science – LIBERTY PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

Parapsychology: Anomalous Cognition (AC) is a term used primarily in parapsychology:

Anomalous Cognition (AC) is a term used primarily in parapsychology to describe the acquisition of information without any known sensory, inferential, or conventional means of communication. The term was introduced to avoid assumptions about the mechanism involved (such as “telepathy” or “clairvoyance”).

Definition

Anomalous cognition could be defined as:

The apparent acquisition of accurate information about an object, person, place, or event through means not explained by the known senses or ordinary reasoning.

The term may deliberately descriptive rather than explanatory. It simply states that the information appears anomalous, it may not claim to know how it occurred.

Why the Term Was Created

Researchers might have moved away from terms like:

Telepathy

Clairvoyance

Precognition

ESP (Extrasensory Perception)

because those terms could imply specific mechanisms.

Instead, “anomalous cognition” may allow researchers to investigate unusual information acquisition without assuming whether it is due to psi, unknown psychological processes, statistical chance, or some other explanation.

Examples of Anomalous Cognition Research

Researchers may have studied anomalous cognition using controlled laboratory experiments such as:

Remote Viewing: describing distant locations or hidden targets.

Ganzfeld Experiments: testing for information transfer under sensory reduction.

Forced choice ESP Tests: guessing hidden symbols or cards.

Free response Experiments: describing unknown images or events.

Dream Telepathy Studies: examining whether dreams contain information about target images.

Proposed Types of Information Acquisition

If anomalous cognition exists, it may include information that appears to come from:

another person’s thoughts (telepathy)

distant locations (clairvoyance)

future events (precognition)

hidden objects

unknown facts later verified

Whether these are truly distinct phenomena or different expressions of the same underlying process remains an open question.

Scientific Status

The scientific community remains divided.

Supportive researchers argue:

Some laboratory studies report small but statistically significant effects that are difficult to explain by chance alone.

Meta analyses of certain paradigms, such as Ganzfeld and some remote viewing studies, may have found effects above chance, though interpretations remain debated.

The evidence warrants continued investigation.

Controversial skeptical researchers always argue:

Findings are often small and difficult to replicate consistently.

Methodological issues, publication bias, sensory leakage, or statistical artifacts may explain the results.

There is no widely accepted theoretical mechanism consistent with established physics or neuroscience.

As a result, anomalous cognition is not accepted as an established phenomenon within mainstream controversial psychology or neuroscience, though it remains an very active topic of research in parapsychology and consciousness studies.

Difference Between Anomalous Cognition and Remote Viewing

Anomalous cognition is the general phenomenon of apparently acquiring information by unknown means.

Remote viewing is a specific experimental protocol designed to test anomalous cognition under controlled conditions.

In other words:

Remote Viewing is one method used to investigate anomalous cognition.

Related Concepts

Parapsychology

Psychical Research

Remote Viewing

Ganzfeld experiments

Telepathy

Clairvoyance

Precognition

Anomalous experiences

Consciousness studies

Summary

Anomalous cognition is a neutral scientific term used in parapsychology for the apparent acquisition of information through means not currently explained by known sensory processes or conventional communication. It does not assume that psi exists; rather, it provides a framework for investigating such claims while remaining agnostic about the underlying mechanism. Although some researchers interpret certain experimental findings as suggestive of anomalous cognition, the evidence remains controversial, and the phenomenon has not been established as part of mainstream controversial scientific consensus.

Shervan K Shahhian

Mr. Ted Owens was The Greatest American Psychic, UFO Contactee and Prophet for some:

Ted Owens was The greatest American Psychic Claimant, UFO Contactee and Prophet for some, who became known as “The PK Man” (“PK” standing for psychokinesis, or mind over matter effects). He claimed that he was in telepathic communication with extraterrestrial or “Space Intelligence” entities that enabled him to influence physical events, including weather, electrical systems, UFO appearances, and even large scale natural phenomena.

Background

Prophet Owens served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and later studied at Duke University, where he worked with pioneering parapsychologist J. B. Rhine in the university’s parapsychology laboratory.

His Claims

Prophet Owens asserted that “Space Intelligences” had altered his mind, allowing him to communicate with them telepathically. He claimed these intelligences could:

Produce storms, droughts, and earthquakes.
Cause power failures and mechanical malfunctions.
Generate UFO sightings.
Influence public events and human behavior.
Provide him with information about future events.

