I am affected only by my thought— Alex Tanous
Events | spring/summer 2010
Transformative Learning Weekend Workshops
Come with an Open Mind. Leave with an Open Heart.
Institute of Noetic Sciences Worldview Literacy Program—Training for Trainers
Marilyn Schlitz, PhD, Liz Miller, Cassandra Vieten, PhD, & Matt Davis
July 30 – August 1, 2010
This workshop is for teachers, trainers and community leaders who wish to represent and deliver in their local communities and schools the IONS Worldview Literacy Program—a curriculum that fosters direct intuitive knowing, compassion and tolerance.
Dr. Marilyn Schlitz, CEO and President of IONS, has pioneered clinical and field-based research in the areas of human consciousness, transformation and healing. Among her publications is Consciousness and Healing: Integral Approaches to Mind Body Medicine.
Elizabeth Miller, Worldview Luminary and Literacy Educator, brings together professional and graduate research in eastern and western medical traditions, neuroscience, psychology, child development, literature, philosophy, and noetics through powerful and self-inspiring presentations and conversations on the experience of education, healing and what it means to be human. She is a storyteller who weaves science and the arts with our imaginations, creating even more beautiful and authentic ways for becoming human in the natural world.
Register now
The Power of Integral Transformative Practice
Pam Kramer and Barry Robbins
Dr. Cassandra Vieten, Guest Speaker
July 30 – August 1, 2010
Drawn from ancient wisdom and developed by human potential pioneers, Michael Murphy and George Leonard, Integral Transformative Practice® (ITP) invites us to open to the further reaches of our potential, with simple, well-researched techniques that have been shown to produce complex and creative results.
Pam Kramer is President of ITP International. A performance consultant and executive coach for 25 years, Pam has a MS in Counseling and served as Co-Coordinator of Community ITP in Mill Valley, CA.
Barry Robbins is Vice President of ITP International. A graduate in psychology and a nationally-ranked athlete, he has worked for 20 years in the field of law. He served as Coordinator of Community ITP for 11 years. Pam and Barry conduct workshops at Esalen Institute, Hollyhock and other venues in the US and abroad and offer ITP coaching and trainings to individuals, groups and organizations.
Register now
Your Personal Mythology: Discovering, Exploring, and Changing the Myths that Rule Your Life
Stanley Krippner, PhD
September 17 – 19, 2010
Recent psychological experiments demonstrate that people have already made a decision unconsciously by the time they think they are making it consciously. In this workshop you will learn how to identify the beliefs and attitudes that underlie your decisions and direct your behavior.
Dr. Stanley Kripper is professor of psychology at Saybrook University. He is the co-author of Personal Mythology and Extraordinary Dreams and How to Work with Them.
Register now
Mindful Motherhood: A Mindfulness and Yoga Retreat for Pregnant Women and New Moms
Cassandra Vieten, PhD and Jnana Gowan
September 24 – 26, 2010
From hormones to stretch marks, labor pains to diaper changes, motherhood is an adventure like none other. The rapid changes in your body, your lifestyle and your very identity call for a certain mental and emotional agility. Mindfulness can help you meet the challenge and learn to approach each experience with your new baby with open eyes and an open heart.
Cassandra Vieten, PhD is a mom, licensed clinical psychologist, director of research at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, co-director of the Mind Body Medicine Research Group at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, and author of Mindful Motherhood: Practical Tools for Staying Sane During Pregnancy and Your Child's First Year. www.mindfulmotherhood.org
Jnana Gowen is a mom, certified yoga instructor, founder of Powerhouse Yoga Education and Seminars, and developer of the Mindful Motherhood Yoga Series. www.powerhed.com
Register now
Save the Date
Summer’s Labors into Autumn’s Rich Harvest: An Autumn Retreat for Women
Judith Duerk, MA
October 22 – 24, 2010
Connection With Roots—Unfolding the Tree of Our Life
Ralph Metzner, PhD
November 5 – 7, 2010
Getting the Love You Want: The Imago Process
Harville Hendrix
December 10 – 12, 2010
events | spring/summer 2010
"Exploring the Noetic Sciences" Teleseminar Series
Consciousness and Healing, Extended Human Capacities,
and Worldview Transformation.
Towards a Science of Being
Peter Russell, MA
Hosted by IONS Research Director Cassandra Vieten, PhD
April 14, 2010 at 5:00 pm Pacific
Peter Russell will share his latest thinking on why consciousness is a fundamental quality of the cosmos, and how we can apply our scientific understanding of consciousness to our the awakening of our own being. The conversation will explore questions such as: What is consciousness? What is reality? What is the true nature of the self? Can science and spiritual perspectives of reality be reconciled? How can we surrender to the fullness of the present and discover for ourselves the essence of our own being?
Register now
Coming Soon
April 21 – Marilyn Mandala Schlitz with Larry Dossey – Become a monthly member to participate in this teleseminar and the rest of the series!
April 28 – Angela Murphy with Luisah Teish
May 5 – Marilyn Mandala Schlitz with Deepak Chopra
May 12 – Cassandra Vieten with Christine Carter
May 19 – Marilyn Mandala Schlitz with Jean Watson
June 2 – Dean Radin with Diane Powell
June 9 – Cassandra Vieten with Kristin Neff
July 7 – Dean Radin with Russell Targ
July 14 – Cassandra Vieten with Rick Hanson
July 21 – Marilyn Mandala Schlitz with Janet Quinn
UPCOMING RRC PROGRAMS FOR SPRING/SUMMER 2010
The Rhine Research Center is pleased to present some upcoming Programs
The Rhine Research Center is happy to host these and other educational events, but it does not endorse presenters' claims, as not all of these claims have been subjected to rigorous scientific validatio
Upcoming Events at the Rhine Research Center
May/June 2010
Have you feedback for us about our any of our programs?
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The Rhine Research Center is happy to host these and other educational events, but it does not endorse presenters' claims, as not all of these claims have been subjected to rigorous scientific validation.Most events are open to the public.
"These programs just keep getting better." --comment from a participant at a recent event.
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Friday, July 9 Death, The Final Journey and How We Survive It - A Medium’s Perspective with Kathe Martin
Friday, 7/16 Edgar Mitchell on Sustainability
Friday, Saturday & Sunday 9/24, 25 & 26 Talk- Reflections of a Psi Traveler and Workshop, The Art of Psi: ESP, Remote Viewing and Precognitive Dreaming with Dale E. Graff
More Upcoming Programs in 2010
Postmortem Survival: The State of the Debate
with Stephen Braude
Death, The Final Journey and How We Survive It - A Medium’s Perspective with Kathe Martin
Friday, July 9, 2010
7:30 to 9:30 pm
Stedman Auditorium, Duke Center for Living Campus
75% of Americans believe in the paranormal and 30% believe they have had a personal encounter with a deceased person. The overwhelming majority of these encounters are reported as being comforting, healing, and positive. Yet in spite of this we still fear death. So much so that we euphemize it by calling it passing away or crossing over, anything to avoid speaking the word, “Death”.
