SECTION VII Chapter 2 - Astrology, Channeling, ESP, Spirits and UFO's "It seems to me that the reports of flying saucers are far more likely to be attributable to the known, irrational characteristics of terrestrial intelligence, rather than to the unknown, rational characteristics of extra- terrestrial intelligence." -- Richard Feynman Astrology Astrology is the belief that humans are influenced by the position of celestial bodies--the stars, planets, and the sun. The study of astrology was a worldwide practice, that was taken up by virtually all the ancient agricultural civilizations. Astrology was practiced by such cultures as the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, the Mayans, the Indians, and the Chinese. It is believed that Stonehenge in England was constructed by the ancient Druids to observe eclipses and other astronomical events. Most ancient people believed the earth to be flat and at the center of the universe. The sky was thought to be an inverted bowl covering the earth, with small holes in it that let the rain flow through. Stars were fixed points of light located in the back of the clear dome. Chaldeans in southern Babylonia erected tall towers-ziggeraults-- where priests charted the positions of the stars and planets. Whereas the majority of the "heavenly" bodies in the sky were fixed, five planets (from the Greek word meaning wanderers) seemed to move or wander all across the sky. The Greeks held the planets to be the homes of the gods, and named them accordingly--Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Ancient astrologers divided the sky into twelve equal parts, each containing a "sign" for one of the major constellations. An ancient Chaldean cuneiform tablet dating from around 419 BC has been found which lists all twelve of the zodiac signs--Aquarius, Aries, Capricorn, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Pisces, Scorpio, Sagittarius, plus those renamed by the Romans--Cancer, Taurus, and Virgo. It was commonly believed that as one's celestial spirit descended from the heavens into the body of a baby, it passed through the planetary spheres. From these planetary influences, the spirit picked up certain characteristics, which in turn would affect both their behavior and life destiny on earth. Astrology was practiced by both the peoples of ancient Greece and Rome. The Greeks and the Romans developed the horoscope as we know it today-- where the relative positions of the celestial bodies were calculated on important events, so as to "predict" the influences of these signs on the individual. Astrology was very popular in ancient Rome, and survived, despite the opposition of the early Christian fathers, such as from St. Augustine. Astrology remained popular throughout medieval times. It only began to gradually lose prestige, after science began revising a view of the universe with earth no longer at its center. Early Christian skeptics of astrology tried to use logic with some of their fellow believers, to convince them that astrology was a pagan (and therefore not a Christian) endeavor. They pointed out, for example, that TWINS had lived radically different futures in terms of marriage, career, health--even death. In some cases, one twin would come down with a serious disease/and sometimes die, while the other twin would go on to live a completely normal life. (The astrological response to this, however, is that even twins are born a few seconds/minutes apart, and that this is the "crucial" difference.) Why is Belief in Astrology Been So Popular Throughout the Ages into Modern Times? Even during ancient times, sometimes predictions made by astrologers were dead wrong. So why did belief in astrology persist? The answer is because the mystics always claimed that they "misinterpreted" some crucial piece of data, and needed to go back to their books and charts to properly "understand" this. There have been numerous theories to account for the popularity of astrology. One theory for explaining a belief in astrology has been dubbed the so-called "Barnum" effect, so named after the famous circus owner P.T. Barnum. When asked once for the secrets of his success, Barnum is reported to have replied that his success was based on two basic human insights: (1) That he tried to have a little something for everyone. And (2), per Barnum "There's a sucker born every minute." (Christopher C. French, etc. "Belief in Astrology-A Test of the Barnum Effect, SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Winter 1991, p 166) The belief in astrology also offers certain psychological benefits. According to Cohen: "The core of an astrologer's popularity stems from the fact that he can offer something that no astronomer or any other scientists can give-- reassurance. In an uncertain time, when religion, morals and ethics are shattered so regularly that one hardly notices that they are gone, the astrologer holds out a vision of a world ruled by forces that operate with clockwork regularity. In addition, astrology is glorifying. Instead of feeling oneself to be a slave in the hands of indifferent or hostile forces, the believer is uplifted by his connection with the cosmos... The sort of misty character analysis that astrologers engage in cannot be considered proof at all. Who can object to a flattering description of themselves? One astrologer told me that under my hard exterior I was a sensitive person. How was I to reply to a statement like that? Could I say, 'No I am really a hardheaded clod'?" (as quoted in Curtis D. MacDougall, SUPERSTITION AND THE PRESS, Prometheus Books, 1983, p 4) An example of the Barnum effect was reported in the 1970s by