The terms explained herein and their definitions and explanations are drawn from several sources: the anecdotal and other materials sent in to your Coordinator, including that which was published in Psi-M; The Glossary provided by the American Society for Psychical Research; other readings, conversations and observations by Editor. As with the Part 1 on Assumptions, this glossary is intended to be a "live" document, updated with revisions as required, with the pages to be updated with alphabetic subscripts.
ABSENT HEALING or ABSENT TREATMENT or DISTANT HEALING: A term used to describe a psychic phenomena wherein a sender or healer or agent influences the health of the subject in a beneficial manner. This is said to be most effective where the disorder is of a systemic nature, rather than a physical injury; however, both are said to be effective. At this time, distant healing is considered to be the result of either or both of psychic or divine causes. In the latter case, the sender-agent is said to act as a "channel" for the divine healing energy. In the former case, it appears most likely that the healing is a matter of specialized telepathy and/or psychokinesis, which may operate in one or more of several modes:
(1) the sender influences the subjects superconscious or psyche, which then influences the mind, thence the lower body-control of the autonomous and /or immune systems;
(2) the sender influences the psyche, thence the mind of the subject in a way which relieves mental illnesses of anxiety and the resultant stresses; this may be either or both general, where calmative, analgesic effect aids in enduring stress, or specific where a particular thought is used to relieve a particular ailing thought, e.g., event, personality conflict, etc.;
(3) the sender utilizes psychokinesis to directly heal the defective parts of the body, including the cellular level of systems;
(4) the sender works on that part of the psyche which carries over offensive traits from other lives of the subject that conflict with the present personality, in a manner of "tuning" or "sorting" the basic vibrations of the personalities to achieve a condition of greater harmony and less dissonance. (See aura color)
ADEPT: A skilled psychic, consistent in performance.
AGENT: In a multiple-person psychic event, the one(s) who do the active sending, emitting, or otherwise originating of the event.
AKASHA OR AKASHIC RECORD: An ancient term referring to a universal eternal record of all events past, present, and future on all levels of reality. It is often called the Book of Life, as it is said to contain the record of each person's lives. A person who has parts of the AKASHA related to him or her is said to have a "life reading" that is concerned primarily with Karmic development or psychic development. This chronology or sequence of the Akasha is not usually the same as ordinary time flow. In the context of modern science, the Akasha would be equivalent to a holograph of the universe. (See holograph)
ACTION-AT-A-DISTANCE: A term used to describe actions where the emitting body is not "in contact with" the receiving body, which was thought at one time to be impossible without a means for "carrying" or transmitting energy. This led to the concept of ether as the transmission medium. This was shown to be fallacious and it is recognized that a transmitting medium is not necessary. Also, since it has been found that all energy is in wave forms, there is no case where action does not occur at a distance, since there is no such thing as "solid matter" and almost all space in even the most solid-appearing object is empty even of strong fields of energy.
ALPHA STATE or ALPHA WAVE STATE: A brain condition where the visual sense dominates, reflecting a mind pattern of seeking or scanning. The brain's electrical wave frequency is approximately 8 Herz to 14 Herz (cycles per second), predominant in the occipital region at the back of the skull. It was the first, hence alpha, wave found by Berger in electroencephalography. Although much of the literature associates the alpha state with the psychic, numerous tests have shown there is little correlation, about as much as the difference in hearing a radio whether it is powered by direct current of AC of 50 or 60 Herz, which makes little difference in either the loudness or the frequency of the signal's sound. Those who have tried to use biofeedback devices for aiding in achieving a state of alpha appear to resemble chickens staring at a straight line drawn out from their beaks with a fixed stare that see little.
ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS or ASC's: Based upon the concept of a fully-conscious, awake, actively-thinking state of mind (the brain's frequency, called "beta", being above alpha up to about 36 Herz), the other states of consciousness are considered as "altered". These include the various sleep states, drugged states, and the more exotic states of meditation, trance, day-dreaming, etc.. The states are further defined by some to define various psychic-related stated as those encountered in the "out-of-body experience", q.v.. It has been shown that the brain may function in all four of the main types of state:
conscious thinking (beta);
day-dreaming-scanning (alpha);
sleep (4 to 8 Herz, theta); or
the lowest level of activity (delta, less than 4 Herz).
The states are characteristic primarily by the subject's perceptions and awareness of self and environments, such as numbness in delta.
ALTERNATIVE-CHOICE MATERIAL: A term used in parapsychological testing to describe a fixed set of target materials known to the subject as the only set of answers for perceiving. The most common set used are five cards devised by Dr. Rhine which depict a star, a square, a circle, a cross, and a set of wavy lines.
ALTERNATIVE THEORIES OF REALITY: Theories of reality that are not the same as the conventionally accepted set of theories that describe traditional reality, which may be considered to comprised of notions:
a. time goes on constantly forward;
b. cause always precedes effect;
c. all radiation follows an inverse distance rule of strength;
d. total mass-energy remains constant.