Kathe Martin had been a professional psychic for five years and had remained skeptical of the channeling concept until 1993 when during a Tarot reading the deceased boyfriend of the woman receiving the reading dropped in to say hello. Three years later during a workshop on Shamanism led by Michael Harner she was told her mission as a healer was to work with the dead and dying. Since this time spontaneous communications from those on the other side would frequently come through during readings and in 2006 she began holding monthly afterlife communications events in Greensboro, NC.
Join us for this enlightening evening while we explore the positive side of the death experience including how to recognize and encourage communications from your deceased loved ones, why some people are more receptive to these communications than others, how to understand the language of spirit, why we fear death and why we don’t have to, and what crossing over experiences you can expect in the presence of a dying person and what to do about them – all from the perspective of a medium who regularly communicates with the dead. She will also discuss why we shouldn’t refer to it as the “other side” and the impact of the Hollywood effect.
Kathe uses psychometry, the art of divining information about people associated with an object solely by touching it, in her intuitive readings with individuals and as a portion of her process to connect with the other side. Kathe will invite members of the audience to volunteer personal objects, i.e. a piece of jewelry or keys, etc., to be read at the conclusion of the evening in a demonstration of psychometry. Her website is KatheMartin.com.
Purchase Tickets Online
Edgar Mitchell on Sustainability
Friday, July 16th
7:30 to 9 pm
Stedman Auditorium, Duke Center for Living Campus
When we asked Edgar Mitchell, Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 14 and sixth person to walk on the moon, to present a session for RRC, we were so thrilled that he accepted our invitation that we really did not care what he chose as a topic. He is probably most famous for the transformative experience he had while viewing the earth from space. A very interesting interview centered on his awareness of the presence of aliens on our planet which includes a description of that transformative experience can be found at Discovery.com.
As it says in the introduction to this interview, he has spent the past 35 (now 37) years “trying to use the tools of science to try to figure out what happened.”
Along the way, he has developed excellent presentations on Going to the Moon, Noetic Science, other Frontier Science, and Sustainability among other topics. While discussing which topic to use, we told Edgar that “... we have people who want some information that they can use in their own lives and that doesn't simply confirm information that they have heard earlier. They are willing to be gently challenged regarding their ability to both comprehend topics as well as to assimilate them into some actionable way .... even if that action is "simply" changing the way they view the world. They are far from all being scientists, but they are generally brighter and more open to new ideas than the average bears.” Now you know what we think of you, RRC Audience Members!
He quickly responded that Sustainability is the right choice. He went on to say "Every measure of human activity has, during the 20th century, exhibited exponential growth. It is clear that exponential growth cannot endure indefinitely in a finite space. Our Earth is a finite space. This presentation will examine the details of this issue and the areas that must be addressed." “For those that don't know, it can be a wakeup call. For those that do, it will provide some very good talking points they may not have thought about.”
Don’t miss this one folks! For more information about this man’s interesting life, one of the most concise bios is available on Wikipedia at Edgar_Mitchell.
Friday Evening Talk
Members $15.00
Non-members $20.00
Purchase Tickets Online
Reflections of a Psi Traveler
BY Dale E. Graff, M.S. Physics
Friday September 24, 2010
a talk 7:30-9pm
Stedman Auditorium, Duke Center for Living Campus
Listen, learn and interact with one of our field’s most innovative psi travelers!!
Our intuitions, hunches or premonitions that are unexplainable by conventional standards may reflect extrasensory perception. Dale will review a variety of these psi experiences that occur in the form of telepathy, remote viewing or precognition from his own independent investigations and personal observations.
Dale will describes highlights of his odyssey through the psi field; some early troubling experiences and some later events that were potentially life threatening. These experiences led him into formal psi research involving the Stanford Research Institute’s remote viewing activity and eventually as the Director of the well-known US government’s STARGATE program He will also share observations from recent waking and dream-state projects that involved colleagues at thousand mile distances and make use of future newspaper photographs as targets..
The audience will be encouraged to further their own journey as psi travelers and to explore their natural psi talents to enhance the effectiveness and well-being of themselves and others. This presentation will provide an opportunity to gain insight into our psi potential and to learn how psi can be uncovered to be an ever-ready partner whether we are awake or are asleep and dreaming.
Interactive dialogue is encouraged during and after this talk, and questions about the Saturday workshop will be welcome..
Rhine Members $10
Non-Members $15
Purchase Tickets Online
The Art of Psi: ESP, Remote Viewing and Precognitive Dreaming
with Dale E. Graff M.S. Physics
Saturday September 25, 2010 a workshop 9-5pm
Sunday September 26, 2010 10-12noon Coffee & discussion of dream results
Alex Tanous Library in the Rhine Research Center
Curious about Remote Viewing of present-time situations or Precognitive Dreams about future situations?? Then join author and psi traveler Dale E. Graff on a creative adventure that explores how these two basic psi abilities can be routinely integrated into your personal and professional life.
In the intensive workshop you will learn:
• Methods for enhancing your natural intuition and psi talents in either the awake state or the dream state.
• How to routinely receive assistance from your intuitive/psi talents.
• How to work with and understand ordinary dreams.
• How to evaluate or interpret suspected psi information.
• When to act on psi information and when not to act.
• How to communicate psi topics with others.
• How activating your psi potential can enhance your well-being.
• How psi experiences can be understood as a natural part of physical and mental reality.
A variety of illustrative examples show how these abilities can be helpful for you, your loved ones, or for others. Some of these examples are from Dale’s professional work during the STARGATE program and some from his independent research and personal experiences. Attendees are invited to share their psi experiences to better understand their significance.
These natural mental talents are explored from a conscious/subconscious connectivity principle, from a science viewpoint and from an historical perspective. The link between psi, art and other forms of creativity are examined, and Dale shows how psi can be an aspect of holistic healing potentials. The viewpoint of critics that question the reality of psi will be addressed.
This workshop has an equal mix of dialogue and experiential projects in intuition, ESP and remote viewing.
Dale is a strong advocate of maintaining physical and psychological harmony in all aspects of life and believes that a close connection with nature helps us achieve this naturally. He also believes that our psi potential can help us keep safe in an increasingly unsafe world.
An optional psi or precognitive dream exercise will be available for Saturday night, and will be the subject of the optional Sunday session.
