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Investigation into channeling for documentary

Rev. Wright

18:50 / 05.06.02

I'm working on an approach for a documentary which is focusing on a medium and the content of a body of channeled info. compiled since 1995. I want to approach this subject with an open and sceptical view, so I am researching both the metaphysical and scientific stands. Does anyone have any theories, concepts or opinions on the subject, that I should follow up?

captain piss

12:55 / 06.06.02

I recently came across this article in the Skeptical Inquirer called 'How to study weird things' (http://www.csicop.org/si/9809/weird.html)
which has some specific comments about channelling and how best to tackle these subjects with a perspective that is scientifically credible.

I think Susan Blackmore (of 'The Meme MAchine' fame), another favourite of skeptical literature, has done a fair bit in this area, but I'm not sure what's written. She was also quoted in NewScientist recently as saying she'd given up researching parapsychology and related areas, out of exasperation I think.

Rev. Wright

13:58 / 06.06.02

Many thanks for the leads.
I came across this whilst looking into Susan Blackmore.

Ria

16:07 / 06.06.02

you could search for a book called Gods*Spirits*Cosmic Guardians by Hilary Evans which details some archetypal contact experiences from recent times (nothing from the ancient world for example) and examines the different hypotheses and in particular talks about the "need-based encounter: experiences shaped apparently by personal prejudices. if paranormal critters do exist then perhaps our expectations, well, channel them into forms acceptable to us.

if you can't find this book get in touch and I will mail you my copy.

I also reccomend Julian Jayne's The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (whew!) and The Center of the Cyclone and Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer (another lovely title!). more readily available, these ones. these deal with (simplifying a lot) the multiple mind theme too.

Ria

16:09 / 06.06.02

these last two books, John Lilly wrote. you can get these with ease.

Lurid Archive

16:13 / 06.06.02

Interesting site, will. Lionheart will like it, since it provides counter arguments to my position on the Milton thread. hehehe.

Anyway. A skeptical overview of some recent experiments with mediums is given here. It refers to the experiment by Schwartz et al, mentioned on the site you linked to. Thankfully, it is free of the hysteria that accompanies Randi's comments.

Lionheart

04:34 / 07.06.02

Actually I don't like that site. Or at least that specific page of the site. It states stuff without backing it up. And whoever wrote that article had no idea that Randi was being sarcastic in response to whoever asked him that trickster qustion.

Lurid Archive

08:55 / 07.06.02

Thats what I thought at first, but if you follow some of the links then you get some well argued points being made. Winston Wu is quite good. Of course I disagree, but it is an interesting read nonetheless.

Rev. Wright

11:28 / 07.06.02

The medium, Maureen Flynn, who is the subject, has had a run in with Randi, on a television show, about 6/7 years ago, that he was presenting. From all accounts he was very troubled by the results that the psychics/channelers were getting from the studio audience. To the point that he stopped events early. The studio audience became unsettled and angry by his behaviour. There is evidence that when the programme was broadcast, it had been doctored, depicting a different audience and chronology.

Lurid Archive

11:41 / 07.06.02

From all accounts...

I've no doubt Randi himself would disagree...

Rev. Wright

17:58 / 07.06.02

Sounds like the type of person who disagrees to many things, lol

Ria

17:44 / 08.06.02

maybe I take this a bit too literally but I realized today one facet of chanelling which makes it inconvincing to me. (I heard somebody on a new age show today channelling so I thought of this...) when a woman channels a male spirit (I haven't heard of men channelling female spirits...) and the spirit uses their voice they may affect an accent... thinking of Ramtha here particularly... yet they sound like women trying to speak gruff. rather than men. as a tranny I feel sensitive to the subtle but very noticable differences in the way men and women speak. and on this score alone they do not convince at all.

Ria

17:47 / 08.06.02

for more information on this particular channel and channeller go to http://www.kuthumi.com. like it matters.

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