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DOME - Development of Mental Energy (tm) USER REFERENCE GUIDE Please read the information contained in this guide to learn how to operate the program to your best advantage. Included here are theories behind its design and strategies to obtain the best possible scores. It is especially important that you refrain from selecting User Start on the program menu until you fully understand its significance. (Use Demo Start to evaluate DOME.) If you haven't done so already, please read the file DOME.PRE before using the program. You can print the file by typing TYPE DOME.PRE >LPT1 at the DOS prompt. Do not in any way edit the file DOME.TXT as doing so may result in program failure when viewing the User Guide or Psi Reference. Program documentation (info contained in DOME.TXT and DOME.PRE) is copyright (C) 1991-92 by Project Dome. All rights are reserved. Table of Contents Section ViewPage I Introduction 3 II The Menu Functions 9 III Running the Exercise 18 IV Strategies for Using DOME 21 V Everyday Aspects of Psi 25 INTRODUCTION Psi testing has traditionally been performed in a laboratory setting where subjects have been selected to participate in an experiment designed to allow for the demonstration of a subject's presumed clairvoyance, telepathy, psychokinesis, etc. Over the last few decades, large numbers of test results which are claimed to undeniably prove the existence of psi phenomena now comprise a great deal of the published literature on the subject. Although some of the test results seem to suggest, due to their extreme chance improbability, the workings of paranormal interaction, it has been later found that many of the experiments yielding these impressive results did not hold up to careful scientific scrutiny. Critics of the field have found most of the experiments to be seriously methodologically flawed, lacking adequate controls in many cases and thereby introducing the possibility of results obtained by trickery on the part of the subject. Because researcher bias can often also be an issue, other results were suspect in that they might have been faked. In essence, when deliberate researcher fraud or subject trickery could not be directly attributed to the reported results, neither could otherwise be totally ruled out. Furthermore, when subjects producing extraordinary results in a number of cases were subject to testing repeated by critical investigators using necessary, more stringent controls, the results were seemingly and oddly never repeatable. While parapsychologists have felt that some of the better-designed experiments have more than demonstrated actual psi abilities, critics of the field remain steadfast to this day in saying that better techniques and proof are required before science will be ready to open itself up to the acceptance of psi. The more traditional of the psi testing techniques has been with a widely used pack of 25 ESP cards. One of five symbols (circle, square, cross, star, or three wavy lines) appears on the faces of each of the cards and there are 5 cards bearing each symbol. A subject undergoing testing would exercise his/her presumed clairvoyance by guessing the symbol (or target) appearing face down on each card. So, there would be 25 guesses (or trials) in each pass (or run) through the ESP deck. In one run of the deck, 5 cards guessed correctly (hits) would correspond exactly to chance. The more cards guessed correctly over 5, the more likely to be due to something other than chance, presumably ESP. Not unexpectedly, skeptics have condemned tests of this type as being fraught with error, a major one dealing with the result of manufacturing inconsistencies in the design quality of the cards themselves. This may reportedly allow cards to be identified by visual cues, registering subconsciously or otherwise, which may exert a scoring bias after several runs of the ESP deck. Over the years, one of the more promising concepts in the area of psi testing has been the creation of automatic recording mechanisms to eliminate the possibility of recording errors, especially those arising out of an inherent bias on the part of the experimenter. These mechanisms, when used in conjunction with an automated (self-sustained, random, and controlled) testing procedure, not subject to flaws and therefore biases inherent in a human-administered system, may perhaps be the only chance parapsychology has to prove itself as far as psi testing is concerned. The workings of the DOME program are based on the aforementioned concept. DOME is a completely automated system in which the user guesses the nature of the target (one color out of a possible four, in this case) as pre-determined by the computer. Scores are saved automatically if you choose to save them before you begin the user run, not after. This way there can be no recording bias by choosing not to save the scores of lesser significance (closer to chance). Once a user run is started, the resulting score will be saved whether significant or not. The length of the run is user selectable (20, 30, 40 trials). Hence, exactly chance scoring varies with the trials selected (5 hits/20 trials, 7.5/30, 10/40, on average). DOME brings the practice of psi testing home to you. Anyone can participate in using the exercise. Whether you do or do not believe in the existence of psychic abilities, DOME is infinitely worth trying to see if your beliefs have an effect on your ability to achieve significant scores. Parapsychologists generally feel that it helps to believe in order to score significantly above chance on an ESP exercise. Some researchers using automated testing systems, enhanced by feedback signaling to the user, have reported positive results with their continued use on subjects. Feedback lets the user know right away whether or not a trial has been guessed correctly. DOME employs an audio-visual feedback system, thereby providing the user with dual instant knowledge of the correctness of each impression received on a psychic (or intuitive) level as each trial is guessed. Here, if psi is in fact responsible for any extra-chance scoring, the possibility arises that this feedback system might be used to help an individual learn to recognize immediately which feelings were associated with the correct impressions, hits resulting. If, through this recognition enhancement aspect, these abilities can be developed to the point where they can be relied upon, they may prove invaluable for