Psychokinesis (literally "mind-movement") or PK is the more commonly used term today for what in the past was known as telekinesis (literally "distant-movement"). It refers to the psi ability to influence the behavior of matter by mental intention (or possibly some other aspect of mental activity) alone. As of 2004 the term remote influencing is becoming widely used for certain kinds of psychokinesis.
Remote influencing
In recent years, the term remote influencing has become popular to describe the application of psychokinesis to biological systems. This may be to impact either positively or negatively upon health, alter mood, or influence decision making.
In a similar fashion, remote viewing has been applied to clairvoyance. These terms emerged from research undertaken by the American government, for the application of psychic abilities to intelligence gathering, military force, and remote assassination.
Some of the most detailed claims in this area are made in The Men Who Stare At Goats, written by Jon Ronson to accompany his British TV series The Crazy Rulers of the World. It is claimed in the 1980s at 'goat lab' at Fort Bragg, special forces troops attempted to influence the heart rate of mammals such as goats. It is claimed skilled remote influencers can stop the hearts of goats and hamsters long enough to cause death. According to Ronson, on the personal instructions of Donald Rumsfeld post 9/11, over 100 goats were shipped to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and the research was resumed.
Glenn Wheaton claims to have been involved in the original ‘goat lab’ project in the 1980s, and continues his research in partnership with Dick Allgire through the Hawaiian Remote Viewing Guild. The combination of the intent of psychokinesis, and the control and focus of remote viewing, reportedly enables specific parts of the mind and body of any person to be remotely influenced.
The programs are generally said to be secret, making verification difficult. Incidents of illness in world figures, such as George W. Bush's loss of consciousness after choking on a pretzel in January, 2002, have been ascribed to psychic attacks. Many websites offer to sell courses that purportedly teach remote viewing and remote influencing.
Important claimed "psychokinetics"
- Uri Geller, the Israeli famous for his spoon-bending demonstrations
- Nina Kulagina, alleged Soviet psychic of the Cold War era
Psychokinesis as sleight of hand
Psychokinesis is also a popular topic for illusionists and magicians, and there are many variations on the theme, ranging from a conjurer at a party influencing an object in a sealed box, to a stage illusionist lifting a person or other heavy object and 'passing rings around them' to show that there are no wires or supports.
A common party trick is to use twine or catgut in poor light conditions to physically pull or lift an object. Another one is to place a piece of folded paper, or similar item, on a table, and then pass one's cupped hands around it. The air current from the conjurer's hands will move the paper, but because there will be some delay between the hands moving and the object responding (due to the slower movement of air currents) and some distance between the hands and the object, it will appear that the object moves without being touched or influenced in any physical way.
Often, in this illusion, the hand movements are merely to redirect the audience's attention, while the conjurer simply blows on the object that he is supposedly trying to move.
Commonly, this is known as sleight of hand, and is wholly separate from the scientific/paranormal aspects of psychokinesis.
In most cases, half of the audience's enjoyment is derived from the suspension of disbelief involved in such staged acts, and the other half is derived from attempting to figure out which method the illusionist used to carry out the illusion.
Quotes
- "Everyone who believes in telekinesis, raise my hand." - James Randi, Swift, 15 March 2002, closing line
See also
References
- Radin, Dean, The Conscious Universe, Harper Collins, 1997, ISBN 0062515020.
- Ronson, Jon The Men who Stare at Goats, Picador, 2004, ISBN 0330375474
- Sudre, René, Parapsychology, The Citadel Press, 1960, Library of Congress Catalog 60-13928
- Imich, Alexander (ed.) Incredible Tales of the Paranormal, Bramble Books, 1995, ISBN 1-883647-03-7
- Hasted, J.B., The Metal-Benders, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981, ISBN 7010005970
- "Dimension Desconocida" , December 2005
Further reading
- Randi, James, Flim-Flam, Prometheus Books, 1982, ISBN 0-89775-198-3
External links
- Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) center