Paranormal Phenomena Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Current events in science imply that a new scientific revolution in physics is unfolding. This new revolution will be as much about mind and consciousness as it is about matter and physics. It will bring a new theory of physical reality that includes the consciousness that senses, interprets and interacts with physical reality. The new theory of consciousness will lead to explanatory models of the paranormal as well as explain how consciousness survives death. This prediction is not an optimistic 'pipe dream', but our present and future. A theory of this type has already been developed. It is based on a five-dimensional Einstein-Kaluza model of the space-time continuum. ‘Single field theory' or SOFT can easily account for paranormal phenomena and the survival of consciousness. Whatever theory finally succeeds in bridging the gap between mind and matter, indications are that it will have many of the characteristics of SOFT if it is not SOFT. Whatever the case may be, a valid theory that combines physical reality and consciousness is truly a theory to die for!

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- Parapsychology, Philosophy of Mind, Metaphysics of Consciousness, Theory of Mind

Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC) The Spirit Box or Ghost Box is an ITC device (Instrumental Transcommunication). In its short form, this is usually a video or audio electronic device used to attempt communications with a spirit or... more

- by Eric Haney
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- Ghosts, Paranormal, Paranormal Phenomena, EVP

The word paranormal comes from the words "para" meaning beyond, and normal. So the term paranormal really means something that is beyond the normal scope of science or being beyond a scientific explanation.
Paranormal Investigating can be excited and scary at the same time. It takes a certain type of person to search for paranormal activity and if you really think about it, searching for ghosts or other paranormal activity is quite frankly, a pretty scary situation, which is why a Paranormal investigator must have a strong mental attitude, and be ready to not panic in stressful or dangerous situations.
This book is ideal for those who are new to paranormal investigation and also for more experienced investigators who want to learn more about how to apply a critical-path scientific approach. Perhaps most importantly, the book contains an entire chapter of information about precautions to be taken during paranormal investigation.

True Living Vampires, inter-alia could be identified as another category of vampires who are living human beings or historical true characters, suffering from a blood fetish or an infatuation or an obsession to drink or suck blood from their victims. In their psychosis or syndromic mentality, they cannot survive without drinking blood, mostly human blood. In the modern medical terminology, this category of vampires is supposed to be suffering from an ailment called “Haematomania” or in other words, “Clinical Vampirism” which syndrome could be explained as a morbid psychosexual desire to consume human blood. According to the research carried out by the writer, such vampires were/are found throughout the history of many countries and have become true living people known by their associates, neighbours and the law enforcement authorities. Consequently, most of them are accused of raping, sodomizing, mutilating and finally murdering their victims and as a result, eventually condemned to death, to life imprisonment, to certain terms in prison or confined to mental asylums/ institutions. Most of these vampires have been classified as “Serial Killers” both in the West as well as in the East.

- by Vidanage P. Karunaratne
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- Parapsychology, Vampirology, Paranormal Phenomena, Clinical Vampirism

A detailed topical outline of "Rainbow Body and Resurrection: Spiritual Attainment, the Dissolution of the Material Body, and the Case of Khenpo A Chö" (2016) by Francis V. Tiso. The Table of Contents of this extensive, expertly-written... more

- by Christopher Barry
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- Chinese Buddhism, Early Christianity, Tibetan Buddhism, Syriac Christianity
- by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos
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- Critical Theory, Religion, Buddhism, Hinduism

Science investigates phenomena in nature that are either experienced or observed by people. However, one special class of phenomena is generally considered unscientific, i.e. unworthy of scientific investigation, by the majority of scientists. Science generally ignores any phenomenon associated with the possibility of an afterlife, which amounts to a scientific bias against this possibility. This shortcoming of science is actually a historical artifact that our present science inherited from the earlier break between science and religion and the separation of human thought into the two realms of MIND and MATTER. The bias is so
strong that science, as it now defines itself, will never accept the reality of the afterlife and associated phenomena no matter how strong or persuasive the evidence is to the contrary. But new research does point directly to a conclusion that the afterlife is real or at least that consciousness in some form survives death; so science must change in order accept this new reality and progress.

