Why Do Some Of Us Have Extra Sensory Gifts?

feywon said:
I too think it could be true for some, but i believe in reincarnation and so for me the broader accumulation of experiences in various settings, cultures could lead to being more comfortable with acknowledging things about oneself that others might label 'odd' or even 'evil'.
Click to expand...
I don't believe in anything any more. Nothing has proven to me of anything beyond my own existence. Nothing beyond the here and now is adequate proof of existence to me.

That is not say nothing else exists, simply for my own interpretation the above statement is true.

I believe in prayer, my wife and I pray every night together. But as far as reincarnation, or anything else after this life I don't know because I do not recall it happening to me.
 

Paco Dennis said:
In my experience people who claim to have ESP or other non provable gifts don't really have them. It is an easy way to bolster a weak ego. Who can deny the mysteries in life, and thus we have the psychics, seers, mediums, fortune tellers, dream interpreters, and it usually always involves $$.
Click to expand...
I can understand your viewpoint- there are various topics that I figure if a person hasn't experienced it himself (or herself) 'nah, it can't be for real' would be the natural reaction.

The catch is, some of us have experienced some of these things 'for real.'

I can only speak for myself, but I've never 'gone around bragging' about my abilities; actually, quite the opposite.

And it's only when I see numerous people who are talking about their own that I've opened up with 'what do you think of this?' questions.
 
Bill Maher said a funny joke last night that psychics, astrologers, mediums, card readers etc have gotten so popular in social media that now there are scammers pretending to be psychics, astrologers, mediums, card readers etc!
 

I am not judgemental about what people believe is true, because it IS true for them. There is much going on that we have no answers for, and myth is the way we fill the gap. Fine. I love stories., but when the stories become a reality, trouble is not far.
 
Mr. Ed said:
...I believe in prayer, my wife and I pray every night together. But as far as reincarnation, or anything else after this life I don't know because I do not recall it happening to me.
Click to expand...
i can understand that, but i do recall and have seen evidence of reincarnation in my own children.

When i share things it is not about convincing those who don't believe it is about letting others who've had similar experiences know they are not alone and if they are interested to try to help them understand and accept their experience.
 
Paco Dennis said:
I am not judgemental about what people believe is true, because it IS true for them. There is much going on that we have no answers for, and myth is the way we fill the gap. Fine. I love stories., but when the stories become a reality, trouble is not far.
Click to expand...
Well, perhaps you could state your viewpoint on some of the topics that were described in this and the other thread.
Do YOU have a reasonable explanation for my or anyone else's experiences?
 
JaniceM said:
I can understand your viewpoint- there are various topics that I figure if a person hasn't experienced it himself (or herself) 'nah, it can't be for real' would be the natural reaction.

The catch is, some of us have experienced some of these things 'for real.'
Click to expand...
I am skeptical, and I don't believe there is any scientific evidence to support the existence of ESP.

That said I know you can't prove a negative and there are credible people, like you Janice, who believe they have experienced it. So I try to keep an open mind. But until it happens to me or someone does present credible scientific evidence I will probably remain a skeptic.
 
Paco Dennis said:
In my experience people who claim to have ESP or other non provable gifts don't really have them. It is an easy way to bolster a weak ego. Who can deny the mysteries in life, and thus we have the psychics, seers, mediums, fortune tellers, dream interpreters, and it usually always involves $$.
Click to expand...
And the statements i bolded is exactly why so many are reluctant to share and talk about their experiences except in personal encounters or threads like this. At one time all such 'gifts' were viewed as being 'from the devil', as organized religion lost traction other insults are lobbed at such people: psychological issues, con artists. To be sure there both statements hold a bit of truth about some people making such claims, the most effective criticisms of any human experience and behaviors do.

What we need to remember, however, is that people should only be judged on their OWN behaviors not on the those of others who happen to have some things in common with them whether skin color, religious affiliation, political affiliations, gender or any of the myriad ways some people try to lump people into groups as being the same in all ways, because it is easier than taking the time to consider each person as an individual.
 
Alligatorob said:
I am skeptical, and I don't believe there is any scientific evidence to support the existence of ESP.

That said I know you can't prove a negative and there are credible people, like you Janice, who believe they have experienced it. So I try to keep an open mind. But until it happens to me or someone does present credible scientific evidence I will probably remain a skeptic.
Click to expand...
Watch the movie I mentioned. How could a 4-year-old child "know" about a deceased sibling that he never knew existed, as one example?
 
