Psychic Predictions

September 22nd, 2009

Psychic predictions are a common occurrence. There have been psychic predictions made by soothsayers, fortunetellers, and others since the beginning of mankind. These psychic predictions have the power to strike fear in the hearts of hundreds of people or give those same people an incredible amount of hope. There are many questions that surround these predictions, and most of the time, they cannot be answered. These questions can usually be narrowed down to just a few. Is the psychic real? Is the prediction something believable? Just who gave the psychic the information? Psychics with good reputations are believed much more often than those who have questionable reputations or who are just becoming known. Believable predictions get more credit, but there are things that can’t be predicted that psychics have indeed said would happen. These are things such as wars and natural disasters.

The questions about where a psychic gets their information have been around for centuries. Opinions have varied widely. Some believe it is divine intervention while others believe that it is a message from the Devil to instill fear and cause chaos. Still others believe that psychics have spirit guides, and they tell them the future. Wherever they get their information from, psychic predictions have a lot of power. One of the most famous psychics, Nostradamus, often made predictions. While many did not believe him, his predictions have been collected in books and those books are still sold today. Nostradamus lived in the 16th century, but there are those who believe his predictions not only still hold their power, but predict events that have not yet happened. He is credited with predicting everything from natural disasters to both world wars. Some denounce him as a fraud, and claim that his predictions are not interpreted well enough to point to anything specific. No one has yet dissuaded the believers however.

Predictions range in severity. Some claim to be able to predict a death while others claim to be able to predict natural disasters or even wars. Most of the psychics who are considered legitimate shy away from ever revealing what they somehow know. They are afraid of ridicule, and possibly, attracting attention of the wrong people and being drawn into circles they don’t want to join. There are families however, who share this information with each other. These families often have members who claim to be able to predict when an accident will occur, and even what members are in danger of dying. For example, the banshee is a spirit often associated with Irish families who supposedly appears to tell of an impending death in the family. There are also symbols that are used to make predictions and those who can understand those symbols are often called psychics. There is a wealth of information to study about predictions made by psychics and it all is extremely interesting.

Psychic Research

August 17th, 2009

The field of psychic research is an extremely challenging one. The study of psychic phenomena is called parapsychology. Psychic research covers a wide variety of topics, including hauntings, clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition, psychokinesis, and reincarnation. Contrary to popular belief, most parapsychologists do not study such things as UFOs, astrology, witchcraft, or other such beliefs. It is not common to hear about psychic research in the mainstream academic journals, because many scientists do not see the field of parapsychology as a legitimate branch of science. Many of the results parapsychologists get in the lab cannot be easily duplicated in another lab and still others are able to find ways to poke holes in theories. This is just one challenge to psychic research.

Another challenge is a lack of funding. While private institutions often receive some funding, most universities no longer have a branch associated with parapsychology. While the United Kingdom is still studying psychic phenomena, only a few privately held institutions in the United States are still studying it. During the 1970s, the United States was very interested in psychic phenomena and parapsychologists were able to branch out in their studies to include beliefs from around the world. They were also able to conduct experiments to study altered states of consciousness and remote viewing. In the 1980s, more than 30 countries around the world were studying psychic phenomena. However, research was inconclusive, and since many scientists laughed at the idea of parapsychology, it was dropped from many universities and many labs were closed. Without the backup of the scientific community as a whole, funds simply were not available.

Another major challenge to parapsychology is fraud. For years, there have many cases of fraud where psychic phenomena were concerned. Since the first fortuneteller, people have claimed that psychics were frauds. It is not easy to find scientific studies that have not been tampered with. It is even more difficult to find studies that can be duplicated reliably over and over again. Most of the successful results are seen as simply flawed equipment or poorly trained researchers rather than anything that is solid. The people who study parapsychology are often called frauds themselves and many abandon the study so that they do not have to face the ridicule. Despite the fact that the scientific community does not recognize parapsychology, there is no shortage of believers who enjoy what evidence there is of their beliefs.