(It is noted that astronomers cannot account for 90% of the mass of the Universe, Einstein stated flatly that time had no existence other than the events by which we measure it (See arrow of time) and that the Second Law of Thermodynamics was revised last year after being considered as inviolate for a a century) The alternative theories consider such things as variable time, forces other than the classical: strong force that bonds together the atomic nucleus; the force of gravity; the electromagnetic force; and the weak force that binds atoms and molecules together (It is noted that theory has recently been developed showing that the weak force and the electromagnetic force are related.), variable space-fields of more than the classical six dimensions of length, width, depth, the spin around the three axes (not usually included as "dimension" is the notion of "handedness", the ordered relation of the six, which may be highly significant IN CERTAIN APPLICATIONS, E.G. HELICAL FORMS.(See Arrow of time)
AMPLITUDE MODULATION: A term used in radiocommunications to define the means whereby frequency is altered by the amplitude or power of the received signal, e.g., in the familiar AM radio, the higher the strength of the radio signal, the higher the pitch of the sound.
(See Frequency Modulation). (A useful model for elementary concepts)
ANECDOTAL MATERIAL: Narrative reports, often undocumented, of psychic phenomena or events. The events are often spontaneous. Not generally accepted by the scientific community, the reports are often criticized as unverifiable or subject to question simply because the reporting subject is often distraught when the event occurs. This is not the same as planned experiments with trained observers recording and verifying the events with the subject.
APPARITION: Visual perception of a discarnate being, that is, a spirit of ghost, although it has been observed that there are just as many cases of apparitions of living persons as of those passed. This is currently an object of some interest as related to out-of-body experiences.
APPORT: An older term for teleport or the movement of a mass through space and other sold objects. Related to alternate theories of reality as regards notions of interpenetration of "solid" objects. The notion involves a dematerialization, transport in the altered form and then rematerialization.
ARROW OF TIME Albert Einstein once remarked that, "Time has existence outside of the events by which we measure its passing.", and we have a relationship in the science of thermodynamics as the specific measure called entropy. When we consider any kind of system, we can consider in particular its ORDERLINESS, or its lack of randomness as a measure of its quality or ability to cause action. Entropy is a measure of randomness, similar to the probability that an action will occur.
We see that as time passes, all of the systems in it are progressing from a state or condition of being ordered to a state where they are in equilibrium and have no more capacity to cause change. They're all "run down". The sand is scattered and no longer resists gravity, the battery's charge is depleted, the water has found its level, and the ice has melted in the bucket of water--no further change is possible, as all of the energy is dissipated.
As a general rule, time moves forward when entropy or randomness is increased or order is decreased. This is the natural course of events EXCEPT that there may be local pockets of decreasing entropy where the general level of entropy in the surrounding environment is increasing, such as the case of a refrigerator in a kitchen, here the reefer is separating hot from cold at the expense of having a generally warmer kitchen and an electric bill.
The units of entropy are the same as the units of energy, in the English system of measure, that's the foot-pound, and the Newton-meter in the S.I.. The difference is the PROBABILITY of the energy acting; the more probable the action, stemming from a high order, the greater the lack of randomness and the higher the entropy change, sometimes approaching 100%.
All forms of life are ordering systems; they decrease their entropy at the expense of their environment.
Therefore, all forms of life are going backwards in time as described by the arrow.
It is obvious that an interaction may be a "two way street", when an entropy-decreasing system exchanges order with an entropy-increasing system; not only does a life form increase the randomness of its environment, it may also give up its order and decrease the randomness of its environment, which it may do until it reaches a level wherein it can no longer sustain itself. The simple rule of life, then, is that the life form acts according to an ingrained governing law test it must create order, in order to survive. The exact mechanism by which this occurs is unknown at this time, but may be related to intelligence and the psychic in that the psychic may provide a source of high order.
ASTRAL BODY: The notion of a person having several "bodies" means that the personality is manifested in various specific forms. One of theses is the astral body, which is characterized as being that which may travel to other realities, in a manner of speaking . The other three commonly-mentioned "bodies" are:
ASTRAL TRAVEL: Travel in the astral body. Note that it is not clear in the literature which of the "bodies" is involved in time travel, since times are different.
ASTRAL CORD or SILVER CORD: Described often as a kind of umbilical cord between the physical and the other bodies.
AURA: A perception of a halo-like light around living things, especially humans. There are oftentimes relations established between the various kinds of auras and the various "bodies". The aura may also be perceived to some degree as an emotional "feeling", in addition to being visually perceived, by some persons. (See "SENTICS".) The aura is considered to be the psychic perception of thought, although thoughts may be in many different modes, ranging from basically simple emotional states to complex patterns, and for varying durations. (See AURA COLORS.)
