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DEATH
The opposite of life, ceasing to exist.
Also a personification of the destroyer of life typically represented
as a skeleton holding a scythe. Dying; when all bodily functions cease,
is the greater unknown that neither religion nor science has been able
to fully explain or understand. Because it is unknown and inevitable,
death has always both fascinated and terrified the living. Some cultures,
such as the Egyptians and the Christians of the Dark Age, have been absolutely
obsessed by it. All cultures have had their own myths about it.
Most people see death as a time of sorrow and regret but some religions,
such as Hinduism and Buddhism, see it as a blessed state for the soul
that has gone. Funerals are a time of great rejoicing as to cry and mourn
will literally hold the soul to earth.
For psychics and mediums, who say they can communicate with the dead,
and those who have had near death experiences [i.e. they have died and
have been revived to tell their story], death is almost always described
as a beautiful process. However much pain the physical body is experiencing
the moment the soul gets into the astral body this disappears and there
is a feeling of lightness and peace. Typically a loving soul appears to
tell them that their work on earth has not been completed and they need
to go back. That marvellous feeling of peace and oneness, however, stays
with them and the person is left with an understanding that death is not
the end by simply the end of a cycle, for the soul goes on eternally learning
lessons and seeking perfection.
DECLINE/INCLINE
EFFECTS Terms used to describe phenomena witnessed in psi testing.
The decline effect is a term used to describe the diminishing of psychic
ability when tested. The incline effect refers to an increase in ability.
Experiments to test psychic ability tend to show that the decline effect
occurs more often than the incline effect. Some gifted individual's score
highly consistently but many gifted test subjects, who have scored high
in initial tests, report a loss of spontaneity and enthusiasm during a
run of tests. This may be due to the fact that the perception of psi is
a very subtle process and without feedback a subject has no way of judging
his or her success. Another major factor is boredom as many tests involve
repetitive tasks such as guessing numbers or cards.
DÉJÀ VU An expression of familiarity that is unexpected,
déjà vu is the sensation of having been to a place or experienced
a situation before. The French term for 'already seen' can apply to feeling,
thoughts, places, dreams meetings and living in general - whenever something
familiar seemingly happens for the first time. The idea was first introduced
to science in 1896 by F L. Arnaud.
Studies conducted on déjà vu suggest that it is a common
experience, with more than half of those polled reporting instances of
déjà vu. It also seems more common in children and women
than men.
The phenomenon is thought to be a psychological process where the unconscious
mind is stimulated to recall past events of a similar nature that somehow
get mixed up with the present event. Some feel that it is evidence for
reincarnation, memories of past lives being pushed to the surface of the
mind by familiar surroundings or people in the present. Some say it happens
when one draws on the collective memories of mankind - see collective
unconscious - while others believe it to be the result of out of body
experiences during sleep, or other extra sensory phenomena.
DISPLACEMENT
First documented in 1939 by Cambridge University psychical researcher
Whitely Carrington, and now observed as a common occurence, displacement
is lack of sychronization in psi testing. For example, a person asked
to give the order of a pack of playing cards or ESP cards may be one or
two cards ahead of behind in sequence. Displacement also occurs in precognitive
dreams and psychic readings, when difficult or challenging information
is placed out of context or buried in non threatening information or symbols.
Parapsychologists call displacement 'psychic noise' and believe it to
be caused by the absence of earth time in the higher planes where psychic
insight fucntions and the psychic associations of a group of potential
targets that are difficult to tell apart.
DOPPELGANGER
The appearance of a double of a living person, thought to be a death omen,
or bilocation - the astral body of someone having an out of body experience.
'Doppelganger comes from the German, meaning 'double walker'.
The belief in the spirit or soul existing in a double is ancient and widespread.
The ancient Egyptians said the soul had a double or Ka, and a special
kind of tomb, called the house of Ka, was reserved for the double. Doubles
are said to be exact copies of the living person and are usually seen
at a location distant from them.
