For
psychic development and clairsentient awareness empathy can
be a valuable asset but it does, however, have a downside.
If you are strongly empathetic, someone else's feelings, emotions
and attitudes can register so strongly upon us that we assume
these are our feelings. We may not realise that what we are
feeling may actually be tied to someone else we have encountered
or the location we are in. It is very easy to link with the
problems and issues of others and carry them with us as if
they are our own. If you are not aware you are doing this
you can begin to think you are going crazy.
If you find that you have a strong tendency to be empathetic
and to experience what others are experiencing it is vital
to find ways to deliberately disconnect yourself from others
and to have time to be alone every day. Some suggest using
visualization techniques to disconnect yourself, such as visualising
cutting threads or pulling out cords from the other person.
Others suggest visualising a protective bubble around yourself
during the day.
ENERGY,
PSYCHIC
See
LIBIDO
ESP
[EXTRASENSORY PERCEPTION]
Term used to describe the ability of some people to perceive
things beyond which their five senses of sight, hearing, touch,
smell and taste can tell them. ESP is often described as a
sixth sense, but it does not function like a sense and is
not dependent on the other senses, age, location, time or
intelligence. It seems to originate in an alternate reality
and to bring people information about the past, present and
future that they couldn't be aware of under normal circumstances.
Information that comes through ESP is not always significant
or accurate, possible because it is affected by the thoughts
of the waking consciousness, but in some cases it is.
The term 'ESP' was first used as early as 1870 but it was
American parapsychologist J B Rhine who popularised the term
in 1934, when he was one of the first to test for GESP, or
general extrasensory perception, in the laboratory. ESP is
often applied to any psychic or paranormal experience but
strictly speaking it is divided into two main categories :
telepathy and clairvoyance, which can be perceived forward
(precognition) and backwards (retrocognition); if a person
possesses these powers they are known as psychics. ESP should
not be used to describe out-of-body expereinces or psychokeinesis.
The term psi is also sometimes used to cover ESP, and some
Russian scientists call ESP bioinformation.
Since
Rhine's experiements in the 1930's ESP has become the subject
of investigation in its own right as scientists discovered
that information can enter the brain/mind in other ways apart
from the five senses.
Research
shows that ESP does exist but how it happens remains a mystery.
With quantum theory pointing to the existence of a second,
non-material universe, more and more scientists are coming
round to the idea than an extrasensory force exiss in another
reality and from time to time this force may interact with
the physical world.
Theories
to explain ESP
There
have been serveral theories to explain ESP. Psychiatrist Carl
Jung suggested that the conscious mind has psychic acess to
the collective unconscious, where all accumulated wisdom and
experience of the human race is collected.
The
most recent theories tend to centre on the existence of a
second consciousness (which can also be called 'soul', 'super
consciousness, 'dream self', or a number of other names) that
somehow integreates physical and alternate realities. Subliminal
barriers separate the second consciousness, otherwise the
waking cosnciousness would be overwhelmed with data.
ETHERIC
BODY
also described as an aura, the etheric body is thought to
be a second, subtle body which is typically a mirror image
of the physical body and which can, under certain circumstances,
be projected and travel great distances in a short space of
time. It is often said to be the same as the astral body but
some traditions believe that the astral plane is one step
closer to higher consciousness. In magical traditions the
etheric body is said to be composed of fine energy. Recent
research not only suggests that the etheric body may exist
but that its substance may be electrical energy.
EXPERIMENTER
EFFECT
a term used in laboratory tests for psi to describe the unconscious
psychic influence or bias of the experimenter on the subject.
The effect may show up as unconscious telepathic communication
or use of body language or attitude communicated to the subject.
The experimenter effect was noticed first in psychology in
the tendency of patients and therapists to establish a rapport,
and then in psychical research in the 1930s when it became
apparent that in some cases the experimenter became the determining
factor for the outcome of a test. It was shown that experiments
who seemed negative and unsupportive yielded powerful results
than experimenters who were positive and encouraging. Subjects
also seemed to be influenced by how much they thought their
experimenter believed in psi and whether or the experimenter
liked them. In 1949 American psychologist and psychical researcher
Gardner Murphy suggested that certain brilliant test results
were due to the intense feelings of the experimenters.
Some experimenters do appear to get more positive and more
conclusive results than others. According to some psi researchers
this doesn't necessarily invalidate their test results. It
is argued that it is important for the experimenter to believe
in psychic ability and to have a positive, encouraging attitude
towards the subject, as this creates the kind of relaxed and
positive atmosphere conducive to psychic development.
EXTRAVERSION
Attitude-type
characterised by cocnetration of interest on the external
object.
See
INTROVERSION
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