AURA COLORS: Auras may be sensed as paravisually related to a person either directly, as in viewing a person physically or psychically at a distance or via psychometry. (Thanks to Dr. E. T. Lundholm for compiling the following list of the primary interpretations of the aura colors.) Aura colors as reported by the many sources may be considered as "perceived", or "interpreted", or "discerned", implying that the observer in each case has applied some personal, subjective way of interpreting them, which must be considered in evaluating the various interpretations. Further, since the auras are said to be in at least two widely-accepted forms, i.e., the halo that seems to surround the subject or major parts of the subject and the "flash" or "burst" of color that may appear to shoot out in some cases. Auric perception is considered to be a form of telepathy with a special interpretation attached as regarding perception of basic personal thoughts such as emotions. Another interpretation is based on a suspected relationship with the activity involved in cellular processes, such that a bit of psychic energy is emitted when a cell undergoes a transformation. The color interpretations following are more related to the emotional conditions of the subject, which may be related to massive cellular changes. They are listed in order of light frequency and keyed to personality traits with the implicit assumption that a complete personality would then emit light on all frequencies which would sum to white. White is considered to symbolize totality or completion.
Red: 1. (Edgar Cayce) Force, vigor, energy.
Dark red: High temper, nervous, turmoil
Light Red: Nervous, impulsive, very active, self-centered
Scarlet: Overdose of ego
Pink/Coral: Immaturity, delayed adolescence
2. Sound, driving force, makes good Generals and leaders
Clear Red: Crusader (usually with yellow gold edges)
Dull Red: Bad or vicious temper, unreliable, quarrelsome, treacherous, self-seeking
Light Red: Nervous or unstable, active, jittery, self-centered
Scarlet: Sure of self, fond of self, falsely proud.
Pink/Coral: Immaturity (teenagers). Childishness and insecurity in adults.
Red/Brown: Very nasty person, trouble-maker.
3. Constantly active: Vigorous, cool and calculating, stalwart and brave, vengeful if goaded, virile (passion), optimistic, bold, high spirited, has drive and endurance.
Maroon: stamina and strength, purpose and restraint, moody, cooperative, recuperative. (With brown in it, mundane)
Crimson: Optimistic, go-getter, eager, challenging, competitive, active, aggressive, volatile, persuasive, has strong desires, affectionate.
Scarlet: Most impassioned, likeable, spiteful, temperamental, restless, superficially affectionate, selfish.
Pink: Loving, willing to serve, sensitive, easily hurt.
Orange: 1. (Edgar Cayce) Vital--thoughtfulness and consideration
Golden: Vital, self-control
Brownish: Lack of ambition, don't care attitude, lazy
2. Considerate of others, humanitarian, helpful, controlled
Brownish: Repressed and lazy
Green tinged: Quarrelsome, argumentative, lacking perception, imagination
3. High aspirations, proud, self-sufficient, confident, high-minded, ambitious for social success, exuberant, inventive, contented, restrained sensuality, impressive
Yellow: 1. (Edgar Cayce) Health and well-being, good mentality, happy friendly, helpful
Ruddy: Timid. Red-haired persons who have yellow auras are apt to have inferiority complexes and be indecisive, weak willed and easily led.
2. Spiritual natures (golden color is best) and moral health
Bright: trustworthy
Cheddar-cheese-like: Cowardly
Reddish: mental, moral and physically timidity
Brownish: Impure thoughts, poor spiritual development
3. Intellectual, scientific-minded, artistic
Golden: Creative
Pale: Wise but restrained by caution, retiring, given to wishful thinking, too timid to take risks
Vivid: Confident, willing to take risks
Dull: Selfish, introspective
Brownish: A muddy personality
Green 1. (E. C.) Green is seldom a dominant color in the aura
Emerald: (Pure): Healing, with dash of blue in it, helpful, strong, friendly
Bluish: More helpful and trustworthy
Yellow: This weakens the green
Lemony: Deceitful
(Deep, healing green is seen in small amount as a rule)
2. Healing and teaching, physical growth, helpful, friendly, compassionate, considerate
bluish: Successful teachers
Yellowish: Untrustworthy
3. Adaptable, sympathetic, sentimental, companiable, easy-going, slow-to-anger, restrained, firm, conformist
Emerald: Volatile, adventurous, vigorous
Olive: Weak, evasive, tends to avoid issues,
Apple: Oversentimental
Turqoise: Impetuous
Sea: Envious, cunning, self-defeating
towards yellow, green becomes unstable
Towards blue, green becomes oversmart.