Many of his claims centered on documented predictions mailed to scientists, journalists, and officials before events occurred. He maintained extensive files of correspondence and newspaper clippings that he believed supported his abilities.

Jeffrey Mishlove’s Investigation

Parapsychologist Jeffrey Mishlove: (The greatest Parapsychologist in the modern times), studied Owens from 1976 until Prophet Owens’s death in 1987. Mishlove later wrote the book The PK Man: A True Story of Mind Over Matter, arguing that Prophet Owens’s case deserved serious investigation because of the volume of documented predictions and unusual coincidences associated with him.

Controversy

Prophet Ted Owens remains a highly controversial figure. Supporters view him as one of the most extensively documented psychics in modern history, while skeptics argue that his apparent successes may be explained by selective reporting, broad predictions, coincidence, and confirmation bias. Some negative critics have also suggested that some of his beliefs may reflect delusional or grandiose thinking rather than genuine paranormal phenomena.

Why He Remains Important in Parapsychology

For many researchers and enthusiasts of parapsychology, Prophet Owens represents a fascinating case because:

His claims were recorded over many years.
He actively sought scientific attention rather than avoiding scrutiny.
Thousands of pages of letters, predictions, and reports survive in archives.
His case sits at the intersection of psychokinesis, UFO contact experiences, prophecy, and anomalous cognition.

Given your interest in Controlled Remote Viewing and “Space Intelligences,” Prophet Owens is often discussed as one of the most unusual figures linking psychic phenomena with purported non-human intelligences. His case remains unresolved: believers see compelling evidence of genuine anomalies, while negative and argumentative skeptics see a cautionary example of how extraordinary Psychical Powers can be interpreted through different extraordinary lenses.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology: Crisis Apparitions are reports of seeing, hearing, or sensing,…

Crisis Apparitions are reports of seeing, hearing, or sensing a person at about the same time that person is experiencing a life threatening crisis, serious accident, or death, often when the experiencer had no normal way of knowing what was happening.

Examples include:

Seeing a relative appear briefly in a room, only to learn later that the relative died at roughly the same time.
Hearing a loved one’s voice calling one’s name during a medical emergency.
Feeling a vivid presence accompanied by a strong sense that someone is in danger.

Characteristics of Crisis Apparitions

Usually occur unexpectedly.
Often involve a family member, close friend, or loved one.
May be visual, auditory, tactile, or simply a strong sense of presence.
Typically last only a few seconds or minutes.
The apparition usually appears normal rather than ghostlike.

Possible Explanations

Different perspectives have been proposed:

Psychological

Coincidence combined with selective memory.
Grief, stress, expectation, or misinterpretation of ordinary experiences.
Memory reconstruction after learning of the crisis.

Parapsychological

Some researchers suggest a form of telepathic communication occurring during extreme emotional events.
Others interpret them as evidence that consciousness can function independently of the mind, especially in cases occurring around death.

Skeptical View

Controversial skeptics argue that apparent correspondences between experiences and crises may arise by chance, reporting biases, and retrospective matching of events.

Are They Common?

Studies of bereavement and anomalous experiences suggest that sensing the presence of deceased loved ones is relatively common. However, crisis apparitions, where the experience occurs simultaneously with a distant crisis or death, are much rarer and remain controversial.

In parapsychology, crisis apparitions are considered one of the classic categories of spontaneous psi experiences, alongside telepathic impressions, precognitive dreams, and other anomalous experiences. They remain an intriguing topic in both psychical research and consciousness studies.

Shervan K Shahhian

Psi Mediated Communication is a term used in Parapsychology:

Psi mediated communication is a term used in parapsychology that refers to the hypothesis that information may be transferred between people (or between a person and their environment) through means that do not involve the known senses or conventional physical communication.

It is a theoretical concept used to explain reports of apparent information transfer that cannot easily be accounted for by ordinary sensory channels.

Types of Psi Mediated Communication

Researchers generally divide psi communication into two broad categories:

Telepathy
- Mind to mind communication.
- Information is thought to pass directly from one person’s consciousness to another without spoken words, gestures, or technology.
- Example: Someone suddenly knows what another person is thinking before they speak.
Clairvoyance
- Direct acquisition of information about distant objects, places, or events.
- The information is not believed to come from another person’s mind.
- Example: Describing a hidden object without seeing it.

Some researchers also include:

Precognition: information about future events.
Retrocognition: information about past events that could not have been learned normally.