This is a challenging, informative and enlightening workshop. Attend this workshop to expand your mental horizons!
Website: Dale Graff
Members $100
Nonmembers $125
Workshop cost includes Friday night talk
Space limited to 25
Purchase Tickets Online
We currently have a wonderful display of art works by Vandorn Hinnant in the Alex Tanous Library in the Rhine Research Center. If you get a chance please stop by to enjoy it.
This geometry, experienced through the senses, resonates with the underlying energetic substructures residing in and around each of us, and has the potential of activating the often dormant awareness we walk with of universal order, and the indwelling love, beauty, and grace of soul. -- Vandorn Hinnant May 2007 Lightweavings
More Upcoming Programs
July 30: Simplifying your life: Psychically, Physically and Psychologically, with well-known intuitive/healer Donna Gulick Donna Spring Gulick
August: Dreams, Consciousness and the Paranormal a virtual 2-day conference with six presenters, coordinated by Carlos Alvarado Ph.D.
September 10: Investigating Aura Vision, a talk by parapsychologists Nancy Zingrone. Ph.D. and Carlos Alvarado Ph.D.
September 12: Carol Krucoff will hold a Yoga Discussion & Workshop in the Tanous Library. Her newest book, Healing Yoga for Neck & Shoulder Pain, will be published in May, 2010. Yoga for Neck Pain Website
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Thank You For Your Support of the Rhine Research Center!
More information online at www.Rhine.org
Rhine Research Center
2741 Campus Walk Avenue, Building #500
Durham, NC 27705
Check our website at www.rhine.org for more information and directions.
Parapsychological Association Convention in Paris
Paris to Host Annual Convention of Parapsychologists in July
The principal international scientific organization studying the nature of consciousness, the Parapsychological Association (PA), will hold its 53rd annual convention in Paris, France on July 22-25, 2010. Members of the PA are engaged in the study of psi (or ‘psychic’) experiences such as telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, psychic healing, precognition and survival of bodily death. Leading scientists and scholars from universities and laboratories around the world will gather to present and discuss their latest research findings on these sometimes controversial, but always fascinating, aspects of human consciousness.
The event will feature over 30 presentations on a variety of parapsychological topics. Several presentations will look at historical and case studies of mediums, including a neuroimaging study of mediumistic trance. Papers examining the effects of geomagnetic activity on psi will also be presented, as well as studies looking at meditation and psychic functioning. There will be reports of anomalous mental phenomena studied in South America and Tibet, while other studies will look at the experience of telephone telepathy, psychokinetic experiences, and the application of psi in archeology.
The convention’s keynote speaker, Paul Devereux is managing editor and co-founder of the peer-reviewed publication, Time & Mind - The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture. A research associate at the Royal College of Art and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Devereux was a Senior Research Fellow with the International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL) in Princeton for twelve years. He has written 27 books since 1979. His latest work, Sacred Geography, a look at ancient and traditional mindscapes, is due out in October 2010.
Other notable speakers include Russell Targ, a physicist and author who was a pioneer in the development of the laser and laser applications, and investigator of psychic abilities in the 1970s and 1980s for the CIA. The winner of PA’s 2009 Career Award, Targ’s invited address is titled, Why I am absolutely convinced of the reality of psychic abilities, and why you should be, too. Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Saybrook University, fellow of the American Psychological Association, and author of numerous articles and books on dreams, hypnosis, altered states of consciousness, will lead a workshop on psi and creativity.
The convention, which is open to the public and academia alike, will offer a rare opportunity for attendees interested in that wide range of human functioning popularly known as the ‘psychic’ or ‘paranormal’ to hear the latest and most advanced scientific thinking about parapsychological topics .
Hosted by the Institut Métapsychique International and held at Enclos Rey in Paris, full PA convention information can be found at http://www.parapsych.org/convention.
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Online Survey on Parapsychological Experiences
A request from Carlos S. Alvarado, Ph.D., from the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia:
I am conducting an on-line survey to learn more about a variety of experiences many people have had in their daily lives. I hope your answers will help me determine how common these experiences are.
I really hope you will help me in my task! All you have to do is fill out an on-line questionnaire. Completing the questionnaire should take youless than 30 minutes. Whatever your answers may be, whether or not you have had the experiences I mention, your answers are just as important and valuable! Be assured that all your answers will be held in the strictest confidence, and the findings will be presented in such a way that no individual could possibly be singled out or recognized. (There is more information on this issue and other issues in the cover letter and consent form that are included in the on-line questionnaire.)
If you took the on-line questionnaire that I was involved with a couple of years ago, you will find that the demographic, dream and parapsychological experiences questions are pretty much the same. But because the body of the questionnaire is quite different, I hope you won’t mind answering the demographic, dream and parapsychological experiences questions again.
If you’re interested in taking part in the survey, please go to the following website to begin the process: www.studyofhumanexperiences.org/index.html
Noetic Science
A Twittering of Consciousness
According to a recent Retrevo Gadgetology Report, almost half of social media users say they check Facebook or Twitter sometime during the night or when they first wake up. Nearly 50 percent of those under 25 don't mind being interrupted by a text message during dinner. Celebrities Kim Kardashian and Soulja Boy make up to $10,000 for a sponsored tweet. At an estimated 50 million tweets a day and rising, there is significant upside! Are these the signs of a technology drawing us closer and closer together toward an experience of immediate and shared consciousness, or simply the extension of a fragmented collective psyche onto a wider and more visible stage?
Several colleagues of mine have written eloquently on how the evolution of social technologies such as Twitter and Facebook is mirroring our essential interconnectedness. In a piece last year titled "The Spiritual Importance of Twitter," Stephan Dinan wrote "I'm now convinced that Twitter is part of the spiritual evolution of our species. Its growth corresponds to the accelerating spread of a global consciousness, one in which...we are increasingly in touch with our sense of 'oneness' with others." Steven Vedro, ruminating on his blog Digital Dharma about both the challenges and evolutionary engine of the Twitter-verse, believes that "the 'ambient awareness' that is emerging within Twitter circles can be extended beyond the subconscious knowledge of what one's friends are up to into an actual mindfulness practice...and to something even more powerful: the 'seeing-everything-all-at-once' consciousness where one is a node on the network, and simultaneously the entire web itself." (See also Vedro's 2007 piece "Our Evolving Global Brain" from Shift magazine.)
Then there's the viewpoint of the person who responded to Dinan's article with, "When I start to read stories of how the advertising industry continues to work its way into all new realms of technology and social media...what I see is the dominant paradigm on a path of inexorable infiltration and take over...'Be here now' has been supplanted by 'be digital now,' and I'm not sure this constitutes an evolutionary breakthrough. One could argue that this is merely another enviroscape for the monkey mind to bounce through." To wit: the response thread that follows ultimately ends up in a discussion on the best price for Velcro sneakers.