countless situations in everyday life. THE MENU FUNCTIONS DOME's menuing system makes it easy to get around and use the program's features. Menu items may be selected in a couple of different ways. You may use the left/right and up/down arrow keys or press the key corresponding to the first letter of an item on the menu bar to move the menu highlight to the desired choice. Then to execute, either press <Enter> when at the highlighted selection or just simply press the displayed function key of your selection. | DOME | The psi exercise is initiated via this menu selection. The computer will run the exercise according to the settings you have chosen from the other menus. Demo Start and User Start function in exactly the same manner except for one important difference: Demo Start will not permit the saving of scores whereas User Start will save them automatically at the end of a run. The following note will explain the reason for this distinction. IMPORTANT: Since scores will automatically be saved, select User when you are genuinely attempting the exercise. Yet, good reasons exist why you might choose the Demo over the User function. Select Demo Start when: >> You are new at using the program and would first like to familiarize yourself with the feel and layout of the exercise >> You are demonstrating to others how the program works >> You are not really serious about trying to do your best or you are not in the necessary frame of mind to interact properly In addition, please keep in mind that should you choose User Start, be prepared to complete the entire exercise, as there is no way to cancel a User run. And since every score is destined to be saved at the outset of the User run, you should be somewhat prepared to try your best at the exercise. The section on strategies will provide some guidelines on how to do this. | Mode | The manner in which the computer generates the target colors for the trials of each run is decided by which mode has been set beforehand. In ESP mode, the computer has randomly chosen a target color which it holds in memory until a trial is guessed, immediately after which point the true target color is displayed. ESP, namely that of clairvoyance, would then presumably be responsible if significantly scoring runs were attained in this mode. In PK mode, the computer randomly and very rapidly cycles the four target colors in memory while it awaits your choice. When you interrupt the cycle by making your choice, the target color held in memory at the interruption point is displayed. PK (specifically micro-PK, or small-scale psychokinesis) would be responsible if the user (agent) was in some way exerting a mental influence as to cause minor shifts in the processing speed of the computer and therefore in the speed at which the computer cycles the target colors. The net result would presumably be a coinciding of the color chosen by the user with the target color held in memory at the exact moment in time. Then there is a problem of multiple interpretation. In PK mode the possibility exists that ESP is really responsible and not PK, or a combination of both. ESP could be at cause if the user is clairvoyantly or, better yet, precognitively picking up the target color in computer memory (or the target that will be in memory, in the case of precognition) at the exact moment a color is chosen and thus the cycle is interrupted. You may find that you receive psychic impressions of the correct color (due exclusively to ESP, by definition) in either mode. In PK mode, whether you are successful at willing your choice of the correct color (due to micro-PK) or whether you receive impressions in a similar manner to that of the ESP mode (due to precognition or clairvoyance), neither is the important issue. What is important is to utilize any method whatsoever which works best for you. In fact, you may want to stick with whichever mode produces your highest scoring, as the emphasis is on psi utilization in general. It may be best to think of the mode (PK or ESP) as referring more to the method of target color generation than to the actual underlying psi process which allows you to score a hit. Please note that a definitive test of effects due to micro-PK can only be accomplished through a system which utilizes a method of true random target generation, where the user tries to affect the outcome of the randomized process by "causing" certain targets to be generated over others. In computer systems (like the one you are using) the random process is algorithmically generated (i.e., according to a formula), which is to say the process is not truly random, but rather simulated, or pseudo- random. In other words, no way exists to mentally influence a change in the generation of targets since their outcome is predetermined for any point in the cycle. | Trials | The number of guess attempts in one run, i.e. the length, of the exercise is set by selecting this item on the menu. You are encouraged to stay with the Trials setting(s) of your preference. If you feel that 30 or 40 trials is too lengthy, stick with 20 trials per run, especially if you feel that your scoring rate has exhibited a tendency to decline over the course of a lengthy run. | Options | Color 1 and Color 2 set the screen environment inside the target area and outside, respectively. Scroll through the available colors by using the up/down arrow keys, then set by pressing <Enter> or cancel by pressing <Esc>. You may find that certain screen colors, when suited to your tastes, appear to enhance your performance at the exercise. Incidentally, they will probably be the colors that make you the most comfortable and allow you to focus by putting your mind at ease. The sound feedback setting (on/off) may be also chosen under Options. | Scores | Choosing View on the menu will display the highest scores, categorized by trials, that have been achieved throughout your use of the program. The window is divided into an upper portion, which shows the top ten highest individual runs on record, and a lower part, displaying the top nine high score frequencies (number of times each score has been achieved) and run total (T) for the mode on which you are currently set (PK or ESP). Only record high scores are displayed, as these are the ones you want to beat. In order to know whether you have demonstrated actual psi abilities, you need to have your complete sample of scores evaluated by us. Use Mail on the Scores menu when you are ready to send us the scores. Since the