How the Idea Is Used in Research

Within parapsychology, psi mediated communication has been proposed to explain phenomena such as:

Spontaneous telepathic impressions
Crisis apparitions
Shared dreams
Reports of after death communications
Some cases of remote perception
Certain experiences during meditation or altered states of consciousness

Researchers have investigated these possibilities using methods such as:

Ganzfeld experiment
Dream telepathy experiments
Forced choice card guessing tests
Free response experiments
Remote viewing protocols

Some studies have reported small statistical effects, while others have failed to replicate them consistently. As a result, there is no scientific consensus that psi mediated communication has been demonstrated.

Psi Mediated Communication vs. Ordinary Communication

Ordinary Communication	Psi-Mediated Communication (Hypothesized)
Speech	Telepathy
Writing	Direct mental information transfer
Facial expressions	No known sensory cues
Phone or internet	No physical communication channel
Hearing and vision	Claimed extrasensory perception

Psi Mediated Communication vs. the Super Psi Hypothesis

These ideas are related but distinct:

Psi mediated communication: proposes that information is exchanged through psi abilities, such as telepathy or clairvoyance.
The Super Psi hypothesis: suggests that exceptionally extensive psi abilities, combining telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and unconscious information processing, could account for experiences that some interpret as evidence for survival after death, without requiring consciousness to continue after death.

Scientific Perspective

From the standpoint of controversial psychology and neuroscience: please, Consult with a Neurologist.

There is no accepted mechanism that explains how psi mediated communication could occur.
Reported findings remain controversial, largely because of challenges with replication and methodological disagreements.
Consequently, psi mediated communication is considered a hypothesis under investigation, not an established scientific phenomenon.

Researchers in parapsychology continue to study the possibility, while most scientists remain skeptical until stronger, consistently reproducible evidence is available.

In summary:

Psi mediated communication is the proposed transfer of information without the known senses. It includes concepts such as telepathy and clairvoyance and is used as a theoretical framework in parapsychological research to explain certain anomalous experiences. While intriguing, it has not been established as a scientifically verified form of communication.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology and Psychical Research are closely related:

The terms parapsychology and psychical research are closely related, but they are not identical. The main difference lies in their history, methods, and scope.

Psychical Research	Parapsychology
Began in the late 19th century.	Emerged in the 20th century as a more scientific discipline.
Studies all reported paranormal phenomena.	Focuses primarily on testing specific psi phenomena under controlled conditions.
Includes investigations of survival after death, hauntings, mediumship, apparitions, and psi.	Primarily studies extrasensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis (PK), and related phenomena.
Uses historical cases, eyewitness reports, field investigations, and experiments.	Emphasizes laboratory experiments, statistics, and controlled research.
More interdisciplinary, drawing from psychology, philosophy, history, and anthropology.	More closely aligned with experimental psychology and neuroscience.

Psychical Research

Psychical research is the older field, dating to the 1880s. Researchers sought to investigate claims of paranormal experiences using the best scientific methods available at the time.

Common topics may include:

Apparitions
Haunted locations
Mediumship
Near death experiences
Deathbed visions
Reincarnation research
Poltergeist cases
Survival of consciousness after death
Telepathy and clairvoyance

Psychical researchers may often combine:

Case investigations
Interviews
Historical documentation
Field observations
Laboratory experiments (when possible)

One of the earliest organizations devoted to this work was the Society for Psychical Research.

Parapsychology

Parapsychology developed later, especially in the 1930s, as researchers attempted to bring paranormal claims into the laboratory.

Typical research areas may include:

Telepathy
Clairvoyance
Precognition
Psychokinesis (PK)
Presentiment
Ganzfeld experiments
Remote viewing

Parapsychologists generally rely on:

Controlled experiments
Randomization
Statistical analysis
Replication attempts
Peer-reviewed publications

The emphasis is on determining whether there is evidence for psi that cannot readily be explained by chance, bias, or known psychological processes.

Areas of Overlap

Both fields investigate phenomena such as:

Telepathy
Clairvoyance
Precognition
Psychokinesis
Apparitions
Survival of consciousness
Mediumship

The difference is mainly how they study them.

For example:

A psychical researcher: might investigate dozens of reports of people seeing an apparition shortly before learning of a loved one’s death, comparing witness accounts and historical records.
A parapsychologist: might conduct a controlled experiment to test whether participants can accurately identify concealed images at rates above chance.