In his book Wisdom 2.0: Ancient Secrets for the Creative and Constantly Connected, Soren Gordhamer takes the middle road. He acknowledges the negative impacts of a ubiquitously wired and always-on world, citing various studies that show how our collective addiction is playing havoc with our health, our creativity, and the depth of our personal relationships. But with the right tools of inner technology, he says, one can safely navigate both worlds. (See, for example, "Keeping Twitter Relevant: The Art of Unfollowing.")
Putting this theory to the test, Gordhamer has organized the Wisdom 2.0 Conference, taking place in the heart of Silicon Valley from April 30 to May 1. High level execs from Google, Zappos, Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere will mingle with Zen Abbott Joan Halifax, neuroscientist Phillipe Goldin, and a variety of "spiritual living" digital entrepreneurs to discuss how to find balance in our high-speed, techno-saturated culture. Will our consciousness merge and co-evolve with these effervescent, unrestrained technologies, struggle to keep up, or simply drop out of range?
Media Spotlight
IONS' New Website
This will be the last issue of iShift in its current format. Subsequent monthly e-bulletins will highlight what's new and interesting on the IONS website, including feature articles, reviews, and new blog postings in Noetic Now, and relevant research updates. Among our featured bloggers will be Peter Russell, Diane Powell, and Larry Dossey, as well as myself and the IONS research staff. It will be a rich part of our new site. If you have suggestions for topics that you'd like to see covered in Noetic Now, please send us an email. For updates on the new site, now scheduled for launch in early May, go here.
IONS President Marilyn Mandala Schlitz will be among the featured guests in a new teleseminar series called the Future of Love. The 25-week series, beginning April 17, will address the nuances, complexity, and ecstatic potential of love and the unfolding of a new spirituality. Marilyn's segment will air April 24th, 12–1:30pm MT.
New Films
Dalai Lama Renaissance. This award-winning film, narrated by Harrison Ford, features His Holiness the Dalai Lama in dialogue with innovative Western thinkers including quantum physicists Fred Alan Wolf and Amit Goswami, social scientist Jean Houston, and spiritual leader Michael Bernard Beckwith. It had limited national distribution.
Every War Has Two Losers. This touching, intelligent film, based on the journals of poet William Stafford and directed by Haydn Reiss (who also did Rumi: Poet of the Heart), is narrated by Linda Hunt, features the voice of Peter Coyote as Stafford, and includes Coleman Barks, Alice Walker, Michael Meade, and Robert Bly, among others.
Call of Life. Produced by the Species Alliance, whose mission is to "raise public awareness of the impending mass extinction and the threat to Earth's life support systems due to the loss of biodiversity," this astute, provocative film makes an impact. With Paul Ehrlich, Derrick Jensen, Oren Lyons, Joanna Macy, and nearly two dozen more.
2012: Time for Change. Just now starting to circulate, this new documentary from the Emmy-nominated filmmaker Joao Amorim follows journalist Daniel Pinchbeck's search for a new paradigm.
New Books
My Brain Made Me Do It: The Rise of Neuroscience and the Threat to Moral Responsibility by Eliezer J. Sternberg. Wunderkind Sternberg, still in his twenties, argues convincingly that free will is not an illusion, despite new studies of the brain that are leading many in science to suggest otherwise.
A Tale of Two Sciences: Memoirs of a Dissident Scientist by Peter A. Sturrock. Award-wining Stanford physicist Sturrock began his career as a conventional scientist, discovered credible evidence for non-conventional phenomena that the mainstream was ignoring, and argues passionately for a new model of open-minded research.
Creative Stress: A Path for Evolving Souls Living through Personal and Planetary Upheaval by James O'Dea. The former president of IONS and global advocate for social healing examines the deeper roots of our stress-filled lives and offers tools for transmutation. Click here for the e-book.
A Tear at the Edge of Creation: A Radical New Vision for Life in an Imperfect Universe by Marcelo Gleiser. Forget a unified Theory of Everything, says this philosopher-physicist-author-heretic; the only reality that matters is the immediate here and now. "Our presence has no meaning outside of itself, but it does have meaning."
Playing in the Unified Field: Raising and Becoming Conscious, Creative Human Beings by Carla Hannaford. Equal parts personal travelogue and scientific exploration, biologist-educator Hannaford makes a strong case that each of us is a vibrational field, open to nearly unlimited potential. Foreword by William Tiller.
Member Spotlight
Jane Herrberg
In the early '80s, after fifteen years at School Sisters of Notre Dame, a Catholic religious order specializing in education, IONS Visionary Circle member Jane Herrberg told her superior she wanted to leave and start a new community. That community took the form of Parents and Friends, Inc., in LaPorte, Indiana—founded by Jane to serve adults with developmental disabilities. She was its executive director for nearly twenty years.
"While I was working there, I became acquainted with IONS," Jane explains. "I thought Edgar Mitchell's account of his awakening to a wider consciousness was what I wanted for myself and for those I worked with. Live, learn, and grow; this is how I define my calling."
Jane's inclusion of IONS in her estate plan was in part triggered by the death of a friend who had a stroke at age 53 and died the next year. "That had an impact on me." Her IONS bequest is, Jane says, a logical extension of her life. "My life has been one of service to others."
Jane is working on a memoir that traces the arc of her life from wanting to change the world to wanting to change herself. Her IONS experience is part of the story, in particular a 1994 IONS workshop, "Life, Death and the Survival of Consciousness," which helped her to understand "the dream of a journey" her dying mother had recounted in the last days of her life. "IONS helped me interpret what my mother was saying: If you want to die well, live well. I am living my life fully and so preparing for the transition to the other side."
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To learn more about IONS' Visionary Circle membership, contact Kathleen Erickson-Freeman at 707.779.8232 / kfreeman@noetic.org.
Contact Us
101 San Antonio Road, Petaluma, California 94952
Tel: 707 775 3500 Fax: 707 781 7420 www.noetic.org info@noetic.org
The Institute of Noetic Sciences is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and educational organization located in Northern California that conducts and sponsors leading-edge research into the potentials and powers of consciousness—including perceptions, beliefs, attention, intention, and intuition. The Institute explores phenomena that do not necessarily fit conventional scientific models, while maintaining a commitment to scientific rigor.
We depend on and gratefully accept your financial support.
The Greater Good Science Center, based at the University of California, Berkeley, is a non-profit organization that promotes the study and development of human happiness, compassion, and altruism. They are sponsoring the following two conferences:
Using Positive Psychology to Build Positive Emotions
April 9, 2010
Berkeley, California
with Dacher Keltner, PhD
This one-day seminar will offer attendees a path toward a happier, healthier life. Attendees can receive six CEUs.
