injured or is in trouble. This is no ordinary worry. The feeling is so intense and persistent that the parent is compelled to check on the child – and sure enough, there has been an accident. Such a psychic connection has been documented between parent and child, spouses and partners, siblings and, of course, twins. If you have had such as experience, you might be psychic.

Rational Thought:  Difficult to validate because of confirmation bias
3. You know a place before you go to it

Perhaps you have had the experience or going to a person’s house that you’ve never been to before, yet everything about it is familiar. This can happen when house shopping, too. You know exactly where every room is, what it looks like, and how it is decorated. You may even have knowledge of tiny details, such as chipped paint or unusual light fixtures. Yet you know you have never been there before.

It could be that you have been to the place before and have forgotten. Or perhaps this is a case of déjà vu – that eerie feeling that we’ve done or seen an exact thing before. But déjà vu is usually a fleeting feeling about a brief exchange of words, gestures or sights. It is rarely prolonged or vividly detailed. (See the book The Déjà Vu Enigma by Marie D. Jones and Larry Flaxman.) So if you have this knowing about a place you never been to before, you might be psychic.

Rational Thought :  We ‘know’ that the mind recognises patterns and makes associations as one its primary cognitive functions. We also ‘know’ that so much information about the world is processed in the unconscious mind before being presented as ‘information’, ‘thoughts’, ‘ideas’, ‘understandings’. It is not inconcievable then, that the communcation between the unconscious and conscious mind causes a ‘perception stutter’ which gives the deja vu feeling. Subsquent re-tellings of the experience will include elements of cofabulation (with no real intent to decieve) and hence produce ‘false memories’ surrounding and about the initial experience.

4. You have prophetic dreams

We all dream, and we all have a variety of dreams about people we know, famous people, and even perhaps things that are going on in the world. So it stands to reason that just by chance we will have a dream about someone or something that later comes to pass (to one degree or another) in real life.

But do you often have dreams about yourself, friends and family, or even world events that soon come to pass in detail in real life? Prophetic dreams like this are reportedly often different than normal dreams. They are more lucid, vivid, detailed, and compelling. If so, you should write down these dreams right after you have them because you don’t want to forget them, and you want to have a record of them – and they can be evidence that you might be psychic

Rational Thought :  The dream experience is a varied and dynamic, personal phenomena. As with deja vu it is not impossible to imagine that the brains wonderful ability to ‘pattern match’ connects fragmentary dream ‘memories’ to events as and when they occur in the future. There are accounts of accurate recordings from diaries about events being ‘foretold’ in dreams BUT I have yet to see unambiguous evidence of a dream journal which includes very specific information about a prophetic dream.Of course I have been shown, as evidence, accounts of a dream which contain vague elements and references to some event which subsequently occured but dream images like ‘a plane crash in a foreign place’, ‘people crying’, ‘suspected bombs’ can be linked to events that WILL occur at some point.

I’m not saying there is no evidence of accurate prophetic dreams, just that I haven’t seen any – yet.
.
5. You can sense or know something about an object (or person) just by touching it

Have you ever picked up an object that didn’t belong to you and you were overcome with a knowledge about that object – it’s history and who it belonged to? Likewise, have you shook the hand of a new acquaintance and instantly known all about them – where they’re from, what they do and what they are like?
It could be that you are just a highly perceptive person who can deduce information about an object or person just by looking at them and touching them. But if you are able to provide many accurate details about these things that you would otherwise have no possible way of knowing, you might have the rare kind of extrasensory perception known as psychometry  – and you might be psychic.

Rational Thought :  An interesting ability claimed by some psyhic readers. As with all psychic readings, for me the question is ‘where’ the information is ‘really’ coming from and where it is ‘claimed’ to be coming from.

Psychometry is one of those abilities that can be tested and I have not yet seen evidence that supports the notion that the ‘hits’ or ‘quality of information’ from such readings are specific enough and consistent enough to demonstrate this ‘ability’. Let’s do the tests folks!

6. You regularly tell your friends what is going to happen to them – and it does

Do you have a habit of telling friends and family about specific experiences they are going to have? Do you sometimes warn them ahead of time about dangers or circumstances that would not be in their best interest? Are you right more often than not?
Because we know our friends and family well, it certainly is logical to assume that we can sometimes predict was might happen to them – both good and bad. This is simply because we know their personalities, their habits and even some of their plans and we can make reasonable guesses. This is not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about strong feelings that you have – that seem to come out of nowhere and are not based on anything you know about the person – about something that is about to happen to them. It’s a powerful feeling and you are compelled to tell them about it, even warn them if necessary. If those events come to pass, you might be psychic.

Rational Thought : Isn’t this the same as no 2? OK the relationships are different, but the processes could be the same.

I suspect there will be some who have not arrived at this sentence without having either strongly agreed, or viloently disagreed with the ‘rational comments’ above.

Here’s a test – if you’re currently thinking that my rationality is yet another example of how closed minded scientists can be then can I suggest you turn that mirror of ‘closed mindedness’ on yourself for a moment. Have you rejected the rational comments emotionally and hence been closed to another possibility?

As importantly have you emotionally agreed with every rational comment and seen them as supporting your own world view?

Closed mindedness comes in many colours and flavours.. both scientists and mystics can be accused of being closed minded and perhaps quite a lot are!

Skeptics ask questions about what they are being presented with in order to get a more complete idea of what is or is not going on. Coming to a personally satisfying conclusion quickly is, perhaps, a sign of closed-mindedness since such conclusions are often arrived at based upon pre-existing notions, beliefs and personal truths.

Now just because I ask RATIONAL questions when presented with what puport to be statements of ‘fact’ that does not mean I am dismissing the power and relevance of the personal experience. Personal experiences are just that ‘personal’ and as such are relevant, meaningful and emotionally charged. The subjective world we inhabit is a powerful illusion. In some ways it is as ‘powerful’ as the illusions created by what we think of as the ‘objective world’. (The Illusion of the Objective World ??? That’s a topic for another day !).

I see no conflict in asking ‘rational questions’ and still being able to accept the power and reality of the subjective, mystical experience but as I move between different worlds I am seeing more and more people who just ‘don’t get it’ – ie Rational Mysticism.

It’s not fence sitting – that seems to be the easiest way to dismiss it – it is a recognition of the interplay between mind, body and (for want of a better term) ‘spirit’.

It is a recognition of the illusions we create and co-create and the ‘lables’ we choose to give to our experiences.

Consider this:-

“Psychic is a much used term and one that immediately creates in the mind of the listener certain presuppositions. The word itself comes from the Greek word psychikos which means “of the soul” or “mental” and in common usage usually implies an ability in ‘extrasensory perception’”

We can use the word ‘psychic’ it is in the sense of attempting to create deeper understandings and meaning through the integration and use of all of the senses.

We can argue against the idea of ‘extra-sensory’ perception in favour of ‘total sensory’ perception. In this usage of the term the ‘psychic’ attempts to become open to all of the conscious and unconscious information available so as to communicate clearly and effectively.

Alan

Link to the Original Article on the 6 indications of being Psychic