- by James (Jim) E Beichler
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- Cultural History, Parapsychology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind

The physical environment affects every individual differently, however past research suggests that certain individuals exhibit a greater susceptibility to environmental factors than the general population (Jawer, 2006). According to Jawer (2006) these environmentally sensitive individuals are also significantly more likely to report paranormal experiences than non-sensitives. The current study set out to test the hypothesis that environmentally sensitive individuals will report more past paranormal experiences as well as more haunt-type experiences in a natural setting. The study also looked at whether subtle differences in electromagnetic fields (EMFs) led to an increase in reported haunt-type experiences among sensitives. Methods: Participants (N=251) completed a questionnaire which categorized them as either environmentally sensitive or non-sensitive and were then led on a guided tour of an allegedly haunted location where they reported any unusual phenomena that they experienced. EMF readings were taken of the rooms visited on the tour and based on those readings the rooms were either designated as ‘High EMF’ rooms or ‘Low EMF’ rooms. Results: Sensitives reported significantly more past paranormal experiences and haunt-type experiences in a natural setting. Overall there were significantly more haunt-type experiences in ‘High EMF’ rooms than ‘Low EMF’ rooms suggesting an association between increased EMFs and reports of haunt-type experiences. Further analysis showed that sensitives reported significantly more haunt-type experiences in ‘High EMF’ rooms than ‘Low EMF’ rooms; however there was no significant difference in reported experiences between rooms among non-sensitives which suggests that sensitives could be picking up on subtle EMF differences leading to an increase in reports of haunt-type experiences

- by Brandon Massullo
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- Parapsychology, Spirituality, Ghosts, Paranormal
- by Dr Jason J Braithwaite
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- Religion, Psychology, Parapsychology, Anthropology

This workshop concentrates on understanding, experiencing and conceptualizing the fourth dimension of space. Although my theoretical work in physics is based on the reality of a fourth spatial dimension, this workshop is independent of my theoretical work: The knowledge imparted in this workshop will be helpful to anyone who wishes to understand any physical theories based on higher-dimensional realities as well as expand an individual’s own consciousness. This workshop deals directly with the intuitive geometrical notions that we all use to perceive our commonly sensed world. Questions such as ‘What is the concept of space’, ‘Why only three dimensions’, ‘Why or why not more dimensions’, and ‘What is dimension?’ are considered. Different simple methods of how to visualize a fourth spatial dimension and how they can be used as forms of meditation are also discussed. The first method dates back to the 1880s, when it was developed by Hinton, but newer methods use other visualization techniques. The ability to visualize the next higher dimension is enlightening experience if not the next step in the ongoing evolution of human consciousness, while just trying to do so expands an individual’s consciousness. Furthermore, if physical theories that use a higher dimension of space to explain survival (Beichler, Zoellner and others) are accurate, then the conscious visualization of the fourth dimension of space will help prepare each of us for what comes when our material bodies die. This knowledge should familiarize us with the local environment ‘where’ we could end up when we die. Many people who have experienced NDEs have reported that wherever they were, the geometry was different from the geometry that they were taught in school, which is a very good description of how four-dimensional geometry relates to our commonly sensed three-dimensional geometrical world.

- by James (Jim) E Beichler
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- Mathematics, Physics, Theoretical Physics, Metaphysics
- by John Sabol
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- Cultural Studies, Sociology of Culture, Media and Cultural Studies, Cultural Sociology

It is fairly common to refer to our use of the paranormal aspects of consciousness as a sixth sense, but the idea of a sixth sense comes much closer to the truth of our physical situation in the universe-at-large than we might imagine. The universe in which we exist is commonly thought to be a four-dimensional space-time continuum. All five of our normal senses evolved within this common four-dimensional environment. Each individual consciousness interacts with the four-dimensional world via our five normal senses. However, our universe is actually five-dimensional so it would be safe to assume that human evolution has also taken the fifth dimension of the space-time continuum into account and given humans a sixth sense. According to all indications in modern science, this assumption would prove true. Our sixth sense actually represents the manner by which we gather information about the universe in which we exist via the fifth dimension, just as our normal five senses allow us to gather information about our physical environment within the four normal dimensions of space-time. Even when our four-dimensional material bodies die, we still continue to exist, communicate and gather information via this five-dimensional connection with the rest of the universe, and sometimes show ourselves and communicate with the living.