Science and Practice of Forgiveness
May 15, 2010
Berkeley, California
with Frederic Luskin, PhD and Jack Kornfield, PhD
This one-day seminar will teach participants how and why to practice forgiveness. Attendees can receive six CEUs.
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Integral Theory Conference
July 29–August 1, 2010
Pleasant Hill, California
with IONS Research Director Cassandra Vieten
The conference is sponsored by JFK University and Integral Institute and is recommended by the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
Transformative Learning Workshops
Expand your mind, open your heart, and activate your full potential.
April 16–18, 2010 – Cells and the Sacred: Discovering the Cell as Messenger for the Marriage of Science and Spirituality with Sondra Barrett, PhD
April 16–18, 2010 – From Science to God: A Journey into the Mystery of Consciousness with Peter Russell, MA
April 23–25, 2010 – Learning Telekinesis:Your Gateway to Mind Over Matter and April 26, 2010 – Developing Subtle Energy Awareness and Telekinesis: One-Day Intensive, both with Natalia Shareyko, MD, PhD, of the Institute for Biosensory Psychology in St. Petersberg, Russia
May 7–9, 2010 – Awakened Wisdom—Learn to Apply the Eight States for an Awakened Life with Patrick Ryan
May 14–16, 2010 – Raising Our Children's BQ™: How to Teach Our Kids to Trust Their Body's Messages with Steve Sisgold, MA
May 21–23, 2010 – The Six Life-paths of the Human Soul and the Imprints of Conception with Ralph Metzner, part of the six-part Alchemical Divination Series
May 28–30, 2010 – Walking the Leading Edge—An Interactive Weekend Retreat for Leaders, Speakers, and Entrepreneurs with Patricia Valey, MHSA
See the complete 2010 schedule, email workshops@noetic.org, or call 707-779-8224.
EarthRise Retreat Center at the Institute of Noetic Sciences
Located on 200 acres of beautiful rolling hills just 25 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, the center features meeting facilities, cuisine, and accommodations for up to 120 people. Our clients offer educational programs, workshops, and retreats, with a broad focus on health, personal growth, and transformation. We also welcome weekend workshops and retreats for small groups (less than 25). Many programs are open to the public.
For more information and an Events Schedule: www.noetic.org/retreat.cfm
events@noetic.org
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iShift
IONS Retreat Center Events
Two-Week Intensive in Advanced Shamanic Healing
April 11–22, 2010
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Natalia Shareyko, MD – How to Develop and Apply Telekinesis
April 22, 2010
A Friendly Favors Event
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Dawn Clark – Turning on the 10th Power
May 4, 2010
A Friendly Favors Event
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Crossing the Event Horizon: The Unified Field Theory of Nassim Haramein
May 8–9, 2010
presented by Jamie Janover
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May Dinner Salon: Lucid Art and the Exploration of Consciousness
May 13, 2010
with Fariba Bogzaran
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Realm of the Heart
May 14–16, 2010
a Tamarkoz® (Sufi Meditation) Weekend
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Movement and Stillness: A Silent Meditation Retreat
May 24–29, 2010
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Special Events
Toward a Science of Consciousness 2010
April 12–17, 2010
Tucson, Arizona
with Cassandra Vieten, IONS Director of Reseach and Education
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Conférences à Paris: How Consciousness Sciences Contribute to the Mutation of Our Societies
April 14, 2010
Paris, France
with Marilyn Mandala Schlitz
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Conférences à Bruxelles: Can Science Rescue Spirituality?
April 15, 2010
Brussels, Belgium
with Marilyn Mandala Schlitz
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Psychedelic Science in the 21st Century
April 15–18, 2010
San Jose, California
with Stanislav Grof, Andrew Weil, Ralph Metzner, Charles Grob
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Community Group Gathering in France
May 12–16, 2010
Champtocé-sur-Loire, France
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Consciousness Revolution: Transpersonal Discoveries that are Changing the World
June 23-27, 2010
Moscow, Russia
with Dean Radin, Stanislav Grof, Michale Murphy, Alex Grey, Ervin Laszlo, Ralph Metzner, Amit Goswami, Andrew Cohen
The Alex Tanous Foundation for Scientific Research
Announces the 20th Annual Board of Director’s Meeting
The Board of Directors to the Alex Tanous Foundation for Scientific Research will meet on Saturday May 15, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. for the 20th Annual Board Meeting.
The meeting will be held in the conference room office at Maine Auto Radiator 14 Forrestal Street Lewiston, Maine.
If you have any questions, comments or would request a copy of the Agenda please contact the office at 207-773-8328 or alextanous@myfairpoint.net Also please update your mailing and e-mailing address with the Foundation so that you will receive our quarterly newsletters as well as other information. And please continue to check the Web Site’s Digital Library www.alextanous.org where material is being entered on a weekly basis. Be on the look out for information on the 20th Anniversary Celebration this fall! We wish you all a wonderful Spring and Summer.
Respectfully,
Alice R. Kelley, Research Assistant
Alex Tanous Foundation for Scientific Research
P.O. Box 3818
Portland, Maine 04104-3818
207-773-8328
www.alextanous.org
alextanous@myfairpoint.net
Is Your Child Psychic? A Guide to Developing Your Child’s Innate Abilities
By Alex Tanous and Katherine Fair Donnelly
Tarcher • 2009, 224 pages, $15.95
ISBN: 9781585427383
Reviewed by Brent Raynes Dr. Alex Tanous, the psychic superstar in paranormal laboratory work (best known for his out-of-body abilities) participated in numerous experiments conducted by the esteemed parapsychologist Dr. Karlis Osis of New York’s American Society for Psychical Research. Tanous wrote Is Your Child Psychic? to educate us about the psychic abilities and potentials of our children. Co-written with Katherine Fair Donnelly, the authors offered techniques to test and to awaken children to their so-called sixth sense, presenting documented case histories that demonstrate how common and useful those abilities can be. Dr. Tanous also provided glimpses into his own childhood psychic development and experiences, and the book quotes our long-time friend, pioneering parapsychologist and acclaimed psychiatrist Dr. Berthold Eric Schwarz on his own studies of psychic abilities among children, including his own son and daughter!
Originally published back in 1979, the book has just been republished again thanks to the determined efforts of Maine’s Alex Tanous Foundation to keep this knowledge and information alive and available to the public. This book explodes with such exciting and thought-provoking chapters as The Child from Conception to the Sixth Year, Imaginary Playmates, Out-of-Body Experiences, Educating the Two Sides of the Brain, Instructions and Tests for Telepathy, Clairvoyance Tests, and more. There are 50 pages of game-like tests created for children to test for various kinds of psychic ability and sensitivity. These pages were also prepared to act as a guide to both parents and teachers wishing to help children to evolve psychically.
