Rel3203 | Religion and Parapsychology Course Description -------------------------------------------------------------------- This course will study beliefs about the dark and miraculous aspects of religion and related extraordinary human experiences. Topics include witchcraft, ESP (extrasensory perception), prophecy, psychokinesis (mind over matter), miracles and healing, out of body sensations, near death visions, hauntings, possession, shamanism, reincarnation, and mediumship Contact instructor for link to study materials. Source: LSU Religious Studies Courses http://www.artsci.lsu.edu/phil/relig/rscourses.htm#REL_3203:_Religion_and_Parapsychology_(3) Table of Contents -------------------------------------------------------------------- 00. Course Syllabi 01. 08/23/05 Introduction, Religion, and Scientism 02. 08/30/05 Introduction to ESP Phenomenology 03. 09/06/05 Early ESP Experiments Telepathy 04. 09/13/05 ESP Research Demonstration Ganzfeld Experiments 05. 09/20/05 Psychokinesis: Poltergeists Laboratory Experiments 06. 09/27/05 Healing Possession and Exorcism 07. 10/04/05 The Self Consciousness / Near Death Experiences 08. 10/11/05 Out of Body Experiences Reincarnation 09. 10/18/05 Mid Term Exam TBA Lecture 10. 10/25/05 Witchcraft: Folklore and Grimoires The Salem Trials 11. 11/01/05 Witchcraft: The Navajo 12. 11/08/05 Mediumship / Channeling Hauntings / Angels 13. 11/15/05 Term Paper Due -- Astrology and Lunacy 14. 11/22/05 UFO's and Aliens: Archeology Abduction Claims 15. 11/29/05 Dark Shamans of Amazonia 16. 12/06/05 Enlightenment Mystic Experiences 17. 12/13/05 Final Exam -- 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM 18. Reading list for Religion and Parapsychology ==================================================================== RELIGION 3203.1 (Fall, 2005) RELIGION AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY -------------------------------------------------------------------- C. Gary Pettigrew, Ph.D. Overview This course will study beliefs about the dark and miraculous aspects of religion, and related extraordinary human experiences. Included are topics such as witchcraft, ESP (extrasensory perception, prophesy), psychokinesis (mind over matter, miracles, healing), out of body sensations, near death visions, hauntings, possession, reincarnation, and mediumship. Textbooks required: Pagels, Elaine (1996) Origin of Satan; Sagan, Carl (1997) The Demon-Haunted World; & Summers, M., (Ed., 1971) The Malleus Maleficarum. Website for study materials: http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0 Examinations and Papers There will be two objective examinations: mid-term and final, each contributing one-third of the student's final grade. A term paper is expected on the topic of student's choice, contributing the final third of the grade. The paper must be typewritten (word processed) and may not be faxed or e-mailed. It must be on time. There are no excuses, as the deadline is known. The paper may be turned in as early as the student pleases, to ensure meeting the deadline. Late papers could lose one letter grade per day tardy. No binders, sleeves, or folders. Staple in upper left hand corner (no paper clips, glue, or other fasteners). Length and number of sources should be sufficient to convince the reader that care has been taken to do justice to the topic. Attendance Attendance will influence marks that are borderline between letter grades (more than one miss argues for the lower grade). Office Hours Dr. Pettigrew will meet with students after class & by appointment. Telephone: 766-2822 E-mail: doctorpettigrew@yahoo.com Lesson Plans and Schedule 1 08/23/05 Introduction Religion, Paranormal Belief, & Scientism, Physics & Psi Read Sagan Chap 17 2 08/30/05 Introduction to ESP Phenomenology Read Sagan Chap 12 3 09/06/05 Early ESP Experiments Telepathy Remote Viewing (Clairvoyance) Precognition Scientific Method Begin Reading Pagels (Entire) 4 09/13/05 ESP Research Demonstration Ganzfeld Experiments Continue Reading Pagels (Entire) 5 09/20/05 Psychokinesis: Poltergeists Laboratory Experiments Read: Sagan Chaps 13 & 7 Malleus II, Chap X (128-134) 6 09/27/05 Healing Possession & Exorcism Laying on of Hands Shrines Crystals Auras (With Demo) Continue Reading Pagels (Entire) 7 10/04/05 The Self Consciousness / The Unconscious Near Death Experiences Death Anxiety and Survival Finish Reading Pagels (Entire) 8 10/11/05 Out of Body Experiences Reincarnation & Déjà vu Read Sagan Chap 15 9 10/18/05 Mid Term Exam TBA Lecture Read Sagan Chap 24 & Malleus II Chap XI (134-137) 10 10/25/05 Witchcraft: Folklore & Grimoires The Salem Trials Read Sagan Chap 9 & Malleus I Question VIII (71-73) 11 11/01/05 Witchcraft: The Navajo Read Sagan Chap 10 12 11/08/05 Mediumship / Channeling Hauntings / Angels Read Sagan Chap 5 13 11/15/05 * Term Paper Due * Astrology and Lunacy Read Sagan Chap 4 14 11/22/05 UFO's and Aliens: Archeology Abduction Claims 15 11/29/05 Dark Shamans of Amazonia Read on Website: Olson Witchcraft & Science Article 16 12/06/05 Enlightenment Mystic Experiences Final Exam 12/13/05 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM NO Scan Sheet or Blue Book Required ==================================================================== 1 08/23/05 Introduction Religion, Paranormal Belief, & Scientism, Physics & Psi Read Sagan Chap 17 -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction; Religion; Paranormal Belief A. Miraculous side of Religion. B. Witchcraft 1. Malleus Maleficarium a. "The Witches' Hammer b. USed by the Catholic Church for the prosecution of witches. 2. Three different cultures: a. New England b. Navajo c. Shamans of South Africa C. Extra-Sensory Perception D. Psychokinesis 1. Moving things with the mind. 2. Miracle Healing 3. Mind over matter. E. Near-Death Visions (NDE) Near-Death Experiences F. Hauntings G. Possession by Demons H. Exorcism I. Reincarnation as taught by Religious Studies courses. J. Mediumship (was very popular in the 19th century). II. Scientisim; Physics; Psychology The hardest thing to understand is that the universe is different than the way we think of it. A. Relativity Theory -- Albert Einstein The length of an object depends on its motion relative to the observer. B. Twin Paradox 1. What is true for length is also true for time intervals. 2. Time is not absolute. C. Block time / Timescape 1. The distinction between past, present, and future is only an illusion; even if a stubborn one. Albert Einstein. 2. The universe as a hologram. 3. Example: "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut. D. Probability Waves ... as described by Dr. Robert Oppenheimer. 1. Quanitum Physics 2. Light waves are also particle waves. 3. Pascal Jordan -- collapse of the wave function. 4. Heisenberg: "Can nature be as absured as it seemed to us in the atom experiments? E. Paradox Experiments (Bohr, Einstein, Plonch) 1. Thought experiment conducted by Einstein. 2. Values of Spin 3. Axis of Rotation 4. Potentiality 5. Two electrons spin in opposite directions. a. Total sum spin = 0 b. They drift apart to opposite sides of the universe. 6. "Local action." a. Particle "A" spins up. b. Particle "B" spins down. 7. "Spooky action at a distance." Albert Einstein. F. Summary 1. We don't know how all the phenomena in the universe works. a. Quantium Mechanics b. Relativity Theory 2. The Universe as a Hologram The Universe As Hologram By Michael Talbot? Does Objective Reality Exist, or is the Universe a Phantasm? In 1982 a remarkable event took place. At the University of Paris a research team led by physicist Alain Aspect performed what may turn out to be one of the most important experiments of the 20th century. You did not hear about it on the evening news. In fact, unless you are in the habit of reading scientific journals you probably have never even heard Aspect's name, though there are some who believe his discovery may change the face of science. Aspect and his team discovered that under certain circumstances subatomic particles such as electrons are able to instantaneously communicate with each other regardless of the distance separating them. It doesn't matter whether they are 10 feet or 10 billion miles apart. Somehow each particle always seems to know what the other is doing. The problem with this feat is that it violates Einstein's long-held tenet that no communication can travel faster than the speed of light. Since traveling faster than the speed of light is tantamount to breaking the time barrier, this daunting prospect has caused some physicists to try to come up with elaborate ways to explain away Aspect's findings. But it has inspired others to offer even more radical explanations. University of London physicist David Bohm, for example, believes Aspect's findings imply that objective reality does not exist, that despite its apparent solidity the universe is at heart a phantasm, a gigantic and splendidly detailed hologram. To understand why Bohm makes this startling assertion, one must first understand a little about holograms. A hologram is a three- dimensional photograph made with the aid of a laser. To make a hologram, the object to be photographed is first bathed in the light of a laser beam. Then a second laser beam is bounced off the reflected light of the first and the resulting interference pattern (the area where the two laser beams commingle) is captured on film. When the film is developed, it looks like a meaningless swirl of light and dark lines. But as soon as the developed film is illuminated by another laser beam, a three-dimensional image of the original object appears. The three-dimensionality of such images is not the only remarkable characteristic of holograms. If a hologram of a rose is cut in half and then illuminated by a laser, each half will still be found to contain the entire image of the rose. Indeed, even if the halves are divided again, each snippet of film will always be found to contain a smaller but intact version of the original image. Unlike normal photographs, every part of a hologram contains all the information possessed by the whole. The "whole in every part" nature of a hologram provides us with an entirely new way of understanding organization and order. For most of its history, Western science has labored under the bias that the best way to understand a physical phenomenon, whether a frog or an atom, is to dissect it and study its respective parts. A hologram teaches us that some things in the universe may not lend themselves to this approach. If we try to take apart something constructed holographically, we will not get the pieces of which it is made, we will only get smaller wholes. This insight suggested to Bohm another way of understanding Aspect's discovery. Bohm believes the reason subatomic particles are able to remain in contact with one another regardless of the distance separating them is not because they are sending some sort of mysterious signal back and forth, but because their separateness is an illusion. He argues that at some deeper level of reality such particles are not individual entities, but are actually extensions of the same fundamental something. To enable people to better visualize what he means, Bohm offers the following illustration. Imagine an aquarium containing a fish. Imagine also that you are unable to see the aquarium directly and your knowledge about it and what it contains comes from two television cameras, one directed at the aquarium's front and the other directed at its side. As you stare at the two television monitors, you might assume that the fish on each of the screens are separate entities. After all, because the cameras are set at different angles, each of the images will be slightly different. But as you continue to watch the two fish, you will eventually become aware that there is a certain relationship between them. When one turns, the other also makes a slightly different but corresponding turn; when one faces the front, the other always faces toward the side. If you remain unaware of the full scope of the situation, you might even conclude that the fish must be instantaneously communicating with