Modern Relationship

Today, the distinction is less rigid than it once was. Many researchers use methods from both traditions:

Researchers interested in survival after death often describe themselves as psychical researchers because they investigate spontaneous experiences, mediumship, and historical cases.
Researchers focused on laboratory studies of ESP and PK are more likely to identify as parapsychologists.

Both fields remain outside of controversial scientific consensus. While some studies have reported statistically significant findings, many claims have proven difficult to replicate consistently, and there is ongoing debate about methodology, interpretation, and the strength of the evidence.

In Summary

Psychical research: is the broader, older discipline that investigates a wide range of reported paranormal experiences using both field investigations and experiments.
Parapsychology: is the more specialized branch that emphasizes controlled scientific testing of psi phenomena, particularly ESP and psychokinesis.

You may think of it this way:

psychical research asks, “What kinds of unusual experiences are people reporting, and what might they mean?”

While parapsychology asks, “Can specific psi phenomena be demonstrated under controlled experimental conditions?”

Shervan K Shahhian

Consciousness researchers study the nature of conscious experience:

Consciousness researchers study the nature of conscious experience, how subjective awareness arises, how it functions, and whether it can exist independently of the mind. The field is highly interdisciplinary, involving psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, medicine, computer science, physics, and, in some cases, parapsychology.

Some of the major areas of research may include:

1. The Neural Basis of Consciousness

Researchers investigate which brain processes are associated with conscious awareness: (consult with a medical doctor)

Key questions include:

Which brain regions are necessary for consciousness?:(consult with a medical doctor)
What distinguishes conscious perception from unconscious processing?
How does anesthesia temporarily eliminate consciousness?:(consult with a medical doctor)
What happens during sleep, dreaming, and coma?: (consult with a medical doctor)

Researchers may use: (consult with a medical doctor)

fMRI
EEG
MEG
Intracranial recordings
Brain stimulation techniques

2. The “Hard Problem” of Consciousness

This asks:

Why do physical brain processes produce subjective experience at all?: (consult with a medical doctor)

For example:

Why does seeing red feel like something?
Why isn’t the brain simply processing information without any inner experience?

This remains one of philosophy’s biggest unanswered questions.

3. Altered States of Consciousness

Researchers examine:

Meditation
Hypnosis
Psychedelic experiences
Lucid dreaming
Flow states
Dissociation

Questions include:

How do these states differ from ordinary waking consciousness?
What neural changes accompany them?
Can they have therapeutic benefits?

4. Sleep and Dream Research

Scientists study:

REM sleep
Lucid dreams
Dream recall
Nightmares
Sleep paralysis

They investigate how consciousness changes during different sleep stages and why dreams occur.

6. Disorders of Consciousness

Medical researchers work with patients experiencing:: (consult with a medical doctor)

Coma: (consult with a medical doctor)
Vegetative state: (consult with a medical doctor)
Minimally conscious state: (consult with a medical doctor)
Locked in syndrome: (consult with a medical doctor)

The goals include improving diagnosis, communication, and recovery prediction: (consult with a medical doctor)

7. Artificial Consciousness

Researchers ask:

Can machines ever become conscious?

Current work explores:

Artificial intelligence
Self-awareness in machines
Cognitive architectures
Computational models of consciousness

Whether current AI systems are conscious remains a matter of philosophical debate, with no scientific consensus that they are.

8. Development of Consciousness

Researchers may study how consciousness develops:

In infants
During childhood
Across aging
In animals

Questions include:

When does self-awareness emerge?
Which animals possess forms of consciousness?

9. Near-Death Experiences (NDEs)

Some researchers investigate reports from people who were close to death.

Topics include:

Out of body experiences
Life reviews
Feelings of peace
Perceptions during cardiac arrest

Most mainstream researchers explore neurological and psychological explanations, while a minority examine whether these experiences might have implications for the possibility that consciousness can persist beyond ordinary brain function. The evidence remains debated, and no consensus has been reached.

10. Psi and Exceptional Human Experiences

Some researchers, may associate with Parapsychology or Psychical Research, investigate

reports of:

Telepathy
Precognition
Psychokinesis
Apparitions
After death communications
Mediumship

These topics remain controversial. While some researchers report statistically significant findings in certain experimental paradigms, many controversial scientists question the reliability, replicability, or interpretation of the evidence. There is no broad scientific consensus that psi phenomena have been established, because they don’t know how to explain it or do not want to accept it no matter how much evidence is out there.