program does not limit the number of scores it will accept as your sample, you must arbitrarily decide when to send them in. As a general rule, the more times you have used the exercise (and therefore the more scores you have saved), the better. At the very least, you should have run the exercise at least 20 to 30 times under at least one set number of trials. Lesser numbers of scores can still be evaluated, but may not give as good a picture of your true performance. After you have entered (or reviewed) in the registrant information window your name and full return address (with zip code, please), press F1 to print the scores. Do not worry about understanding what's on the printout, as the data is printed in a format which allows us to best analyze it. Additional information appearing on the printed sheet is also helpful to us by providing info about user preferences. No timed deadline exists by which we must receive the score printout, so there is no need to rush through the exercises. In fact, you may find that you achieve higher scores if you take your time and not attempt too many runs over too short a period of time. Scores can only be saved and later printed from within a registered copy of DOME. | Info | In addition to providing you with the ability to view the entire User Guide and Psi Reference from within the program, the Info menu allows you to print the registration form and Project DOME questionnaire by choosing Registration. Type your name and full return address including zip code in the appropriate input fields in the registrant information window, then press F1 to print. The registrant information is saved and utilized again when you select Mail on the Scores menu. RUNNING THE EXERCISE Once the exercise has been initiated via the selection of either Demo Start or User Start on the program menu, you may begin to use the key controls to select the target color of your choice. The target colors, and their associated key controls, are as follows: red, up arrow; yellow, down arrow; blue, left arrow; green, right arrow. The Num Lock may be in either setting. For ease of use, you can simulate the arrow key configuration of the AT-style, 101 keyboard with the Num Lock in the on setting and the center numeric key (number 5) doubling as the down arrow key (yellow). This configuration permits the resting of three fingers in a row on the controls, with the middle one controlling up and down. For each trial, you will notice that the color box corresponding to your key press becomes highlighted. At the same moment, the true target color is displayed in the appropriate box, remaining on screen for a predetermined amount of time (between one and two seconds) before it clears. Through this visual feedback, you will know instantly if your choice for the trial is correct (hit) or incorrect (miss). It is not necessary to wait for the screen to clear to move on to the next trial; choose targets at your own pace. The computer has already generated the next successive target while revealing the current target on screen, in ESP mode. In PK mode, the rapid-generation cycling of targets is ongoing at all times during the run. In addition to the visual feedback, a tone is sounded, having a high pitch for a hit or a low pitch for a miss. This auditory feedback can be enabled/disabled by selecting on the Options menu. You may view your status during a run by pressing <Ctrl-S> when in between trials, i.e., when boxes are empty. The status will inform you of the number of trials remaining, as well as how many hits have been achieved and the current settings. When a run ends, the proportion of hits in comparison to the outcome for each color is displayed by way of a hit scale. With the hit scale, you can visually tell which color targets you may have been inclined to guess correctly over any others. The upper graphic depicts (approx.) the actual number of correct guesses for each color (bar) over the actual outcome of each color (line), with the highest outcome number (the measure) displayed on the axis of the scale. These hits can also be viewed, in the lower graphic, as a percentage of outcome for each color (approx.). In terms of significant scoring, you should try to achieve high scores as far from chance as possible. Chance scoring is as follows: for 20 trials, 5 hits; for 30 trials, 7 or 8 hits; for 40 trials, 10 hits. In order to determine actual significance due to psi (as opposed to chance) a complete set of user scores must be statistically analyzed. Project DOME will do this for you when you mail us your scores. STRATEGIES FOR USING DOME Before you begin an exercise, you should be in a mentally relaxed state, while remaining both alert and receptive at the same time. You should also be comfortably situated with no one around to disturb you, without distraction and under no time restrictions. Clear your mind completely. Remove all worry and doubt, otherwise you will restrain or completely suppress your mental powers. For honest skeptics, at least for the duration of the exercise, you must be willing to believe that you can rely on your psi faculties in order to score significantly. Faith in your abilities is fundamental to scoring well. Once this proper frame of mind is attained, begin the exercise by focusing your attention on the color boxes in the target area. You may now confidently await impressions of the correct target color. Do this with eyes either open or closed, whichever works best for you. Impressions will register as transient mental images and sudden feelings which impart a distinct, positive sensation about the correctness of the target. For example, you may perceive the target color as a mental flash and then score a hit by pressing the associated key for that target. An impression may also be felt in terms of the direction of the target, if not by color alone. Oftentimes, the first impression received intuitively is the correct one. In PK mode, when trying to influence target outcome, along with maintaining a firm conviction, your visualization of your selected target is helpful just before pressing the proper key. Psychically derived information registers at a specific level within the subconscious in a mentally unprocessed or elemental form. This registering occurs independantly of the conscious mind and its associated use of the five senses. When receiving psi impressions, you must take precaution against conscious interference (reasoning, imagination) which can lead you to incorrectly