one another, but this is clearly not the case. This, says Bohm, is precisely what is going on between the subatomic particles in Aspect's experiment. According to Bohm, the apparent faster-than-light connection between subatomic particles is really telling us that there is a deeper level of reality we are not privy to, a more complex dimension beyond our own that is analogous to the aquarium. And, he adds, we view objects such as subatomic particles as separate from one another because we are seeing only a portion of their reality. Such particles are not separate "parts", but facets of a deeper and more underlying unity that is ultimately as holographic and indivisible as the previously mentioned rose. And since everything in physical reality is comprised of these "eidolons", the universe is itself a projection, a hologram. In addition to its phantomlike nature, such a universe would possess other rather startling features. If the apparent separateness of subatomic particles is illusory, it means that at a deeper level of reality all things in the universe are infinitely interconnected. The electrons in a carbon atom in the human brain are connected to the subatomic particles that comprise every salmon that swims, every heart that beats, and every star that shimmers in the sky. Everything interpenetrates everything, and although human nature may seek to categorize and pigeonhole and subdivide, the various phenomena of the universe, all apportionments are of necessity artificial and all of nature is ultimately a seamless web. In a holographic universe, even time and space could no longer be viewed as fundamentals. Because concepts such as location break down in a universe in which nothing is truly separate from anything else, time and three-dimensional space, like the images of the fish on the TV monitors, would also have to be viewed as projections of this deeper order. At its deeper level reality is a sort of superhologram in which the past, present, and future all exist simultaneously. This suggests that given the proper tools it might even be possible to someday reach into the superholographic level of reality and pluck out scenes from the long-forgotten past. What else the superhologram contains is an open-ended question. Allowing, for the sake of argument, that the superhologram is the matrix that has given birth to everything in our universe, at the very least it contains every subatomic particle that has been or will be -- every configuration of matter and energy that is possible, from snowflakes to quasars, from blue whales to gamma rays. It must be seen as a sort of cosmic storehouse of "All That Is." Although Bohm concedes that we have no way of knowing what else might lie hidden in the superhologram, he does venture to say that we have no reason to assume it does not contain more. Or as he puts it, perhaps the superholographic level of reality is a "mere stage" beyond which lies "an infinity of further development". Bohm is not the only researcher who has found evidence that the universe is a hologram. Working independently in the field of brain research, Standford neurophysiologist Karl Pribram has also become persuaded of the holographic nature of reality. Pribram was drawn to the holographic model by the puzzle of how and where memories are stored in the brain. For decades numerous studies have shown that rather than being confined to a specific location, memories are dispersed throughout the brain. In a series of landmark experiments in the 1920s, brain scientist Karl Lashley found that no matter what portion of a rat's brain he removed he was unable to eradicate its memory of how to perform complex tasks it had learned prior to surgery. The only problem was that no one was able to come up with a mechanism that might explain this curious "whole in every part" nature of memory storage. Then in the 1960s Pribram encountered the concept of holography and realized he had found the explanation brain scientists had been looking for. Pribram believes memories are encoded not in neurons, or small groupings of neurons, but in patterns of nerve impulses that crisscross the entire brain in the same way that patterns of laser light interference crisscross the entire area of a piece of film containing a holographic image. In other words, Pribram believes the brain is itself a hologram. Pribram's theory also explains how the human brain can store so many memories in so little space. It has been estimated that the human brain has the capacity to memorize something on the order of 10 billion bits of information during the average human lifetime (or roughly the same amount of information contained in five sets of the Encyclopaedia Britannica). Similarly, it has been discovered that in addition to their other capabilities, holograms possess an astounding capacity for information storage--simply by changing the angle at which the two lasers strike a piece of photographic film, it is possible to record many different images on the same surface. It has been demonstrated that one cubic centimeter of film can hold as many as 10 billion bits of information. Our uncanny ability to quickly retrieve whatever information we need from the enormous store of our memories becomes more understandable if the brain functions according to holographic principles. If a friend asks you to tell him what comes to mind when he says the word "zebra", you do not have to clumsily sort back through some gigantic and cerebral alphabetic file to arrive at an answer. Instead, associations like "striped", "horselike", and "animal native to Africa" all pop into your head instantly. Indeed, one of the most amazing things about the human thinking process is that every piece of information seems instantly cross- correlated with every other piece of information--another feature intrinsic to the hologram. Because every portion of a hologram is infinitely interconnected with every other portion, it is perhaps nature's supreme example of a cross-correlated system. The storage of memory is not the only neurophysiological puzzle that becomes more tractable in light of Pribram's holographic model of the brain. Another is how the brain is able to translate the avalanche of frequencies it receives via the senses (light frequencies, sound frequencies, and so on) into the concrete world of our perceptions. Encoding and decoding frequencies is precisely what a hologram does best. Just as a hologram functions as a sort of lens, a translating device able to convert an apparently meaningless blur of frequencies into a coherent image, Pribram believes the brain also comprises a lens and uses holographic principles to mathematically convert the frequencies it receives through the senses into the inner world of our perceptions. An impressive body of evidence suggests that the brain uses holographic principles to perform its operations. Pribram's theory, in fact, has gained increasing support among neurophysiologists. Argentinian-Italian researcher Hugo Zucarelli recently extended the holographic model into the world of acoustic phenomena. Puzzled by the fact that humans can locate the source of sounds without moving their heads, even if they only possess hearing in one ear, Zucarelli discovered that holographic principles can explain this ability. Zucarelli has also developed the technology of holophonic sound, a recording technique able to reproduce acoustic situations with an almost uncanny realism. Pribram's belief that our brains mathematically construct "hard" reality by relying on input from a frequency domain has also received a good deal of experimental support. It has been found that each of our senses is sensitive to a much broader range of frequencies than was previously suspected. Researchers have discovered, for instance, that our visual systems are sensitive to sound frequencies, that our sense of smell is in part dependent on what are now called "osmic frequencies", and that even the cells in our bodies are sensitive to a broad range of frequencies. Such findings suggest that it is only in the holographic domain of consciousness that such frequencies are sorted out and divided up into conventional perceptions. But the most mind-boggling aspect of Pribram's holographic model of the brain is what happens when it is put together with Bohm's theory. For if the concreteness of the world is but a secondary reality and what is "there" is actually a holographic blur of frequencies, and if the brain is also a hologram and only selects some of the frequencies out of this blur and mathematically transforms them into sensory perceptions, what becomes of objective reality? Put quite simply, it ceases to exist. As the religions of the East have long upheld, the material world is Maya, an illusion, and although we may think we are physical beings moving through a physical world, this too is an illusion. We are really "receivers" floating through a kaleidoscopic sea of frequency, and what we extract from this sea and transmogrify into physical reality is but one channel from many extracted out of the superhologram. This striking new picture of reality, the synthesis of Bohm and Pribram's views, has come to be called the holographic paradigm, and although many scientists have greeted it with skepticism, it has galvanized others. A small but growing group of researchers believe it may be the most accurate model of reality science has arrived at thus far. More than that, some believe it may solve some mysteries that have never before been explainable by science and even establish the paranormal as a part of nature. Numerous researchers, including Bohm and Pribram, have noted that many para-psychological phenomena become much more understandable in terms of the holographic paradigm. In a universe in which individual brains are actually indivisible portions of the greater hologram and everything is infinitely interconnected, telepathy may merely be the accessing of the holographic level. It is obviously much easier to understand how information can travel from the mind of individual 'A' to that of individual 'B' at a far distance point and helps to understand a number of unsolved puzzles in psychology. In particular, Grof feels the holographic paradigm offers a model for understanding many of the baffling phenomena experienced by individuals during altered states of consciousness. In the 1950s, while conducting research into the beliefs of LSD as a psychotherapeutic tool, Grof had one female patient who suddenly became convinced she had assumed the identity of a female of a species of prehistoric reptile. During the course of her hallucination, she not only gave a richly detailed description of what it felt like to be encapsuled in such a form, but noted that the portion of the male of the species's anatomy was a patch of colored scales on the side of its head. What was startling to Grof was that although the woman had no prior knowledge about such things, a conversation with a zoologist later confirmed that in certain species of reptiles colored areas on the head do indeed play an important role as triggers of sexual arousal. The woman's experience was not unique. During the course of his research, Grof encountered examples of patients regressing and identifying with virtually every species on the evolutionary tree (research findings which helped influence the man-into-ape scene in the movie Altered States). Moreover, he found that such experiences frequently contained obscure zoological details which turned out to be accurate. Regressions into the animal kingdom were not the only puzzling psychological phenomena Grof encountered. He also had patients who appeared to tap into some sort of collective or racial unconscious. Individuals with little or no education suddenly gave detailed descriptions of Zoroastrian funerary practices and scenes from Hindu mythology. In other categories of experience, individuals gave persuasive accounts of out-of-body journeys, of precognitive glimpses of the future, of regressions into apparent past-life incarnations. In later research, Grof found the same range of phenomena manifested in