Uncategorized – Page 2 – LIBERTY PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

Parapsychology: After-Death Communications (ADCs) are experiences,…

After-Death Communications (ADCs) are experiences in which a person feels they have had contact or communication with someone who has died. These experiences are commonly reported by bereaved individuals and may occur spontaneously, often during periods of grief.

Common Types of ADCs

People report a variety of experiences, including:

Sensing a presence of the deceased nearby.

Hearing a voice or receiving a message.

Seeing an apparition or visual image of the deceased.

Dream visitations that feel unusually vivid, meaningful, or real.

Feeling a touch, such as a hand on the shoulder or a hug.

Receiving symbolic signs, such as meaningful coincidences, specific songs, scents, animals, or objects associated with the deceased.

Inner communication, where a message seems to arise in the mind unexpectedly.

How Common Are They?

Research suggests that ADCs are relatively common among bereaved individuals. Some studies have found that a significant percentage of people who have lost a loved one report at least one such experience during the grieving process.

Psychological Perspectives

Psychologists and grief researchers offer several possible explanations:

A normal part of the grieving process.

The mind’s way of maintaining a continuing bond with the deceased.

Memory, emotion, and attachment systems creating vivid experiences.

Meaning making during bereavement.

Importantly, ADCs are not automatically considered signs of mental illness. Many mentally healthy individuals report them.

Parapsychological Perspectives

Researchers in parapsychology have explored whether some ADCs might represent genuine communication from a deceased person. Evidence remains controversial, and there is no scientific consensus that survival of consciousness after death has been proven.

Characteristics Often Reported

Many experiencers describe ADCs as:

Comforting and reassuring.

Clear and vivid.

Different from ordinary imagination.

Accompanied by feelings of peace, love, or certainty.

Example

A widow may suddenly smell her late husband’s distinctive cologne when no source is present, or dream of him appearing healthy and saying, “I’m okay.” She may interpret this as an ADC.

Clinical View

Some grief counselors and mental health professionals may view ADCs as potentially meaningful experiences for the bereaved. Unless they are causing significant distress, impairment, or are accompanied by other symptoms of psychosis, they are generally not treated as pathological.

In grief counseling, ADCs may be discussed within the framework of continuing bonds, a theory suggesting that maintaining an ongoing psychological connection with a deceased loved one may be a healthy part of adapting to loss.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology: Audio Apparition (sometimes called an auditory apparition):

An audio apparition (sometimes called an auditory apparition) is an experience in which a person hears a voice, sound, music, knocking, footsteps, or other auditory phenomenon that seems to originate from a source that is not physically present.

In psychical research and parapsychology, audio apparitions may be classified as a type of apparitional experience, similar to visual apparitions but involving hearing rather than seeing.

Common Types of Audio Apparitions

Hearing the voice of a deceased loved one call your name.
Hearing footsteps in an empty room.
Hearing knocks, bells, or door sounds with no identifiable source.
Hearing music, singing, or conversations that others cannot hear.
Receiving a spoken message that appears meaningful or relevant to a current situation.

Psychological Explanations

Many audio apparition experiences may be explained by:

Misinterpretation of ordinary sounds.
Stress, fatigue, grief, or sleep deprivation.
Hypnagogic or hypnopompic states (between sleeping and waking).
Memory and expectation effects.
Certain medical or neurological conditions: Please, Consult with a Medical Doctor.

Bereavement Experiences

Research has found that some grieving individuals report hearing the voice of a deceased loved one. These experiences are often called after-death communications (ADCs) or bereavement related anomalous experiences. They are relatively common and do not necessarily indicate mental illness.

Parapsychological Perspective

Some parapsychologists have suggested that certain audio apparitions may represent:

Survival related phenomena (communication from deceased persons).
Telepathic impressions.
Crisis related experiences occurring around the time of a person’s death or emergency.
Other unexplained forms of consciousness related phenomena.

Example

A person suddenly hears their mother’s voice clearly say, “I’m okay,” shortly after learning of her death. A psychologist might explore grief related processes, while a parapsychologist might consider whether the experience could represent an anomalous communication. Both perspectives acknowledge that the experience may feel very real and emotionally significant to the experiencer.

The interpretation of audio apparitions remains controversial, with psychological explanations generally favored in mainstream science and paranormal explanations explored primarily within psychical research and parapsychology.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology: Place Related Apparitions:

Place Related Apparitions are reports of seeing, hearing, or sensing a presence that appears to be connected to a specific location rather than to a particular living person or witness.

In psychical research and folklore, these experiences are often described as recurring phenomena associated with a physical location, house, battlefield, castle, hospital, road, or other site.

Common Characteristics

The apparition is repeatedly reported in the same location.

It often appears to follow the same pattern or behavior.

It may seem unaware of observers.