Michel Gauquelin in Paris. He placed an ad offering horoscopes for free. He then mailed out the exact same horoscope to everyone who responded to the ad. Indeed it was the horoscope of one of France's most notorious mass murderers. After following up with the respondents, Gauquelin reported that 94% of them rated the horoscope they had received as accurate. A professional astrological horoscope typically includes a COLLECTION of very general forecasts that are designed to "have something for everyone"-- That way, if some of these general predictions do not come true, probably at least one will. One common ploy is to combine very general statements-- such as "You have a great need for other people to like you and admire you"; "You have a tendency to be critical of yourself" with more specific ones-- such as "You will be receiving a check in the mail". Thus if one of the specific predictions "hits", the person is more likely to be truly amazed. According to Joe Nickell, a former magician and private investigator, what many of us call intuition may instead be a keen observer of subtle clues-- for example watching the person's face to see if they are slightly flinching when presenting predictions out of the air. There have been some reports that believers in astrology seem satisfied regardless of what the astrologer tells them. Ray Hyman, PHD, a psychologist at the University of Oregon, worked as a palm reader when he was in college and was deeply convinced of its powers. One day, a friend dared him to tell his clients the OPPOSITE of what he actually saw in their palms. To his utter amazement, his clients were just as enthusiastic as the ones who had received the "correct" reading. Hyman was so shaken by his experience, that he switched his major from journalism to psychology and became an avid debunker of psychics. Various scientific studies have been done attempting to prove if there is any correlation between birth dates and achievements. One study plotted the birth dates of more than 16,000 scientists listed in AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE, and found the distribution of their astrological sign to be random. Doing the same to 6,000 politicians listed in WHO'S WHO IN AMERICAN POLITICS, also showed NO grouping around an astrological sign. (INNUMERACY , P57-8 referencing a study by John McGervey, a physicist at Case Western Reserve University.) A $100,000 prize was offered by the magician, James Randi in the 1980's to any astrologer who could prove that his/her predictions were better than random odds. A number of famous astrologers and mystics took the challenge, and a television show with Bill Bixby aired the results live. One astrologer on the show did far worse than average guessing. The money still remains uncollected as of this writing. Despite this fact, belief in astrology among the general public is very high. Carl Sagan, the Cornell University astronomer and creator of the television documentary COSMOS, believes both the scientific community and the media have been lax in challenging public belief in pseudo-sciences-- such as astronomy. Using his typical good humor, Sagan explains that it is crazy to think that the position of the planets at the moment of birth affects a child's future. After all, per Sagan, "At the moment of birth the gravitational influence of the obstetrician is greater than that of Mars." Fairies Just as sightings of UFOs are popular today, there used to be fantastic claims by some individuals that they had seen fairy-like creatures. From 1917-1921, there was a large wave of sightings of fairies-- many of these reported by seemingly reputable eyewitnesses. One of the most ardent supporters for the existence of fairies was none other than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle--famous author of Sherlock Homes. Doyle, who was heavily immersed in mysticism, spent years collecting stories on the existence of fairies. In his book THE COMING OF THE FAIRIES (1921, New York: Samuel Weiser Inc, reprinted 1972), Doyle collected some impressive eyewitness accounts. A few of Doyle's eyewitness stories included: (1) The Reverend Arnold J. Homes of the Island of Man reported that he saw male fairies dancing on a deserted road one night: "My horse--a spirited one--suddenly stopped dead, and looking ahead I saw...what appeared to be a small army of indistinct figures-- very small, clad in gossamer garments...I watched spellbound, my horse half mad with fear...one 'little man' of larger stature than the rest, about fourteen inches high, stood at attention until all had passed him dancing, singing with happy abandon, across the Valley fields towards St. John's Mount." (2) Mrs. Rose of Southend-on-Sea reported: "I see them constantly here in the shrubbery by the sea...the gnomes are like little old men, with little green caps, and their clothes are generally neutral green. The fairies themselves are in light draperies... the fairies appear to be perpetually playing, excepting when they go to rest on the turf or in a tree...I have seen the gnomes arranging a sort of moss bed for the fairies..." (3) According to Mrs. Ethel Enid Wilson of Worthington: "I have often seen them on fine sunny days playing in the sea, and riding on the waves, but no one I have ever been with at the time has been able to see them, excepting once my little nephews and nieces." Doyle concluded there was "overwhelming evidence" favoring the existence of fairies (although he was skeptical on some other reports of tiny ponies and other adjuncts.) Perhaps the most famous sighting of fairies came from Elsie Wright (sixteen years old) and her cousin-- Frances Griffiths (who was ten). Both claimed that they regularly spied fairies playing in the glen outside their village of Cottingley in Yorkshire. During the summer of 1917, Elsie borrowed a camera from her father (a type that holds only a single-exposure glass plate) so that she could take a picture of the fairies. When Elsie returned from her outing, she developed a picture from her photographic plate that showed Frances standing behind a group of five winged, dancing fairies. Over the next three years, the girls produced other photographs of dancing fairies. They took a spiritualist medium at one such outing, who claimed she also saw the fairies with the girls. Doyle examined Elsie's photographs showing the fairies--and pronounced the pictures as genuine. Photograph experts further confirmed Doyle's pronouncement. Mr. H. Snelling of Middlesex, an expert in trick photography, examined the negatives and pronounced that he was willing to stake his reputation that the photos had not been faked. The photos were also taken to a Kodak office in England. There, Kodak experts determined that while a skilled photographer "could" fake photos such as these--still they found no evidence whatsoever that these photos of fairies had been faked. Skeptics later discovered that Elsie worked for a photographer, and therefore could have obtained the skills to have created the photos through a double exposure. They also found a book that had the exact same pictures (including poses) of the fairies shown in the photographs. In other words, Elsie and Frances had apparently cut out the pictures in this book and photographed them. Although this one case can be easily explained as a hoax, some of the other sightings are not so easily dismissed as hoaxes. The example of the reverend who saw male fairies dancing on a deserted road was probably not a hoax, but a hallucination by him. The subject of hallucinations is taken up in Section VII Chapter 3 which contains similar examples of individuals hallucinating fantastic scenes, after being physically exhausted and low on sleep. (One example given is of Michael Schermer who was on a cross country bike ride when he became convinced that his companions were aliens.) Not everyone is apparently convinced that Elsie's pictures were a hoax. In a February 1977 issue of FATE magazine, the fairy pictures were reprinted with a challenge to skeptics to explain them. The magazine article also noted that Elsie and Frances had never recanted their story that they had seen real fairies. Still, reported sightings of fairies have taken a nose dive since WW I, which should be difficult for fairy-believers to explain. Not that sightings of unusual phenomenon have declined-- sightings of fairies have just been replaced by other sightings--such as UFOs, angels, and Satanic cults. Spiritual Rapping In 1848 in Hydesville, New York, Kate and Margaret Fox began the spiritualist movement by secretly rapping their toe knuckles on the floor or head bed and claiming these sounds were coming from spirits. Years later, the sisters came out and made a public statement admitting the whole thing was a hoax. But it was too late. The craze of spiritualism had been unleashed--and many people simply refused to believe that it had all been a trick. The movement spread rapidly over the next decades. This spiritualist movement was not anti-science during this period, for many spiritualists "claimed" that they were merely applying the latest technology to the mystical realms of experience. Still, as the following examples will show, an examination of famous mediums using rigid scientific tests, showed that these spiritualists typically obtained their "amazing" results through trickery and outright fraud. Martin Gardner wrote an article on a famous psychic in the late nineteenth century named Mrs. Piper that fooled such notables as the philosopher William James and the logician James Hyslop. How did she do it? According to Gardner: "A reading of verbatim records of Mrs. Piper's séances shows that ... [she] did an enormous amount of what was then called "fishing" and today is called "cold reading". First a vague statement is made, followed by more precise statements, depending on a sitter's reactions. Mrs. Piper liked to hold a client's hand throughout a sitting, or even to place the hand against her forehead. This made it easy to detect muscular reactions even when a sitter remained silent. During a trance Mrs. Piper's eyes were often only half-closed, so it was also easy for her to observe how a sitter responded to fishing. If a reaction was unfavorable, she took off on a different track. If the reaction was favorable, she knew she was on the right track. Many tests have shown that victims of skillful cold readings are never aware of how they subtly guide what the cold reader is saying. Afterward they will vigorously deny they made statements indicating whether the medium was right or wrong, and are astounded when they listen to a recording." (Martin Gardner, "Communicating with the Dead: William James and Mrs. Piper-- Part 1", FREE INQUIRY, Spring 1992, Vol 12, No. 2, p 23) Thomas W. M. Lund, a chaplain of the School for the Blind in Liverpool England, described in his THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY FOR PSYCHICAL RESEARCH (Vol. 6, 1889-90, p 534)how Mrs. Piper used these techniques in her séance sessions: " What impressed me most [about Mrs. Piper's séances] was the way in which she seemed to feel for information, rarely telling me anything of importance right off the reel, but carefully fishing, and then following up a lead. It seemed to me that when she got on a right tack, the nervous and