(www.mysterious-america.net)
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Is Your Child Psychic?
Dr. Alex Tanous & Katherine Fair Donnelly
A straightforward and inspiring resource for parents searching for insight into their child's psychic experiences. In Is Your Child Psychic?, paranormal researchers Dr. Alex Tanous and Katherine Fair Donnelly suggest that people of all ages, including children, have psychic abilities. A comprehensive guide to understanding and developing a child's natural psychic perception, this book also shows parents how they can use these skills to bolster their child's creativity, problem-solving skills, and self-confidence. Helpful and thought-provoking, Is Your Child Psychic? addresses such topics as: - imaginary playmates -"out-of-body" experiences - psychic dreams - left and right brain skills and how they impact psychic awareness - understanding the differences between coincidence and real psychic occurrence - how meditation can strengthen psychic ability - the dangers of suppressing a child's psychic talents With more than fifty pages of fun gamelike tests that will help parents to detect and develop their child's psychic abilities, Is Your Child Psychic? is an invaluable resource for parents.
For More Information on the book please visit:
http://us.penguingroup.com/
http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781585427383,00.html?Is_Your_Child_Psychic?_Alex_Tanous
Alice Kelley, Research Assistant
AlexTanous Foundation for Scientific Research
P.O. Box 3818 Portland, Maine 04104-3818
207-773-8328
www.alextanous.org
NEW PF LYCEUM BLOG, NEW TITLE FROM HELIX PRESS, NEW GARRETT LIBRARY FELLOW, AND MORE ..
(Remember to tell your friends! The PF no longer sends postal
announcements of news and events.)
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THE PARAPSYCHOLOGY FOUNDATION is delighted to announce a new blog has been posted by Dr. Charles T. Tart, of the Institute for Transpersonal
Psychology on his new book, THE END OF MATERIALISM. Go to
http://www.pflyceum.org/10.html to read his charming blog (lists of his
publications are available in "click-offs" from his blog too).
NOW AVAILABLE FROM PSI-MART, is EILEEN GARRETT AND THE WORLD BEYOND THE SENSE, Allan Angoff's excellent biography of the principal founder of the
PF. To purchase a copy go to:
http://www.psi-mart.com/details.php?Id=&IdArt=441.
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Andreas Sommer, a history of science and medicine post-grad from University College London was this summer's Eileen J. Garrett Research Library Fellow.
To read more about Sommer and his work on the history of parapsychology and
psychology, go to the following page on the Library Section of the main
website: http://www.parapsychology.org/dynamic/030000.html
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SUSAN MACWILLIAM, THE PF'S FILM ARCHIVIST, IS REPRESENTING NORTHERN IRELAND
from June 7th, 2009 to November 22nd, 2009, at the 53rd Venice Biennale,
one of the art world's most prestigious events. In her solo exhibition,
REMOTE VIEWING, she is presenting three major works of film and
installation art based on her work with the Foundation: "Dermo Optics" (a
video installation examining the work of French parapsychologist Yvonne
Duplessis), "Eileen" (a three-channel video installation centering on PF's
founder Eileen J. Garrett), and "F-L-A-M-M-A-R-I-O-N" (a video installation
about the textual teleplasm that appeared in Winnipeg in 1931). For more
information about Susan's work and the book documenting her exhibition,
REMOTE VIEWING, go to the PF's Press Release at
http://www.parapsychology.org/dynamic/050200.html
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE PARAPSYCHOLOGY FOUNDATION, ITS NEWS, WEBSITES
AND PROGRAMS go to the following web page:
http://www.parapsychology.org/dynamic/050100.html or visit our educational
website, http://www.pflyceum.org, our Club website,
http://www.psychicexplorers.org, our on-line store,
http://www.psi-mart.com, or the website of the Exception Human Experiences
Network, http://www.ehe.org.
To: Alex Tanous Foundation
Fr: Laura Lee Perkins
Re: Grant Award
Date: July 24, 2009
Since receiving a May phone call from Alice, followed by the Alex Tanous
Foundation Scholarship Award letter dated June 1, I have felt spiritually
infused with your gift. After notifying more than 50 people about the free
spiritual exploration and development classes that I would offer as a
result, 41 respondents signed on for the project. Immediately I took 10-12
days to prepare the class handouts, including an intake assessment tool, and
to incrementally structure the classes for maximum exposure to a variety of
activities and information that was in alignment with Alex Tanous' work. The
much-appreciated gratis copy of Beyond Coincidence was a great help as I
read about some of his teaching methods.
When one begins to stir spiritually, there begins a process of moving from
separateness into unity. Spirituality is the seed that awakens and sprouts
social activism. Spiritual expansion pulsates in our soul, like breath
moving oxygen throughout our body. And just as the body needs air, the soul
needs love. Participating in deeper spiritual awareness experiential
learning leads us forward into an expanded awareness of the power of love.
Our soul responds to the influx of light, and we move closer into the arena
of enlightenment and connectivity.
Our classes have formed and began meeting some two months ago (before I
received the letter/check). Observations of participants' growth and
reactions to prepared class materials and activities include:
Ø Exploration of a variety of culturally diverse spiritual beliefs - Celtic,
Native American, and Hawaiian.
Ø Discussion of personal responsibility for the condition of our human
family.
Ø Experiential activities including dowsing rods, guided meditations,
automatic handwriting, pendulums, music based on the intervals P4th, P5th
and the octave to facilitate healing, rhythmic drumming, dream analysis and
journaling.
Ø A reduction in participants' level of fear; they move across their own
continuum, at their own rate, into expanded levels of trust in their earthly
life process.
Ø Much interest and discussion about the existence of life on the other side
of the veil.
Ø Deepening awareness of Nature as the expression of Spirit and our role as
the caretaker of Mother Earth.
Ø Greater understanding of marriage between the soul and the personality,
and how they complement each other.
Ø The awareness that the inner life is revealed in the outer life, and that
"Like Attracts Like".
Ø Enlightenment is the key to our future as a world; we are all
interconnected, we all have a sacred responsibility to each other, which is
not a burden, but a privilege.
Thank you so very much for the opportunity to serve. Using the $500- to fund
free classes for 41 participants (in our Spiritual Haven building) is my way
of paying the award forward. If you would like to read my prepared class
materials (30-40 pages), I would be happy to send those along as
attachments. The preparation work for the classes was very engrossing and
spiritually energizing. Please know that I am grateful to you all for your
trust.
