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Extrasensory perception (ESP)
Example of a subject in a Ganzfeld experiment. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Extrasensory perception (ESP) is a type of alleged psi phenomena. ESP is sometimes used as an umbrella term for many types of alleged paranormal phenomena but it properly refers to the ideas of telepathy (reading another’s thoughts) and clairvoyance (‘seeing’ without the eyes).
Some Fundamentalist, Protestant and Catholic Christians have a knee-jerk reaction to this idea, saying ESP is the workings of Satan, a delusion or evidence of mental illness. However, in Catholicism some of the more advanced saints claim to have been given similar gifts, usually called the reading of hearts. Indeed, some Catholic mystics claim to know another’s thoughts and/or feel their emotions near or at a distance with no observable cues.
Reading of Hearts. The knowledge of the secret thoughts of others or of their internal state without communication is known as reading of hearts. The certain knowledge of the secret thoughts of others is truly super-natural, since the devil has no access to the spiritual faculties of men and no human being can know the mind of another unless it is in some way communicated. But knowledge of the secrets of another’s heart may be conjectured by the devil and transmitted to a person, or they may be surmised by a deluded individual who takes his conjectures to be supernatural illuminations.¹
From the above it should be clear that Catholics – or, at least, sane Catholics – are cautious when it comes to mysticism. Central to Catholic mysticism is the idea of discernment or “the discernment of spirits.” Discernment is said to be a gift and acquired ability that enables one to differentiate supernatural experiences and abilities that come from God from those that do not.
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¹ AUMANN, J. “Mystical Phenomena.” New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Vol. 10. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 105-109. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.
Relates Posts » Alien Possession Theory, Paranormal, Randi (James), Psychokinesis, Remote Viewing, Sheldrake (Rupert)
Related articles
- Empath (earthpages.wordpress.com)
- ESP: how it works (holykaw.alltop.com)
- How to identify your extrasensory perception? (using-spiritual-energy.blogspot.com)
- Do You Have ESP Abilities? (towardstomorrow.net)
- The Psychic Life (theosophywatch.com)
- Unverified Results: The History of Scientific Research into ESP [Pseudoscience] (io9.com)
- Politics & NWO – Re: THE ESP OF ESPIONAGE: REMOTE MIND-CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES (disclose.tv)
- Play Dr. Peter Venkman (On Your iPhone) [IPhone] (kotaku.com)
Shinto
Shinto by Chang'r
Shinto (The way of the kami)
This Japanese folk religion has gone through many changes since its inception in the 8th century BCE and it’s still alive and well in Japan and beyond.
Shinto shrines can be seen dotting the Japanese hillsides and groves as pilgrims make their way to pay their respects or ask a favor from a venerated ancestor.
Today, small shrines have made their way into numerous private homes, not unlike the private Hindu puja.
Shinto ancestor veneration may be directed towards imperial notables or, on a smaller scale, deceased family members.
All objects of devotion are said to share to varying degrees a spiritual essence or power called kami. Kami is found not only in the spirits of the dead, however. It may exist in a mountainside or any natural object evoking a high degree of wonder and awe.
Some say Shinto is not a formal religion as it is based more on ancestor worship than devotion to a transcendent deity (or deities). It does, however, contain the idea of transcendence, which most agree is crucial to a definition of religion.
As with Greek, Roman, Indian and Chinese thought, the line between revering a deceased culture hero and a full-fledged god is often a very fine one.
On the Web:
» Adherents of all religions, Ancestor Cults
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Vampires
Vampires
Legends about vampires or vampire-like beings have flourished throughout world folklore, to include the regions of India, China and Greece.
The current incarnation of the vampire is usually traced back to Eastern European myths and superstitions that inspired several vampire novels, the most enduring being Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897).
In the eighteenth-century, Eastern European reports of vampirism ran high, taking two sometimes related forms of
- Physical vampirism – robbing another person’s vitality by drinking their blood.
- Spiritual vampirism – psychic possession of another person’s free-will and theft of their vitality.
Traditionally, vampires are said to reside in or around graveyards, having a strong aversion to daylight. They rise only at night to freely select their victims.
Repelled by the cross, these agents of darkness are known as the ‘undead.’
In the 1970s and ’80s moviegoers dressed up as characters and recited lines from the film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, perhaps entering into a state of consciousness which anthropologist Lévi-Bruhl called participation mystique.
A more recent newspaper report of alleged vampirism in Toronto tells of a man who forcefully cut and drank the blood of a young woman.
At first the woman was horrified and pressed charges, resulting in the aggressor’s imprisonment. Over time, however, she began to feel united and in love with him, visiting him in prison on a daily basis.
Paranormal researchers and psychics generally explain vampirism in terms of a restless earth-bound spirit or so-called ‘tramp soul’ that gains control of psychologically weak and vulnerable individuals.
By way of contrast, vampire nightclubs seem to be harmless, non-violent and socially acceptable outlets for individuals seeking to experience the numinous aura of the Jungian shadow.
A comparable situation might be the upstanding priest who enjoys horror movies during his off-hours.
But clearly not everyone can keep a mature, adult perspective on vampires. Violent murders have been committed by teens in vampire cults who take the Goth lifestyle to its tragic extreme.
» Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dracula, Lycanthropy, Swedenborg (Emanuel), Transmigration, Werewolf
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Yuga
Yuga
In Hindu Vedic and Puranic cosmology, a yuga is an extremely long time period, especially when measured on the human scale.
The Hindu conception of the yuga suggests that time itself differs for gods and humans.
In the Mahabharata an entire human year translates into a single day for the devas.
Each of the four different Yugas represent four general ages of the devas.
As with the ancient Greek and Hebraic sense of time, these ages progress from an initial, ideal Golden Age (Krita yuga) to increasingly corrupted ages.
The four Yugas and their human equivalents
are:
| Yuga | Deva Years | Human Years |
| Krita | 4800 | 1,728,000 |
| Treta | 3600 | 1,296,000 |
| Dvapara | 2400 | 864,000 |
| Kali | 1200 | 432,000 |
| Mahayuga (Great Yuga)* | 12,000 | 4,320,000 |
A single day for the god Brahma is 1,000 Mahayugas (4,320,000,000 human years). One year for Brahma is 1,555,200,000,000 human years. Brahma’s life span is 155,520,000,000,000 human years.
All this indicates that Brahma exists in an entirely different time frame than human beings.
An arguably mythical, quasi-scientific scheme like this may seem irrelevant to contemporary thinkers but it points to the notion, worth considering, that the universe contains different yet interacting regions of space-time, each region containing its own unique properties and beings. » Mahabharata, Puranas, Ragnarok, Veda
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*A Mahayuga (Great Yuga) is one complete cycle of the four Yugas.
Table condensed from Keith R. Crim (ed.) The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. New York: Harper & Row, 1989, pp. 818-819.
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![Varhaug old church (Long exposure) [Explored #4]](http://static.flickr.com/7389/8753098499_c0604184a6_m.jpg "Varhaug old church (Long exposure) [Explored #4]")