As a death omen there are reports of seeing doubles just as the individual
in question is about to die. The double usually appears real but has a
ghostly, filmy look about them and can sometimes act mechanically. In
some rare cases, such as that of the poet Shelly who saw his own double
before drowning, the double appears to the dying individual him or herself.
As well as being a death omen, many psychical researchers who have examined
cases of doppelgangers believe they are projections of consciousness that
somehow take on a form resembling reality. This can happen involuntarily
or it can be accomplished at will. English medium Eileen Garrett suggested
that the double is a clairvoyant projection that can be manipulated to
develop supernatural powers.
DOWSING Also
known as divining, rhabdomancy and water witching dowsing is a form of
divination performed using a forked stick, pendulum or rods to find hidden
things, in particular underground water, minerals and oil. Today it is
used to locate lost objects, buried treasure, mineral deposits and water
wells, and to diagnose illnesses.
Dowsing is an ancient practice with unknown origins, however it is thought
to date back at least 8.000 years. Wall paintings, estimated to be about
8,000 years old, discovered in the Tassili Caves of North Africa show
tribesmen surrounding a man with a forked stick, possibly dowsing for
water.
How the dowsing technique was first discovered and how dowsing works is
unknown, yet those who practise it are convinced that it does work. Dowsing
is still very much in use today in archaeological digs, searching for
minerals and missing persons and in alternative healing, when the dowser
swings a pendulum over the patients body to determine the location and
cause of illness. It is not widely known but petrochemical companies employ
dowsers to confirm underground sources of oil and gas, and dowsers have
also made contributions towards the understanding of mysterious earth
energies, such as those represented by ley lines. The American Society
of Dowsers estimates there may be as many as 30,000 dowsers in the United
States, but despite this, dowsing still struggles to be regarded as a
legitimate field.
Dowsing attracted some well-known figures from history, including Leonardo
de Vinci, Robert Boyle [considered the father of modern chemistry] and
Charles Richet [ a Nobel Prize winner], Albert Eisnteien was also convinced
of the authenticity of dowsing:
"I know
very well that many scientists consider dowsing as they do astrology,
as a type of ancient superstition. According to my conviction this is,
however, unjustified. The dowsing rod is a simple instrument which shows
the reaction of the human nervous system to certain factors which are
unknown to us at this time."
Recent experiments in Russia have shown that dowsing rods can be sensitive
to electromagnetic fields and that almost anyone can learn to dowse -
although women tend to be more successful at it that men. Scientists believe
this may be because unknown force fields respond better to the polarity
in women's bodies. Sceptics argue that dowsing is a matter of luck and
that those with a high rate of success just have good instincts for where
objects or water may be found. For both believer and sceptic there is
no definitive evidence either way.
DREAMS Everyone
dreams. It is estimated that in an average lifetime a person will spend
approximately 25 years asleep and experience at least 300,000 dream, regardless
of whether these dreams are recalled on awakening. Researchers believe
that babies dream the most, children dream for four or fie hours a night
and adults for one or two hours. Animals also appear to dream.
Research from the University of Chicago, has shown that dreams occur during
the rapid eye movement [REM] period of sleep, which occurs for between
five and forty minutes every sixty to ninety minutes of sleep. Most people
only remember the last dream prior to waking, but if they are woken up
during earlier dream periods they will recall other dreams.
Unless written down immediately on waking most dreams fade within a few
minutes. Dreams usually occur in colour but seldom have smells or taste,
and this may be due to the fact that only visual brain neurons fire during
REM. Almost all dreams use metaphors to deal with issues in the life of
the dreamer, and every event in the dream is believed to have some kind
of significance for the person dreaming it.
A brief history
of dreams
People have always been fascinated by dreams and what they mean. All primitive
religions viewed dreams as ways for the spirits or deities to speak to
humans. The earliest known dream dictionary dates back around 4,000 years.