Witnesses may report visual sightings, sounds, voices, footsteps, or a sensed presence.

Reports sometimes persist across many years or generations.

Examples

A figure repeatedly seen walking down a particular staircase.

A soldier reportedly appearing on a historic battlefield.

Sounds of footsteps or voices heard in a specific building.

As an example: A “lady in white” reported at the same location by multiple witnesses.

Parapsychological Interpretations

Researchers in parapsychology have proposed several explanations:

Residual Haunting Theory

The location somehow “records” past events, which are later replayed under certain conditions.

The apparition is not considered conscious or interactive.

Survival Hypothesis

The apparition represents the continued existence of a deceased person’s consciousness.

The entity may occasionally interact with witnesses.

Psi Based Explanations

Witnesses may unconsciously obtain information through psychic processes and construct an apparition experience.

This is sometimes related to the Super-Psi hypothesis.

Environmental Theories

Certain environmental conditions (lighting, acoustics, electromagnetic fields, expectation, suggestion) may contribute to unusual experiences.

Psychological Perspectives

Some Psychologists may examine:

Perception and misperception

Memory reconstruction

Suggestion and expectation

Emotional significance of places

Cultural beliefs about haunted locations

These explanations do not necessarily imply that witnesses are imagining the experience; rather, they explore how normal cognitive processes may contribute to unusual perceptions.

Research Status

Within science, there is no generally accepted evidence that place related apparitions are caused by spirits or surviving consciousness. However, such experiences remain an active area of study within the fields of parapsychology, anomalistic psychology, and consciousness research.

Place related apparitions are particularly interesting because they raise the question of whether certain locations may become associated with recurring anomalous experiences, regardless of who the witness is.

Shervan K Shahhian

Podcast Episode: Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM), also known as Metta Meditation:

Pip: Liberty Psychological Association covers territory that most of us quietly need a map for — the inner kind.

Mara: Today we're looking at a contemplative practice with deep roots and measurable effects, courtesy of Shervan K Shahhian at Liberty Psychological Association, The Most Comprehensive Online Library Regarding Mental Health, Psychology and Parapsychology in the World. Let's start with Loving-Kindness Meditation — what it is, how it works, and why the research behind it is worth taking seriously.

Loving-Kindness Meditation: Training the Heart and Mind

Pip: The premise here is straightforward but easy to underestimate — that you can deliberately practice goodwill the way you practice anything else, and that doing so actually changes something.

Mara: The post frames it clearly from the start: "Loving-Kindness Meditation is a contemplative practice that involves intentionally cultivating feelings of goodwill, compassion, warmth, and kindness toward yourself and others."

Pip: Intentionally cultivating. That word choice matters — this isn't passive mood management. It's structured repetition with a direction.

Mara: The structure is quite specific. You begin with phrases directed at yourself — "May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I be safe. May I live with ease." — then extend those same wishes outward, moving from a loved one to a friend, a neutral person, a difficult person, and eventually all beings.

Pip: The difficult person step is the one that earns its keep. Anyone can wish a friend well on a Tuesday.

Mara: The post is careful to define what loving-kindness is not — it doesn't mean approving harmful behavior, ignoring personal boundaries, or forcing yourself to like everyone. The phrase used is "recognizing the shared humanity of all people while maintaining healthy boundaries."

Pip: Which is a useful clarification, because the practice could easily be misread as emotional bypass.

Mara: From a psychological standpoint, the post explains that repeated practice may strengthen neural pathways associated with empathy, emotional regulation, and social connection. Research suggests it can increase positive emotions, reduce self-criticism, lower stress and anger, and support overall psychological well-being.

Pip: So the upshot is: this is less about feeling warmly toward the universe and more about retraining a threat-detection system that runs a little hot by default.

Mara: That's exactly how the post frames the mechanism — counteracting the mind's tendency toward threat detection and negative mental commentary. Modern therapies including mindfulness-based interventions and compassion-focused approaches already incorporate it for exactly that reason.

Pip: Goodwill as a trainable skill — that reframe does some work.

Mara: It does. The inner architecture turns out to be more malleable than most of us assume. More on that next time.

Parapsychology: Mind to Mind Conversations or Nonverbal Communication:

Mind to Mind Conversations or nonverbal communication may mean very different things.

Psychological Perspective

In psychology, people may communicate without words through:

Facial expressions

Body language

Eye contact

Gestures

Tone of voice

Emotional cues

Some humans are remarkably good at picking up subtle signals, sometimes creating the impression that they “know what someone is thinking” without anything being said.

Intuitive or Empathic Communication

Some people report experiences where they seem to:

Sense another person’s emotions from a distance.

Know what someone is about to say.

Simultaneously think of the same idea.

Feel a strong connection with a loved one.

Psychology may explain these experiences through empathy, pattern recognition, emotional attunement, shared experiences, and coincidence.