Blue: 1. (E. C.) Color of the spirit, symbol of contemplation
Pale: Little depth, struggling towards maturity
Aqua: About as much talent as for 'pale', but trying
Dark: Talented, moody, unusual, spiritual-minded, dedicated to unselfish causes, involved in social services, sciences, arts
2. Color of the spirit world. Intellectual ability
The brighter the blue, the healthier, more vigorous
Pale: Vacillates, can't decide, needs pushing
Dark: Making progress, keen on life tasks, satisfied, Missionaries
3. Seeks higher, deeper things, thinking persons. Powerful, sensitive, eager to do right, devoted, friendly in a formal way, self-sufficient, cooperative, inspiration
Azure: Dedicated to noble causes, unselfish, spiritual
Navy: Faithful, trustworthy, constant in purpose, self-sufficient, strong and reliable
Black or brown in blue: Morbid of selfish leanings
Grey tinge in blue: Uncertainty or fear
Indigo: 1. (E. C.) Seeks for causes or religious experiences--usually settles back to blue
2. Deeply religious
Pinkish: (Towards Purple) Touchy or unpleasant
Ultramarine 3. Affectionate, helpful, sometimes moody
Violet Grandeur and importance, ritualistically-inclined, tends to flaunt ability if a genius, mystic-natured, meditative
Lavender: Sweetly-disposed, precious and precise, intense
Purple: 1. (E.C.) Overbearing
3. Pomp and ceremony, sense of superiority, ambitious
Magenta: More down to earth (red), couple lofty notions with practical results, still they are show-offs
Brown: 3. Firm, definite, plain, practical, solid, honest
Black: 3. Formal, conventional, dignified, dynamic, emphatic
Grey: 1. (E. C.) III
2. A "modifier" --unevolved, weak, poor of health
3. Uncertain, fearful in lighter shades, selfish if darker
White: 1. (E.C.) Perfect color--souls in perfect balance, e.g., halos around saintly persons
NOTE: The reader should examine and order their preferences for their own use to suit the personal tastes, but mindful of the interpretations that others may associate with colors. Some people apparently see the chakras as vortices within the aura around which the lines of force are channeled.
From conversations with the instructor of my psi potential class and with my classmates, I have come to the conclusion that one reason for the differences the that various people see in the same aura at the same time is that those people habitually see only one part of it. As an example, my instructor consistently describes the aura as having the characteristics of the outer aura only, while I have seen it as a striated band of color radiating outward from the figure, on the few occasions when I have called up an image of someone else's aura, but otherwise it's similar to my own inner aura or circuit image.
AUTOMATIC WRITING. A phenomena wherein a subject, usually in some kind of trance state, appears to write in an unconscious manner. There are several theories that attempt to explain this. One is that it is related to common "doodling", and is just a way for the subconscious mind to show the conscious mind something that it may not be able to get through otherwise, similar to a waking dream. Another theory relates it to multiple personalities (a form of possession), in which a fairly-well developed sub-personality takes over control during the trance state. In another theory, this is extended to include temporary, sometimes permissive, control by some kind of discarnate entity. This last is sometimes used by mediums.
AUTOMATISM. The action of using any normally involuntary body movement as in automatic writing.
AVESHA. A yogic term meaning the power of entering and controlling the body of another person, i.e., an old term for possession, which was considered to be a rather common goal to achieve in advanced yogi practice.
BHAVA PRATYAYA. A yogic term meaning mastery of the world through the control of the highest level of meditation.
BILOCATION. An extreme form of out-of-body experience wherein the subject is said to project to a relative distance in the auric body and then "condense" some matter around the auric body sufficiently to reproduce another body.
BIOFEEDBACK. A relatively new area of advance neuro-muscular control of the so-called "Involuntary" muscles, achieved through means of providing the subject a way of sensing the control, usually with some kind of machine, although the practice has been in existence for many years as part of yoga. Some consider that control of one's brain waves, through electroencephalography feedback, is also in this area.
BLIND JUDGING. In ESP experiments, the procedure wherein those who are judging are not informed if the data was obtained relative to the target or to the comparison control; in general, the scoring of data without knowing the source.
BLIND PROCEDURE. Obtaining or measuring data without knowledge of source. As used in the procedure for ESP testing described in page 6.1.1, as an example, the Test Conductor does not know what pictures are being "scanned".
BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. The brain is such a complex subject that it will be covered here only by exception to popularly-held theory; the reader is advised to consult more thorough treatments. As regards psychic science, the brain is first defined as the "physical" aspect of the mind, rather than being the mind, per se. This distinction is the basis for the entire set of theories that involve the psychic science; without distinction, there would be no study of the psychic, or at least it would be necessarily highly modified from most of the currently-held theories. Within this distinction is a paradox of sorts. Most psychic theory also holds that psi or the basic psychic energy field is all-pervasive, that is, it permeates and animates all things, as in animist philosophies. Following this line of thought then leads to the conclusion that there is a non-physical aspect or psychic aspect of the brain and of the nervous system as a whole. This rather circular definition of the physical and the psychical aspects of the brain should be viewed as complementary until such time as the complete theory is developed.