second guess your true intuitive impression of the correct color. Any guesses you make on the basis of conscious reasoning will generally not produce significant scoring. An example of this occurs when you try to figure out, on any successive trial, which target is most likely the correct one based on previous trial outcomes. Searching for a pattern or method by which to deduce your choices will not work as the target generation is random anyway. To aid you in suppressing conscious interference, keep your attention focused on the target area. It is not necessary to rush through the trials of a run; you determine your own pace. Take as long as you need to guess each trial. If you fail to perceive a target, avoid forcing your selection. Rather, while maintaining a relaxed and focused state of mind, try directing to your subconscious, for example, the following suggestion: "Reveal to me what is the true color of the target." With confidence, anticipate an impression of the correct color to then arise. Practice is essential in order to become skilled at using your psi ability. However, do not attempt too many runs in one sitting, especially if you notice a decline in your scoring. Take breaks, as many and as often as required to restore your ability to perform well. Concern yourself with the trial at hand only; to consciously dwell on past scores may interfere with your psi abilities in the current run. Stay motivated and keep a positive outlook, even if your scoring is falling short of expectation. It is unreasonable to expect high scores all the time, and it is expected that you will achieve chance and even below-chance scores occasionally. In fact, psi significance is determined by analyzing the achieved frequencies of all scores. Even if despite your best efforts you feel that you have failed to produce your desired scores, do not be discouraged. Psi effects are often subtle, and will perhaps show up only after the analysis of your complete set of scores has been performed. EVERYDAY ASPECTS OF PSI People who attune themselves to their psi abilities have reported advantages which enable them to live more secure, well- informed lives. The intuitive level of the subconscious is believed to protect the self by constantly monitoring the environment (through psi) for knowledge of events or circumstances of essential importance to the individual. Conscious awareness of this psi-derived information can be of assistance by guiding the individual to make the correct decisions in life. By relaxing and inwardly focusing the attention of the conscious mind, clairvoyant or precognitive information may be obtained in the form of impressions, i.e., images or feelings, which register abruptly and then quickly vanish. Impressions, when accepted at face value, should provide an individual with the required knowledge to take the proper course of action when faced with many decisions. However, imagination and reasoning may interfere and incorrectly modify the impression, thereby reducing its effectiveness in decision-making, so you must be careful when interpreting your impressions. In telepathy, another reported psi function, thought messages are communicated by one individual, the sender, into the mind of another individual, the receiver. Telepathically received impressions register in a similar manner as clairvoyance above, with the addition of the receiver concentrating on the sender as well as the impending thought impression. When sending thoughts to someone else, visualization of what you want to communicate is important. Reinforced by strong feelings, images or thoughts should be projected into the mind of the individual on whom you are concentrating (the receiver). As a general rule, always remember, whenever using psi abilities, the importance of faith and conviction cannot be overstressed. The importance of practice should not be forgotten either. The aforementioned summary is provided mainly as a preface to psi's everyday uses. Much has been written about the potential applications of psi and how to make full use of such abilities to work to one's advantage in everyday living. When you register, the titles of some good reference works on the subject will be provided. These will offer much more detail on the subject and can be used to enhance your study and to further your psi development. DOME - Development of Mental Energy (tm) PSI REFERENCE Some of the ideas presented in DOME are part of a larger field of study known collectively as parapsychology, or psiology, the study of psi. Though only some types of phenomena in this field are directly relevant to the DOME program, others are of added interest to Project DOME from a standpoint of human experience as reported by individuals on occasion. What follows is a summary, by no means complete, of some of the major phenomena reported, as well as a mention of some of the surrounding issues of the field. Please be aware that Project DOME does not intend to endorse any particular viewpoint over another, but rather would serve to provide information in these areas as they are interpreted by those who are involved in their study. Text is Copyright (C) 1991-92 Project Dome. All Rights Reserved. Table of Contents Section ViewPage I Introduction 3 II Types of Psi ESP 8 PK 12 "Survival" Phenomena 15 III Problems In Parapsychology 22 IV Ufology and "Alien" Encounters 26 INTRODUCTION Those involved in the field of parapsychology concern themselves with the understanding and explaining of certain kinds of occasionally reported occurrences which appear to lie outside the realm of normal experience. Specifically, these phenomena, labeled as "psi" (pronounced "sigh"), deal with an individual's interaction with the external environment through a process as yet unknown to conventional science. Such interactions can be divided into two basic types: that of informational psi, or extrasensory perception, known also as ESP, and that of influential psi, or psychokinesis, known also as PK. A third area of interest deals with the question of whether living beings possess a spirit which can survive the death of the physical body and subsequently interact with the living. This is referred to as the "survival hypothesis". Occurrences claimed to be due to psi fall into individual categories based on their characteristics, as explained in the following section, "Types of Psi". Oftentimes these categories are not well-defined, especially when trying to classify a reported psi happening. Multiple