I shall look forward to meeting all of you at the 2010 Anniversary gala, and
I would be pleased to speak about my work if you have space in your program.
In addition, I would be delighted to have the opportunity to apply to serve
as a Foundation Board member when a vacancy becomes available.
In Spirit,
Laura Lee Perkins
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For more information on the Alex Tanous Scholarship Award please visit our Web page on the Award or contact the Foundation at (207) 773-8328 alextanous@myfairpoint.net
The Alex Tanous Foundation is very pleased to announce the recipient of its first Scholarship Award to Laura Lee Perkins.
The Board reviewed the applications for this years award and found that Mrs. Perkins outlined goals and missions toward her work to be aligned with the goals and missions of the Foundation. Therefore she was chosen to carry on this work and to provide her students with the gift of teaching.
Laura plans to use the Award to fund five weeks of classes for her Students in September and October. She teaches a Spiritual Development Class and the work is based on results, rather than on experimentation. Using their individual gifts, she presents unique situations for them to work on at home during the week, bringing their results back to the group the following week. There folks are experienced spiritual seeks who have each developed their own style of accessing Spirit.
Please check back for our Summer newsletter edition of "The Light"which will include more information on this and other upcoming events this year.
Have You Had a Near-Death Experience?
As many of you know, our office mates in our building include IANDS, the International Association for Near-Death Studies, Inc. IANDS is embarking on a project which may lead to a television series about near death experiences and their impact on people's lives. They are looking for experiencers who would like to share their stories. We are passing this notice along to you as we believe that many of you may be interested!
IANDS is cooperating with a television production company on a possible TV series about near-death experiences and their impact on people's lives. We are inviting experiencers to consider participating.
The producers are interested in the following types of experience:
• NDE
• Near-death-like experiences
• Shared near-death experiences
• Distressing near-death experiences
• Out-of-body experiences (without other elements of an NDE)
• Tunnel experiences
• Angel experiences
• Light beings experiences
• Light experiences (without other elements of an NDE)
• Life review experiences
• Meetings with dead relatives
• After-death communication
• Apparitions
If you have had an experience like any of these--especially if your life has been strongly affected by it--and would like to have it considered as the basis for an episode, please let IANDS know (see below).
This is a preliminary request for experiences, as there is no guarantee that the series will be picked up for broadcasting. Your willingness to participate does not ensure that your experience will be included, as we cannot guarantee that it will be selected. The producers, not IANDS, will select the accounts they wish to use. If your experience is selected, there is no guarantee that you will appear on camera.
We will review all experience accounts that come to the office. Someone will notify you if the TV producer wants to talk with you. Please DO NOT call the IANDS office to check on your status. If the producer wants to talk with you, you will be notified; if you do not receive a message that the producer wants to talk with you, the producer has decided not to use your experience.
We will post an announcement on the IANDS website when we know whether the series has been picked up for broadcasting.
Here's how to send your experience for consideration:
Send us an email or letter, including these four things:
• your name, address, phone number, and email address if you have one
• a full description of your experience and its impact on your life
• a statement that you agree to having your experience considered for a TV show
• a statement that you agree not to submit your experience to any other TV show unless it is not selected by these producers
If you are using email, send to office@iands.org.
If you use regular mail, send the letter to:
IANDS
2741 Campus Walk Ave
Durham, NC 27705-8878
USA
Be sure to include the description of your experience.
What's New?
We are continually looking at ways to improve our facilities and enhance the experience of our visitors—and we take your feedback seriously! One of many new initiatives is our commitment to making the Retreat Center as green and sustainable as possible, and for those values to inform our purchasing, upgrade, and other choices. Most recently, our two lovely chalets have received a fresh coat of paint—Wilderness Green. One now has a red door and one a black door, making it easier for you to distinguish between the different chalets. We've also improved the interiors of each dormitory by repainting each of the rooms and hallways and upgrading all sleeping rooms with new, organic, 100% cotton bedding, including natural-toned sheets, blanket, and duvet cover. Each bed now has two pillows plus an additional elegant accent pillow. We are also in the process of replacing mattresses, and so far have added 20 new ones from the Green Fusion Design Center. These are coil innerspring mattresses wrapped with organic cotton and pure wool.
What's Cooking?
The feedback we consistently receive is how much you enjoy and appreciate the Center's cuisine, and we often get requests for Chef Shannon's recipes (stay tuned!). Here are some of her favorite things to cook and the common ingredients she uses in her kitchen: Her staple ingredients are olive oil, garlic, leeks, olives, lemon, and salt (she believes that salt has healing properties). Her favorite breakfast consists of braised greens with poached eggs, lemon/saffron aioli, and roasted potatoes. A popular lunchtime choice is an eggplant sandwich with pickled beets, radishes, and a special marinara sauce. One of her favored dinner entrees is duck confit—a French dish made with the leg of the duck. These dishes epitomize the philosophy of "slow food," as Shannon has to begin preparing them the day before. This long but beautiful process results in a sumptuous and satisfying meal. Good quality ingredients have their own language; they can be so simple but can create the most delicious experiences!
Events
In March, the first of the Institute's new weekend workshops is launching with The Healer's Journey, presented by Lee Lipsenthal, M.D., and Cassandra Vieten, Ph.D. Lee is the founder of Finding Balance in a Medical Life. He has served as medical director of Lifestyle Advantage and HeartMath LLC as well as being vice president and medical director of The Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito California along with Dr. Dean Ornish. Cassandra is a licensed clinical psychologist, Associate Director of Research at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, an associate scientist and co-director of the Mind-Body Medicine Research Group at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco, and vice president of the Institute for Spirituality and Psychology. This program is designed to enhance the life and capacity of all people in the healing arts. This would include massage therapists, yoga teachers, psychologists, physicians, naturopaths, social workers, nutritionists, teachers, and nurses, as well as anyone interested in personal growth.
This and upcoming weekend workshops focusing on consciousness & transformation, integral health & healing, and wisdom teachings will also offer continuing education credits.
Please join us on Thursday, March 12, from 6-8 pm on campus here in Petaluma for the Retreat Center's Dinner Series, featuring dinner and guest speaker Dr. Lee Lipsenthal, who will talk about "The Healer's Journey." Dinner is $25, or $35 with wine. If you would like to attend, email lisavanderboom@noetic.org with "Lipsenthal IONS dinner reservation request" in the subject line. (You will then receive a reservation link.) Please make your reservation early if possible, and no later than Monday, March 9. We look forward to seeing you!
Art, Culture & Consciousness
The Lucid Arts Foundation, in collaboration with IONS and the Retreat Center, will be co-sponsoring art programs and showings at the Center and will curate several gallery showings each year. The first co-sponsorship is the current show, Realms of Being, featuring artist Jeremy Morgan, which can be seen in our gallery in the community building through March 31st. Our next show, featuring painter Fritz Rauh, will be up April 1 - May 31.