uncontrollable movement of one's muscles gave her the signal that she was right and might steam ahead." (Ibid). Lund noted that Mrs. Piper had correctly told him that his son was ill, and that he wife planned to visit him. Later, he remembered that he had told this to another person present at the séance, "within earshot of Mrs. Piper". Mrs. Piper had a more difficult time in calling up the name of Lund's sister: "She ... tried to find the name and went through a long list; at last she said it had 'ag' in the middle." After sensing she was on the right track, she announced that the spirit of his sister Maggie was taking over her. When the skeptical Mr. Lund asked the "spirit" of his sister why he had not been present at her deathbed, the "spirit" announced, "I'm getting weak now--au revoir." After this and later séance sessions with Mrs. Piper, Lund concluded that although she did seem to have some amazing hits, yet her misses convinced him that he was dealing with a person trained in "clever guessing". (Martin Gardner, op. cit p 27) Romaine Newbold, a philosopher at the University of Pennsylvania, conducted several tests in his séances with Mrs. Piper, and also concluded she was a fraud: "In all the years of Mrs. Piper's mediumship, she made no revelation to science, her efforts in astronomy were utterly childish, her prophecy untrue. She never has revealed one scrap of useful knowledge. She never could reveal the contents of a test letter left by Dr. Hodgson." (Ibid. p 26) Still, Mrs. Piper and other spiritual mediums were able to convince many members of the intellectual community of her supernatural abilities --EVEN AFTER IT WAS APPARENT THAT SOME CHEATING WAS GOING ON. For example Flammarion (who wrote on his research of spiritualists in his MYSTERIOUS PSHCHIC FORCES) rationalized the cheating away as follows: "... all professional mediums cheat. But they do not always cheat." (Robert Baker, HIDDEN MEMORIES, Prometheus Books, 1992, p 219) After James Hyslop had taken a photograph which clearly had caught a medium in the act of falsifying her act, he showed them to her later. He reported that "she was shocked and dumfounded when the pictures were shown to her". For she was totally unaware she was doing it, and indicated that the spirits controlled her actions in this."(Ibid, p 220) Channeling Channeling is a newly-discovered "New Age" phenomenon which holds that certain individuals can make "contact" with some external intelligence-- Depending on which channeler one is talking to, this being is referred to as as "discarnate entities", "spirits", "soul partners", etc. Channelers differ from spiritual mediums, in that typically their contacted spirits live in faraway, and distant times. (This is significant--because this makes it more difficult for researchers to test their claims, compared to spiritualists.) Skeptics believe channelers are essentially a "repackaging" of spiritual mediums that were so popular in the previous century.--Both have claimed to serve basically as a conduit of information from a spiritual dimension or higher realm of reality to ordinary humans. Although much of channeling is purported to be of a religious or spiritual nature, most of it falls outside of most orthodox theologies. Therefore, it is not surprising that both conventional religious groups AND scientists have expressed concern and skepticism over their practices. J.K. Knight is probably the most famous of the channelers. As publicized through Shirley MacLaine's 1985 book, DANCING IN THE LIGHT, Knight claimed to have made contact with a Ramtha, a native of India who "lived 35,000 years ago". Skeptics have pointed out that the name "Ramtha" has Indo-Germanic language roots--and that this tribe had not migrated to India by this early a date. Skeptics also note that when Ramtha is talking through J.Z. Knight, there is no change in accent or intonation-- even the language is the same as J.Z. Knight's own vocabulary and style. There are other successful channelers other than J.K. Knight. Penney Torres channels "Mafu" who was a first century Greek. Alan Vaughan channels through a "Li-Sung", who was a philosopher in northern China during the eighth century. Jack Pursel's claims that his contact, "Lazaris" was never a human, but instead a being from another dimension. The list goes on and on. According to Jon Klimo in his book CHANNELING: INVESTIGATIONS ON RECEIVING INFORMATION FROM PARANORMAL SOURCES (1987, p4), who is skeptical of channelers: "... a disturbing lack of agreement can often be found among the channelers and their material, giving rise to mutually contradictory claims. Intellectual limitations, grammatical incompetence, and historical and scientific inaccuracies also appear in the expressions of the channelers and their purported sources. All of this makes it much more difficult--if not impossible--for the logical mind to accept channeling outright, or to believe that authentic channeling is actually taking place on all the fronts where it is reported... Trickery and lies have clearly been exposed in many who claimed the channeler's skills." Other researchers have complained about the lack of knowledge by the contacted spirit in regards to the time and place in which he lived. Instead of specifics, typically the spirits only offer PLATITUDES, such as "saving the world from itself", and the like. (Hans Holzer "Channeling and Past Lives: The Real Story." FATE 43, June 1990, 74-86, as referenced by Robert Baker, op cited, p 245) According to Klimo (p 70), master channelers such as J.Z. Knight through her Ramtha, Kevin Ryerson through his John, and Jack Pursel through his Lazaris, basically teach the