interpretations due to psi exist for many of the types of reported occurrences, even well in addition to the "normal" interpretations claimed by those who are doubtful regarding psi's existence. Regardless as to explanation, people react differently from one another to reports of psi occurrences, especially to their own personal experiences which may be attributable to psi. Some may express doubt or disbelief, while others may become downright fearful, while others still may ignore such occurrences entirely or without even consciously knowing. The best reaction, though, is perhaps one of curiousity, for it is through this that some insight, and thus understanding, may be gained into the true nature of the experience. Psi events fall into two general categories: those happening seemingly on their own without any provocation, and those which are caused intentionally. As such, the psi expressed under the former is known as "spontaneous psi", while the latter is known as "induced psi". Many tests have been designed for the induced demonstration of psi (both ESP and PK) and have usually been carried out in a lab equipped for this purpose. Results of such tests vary widely and have been the subject of much controversy from both within and outside the field. The Introduction to the DOME User Guide contains more information about psi testing in general. Most of the reported psi events are those which happen to individuals rather unexpectedly, oftentimes surprising someone in the home, office, or just about anywhere the experience takes place. As such, these "spontaneous" occurrences are the ones usually responsible for feelings of awe, shock, or bewilderment. Examples include out-of-body experiences, precognitive visions, apparitional encounters, hauntings, and poltergeist events. The organized study of psychic occurrences is roughly one hundred-ten years old. Since its beginnings, many obstacles have stood in the way of progress. (See the section entitled "Problems In Parapsychology".) Today, mainstream science is still reluctant to take the psi issue seriously. Not only has the war between critic and proponent of parapsychology been waged for over a century now, but seemingly little progress has been made in the direction of uncovering the truth about the nature of such phenomena. To this end, parapsychologists still claim that psi exists with very little question, and skeptics say that it is just about all nonsense. Parapsychology has been described as a legitimate area of scientific inquiry by those within the field, and as an area of scientific heresy by those outside. Yet, interestingly, otherwise traditional scientists can be found populating both sides of the issue. Parapsychology is often confused and improperly lumped together with other subject areas of questionable scientific validity, labeled as the "unknown", the "unexplained", or the occult, such as, for example, astrology, numerology, demonology, satanism, vampires, Bigfoot, New Age, Atlantis, and UFO's. Parapsychology has as little to do with these "mysterious" subjects as they have to do with each other. The grouping itself is odd, for some are considered art forms; others are metaphysical ideas; others hinge on existence of the "supernatural"; others are preserved in legends and folklore, while others may be deserving of scientific attention still (like UFO's). Regarding this last point, some information on UFO's and the "alien" abduction phenomenon will be included, not as part of parapsychology, but incidental to it. It is nonetheless interesting to note that much psi phenomena has been described to occur during such reported encounters. TYPES OF PSI ESP The term "ESP" encompasses those specific instances of psi occurrence which enable an individual to receive information external to the mind without any use of the senses or reasoning whatsoever. The first type of ESP, clairvoyance, pertains to the perceiving of objects or conditions in current time. Although the information is not acquired via the sense organs, these perceptions are usually in the form of, but not limited to, visions, and they may also be in the apparent form of sound, feelings, and even smell. If the information is channeled over a distance, as opposed to being received from the immediate locale, this process is often known as "remote perception". On occasion, one may get the additional feeling of actually visiting a distant scene, and the term "traveling clairvoyance" may apply. As the mind may be fooled into thinking that part of oneself has left the body in order to perceive the surroundings of a distant location, this is one interpretation for an out-of-body experience, or OBE. Dowsing, or radiesthesia, involves the use of a held object (e.g., a rod or branch) to locate, in a process known as "divination", underground substances like water or oil, whereby the held object may be serving as as a focus for clairvoyant ability. Psychometry, which is also thought to involve clairvoyance, is the "reading" of an object or location for facts about the object or its owner, or persons associated with some location, often in connection to the past. In order for this to be possible, it is presumed that an object or location has the ability, through some type of "recording mechanism", to retain some aspect or quality of its past surroundings or associated events. Psychometry would then in effect be accomplished by somehow sensing or viewing what has been recorded. The term "haunting", especially in reference to its recurrent and locality-specific aspects, has a basis in ESP. A haunting is usually now interpreted as the psychometric replaying of the recorded events of a location's past in the mind of an observer. A major characteristic of a haunting is often that of an apparition which appears to enact the same motions over again when certain conditions exist, like specific time of day (or night), time of year or season, and which may be sensed by only certain individuals (who are unconsciously using psychometry to "see" the event). Another interpretation for hauntings, and psychometry in general, has to do with the concept of retrocognition, another type of ESP. This refers to an ability to sense, while mentally focusing on the object or location, actual events occurring in the past, as opposed to using clairvoyance to currently view a recording of the past. Precognition, another form of ESP, deals with information supposedly received from the future. The existence of this form, of