Alligatorob said:
I am skeptical, and I don't believe there is any scientific evidence to support the existence of ESP.

That said I know you can't prove a negative and there are credible people, like you Janice, who believe they have experienced it. So I try to keep an open mind. But until it happens to me or someone does present credible scientific evidence I will probably remain a skeptic.
Click to expand...
First bolded statement: So you've never read the work of Rhine or Tart?
Second bolded statement: That word 'credible'--we each get to decide what us credible to us. With good reason, some studies are highly questionable. This is why large numbers of people disbelieve 'science' about things observant, logical people did not need scientists to tell them.
 
JaniceM said:
Watch the movie I mentioned. How could a 4-year-old child "know" about a deceased sibling that he never knew existed, as one example?
Click to expand...
There are non 'paranormal' ways--tho i wouldn't suggest that is the case in that instance without some personal observation of the family in question. The most likely i would offer is that people often underestimate young children-- what they comprehend from overheard adult conversations, which by the way can happen even if child asleep and adults are talking in earshot. In fact a sleeping child more likely to 'hear', register the words in their consciousness, than one who engrossed, focused on their waking play.

However, the mere possibility of the child having fore knowledge does not necessarily invalidate the experience related.
 
Judycat said:
I always just wanted to live my life without all that noise. Feeling someone else's vibes has ways been painful for me, as has knowing something bad is about to happen. Who needs that? Just sayin'
Click to expand...
It can be as much of a curse as a gift. But that's true of any empathy, any compassionate heart even if it is only engaged with people one knows and loves.
 
I have studied and practiced Astrology for about 50 years. I can predict what signs are emphasized by planets being in that sign with way above average results. I can even do it here on the SF, and have a better than average result when I look up the persons profile and see their birthday, especially if they put the year. I have no idea HOW it works, and really don't care. One thing I have never done is accept $ for rambling on about these influences. I don't think people who truly have a gift that can help people should have $ involved. It changes the motive. Also if one has such a gift, the last thing they would want is remuneration of any kind.
 
Alligatorob said:
No I have not, can you point me to some of their publications? I would be interested.
Click to expand...
I'll be back later with some, i read JB Rhine in my late teens when trying to understand what i had experienced since puberty. If memory serves he was a professor at Princeton, but i can check that while i'm at it. And i think Tart, on basis if his work, was part of the US government's attempt to find military uses for psychic functions-- i know one academic researcher was.
 
Paco Dennis said:
I have studied and practiced Astrology for about 50 years. I can predict what signs are emphasized by planets being in that sign with way above average results. I can even do it here on the SF, and have a better than average result when I look up the persons profile and see their birthday, especially if they put the year. I have no idea HOW it works, and really don't care. One thing I have never done is accept $ for rambling on about these influences. I don't think people who truly have a gift that can help people should have $ involved. It changes the motive. Also if one has such a gift, the last thing they would want is remuneration of any kind.
Click to expand...
What types of info can you get about people by using that method?
If you want to take a try at me, I can PM my specs to you.

Also, not only would I never ask for or accept $ for anything I know, I never mentioned any of my abilities to anybody til I started reading comments from other people on www. Prior to then, the only person who knew was my Aunt- and she somehow picked up on it, I'd never actually told her anything.
 
@Alligatorob and any one interested:
Article about JB Rhine, Who set up a parapsychology lab at Duke (not Princeton--this is why i fact check myself).
J.B. Rhine | American parapsychologist | Britannica
And something that includes a good deal of info about Charles Tart as well listing of his books.
https://www.amazon.com/Charles-T.-Tart/e/B000AQ4UXC?ref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
i don't have time, or the will today to double check about Tart and MK Ultra but i know it was a highly educated person who studied the paranormal who helped them set up their remote viewing and other programs.

Here's the Amazon Page for Rhine. Some may be available as e-books, tho he goes back further than Tart. His publisher or estate may be sharing them in modern formats.

i'm not going to specify which you should read or what you should read about them--search engines turn up multiple things pertaining to both. So going down that rabbit hole is a personal choice.

Edit: Also there are YouTube videos of interviews and such with Tart.
 