same spiritual themes: "Everything is one, the universe is a unity. The universe is basically spiritual and each of us is in tune with it. We are all spiritual and immortal beings within. We are all like gods or we are God, part of him, yet unconscious of this identity. We must all work to overcome our debilitating negative self-image and we must love one another because love is the most powerful force in the universe. We must contact and align ourselves with our higher self." (Jon Klimo. CHANNELING: INVESTIGATIONS ON RECEIVING INFORMATION FROM PARANORMAL SOURCES, p 70) Harry Edwards has some other questions regarding channelers: He asks, if those contacted are truly "spirits of the dead", why are they so evasive to any intelligent questioning regarding their origin and purpose in being here? That is, why would dead spirits bother to channel to the living, when they basically have nothing to say? Also, wouldn't they want to "channel" through sensitive, socially minded individuals who wanted to help the world--as opposed to individuals who are commercially exploiting them, for a lot of money? (Baker, op cited p.247 quoting Harry Edwards, "Calling All Spirits", the skeptic 9 (4):Summer 1989, 59-63) Edwards also asks why, if these spirits possess such great powers of mobility and invisibility, don't we see the Defense departments of nations lining up to buy time (thus displacing the small private channeling sessions). He notes that even the small fortunes these channelers are making now (for example Knight has charged $400 per head for a channeling session), is SMALL CHANGE compared to what the military would pay for such abilities. ESP ESP (meaning Extrasensory Powers) is a catch-all term to describe three basic phenomenon--Telepathy (picking up thoughts from another individual), Clairvoyance (mentally "seeing" things that are hidden, such as a ball under a couch), and Precognition (prediction of future events). Although a great deal of research and money have been spent in these areas, rigid scientific tests have found NO solid evidence for extrasensory powers. (Sloppy reporting--yes!, outright fraud--yes!, but powerful forces of ESP--no!) (footnote: As one example, Prof. John E. Coover of Stanford University conducted an extensive, scientifically-controlled series of ESP tests, which were published in 1917 in a 600-page work entitled EXPERIMENTS IN PSYCHICAL RESEARCH. He found no positive results for ESP. See Martin Gardner's FADS & FALLACIES, Dover, 1952,1957 for more details on the subject of ESP). On the other hand, many people, have claimed the ESP feeling known as precognition (prediction of future events). This phenomenon can possibly be explained as follows: Many individuals no doubt experience a fairly LARGE number of precognitions-- Some of these later come true, (especially if based on some privileged or "inside" knowledge)-- while others do not come true. I find it likely that people TEND TO FORGET the predictions that do NOT come true--while REMEMBERING only the ones that come true. Thus because our memory remembers only the "hits", it can appear that one has ESP, although rigorous laboratory tests cannot locate any such powers. Martin Gardner, in his book FADS & FALLACIES IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE, notes how SLOPPY scientific controls allowed for some of the earlier proclaimed "successes" of ESP. For example, during the 1930's and 1940's, Dr. Joseph Banks Rhine of Duke University, conducted a massive research test whereby volunteers were asked to guess the order of symbols in a deck of cards. The deck contained 25 cards, each bearing one of five symbols-- a square, circle, cross, star, or wavy lines. Those individuals who scored the highest (matched the symbols better than random chance) over a series of rounds were pronounced "gifted". Based on these tests, Rhine published a number of articles in both technical and popular magazines, claiming that ESP had been demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt, through his research. Skeptics maintained that Rhine had merely found a few individuals who had randomly achieved long runs. The analogy to this would be to ask 100 people to flip a coin 10 times. Anyone who happened to have more than 7 heads (or 7 tails) would be proclaimed "gifted" psychics. (That is, the law of probability predicts that if a LARGE number of people flipped a coin, then there would be some individuals who would RANDOMLY see "amazing" runs of 7,8,9 maybe even 10 runs of heads or tails. Of course there is a good test for determining if the results were random. That is, over an even longer series, these results should appear random again. Responding to this criticism, Dr. Rhine again tested his "gifted" individuals, to see if their ESP powers held up under a longer series of testing. (Because a selected number of individuals would be tested, as opposed to a large group, then this law of large numbers effect would not be a factor.) The result: Dr. Rhine reported that somehow these individuals had "lost" their previous ESP abilities. Dr. Rhine was obviously disappointed. However, he never accepted this as proof that the earlier results had been random. His OWN explanation: "...experimenters who were once successful may even lose their gift. There are cases...of research workers who found evidence psi [esp] capacities in one or mre experimental series and become LESS SUCCESSFUL IN LATER ONES EVEN WITH THE SAME EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS. This failure is understandable...in view of the loss of original curiosity and initial enthusiasm, but is shows clearly the extreme elusiveness of