The chakras are sometimes discerned in the aura are traditionally given certain specific functions and relationships with the physical body as follows:
The first or Muladharn chakra, the lowest, is situated at the base of the spine. It is said to control the process of elimination; its physical body counterpart is the sacral plexus. It is said to be the center of the body and is sometimes referred to as the center of gravity. It is also noted by your Coordinator that the process of elimination, specifically the bladder function, is the most time-reliable body function, when studied in the context of circadian rhythms, those which describe the body's time rhythms on a daily basis. As an example, while most body functions quickly adjust to time zone changes such as are incurred in travelling, the bladder is said to require several weeks to readjust, sometimes as much as a half-year. Thus, it may be inferred that this function is the body's basic time-keeper and may represent the primary means of relating to a particular space-time continuum such as this local reality. Its 'color' is said to be white.
The second chakra is the Syadishthana, situated opposite the sexual/genital organs and primarily concerned with their control. Its function is seen to be then second most important. Its characteristic color is violet or orange. It is often associated with the epigastric plexus.
The third chakra, the Manipura, is concerned with the digestive function, i.e., the translation of the environment into sustenance for the body, deriving its increase in orderliness by decreasing the orderliness of the food. Its color is yellow, representing an active, happy condition (another scale places yellow in the area of mental happiness, rather than physical although they go together). Some references assign a golden color, with purple, to this chakra. Its bodily counterpart is the solar plexus.
The fourth chakra, the Anahat, is associated with the cardiopulminary functions of providing muscle power and oxygen and cleansing of the muscles. Some give it the color of pink, while others favoring the "rainbow-spectrum-ascending" give it the color of green for healing influence. The cardiac plexus is its match.
The fifth chakra, the Visuddha, has the color of blue in both systems and it is associated with the voice function or voice box. It is associated with the organ behind the throat, the pharyngeal plexus, in some references.
The sixth, the Ajna, is the "third eye chakra" and it is sometimes associated with the autonomous nervous system, corresponding to the cavernous plexus, or pineal gland. Traditionally, it is given the color of green, while the rainbow system assigns a color of violet to it.
The seventh chakra, the Sahasrara, is the crown chakra. In the traditional system, this the third eye chakra which is the seat of the psychic. It is also know as the "Thousand-Petaled Lotus". It, of course, corresponds to the brain cortex.
The chakras traditionally are shown with petals surrounding them which go from 4 for the base and about 800 from the crown in an exponential sequence.
The chakras are tied, traditionally to three columns; the spine in the center and two spiralling columns called "nadis", which resemble the caduceus of the medical symbol. These may correspond to the sensory and motor aspects of the nervous system. This is the traditional basis for the etheric body. The reader should attempt to develop a personal description of the psychic body, e.g., that which extends outwards in extrasensory perception or remote viewing or out-of-body experiences, including astral travel.
CHANCE: The term given to a set of events as regards the mathematical, logical probability of occurrence, usually exressed in a number. The number is derived by taking the specific, unique subset of a particular sub-event and dividing that by a number representing all possible combinations of the general broader, higher-level set of events. Oftentimes, the number is based upon empirical evidence after-the-fact and then extended and extrapolated to all future events by way of inferring that the past is a sample and the future is all possible events. As an example, the "chance" of getting a combination of 7 when throwing two dice is computed by taking all of the ways of getting a 7 (1+6, 2+5, 3+4,4+3, 5+2, 6+1) which are six ways, and dividing that number by all possible combinations of the two dice, which is six ways on one dice times six ways on the other dice, or 36, for a result of 1/6 or 0.1666... One would then expect that for any future throws of the dice, that one out of every six throws on the average, would result in a total of 7. This area is greatly expanded in the field of statistics, both descriptive and inferential.
CLAIRAUDIENCE: The term given to the psychical perception of sounds. While previously also including voices, now restricted to non-human sounds, while human voices are now included in telepathy for the case with incarnate humans or apparitions for discarnates.
CLAIRSENTIENCE: The very generalized term for any type of psychical sensing, now generally replaced by e.s.p. (q.v.), but containing in its derivation the useful idea that the psychical sensing is related to a clear ("clair") state of mind.
CLAIRVOYANT: While previously used to describe general psychical sensing in the aspect of visualizing, now restricted to visions as separated from telepathic sensing and sensing of physical objects and events. Also, the term formerly was used to include precognition and premonition as well as retrocognition and is now replaced by the more specific terms in most cases.
CLOCK CARDS: A deck of cards used in e.s.p. testing that has a card showing the position of the hands of a clock, developed by Fisk & Mitchell.
COGNITION: Mental processes concerned with thinking, problem solving, reasoning, perception, and language, generally in an organized fashion.
COINCIDENCE: The co-occurrence of two similar or related events divided into two classes, casual, with no process relation between them, or causal, where one is process-related to the other; the process may be either physical or psychical.