Great strides have been made in the neurosciences over the past few years, especially in the areas of neurophysiology and neurophysics. In fact, the area of research called neurophysics has only emerged as a viable branch of physics in the past decade or two. The object of these researches goes beyond just discovering how the brain functions, but to actually discover the neural correlates of mind and consciousness. On the other hand, developing physical models of consciousness from the opposite direction of a theoretical rather than an experimental or observational direction has also become popular over the past few decades. Together, these two approaches have raised the possibility that science will soon understand enough about mind and consciousness to answer important questions that have haunted philosophical thought and metaphysical speculations for several millennia, the most important of which might be ‘How does human consciousness emerge within the brain? And ‘What is the relationship between consciousness and the greater universe?’ These questions represent perhaps the greatest and the most important mysteries of all science because they define who we are, where we have been and where we are going as an intelligent species.

- by James (Jim) E Beichler
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- Evolutionary Biology, Neuroscience, Parapsychology, Physics

Spontaneous combustion occurs when an object self-ignites. The cause may be chemical, as when lithium oxidises explosively in water, or biological, as when a haystack catches fire due to heat generated from bacterial fermentation. There is no scientific evidence that the human body can self-ignite. However, spontaneous human combustion (SHC) as an alleged cause of death has a long and controversial history. If true, the mechanism of ignition is mysterious and challenges what we know about the human body.....

- by Anna Madill
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- Religion, Psychology, Parapsychology, Music
- by John Harvey
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- Spiritualism, History of photography, Spirit Photography, Paranormal Phenomena

Anecdotal reports of paranormal experiences abound. In addition to the numerous books, films and media articles, there is a growing body of personal narratives which is readily accessed through online websites, blogs and chatrooms. By... more

- by Rosemary Breen
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- Genetics, Parapsychology, Spirituality, Ghosts

The purpose of this qualitative research is to describe how therapists are responding to ‘existential, religious and spiritual problems’ when presented in therapy. This Master’s Thesis shows the range of issues and experiences clients bring into therapy that might be described as a spiritual crisis. This research examines what factors determine the way therapists respond; Is it due to theoretical orientation, cultural influences, countertransference, personal experience, personal beliefs about the subject, religious upbringing, training or a combination of factors. It shows the usefulness of being open to listening to and addressing existential, spiritual and religious themes in therapy and the potential of facilitating the resolution and integration of these issues.

The ‘subtle’ energy’ that scientists and psychics talk about may be easily supported by a five-dimensional universe based upon an Einstein-Kaluza model of physical reality. In nature, all physical energies are either kinetic or potential, but in the five-dimensional model all energies are just potential energies. All potential energies are just relative positional effects within the Einstein-Kaluza five-dimensional field that fills all of five-dimensional space-time. Life, mind and consciousness can be described as extremely ‘subtle’ and complex potential field variations within the single field according to this physical model.