Parapsychological Perspective

In parapsychology, mind to mind communication is called telepathy, a concept studied in fields such as:

Telepathy

Ganzfeld Experiment

Remote Viewing

Researchers have conducted experiments to investigate whether information may be transferred between minds without the known senses. Some studies have reported statistical anomalies, while critics argue that methodological issues, chance, and bias may explain the findings. As a result, telepathy remains controversial and may not accepted as a scientific fact to some.

Distinguishing the Terms

Nonverbal communication: Information conveyed through observable cues other than words.

Telepathy (mind to mind communication):

The proposed direct transfer of thoughts, feelings, or information between minds without known sensory channels.

Empathy:

Understanding or sensing another person’s emotional state, often without explicit verbal communication.

In everyday life, what feels like a “mind to mind conversation” is may be explained by nonverbal communication, emotional attunement, and shared understanding. In parapsychology, it may be interpreted as telepathic communication, although this remains a topic of ongoing debate and research.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology: Telepathic Communication is the claimed ability to transmit thoughts,…

Telepathic communication is the claimed ability to transmit thoughts, feelings, images, or information directly from one mind to another without using known sensory channels (speech, writing, gestures, technology, etc.).

It is a common topic in Parapsychology, spirituality, and paranormal research. Examples include:

Sensing what another person is thinking.
Communicating silently over a distance.
Sharing emotions or mental images directly.

Scientific perspective

Telepathy has been studied by researchers for more than a century, particularly in the field of parapsychology. However, no scientifically accepted evidence has demonstrated that telepathic communication exists. Experiments that appeared promising have generally been reliably replicated under certain conditions.

As a result, some neuroscience and psychology do recognize telepathy as a proven phenomenon.

Why people sometimes believe they’ve experienced telepathy

Several ordinary processes may create the impression of telepathy:

Strong familiarity with someone, allowing accurate predictions of their thoughts or actions.
Coincidences (thinking of someone just before they call).
Subtle nonverbal cues that are processed unconsciously.
Selective memory, remembering the “hits” and forgetting the many “misses.”

In fiction and culture

Telepathy is a popular ability in books, movies, and television, often portrayed as:

Mind to mind conversations.
Reading thoughts.
Sharing memories or emotions.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology: Phantasms of the Living:

Phantasms of the Living is the title of a book by members of the Society for Psychical Research.

What Does “Phantasms of the Living” Mean?

The term refers to apparitions, visions, or sensory experiences of living people, rather than spirits of the dead. The authors collected hundreds of reports in which a person claimed to see, hear, or sense someone who was actually alive but often far away.

Examples included:

Seeing a distant relative suddenly appear in a room.
Hearing the voice of a living person when they were not physically present.
Experiencing a vivid impression of someone during a crisis.

Crisis Apparitions

Some cases involved what researchers called crisis apparitions, experiences occurring when the person perceived was undergoing a serious event such as:

An accident
Severe illness
Emotional distress
Death or near death situations

The researchers wondered whether these experiences might reflect some form of telepathic communication rather than spirit visitation.

Interpretation

Some proposed that some apparitions of living persons might be explained by:

Telepathy (mind to mind influence)
Unconscious psychological processes
Coincidence in some cases

They did not claim that all reports proved paranormal phenomena, but they argued that certain cases deserved scientific investigation.

Modern Perspectives

Today, some psychologists might explain such experiences through factors such as:

Memory distortions
Expectation and suggestion
Stress and emotional arousal
Sleep-related experiences
Coincidence and selective recall

Parapsychologists, however, still regard Phantasms of the Living as a landmark work because it was one of the first systematic attempts to collect and analyze spontaneous apparition reports.

Historical Importance

The book remains influential in:

Parapsychology
Psychical Research
Studies of apparitions and anomalous experiences
Research on telepathy and consciousness

For some historians, Phantasms of the Living represents the beginning of large-scale, evidence gathering research into spontaneous paranormal experiences rather than relying solely on folklore or anecdotal ghost stories.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology: Apparitions are experiences in which a person perceives a figure, presence, or image,…

Apparitions are experiences in which a person perceives a figure, presence, or image that appears real but may not be explained by an obvious physical source. Apparitions may often be described as seeing a deceased person, a living person who is not physically present, an unknown figure, or a non-human entity.

Types of Apparitions

Crisis Apparitions
- Reported when someone appears to another person during a time of extreme danger, illness, or death.
- The apparition may be later linked to a real-life crisis occurring at the same time.
Bereavement Apparitions
- Experienced after the death of a loved one.
- The experiencer may see, hear, sense, or even feel the presence of the deceased.
- These experiences are relatively common among grieving individuals and do not necessarily indicate mental illness.
Place Related Apparitions
- Apparitions reported repeatedly in a particular location.
- Commonly associated with “haunted” places.
Living Person Apparitions
- Reports of seeing someone who is alive but physically elsewhere.
- Sometimes called “phantasms of the living” in parapsychological literature.