Last edited:
feywon said:
@Alligatorob and any one interested:
Article about JB Rhine, Who set up a parapsychology lab at Duke (not Princeton--this is why i fact check myself).
J.B. Rhine | American parapsychologist | Britannica
And something that includes a good deal of info about Charles Tart as well listing of his books.
https://www.amazon.com/Charles-T.-Tart/e/B000AQ4UXC?ref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
i don't have time, or the will today to double check about Tart and MK Ultra but i know it was a highly educated person who studied the paranormal who helped them set up their remote viewing and other programs.

Here's the Amazon Page for Rhine. Some may be available as e-books, tho he goes back further than Tart. His publisher or estate may be sharing them in modern formats.

i'm not going to specify which you should read or what you should read about them--search engines turn up multiple things pertaining to both. So going down that rabbit hole is a personal choice.

Edit: Also there are YouTube videos of interviews and such with Tart.
Click to expand...
Thanks, and I did look into some of this, it is interesting. Not sure I found the scientifically accepted evidence I was looking for, but I have not exhausted the search.

Here are a couple of good summary articles on the subject:

From UC Berkeley: https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/esp

From the British Psychological Society: https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-22/edition-7/extra-sensory-perception-controversial-debate Some of the more credible evidence for ESP has been published by Daryl Bem and coresearchers, this article tries to objectively review that work.

Here is a paper critical of Bem's work: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.562992/full

And one from The European Journal of Psychology, more on who believes in ESP and why: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6396695/

Anyway it is easy to find books, youtube videos and non-peer reviewed articles by people supporting ESP, much harder to find real scientific evidence.
 
Alligatorob said:
Thanks, and I did look into some of this, it is interesting. Not sure I found the scientifically accepted evidence I was looking for, but I have not exhausted the search.

Here are a couple of good summary articles on the subject:

From UC Berkeley: https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/esp

From the British Psychological Society: https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-22/edition-7/extra-sensory-perception-controversial-debate Some of the more credible evidence for ESP has been published by Daryl Bem and coresearchers, this article tries to objectively review that work.

Here is a paper critical of Bem's work: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.562992/full

And one from The European Journal of Psychology, more on who believes in ESP and why: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6396695/

Anyway it is easy to find books, youtube videos and non-peer reviewed articles by people supporting ESP, much harder to find real scientific evidence.
Click to expand...
Thing is a lot of scientific progress as been slowed by peer reviewed, establishment accepted studies/conclusion that later were found to be not just mistaken but distorted or fabricated like the one linking Autism to vaccines. Tectonic plate theory was not just questioned the proponents were ridiculed. Real scientific!

People don't stop to think that scientists are humans prone to all human flaws--ambition, greed, attachment to their 'status'. And all that can work to bury unpopular results. Eventually truth will prevail but how much damage is done in the meantime????

People tend to talk derisively and dismissively about 'anecdotal' evidence but a lot of research gets done when a lot of such evidence accumulates, tho the studies are often designed to disprove whatever and if they don't, the results are often buried. An exception has been studies in animal intelligence and emotions.
 
I don't see anything wrong in accepting remuneration if that is one's way of earning an honest living. And..........I am assuming here that the reader honestly believes in the truth of their service. No point in getting greedy but life is tough today.
 
People’s experiences are “real” to them and the goal should not be to take that away from them. There are many things we do not understand about the brain and the mind. Scientists have barely scratched the surface.

I posted on page 2 that everyone has these “gifts” , I wish people would stop using the word “gift” though – it is an ability. We all have this ability, a sixth sense, some call it a gut feeling, a hunch and so on. Depending on where we live, our lifestyle, our childhood, influences from our grandparents and parents, these abilities are heightened.

While scientific research hasn’t found evidence to support the idea of prophetic dreams, people claim to have them. That is okay, the problem arises when some smart alec wants to interpret your dream.

No one can give an explanation for their own precognitive dreams, let alone somone else’s. In order to interpret, one has to feel the dream, be in the dream and know the person intimately.

Identical twins come to mind, they not only feel each other’s emotions they have the same dreams and sometimes the same nightmares. Some very interesting studies have been done with identical twins.
.
 
This was said of Jose Silva …"an uneducated genius who improved on the psychological and spiritual techniques of hypnotherapy and yoga".

Well that may be true. What is true how in heavens name does Jose Silva think he improved on yoga and meditation…disciplnes that are thousands of years old !!
.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top