COMMUNICATOR: A discarnate entity or spirit alleged by a medium to give messages and who was once living; usually the term is reserved for one who communicates especially with a particular medium to whom the messages are directed.
CONTROL: An older term for a communicator or guide, used for both without distinguishing between them and implying that the entity "controlled" the medium, especially in the case of deep trance when the voice is controlled by the entity.
COORDINATE: The action of relating ideas by comparison, contrast, process, etc., so as to integrate according to a common reference or ordinate, such as the Psyche.
COORDINATOR: One who coordinates.
Note: consciousness, Conscious Mind, etc, are omitted because there are so many usages that specific definition appears unproductive; for all practical purposes, "cognition" is used for conscious thinking and the mind in the cognitive state is considered as being conscious. Likewise, "subconscious" is omitted, since, for all practical purposes, it merely amounts to being non-integrated with the cognitive mind and is likely to lead to confusion when cognition in sub-areas is intended. A quiescent brain-mind may be intended in some cases; however, an "unconscious mind" is considered to be self-contradictory in meaning.
COSMIC consciousness: A term intended to describe the state of unification between a normal everyday mind and omniscience of the eternal universal life process; oftentimes used as a euphemism for a Higher Being or Universal Entity or Mind.
CREATIVITY: The action of bringing a thoughtform into existence in this reality.
CRISIS TELEPATHY or ESP: The occurrence of general ESP or psychic events in connection with some person's, usually the percipients's but sometimes the agent's high emotional state; the general notion is that while esp may be ignored or suppressed by cultural conditioning, in time of crisis, the survival "instinct" overcomes inhibitions and allows the ESP to occur, oftentimes in cases of life-or-death situations.
CROSS-CORRESPONDENCE or CROSS-REFERENCE: Coincidental reception of similar messages or perceptions by two or more receivers, usually taken as an indication of robustness or verification, as in group telepathy or remote viewing.
CRYSTAL GAZING: (Older term for "scrying") A form of psychic seeking using a small crystal ball, of any color, for focussing the mind. The modern eqivalent is "the Ganzfeld technique", q.v.
DEATH: The condition wherein the Psyche is not in the physical body permanently.
DECLINE EFFECT: In esp testing, the observed pattern of declining scores, probably due to the lack of sustained learning value for the subject participant.
DELPHI: Historically, one of the first instances of sustained psychic precognition and e.s.p., a series of participants over a period of many years provided services in Greece, with mention given to the influence of gasses arising from the ground on the mind, The oracle was a group of psychics who advised specifically or generally. The oracle at Delphi was considered to be the best, but grew bureaucratic and inefficient over time and was finally closed down by Theodosius in the fourth century.
DELPHI TECHNIQUE OF SURVEYING GROUP OPINION: A technique developed and used by the Rand Corporation for the Air Force to obtain consensus insight into solving problems that were not amenable to conventional methods of solution. The method involves surveying a group by questionnaire with each participant noting his or her competence via subjective judgment, collating of responses, and re-surveying with the results of the initial survey being provided to the participants, then finally collating all of the responses for the overall group opinion, "which is based only on "judgment".
DEMATERIALIZE: The action of an object or other physical thing disappearing from this reality so as to be undetectable by any non-physical means.
DEMON: A contemporary corruption of the ancient Greek "daemon", or supernatural being.
DERMOGRAPHY: Used to describe the action whereby writing, etc., appears on the skin.
DERMO-OPTICS: The non-psychical sensing of colors and patterns with the skin, specifically, the fingertips, by use of heat radiation sensing (Different colors radiate different heat.)
DISCARNATE ENTITY: An entity without a physical counterpart in this reality.
DISEMBODIES SPIRIT: See above: usually reserved for spirits of this reality.
DOUBLE: Used mostly for the case of a person in this reality, oftentimes as in out-of-body experience. Same as above, except that the live body or incarnation is presumed to exist in this reality, although more narrowly defined to a body in the current contemporary time.
DOWSING: Formerly used to describe the seeking of water with the aid of tools such as forked branches and so on, now expanded to include almost any kind of seeking or scrying, extended to include remote dowsing with the aid of maps or other aids.
DREAM: In the psychical sense, a patterned sequence of events occurring while asleep. Oftentimes, the dreamer utilizes non-verbal symbolic media, interpreted to mean that one area/aspect/mode of the mind, called the subconscious is meshing with another area, called the conscious, where the symbology use may indicate that the conscious is not fully capable of assimilating the content or meaning of the dream and needs to work out thoughts more completely as regards acceptance of the meaning. The various areas appear to be divided by factors such as: role-modelling; social persona; or reptilian/ mammalian/ proto-mammalian modes.