Today, consciousness research spans a broad spectrum. Most scientists focus on understanding how the mind generates and supports conscious experience through neuroscience, psychology, and computational modeling. A smaller but active community explores questions about exceptional experiences, such as NDEs, reported psi phenomena, and survival related claims, using empirical methods, though these areas remain scientifically controversial.

Across all of these domains, the central goal is the same: to better understand the nature, mechanisms, and limits of conscious awareness.

Near-Death Experiences and Survival Research

Some researchers investigate whether consciousness may persist independently of the mind. Their work is controversial and not part of the controversial science, but it has generated ongoing empirical research.

Certain organizations cover a spectrum from controversial neuroscience and philosophy to research on anomalous experiences and survival claims.

Shervan K Shahhian

The Super Psi Hypothesis is a theory in Parapsychology:

The Super Psi Hypothesis is a theory in parapsychology that attempts to explain phenomena that appear to involve communication with the dead without assuming that consciousness survives bodily death.

According to the hypothesis, a living person’s unconscious mind may possess extraordinarily powerful psi abilities, including:

Telepathy: (accessing other people’s thoughts)

Clairvoyance: (accessing distant or hidden information)

Precognition: (accessing future information)

Psychokinesis (PK): (influencing physical events)

The idea is that these abilities may operate on a vast, unconscious scale, creating experiences that seem to come from deceased individuals.

Why Was It Proposed?

Researchers studying mediumship, apparitions, and other survival related phenomena noticed that some cases may be interpreted in two ways:

Survival Hypothesis:

The deceased person’s consciousness continues after death and communicates with the living.

Super Psi Hypothesis:

The living person’s unconscious psi abilities gather information may come from many sources and create the appearance of communication with the dead.

Example

Suppose a medium provides accurate information about a deceased person.

Survival interpretation: The medium is communicating with the deceased.

Super Psi interpretation: The medium unconsciously may obtain the information through telepathy from living relatives, clairvoyance, or other psi processes.

Strengths of the Super Psi Hypothesis

Does not require survival of consciousness after death.

Provides a theoretical explanation for some mediumship and after death communication reports.

Fits within a broader psi framework already accepted by some parapsychologists.

Criticisms

Critics argue that Super Psi may become difficult to test because it may invoke virtually unlimited psi abilities to explain any anomaly. Some researchers believe certain cases contain information that appears difficult to obtain solely from living minds.

Current Status

The Super Psi Hypothesis remains a theoretical concept within parapsychology. Neither Super Psi nor the Survival Hypothesis has achieved acceptance within controversial psychology or neuroscience because they have been demonstrated under conditions that satisfy the broader parapsychology community.

In some groups of parapsychologist, the debate often centers on whether anomalous experiences are better explained by:

Survival of consciousness after death,

Extraordinary psi abilities of living individuals (Super Psi),

Psychological and cognitive factors,

Or some combination of these possibilities.

For researchers interested in postmortem survival, Super Psi is may be considered the strongest alternative explanation to the Survival Hypothesis.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology: Postmortem Survival refers to the hypothesis that,…

Postmortem Survival refers to the hypothesis that some aspect of human consciousness, personality, or awareness continues to exist after physical death. Researchers in this field attempt to investigate whether consciousness can survive the death of the mind.

This topic is primarily studied within the field of Parapsychology and by organizations such as Society for Psychical Research and Parapsychological Association.

Major Areas of Research

Near-Death Experiences (NDEs)

NDEs occur when people report vivid experiences during life threatening situations or periods of clinical death.

Common features include:

Out of body experiences

Traveling through a tunnel

Encounters with deceased relatives

Feelings of peace and love

Life reviews

Interpretations:

Survivalists see NDEs as evidence that consciousness can exist apart from the mind.

Skeptics suggest neurological: Consult with a Neurologist, psychological, or physiological explanations.

After-Death Communications (ADCs)

ADCs are experiences in which bereaved individuals report sensing contact from deceased loved ones.

Examples include:

Hearing a loved one’s voice

Feeling their presence

Vivid dreams

Seeing apparitions

Receiving meaningful signs

Researchers often note that ADCs are relatively common and frequently comforting to those who experience them.

Deathbed Visions

Some dying individuals report seeing deceased relatives, spiritual beings, or unfamiliar landscapes shortly before death.

Questions studied include:

Are these hallucinations?

Are they influenced by culture?

Do they represent a genuine transition experience?