therapy sessions which did not involve the use of drugs. Because the common element in such experiences appeared to be the transcending of an individual's consciousness beyond the usual boundaries of ego and/or limitations of space and time, Grof called such manifestations "transpersonal experiences", and in the late '60s he helped found a branch of psychology called "transpersonal psychology" devoted entirely to their study. Although Grof's newly founded Association of Transpersonal Psychology garnered a rapidly growing group of like-minded professionals and has become a respected branch of psychology, for years neither Grof or any of his colleagues were able to offer a mechanism for explaining the bizarre psychological phenomena they were witnessing. But that has changed with the advent of the holographic paradigm. As Grof recently noted, if the mind is actually part of a continuum, a labyrinth that is connected not only to every other mind that exists or has existed, but to every atom, organism, and region in the vastness of space and time itself, the fact that it is able to occasionally make forays into the labyrinth and have transpersonal experiences no longer seems so strange. The holographic prardigm also has implications for so-called hard sciences like biology. Keith Floyd, a psychologist at Virginia Intermont College, has pointed out that if the concreteness of reality is but a holographic illusion, it would no longer be true to say the brain produces consciousness. Rather, it is consciousness that creates the appearance of the brain -- as well as the body and everything else around us we interpret as physical. Such a turnabout in the way we view biological structures has caused researchers to point out that medicine and our understanding of the healing process could also be transformed by the holographic paradigm. If the apparent physical structure of the body is but a holographic projection of consciousness, it becomes clear that each of us is much more responsible for our health than current medical wisdom allows. What we now view as miraculous remissions of disease may actually be due to changes in consciousness which in turn effect changes in the hologram of the body. Similarly, controversial new healing techniques such as visualization may work so well because in the holographic domain of thought images are ultimately as real as "reality". Even visions and experiences involving "non-ordinary" reality become explainable under the holographic paradigm. In his book "Gifts of Unknown Things," biologist Lyall Watson discribes his encounter with an Indonesian shaman woman who, by performing a ritual dance, was able to make an entire grove of trees instantly vanish into thin air. Watson relates that as he and another astonished onlooker continued to watch the woman, she caused the trees to reappear, then "click" off again and on again several times in succession. Although current scientific understanding is incapable of explaining such events, experiences like this become more tenable if "hard" reality is only a holographic projection. Perhaps we agree on what is "there" or "not there" because what we call consensus reality is formulated and ratified at the level of the human unconscious at which all minds are infinitely interconnected. If this is true, it is the most profound implication of the holographic paradigm of all, for it means that experiences such as Watson's are not commonplace only because we have not programmed our minds with the beliefs that would make them so. In a holographic universe there are no limits to the extent to which we can alter the fabric of reality. What we perceive as reality is only a canvas waiting for us to draw upon it any picture we want. Anything is possible, from bending spoons with the power of the mind to the phantasmagoric events experienced by Castaneda during his encounters with the Yaqui brujo don Juan, for magic is our birthright, no more or less miraculous than our ability to compute the reality we want when we are in our dreams. Indeed, even our most fundamental notions about reality become suspect, for in a holographic universe, as Pribram has pointed out, even random events would have to be seen as based on holographic principles and therefore determined. Synchronicities or meaningful coincidences suddenly makes sense, and everything in reality would have to be seen as a metaphor, for even the most haphazard events would express some underlying symmetry. Whether Bohm and Pribram's holographic paradigm becomes accepted in science or dies an ignoble death remains to be seen, but it is safe to say that it has already had an influence on the thinking of many scientists. And even if it is found that the holographic model does not provide the best explanation for the instantaneous communications that seem to be passing back and forth between subatomic particles, at the very least, as noted by Basil Hiley, a physicist at Birbeck College in London, Aspect's findings "indicate that we must be prepared to consider radically new views of reality". ==================================================================== 2 08/30/05 Introduction to ESP Phenomenology Read Sagan Chap 12 -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Passive: by means not involving the human senses. A. ESP Extra-Sensory Perception: acquisition of information about another person. B. Telepathy: Acquistion of information about another person at a distance. C. Remote Viewing (Clairvoyance): acquisition of information about another person, object, or event. D. Precognition: acquistion of information about the future. II. Active A. Psychokinesis: the ability to influence matter with the human mind, by direct action, will, or another person, object, or event; not mediated by any physical force yet known. ==================================================================== 3 09/06/05 Early ESP Experiments Telepathy Remote Viewing (Clairvoyance) Precognition Scientific Method Begin Reading Pagels (Entire) -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Scientific Method A. How Scientists' Form Beliefs 1. Inference or theory from direct observation. 2. 100% Replicable experimental demonstrations. 3. Statistical Relationships B. Main Principle -- Ockham's Razor (sometimes called Occam's Razor) 1. Rule in science and philosophy. 2. Entitites hould not be multiplied needlessly. 3. The simplest of two or more competing theories is the preferred. 4. An explanation for an unknown phenomenon should first be attempted in terms of what is already known. 5. Also called the "Law of Parsimony." 6. Pick the simplest explanation of an event that coincides with ordinary events or scenes. C. Wiseman, West, and Stemman (1996) Sceptical Inquirer 20(1) 38 1. No significant difference was found at the 95% confidence level. 2. Pilot Experiement 3. Psychics performed no better than students. 4. No scores were significant or impressive. II. Early ESP Experiments A. The Oracle at Delphi (6th century Greece) 1. First controlled parapsychological experiment. 2. Problem: no exact probability known. B. "One of us Abes was scared!" 1. Famous story of Presidend Abraham Lincoln's dream. 2. Lincoln died shortly afterward after being assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. 3. We have to assess the probability the Lincoln pre-concieved his death. 4. Lincoln himself had previously been shot at. 5. He knew he was in a dangerous situation. 6. The pobability seems pretty high, but we cannot pin that probability down. C. Alterfan Coal Mine Disaster 1. 9:15 AM 10/21/1966 in South Wales 2. Avalance of coal killed 128 children and 16 adults. 3. Prior vision reported by a local woman and presented to a spiritualist church the night before the event. 4. Could a reasonable person have predicted such a thing? Yes. 5. The schoolhouse in which 128 children were killed was located in a mountain valley overlooked by a large coal deposit. D. Police Deparments 1. Many use psychics to locate missing bodies. 2. Louise Ludwig informed authorities that they'd likely find a missing body in a place they've already looked before. 3. The police know the probability of locating a missing body is higher in a given area that has alredy been searched. 4. Once again, the problem is that we can't always assess the probabilities that something will occur that wouldn't already occur statistically. E. J. B. Rhine overhead 1. Known as the 'father of parapsychology." 2. Tested telepathy, ESP, and clarivoyance (remote sensing) at Duke University. 3. Used five each of five cards to equal twenty-five total. 4. Chance (probability is 4 to 1). 5. Problem: the null hypothesis can't be proven; chance can't be rejected. 6. Human beings cannot easily choose at random. There has to be come kind of pattern. 7. Problem: there was too much sensory information. 8. Problem: Sloppy mehodology elimated ruling out of sensory information. F. Schmidt's Random Event Generator (R.E.G.) overhead 1. Used in ESP testing. 2. Removes the human element in handling information. 3. Involves a human participant percieving an event that is taking place in another room. 4. Robust Design 5. Effects of instructions on ESP scores: a. There should not be any difference. [exam] b. There WAS a significant difference between scores of those subjects who were told to score low and those who were told to score high. G. Gertrude Schmeidler overhead 1. Experiments on believers and disbelivers. a. Believers called "sheep" b. Disbelievers called "goats" 2. There was no significance in scores between believers and disbelievers. 3. This experiment was repliacted in 1996 with the same results. H. Effects of Amphetamines and Valium Revealed no significant effects in scores. I. Individuals and Groups 1. Testing of individuals and groups by ranking of low or high in neurotic scores. 2. Results: a. As Individuals: those who scored low as neurotics did better as individuals. b. As Groups: there was no significant difference. J. Extraversion versus Introversion overhead 1. Extraverts are energized by other people. 2. Introverts are energized in soltitude. 3. Who would score higher in ESP? Extraverts. Extraverts are very keen on developing relationships with others and by so doing, may be more preceptive. III. Hypnosis overhead A. Is altered state of consciousness. B. Is seen as enhancing the ESP state. C. Full Circle 1772 Franz Mesmer's "Animal Magnetism" 1785 French Scientific Commission 1843 Braid coins the term "hyponsis" Elliotson and Esdale studied the effects of hypnosis as an anesthetic. 1860 Charcot treats hysterics with hypnosis 1885 Freud studies with Charcot 1999 Magnets are used to treat bachaches D. The important point of view is that success of hypnosis and magnetism is that the power of belief will determine the success or failure. Those who genuinely believe they are under a state of hypnosis will believe themselves into a state of hypnosis; those who genuinely believe that magnets placed upon their backs truly relieve back pain will experience a relief of back pain. E. Hernandez-Peon and Donoso on hypnotic absorption 1. Studies to test if hypnotic absorption evoked potential in cats and humans. 2. Absorption is a naturally-occurring phenomenon. 3. Absorption is NOT like a "lie-detector." a. Memories can be confabulated: Hypnotic absorption can refresh memories, but it can also create new ones (confabulation) b. Hypnotic absorption cuts out external stimuli and theoretically reduces noice to enhance ESP. F. Honorton and Sanford on Hypnotic Absorption overhead 1. First experiment of the effects of hypnosis on ESP 2. Involved card-guessing schemes. 3. Participants experiencing hyponsis tended to core highter than those who were not. =================================================================== 4 09/13/05 ESP Research Demonstration Ganzfeld Experiments Continue Reading Pagels (Entire) -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. ESP Research A. Dreams Are altered states of consciousness that occur spontaneously. B. Maimonides Medical Center Dream Lab 1. EEG Signifies Various Types of Sleep a. Waking 1) Alert -- beta rhythm 2) Relaxed -- alpha rhythm b. Non-REM 1) Theta waves in stage two (2) are associated with hallucinatory activity. 