ECTOPLASM: An older term used in psychical research to describe the primal physical form of thoughts (usually, as the plasma-like material issued from the body of a medium in trance). Perhaps a basic form of plasma that is activated by physical thought might be a better descriptor for some. It is gaseous to some extent, like a cloud-stream of smoke, usually, and may proceed to more orderly forms to appear to be solid. It may be a key element in understanding, since it is implied in many writings, particularly in PK actions and in auras. The stuff is most often mentioned as a spirit form, that is, a ghost in some kind of simplified form. In other writings, particularly those of the Far East, it is referred to as "finer matter", alluding to a finer-grained structure. In modern scientific thought, this may be comparable to be correlated to notions of psi operating at higher frequencies, such as on the electromagnetic spectrum beyond X-ray frequency. Another notion is that it may be related to matter that has no neutrons. This is supported by comparisons of the weight of a human body without neutrons, that is, with only electrons and positrons, versus the measured weight of a spirit body at death, both being approximately 2 ounces. Ectoplasm is related to dematerialization in that physical objects are ostensibly transformed into ectoplasm before they dissipate and disappear. Ectoplasm is usually reported as being luminous, however, one might ask if it would be visible if it were not luminous or if it would be invisible as most gasses are. The luminosity may be related to an affect of transitioning from one state level to another, as with lasers or the Cherenkov effect. Older writings indicate that the medium sometimes becomes disturbed when the ectoplasm is illuminated by artificial light, which presumably would change its vibrational characteristics, as with holography. It is usually reported as being luminous, but one might ask from a simplistic viewpoint whether or not it would be visible if it were non-luminous, as most gasses are. Further, the luminosity may give a clue to being related to change-of-state-level, as with laser light or with the effects of transitioning from one media of transmission to another as with Cherenkov radiation.
Older witings not that certain highly-developed psychics appeared to physically expand, as if to fill their auric fields. An extension of this may be seen in the old reports of illumination and expansion and dematerialization combined in the glorification phenomena, which may be the correct alternative to conventional dying.
E.E.G. OR ELECTROENCEOHALOGRAPHY:
The recording of brain functioning as described by the relatively large primary power wave currents. ( See ALPHA)
E.S.P.: Extra-sensory perception is the term coined by Dr.Rhine to describe the phenomena being studied (perhaps to clarify the more vague older terms such as clairvoyance and avoid association with unpopular movements of the time.) Now taken to mean the perception of information by means unexplainable in conventional science and to include the areas of clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition, and perhaps, retrocognition. The term "perception" is not to be taken too literally, since non-perceptual feeling are also included. This may be taken as an indication that perception may occur in the non-sensory normal channels and may include inputs from, as an example memory channels and emotional channels through brainmodes other than the cortical, such as the limbic system, neo-mammalian, or reptilian brains. This latter mode sometimes gives rise to a notion that e.s.p. is somehow linked with primordial development, that is, a primitive skill that civilized humans have lost, whereas it's more likely that communication skills may need to be sharpened and developed in order to perceive with the usual modes.
ESP CARDS: The set of Zener cards made famous by Rhine, comprised of 25 cards in sets of five each depicting a star, a square, a cross, a circle, and three horizontal wavy lines. It is noted that such symbols that have no meaningful content for the percipient are relatively difficult to use for e.s.p. testing; on the other hand, the symbolic content of the cards is described in symbology as, respectively, the spirit, regulation and stability, a conjunction of diverse forces, the unity and limitation, and the three levels of thought.* While the use of the cards has been very productive, most modern researchers use more communicative artifacts such as pictures with rich content in visual and psychic terms. The use of the cards was a major improvement in testing as it provided for statistical mathematical calculation of probabilities and formed the basis for the scientific approach.
Note: See G.E.S.P. also.
E.T.P.: (Rare) Extra-temporal perception; perception out-of-time, an area studied very little recently, but thought to be a key area for future exploration (pun intended).
FAITH HEALING: See ABSENT HEALING.
FAR MEMORY: The action of recalling events in a related "past life", which, since, it is presumed that the psychic timeframe differs from standard convention is non-specific. It may involve more simply other lives or contacts with other lives used in "regressions to past lives", which tends to confuse because the term "regression" is more useful in its original meaning, that is, to find the central core of multi-faceted item, more so than the usage of "going back in time" and, rather, going back to the origin, regardless of time.
FIRE IMMUNITY: The phenomenon of an adept being immune to fire effects. Cases reported include fire-walking and fire-handing, many under close observation.
FOCUSSING EFFECT: Tendency of psychic subjects/percipients to be attracted to the target card, etc.. The logical consequence of seeking and comparing the desired target with perceived responses and selecting the closest match and seeking more closely.
* Ref. A DICTIONARY OF SYMBOLS, Cirlot, 1962, Philosophical Library, New York.
FORCED-CHOICE: Used parapsychological e.s.p. testing to describe a set of card or other choices wherein only a certain number of choices is provided; this technique allows the strict mathematical calculation of probabilities for evaluating results.