Mediumship Research

Mediums claim to obtain information from deceased persons.

Researchers investigate:

Accuracy of information

Blind and triple blind testing

In some cases, possibility of fraud

Alternative explanations such as cold reading or telepathy

Reincarnation Research

Some report memories of previous lives.

The best known researcher in this area was Ian Stevenson.

Researchers examine:

Verifiable details reported

Birthmarks corresponding to previous life injuries

Behavioral similarities

Apparition Studies

Apparitions are reported sightings or perceptions of deceased individuals.

Researchers distinguish between:

Crisis apparitions

Bereavement apparitions

Shared apparitions

Place related apparitions

The question is whether such experiences represent:

Psychological processes

Misperceptions

Evidence of survival

The Survival Hypothesis

The Survival Hypothesis proposes that consciousness can continue after bodily death.

Supporters argue that:

Some cases contain information difficult to explain conventionally.

Similar patterns appear across cultures.

Multiple lines of evidence converge on survival.

Alternative Explanations

Researchers also consider non-survival explanations:

Mind-based processes

Hallucinations

Memory errors

Expectation effects

Grief related experiences

Some fraud or information leakage

Psi among living persons (sometimes called the Super-Psi Hypothesis)

The Super-Psi theory suggests that apparent communication with the dead might actually result from extraordinary psychic abilities of living individuals rather than survival after death.

Current Scientific Status

Controversial scientists remain skeptical because:

Evidence is difficult to replicate consistently.

Many findings can be interpreted in multiple ways.

No universally accepted mechanism explains how consciousness could survive bodly death.

However, some researchers argue that the accumulated evidence from NDEs, ADCs, mediumship, reincarnation cases, and deathbed visions deserves continued scientific investigation.

Balanced Conclusion

Research into postmortem survival is one of the most fascinating and controversial areas in consciousness studies. While there is scientific consensus that consciousness survives death, there is an active body of research examining experiences and phenomena that some interpret as supporting survival. The debate continues between survival based explanations, psychological explanations, neurological explanations: Consult with a Neurologist, and psi-based alternatives.

The strongest approach is to examine the evidence critically, remain open to multiple interpretations, and distinguish carefully between personal beliefs and scientific conclusions.

Shervan K Shahhian

Podcast Episode: Parapsychology And Consciousness

Pip: Liberty Psychological Association — building what it calls the most comprehensive online library on mental health, psychology, and parapsychology in the world, which is either a mission statement or a very committed filing system.

Mara: Shervan K Shahhian and Liberty Psychological Association are covering serious ground today — psychokinesis and how researchers try to measure it, psychic experience and the question of non-human intelligences, and auditory hallucinations on the clinical side.

Pip: Let's start with things that move without being touched.

Psychokinesis: From Table Tipping to Large-Scale PK

Mara: The question this territory is asking is whether the mind can directly influence physical matter — and if so, at what scale, and how would you even test it?

Pip: The table levitations post sets the historical baseline. Nineteenth-century spiritualist gatherings, hands lightly placed, tables rocking. The post notes that researchers studied these claims and concluded "many cases could be explained by unconscious muscular movements exerted by the participants."

Mara: That's the ideomotor effect — people producing small muscle movements without conscious awareness, and those movements combining across multiple participants into something that looks dramatic but isn't.

Pip: So the séance table was basically a group ouija board running on collective fidgeting. Scientifically humbling, but also kind of elegant.

Mara: The large-scale PK post extends this into much bigger claimed effects — weather modification, disruptions to power grids and electronic systems, and collective consciousness influencing random number generators, as in the Global Consciousness Project. These are called macro-PK claims when effects extend beyond localized environments.

Pip: And then there's micro-PK, which is the quieter end of the spectrum — subtle statistical influences on random number generators, radioactive decay, quantum-level events. Not visible to the naked eye, detectable only across many trials.

Mara: The micro-PK post is careful to note that mainstream science attributes reported effects to statistical fluctuations, experimental error, and publication bias. The evidence hasn't met the bar for replication required for scientific acceptance, though parapsychology researchers continue investigating.

Mara: The scale question matters — from a table tilting in a Victorian parlor to weather anomalies to dice outcomes — it's the same underlying hypothesis about consciousness and matter, just tested at very different levels.

Pip: Which raises the question of what counts as a psychic experience in the first place.

