New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove

The Strength and Reliability of Remote Viewing with Russell Targ

Russell Targ, a laser physicist, cofounded the remote viewing research program at SRI International. He is coauthor of Mind Reach, The Mind Race, Miracles of Mind, The Heart of the Mind, and The End of Suffering. He is author of Limitless Mind and The Reality of ESP: A Physicist's Proof of Psychic Abilities. He is also coeditor of the anthology, Mind At Large.

Here he notes that a number of parapsychologists are unwilling to accept the existence of psi. Yet, in his own experience, remote viewing is very robust and productive. He suggests that the best researchers have had psi experiences of their own; and also have been engaged with esoteric traditions and spiritual practices. He explains how he was able to achieve remarkable results working with individuals who had no prior experience or understanding of remote viewing.

The Constancy of the Speed of Light with Edward R. Close

Edward R. Close, PhD, is author of Transcendental Physics. He is coauthor (with Vernon Neppe) of Reality Begins with Consciousness: A Paradigm Shift That Works. He is also author of a lengthy chapter titled "The Mathematical Unification of Time, Space, Matter, Energy, and Consciousness" in Is Consciousness Primary? edited by Gary Schwartz and Marjorie Woollacott.

Here he elaborates on several ostensible paradoxes associated with Einstein's theories of relativity. The normal laws that we associate with space and time in our daily lives break down. Ironically, while people associate Einstein with relativity, he considered himself a determinist. Close proposes that paradoxes of space and time are resolved once we bring consciousness into the picture. His model includes 3 dimensions of space, 3 dimensions of time, and 3 dimensions of consciousness. He elaborates on his view of higher consciousness.




Ecological Awareness and the Paranormal with Jack Hunter

Jack Hunter, PhD, is currently a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Chester in the UK. He is author of Engaging the Anomalous, and is editor of a new anthology titled Greening the Paranormal: Exploring the Ecology of Extraordinary Experience. He is also coeditor, with David Luke, of Talking With The Spirits: Ethnographies From Between The Worlds. He is also founder of the journal, Paranthropology.

Here he proposes that ecology and parapsychology have much in common -- and that the obstacles facing both fields are similar in many ways. He notes that many ecological activists report having had both paranormal and religious conversion types of experiences. He suggests that the complex relationships among non-human life forms uncovered in ecology provide a model for understanding the wide variety of paranormal phenomena. He also maintains that were are learning many surprising things about how plants communicate, suggesting a hidden intelligence and, perhaps, even consciousness.

Thanks for continuing to post these - Mishlove has done us all such a great service with these interviews.

Edward R. Close, PhD, is author of Transcendental Physics....[see above for full description]

Here he argues that all scientists can benefit from a cultivation of their inner experience -- as all science is based upon observation. He, personally, has been practicing a form of kriya yoga for almost sixty years. The purpose of spiritual practices is to create an alignment of body, mind, and spirit. He expresses this idea graphically, using the metaphor of the Rubik's cube. When individuals are so aligned, they become more effective in achieving their goals. He also suggests that the principles of spiritual practice are akin to the laws of science.

Researching Psychedelics and DMT with Rick Strassman

Rick Strassman, MD, is an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico. He is author of DMT: The Spirit Molecule -- A Doctor's Revolutionary Research Into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences, Inner Paths to Outer Space: Journeys to Alien Worlds Through Psychedelics and Other Spiritual Technologies, and DMT and the Soul of Prophecy: a New Science of Spiritual Revelation in the Hebrew Bible. He has also authored a novel titled Joseph Levy Escapes Death.

Here he describes the process of setting up a program to research the psychedelic drug, DMT, at the University of New Mexico. It took two years to obtain the required permissions, as there had been a twenty year hiatus in psychedelic research on human subjects. He describes the many precautions required for such research. He also discusses, in great detail, the stages of a DMT experience. Half of his research participants described communication with intelligent, autonomous entities while in an ostensible out-of-body state.

It was interesting and somewhat disappointing that he found nothing particularly or inherently spiritual in the dmt and other psychedelic effects and attributed any spiritual claim to "set and setting". Mabey puts it in a different category than NDE's which seem to produce generic "spiritual effects" most of the time regardless?