Scientific Explanations

Psychologists and neuroscientists have proposed several explanations:

Misinterpretation of sensory information: (shadows, reflections, low light).
Expectation and suggestion: influencing perception.
Grief related experiences: especially after a significant loss.
Sleep related phenomena: such as hypnagogic (falling asleep) or hypnopompic (waking up) hallucinations.
Stress, fatigue, trauma, or certain neurological conditions: consult with a Nuerologist, may also contribute to apparition like experiences.

Parapsychological Perspectives

Within the field of Parapsychology, apparitions have been studied as potential evidence for:

Telepathic communication.
Survival of consciousness after death.
Unknown aspects of human consciousness.
Interactions with non-physical entities.

Researchers associated with the Society for Psychical Research collected thousands of apparition reports and attempted to analyze patterns statistically and historically.

Are Apparitions Evidence of Life After Death?

There is currently no scientific consensus that apparitions prove survival after death. Mainstream science generally interprets apparition experiences through psychological, neurological, and environmental factors. However, some researchers in psychical research argue that certain well documented cases remain difficult to explain completely.

Important Distinction

An apparition experience by itself is not the same as a psychotic disorder. Many psychologically healthy people report sensing or seeing the presence of a deceased loved one, particularly during bereavement. Mental health professionals evaluate such experiences based on the broader context, including distress, functioning, and whether other symptoms are present.

In summary, an apparition is a perceived presence or figure that appears real to the experiencer but lacks an immediately identifiable physical source. Interpretations range from normal psychological processes to paranormal or survival of consciousness hypotheses, depending on one’s perspective and the available evidence.

Shervan K Shahhian

Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM), also known as Metta Meditation:

Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM), also known as Metta Meditation, is a contemplative practice that involves intentionally cultivating feelings of goodwill, compassion, warmth, and kindness toward yourself and others.

The word “Metta” comes from the ancient Pali language and means loving-kindness, benevolence, or unconditional friendliness.

How It Works

During Loving-Kindness Meditation, you silently repeat phrases such as:

May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I live with ease.

You then gradually extend these wishes to others:

Yourself
A loved one
A friend
A neutral person
A difficult person
All beings everywhere

Example Practice

Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and repeat slowly:

May I be safe.

May I be healthy.

May I be peaceful.

May I be happy.

After a few minutes, bring someone you care about to mind:

May you be safe.

May you be healthy.

May you be peaceful.

May you be happy.

Continue extending these wishes outward.

Benefits

Research suggests Loving-Kindness Meditation may help:

Increase positive emotions
Enhance empathy and compassion
Reduce self-criticism
Improve social connection
Lower stress and anger
Increase emotional resilience
Support overall psychological well-being

What Loving-Kindness Is Not

Loving-kindness does not mean:

Approving harmful behavior
Ignoring personal boundaries
Suppressing anger or hurt
Forcing yourself to like everyone

Instead, it involves recognizing the shared humanity of all people while maintaining healthy boundaries.

A Psychological Perspective

From a psychological standpoint, Loving-Kindness Meditation can help counteract the mind’s tendency toward threat detection, self-criticism, and negative mental commentary. By repeatedly practicing goodwill and compassion, individuals may gradually strengthen neural pathways associated with empathy, emotional regulation, and social connection.

Some modern therapies, including mindfulness-based interventions and compassion-focused approaches, incorporate elements of Loving-Kindness Meditation as a way to promote emotional well-being and resilience.

In simple terms, Loving-Kindness Meditation is the practice of training the heart and mind to relate to oneself and others with greater kindness, compassion, and goodwill.

Shervan K Shahhian

Control Freak is an informal term for someone who feels a strong need to control situations:

A control freak is an informal term for someone who feels a strong need to control situations, people, or outcomes. They may often struggle to trust others to do things “correctly” and may become anxious when things are uncertain or not done their way.

Common traits may include:

Micromanaging others
Difficulty delegating tasks
Wanting plans followed exactly
Becoming stressed when things feel unpredictable
Correcting or directing people frequently
Needing reassurance that things are under control

Not everyone who likes organization or leadership is a control freak. The term usually implies the behavior is excessive or causes tension in relationships, work, or daily life.

People may develop controlling behaviors for different reasons, such as:

Anxiety or fear of failure
Perfectionism
Past experiences where they felt powerless
Lack of trust
A need for security or predictability

Example:

A manager who insists on approving every tiny detail instead of trusting the team.
A partner who tries to decide how everyone should spend their time or do chores.

The phrase may be used casually, but in serious cases controlling behavior can become unhealthy or emotionally manipulative.

Shervan K Shahhian