2) When a person dreams, she or he produces REM waves similar to the "alert" stage of waking (beta). 3) When a person is dreaming, her or his brain behaves as if it is "awake." c. REM sleep is the state in which a person dreams. C. Precognitive Dreams 1. A test session with Malcolm Bessent 2. Journal Article, "ESP, Dreams, and the Twillight Zone." Documents an attempt to identify precognition "before the fact." 3. Bessent was some sort of a "superstar" at the Maimonides Medical Center Dream Lab. D. Noise Reduction Theory of ESP Functioning 1. Most important theory of the function of Psi. 2. Hypothesis ESP is a weak signal that is difficult to detect for which one stands a better chance of detecting by reducing sensory input "noise." E. Sensory Deprivation Experiments / Sensory Deprivation Chambers 1. Try to reduce tactile, auditory, and visual stimuli. 2. Usually have a "panic button." 3. Are very expensive to do and replicate. a. Problems of replication. b. Replication adds to scientific credibility. 4. Tend to reinforce Noise Reduction Theory of ESP functioning. II. Ganzfield ("Whole Field") Experiments (Honorton, et al.) A. Are the best evidence for Psi (to date). B. Combine sensory deprivation techniques with good experimental design. C. Reduce sensory input in two files. 1. Auditory 2. Visual D. Reduction of sensory input in auditory and visual fiels results in a homogeneity that leads to ... E. Ganzfield Production 1. Is the mechanism that leads to the autiory and visual input fields becoming homogenious. 2. Is the result of habituation. 3. Sets in about 20-25 minutes. 4. Is important because after habutation sets in, a participant begins to hallucinate. F. Were conducted with ordinary participants as opposed to the Maimonides Medical Center Dream Lab, where there was Bessent who was a "superstar." G. Included forty-two (42) reported studies in ten (10) laboratories, receiving and average "hit" rate of thirty-five percent (35%), which is ten percent (10%) above chance. H. Were docmented in a journal article by Bem, 1996. I. Were included in several meta-analysis studies which: 1. Eliminated "file-drawer" problems. 2. Proved robust results. 3. Reinforced the thirty-five percent (35%) "hit-rate" that is above ten percent (10%) chance. J. Amsterdam Ganzfield Experiments III & IV. Supported emotionality hypothesis. That the emotionality of the participant effects the "hit-rate." K. Ganzfield versus Chance 1. Ganzfield 35% 2. Chance 25% 3. Diffrence 10% Ganzfield is ten percent (10%) above chance. L. Relationship between ESP Effect and the amount of time spend in Ganzfield Production. 1. Effects improve over time spend in Ganzfield. 2. Thirty (30) to forty (40) minutes in Ganzfield will produce significant effects. 3. Confirms: a. Habituation Hypothesis b. Moise Reduction Theory M. Moving versus Static Targets 1. Moving targets appear to generate more "hit points." 2. Moving and emotional targets tended to score more "hit points" while in -- during -- Ganzfiled Production. N. Magnitude of GAnzfiled Effect Ganzfield/ESP Versus Aspirin/MI Effect (overhead) O. Can Replication be Statistical in Nature? 1. Forty-Five percent (45%) of Ganzfiled expreiments show statistically significant scores as opposed five percent (5%) predicted by chance. 2. Honorton, et al ran nearly one thousand (1,000) experiements over twenty (20) years with a direct "hit rate" of thirty-five percent (35%) to thirty-eight percent (38%). That's ten percent (10%) above the twenty-five percent (25%) expected by chance of guessing among the four (4) targets. 3. Hildard & Atkinson, Introduction to Psychology P. College Professors who say that ESP is at Least Likely a Possibility (overhead) 1. Journal article by Wagner and Monet, 1979. 2. Psychology professors are the most resistant to say that ESP is at least likely a possiblity. ==================================================================== 5 09/20/05 Psychokinesis: Poltergeists Laboratory Experiments Read: Sagan Chaps 13 & 7 Malleus II, Chap X (128-134) -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Psychokinesis A. Definition 1. Moving things with the mind. 2. Miracle Healing 3. Mind over matter. B. Videocassette Presentation 1. Psi phenomena occurs when thoughts and feelings are communicated without speaking. 2. Telepathic bonding between a mother and child may lead an infant to suppress their Psi when the mother behaves in a manner contrary to her thoughts and feelings. 3. Random Event Generator (Jahn) Effect is 1% deviation from chance as opposed to the Ganzfield experiemtns, which were 10% above chance. 1)PK = 1% 2)Ganzfield = 10% [exam] C. Schmidt: Testing Circuit Program (Jahn; Schmidt) [overhead] 1. Goal "will" clockwise lighting pattern. 2. Best evidence for PK because of a significant deviation that is below chance. a. Chance = 50% b. Clockwise = 49% 3. Psi-missing (p < .001) Deviance is significantly below chance. D. Psychokinesis (PK) versus Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP) 1. PK doesn't have the same patterns as ESP in the following studies: a. Extraverts versus Introverts b. Believers versus Non-Believers c. High versus Low Neuroticism 2. An exception to the above [exam] Bonded opposite-sex pairs scored highter on PK than same-sex pairs. [exam] 3. Distance was not an inhibitor for both ESP and PK experiments. E. Psi-Medated Instrumental Response (PMIR) 1. Psi-Mediated = Unconscious 2. Instrumental Response = doing something useful. 3. Unconscious use of Psi in daily life. 4. Fits "evolutionary theory" of ESP. F. Psychokinesis and Fraud 1. Uri Geller and "the Amazing Randi" 2. Methods of Testing (Journal Article) [exam] 3. There is much more fraud associated with PK than with ESP. [exam] Yet another reason why replication is so important in science. II. Poltergeists A. Defintion: "noisy ghost." B. Recurrent Spontaneous Psycho-Kinetic Event (RSPK) Thought of as psycho-kinetic energy that leaves a person and causes things to happen. C. Includes old phenomenoa that can last for several weeks. [exam] D. Poltergeists tend to follow people while ghosts tend to stay in a single location. E. Poltergists tend to follow younger persons between the age of sixteen (16) and twenty (20). Persons of these ages tend to have large amounts of different types of energy associated with turmoil that may cause psycho-kinetic things to happen. F. Poltergeists and Fraud Persons between the ages of sixteen (16) and twenty (20) tend to enjoy receiving attention and may fake an RSPK event to achieve it. G. Poltergeists and Gender in the Twentieth (20th) Century The phenomena has followed men and women equally in the last century. ==================================================================== 6 09/27/05 Healing Possession & Exorcism Laying on of Hands Shrines Crystals Auras (With Demo) Continue Reading Pagels (Entire) -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Healing A. Video Presentation: Psychic Healing 1. Deals with the powerful spiritual and mental forces that make us well. 2. Is about teaching people how to mobilize their own internal healing resources. 3. Is about the self-healing process. 4. Talking and listening are forms of healing. 5. Book: Simonton, Carl. Healing Journey. 6. Includes the Human Potential Movement. 7. Includes alternative medicine. 8. We rely on creative ways of thinking. 9. Is about how the mind can affect the body. 10. Is about how what one believes can affect the body. 11. "Cognitive Laziness" The problem that most people have is that they cannot realize how the mind affects/effects the body. B. Luke 8:48 (overhead) a. Healing is almost unamiously a part of all religions. b. Scientific evidence shows that belief is an extraordinarily powerful healing tool. C. The Placebo Effect on Healing (overhead) 1. A placebo effect is a resonse to the act of being treated -- note to the adminsitered treatment itself. Dodes, 1997. 2. The placebo effect is often so strong that it has produced positive effects, even when the patients were told theat the subjstance they were given WAS a sugar pill. Frank and Frank, 1991. D. Psychological Methods of Pain Control (overhead) 1. Reported in "Reuters." 2. When a strong belief is elicited, the brain's chemistry changes. 3. Endorphins can come about purely psychologically by a strong belief(s). [exam] E. The Placebo Response as a Predictor of the Anti-Depressant Drug Response (overhead) Prevention and Treatment. Vol. I. Article 0002a. 1. The placebo effect accounts for half the effect of anti-depressant medications. 2. The Placebo Effectg causes REAL healing as the body's immune system responds to belief. F. One think, One Drink? (overhead) Engle, K.B.; and Williams, T.K. (1972). Quarterly Journal of Studies in Alcohol. v. 33, 1099-1105. 1. Studies the effect of one ounce of Vodka on alcoholic desires of forty hospitalized alcoholics. 2. Extent of the Placebo Effect One participant in the "vitamin drink" group who was told he was drinking alcohol asked for another drink -- the only individual in the entire study. 3. Demonstrated the power of belief versus the physicological effect that was claimed by Alcoholics Anonymous. 4. Demonstrates that the belief that alcohol as consumed was more powerful than if a participant has actually drank alcohol. 5. The prevailing American mindset twoards alcoholism tends to be very evangelical. G. Skin Reactions in Hypersensitive Boys to Laquer/Wax Tree Leavs Versus Harmless Leaves (overhead) Shows the power of beief over allergy. H. Pseudocyesis "false pregnancy; phantom pregnancy" (overhead) 1. The mind causes the body to produce the effects of pregnancy. 2. Is a dramatic presentation of how the power of belief causes physical changes. 3. Statistics of Pseudocyesis "false pregnancy": a. 150 "full term" patients. b. 1 in 2,000 general obstetric patients. c. 1 in 250 prenatal care patients. 4. Belief is extraordinarily powerful. I. Psychological Effects on the Human Body (overhead) J. Sexual Fantasizing. Barber, 1984(overhead) K. Indian Swami. Greene and Green, 1977(overhead) L. Biofeedback. Taub and Emunan(sp?), 1977(overhead) e.g., Silverman and McGough, 1971; Snyder 7 Noble, 1968 M. Psychosocial Effects on Healing(overhead) Spiegal, et al., 1989 1. Metastatic Breast Cancer 2. Social Support N. Fauzy, et al., 1993 1. Melanoma Patients 2. Psychosocial Support O. Individual Charateristics and Healing (overhead) Solomon, et al. 1. Long-term survivors of AIDS 2. Cancer patients who survive. a. Acterberg, Simonton and Simonton. 1996 b. Green, et all. 10-year follow-up. c. Pert, et al. 1985. d. Kryppner and nAchtenberg. 2000 P. Research that tried to rule-out the belief component in healing / Efficacy of Prayer on HealinG 1. Does Prayer Heal? Byrd, 1988 (overhead) Results: Prayer group had more good and less bad outcomes. 2. Tessman and Tessman, 2000 (overhead) Critiqued the Byrd study. 3. Prayer Study Replication Attempts. Harris, et al., 1999 (overhead) 4. Harris, et al. 1999 a. Found no significant difference in Byrd's "good" and "bad" outcomes. b. Replication did not work. 5. Shermer, M.; and Randi, J., 1999 "The Amazing Dr. Kam Yuen (overhead) [exam] 6. Another Methodological Flaw a. Who do you assign for a control group? b. Philosophical Intervention? Q. Emily Rosa, 1996 (overhead) Fourth-grade science project. R. Psychic Surgery in the Phillippines 1. Actual physical effects are illusions. 2. Patients got better because of belief. II. Possession & Exorcism A. The removal of periods of 'free will' over time. B. It is/was believed that only with the permission of God can a witch or demon operate. C. Possible explanations include, Schizophrenia, hysteria, or multiple personality disorder. D. Every Catholic diocese is supposed to have an exorcist. 1. Many protestant churches have them, too. 2. Exorcisms are supposed to be approved by a Bishop. During the Charismatic Movement in the Church of England, those unapproved were referred to as "Maverick" exorcisms. 