There now is ongoing psychical research into physical mediumship phenomena

Several very interesting articles just came out in the current issue just published of the journal of the Society for Scientific Exploration, Vol. 38 No. 2 (July 2024), at https://journalofscientificexploration.o...ex.php/jse. The articles/papers and the following authors' comments (in the public domain not paywalled) indicate that psychical research in parapsychology is not dead and in fact may be on the upswing. These papers have to do with ongoing recent research into the underlying causes of the well-known elusiveness of paranormal or psychical phenomena to scientific verification. 

This research is into the formerly scientifically totally taboo subject of the paranormal and most importantly into psychical research into mediumship physical phenomena (yes - this latter really is still going on today). And additionally this is being featured in the latest issue of the Journal of the SSE (JSE). These factors are probably indications of an editorial change for JSE back into more important subject matters, after a long period of apparent just skirting the fringes of the paranormal and psychical.

The proposed hypotheses are rather complicated, but seem to at least be in the right direction. My impression is that they seem to be getting at least some slight grip on this facinating but aggravating phenomenon, involving carrying out carefully planned research trying to understand the mysterious nature of psychical phenomena including mediumistic physical effects and their famous elusiveness.

The hypotheses of these investigators so far have been concentrated into two groups. 

First, the notion that due to their nature they bear some relationship with quantum mechanics, most specifically particle entanglement. On this,
Walter von Lucadou's Model of Pragmatic Information (MPI) and Generalized Quantum Theory (GQT), are based on quantum physical principles, where these principles seem to be bound up with the models' predictions on the elusiveness of psi phenomena.

The other type of hypotheses is that again according to experimental observations, various sometimes tricky enties are responsible for the much of the notorious unreliability and elusiveness of the phenomena to scientific enquiry.   

Excerpts from the several research papers to give a sense of the work and results:

On the quantum mechanics-related hypotheses,

"The core structure of the MPI and the GQT is derived from findings made in quantum physics. They have been transferred to the macrophysical and psychological realms. A central role is played by a property of quantum systems that allows “spooky action at a distance” (Einstein), i.e., a non-local correlation between two entangled particles, but which cannot be used to transmit information, as this use would cause the entanglement correlation to collapse immediately."

"Even after many years of effort, (the investigator) Batcheldor could not lay his hand on a single video recording of a paranormal phenomenon. In a letter to me, he described a typical situation: “During an experiment we had switched on the infrared video camera when the table levitated. Although we thought the video recorder was running, we did not feel inhibited and I believed we had achieved a (successful recording of a paranormal event). When we played back the tape, however, it did not contain any images at all! (Note: in other words this was probably because information in physical form was not transferred). We found out that a switch had been in a wrong position. The next time I carefully checked the position of all switches and, indeed, the table refused to levitate when the camera was turned on."

However, one of the principal investigators based on his actual observations prefers an entity hypothesis -this on the "mischievious entity" hypotheses:

"I speculate that the phenomena have sentient, contradictory, and dream-like qualities. Their behaviors may reflect our mental processes, but I do not think that our
current psychological theories fully explain the observed outcomes. It is as if the pinwheels in the experiment (1) Want to reveal themselves as sentient,
(2) Want to hide their sentience, (3) Want to violate our expectations, and (4) Are aware of and responding to our emotions."

I suspect that the truth may be a combination of the two overall hypotheses, even though that would violate the quasi-rule of Occam's Razor. 

It would be interesting to speculate how these hypotheses relate to the well-known paranormal phenomenon of veridical NDEs. Presumably, the now obvious reluctance of veridical features to appear when deliberately looked for, using displays at the ceilings of hospital emergency rooms not visible from below (as in Sam Parnia's hospital experiments). Veridical NDEs are extremely rare when deliberately tested for. This may be evidence of "deliberate" avoidance by the NDE phenomenon of proof by scientific verification.

Some background on my last post on the now ongoing unprecedented for many years physical mediumistic psychical phenomena research, experiments being now conducted by affiliates of the SSE. This work has come about because a new research benefactor has come upon the scene to grant funding to worthy research proposals in parapsychology and even mediumistic psychical phenomena. Up until this, to my knowledge, of course due to the taboo nature of parapsychology and psychical phenomena in the circles of established materialist science, there has been very little funding for this except for instance the long-term Chester Carlson grant to the University of Virginia that for instance enabled Ian Stevenson and Jim Tucker's reincarnation work. 

From an announcement by the interim-president and JSE editor-in-chief in SSE's latest news bulletin the Explorer:

"Psi investigators are encouraged to submit their applications by August 31, 2024. Details are provided here: https://www.bialfoundation.com/media/482...4_2025.pdf
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The program's emphasis on rigorous scientific inquiry and methodological robustness also has been pivotal in elevating the credibility of these fields. By setting high standards for research proposals and funding projects that demonstrate scientific merit, the BIAL Foundation has helped shift the perception of parapsychology from the fringes to a legitimate area of scholarly pursuit. This rigorous approach has resulted in numerous high-quality studies that expand our understanding of human consciousness and the potential of the human mind.
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In a world where funding for unconventional research is scarce, the BIAL Foundation stands out as a champion for intellectual curiosity and scientific exploration. Its grants program is not just an investment in research but an investment in the future of science, encouraging bold inquiry and the pursuit of knowledge that transcends traditional boundaries