http://www.sheldrake.org/contr.../telepathy_tape.html

http://www.sheldrake.org/

I'm a believer. Elder Joseph, a hesychast in 20th century Russia,
was reportedly able to know the whereabouts and goings on of his monks outside the skete. 40% of widows report contact with their deceased husbands,
up from 5% forty years ago. I think they were just
afraid to speak up in days past. Some day we'll know more.

However, I do not recommend seeking such experiences or dabbling with occult practices.

God has been known to speak in dreams and visions.

caritas,

mm <*)))))><

"Elder Joseph, a hesychast in 20th century Russia, was reportedly able to know the whereabouts and goings on of his monks outside the skete."


And it proves why the orthodox monks are so much more ascetical than their Roman cousins . . . . .

Sorry MM, I just interloped from Brad's drunken New's Year thread . . . .

Sorry MM, I just interloped from Brad's drunken New's Year thread . . . .

[Sound of incoherent ramblings coming from afar punctuated by an angry shout of "Quit with the non-sequiturs up there. I'm trying to get some sleep!]

Unlike the west, they never have left belief in magic and faith healing. Oh those Rooskeys!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin

As far as New Years revelry and debauch, take lessons from a master.(Rated "R"- enter at your own risk.)

http://www.rotten.com/library/...historical/rasputin/

Yes, mystics frequently go wrong, very wrong indeed.

lecheroustreacherous.org

Although I sincerely believe in these charisms, thay have been faked and commercialized so often by modern televangelists and theosophists of a century
ago, that much caution and discernment seems prudent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Mesmer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svengali

Nevertheless, one need look no further than Luke's
Acts of the Apostles and Paul's epistles to see how these giftings operate and may be advantageous
to the Body of Christ. Kids, don't try this at home.

caritas,

mm <*)))))><

w.c., sorry if I derailed the topic. Sheldrake
has a way of popping up every couple of years with more about this. It's the kind of thing PBS shows on "Thinking Allowed."

http://www.thinkingallowed.com/

http://www.intuition.org/idxtran.htm

http://www.mishlove.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/s...lowed&uri=2Fradio42F

caritas,

mm <*)))))><

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,143737,00.html


Interesting, but predictable, that researchers would attempt to rationalize animal behavior in terms of the prevailing reductionistic scientific model. Sheldrake's study (see link in first post of this thread )of animals who anticipate their owners' arrivals suggests a psychic component to the behavior, but mainstream science is completely averse to this notion. A scientist quoted in the above article says it will take centuries before there's any certain explanation, which I guess is the closest they can come to admitting a possible explanation from outside their own paradigm. Perhaps the scientist who made this remark was intending to say something about the politics of science rather than the actual state of current research.

http://www.ions.org/research/dh/studies.html


Here is perhaps the best single link for a look at research reviews on parapsychology. Try as it may, mainstream, reductionistic science simply cannot come up with better explanations for the results. In fact, they have mostly abandoned the dialogue. Just a look at the "Skeptical Inquirer" shows they are only tolerant of very fringe notions, like UFO events, and poltergeists. The most replicable-type studies they tend to avoid.

Here are some other links where mainstream criticism of psi claims can be found:

http://www.imprint.co.uk/jcs.html

http://www.imprint.co.uk/jcs_10_6-7.html

http://consciousness.arizona.edu/

I just spoke with someone who has seen the dead on
many occasions, sometimes people he knew who had died suddenly. I am absolutely convinced that it is real for those who experience it. Whether they see
and hear with the mind or spirit or their real eyes
and ears I cannot say. I personally have not had any
clairvoyance or clairaudience, but some have entertained angels unawares.

I guess I am one who believes in the supernatural.
Those who do not provide some balance for people like me.

believingthomas.com

Years ago I read a book by a Trappist (Alois Weisinger) entitled Occult Phenomena. I'm sure it's out-of-print now, but if you can get ahold of one, it's a real gem, not just for it's treatment of this topic, but for it's scholarship and approach as well -- the latter being Thomistic. He wasn't debating whether psychic phenomena take place, as the lives of the Saints and even non-mystical types show evidence of psi phenomena at times. What he was doing was giving an accounting of how we might understand these phenomena in terms of our human nature.

For Weisinger as all classical writers, these aren't viewed as supernatural phenomena, but as preternatural ones. The supernatural is reserved for the realm of the divine, while preternatural is in the realm of the spirit. Weisinger accounted for psychic phenomena by noting that human beings have a spiritual soul whose potential is not completely exhuausted in maintaining the life of the body and lower operations of the mind. He called this the "partly body-free soul," not the catchiest of terms, but one that describes how it can be that part of our consciousness can function in realms that seemingly transcend space and time.

I thought Weisinger's insights here were very good. What they affirm is that we all have latent psychic abilities that might manifest at certain times, and especially so in individuals with heightened spiritual development. His approach, following St. Thomas, also explains how one can actually communicate with one's angel, or even other spirits telepathically. It was a fascinating book that I might see about obtaining permission to scan and post on this site. Although different from the kinds of studies being pointed out on this thread, it provides a sound metaphysical foundation for understanding these matters.

I think I would want to call or email this place before ordering to make sure it was legit and/or still in business, but I found a potential source for that book, Occult Phenomena in the Light of Theology, here.

That's the book, Brad. I wasn't aware it had been reprinted. I wonder if it's public domain?

I wonder if it's public domain?

I�m still searching but I�ll be darned if I can find out that info. I did find another source for the book at Alibris. They list only a used price which is $15.83. It lists the publisher as Newman Press from Westminster, MD.

There�s also a Burns & Oates London publisher mentioned from the Alibris site but I can�t find a site for them in order to get contact information.

You could go ahead and post the book and we�ll help you with legal fees if you run into problems. I don�t quite how to determine if a book is in the public domain but it sure doesn�t look like anyone is doing anything but selling used copies of it.

That's right, Newman Press, which I think Paulist bought out years later.

Maybe I'll contact Paulist Press to see if they still have rights to it. Maybe the Cistercians do. I don't know, but I'm glad to see it's still available.

Well, the web site for Paulist Press comes up empty on a search for Occult Phenomena in the Light of Theology

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