Every living organism is characterized by two different classes of complex physical field patterns. These constitute (1) the ‘life force’ or biofield and (2) the mind-consciousness complex. The biofield deals with the normal biological functions of anatomy and physiology, which can be represented by a complex three-dimensional matter/energy field pattern within the overall quantized space-time continuum. But the particles, atoms and molecules that comprise that material body can also be associated with a pattern of changing electrical charges and associated fields that generate an even more complex pattern of magnetic field variations (constituting magnetic domains in various groupings) around them. Together these complex field patterns of electric scalar and magnetic vector potential constitute the mind and consciousness that are characteristic of all living organisms. This physical model has grave consequences because it directly implies the survival of consciousness/mind beyond material body, a new form of non-traditional top-down evolution from consciousness to the organism and DNA and the necessity of new as yet unrealized higher senses that are a result of directly realizing and experiencing the higher embedding fifth space-like dimension that is required by the physics of our commonly experienced four-dimensional space-time continuum. The awareness of ‘self’ that normally characterizes the present level of human consciousness is a product of the normal three-dimensional world of experience and evolved according to the physics of the four-dimensional space-time continuum some forty to one-hundred thousand years ago, therefore the existence of a higher embedding physical (though non-material) dimension implies that we either have evolved or are presently evolving a second higher self that can take advantage of the embedding space just as our material awareness utilizes the four-dimensional space-time continuum and that we are still evolving an even higher level of consciousness. The human species is not just still evolving, but the rate of evolution is accelerating which strongly implies that we are on the threshold of a new evolutionary leap forced on us by a newly emerging higher level complexity of consciousness.

- by James (Jim) E Beichler
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- Evolutionary Biology, Neuroscience, Parapsychology, Psychophysics

The first volume of this series has equipped us with the methodological tools for examining the occult and paranormal. The second has shown us that these themes have been present since the earliest times. This third volume of the Religion, the Occult, and the Paranormal provides examples of some of the rich diversity of ideas, practices and groups engaged in various ways with these supernatural considerations. Occult practices and ideas around the paranormal are found within each of the major world religions, often in connection with the more mythical aspects of those traditions. Bibliomancy, or divination using books, thrives within many forms of Christianity, Islamic theology is resplendent with jinns that can intervene in everyday life, and no process is more mysterious than the divinatory practices that foretell the next Dalai Lama in the “Yellow Hat” school of Tibetan Buddhism. Some of the chapters presented herein will explore just some of those crevices in South Asian religions.

- by Helen Farley
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- Religion, Sociology of Religion, Popular Culture and Religious Studies, Paranormal

An analysis of historical trends in science indicates that the study of the paranormal is not only valid from the scientific perspective, but has been an integral and important part of science since the birth of science. This conclusion is based upon a consideration of the Cartesian Paradox of mind and matter, which sets the boundaries between the scientific and non-scientific parts of our perceived world. Study and belief in the paranormal is not now and has never been either a popular fad or a trendy fashion. In fact, recent trends in science clearly demonstrate that a new revolution in science is approaching and that the paranormal will be explained as science changes in the near future.

- by John Sabol
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- Semiotics, Parapsychology, Archaeology, Anthropology
- by John Sabol
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- Popular Culture, Ghosts, Cultural History Of Ghosts, Culture
- by John Sabol
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- Popular Culture, Ghosts, Cultural History Of Ghosts, Paranormal

Whilst academic parapsychologists adhere to formal ethical codes when dealing with who experience anomalous phenomena there are a large number of lay investigators who abide by no ethical code whatsoever.
Given the dearth of parapsychological literature on ethics this paper sets the discussion of ethics in to context of ethical development as well as how lay investigators operate.
Key areas of discourse not covered in previous literature include recruitment, training and care of investigators, consent involving local authorities, whether it is responsible to accept a case, the use of instrumentation, 'spiritual methods', the ethical implications of different types of case and ethical issues in dealing with children and vulnerable adults.
The paper concludes with a discussion of investigator accountability and whether the rights of the investigator or client is more important.

- by Christian Jensen Romer
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- Research Ethics, Ghosts, Paranormal, Psychical Research
- by John Sabol
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- Sociology, Cultural Studies, Archaeology, Popular Culture
- by John Sabol
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- Cultural Studies, Popular Culture, Ghosts, Cultural History Of Ghosts

"Your Immortal Self" is a complex book which contains much more than can be described in a single title. Here is a slightly expanded set of slides from a presentation about the book. I think you will find that the slides will help you... more

- by Tom Butler
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- Parapsychology, Metaphysics, Metaphysics of Consciousness, Mindfulness