3. The later Reverend Mother Theresa of Calcutta was reported to have engaged an exorcist. E. Demons and the Bible 1. Book of Job (Pagels) 550 BCE [exam] 2. 1 Chronicles 21:1 "Adversary of the Court" Census-Taking for the purpose of collecting taxes wish considered most evil by may authors and chroniclers of the time. F. Movie: "the Exorcist" 1. Based upon a true story involving a 14-year-old boy in Mt. Ranier, Massachusetts in 1949. 2. Spiritualist: one who believes in "wandering spritis" or "ghosts." 3. Scholastic priest and former Army Chaplain O'Halloran was very skeptical of bishops' accounts of this exorcism, claiming that he'd witnessed more evil during his tour of duty in Vietnam. 4. Demoniac: one who is possessed by a demon or demons. G. Aldous Huxley: "The Devils of Loudon" (1952) [exam] The Prioress said that one of the demons in her belly was successfully reomved with an enema of holy water. [exam] H. Scientific Explanations for Demonic Possession 1. Multiple Personality Disorder 2. Schizophrenia 3. Hysteria Conversion 4. Sexual Excitement and Repression 5. Histronic Personality Disorder III. Laying on of Hands A. Therapeutic Touch Is a misnomer because the hands never really touvh the patient. IV. Shrines V. Crystals VI. Auras (with Demo) ==================================================================== 7 10/04/05 The Self Consciousness / The Unconscious Near Death Experiences Death Anxiety and Survival Finish Reading Pagels (Entire) -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Near Death Experiences A. Term coined by Dr. Raymond Moody, professor of Psychology. B. Commonalities of NDE's 1. Leaving the body. 2. Seeing a light. 3. Being in the light among others who have previously deceased. 4. Live from view / Spectator's view 5. Returning to the body. C. One can have a near-death experience w i t h o u t actually being near death. D. Zaleski: "The Egyptian Book of the Dead" E. Near Death Experiences of Children 1. Are relatively free of outside influcences. 2. Because of their simplicity accounts of children are valued even more so than those of adults. 3. Dr. Melvin Morse published the first significant work on children's near death experiences. F. Near Death Experiences also occur in the context of a migraine headache, which occurs in the temporal lobe area of the human brain, the same area where NDE's occur. We can re-create a sense of awe by stimulating the temporal lobe. G. The near death experience of "the light" cannot be re-created in the laboratory. F. Near Death Experiences also include "out-of-body" experiences. 1. The idea is that a "sense of self" may survive outside the body after death. 2. Question: what is this "sense of self?" 3. What is this thing called "I?" [exam] G. Cultural Differences of Near-Death Experiences 1. India: religious figures are seen "in the light." 2. United States: previously deceased family members and friends are seen "in the light." 3. Christians and Buddhists tend to experience a "tunnel view," while Australians, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans did not. H. Ancient Near Death Experience as reported by Plato: a soldier by the name of "Er" experienced an 'otherworld journey' between the rivers Lethe and Hades. I. Theories of Near-Death Experiences 1. Re-experiencing of Birth According to Dr. Susan Blackmoor, NDE'S are equally common among new mothers delivering in both Vaginal and C-Section births. 2. Temporal Lobe Seizure 3. Release of a large amount of endorphins. 4. Depersonalization: lost sense of body image. J. Near-Death Experiences tend to be: ------------------------------------ 1. A pleasant experience for a vast majority of persons who claim to have experienced them. 2. Are generally positive experiences. 3. Those who experience them tend to become more spiritually-oriented than those who didn't. 4. The process indicates that dying will be pleasant. 5. Persons come away with a stronger belief in a spiritual world and a lesser belief in the existence of the underworld. 6. Those who have experienced an NDE tend to be more introspective than those who haven't. ==================================================================== 08. Out of Body Experiences Reincarnation & Déjà vu Read Sagan Chap 15 -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs) http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/personalitystudies/case_types.cfm#OOB II. Reincarnation A. Videocassette: in Another Life: Reincarnation in America http://www.ial.goldthread.com/ 1. Children's Past Lives by Dr. Carol Bowman http://www.childpastlives.org/ Four Charasteristics: -------------------- 1)Matter-of-fact tone. 2)Consistency over time. 3)Knowledge beyond experience. 4)Corresponding behaviors and traits. 2. Children Who Remember Past Lives By Ian Stevenson, MD http://www.lightworks.com/MonthlyAspectarian/2004/September/feature3.htm 3. Very few who recall a past life as a child retain that experience into adulthood. 4. Children's recollections of past life experiences have a profound effect upon adults (caregivers, parents, significant adults) who re-evaluate everything they've previously learned about life and death. 5. Children tend to have vivid imaginations, especially if they are from within cultures that believe in reincarnation. 6. Forms of Therapy with respect to past life experiences: a. Past-Life Therapy 1) Involves going back to the origin of the problem occurring in a past life. 2) Attempts to release the trauma that accompanies the issue which occured in a past life. An introduction to past-life regression therapy http://www.pastlives.org/ Death, Transition and the Spirit Realms: Insights from Past Life Therapy and Tibetan Buddhism http://www.rogerwoolger.com/pages/transitions.html b. Hypnotic-Regression Therapy Of 110 participants (Spanos, et al), 35 reported to have had past life experiences. 7. Cryptomnesia, or "concealed recollection," is a very common phenomenon. It is often the means of recalling to mind certain experiences that we otherwise would not remember. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptomnesia 8. Too Close to See: The Influence of Past Lives in Our Daily Life http://www.ial.goldthread.com/omplacearticle.html 9. The Social Relevance of Reincarnation http://www.omplace.com/articles/Reincarnation_Social.html 10. Skepticism in Documentaries on Reincarnation http://www.ial.goldthread.com/skeptics.html a. Responses http://www.enformy.com/Gary-reHymanReview.htm 11. Reincarnation and Karma (Meher Baba, from Discourses) http://discoursesbymeherbaba.org/v3-51.php 12. Edgar Cayce and Reincarnation: Past Life Readings as Religious Symbology by J. Gordon Melton http://www.ial.goldthread.com/articles.html 13. Meher Baba's teachings on reincarnation http://discoursesbymeherbaba.org/v3-51.php 14. The Real Nature of Man, Swami Vivekananda http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/5208/jnanayoga/nature.html 15. A Tapestry of .Meher.Baba's Connections with the West http://www.ial.goldthread.com/Meher_Baba.html 16. A Multi-Incarnational Approach to Chronic Illness http://www.ial.goldthread.com/multiincarnational.html 17. The Doctrine of Reincarnation in the Bhagavad-Gita http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~port/teach/relg/bhagavad.gita.html 18. Issues with reported past-life experiences: ---------------------------------------------- a. Individuals' reporting past-life experiences could not identify things what would have been general knowledge for the time and place the alleged previous life occurred. b. Individuals' reporting past-life experiences tended to report identities with which they were likely to be familliar or remember during the current life. III. Deja vu A. Is a very common experience in which a person repeats a previous experience. B. Usually lasts ten to fifteen seconds. C. A similar experiences occurs when a person loses their sequence of time while using LSD. D. Doesn't speak to reincarnation. ==================================================================== 09 10/18/05 Mid Term Exam TBA Lecture Read Sagan Chap 24 & Malleus II Chap XI (134-137) -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Mid Term Exam A. Effects of instructions on ESP scores: a. There should not be any difference. b. There WAS a significant difference between scores of those subjects who were told to score low and those who were told to score high. B. Schmidt: Testing Circuit Program (Jahn; Schmidt) [overhead] 1. Best evidence for PK because of a significant deviation that is below chance. a. Chance = 50% b. Clockwise = 49% 2. Psi-missing (p < .001) Deviance is significantly below chance. C. Psychokinesis (PK) versus Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP) Bonded opposite-sex pairs scored higher on PK than same-sex pairs. D. Distance was not an inhibitor for both ESP and PK experiments. E. Psychokinesis and Fraud 1. Uri Geller and "the Amazing Randi" 2. Methods of Testing (Journal Article) 3. There is much more fraud associated with PK than with ESP. Yet another reason why replication is so important in science. F. Poltergeists tend to follow people while ghosts tend to stay in a single location. G. The Placebo Response as a Predictor of the Anti-Depressant Drug Response (overhead) Prevention and Treatment. Vol. I. Article 0002a. 1. The placebo effect accounts for half the effect of anti-depressant medications. 2. The Placebo Effect causes REAL healing as the body's immune system responds to belief. H. Another Methodological Flaw in Research that tried to rule-out the belief component in healing / Efficacy of I. Prayer on Healing a. Who do you assign for a control group? b. Philosophical Intervention? J. 1 Chronicles 21:1 "Adversary of the Court" Census-Taking for the purpose of collecting taxes wish considered most evil by may authors and chroniclers of the time. K. Aldous Huxley: "The Devils of Loudon" (1952) The Prioress said that one of the demons in her belly was successfully removed with an enema of holy water. L. Scientific Explanations for Demonic Possession 1. Multiple Personality Disorder 2. Schizophrenia 3. Hysteria Conversion 4. Sexual Excitement and Repression 5. Histrionic Personality Disorder M. Cultural Differences of Near-Death Experiences 1. India: religious figures are seen "in the light." 2. United States: previously deceased family members and friends are seen "in the light." 3. Christians and Buddhists tend to experience a "tunnel view," while Australians, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans did not. N. Poltergeists tend to follow people while ghosts tend to stay in a single location. -------------------------------------------------------------------- II. TBA Lecture -- Auras A. Are considered representations of life energy by the Psy/New Age udnerground. B. Are considered identical to haloes. C. Those seen around inanimate objects are not considered representative of a life energy, but that of cosmic energy. D. Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan Human beings, Don Juan tells us, 'have no solidity', they are literally 'boundless'. When the shaman's perception is cleansed he is able to see energy as it flows in the universe. In this heightened perception human beings appear as 'fibres of light' that assume the form of 'luminous eggs'. PENGUIN BOOKS 2000 E. Perception 1. Is the mechanism for seeing auras. 2. Is how the brain performs the interpretation. 3. Pecular systems of, are who some persons may be able to see auras while others' cannot. F. Kirlian Photograpny/Kirlian Effect [exam] 1. Cannot be representative of a life force. 2. May represent a cosmic force. 3. Kirlian Photography in the Yahoo! Directory http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Visual_Arts/Photography/Kirlian_Photography/ G. Phantom Auras/Phantom Leaf Effect 1. Represent the existence of a life force which is not dependant on the body. 2. Are attributed by scientists' as a corona from residue left on the plates. ==================================================================== 10 10/25/05 Witchcraft: Folklore & Grimoires The Salem Trials Read Sagan Chap 9 & Malleus I Question VIII (71-73) -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Witchcraft: Folklore and Grimores A. Witch: one who seeks with a supernatural power with the intent to cause harm. Does not include Wiccan witchery. B. White Magic 1. Counter Spells 2. Witch Cake: made with rye and the afflicted person's urine. C. Black Magic: used to harm a witch. D. Belief and expectation can be powerful in terms of doing harm. [overhead] 1. 