A History of Psychic Research

In 1856, Nikola Tesla was born in the small village of Smiljan, Croatia. From his early childhood, it was apparent that he possessed a mind that was extraordinary. His father trained Nikola to strengthen his mind through a variety of regular mental exercises. Tesla was stricken with illness early in his life, time and time again. He suffered from a peculiar affliction which caused blinding flashes of light to appear before his eyes, often accompanied by hallucinations. These flashes turned into premonitions when he stated that he foresaw his parents death, and also when they miraculously saved him from drowning.

Tesla was swimming under a large floating structure that extended further than he realized. He found himself trapped underwater with no sign of the surface, a flash appeared, and with it a vision of a small opening to air. This vision saved his life. Despite his numerous accomplishments that he attributed to his special abilities, skeptics discounted him as someone with a propensity for coincidence. Parapsychology is the study of any phenomena that cannot be explained by natural law. It also refers to knowledge acquired by other than the usual senses. It has been studied by some of the finest psychologists in the world since the first foundation for psi studies, the Society for Psychical Research, was established in London in 1882.

In 1927, Dr. J.B. Rhine began conducting studies of psychic phenomena in the psychology department at Duke University. He originally became interested in the paranormal when he attended a lecture given by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with his wife, and Duke psychology department chairman Dr. William McDougall, he amassed a huge volume of trailblazing research into possible hidden powers of the mind. Rhine established the Duke University Parapsychology Laboratory in 1935. He coined the term, "extrasensory perception," and was widely regarded as the leading authority on ESP. He was the first experimenter to perform psychic tests using Zener cards, developed for him by his colleague Dr. Karl Zener. Rhine collected extremely compelling test results, however, skeptics who have examined his work have concluded that certain procedural flaws and probability loopholes invalidate any claims of positive proof that psychic powers exist.

There is a saying sometimes heard- for every year of publicity, there is ten years of government. It can be applied to many things. Technologically, it means that the government would always be at least ten years ahead of public technology. Socially, it means that the decisions and happenings of the world that affect general public behavior are known to the government ten years ahead of time. And, if you relate it to the powers of the mind, it would indicate that however long public and/or private parapsychologists have been studying extrasensory perception, the government has been studying it longer. The research done by the Nazi regime on human subjects was almost purely physical, in an attempt to create the perfect soldier- that is, so far as we know.

Think for a moment, about the general attitude toward psychics, historically and modernly. They have been commonly thought of as magicians, or pretenders, or very gifted liars with excellent memories. This would make it very easy for any government to dismiss anyone claiming to have been a subject for psychic research by that government. Dr. Rhine accomplished something very important in his time, he established ESP as an everyday term, and got national attention turned toward the paranormal. Nikola Tesla's crowning achievement was his invention of the AC (alternating current) engine, which he attributed to his unheard of skill of hallucination.

The Internet has been with us for about twenty-five years now, and it is generally accepted as being the future. Psychic research has been around for one hundred and fourteen years. It is thought of the same way now as it was then. This circumstance is difficult to swallow without wondering about who might be blocking the progress in social acceptance of such a veteran field of science.

Psychic research continues now locally where I live, it is being done by the Metaphysical Research Society. ( Charles, is past President of the organization).

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Charles Lightwalker is a Metis shaman, author, medical intuitive, and healer. For more information call Charles at 509-389-7290 or visit the web site: www.thefamilyoflight.com

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