At each annual meeting of the ASPSI, panels of the major speakers are scheduled to discuss important questions regarding the relationship between science, the paranormal and survival as well as related social and philosophical issues. Each panel member is expected to submit a “Position Paper” prior to the conference so that his/her opinions can be related to the broader membership of the Academy through the printed Proceedings. The questions that the panel members are asked to consider usually incorporate ideas such as the effect that scientific proof of survival might have on society, why the scientific community does not accept evidence of survival, how acceptance of the paranormal might influence religions, the question of ghosts, the relevance of psi to survival and any new developments in science that would enhance the acceptance of psi, the paranormal and the question of survival of consciousness. The panel members usually state their positions when the panel discussion begins and then questions are directed to the panel members for clarification from the audience.

Not only has there been a great deal of reticence within the scientific community to consider the reality of psi, let alone develop a physical theory to explain it, but within the smaller scientific community that does pay attention to psi and paranormal phenomena even the possibility of developing a physical theory of psi has also been attacked. Yet in the past few decades the possibility for a physical theory of psi has gained popularity as has interest in physical theories of consciousness. This particular contribution to the field was first written in 1979 during the darker ages of theoretical psi research, but it still conforms to modern theoretical researches in hyper-dimensional physical spaces that have been developed since then.

- by James (Jim) E Beichler
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- Parapsychology, Consciousness, Paranormal, Consciousness Studies

Given the present paradigms and attitudes that influence the continuing development of science, the undisputed recognition of paranormal phenomena seems no more than a "pipe dream" even though today's scientific establishment is more liberal than ever before. However, a 'pipe dream' does not represent a scientific impossibility. There now seems to be ample experimental evidence for precognition, telepathy, micro-psychokinesis and other forms of the paranormal, but paranormal phenomena will never be recognized as undisputed as long as this evidence flies in the face of our commonly accepted scientific theories and concepts of physical reality. So the key element necessary for the complete recognition of paranormal phenomena must be a theory that allows, and perhaps even requires, the reality of what we now regard the paranormal. This is an unpublished essay. As far as I know, the final entry date of the contest was extended twice and no winner was ever announced.

- by John Sabol
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- Archaeology, Ethnography, Landscape Archaeology, Heritage Tourism
- by John Sabol
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- Cultural History, Sound Anthropology, Popular Culture, Anthropology of Performance

For thousands of years humans have reported anomalous manifestations such as seeing/hearing ghosts, being touched by an invisible entity, anomalous smells, etc. Because these perceived manifestations are seen, heard or felt, a physical environmental change should have occurred. The Center for Paranormal Research and Investigation conducted data collection projects at various historic sites throughout Virginia where perceived manifestations have been reported over a period of several years. The data collected included temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, geomagnetic field intensity, electromagnetic field intensity, ionizing radiation, visible light and ultraviolet light. This data was collected over time and audio/video recordings near the environmental sensors provided evidence of perceived manifestations for comparison. Analysis of the data showed that there may indeed have been an environmental change occurring during a perceived manifestation, though the environmental effects seem to be localized to near the source of the perceived manifestation. Also, the type of environmental change seemed to be different depending on whether the manifestation was perceived as interactive (direct contact, smell, etc.) or non-interactive. More work needs to be performed to determine whether the environmental changes detected were caused by the perceived manifestations or were only a factor in their perception

- by Robert Bradley
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- Parapsychology, Earth Sciences, Physics, Perception
- by John Sabol
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- Cultural History, Media Studies, Media and Cultural Studies, Media Archaeology
- by John Sabol
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- Cultural Studies, Landscape Archaeology, Psychogeography, Cultural Landscapes
- by John Sabol
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- Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, Ethnoarchaeology, Landscape Archaeology
- by Titus Rivas
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- Near-Death Experiences, Out-Of-Body Experiences, Paranormal Phenomena, Pre-existence
- by John Sabol
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- Performance Studies, Performance Management, Performance Art, Ghosts