course, is dependant on whether it is possible for the future to be fully established and, if so, whether this future information can cross backward in time. One psi explanation for a precognitive feeling may be the mind's demonstrative way of informing or warning of a highly probably outcome based on current conditions obtained clairvoyantly. This might also explain why, through avoidance or otherwise, not all negative premonitions come true. The last major form of ESP, telepathy, relates to an individual's awareness of thoughts and feelings which are present in the mind of another. This apparent thought transference has been found to be independent of distance, as has been demonstrated in various experiments conducted over distances of up to thousands of miles. Sometimes telepathy can occur quite spontaneously, as has been reported, for example, in a few cases where danger is involved. During these times, a person in trouble might send out sort of a telepathic call for help, which is "heard" by someone familiar to that person. Or, an individual may try to warn someone of a potentially dangerous situation they are aware of by trying to inform them or get their attention telepathically, like by mentally calling the person's name, etc. PK The concept of psychokinesis, or PK, deals with the hypothetical influence of the human mind on objects or processes external to it. Often referred to as "mind over matter", any means by which the human mind can alter or affect a physical system without direct or indirect motor contact must be done through PK. Any individual who uses PK is known as an "agent". PK can be divided in four areas of study, and two of them, macro-PK and micro-PK, are often studied in the laboratory. Micro-PK refers to PK effects which are to a slight degree or on a microscopic level, the detection of which is determined by the outcomes of several attempted applications, then analyzed in comparison to a control. For example, in the PK mode of DOME, the agent attempts to influence the random outcome of a particular color. After many attempts, the score results can be statistically compared to a control (chance) model to see if micro-PK was responsible for the scores, as presumably would be the case if they, as a whole, differed significantly from chance. Macro-PK, on the other hand, deals with larger-scale, visually observable effects, primarily concerning the reported movement or alteration of objects, the disappearance and reappearance of objects in different locations, and even levitations. Another area related to macro-PK because of its visible effects is the concept of the poltergeist occurrence. Contrary to the popular presentation of this phenomenon by the media to involve "evil" supernatural entities, parapsychologists now view this experience as originating by and occurring around the living. In any particular case, the occurrences generally involve the strange movement, breaking, or rearrangement of objects, or the unusual origination of sounds, and these happenings are attributed to a specific individual around whom the events seem to revolve. It is assumed that the events themselves are the result of stressful situations involving the individual, who unknowingly may serve as agent to utilize unconscious PK as an outlet for the stress or as a means to alleviate it. Psychic healing, the final PK-related area, involves an individual's ability to heal injuries or illnesses of oneself or of others through a technique of concentration and possibly hand- covering. This supposedly enables the healer to focus attention, and thus impart healing influences, to the required target area, usually some specific bodily tissue or organ. Oftentimes the healing is both complete and unexpected, and often rather astounding as far as what should normally be expected by traditional medicine. However, it has been suggested that such healing is done, not through the use of PK, but through the normal (psychosomatic) effects of psychology on the physiology of the body, via some intricate, albeit unknown, connection between the two. According to this idea, a person attempting to heal another might really be instilling a suggestion to the subconscious of the other person, which acts to initiate a self- healing process. PHENOMENA SUGGESTIVE OF "SURVIVAL" The third division of study in parapsychology has been the subject of debate within the field for quite some time now. It involves the issue of whether some part of consciousness - be it a soul, spirit, life force, or whatever - can continue to exist after the death of the body, or even just separate from the living body. A few varied types of phenomena have been grouped together as providing little more than suggestive evidence for this so-called "survival hypothesis". The debate itself centers around whether such events can be adequately explained by means other than "survival", such as through psi, in what in some cases (those implying direct spirit communication) is known as the "super-ESP (or super-psi) hypothesis", or even through what is known in psychology. Some types of phenomena in this area include apparitions, out-of-body experiences (OBE's), near-death experiences (NDE's), reported "possession" by spirits or demons, mediumship, and the concept of reincarnation. Reported genuine apparitions, or ghosts, appear to behave in a purposeful and intelligent manner, unlike that of a haunting, where through the presumed unconscious use of psychometry on the location by a living person, the "recorded" image of a deceased person may be seen to go through the same, recurring motions. The seeming arrival of apparitions is often related to some crisis, like dying, which suggests the serving of a need, possibly like that of communication with the observer. Apparitions have been reported at times to look like solid, living individuals, yet may either be that of a living, dying, or a dead person. Sometimes apparitions may look less solid, or less sharply defined, or may even appear or disappear from view suddenly or unexpectedly. At other times still, an apparition may be "sensed" non-visually, as by feeling or hearing, or through a combination of means. The existence of the OBE implies that some aspect of the mind or consciousness can leave the body and travel. Although it has been interpreted as a form of traveling clairvoyance, oftentimes the individual having the OBE is detected or even "seen" at the location being "visited", suggesting that indeed some part of