The Parapsychological Association has opened up a new membership category, more on Dr. Julie Beischel’s recently released e-book Among Mediums: A Scientist’s Quest for Answers, Guillermo Del Toro discusses his personal encounters with the unexplained, and two articles on the science of un-haunted places in this week’s edition of psi in the news.
- Recent changes in their membership structure now make it much easier to join the Parapsychological Association as a supporting member, opening the doors to those who are interested in the scientific study of Psi and are looking for a good place to begin their engagement. (Parapsychological Association)
- The Rhine Research Center will be hosting a fundraising dinner on Saturday, March 9th, 2013 to “celebrate the study of parapsychology and the progress of the Rhine” over the past 78 years. Loyd Auerbach will be performing as Professor Paranormal (Auerbach is, on top of being a top notch parapsychologist, also an accomplished mentalist and illusionist), there will be a historical review of the Rhine by Sally Rhine Feather, and a look to the future by Executive Director John G. Kruth. (Rhine Research Center)
- Dr. Leonard George, Capilano University, will be presenting a webinar on ancient oracles called Voices from the Cave: Oracles, Shrines & Mysteries of Magna Graecia. George recently completed an in depth experiential study of Spiritualist practice within the Lily Dale Spiritualist community in upstate New York, giving him an interesting perspective on these practices. (Open Center)
- A new issue of EdgeScience, the journal of the Society for Scientific Exploration, is out, and features a piece by frequent Reality Sandwich contributor Paul Devereux. (Society for Scientific Exploration)
- Milan Valasek, a post-graduate student at the University of Edinburgh, is doing work with pre-cognitive dreams and has set up a survey for those interested in helping provide data for the study. (Society for Psychical Research)
- Robert McLuhan provides and overview of the work being conducted at the Windbridge Research Institute for Applied Research in Human Potential, and Dr. Julie Beischel’s recently released e-book Among Mediums: A Scientist’s Quest for Answers. (Paranormalia)
- At White Crow Books, Michael Tymn puts the Windbridge work in historical context, providing a look at the changing status of survival studies within the field of science. (White Crow Books)
- Chris Jensen Romer provides a write up of an interesting experiment that looks at the frequency of reported anomalous phenomena in “un-haunted houses,” and examines how this may play out in people’s perception of experiences they feel are uncanny. (And sometimes he’s so nameless)
- We’re treated to more un-ghostly ghosts as Christopher Laursen interviews John Savoie about the ‘Blue Ghost Tunnel’ in Canada, and the creation of a contemporary urban legend. (Extraordinarium)
- Laursen has also posted the first installment of his “In My Own Words” series which focuses on personal accounts of anomalous experiences. (Extraordinarium)
- Daniel Loxton digs into the history of modern skepticism, and discovers that not much has changed over the last century. (SkepticBlog)
- Loyd Auerbach weighs in on the media’s mismanagement of ‘ghost hunting,’ and discusses some of the biggest mistakes he sees in the public perception of parapsychology. (Mindreader.com)
- To try and help clear up some of these misconceptions Auerbach has begun uploading his lectures in MP3 format to make them more readily available to those interested in developing a scientific understanding of anomaly investigation. (Mindreader.com)
- Auerbach is also featured in this brief clip from the upcoming documentary, Surviving Death: A Paranormal Debate. (Vimeo)
- The University of Wales Trinity Saint David at Lampeter will host the West Wales Group of the Alister Hardy Society for the Study of Spiritual Experience on Saturday, May 4th, 2013 for a ‘ Study Day on Subtle Energy, Healing and Healers’ (Society for Psychical Research)
- The Merseyside Skeptics Society is launching a podcast with Hayley Stevens and Michael Marshall called Be Reasonable. Through dialogue with “people who believe in ideas and theories that run contrary to the mainstream scientific and skeptical worldview,” the podcast hopes to “examine how such beliefs are constructed and what evidence people feel supports their case.” (Hayley is a Ghost)
