Psychics (My 100th Post!!)

"... for changes are coming, this may be sure -- an evolution or revolution in the ideas of religious thought. The basis of it for the world will eventually come out of Russia. Not communism, no! But rather that which is the basis of the same as the Christ taught -- his kind of communism."   

Edgar Cayce

The third eye, second sight, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, ESP, NDE, telepathy, premonitions, mind reading, channeling, remote viewing, fortune telling, palm reading, phrenology, the list goes on and the names for each vary with the times and programs.

 

Nostradamas, Madam Helena Blavatsky, Daniel Dunglas Home, Jeane Dixon, John Edward, Theresa Caputo, my grandmother on my father's side, my mother and me, some famous and some not, all claim to have psychic ability or to have had moments of psychic intuition.  Is it real?  We keep interviewing the psychics, but aren't they the ones selling us this snake oil?

 

The Nazis of the Third Reich thought there was something to it.  The three strongest governments in the modern world seemed to think there was validity in it as well.  China, the Soviet Union, and the United States all had classified intelligence programs dabbling in the world of psychic phenomena for the last fifty years of the twentieth century.  If the government gives it that much attention, that much credence, why shouldn't we?

 

If you get a few minutes, look up "remote viewing" or any of it's shadowy code names: Grill Flame, Sun Streak, or Star Gate.  The read is quite interesting so I will not try to describe the program in any detail.  Suffice to say it dealt with trying to "see" intelligence from down the street or around the world.  There was enough success to keep the program opened for years.  American Intelligence would have us believe they ended such programs years ago, but the denials are half hearted.  But, let's define success.

 

In the mid-1990s the Stargate Project came to a close.  The data that gathered and analyzed.  The success rate was around 15%.  This was significantly better than the control group.  But, is 15% really that good?  Would we base an investment on the possibility of a 15% success rate?  Of course not, but this was government intelligence and national security.  This was trying to stay ahead of the communist hordes.  One would think a true ability could garner better scores than 15%.

 

Psychics tend to make predictions that are sketchy enough to be interpreted several ways.  John Edward would have readings where the questions he asked seemed to have significantly less than a perfect rate of return, even less than the governments 15%, but he was still able to spin that information into a seemingly astounding feat to his audience.  Showmanship is more than half the battle.  We love being entertained.

 

And what of Teresa Caputo, the Long Island Psychic?  Aren't her techniques similar to other frauds?  She seems to use the same techniques as John Edward while reading a client.  But, she can do this at the drop of a hat, and simply state what the specific message is for a total stranger on the street, and be correct!  She seemingly defies the Edward mold and the governments 15% threshold.

 

I often felt that psychics might be telepathically picking up information we might be subconsciously transmitting, which would still be a phenomenal feat, but Teresa says these messages come from loved ones departed.  I would have to think that she would be able to tell the difference between reading a mind and getting a message.  She also seems to have no problem coming on camera with Dr. Oz and undergoing some brain scans to learn more, for herself, about what is happening when she channels.  They indicated on this segment that studies show people saying they have psychic ability also report having a history of anxiety, an unusual spiritual experience, family history of these abilities, brain trauma.

 

Of all the psychics I have ever watched, Teresa Caputo is the most relaxed, convincing, and seemingly spontaneous of all of them.  Is she real?  I think she believes so.  Her ratings evidence that most of her viewers believe so.  Psychics like Teresa are used by police departments more and more for cases that have run aground.

 

Psychic abilities differ so much, there is bound to be enough of the "unknown" left for government study.  As much as I believe in Teresa, I can't help thinking that the government wouldn't have asked her to assist in some testing by now, if she was all that.

 

Not long ago the CIA's covert intelligence remote viewer wunderkind, Ingo Swann, passed away.  Unfortunately his talent wasn't seeing into the future or he would might have seen it coming.  He left us with a tale of a black ops program to psychically scan the moon, ongoing extraterrestrial activity here on earth, and E.T.'s building of something on the moon's dark side.  As men of moral conscience get older, the allegiance they hold toward classified programs become of less import than their perception of a greater good.  Was his death of natural causes, or was he too dangerous to allow to live?  If he was, isn't this the ultimate proof of a government's belief in the psychic realm? 

 

We may find out, one day.  In the meantime, Teresa's show has been renewed for another season.  I will be watching. 

“I suspect everybody has a degree of psychic ability, just as a everybody has a degree of athletic or artistic ability. Some people have special gifts; other people have a particular interest that leads them to develop their abilities. But the phenomenon itself is ordinary and widespread.”

Michael Crichton