1942. Voodoo Death Experiments. 2. 1957. Richter Article: "On the Phenomenon of Sudden Death in Animals and Man." a. Demonstrated how the power of belief can harm. b. According the Richter, the helplessness -- not the fear -- is what lead to death by belief. c. Richter "taught" hope to wild mice. E. Malleus Malfecarum I, Question VIII, pp. 71-3 (read!) 1. Refers to the "wickedness of women." 2. Regards all witchcraft as the result of carnal lust. II. The Salem Witch Trials A. Community Context of Salem Village: extremely intolerant. [overhead] 1. The Following were prohibited by law in Salem: http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/STILL6.JPG a. Merry-Making b. Dancing c. Singing love songs [exam] d. Celebration of Christmas and Easter These were considered "pagan" by the Puritans. e. Selected Secular books f. Playing with dolls 1) Dolls can be used in witchcraft. 2) Considered friviolous. 2. Theocracy: law by religion. 3. Books denouncing witchcraft were given entertainment value. 4. People had to leave Massachusetts for religious freedom. B. Timeline 1. 1688. Samuel Parris comes to the community as minister of the church. 2. Parris aligns the the Putnam family and feuds with the Porters. 3. 1692. Severely cold winter. Wars with Native Americans whom the Puritans regarded as "satanic living devils." 4. Clergyman Cotton Mather reports a witchcraft case from Boston and later becomes a "star" in anti-witchcraft. 5. The Puritans were fundamentalists who consider themselves spiritually superior to other religious beliefs, anticipating they would be assaulted by Satan, and took from the book of Leviticus, "... you shall not allow a witch to live." 6. Feb., 1692. Minister's daughter, Betty Parris and Godwin children become strangely ill, all showing similar symptoms and behavior. [exam] 7. For a lack of any physical symptoms, Dr. Griggs prognosed an "evil hand." 8. At the bidding of Mary Sibley, Native American slave of Parris, Titubah bakes a "witch cake," made with rye and the afflicted person's urine. [overhead] 9. People began to question as to who might be tormenting Betty Parris. 10. Among the accused: a. Tituba (Native American Slave) http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/STILL7.JPG b. Sarah Good (Beggar; Misfit) http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/STILL3.JPG http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/STILL8.JPG http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/STILL9.JPG c. Goodie Osborne 11. The Putnams brought forth criminal complaints. 12. John Hathorne appears as a Magistrate. Ancestor to John Hawthorne, the latter who changes his name. C. Court of Oyer and Terminer (1692) http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/Sarah.jpg http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/STIL1.JPG http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/STILL2.JPG http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/STILL5.JPG 1. Created by the Governor of Massachusetts. 2. Is presided over by five judges, which includes three friends of Cotton Mather. 3. "Spectral Evidence" is officially admitted as evidence. Claims by witnesses of seeing a spectre of the witch coming after them. 4. Bridget Bishop's house was searched, revealing in the cellar, puppets stuck with pins, suggesting a Satanic Cult. http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/STILL4.JPG 5. Among the accused are tavern owner John Proctor, who openly denounced the entire proceedings, and ex-minister Burroughs. 6. Nineteen persons were hanged and Giles Gorney was crushed to death by stones for being in contempt of court. 7. Four persons died in prison. 8. With so many accused of witchcraft, people began to doubt the outcome of the proceedings. D. Principles of Increase Mather's "Cases of Conscience" 1. Protect the innocent. 2. Do not include "Spectral Evidence." E. Deodat Lawson's Narrative (1704). Remarkable things confesed by some being suspected of being guilty of witchcraft. F. Magistrate John Hathorne never admitted he was wrong. G. What might have been really going on? 1. Ergot poisoning. 2. The Salem Trials mirrored those of the English. http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/LUTHER.JPG a. Part of a large ecclestiastical tradition occurring on the European continent. b. Before the Protestant Reformation in 1580, few witchcraft trials featured children. c. Afterwards, most involved children and implicated close relatives, especially the mother. d. Theory: children were treated much more harshly in the Protestant tradition than in the Catholic tradition. Nuremburg Sermon of 1527 featured the "Sinfulness of Children." 3. Dr. Pettigrew's Theory a. Mass Hysteria b. Sexual Repression c. Harsh Repression of Children d. Sebald, pp. 92-3: "Characteristics of English Trials." [overhead] 4. How well do children lie? (Hall and Pritchard, 1996) http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/CHILDLIE.JPG ==================================================================== 11 11/01/05 Witchcraft: The Navajo Read Sagan Chap 10 -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Navajo Culture and Witchcraft A. Men are the witches B. The Navajo Way [overhead] http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/HOGANS.JPG C. Navajo Religion: health and sickness. 1. Heathy: in harmony with beauty. 2. Sickness: out of harmony with beauty. a. When one is sick, she or he is taken to a singer so they can be sung back into harmony with beauty. b. A crystal gazer will determine what kind of song a person needs. D. Witchcarft: the art of putting someone out of harmony with beauty. E. Singer are often suspected as witches. F. When a person dies parts of them that are in harmony with beauty will merge with beauty after death. G. Chindi: the evil parts of a person that will not mrege with beauty after death. H. Navajo don't like to be around dead bodies for a very long time because of the chindis. II. Four Kinds of Navajo Witchcraft [overhead] A. Witchery http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/WITCHERY.JPG 1. Witchery preparation. 2. Incest: referes to having relations to anyone in one's clan. 3. Involves more males than females. 4. Killing someone of one's own clan. 5. Is learned. 6. Depends on motives. 7. Includes fee splitting in which one creates the spell, and the other performs the cure. 8. Includes grave robbing. 9. Involves travelling as animals, especially, wolves and coyotes, mostly at night. 10. Includes a sabbath. a. "Bad sing" 1) Block mass. 2) Black sabbath. B. Sorcery http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/SORCERY.JPG 1. Symbolized by lightning. 2. Effigy magic. 3. Sympathetic magic. 4. Chanting good prayers backward. 5. A sorcerer embodies the personal power of an animal. C. Wizardry http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/WIZARDRY.JPG Can be practiced by natural animals. D. Frenzy Witchcraft. http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/FRENZY.JPG Love magic. [For the exam, contrast the various forms of Navaho magic with each other and contrast Navajo with Salem witchcraft.] III. Cures for Navajo Witchcraft [overhead] http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/CURE.JPG IV. Societal Benefits of Witchcraft [overhead] http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/benefits.jpg A. Helps to explain evil in the world. 1. We just don't like for evil things to happen for no reason at all. 2. People are always trying to find meaning in certain events. 3. One can explain undeserved failures and misfortune to moral lapses. B. Alleviates guilt and shame:w C. Unites a community. D. Reinforces pro-social religion. V. Contemporary Issues in Witchcraft A. From "Witches Coven" to "Satanic Cult": we change the name to protect the innocent. B. 88% of protestants believe in a "real devil" a personified evil entity. [overhead] C. URL http://www.thelinkup.com/devil.html 1. Archbiship Milingo, a better exorcist than the Pope? [overhead] 2. Mother teresa undergoes exorcism. http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/MOTHERT.JPG D. Followers of Satan are considered witches. E. St. Peter's Cross is an upside down cross and symbol of St. Peter. http://www.cnn.com/specials/views/y/2000/03/kessel.pope.mar24/ F. Pamphlet: "Satanism & Violence Among Youth: know the Warning Signs. [overhead] from Parkwood Hosptial 1-800-477-3422 G. McMartin Preschool Case (1985) [overhead] 1. Public Hysteria 2. Modern case of witchcraft. H. Dale Akiki Case [overhead] http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/AKIKI.JPG I. Episode of "21 Jumpstreet" [overhead] J. "Are Animals Capable of Telling a Lie?" [overhead] 1. Necessity for survival in the animal world. 2. Example: Koko the Gorilla a. Communication Possibilities. b. ASL American Sign Language. K. "How Well Do Children Lie?" [overhead] 1. Hall and Prichard (1996) "Detecting Malingering and Deception" http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/CHILDLIE.JPG [overhead] 2. Margaret Michaels Case http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/MICHAELS.JPG L. Witchcraft has to do with the alignment with Satan/supernatural with the intent to do harm. ==================================================================== 12 11/08/05 Mediumship / Channeling Hauntings / Angels Read Sagan Chap 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Mediumship / Channeling A. Spiritualism 1. Is the idea that there are certain people who claim to be in touch with the afterlife or spiritual world. 2. I Samuel 31 referes to spiritualism. 3. Spiritualism as a Societal Movement http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/MED1.JPG a. Fox Sisters (debunked) b. Thalium (discredited) c. Houdini B. Investigation of a Medium [overhead] http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/MED2.JPG 1. First Spirit Photograph 2. Indian Brahmin exposed as a fraud in 1906. [exam] C. Carl Sagan did not think Mediumship was worth investigating. II. Hauntings A. The first species to become aware of hauntings were the Neanderthals, as evident because they buried their dead with tools and possessions. B. Categories of the taboo words: all of these words are connected with death and have to do with humans' denial of death especially the death of the soul (i.,e., the afterlife). 1. Scatological: bodily functions and human excrement. a. Feces reminds us of the stench of decay. b. Children are socialized to develop a repulsion to feces and death. 2. Sexual a. Sexual organs are located near the anus. b. Sexuality is an animalistic creative act and reminds us that we are creatures, too. c. Humans like to pretend they are not animals. d. Sex is the instrument of the birth cycle, which is the opposite of death. 3. Religious Often refers to the death of the soul. 4. Ethnicity (more recent): destructive to society. C. Ghosts are reassuring to us. 1. Are usually benign. 2. Can be communicated with through mediumship. D. Pictures of Alleged Hauntings [overhead] 1. The human brain is programmed to see a face. Grilled cheese sandwich example. 2. Evidents th epower of ambiguous stimuly and suggestion. 3. The human brain is prgrammed to see a face and may interpret an image as such. III. Angels A. Genesis 3:23-4 [overhead] Angel guarding the Garden of Eden. B. Son of Increase Mather Cotton Mather believed in Angels. C. Catechism of the Catholic Church [overhead] http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/ANG3.JPG 1. "... truth of faith." 2. "... name of their office." 