Psychedelics and Spirituality with Rick Strassman

Rick Strassman, MD, is an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico. He is author of DMT: The Spirit Molecule -- A Doctor's Revolutionary Research Into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences, Inner Paths to Outer Space: Journeys to Alien Worlds Through Psychedelics and Other Spiritual Technologies, and DMT and the Soul of Prophecy: a New Science of Spiritual Revelation in the Hebrew Bible. He has also authored a novel titled Joseph Levy Escapes Death.

Here he describes how he was an active Buddhist meditator for twenty years while he was also engaged in DMT research. Eventually he left Buddhist practice, and began a deep study of the Hebrew bible. Initially, he thought that the DMT "spirit molecule" might be responsible for spiritual experiences. In retrospect, he now believes that DMT serves as a placebo to amplify that which is already in the mind. He has developed the concept of "theoneurology" -- suggesting that the divine acts upon human imagination that then inspires the rational intellect.

The Transactional Interpretation of Quantum Theory with Ruth Kastner

Ruth Kastner, PhD, is a member of the Foundations of Physics group at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is author of The Transactional Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics: The Reality of Possibility, Understanding Our Unseen Reality: Solving Quantum Riddles, and Adventures in Quantumland: Exploring Our Unseen Reality.

Here she reviews the history of the transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics, originally developed by physicist John Cramer at the University of Washington. She, herself, was responsible for recent modifications to the theory -- thus the "relativistic" nomenclature. The theory maintains that enormous action related to the actualization of quantum events takes place outside of the spacetime domain. While this interpretation is not dependent upon consciousness, it allows for the existence of consciousness and is consistent with metaphysical idealism.

Free Will and Determinism with Ruth Kastner

Ruth Kastner, PhD, is a member of the Foundations of Physics group at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is author of The Transactional Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics: The Reality of Possibility, Understanding Our Unseen Reality: Solving Quantum Riddles, and Adventures in Quantumland: Exploring Our Unseen Reality.

Here she maintains that quantum indeterminacy is not quite the same as "randomness" and that it does allow for the possibility of free will, which is otherwise incompatible with a completely deterministic universe. Physics, however, has nothing to say about consciousness -- a term that is not defined precisely in any physical theory. However, it is interesting to note that the "iceberg" metaphor used by Freud to describe the human subconscious can be equally applied to the ontological realm of possibility or "Quantumland" as defined in the Transactional Interpretation.

Peter B. Todd, MAPS, a psychotherapist with a Jungian orientation, is author of The Individuation of God: Integrating Science and Religion. He experienced clinical death, during cardiac surgery, in 2005, and was subsequently revived. He was also a gold medalist at the 1982 Gay Games in San Francisco.

Here he points out that, like metaphysical idealism, dual-aspect monism is a theory of mind that serves as an alternative to the mainstream view of metaphysical materialism. It postulates a neutral, primordial substance that is neither mind nor matter, but from which both originate. In the approach developed by Carl Jung and Wolfgang Pauli this original substance is known as "anima mundi" or the world soul. In the approach of physicist David Bohm, and his colleagues, it is referred to as the "implicate order". Todd discusses the scientific, religious, and social implications of this theory of mind.

Charles Richet: Nobel Laureate Psychic Researcher with Carlos Alvarado

Carlos S. Alvarado, PhD, is a Research Fellow at the Parapsychology Foundation, and Adjunct Research Faculty at Sofia University. He is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Near-Death Studies and the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, and is the Book Review Editor of the Journal of Parapsychology, and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Scientific Exploration. Alvarado is also the recipient of the 2010 Parapsychological Association’s Outstanding Contribution Award, the Parapsychological Association 2017 Outstanding Career Award. He is author of the book, Charles Richet: A Nobel Prize Winning Scientist's Explorations of Psychic Phenomena.

Here he describes the many talents of the great, French renaissance man, Charles Richet -- a pioneer in aviation, medicine, and psychology who also wrote extensively in many other areas. Psychical research may have been Richet's greatest passion, and the area of inquiry for which he is mostly remembered today. His explorations of the physical phenomena associated with mediumship were extensive. He also experimented with telepathic hypnotic induction. Although he participated in many seances, he was not a spiritualist.