psi." (emphasis mine. Quote taken from Martin Gardner, FADS & FALLACIES IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE, Dover, 1957 p 303.) (Obviously, Dr. Rhine's explanation is not taken very seriously by most scientists who understand the basics of statistics.) As an interesting side note, it has been found that strict laboratory controls are crucial in conducting ESP tests. This is because it has been found that individual biases DO creep in --by BOTH believers AND skeptics! One interesting study demonstrating this, was performed by Richard S. Kaufman at Yale in 1952. In his study, eight individuals were each asked to toss a large number of dice, 40 times in a row. Four of the individuals believed in PK ("psychokinesis" or the ability of the mind to control matter--in this case, the dice), while the other four were skeptics in PK. The experiment was conducted under a hidden camera, to later verify the results. According to the camera, all the dice throws showed random results. However in reviewing how the individuals "scored" themselves, it was found that the four PK believers made errors in FAVOR of their biased belief in PK-- whereas the four PK skeptics made errors in favor of their bias AGAINST PK. (Interesting most of the mistakes were made towards the beginning and end of the rounds, when the individuals should have been most alert.) Two of the four PK believers' scores falsely showed them to possess strong PK abilities! The study showed the importance of SCORING results by individuals who do not know what they are scoring--so their individual biases do not subconsciously affect the results. (Ibid, p 306) Despite the above, a large number of individuals have been convinced that there is at least SOMETHING to ESP. For example Sigmund Freud believed that a person could pick up dreams telepathically, which could then be distorted through the individual's repressed memories. Aldous Huxley, William James, Upton Sinclair, Arthur Koestler, Gilbert Murray, and many other individuals can be mentioned, who have been strong believers in ESP. Some of the best testimonials for ESP seem to be related to picking up a "stray thought" (ie telepathy). For example, the Amazing Kreskin, claimed that he had "enhanced" his own senses to sometimes pick up other peoples' thoughts. In his book, SECRETS OF THE AMAZING KRESKIN, he relayed the following story: His sister-in-law handed him a wrapped Christmas present, telling him that it was "one gift you won't EVER guess." Kreskin said he suddenly "knew" it was a clock, and when he reported as much, she screamed with excitement, because that was exactly what it was. (Kreskin, SECRETS OF THE AMAZING KRESKIN, Prometheus Books, 1991, p 146.) There have been other reports of coincidences that seem too unusual to be randomly caused. For example, people have reportedly woken up in the middle of the night and rushed into rooms just in time to save a person's life. There have been documented cases where some twins talk and act in perfect synchronization with each other (for example, some starting a sentence with the other finishing it). Some people seem to sense when other individuals are looking at them from behind--describing this feeling as if "eyes" were looking at them. Many scientists are skeptical that there is ANY phenomenon at all, because no claims have been validated under strict laboratory conditions. (One problem is that many ESP practitioners claim exaggerated powers over the modest ones mentioned above.) Also, scientists do not see a mechanism for such a phenomenon, especially one that operates over large distances. Of course, another possibility, it that this is a weak natural phenomenon related say, to our bodies' electrical fields. If this is true, then this would represent one area where science is lagging behind the mystics. Still, if this force is weak (whereas most mystics portray this as a VERY strong force), then science is possibly "closer" to the truth in arguing that ESP does not exist. (This of course, does not excuse scientists from not modifying their views on ESP, if future strict laboratory tests can prove some force, however small, at work here.) It is interesting to observe Albert Einstein's approach towards psychic phenomenon. Maintaining initially an open mind on the tests conducted by Dr. Rhine on psi forces, Einstein became skeptical after Rhine reported that this "psi force" did NOT decline with distance, noting: "I regard it as very strange that the spatial distance between (telepathic) subjects has no relevance to the success of the statistical experiments. This suggests to me a very strong indication that a nonrecognized source of systematic errors may have been involved." That is, because the other physical forces of nature--gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force, and the weak force-- grow weaker, the further away they operate in relation to a given source, this suggested to Einstein, that there might be some other "systematic errors" explaining reports of Dr. Rhein's successes (which indeed turned out to be the case--as explained earlier.) Despite his skepticism, Einstein was open toward looking at new research in the area, as he recognized that he might possibly be wrong. "I should like to admit, that in my own life, I have not had any experiences which would throw light on the possibility of communication between human beings that was not based on normal mental processes. I should like to add that, since the public tends to give more weight to any statement from me than is justified, because of my ignorance in so many areas of knowledge, I feel the necessity of exercising utmost caution and restraint in the field under discussion. I should however, be happy to receive a copy of [a psychic] publication. That is, Einstein made it clear that he was skeptical of the reports of psychic phenomenon, but would evaluate his position after reading the results of new studies. (Footnote: The above quote was taken from a letter written by Einstein to Dr. Ehrenwald, dated May 13, 1946. In it, Einstein referred to a favorable introduction that he had written for Upton Sinclair due to his "personal friendship with the author". However he would be happy to review his position by receiving a copy of Dr. Ehrenwald's publication. Dr. Ehrenwald wrote a book entitled TELEPATHY AND MEDICAL PSYCHOLOGY). Sacred/Taboo Sites There are tremendous geomagnetic forces operating from within the earth.