For thousands of years humans have reported paranormal manifestations such as seeing/hearing ghosts, being touched by an invisible entity, anomalous smells, etc. Because these perceived manifestations are seen, heard or felt, a physical environmental change should have occurred. While examining environmental data surrounding these perceived manifestations, a correlation between them and GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) system magnetometer data was observed. It was observed that when the magnetometer intensity readings were increasing over time, very few manifestations were reported. When the magnetometer intensity readings were decreasing, however, many more manifestations were reported. During subsequent data collection excursions, this correlation seemed consistent throughout. A project was launched to analyze historical GOES system magnetometer data versus perceived manifestations over the last 3 years. The analysis of this data included calculating the slope of the curve of the GOES data at the time when a manifestation was perceived. The results indicated the correlation existed over the time period analyzed. Anecdotal evidence also seems to indicate that perceived manifestations may be of a more intense nature if the slope of the tangent to the curve when it is decreasing is much steeper. However, more work needs to be performed before conclusions can be made regarding intensity.

- by Robert Bradley
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- Parapsychology, Earth Sciences, Physics, Perception

[António Duarte] Gomes Leal (1848-1921) a fost un autodidact, poet și critic literar, figură misterioasă și emblematică, un „geniu pustiu” în tinerețe, promotor al titanismului, convertit la catolicism după moartea mamei sale, căzut în sărăcie datorită incapacității de a depune efort constant, ajuns vagabond, în adevăratul înțeles al cuvântului, spre finalul vieții. Opera sa poetică se înscrie în curente precum parnasianismul, simbolismul, estetismul, și, mai cu seamă, ultraromantismul și decadentismul, fiind, în general, bine primită de critica literară și constituind un model artistic pentru generațiile ulterioare. Satanismul byronian, identificabil, de asemenea, în creațiile lui Leal, i-a adus și reputația de „satanist”; cum, însă, nu am reușit să descoperim în materialele dedicate biografiei sale nici un fapt concret care să susțină ideea devianței religioase (nici măcar în ceea ce privește perioada „teribilistă” a tinereții poetului, cu atât mai puțin referitor la etapa „catolică” din viața acestuia), considerăm, până la proba contrarie, că aserțiunea în cauză este una nejustificată, cauzată, probabil, de confundarea „satanismului” byronian, de natură artistică (reprezentând utilizarea în artă a conceptelor satanice în scopul obținerii unui efect estetic; îngemănat cu titanismul, de multe ori o formă de revoltă socială), cu satanismul de natură „religioasă”.

- by Oliviu Craznic
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- Poetry, Literary Symbolism, Symbolism, Angelology
- by John Sabol
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- Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, Ethnography, Landscape Archaeology

All physical fields are associated with the concept of 'Potential'. Physical fields are characterized by pure 'Potential' before an object is placed in the fields to create potential energies. Thus 'Potential', in a real sense, describes the structure and magnitude of the field at any point location within the field itself. The word 'subtle' is only associated with the field magnitude and says nothing about the field structure or 'Potential' at a location. So perhaps 'subtle' energies are due to a special field structure within the fundamental fields. I contend that the 'subtle' energies that are associated with 'psi' phenomena are potential energies that emerge from specific field (magnetic potential) structures. On the other hand, our common 3-space is electrically constituted while the 4th spatial dimension in the Clifford time- independent model, which is the 5th dimension of space-time in the Einstein- Kaluza model, is magnetically constituted. According to the Single Field Theory (SOFT), our 4-D space-time has a sub-microscopic 'effective width' in the fifth direction, while each point in space-time is macroscopically extended in the fifth direction. So our universe is a 4-D 'sheet' embedded in a 5-D manifold (Mathematically speaking), but the 'sheet' is continuous with the universe outside of the 'sheet' - The 'sheet' and the 5-D single field are not separate things The 'sheet' is merely the densest portion of the single field. From this physical-material structure, a holistic physical model of life, mind and as matter-energy, electric and magnetic potential patterns consciousness can be

- by James (Jim) E Beichler
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- Parapsychology, Physics, Theoretical Physics, Philosophy of Mind