the mind has traveled there, and which may be effectively resolved by ESP into an apparition in the mind of an observer. This "apparition of the living" or "doppelganger" (meaning "double walker") usually looks like, acts like, and even may itself be mistaken for the actual person. Interestingly, even though he is away having the OBE, this person usually has the additional feeling of being at such a location and interacting with those present. Apparitions, both of the living and dead, can be explained in terms of the super-psi hypothesis. In the case of the traditional apparition of the dead, it can be said that a living person is utilizing clairvoyance or retrocognition to obtain the necessary information on the deceased person to enable himself to "see" it, give it personality and intelligence, and meanwhile possibly even utilize PK for any physical interactions. Apparitions of the living (or dying) may be similarly detected by utilizing a combination of telepathic communication (with the person at the original location) to recreate the person's image and enable one to interact with it (using telepathy and PK). A fairly commonly reported phenomenon which is strongly suggestive of the "survival" idea is the near-death experience (NDE). This is often reported by individuals who may have in fact been determined clinically dead for a time, the period during which a few characteristic things, some of which suggest the operation of ESP, are said to happen. Such would include the viewing of oneself and one's location from a point outside the body (like an OBE), an awareness of actual activity or conversation in this location, the sense of being drawn towards some bright light and through some tunnel, and the apparent presence of deceased persons or a religious figure familiar to the individual. An alternative explanation for a NDE associates it with a physiological (or neuro-psychological) reaction to the process of dying, during which time, bits of memory are stirred and perceptual errors are caused. Here, it is assumed, of course, that the experience (and everything else) ceases when the brain is dead. Reincarnation, the ancient idea that souls or spirits of the dead are reborn in other bodies, relies on for its evidence a technique referred to as "past lives therapy", used presumably to regress a hypnotized person to their "previous lives". However, it has been found that the mind can often unconsciously fabricate such information, perhaps as a result of suggestion prompted by the hypnotist, and thus the technique may be virtually useless to provide proof of reincarnation. Even if the information provided by the subject is subsequently verified as factual and could not have possibly been known because of its obscurity, it is possible to explain the obtaining of such information through ESP, as either by clairvoyance or retrocognition. The issue of mediumship involves the presumed contact or communication with a spirit by some sort of telepathic means. A medium, acting as a connection or channel for communication to occur between the living and the dead, typically relays, to those seated nearby, information in the form of messages from or regarding an individual spirit who is "contacted". Oftentimes the dead may appear to speak directly through the medium, and since a medium may be in a trance state and unaware of what is going on, this may be considered a case of what is called "automatic speaking". The voice of a medium may change when information is being channeled, and other information may be given through automatic writing, where the medium writes information without conscious awareness of what the hand is seemingly doing on its own. These and other such unconscious physical acts are not greatly unlike that of reported "possession", where an individual's usual behavior and personality are often suppressed or changed drastically in accordance with the control supposedly imposed by an "evil entity". Utterances of abusive language or gibberish and the origination of unusual strength are often noted in such cases, and an exorcism may be considered to "rid" the body of the "spirit influence". The super-psi hypothesis can be used to explain any apparent spirit communication in terms of a medium's unknowing use of ESP to obtain information from the living (telepathy) or from existing records (clairvoyance) about a deceased individual. Regardless of this, psychological explanations have been advanced to explain other odd events that suggest the influence of a discarnate entity or spirit on an individual. These explanations apply to all situations where those involved (mediums or those possessed) believe what happens to them is true and is in no way consciously produced, such as by staging or faking. (This is a big problem in the area of mediumship, especially when involving physical occurrences and apparent direct speaking.) In such cases as believed to be true, any odd behaviors may be the result of certain mental disturbances or autosuggestions which can result in dissociation, a mental state where normally conscious activities come under subconscious control, and a secondary personality may emerge, all seemingly without the individual's awareness. PROBLEMS IN PARAPSYCHOLOGY The field of parapsychology faces a number of problems which serve to degrade its image both in the eyes of the public and to the scientific community. Criticisms brought on by skeptics have an added impact, positive perhaps, by making it more imperative that parapsychologists work harder and more carefully to provide the "proof" which is needed for acceptance as a legitimate area of scientific inquiry. One big problem area deals with the negative and inaccurate portrayal of psi occurrences or other issues of the field in the media or on film. Almost anything one can view on television or hear about in the news regarding parapsychology or reports of psi is in some way usually either exaggerated, misleading, or even flat-out wrong. Usually this is the result of the media's high priority for ratings, which unfortunately often comes at the expense of the truth. As such, it is virtually impossible to derive factual information from such sensational depictions, which should more properly be viewed as entertainment, if nothing else. As far as psi-oriented movies are concerned, practically nothing ever shown comes anywhere close to what actually occurs in normal, everyday life, so that movies, in their often extreme and overblown depictions of