Tell me, has it ever happened to you that when watching a movie of a certain genre or during a performance by a magician in a circus, you are no, no, yes, and the thought will visit: “Does magic really exist?” You are not alone. Today, many serious educational institutions are working on the same problem.
Parapsychology is a complex of sciences that seek not only to prove, but also to practically reproduce the extrasensory abilities of a person. As far as possible, let's look further.
The origin of science
In the academic community, this discipline is considered pseudoscience. Scientists agree that no experiments were carried out according to official rules, there are practically no publications, and most of the results are purely individual.
The term itself appeared thanks to Marc Dessoir in 1889. It means "near-psychological research". The popularization of this word began only after the publication of the first issue of the Journal of Parapsychology in 1937.
Since many of the studies were carried out in Americanuniversities, and this nation simply loves abbreviations and abbreviations, then since 1942 the first part of "psychological phenomena" is replaced by the Greek letter "psi".
Varieties of phenomena
In fact, esotericism, parapsychology and other "secret" sciences study the basic five senses of a person developed to the limit.
Many researchers agree that even intuition is, in fact, not a hint of the subconscious, but the sum of all our perceptions. Something once noticed, heard, read, someone behaved inappropriately to the situation … All these moments are noticed by the subconscious and gives the result through a feeling: you need to do this … And the person listens to himself … or not. In the end, it turns out that it would be better to listen.
So, clairvoyance, clairaudience and other extra-developed senses are distinguished. The next category is weight management. This includes telekinesis, levitation. Extrasensory perception includes astral projection, out-of-body travel, channeling. In addition to such sensations, there are also purely practical ones - healing, dowsing.
Thus, parapsychology is a whole complex of disciplines that study the superpowers of a person.
History
The time before the 80s of the XIX century can be called an occult-mystical period. Alchemy, witchcraft, shamanism and other attempts to go beyond the material world - few people could be surprised by this. But then most of these phenomena were considered miracles at best, and "tricks of the devil" at worst.
From the end of XIXcentury begins the study of these phenomena and phenomena. Societies for Psychical Research are founded in England and the USA. The first study to be documented was the rewriting of testimonials from people who had seen ghosts. Further, their words were compared with the stories of he althy people who had experienced hallucinations. And the results of these experiments are still being used.
Stanford and Duke Universities in the US continue the tradition of societies, but their focus was slightly different. Here, the main goal was not the quality of the experiment, but the number of cases and the possibility of repetition. Most of the work was done with cards, dice and coins.
The North Carolina Association is founded in 1957, and the field of research expands in the 1970s. Now reincarnations are being studied, the aura is being photographed and so on.
Although some projects have closed, unable to withstand the criticism of official science, in Europe and America they still continue to conduct research in laboratories, sometimes obtaining unusual results.
Research
Parapsychology, clairvoyance, telekinesis and astral vision today have collected a fairly extensive database of results.
There are people who can see blindfolded, tell what is happening in the next room, move a matchbox or a coin with the power of thought. Hypnotism and the power of suggestion have also been studied for many years.
For example, one of the methods for studying such superpowers is "ganzfeld". He means the following. The subject is located insoundproof chamber, he hears white noise in his headphones, and in front of his eyes - special hemispheres that completely isolate them from light.
The second participant of the experiment is outside the camera and looks at the computer monitor, where pictures randomly appear. He mentally sends the drawn images to the percipient. The latter should voice all his thoughts into the microphone.
Here it is - parapsychology. Teaching some of its disciplines is gaining more and more popularity today.
Fiction or reality
Throughout the twentieth century, scientists argue over the results of experiments. The main problem is that they are purely subjective and individual. And it is quite difficult to determine what parapsychology is (is it quackery or the science of the future?)
That is, it turns out that one person has some abilities developed more or he was just lucky on the day when the experiment was made. The second problem is that there were no significant achievements, and most of the results of the experiment can be attributed to technical errors or ordinary physical phenomena.
In Soviet times, an article by Russian scientists about similar phenomena was published, but there were no clear conclusions in it. It was all about hesitation and trying to hide behind insufficient statistics.
The main thing that saves most of the existing such laboratories now is the lack of evidence to the contrary. That is, esotericism has not been confirmed or refuted. Meaningexperiments are so far valued enough that grants are allocated.
Criticism
Academic science opposes all publications and attempts to introduce parapsychology into the circle of recognized disciplines.
The main point is that before, as now, many used the extraordinary experience and the desire of mankind to believe in miracles in order to present another trick or fraud to the public.
In addition, critics point to the isolation of the experiments. That is, they do not continue. Let's say a scientist researched telekinesis with a coin, published some statistics. But that's where it all ends. None of the related disciplines have any interest in continuing.
Research Organizations
However, not everything is so bad. And today there are many enthusiasts who are ready to experiment and participate in them.
Universities of Edinburgh, Liverpool, Arizona provide laboratories for research, students often show interest in such events.
Also, many societies, foundations, organizations take part in this movement. A number of publications are issued in Australia and Europe.
Thus, parapsychology is a whole complex of disciplines that various enthusiasts are engaged in.
In contrast to the previous movement, there is also a society of critics, led by associations of illusionists from different countries.
How to learn
Are you interested in what is clairvoyance, how to develop it? To youlucky - today there are many trainings that contribute to the realization of the desired in life. Here we will talk about the simple first steps of the student.
The first thing anyone who wants to learn to perceive information from the outside needs to do is to create silence within themselves. Exercises for concentration, relaxation, visualization, meditation will help here. Only after you manage to stop the internal monologue and abstract from the flow of thoughts in your head, it makes sense to move on to the next step.
Try looking at your hand with your fingers apart against a plain wall. After a few moments, you will be able to discern a slight glow. They say that this is the ethereal body of a person, the coarsest part of the aura. With practice, you will soon be able to perceive the world in all its diversity.
It's not so easy to discover clairvoyance in yourself. How to develop it or get it in another way - there is no clear guide. There are only a few summaries of statistical data and mystical information of "magicians". However, in the lab, some people show quite convincing results.
It turns out that everything depends on your attitude. Parapsychology, the study of which is of interest to many people today, is often relegated to the level of laymen and swindlers. However, the abilities of some individuals show that these are not just the experiments of "mad" scientists. Perhaps this is just not yet an open layer of knowledge, and research today is ahead of its time.