FREE-CHOICE: As above with an unlimited, infinite set of choices, such as the use of common photographs, wherein a wide range of subjects, numbers of times, and all the range of sensory input is allowed. This type of test is inherently impossible to score mathematically; however, it is very useful for exploratory testing to determine the kinds and types of messages or sensing that functioning is better or worse with.
GANZFELD: Term used to describe the total effect of inducing a neutral sensory input to an e.s.p. participant. The technique typically uses a form of sensory deprivation in that the eyes are covered with devices such as ping-pong balls so that no patterns may be distinguished. The ears are flooded with white or pink noise, and the limbs are very thoroughly covered with baffling material such as cotton batten or water. The intent is to aid the mind to concentrate on the e.s.p. input only.
G.E.S.P.: E.S.P. that could be either telepathy or clairvoyance or both. It is very important to note that in almost every case, the specific identification cannot be made.
GHOST: Older term for a discarnate entity, usually to describe one who was discarnate at some time in this reality, but sometimes to describe any discarnate entity, human or otherwise, or a double.
GIFTED SUBJECT or GIFTED PSYCHIC: A psychic person of unusually high talent and reliability; an adept. The term implies that the subject has acquired the talent through no effort on his or her part, which is highly questionable.
GOAT: Used in parapsychology to describe one who does not expect e.s.p. to function and does not place any credence in the psychic in general.
GROUP-SOUL: A group of Psyches bound together through common traits, thought to be a higher organization of personality and involved with evolution of the Psyche via combinations of incarnations and aiding others in progress. See Oversoul.
GUIDE: A usually discarnate, but not necessarily, entity of Psyche that has evolved so as to assist others in psychic development. Historically, Guides are described thru-out most societies, from Plato to the American Indian. Usually, Guides are "attached" to a single person more-or-less permanently. Guardian Angel. Guiding Spirit.
GUESS: Sometimes erroneously used to describe a "call" in an e.s.p. test, but, more accurately used to describe a description made without any decision criteria at all.
HALLUCINATION: A mental experience of perception that has no corresponding sensory input. Imagination. Hunch. Intuition. Creative artifact. Often observed in dreams wherein an artificially-created mental situation is ostensibly used for the purpose of solving an otherwise intractible problem. Hallucinations may act through any combination of simulations of sensory inputs and often involve distortions of conventional kinds of processes, as time distortion, space distortion, color changing, and so on.
HAUNTING: The situation involving the discernment of a discarnate entity in the vicinity of a specific location, building, or system of physical objects or person or group of persons. The main notion involves one who has passed on but is strongly associated with the site due to relationships such as the site being the locale of a traumatic event or the persons being strongly emotionally attached. Not to be confused with a Guide strongly associating with a person for development.
HEALING: See ABSENT HEALING
HYPNOTISM: The term given to the condition when a person's will is given over to another person, or more broadly, the condition when a person's will is given over, per se. The term is reserved for conditions when the subject who is hypnotized does not have full control over decisions in the cognitive mode, as contrasted to a suggestive state wherein the subject maintains a degree of control Various degree are involved, but there are no known standard scales for measuring or identifying the degrees.
INCARNATION: The condition whereby a Psyche inhabits and controls a body.
KIRLIAN PHOTOGRAPHY: High-frequency, high-voltage spark photography. Well-known in all countries due to the odd effects produced, but popularized by Simeon Kirlian more recently for allegedly being photography of the human aura, which it resembles somewhat, but differs from considerably. Probably related to the various trace chemicals emitted by the pores which then modify the electrical characteristics of the layer of air surrounding the skin. Probably very useful potential for diagnosis, but not psychic.
LUCID DREAM: A dream in which the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming and exerts a fair degree of control over the dream. An alternative to be explored in many reported cases of clairvoyance, distant vision OBE, and so on. Thought by some to be an extension of mediation, since the very meaning of the term seems to be self-contradictory in that a dream is almost always associated with the subconscious mind while the lucid aspect implies conscious control. This particular area then requires a thorough grounding in the notions of the sub-personalities and the subconscious, with emphasis on the dualistic and pluralistic aspects.
MAP DOWSING: Dowsing the location of an object by the process of using a map and a tool such as a pendulum to locate the object's position on the map as in reality.
MATERIALIZATION: Opposite of dematerialization, q.v.
MEDIUM: One who practices mediumship; usually reserved for the intentional only. See page 6'1'22 for more detailed descriptions.
MENTAL PROJECTION: In a manner similar to the Out-of-Body Experience, the projection of the mind to a distant site in space or time. This notion is the corollary to ESP and ETP in that whereas the latter are based upon a notion of statically-fixed mind receiving thoughts and impressions, the projection notion posits that the mind, which may also be thought of as the extent of the aura, is projected outwards so as to encompass the perceived scenes, objects, etc. This approach is more akin to telepathic projection, as is the corollary to telepathic reception; extrapolated further, it then links to the notions of psychokinesis, or P.K..