Now called the Hester Beatty Papyrus it came from Thebes in Upper Egypt
and is kept in the British Museum. In the Chester Beatty Papyrus dreams
are interpreted and translated as omens or prophecies. For example, dreaming
that your teeth fall out is interpreted as a loved one trying to kill
you.
In ancient Greece dreams were also through to be unlucky or lucky predictions.
The Old Testament makes countless references to dream interpretation.
The importance of drems and their meaings were prominient in the writings
of the Early Church Fathers, including St Augustine, up until the time
of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) who regarded dreams as insignificant'
for several hundred years afterwards, dreams were no longer considered
important. Even Shakespeare called them 'children of the idle brain'.
Although dream interpretation did continue to be an important part of
the service of magicians and astrologers, this dreams should be ignored
school of thought persisted until the nineteenth century. The along came
psychiatrists Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, the two men who have had the
greatest impact on the way we look at dreams today.
No one knows how but dreams seem to be able to link the conscious (waking)
mind with the hidden part of the mind called the unconscious or intuition
and by so doing they provide a rich and powerful inner resource that can
enhance life considerably. Today dream interpretation is extremely popular,
with as unqiue and very personal sources of comfort, guidance and inspiration.
Dreams, health
and creativity
Scientists tell us that dreaming is essential to our mental, emotional
and physical health and wellbeing, because dreams can help us relax, release
frustrations, sort out information, solve problems or alert us to them,
play out fantasies, offer inspiration and restore balance.
There are numerous famous examples of dreams offering inspiration. Solutions
to problems, ideas for inventions and artistic endeavours have all found
their way to the conscious mind via dreams. Mary Shelley dreamed of the
creature that was to become Frankenstein. Other famous literary dreamers
include Edgar Allen Poe, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Charlotte Bronte, Robert
Louis Stephenson and J R R Tolkien. Paul McCartney heard a haunting melody
in one of his dreams and write it down. It became the song 'Yesterday'.
Inventions and ideas that have sprung from dream include the model of
the atom, the M9 analogue computer, the isolation of insulin in the treatment
of diabetes and the sewing machine.
Dreams and
paranormal
Dreams of the dead are viewed in the West from a psychological perspective
and not as actual encounters with ghosts, but many believe that the dead
appear in dreams because they have a purpose: usually to offer advice
and instruction. Some dreams involving the dead are also thought to be
death omens. In the eighteenth century Lord Lyttlton dreamt of a fluttering
bird and a woman in white who told him he would die in three days times.
Despite his best efforts to prove her wrong, Lyttleton died as predicted.
Although dreams that focus on communication between the living and the
dead have been accepted in many culture since ancient times as proof that
the dead have to ability to interfere with the lives of the living, drams
have also always shared a strong link with supernatural powers, in particular
with precognition and telepathy.
Although rare, precognitive dreams are ones in which you see the future
before it happens. The ancient Chaldeans, Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks,
Romans and Native Americans all believed dreams were a method of foretelling
the future, and even, today there are instances when people claim to have
dreamt of things before they happen. Many people, for example, claim to
have had dreams of the 9/11 World Trade Centre disaster before it happened.
There are also stories of people who cancel trips or flights because of
a foreboding dream or people who dreamt the winning lottery numbers.
There is strong evidence that some precognitive dreams warn about future
health problems. Jung noticed that if his patients dreamt of injury to
a horse - the archetypal symbol of animal life within the human body -
they were often in the early stage of serious illness. A 1987 study at
Michigan State University showed that cardiac patients who dreamt of destruction
were far more likely to have worse heart disease than those who did not.
Dreams also serve as preparation for death, with terminally ill patients
sometimes reporting transitional dreams of crossing bridges or walking
through doors just before death. These dreams often bring peace of mind.
Dream telepathy has interested psychical researchers since the late nineteenth
century. The founders of the Society for Psychic Research in London collected
numerous dream telepathy cases in their study of paranormal experiences
published in Phantasms of the Living [1886].