-- It is known that powerful seismic pressure inside the earth's crust can push against rock crystals, resulting in powerful electric fields across large areas. These fields can measure several thousand volts per meter, and are responsible for earthquake activity and such side effects as earthquake lightening. These geophysical forces are believed to be responsible for certain strange, freakish phenomenon-- including the following examples: In 1920, a brook in Lincolnshire, England "jumped" 20 feet, killing 50 people. In 1968, a 50 foot deep hole suddenly appeared in someone's backyard in San Diego, California. In 1973, several tons of rock pushed up from the ground in Elk Hill, Oklahoma. (Winifred Gallagher "Sacred Places", PSYCHOLOGY TODAY, Jan/Feb 1993, p 70.) Some scientists believe that these geophysical forces can interact with our bodies' natural electrical systems, creating a feeling of reverence and contact with the divine. This COULD explain the feeling of reverence attached to certain revered holy sites in the world-- such as Ayer's Rock in Australia (world's largest rock, held sacred by the aborigines). Recently, New Agers and spiritual seekers have flocked to the mountains of the Chilean Andes (held sacred to the Incas Indians) where on some nights, flashing lights and weird glows can be clearly discerned, accompanied by popping, sizzling sounds. (Ibid, p68) Michael Persinger, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Laurentian University in Sudbury Ontario, has conducted extensive research in this area. Using some 150 research subjects, Persinger has studied a large variety of geomagnetic-related phenomenon. According to Persinger, strange lights and power failures can often be explained by electrical discharges: "When an electrical discharge is concentrated in a spot that allows the maximum field and ionization potential--often at the tops of hills and buildings, near power lines, or swampy overgrown areas where decomposition releases combustible gases--strange lights and power failures can occur. These magnetic-field zones can also cause odd psychological reactions. There are accounts of people who have stepped into such an area, felt fearful, stepped back out, and felt all right again." (Ibid p 70) Sometimes the physical forces do not originate from within the earth, but can arise from external forces from the sun interacting with the earth. Again according to Persinger: "Between August 2 and 7 in 1962... massive sunspot activity shocked the Earth hard enough to [affect] its orbit...On August 10, multicolored fireballs, probably consisting of plasma, were reported over the United States. On August 19, a major UFO flap began, with many people reporting luminous objects, football-shaped spacecraft, and the like."(Ibid, p68) Per Persinger, the areas in which such bizarre activity occurs, often acquire reputations as sacred or taboo spots. During 1968-9, hundreds of thousands of people reported seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary and other heavenly sights over a Coptic church in Zeitoun, Egypt (located not far from Cairo). Various luminous displays in the air, varying in intensity and longevity were confirmed by photographs, (although the image was always vague enough to be left open to interpretation--some would say imagination-- of the viewer). Interestingly, when Persinger examined seismological records of the area, he found that these luminous displays occurred roughly one year before an unprecedented increase in seismic activity in the area (by a factor of 10 in the Zeitoun case). (p 64) --Poltergists, Haunted Houses, and Reported UFO Abductions Some phenomenon turn out to be merely magician tricks and/or hoaxes! For example, there have been numerous studies on "poltergeists", where researchers have found instead of a supernatural presence--a teenage prankster, who was knocking down lamps, etc, when people's backs were turned. Hidden cameras have caught a large number of these supposed "poltergeists" in the act. (The interested reader is urged to read the magazine SKEPTICAL INQUIRER which is dedicated to exposing fraud and hoaxes in the pseudo-sciences for specific examples of these.) Indeed, there have been numerous hoaxes on UFOs, ghosts, etc that turned out to be prankster tricks. (There have been other cases where the scene was clearly imagined by someone who was later diagnosed as schizophrenic, or other brain disorders.) Still, some cases are not so easily explained. Persinger investigated 207 cases of reported haunted houses and poltergeists that occurred over several generations, and therefore did not appear fraudulent. He concluded that unexplained moving objects, fires, and odd noises could be caused by geomagnetic forces. Per Persinger: "Some haunted houses have had a hundred owners over 30 or 40 years. They often report trouble with lights blowing--they