3. "... what they do." D. "Angel" means, "messinger." Annunciation of Jesus' birth and resurrection. E. London Times article (2000) congregational sightings of "apparations." F. Archangels: named senior angels. G. Crisis Apparations: in times of crisis, people often create their own faith in angels. H. Cloud Angels [overhead] Mason Crain photographs. I. Lucifer was once an angel. "Lucifer" means "bearer of light." ==================================================================== 13 11/15/05 * Term Paper Due * Astrology and Lunacy Read Sagan Chap 4 -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Astrology A. In some ways the mother of astronomy. [exam] B. Influenza 1. Is an astrological word. 2. Means, "Under the influence of the stars." C. Is based upon Synchronicity 1. Is the idea that events which occur at the same time have an influence on each other. 2. Karl Jung 3. Problems a. Some stars may be "dead" at the time a person is born. b. Correlation does not mean causality. D. Astrological systems are geocentric. E. The Zodiac constellations of stars was first named by Ptolemy in the 2nd century C.E. F. Sun Signs: [overhead] what constellation was the sun apparently in when a person was born. G. The Twelve Houses [overhead]: are arbitrary even blocs around which the universe is separated around the earth. [exam] H. Two Technical Problems that Defeat Astrology from Within 1. Two Schools of Thought: There is a disagreement between astrologers over an even or uneven distribution of house divisions. a. Natural Horoscope b. Constellations versus Signs 2. Procession of the Equinox a. The sun signs have move one sign over. b. Astrology is one sun sign off. c. Sun signs are one sun sign off because of procession of the equinox. I. Major Aspects [overhead] 1. Conjunction: close together 2. Opposition 180 degrees apart 3. Trine 120 degrees apart. 4. Square 90 degrees apart. 5. Sextile 60 degrees apart; favorable. 6. Semi- J. Signs, houses, and aspects are a complicated situation to intepret. K. "Aunt Fannie Statements" Are so broad, they can include almost anybody. L. Quadruplicity: three groups divided into four elements. M. Triplicity: four elements divided into three groups. N. Elements: fire, air, earth, water. O. Groups: cardinal, mutable, fixed. P. Astrology Demonstrations [overhead] [exam] 1. Tia Roberts (four years old) out-performed an astrologer and inventor. [exam] 2. Reversed Charts and Cognitive Dissonance. Niehenke (1984); Neher (1980) Participants were unable to differentiate as to whether they had the right or wrong charts. Q. Are the judgements of astrologers using charts better than those who are not using charts? [overhead] (Dean, 1985) Table 4 shows that astrologers are not to be taken seriously. II. Lunacy A. Seasonality and Lunacy of Inmate Behavior [overhead] 1. Pettigrew in "Southern Psychologist" found a significant effect between the distance and the days of the fall moon and violence in inmate behaivor. 2. Figure 1: Inmate violence assocated with temporal distance from the full moon. 3. Hypothesis: all of us are aware of the phases of the moon whether we are conscious of it or not. Fullness of the moon during ancient times may be related to predators and we have an association between light and activity. Therefore, when the moon is full, we may unconsciously become more active, either for positive or negative consequences. 4. Criticism of these Studies a. Ancedotal Reporting from emergency rooms. Selective observations. b. Criticism of Water Hypothesis The moon causes tides in unbounded bodies of water; the water in humans is bounded. 5. Elusory Correllation that fits preconcieved beliefs. ==================================================================== 14 11/22/05 UFO's and Aliens: Archeology Abduction Claims -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. UFOs and Aliens Video Presentation: UFOs: The Best Evidence A. Scientific Controversy and Witness Crediblilty 1. UFO claims represent both heresy and superstition to the scientific community. 2. Scientific publication do not print articles about UFOs or abduction claims out of fear of loss of credulty of funding. 3. The military authorites have ridiculed UFO and abduction claims and are adamant they have no interest in the subject. 4. The U.S. Government funds 50% of all scientific research in this country. 5. The most probable UFO planet in our solar system is Venus. 6. Critique of the Scientific Community a. Lack of scientific feedom. [exam] b. Carl Sagan writes, 1) "The universe is probably brimming over with life 'based upon statistics.'" 2) Sagan is skeptical of the probability that life on other planets would find us. 3) The author writes further that our first contact would be by means of radio waves. c. Sagan is being very reasonable in his writings. B. Roswell (1947) Video Presentation: Unsolved Mysteries 1. Debris field found near Santa Fe, NM near Roswell 2. What was believed to have been a flying saucer was also found. 3. Story was originally released to the press by the U.S. Air Force and then a cover-up began. 4. Probable Reasons for a cover-up a. The Air Force didn't know how to deal with the idea tha foreign craft could so easily fly into their air space. b. This occurred soon after the end of World War Two and the introduction of the atomic bomb, and the air force was apparently helpless in keeping foreign craft out of U.S. air space. 4. Dr. Pettigrew maintains that we need to make a distinction between events that occurred BEFORE the press release about Roswell and AFTER. a. After the press release, imaginations became excited. b. Prior, something very strange did actually occur and information about this occurrence was released to the press. 5. Dr. Pettigrew's explanation: a. Roswell (Area 51) was an area of experimental aircraft development and testing immediately after World War Two and the introduction of the Atomic Bomb. b. Sightings should be attributed to experimental aircraft being tested at Roswell. c. UFO stories may be a cover-up for secret expermental aircraft sightings. 6. Dr. Pettigrew's Rant: The U.S. government's witholding of information after the press release about the sightings near Roswell excited imaginations. II. Archaeology A. Carl Sagan [overhead] [website] [exam] 1. It's likely that the universe is brimming over with life. 2. An estimated billion planets gave rise to technical civilizations at least once. 3. There is almost no chance two galactic civilizations would interact on the same technical level. No "Star Trek" scenes. 4. Radio will be our most likely first contact. 5. The first visual image we send out will likely be Adolf Hitler opening the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. 6. Sagan believed the nearest technological civilization that might be capable of contacting us is at least two hundred (200) light years away. B. The Order of the Dolphins [overhead] Met to discuss the quantitative evaluation of extraterrestrial live. C. Hynek 1. Project Bluebook 2. Close Encounters First No interaction by the UFO with either the environment or the observer, who can see detail on the craft. Second The UFO interacts with the environment and sometimes is witnessed doing so. No alien occupants involved. Animal mutilations. Crop circles. Stalled engines and motors. Power failures. Third Encounters with UFO occupants interacting with either the observer or the environment. Often involves telepathic communcation between the observer(s) and occupant(s) the latter of which tend to be impersonal and unemotional. These encounters are almost always recalled via a state of hypnosis, which is often subject to confabulation, convolution, and excitement of the participant's imagination. 3. The Hynek UFO Report (1952) [overhead] a. Table 11.3 The Great "Flap" of 1952 Peak numbers of sightings occur during the summer, probably because more people are outside during that time of the year. b. Table 11.7 Witness Reliability as a Function of Occupation [exam] 1) Military and airline pilots were among the most likely to mis-identify an Identified Flying Object (IFO). 2) Technical personnel were among the least likely to mis-identify an IFO. c. Explanations for the mis-identification of IFOs: [exam] 1) Hoaxes: very few IFOs turn out to be hoaxes. 2) Natural Phenomena a) Ring around the Sun. b) Sundogs c) Other 3) Preconceptive hallucinations (often of a different form of one's own body). D. Rael and his Followers [overhead] http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/RAEL5.JPG 1. Use biblical scripture to support their religious beliefs; i.,e., 6 Genesis. http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/RAEL.JPG 2. Article: "The Rael Thing" (12 September) by Daphne Gordon, staff reported for the Toronto Star. 3. Article: "Rael Love" 8 March 2000. Montreal Features Raelian Bishop Diane Brisebois 4. Rael considered to be a UFO prophet. 5. The afterlife is planned in the fashion of the first human cloning service, "Clonaid." 6. To support their beliefs, Raelians like to cite: a. 6 Genesis b. Images from human history c. Petroglyphs http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/RAEL3.JPG d. Paintings http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/RAEL2.JPG 1) Madonna with St. Giovanni http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/art4b.jpg 2) Baptism of Christ by Aert De Gelder 3) The Crucifixion Represents personification of the moon. 4) Ume No Chun (Japan, 1803) "Dust of Apricot" http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/RAEL4.JPG 5) Temptation of St. Anthony by Hieronymous Bosch (1450-1516). Central Panel III. Abduction Claims A. Barney and Betty Hill Case 1. Book "An Interrupted Journey" 2. Unexplained two hours of "lost time." 3. Regressive hypnosis was used to determine what happened during those two "lost hours." Hypnosis is notorious for convoluting and confabulating memories and exciting the imagination. 4. Betty Hill described a type of pregnancy test that did not exist until years later. B. The Modal Alien Abduction Experience [overhead] http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/modal1.jpg 1. Sleep Paralysis (Hufford, 1982) http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/SLEEP1.JPG 2. The abductee claims that something strange must have happened (Clancy, et al 2002; Journal of Abnormal Psychology) http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/CLANCY.JPG http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/MODAL.JPG C. Memory Distortion in People Report Abduction by Aliens [overhead] [exam] D. McNally (2002) When listening to their accounts of their own alien encounters, "abductees" exhibited physiological signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the forms of heightened heart rate and increased sweating. E. An Analysis of Data from Three National Surveys [overhead] Unusual Personal Experiences 1. Conduced by the Roeper Organization. 2. Sleep paralysis = experience of "lost time." http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/images/SLEEP1.JPG [exam] 3. More influential Americans reported unusual personal experiences more often than the general sample. [exam] 4. "18-29 year-old age groups wold be greater among the youngest groups" in reporting unusual personal experiences. F. The variety of life on earth suggests that it would be incredulous that life on other planets would be similar to human kind. Such an idea would be known as "antropocentric." ==================================================================== 15 11/29/05 Dark Shamans of Amazonia Read on Website: Olson Witchcraft & Science Article -------------------------------------------------------------------- From Skeptic vol. 1, no. 4, Winter 1992, pp. 34-43 http://www.angelfire.com/psy/rel0/sceptic.doc I. Shamanism A. Definition: entering an altered state of consciousness to commune with a god in order to: 1. Perform magic cures with the power to heal. 2. Harm or destroy with the power to harm. B. Three kinds of Shamans: 1. Pia: mostly perform magic cures. 