A number of telepathic dream studies have been conducted since, the most
famous of which is perhaps the one conducted at the dream laboratory of
the Maimonides Medical Centre in Brooklyn, New York from 11963-1974. When
subjects were in REM stages of sleep, a person in another room attempted
to transmit images to the sleeping subject and the correlation of dream
images was significantly above average.
Some dreams are interrupted as having past-life content. Recurring dreams
which involve the same action, people and scenery are though to be memories
from past lives that have lingered for some reason and the dreamer needs
to work out why. Others are thought to be out of body experience when
the astral body travels - seven out of ten people experience the sensation
of flying in their dreams at some point in the life. Another type of dream
is the lucid dream in which the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming
and is able to influence the content of the dream and, in some instance,
the outcome.
Many believe that drams are a powerful way to connect with and harness
psychic power. Studies of ESP experiences show that dreams are involved
in between 33 and 69 per cent of all cases. In precognitive cases dreams
are involved around 60 per cent of the time and in telepathic cases dreams
are involved around 25 per cent of the time.
Most of us forget our dreams immediately on waking. There is so much to
do when the new day starts and the wonderful world of meaning dreams can
release to us is neglected. According to a Jewish proverb, 'An unremembered
dream is like an unopened letter from God.'
To work with your dreams you do need to remember them. Keeping a dream
journal and recording your dreams as soon as you wake will help your dream
recall. If dreams are not written down they will face away. The technique
of dream recording is simple, you leave a notepad and pencil within reach
of your bed and immediately on waking your write down whatever you can
remember about your dream - the people, the colours, the places, the events
- every detail, however small, is significant.
Interpreting
your dreams
Have you ever wondered why dreams are often hard to make sense of?
Its because the information they contain is presented in the language
of images and the number of images your brain can present is endless.
Dream experiences believe that the images are your own thoughts,
feelings and ideas turned into a series of pictures and scenes and
its up to the individual to translate and interpret them.
Your unconscious mind is working all the time using images, feelings
and pictures from your past and present and linking them in with
the issues currently concerning you. For example, if you feel stressed
you may have a dream where you are swimming and cant keep your head
above water: If you feel confused you may have a dream where you
are lost in a dark wood. Some of these images can be universally
recognised - a boat, for example, is typically a symbol of transition
- but most of the images in your dreams can only really be interpreted
by you. That's why dream dictionary isn't always helpful as the
interpretation in there will be universal and not unique to you.
A good way to uncover the meanings of your dreams is by free association.
You simply go with the first thing that pops into your mind when
recalled an image you had in a dream. For example, if you dream
of a dog what are the fist thoughts that come into your mind when
you think about dogs? Forget about universal associations with dogs;
what are your personal associations with dogs? What a dog means
to you and what a dog means to someone else may be entirely different.
Perhaps you had an unpleasant encounter with a dog once and rather
than being symbols of love, loyalty and devotion dogs represent
fear and trauma for you?
The more you work with your dreams the more familiar you will become
with your personal images. Always bear in mind that your dream symbols
and images will be unique to you. What do you think your dream is
trying to tell you?
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DRUGS The
use of drugs and the visions they induce in religious ceremonies is an
age old practice. Opinions vary greatly as to whether certain drugs can
stimulate genuine psychic experiences or not. Some believe that drugs
can duplicate mystical experiences and brighten the emotions, and are
of value to psychotherapy. Others believe that drug related experiences
are simply illusions.
There have been a number of tests on drugs and their effects on psi ability
since the 1920s. Both caffeine and alcohol have been shown to both improve
and depress test results. Marijuana and other strong psychedelic drugs,
such as LSD and mescaline, which loosen the boundaries of the ego generally,
trigger too much instability to yield meaningful conclusions. [c.f. Aldous
Huxley] In general results have been largely inclusive as drugs affect
each person differently.
Most psychics would discourage the use of mind-altering drugs, believe
that true insight and power can only be created or raised from within,
not from without.
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