psi, are even less dependable for providing accurate information to the public. (After all, they are just movies.) Another big problem revolves around the widespread fraud that has occurred in the past and even still turns up today in connection with the field of parapsychology. Fraud has shown itself in a number of ways. The false assurances and fabricated information given by phony psychics and mediums have enabled them to profit off the credulous public, all during which time they proclaim themselves genuine. Psychic surgeons and faith healers have preyed off the vulnerability of the sick and dying by offering cures which are promised in exchange for large sums of money. Individuals have lied or used trickery to substantiate and promote their own paranormal events, hoping for a chance to profit in some way, such as might be gained through media attention. Researchers sometimes have resorted to faking lab results in order to support their own views, while at other times, test subjects have cheated during experiments, often using techniques borrowed from magic to fool observers, including the researchers themselves. For this reason, having a magician around to view any claimed paranormal events is always a good idea, except, of course, when the magician gets fooled, which can happen on occasion. Nonbelievers in psi feel that paranormal phenomena can, in general, be explained by normal means. Aside from the occasional debunking of a phony psychic or fraudulent report of psi, the skeptics feel that the remainder of the reports each have their explanation in the normal workings of human psychology. Based on what is known, the human mind can and often does make mistakes. Perceptual errors result because normal sensory information, in the form of neural impulses, is resolved and modified by the subconscious, with its fears, beliefs, expectations, and the like, so that the end result of what is perceived by the brain may be very different from what exists objectively, or external to the individual. People are fooled by magic because of this fact. In addition, it is easy at times to put together logical connections regarding events which are in fact not linked, such as when a coincidence occurs. Where a normal event may not have been misperceived or its cause misunderstood, skeptics feel that any one of imagination, dreaming, or of mental impairment, disorder, or illness may be responsible for what is labeled as "psi". Today, good parapsychologists are especially aware that many apparent psi reports have normal explanations, as they are often the first to discover them. UFOLOGY AND "ALIEN" ENCOUNTERS Although the subject of UFO's (ufology) is a distinct and separate field from parapsychology, a couple of reasons exist for its inclusion here. First, reports of UFO's and their "occupants", not unlike reports of psi, seem to indicate a type of human experience which occurs spontaneously, often leaving those involved in a state of emotional upset, and second, many reported UFO and "alien" encounters also include details of psi functioning. Psi events often reported in connection with UFO- related activity include telepathic communication with "UFO occupants", clairvoyant and precognitive images and dreams, out- of-body experiences, apparent psychokinetic levitations, and even apparitional encounters. Independent UFO-related reports, which may include stories of "alien" visitation, often have many details in common. Aside from the obvious characteristic of strange lights appearing in the sky, those experiencing more involved "contact" report, in addition to the above psi happenings, such events as localized power outages, temporarily non-functional electrically dependant devices (from appliances to automobiles), periods of time which cannot be accounted for, and even the sudden appearance of strange bodily scars or markings. Under hypnosis, oftentimes so- called "buried memories" are brought out, with those involved occasionally relating details of bizarre medical examinations administered by humanoid, though clearly non-human, and seemingly intelligent beings. As for the beings themselves, three to four different "types" are often described, at least one appearing human, the others less so. As is the case in parapsychology, reports of UFO's and their presumed occupants are subject to the same types of criticisms. Although clearly the experiences exist from a subjective standpoint, no hard "evidence" exists as such to indicate any sort of objective reality. Skeptics have pointed to various influences for the types of experiences reported, among them misperception, misinterpreted normal events, imagination, autosuggestion, fraud, and even psychological problems. The utilization of hypnosis has been generally deemed unreliable by skeptics, due in part to the suggestability factor which may result in fabricated stories originating from the UFO "victim". There is no doubt that in the past many reports and photographs have been faked, and as with parapsychology, this only complicates matters, making it that much more difficult for science to truly take the issue seriously. In the past, while investigating the UFO issue, national governments appear to have fallen into a pattern of automatic dismissal of UFO-related reports as either fakes or misunderstood natural events, and today this still remains the subject of much controversy. UFO groups worldwide contend that the large volume coupled with the consistency of reports seem to indicate that something strange is indeed going to this effect, or at least much more than governments are willing to admit. Cover-up allegations have thus resulted, while in the intervening time, people reportedly still continue to experience and be affected by UFO encounters. Other events presumed to be UFO-related by some are the mysterious appearances of the so-called "crop circles" in countrysides around the world, with those found in England drawing the most attention of late. Even if their intricate patterns can be explained through normal processes, despite whatever scientific consensus is eventually reached regarding their formation, the very fact that such observable, modern-day enigmas can exist should suggest to science that the genuine need for inquiry into reports of UFO's and the paranormal may be right before us, if not overdue. Then just maybe, perhaps, the truth about such phenomena can eventually be uncovered, and denial, dismissal, or ignorance will become a thing of the past.