just can't keep incandescent lights in the house. The unusual emotional and perceptual experiences they report resemble those described by people whose brains have been stimulated during surgery or in attacks of non convulsive epilepsy. In both instances, subjects report strong smells, loud noises, depersonalization, and dreamlike visions. Depending on the focus and intensity of the stimulation delivered to the brain, the experience could be pleasant or terrifying. This combination of real external physical events and unreal ones from the stimulated brain produces the confusing mixture of the rational and bizarre typical of accounts of haunted houses." A geographer friend of Persinger had the following bizarre experience: One evening, while sitting in her car in some remote region, she sensed a sudden quietness and the faint smell of ozone slightly stirring in the breeze. Suddenly, she saw a light in her rear view mirror, which quickly enveloped her car, casting an eerie glow throughout. Although she felt: "tingling sensations and knew she should move, she didn't because she felt so euphoric. Falling over sideways, she looked out the window and hallucinated a vision of a dog suddenly out of thin air. About 15 minutes later, when she came to, she found that her car's alternator had been burned out, but other than feeling queasy for a few days, she was all right." (Ibid p 65) Persinger theorizes that his friend was subject to a strong current, formed by "geophysical anomalies"--He explains that, "profound perceptual changes, such as hallucinations, can result from the induction of substantial direct current into the body...That's why many people who've had such experiences report that they'd been knocked out. If the current, perhaps generated by tectonic strain deep with the Earth, is too intense, the person may even die of a heart attack or seizure." (Ibid). The reason why a person may experience hallucinations, is because the geophysical forces interact with the electrical systems of our mind. These hallucinations may be of normal items (for example the vision of the "dog" above), the supernatural (say angels) or science fiction (such as UFO- abductions.) Most stories of UFO abductions begin with a description of weird lights, storms, or noises in the area, feeling a force that shoves their car off the road or lifts up other objects. The car stops, and as the UFO draws nearer, the person passes out. After reviving, he feels unwell, and sometimes violated, although he can remember little to nothing of the experience. This commonly reported phenomenon of blacking out after seeing the glow, along with feelings of euphoria, and reported visions all point to a possible assault on the brain's electrical system. This theory also explains why sometimes a car's engine system can be damaged. It also explains why after this temporary electrical activity discharged through intense ionization, the "UFO" seems to disappear. (Ibid, p 68) According to Persinger: "if an electromagnetic field produced by tectonic strain is present, or if the air is ionized, as happens in ball lightning, a luminous blob that could be interpreted as a UFO might appear. If the intensity of the electromagnetic discharge wasn't dissipated by ionization, it could deliver some current briefly to the Earth, causing the observer to see a luminous column slowly descend and land, a la CLOSE ENCOUNTERS." To test his theory, Persinger has conducted a number of tests on volunteers to study the effects of electrical stimulation on the mind-- thus simulating (to a lesser degree) what one could experience by being bombarded with abnormally powerful currents from electromagnetic forces operating on the Earth. He applied an electromagnetic signal which stimulated two areas of the older limbic system of the brain (ie, the amygdale which assigns meaning to sensory input, and the hippocampus which is involved with memory.) What Persinger found, was by stimulating both areas at the same time, the subject reported experiencing a powerful barrage of images which were nevertheless felt to be real and powerfully important. (Ibid p 68) Again, per Persinger, "Powerful stimulation of particular regions of the brain can evoke the feeling of a presence, disorientation, and perception irregularities. It could also activate images stores in the subject's memory, including nightmares and monsters that are normally suppressed. When parts of the brain that certify an event as authentic and meaningful have also been stimulated, the subject's psychological experience--perhaps a feeling of being in touch with a supernatural power or another world--would seem very real and emotionally charged." (Ibid p 68) Persinger found that the mystical experiences of his volunteers' accounts were dependant on the setting they found themselves in. Many of them enjoyed their visions so much (which arose "from a much weaker zap than they'd get in the outdoors"), that many of them later asked him to do it again. (Ibid p 70) Persinger feels the phenomenon known as "bereavement hallucination" (ie where widows or widowers sometimes report experiencing a mystical vision of their deceased loved one)--may also be related to natural phenomenon: He found that that such visions were most common shortly after the death had occurred--AND on days of significant geomagnetic activity. (Interestingly, he found that admissions to hospitals from reported episodes of epilepsy and other mental illnesses, also increased on geomagnetic active days.) (Ibid, p 68) See Section VIII, Chapter 6 which discusses the activity of our minds, and breakdowns from causes such as epilepsy and schizophrenia)