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Media Watch for January 2008 (Issue 77)
Thoughts on Aging: Dr. Ellen Langer studied a group of male volunteers aged 75-80 at Harvard University. The men lived in a closely supervised retreat center where they were instructed to be who they were in 1959 when they would have been considered in their prime. They hung pictures on the walls of themselves in 1959. They watched movies from 1959, had music from 1959 playing on the radio and lived with only things from that time period. Before and after the five days the group was appraised on a number of criteria associated with aging. After the five day experiment, the group dramatically improved on physical health measures such as joint flexibility, vision, muscle, breadth and even on IQ tests. From: Langer, E.J. Mindfulness, Addison Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1989
A Happy Heart is a Healthy Heart: In a study of nearly 3000 adults done by Dr. Andrew Steptoe at the University College, London, people who reported having upbeat moods had lower levels of a “stress” hormone that when chronically elevated could contribute to high blood pressure, suppressed immune function and other problems. Woman in the study who reported positive emotions had lower blood levels of two proteins that are an indication of inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation is believed to contribute to heart disease and cancer.
One possibility that has been brought up in this type of study is that happier people lead more healthful lifestyles. However not all studies have found this to be the case and Steptoe says that, because of this, they have been looking for more direct biological links between positive states and health. He says that current findings are showing that happiness and other positive emotions are “associated with biological responses that are health-protective.… We need to help people to recognize the things that make them feel good and truly satisfied with their lives, so that they spend more time doing these things.” From: “Happiness may be good for your health” by Amy Norton, Reuters Health source the American Journal of Epidemiology, January 1, 2008.
Newborns can have Near-Death Experiences: Dr. P.M.H. Atwater who is an authority on Near-Death Experiences (NDE) and the author of Coming Back to Life and Beyond the Light, says that one third of those who face death are likely to have an NDE but with children the figure is seventy-five percent. Dr Atwater says that “Even newborns can have a near-death experience and tell their parents when old enough to be proficient at language.” From: Fate Magazine, Sept 2007 “Children and the Near-Death Experience” by Brad and Sherry Steiger.
Ghost’s Clothes: An article by Shane McCorristine in the October 2007 Paranormal Review addressed a heated criticism that took place in the nineteenth century over the way Ghosts were attired. One camp felt that if a ghost was an objective reality it should not be seen wearing clothes, it should be ethereal or at the least clothes-less. The fact that most people reported seeing an apparition in clothes of the period during which it was on earth was used to justify contesting arguments that seeing a ghost was a form of “dreaming while awake.” It was Allan Kardec who wrote that spirits needed to present themselves in a manner in which they could be recognized and identified. But no matter spiritualist attempts to explain the clothes of ghosts, it was the concept of hallucinations that gained the most credence and support among the scientific community during that period. The experience of seeing a ghost was said to be a mental creation in which the figures perceived were dressed according to the percipient’s memory of that person. From: Paranormal Review, October 2007, Issue 44, “The Clothes of Ghosts: A survey of a Nineteenth-Century Problem” by Shane McCorristine
Proving Survival: Miles Edward Allen talks about proof of an afterlife in the Summer/Fall Issue of Signs of Life. He discusses the difficulty with proving survival using the scientific method because all outside influences need to be controlled. He explains that the actions of the deceased are beyond our control and so there can be no “scientific proof.” He goes on to say that “those who seek proof must turn to another cultural institution: Our legal system. Using the legal approach, to ask for proof is to ask to be convinced “beyond a reasonable doubt.”… Since everyone is biased one way or another, how much evidence is required to meet this criterion will vary from person to person. Thus, proof is relative, not absolute.” From: Signs of Life a publication of the Forever Family Foundation, www.foreverfamilyfoundation.org
Telepathy: Dean Radin points out that in twenty-five studies conducted to see whether taking aspirin prevents a second heart attack, the overall average showed a small effect of 0.03 but this was large enough for Bayer Aspirin to get approval from the FDA to label the bottle with “…Aspirin can reduce the risk of death if taken as directed by a doctor as soon as a heart attack is suspected.” By comparison, telepathy experiments have shown a statistically significant affect size five times greater and yet telepathy is somehow not considered real. From: Science and the Taboo of Psi by Dean Radin.
31st Annual Society for Psychical Research (SPR): Papers at the 31st annual conference held in the Welsh capital of Cardiff included a mixture of topics including reincarnation, telepathy, paranormal belief, mediumistic experience, and ESP. Steven Parsons and Ann Winsper presented two papers concerning paranormal experiences. The first was research done on a haunted location and the second focused on a survey exploring types of apparitional experiences. They were surprised that a large number of respondents reported that the apparition appeared to be aware of its surroundings. David Fontana questioned why parapsychology has lost interest in survival research and noted that the evidence in favor of survival is stronger today than it has been before. Sylvia Hart Wright presented her paper on the family backgrounds of highly psychic adults. Her research suggests that intensely psychic adults are likely to have suffered severe trauma in their first ten-to-twelve years. Robert Charman’s talk was on spiritual healing, a topic rarely mentioned by the SPR. Charman provided information on studies that raise interesting questions and point out the need for further research in this area. From: Paranormal Review, October 2007, Issue 44, “The 31st SPR Annual Conference in Cardiff” by Hannah Gilbert
Online MSc Program in Parapsychology: Coventry University has offered Undergraduate courses in Parapsychology for over ten year. Students look at extrasensory perception, psychokinesis, mediumship, apparitions, poltergeists, near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences and other phenomena considered paranormal. Students are encouraged to adopt an open but critical approach. In 2006, “The Psychology of Exceptional Human Experiences was offered as a part-time MSc (Masters of Science) course. This course has created interest all over the world and has led to the development of an online MSc in Parapsychology that will be available in September 2008. From: Paranormal Review, October 2007, Issue 44, “Researching the Anomalous” University Based Research Units – Part Two
The Parapsychology Foundation: is a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to the scientific study of psychic phenomena. The Foundation gives grants and maintains the Eileen J. Garrett Library with its collection of more than 12,000 volumes and 100 periodicals on parapsychology and related topics. They have a wide range of information on no less than four websites: www.parapsychology.org , www.pflyceum.org , www.psychicexplorers.org and www.psi-mart.com .
Psychic Phoneline Makes Big Bucks: The author of a piece on the Irish psychic phoneline service called Psychic Live, and one of the most successful psychic phonelines in the world, called his reading with one of their phone psychics a ripoff with half an hour of nebulous rambling. But Realm Communications, the company that runs Irish Psychics Live, made more than €5 million in profits last year. It has 40,000 regular users and over 100 psychics. From: Independent.ie “space-cadet,” Sunday November 25 2007. |
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