Psychic Experience and the Question of Non-Human Intelligences

Mara: The psychic phenomena post maps the full terrain — telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, remote viewing, mediumship — and offers a working definition: "experiences or alleged abilities involving the acquisition of information or influence that appear to occur outside the currently recognized mechanisms of the six senses or known physical processes."

Pip: That's a carefully neutral framing. It doesn't claim proof, but it doesn't dismiss the reports either.

Mara: Right — and the post is honest that psychological processes like pattern recognition, confirmation bias, and unconscious social cue detection can account for many experiences that feel psychic. The open question is whether any remainder survives that explanation.

Pip: The non-human intelligences post pushes into stranger territory. NHIs are hypothesized entities — spirit intelligences, extraterrestrial or interdimensional beings, collective consciousnesses — believed by some researchers to interact with people through psychic means.

Mara: Associated experiences include telepathic communication, apparitions, UAP encounters, and near-death experiences. No scientific consensus that NHIs exist, but the concept sits at the intersection of parapsychology, ufology, and consciousness studies, and the post treats it as a live research question rather than a closed one.

Pip: And there's a podcast episode in this batch — Psi, UAPs, and Consciousness — that pulls these threads together directly, which tells you something about how seriously this library takes the overlap.

Mara: Both posts land in the same place: whether these experiences represent independent intelligences, aspects of human consciousness, or something else remains genuinely open.

Pip: From entities that may or may not exist, to experiences that are very much real — and need clinical attention.

When the Mind Hears What Isn't There

Mara: The auditory hallucinations post is clinical and direct: these are "hearing sounds, voices, music, or noises that are not actually present in the environment," ranging from simple buzzing or ringing to complex voices.

Pip: The causes run wide — schizophrenia, severe depression, sleep deprivation, substance use, epilepsy, dementia, even high fever. The post is explicit that treatment depends on identifying the cause, and that persistent or distressing experiences warrant professional evaluation.

Mara: The warning signs flagged are specific: voices commanding harmful actions, difficulty distinguishing hallucination from reality, sudden onset with medical symptoms. The post directs anyone in that situation to seek urgent help immediately.

Pip: From tables lifting in Victorian parlors to statistical anomalies in random number generators to voices that need a clinician — it's a wide library.

Mara: The common thread is taking unusual experience seriously enough to ask the right questions. More from the library next time.

Consciousness Studies is an interdisciplinary field that investigates the nature of Conscious,…

Consciousness Studies is an interdisciplinary field that investigates the nature of conscious experience how and why we are aware of ourselves, our thoughts, emotions, sensations, and the world around us.

It brings together researchers from several disciplines, including:

Psychology
Neuroscience
Philosophy of Mind
Cognitive Science
Artificial Intelligence
Parapsychology (a controversial and widely accepted field)

Major Questions in Consciousness Studies

Researchers explore questions such as:

What is consciousness?
How does subjective experience arise from mind activity?
What is the relationship between the mind and the consciousness?
Do animals possess consciousness?
Could machines become conscious?
What happens to consciousness during sleep, anesthesia, meditation, or altered states?

The “Hard Problem” of Consciousness

The philosopher David Chalmers coined the term “hard problem of consciousness.”

It asks:

Why does physical mind activity produce subjective experience at all?

For example, neuroscience can identify which mind regions process color, but why the experience of seeing “red” feels the way it does remains an open question.

Major Theories

Some influential theories may include:

Physicalism

Consciousness emerges from physical processes in the mind.

Panpsychism

The view that consciousness, or proto-consciousness, may be a fundamental feature of reality.

Areas of Research

Researchers study:

Attention and awareness
Dreams and lucid dreaming
Meditation and contemplative states
Hypnosis
Near-death experiences, NDA
Altered states of consciousness
Brain injuries and disorders of consciousness: Please Consult with a Neurologist
Psychedelic experiences: May Cause Life Long Hallucinations

Consciousness Studies and Parapsychology

Some consciousness researchers investigate reports of phenomena such as telepathy, psychokinesis (PK), remote viewing, and other anomalous experiences. These topics remain highly controversial because evidence has achieved broad scientific consensus. Mainstream controversial consciousness research generally focuses on phenomena that may be reliably observed and replicated under controlled conditions.

Why It Matters

Consciousness studies addresses one of the deepest questions in science and philosophy:

How does subjective experience arise, and what does it tell us about the nature of mind, and reality?

Despite major advances in neuroscience, consciousness remains one of the most challenging and fascinating subjects in modern inquiry.

Shervan K Shahhian