Interpretation of Psychic Episodes

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 02:54:27 CST
From: larryc@teleport.com (Larry Caldwell)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.paganism, alt.magick
Subject: Re: mental illness vs true visions


In article <33CCC797.268A@worldnet.att.net>, "H.M.1, 2 &3" <opalmc@worldnet.att.net> wrote:

I've never claimed I'm psychic, but I do know for a fact that I've had several psychic experiences in my life... example: a boyfriend in High School was dating a young lady behind my back. I spoke with him every day, saw him every weekend; never once did I receive any open or even covert indication that he was seeing someone else. One night, I had a dream; I saw him kissing a girl who'd I'd only met once at a party. I did not think they even knew each other.(he wasn't at this party) Two weeks later, he told me he'd been seeing this girl for two months.. and that he was leaving me for her. When I asked who she was, he named the girl I'd met at that party. You can call that coincidence or self delusion, as that one individual was doing, but I sincerely think not... and that was ony one incident.... I agree: I think people, if trained, can make the diferentiation between fantasy and genuine psychic impression.

The problem with psychic episodes is all the baggage that people generate to explain them. Then they go on to generate these grandiose moon castles based on very shaky theories.

The most common explanation of psychic episodes is the "radio in the head" theory. You suddenly realize you know something you didn't think you knew, and decide the information was beamed into your head, or perhaps you are a sensitive and can pluck it from the ether somehow. Once you decide you have a radio in your head, you wander off doing all sorts of odd things like beaming messages to God, your sister, or the brain of your favorite racehorse. Life would certainly be interesting if this worked, but it doesn't. Sorry, it's been researched half to death by people who really wanted to make it work, and it never did.

The obvious explanation for your example is the fact that you were in frequent contact with your boyfriend, you had met his new girlfriend, and you were picking up subliminal cues. It may have been her attitude towards you when you met, subtle cues in your boyfriend's behavior, and the faint smell of her spooge on your boyfriend's crotch. Lots of mental processes run in the background. You figured out what was going on and processed the information in a dream before you ever became aware you knew it.

Both interpretations explain the same experience. For some reason, many people find the 'radio' theory more mystical and satisfying than the 'subliminal' theory. They would rather believe that they can zap thoughts around the cosmos than the possiblity that their subconscious is smarter than they are.

The advantage of the 'subliminal' theory is that people can be trained to be more perceptive, and bring those cues to a conscious level. With practice and study, anybody can learn to be perceptive. If you study an herb from seed through flower, learn its growth, smell, taste, medicinal properties, when you look at that herb you perceive much more than someone who does not know. You can say, "This will flower in three days." Many people would think you are predicting the future, when all you are doing is telling what you see.

The question is not whether psychic episodes occur. Of course they do. The question is how they work, and can you make them work under control?

-- Larry