- Vice Magazine takes us to the Cassadega Spiritualist Camp in Florida, known for being the “Psychic Capital of the World.” (Vice Magazine)
- Simon Thorpe, CNRS (French National Research Center) Director of Research for the Brain and Cognition Research Center at the University of Toulouse, France has uploaded a 55 minute presentation he gave on January 5th, which highlights some of current research on Psi and human potential, and what areas he finds most compelling. (Entangled Minds)
- Dr. Melvin Morse, a prominent researcher in the area of Near Death Experience, was arrested last year on charges of waterboarding his step-daughter as a form of punishment. Nastacia Leshchinskaya has written an overview of the case, discussing how it is a very challenging one for those who followed his work on NDE’s in children. (Crime Library)
- Atlas Obscura has posted a brief article on The Monroe Institute. Founded in the early 1970’s to continue Virginia media executive Robert Monroe’s interest in exploring human consciousness, TMI has played an important role in creating practical applications of the parapsychological research for the past 50 years, including a central place in the ongoing evolution of the Stanford Research Institute’s remote viewing work. (Atlas Obscura)
- Independent filmmaker Lizzie Rose has created an intimate portrait of Russell Targ called An Open Mind, which features him reflecting on his research, and some of the highlights of his career. (The Eyeless Owl)
- Banking as parapsychology? Madame Pickwick Art Blog has a playful piece up outlining the coinciding narratives of the Western banking industry and the field of parapsychology. More importantly, the post has a great picture of Charles Honorton and Dr. Stanley Krippner standing next to Dr. Harry Hermon, who has been strapped into a “witches cradle” device. According to a comment from Dr. Krippner when I posted this to Facebook “the witches cradle was invented by Jean Houston and Robert Masters, and they used it in their research once the federal government no longer let them use LSD.” (Madame Pickwick Art Blog)
- In a recent interview director Guillermo del Toro talks to Meredith Woerner on I09 about his personal encounters with the unknown and anomalous. (i09)
- Professor Chris Roe and Dr. Elizabeth Roxburgh, both from the University of Northampton, will be presenting some of their research at an upcoming ‘Science Day’ hosted by the Spiritualists’ National Union. (Spiritualist’s National Union)
- Ancient aliens, possession and classic concepts of godhood, Jason Colavito tackles this dangerous speculative ground and brings a rational perspective citing anthropological research into possession and a more nuanced understanding of the lifespan of myths. (Jason Colavito)
- Reports are filtering out of Vietnam and the Phillipines regarding children who have purportedly been displaying pyro-kinesis, the ability to start spontaneous fires seemingly at will. Obviously reports of this nature are best enjoyed with a grain of salt, until the events have been further investigated. (Examiner)
- One continuous critique of parapsychology from those who believe in the phenomena, is that scientific investigation causes us to lose the mystery of the experience. With the recent focus on Near Death Experiences, this charge is being brought up again in the media. (Examiner)
- Former Army Remote Viewer, Paul Smith, provides a critique of Courtney Brown’s recent RV experiments conducted by the Farsight Institute. (RViewer.com)
- For reference the project that Smith is referring to can be found here: Farsight Institute – Earth Changes
- Martha Jette provides an overview of Dr. Terence James Palmer’s The Science of Spirit Possession: A 21st Century Approach to Mental Health. (Examiner)
- The BBC reports on recent research which indicates that our sense of smell may have a quantum element to it. A bit tangential, but an indication that the integration of Quantum Theory (relevant to some theories of Psi functioning) is starting to take effect more deeply in areas of study such as biology. (BBC)
- The Hearing the Voice project welcomes Joel Krueger, as Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Philosophy. (Hearing the Voice)
- Author Gordon Bonnett discusses his dislike of psychometry. (Skeptophilia)
Note: Special thanks to Tom Ruffles, Soc. for Psychical Research, Jack Hunter, Editor at Paranthropology Journal, and Matt Staggs, Editor at Disinfo.com, for a number of links included in this edition of Reality Sandwich’s Psi-in-the-News.