2. Halleujia (sp?): inspired by Christian missionaries to chant and sing. 3. Kanamina: ritually practice killing by violent mutilation and lingering death. II. Yanomamo Film: "Magical Death" narrated by anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon. A. Ritually use magic in order to kill enemies or opponents at a distance without actual physical assault. Referred to as "... eating the souls of the children of their enemies." B. Don't like to use a person's name, but prefer instead to refer to their family relations. C. Have no single leader but make decisions by consensus, often during inter-village feasts. D. Are an achievement-based society that subsists primarily upon agriculture or horticulture. E. Are located in Northern Brazil and Southern Venezuela (sp?). III. Kanamina A. Spiritually malignant dark shamans of Guyana. B. Maintain a ritual practice of killing as a way of being in the world. C. Ritually practice the mutilation and lingering death of their victims by means of violent mutilation of the mouth and anus. D. Selection of victims is a matter of indifference. 1. The Kanamina have statistically chosen women and children. 2. The presence of one or more poisonous snakes in one's home or dwelling is a nearly certain sign that they are coming. E. "Become" jaguars while hunting and/or stalking a victim. F. Rituals enable the Kanamina to ascent the spiritual ladder by licking the "maba" of the victim's corpse. G. Fit our definition of witchcraft: one who seeks to commune with a supernatural power with the intent to cause harm. Bibliography/Works Cited Whitehead, N. L. (2002). Dark Shamans: Kanaima and The Politics of Violent Death. Duke University Press (ISBN: 0822329883). Whitehead, N. L. & Wright, R. (2004). In Darkness and Secrecy: The Anthropology of Assault Sorcery and Witchcraft in Amazonia. Duke University Press (ISBN: 0822333457). ==================================================================== 16 12/06/05 Enlightenment Mystic Experiences -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Definition A. Enlightenment 1. Definition a. The experience or realization of one's own true nature as not much different from that of the natural world. b. The discovery of one's true nature as being one with that nature of the universe. 2. Dr. Pettigrew believes "realization" is a more accurate term for the experience. 3. Occurs in many cultures. a. Sometimes spontaneously in individuals. b. Othertimes only after years of intense meditation. 4. Some scholars believe that enlightenment/realization forms the basis for all religious beliefs. II. Two Perspectives A. Zen Buddhism http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/glossary_tz.htm 1. Based upon the life and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama around 566-486 B.C.E. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/buddha.htm 2. "Great Doubt" a burning desire to grasp the nature of reality. http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Zen/id/74790 [overhead] 3. Devi asks Shiva 1. "Radiant One, this experience may be drawn between two breaths." 2. Referring to enlightenment/realization. 4. Question: "What is the self?" 5. Differences with Christiantiy: a. Buddha is not God; a Buddha is not a god. b. Anyone can be a Buddha. c. A Buddha is one who has realized the nature of the universe. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/glossary_ae.htm d. Zen Buddhism exists outside -- and is also distrustful -- of scripture and words. e. Does not prostelyze: only those who are most sincere of their "great doubt" would be admitted as a Zen disciple or student. [exam] 6. Koan a. A phrase or saying which is mean to help one unlock the experience of enlightenment/realization. b. A method by which one may get beyond words. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/glossary_fk.htm [overhead] 7. Realization "Disciples there is a realm that goes beyond thoughts." 8. Philosophy of Zen http://www.buddhanet.net/filelib/zenbud/everyday.zip 9. "Birth of Zen" by Christian Humphreys 10. Transmission: occurs when a Zen teacher or master "sees" a disciple or student achieve enlightenment/realization. [overhead] 11. "Little Big Self" [overhead] 12. Four Noble Truths One Existence is Suffering a. Impermanence: fear of losing good things (attachments) one is trying to hold on to. b. Attachment: that which are impermanent, to which one is trying to hold on to, and of which one is in fear of losing. Two The Cause of Suffering is Craving a. Craving: trying to hold on to those things which are impermanent and of which one is in fear of losing. b. Example: "Road Rage": being attached to somewhere else when one is really OK where she or he is. 1) Guilt belongs to the past. 2) Anxiety belongs to the future. c. Bodhisattva: One moved by compassionate zeal to aid fellow beings, hence willing to postpone his or her own entrance into Nirvana to this end. SOURCE http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/glossary_ae.htm Three The Cessation of Suffering in Non-Attachment Four The Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering is the Eight-Fold Path. The path that leads to liberation, consisting of right understanding, right aim, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. SOURCE http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/glossary_ae.htm [overhead] 13. Heart Sutra http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/heartstr.htm [overhead] 14. Mu? (empiness/nothingness) http://www.buddhanet.net/filelib/zenbud/mu.zip a. Compare to Jesus of Nazareth as depicted in the Gospel of Thomas. b. "Let him who seeks continue to seek." -- the Gospel of Thomas c. "Seek not from the Buddha." -- Huang Po (Obaku) d. "Only one koan matters: you!" Ikkyu Roshi (1394-1482) http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/i/ikkyusojun175041.html e. "What is this?" (koan) Bassui http://buddhism.about.com/od/zen/a/Bassui.htm f. "The Cloud of Unknowing" (late 14th century) http://www.ccel.org/ccel/anonymous2/cloud.html "See that in no sense you withdraw into yourself." [overhead] 15. "Don't Know Mind" a. Leonard Cohen b. Angela of Foligno c. St. John of the Cross "... in order to come to union with the wisdom of God." http://www.ccel.org/ccel/john_cross/ascent.iv.v.html (#5) 16. The Beginner's Mind The trick of Zen is to always act as a beginner. 17. Two Style of Zen Buddhism a. Zazen http://buddhism.about.com/cs/zen/a/Zazen.htm b. Renzai http://buddhism.about.com/cs/zen/a/Rinzai.htm 18. The Eternal Now http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1630&C=1597 a. Dogen (1200-1253) Being Time(1240) http://www.wisdomportal.com/Time/Time-Dogen.html b. Ikkyu Roshi "Tommorrow is yesterday." 19. When one becomes "enlightened," one loses enlightenment. 20. The Stench of Zen a. One should not be able to tell if another is enlightened or realized. b. There is only a hair's breadth between realization and illusion. B. The Gospel of Thomas 1. A Document of enlightenment from the Nag Hammandi Library unearthed in 1945. http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gthlamb.html 2. A list of secret sayings attributed to Jesus of Nazareth believed by scholars to be older than the writings of the New Testament. 3. Written for -- and from the point of view -- of the Gnostic Christian community. 4. Protrays Jesus of Nazareth as not necessarily a divine being, but rather an e n l i g h t e n e d one. 5. Represents another way to see him as one who is realized/enlightned or someone who experienced realization/enlightenment. 7. Did not personify Jesus of Nazareth as God incarnate. ==================================================================== 17. Final Exam 12/13/05 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM NO Scan Sheet or Blue Book Required -------------------------------------------------------------------- I. 10/25/05 Witchcraft: Folklore & Grimoires The Salem Trials A. The Following were prohibited by law in Salem: 1. Merry-Making 2. Dancing 3. Singing love songs 4. CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS AND EASTER Believed to be pagan rituals by the Puritans. 5. Selected Secular books 6. Playing with dolls B. Timeline Feb., 1692. Minister's daughter, Betty Parris and Godwin children become strangely ill, all showing similar symptoms and behavior. For a lack of any physical symptoms, DR. GRIGGS PROGNOSED AN "EVIL HAND." II. 11/01/05 Witchcraft: The Navajo For the exam, contrast the various forms of Navaho magic with each other and contrast Navajo with Salem witchcraft. III. 11/08/05 Mediumship / Channeling Hauntings / Angels Carl Sagan did not think Mediumship was worth investigating. IV. 11/15/05 Astrology and Lunacy A. Influenza is an astrological word meaning "under the influence of the stars." B. Two Technical Problems that Defeat Astrology from Within 1. Two Schools of Thought: There is a disagreement between astrologers over an even or uneven distribution of house divisions. 2. Procession of the Equinox C. Astrology Demonstrations [overhead] 1. Tia Roberts (four years old) out-performed an astrologer and inventor. 2. Reversed Charts and Cognitive Dissonance. Niehenke (1984); Neher (1980) Participants were unable to differentiate as to whether they had the right or wrong charts. IV. 11/22/05 UFO's and Aliens: Archeology Abduction Claims A. Carl Sagan writes, "The universe is probably brimming over with life 'based upon statistics.'" B. Military and airline pilots were among the most likely to mis-identify an Identified Flying Object (IFO). C. Hoaxes: very few IFOs turn out to be hoaxes. D. When listening to their accounts of their own alien encounters, "abductees" exhibited physiological signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the forms of heightened heart rate and increased sweating. E. More influential Americans reported unusual personal experiences more often than the general sample. G. "18-29 year-old age groups wold be greater among the youngest groups" in reporting unusual personal experiences. V. 12/06/05 Enlightenment Mystic Experiences Koan: A phrase or saying which is mean to help one unlock the experience of enlightenment/realization; method by which one may get beyond words. ==================================================================== READING LIST FOR PARAPSYCHOLOGY AND RELIGION Allen, T. B. (1993). Possessed: The True Story Of An Exorcism. Doubleday (ISBN 038542034X). Capra, F.(1991). The Tao of Physics. Shambala (ISBN 0877735948). Cardena, E., Lynn, S. J., & Krippner, S. (2000). Varieties of Anomalous Experience. American Psychological Association (ISBN 1557986258). Eysenck, H. J. & Sargent, C. (1993). Explaining The Unexplained: Mysteries of the Paranormal. Prion (ISBN 1853751200). Kluckholn, C. (1993). Navaho Witchcraft. Beacon (ISBN: 0807046213). MacNeice, L. (1964). Astrology. Doubleday (ISBN: 385052456). Moody, R. A. (1976). Life After Life. Bantam (ISBN 553274848). Pagels, Elaine (1996). Origin of Satan: The New Testament Origins Of Christianity's Demonization of Jews, Pagans, and Heretics. Knopf (ISBN: 0679731180). Pike, J. A. & Kennedy, D. (1968). The Other Side: An Account Of My Experiences With Psychic Phenomena. Doubleday (LOCN: 68-29044). Rael (2003). Let's welcome The Extra-Terrestrials. Tagman (ISBN: 1903571286). Rael (2003). Sensual Meditation.  Tagman (ISBN: 1903571073) Sagan, Carl (1997). The Demon-Haunted World: Science As A Candle In The Dark. Random House (ISBN: 0345409469) Starkey, M. L. (1972). The Devil in Massachusetts: A Modern Inquiry into the Salem Witch Trials. Doubleday (ISBN: 0385035098) Summers, M., (Ed., 1971). The Malleus Maleficarum of Heinrich Kramer and James Springer. Dover (ISBN 0486228029). Unger, M.F. (1971). Haunting of Bishop Pike: A Christian View of the Other Side. Tyndale House (ISBN: 0842313400). Whitehead, N. L. (2002). Dark Shamans: Kanaima and The Politics of Violent Death. Duke University Press (ISBN: 0822329883). Whitehead, N. L. & Wright, R. (2004). In Darkness and Secrecy: The Anthropology of Assault Sorcery and Witchcraft in Amazonia. Duke University Press (ISBN: 0822333457). -------------------------------------------------------------------- | Use your browser's [BACK] button to return to the previous menu. | -------------------------------------------------------------------- LAST UPDATED Wed Aug 13 00:54:46 CDT 2008