Community News
Here at the Retreat Center we feel fortunate to be the stewards of 200 beautiful acres of rolling hills in Marin County. As such, our sense of community extends beyond the staff, volunteers, interns, and thousands of visitors we host each year to the indigenous flora and fauna that grace us with their beauty. This winter we welcome a new addition to our community of friends and visitors—a residential staff of approximately 300 hungry sheep and goats, including some babies and pregnant moms, along with their Peruvian shepherd and sheep dogs! These environmentally-friendly grazers munch on weeds and brush surrounding our facilities, specifically the areas near buildings and roads. Such managed grazing provides much-needed natural firebreaks and sustainable fire protection. The hungry herd will also reduce invasive plants by eating their way through thick star thistle growth. This increasingly popular green approach eliminates the need for CO2-producing machines, expensive manual labor, planned burning, and pesticides—all the while supporting the Institute of Noetic Sciences' ecological sustainability goals. Initially funded by Board member Betsy Gordon, the service is provided by San Francisco-based Living Systems Land Management.
What You Say
"We have been bringing groups from 10 to 40 people to the IONS Retreat Center in Petaluma, every few months for the past two years and have found it to be a beautiful, inspiring experience. The staff are very competent and helpful, the food is always delicious and healthy, and the facilities clean and well-kept. Our members always have nice things to say about the retreats there, and we are looking forward to having them even more frequently in the future."
Jeff Rice, Director
Center for Wellness & Achievement in Education
Contact Us
Lisa VanderBoom 707.779.8224
lvanderboom@noetic.org
The Retreat Center at the Institute of Noetic Sciences
Located on 200 acres of beautiful rolling hills just 25 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, we offer meeting facilities, cuisine, and accommodations for 5-120. Our clients offer educational programs, workshops, and retreats, with a broad focus on health, personal growth, and transformation. We also welcome weekend workshops and retreats for small groups (fewer than 25). Many programs are open to the public.
The Institute of Noetic Sciences is a nonprofit membership organization located in Northern California that conducts and sponsors leading-edge research into the potentials and powers of consciousness—including perceptions, beliefs, attention, intention, and intuition. The Institute explores phenomena that do not necessarily fit conventional scientific models, while maintaining a commitment to scientific rigor.
www.noetic.org/retreat.cfm
101 San Antonio Road, Petaluma, CA 94952
Are Parapsychologists Living or Are they Dead? A Review of the Utrecht II Conference
by Renaud Evrard
The first International Congress of Parapsychology in Utrecht, Netherlands, was in 1953. That conference helped to advance the field and to professionalize researchers. In October 2008, the Parapsychology Foundation organized a second Utrecht conference as a tribute to that conference and an assessment of the field. It was titled Utrecht II: Charting the Future of Parapsychology. As shown in the program, the topics approached covered many aspects of the field.
The Parapsychology Foundation has published an extensive review of Utrecht II. We can thank all the team for the great organization during the four day conference. Attending the conference was a great opportunity, especially for students like me who are quite newcomers in the field, to be able to allowed so much time for informal discussions with researchers who, for the most part, were just virtual names or inaccessible celebrities like the Nobel Prize winner Brian Josephson.
However, this conference was not perfect. Here are my impressions:
- There wasn’t enough time for peer-debates. There were five minute discussion periods at the end of each presentation, and after three presentations, a 30 minute discussion period with the three lecturers on the scene. By contrast, the Euro-PA Congress of October 2007 in Paris privileged discussion (2/3) over presentation (1/3). This format allowed everyone to develop their ideas, criticisms and responses (especially for non-native English speakers who need time to exceed their shyness!).
- There was a high heterogeneity between lecturers, maybe because of cultural differences. Methodological requirements, theories, stances in regard to the authenticity of psi phenomena, and personal involvements were not the same from one researcher to the other. Does parapsychology really have a community? It seems that the backgrounds of the presenters were very different. The gap was particularly noticeable between native and non-native English speakers. PF did, however, a marvellous work when putting all these researchers together, since 1953!
- Another problem is that some of the lectures were too introductory. A few of the lectures could have been made at least by ten people present at the conference.
- Most of the presentations were retrospective assessments, rarely asking ardent questions assessing the future of the discipline. This palette of assessments drew a fragmented field, each wanting to pull the cover in his or her direction. Is it because parapsychology seems to attract so creative personalities as even this small group of researchers can’t conform itself to a common orientation?
- Maybe as a consequence of previous points, I left the congress without any impression that pragmatic decisions were taken. That’s a big difference with Utrecht I, where researchers formed committees to bring more organization to the field making that earlier conference, as Carlos Alvarado remarked in his review, “a milestone in the 20th-century history of the field, helping to shape the 50 years that followed.”
Are parapsychologists living or are they dead? That’s the question I asked myself after the conference, even though I just have seen in real life some well-known personalities in the field. But this question rose from a specific definition of the parapsychologist as the scientist who challenges the issue of the authenticity of psi phenomena. This was not the case of all the researchers present at the conference. Some of the current major contributors in experimental parapsychology (Radin, Sheldrake, Bierman, Bem, and Parker) were not there, and their absence induced a strange atmosphere.
The challenge of proof-oriented research is difficult, because of the pressures that researchers face both inside and outside the field. Only a small group of scientists produce the majority of empirical data. They are psi-conducive experimenters with the time and money to ask the question, “Does psi exist?” The undecidability of the question maintains the interest of both the public and researchers. But for most parapsychologists, this question is not asserted directly. These researchers cautiously work on surroundings topics such as psychological variables.. Some scientists have no doubt about reality of psi, but at the conference their assertions made me feel some embarrassment, as if they had crossed the line of the current consensus. Is the parapsychologist dead when he or she stops asking if psi exists?
This problem increases in complexity when we take a sociological perspective. There is the issue of personal experiences and beliefs. Can a parapsychologist bracket aside his or her own life experiences while doing research? The necessity of personal distance is a strong requirement in the sciences, but it seemed to me stronger in Europe than in America. During the conference, it was my impression that many of the non-European researchers had a more “psi is proven” attitude, with more self-disclosure on their personal beliefs and experiences. While more academic opportunities in parapsychology emerge in Europe as American institutions close down, the original stance of a pragmatic pro-psi attitude appears to be breaking up. The living parapsychologist must enter in a dissociative state. Two types of research have emerged, as if two trends living side by side.
As Deborah Delanoy pointed it in her invited address, there are pros and cons of doing research in private institutes versus the university setting. Financing, broadcasting, recognition, constraints, and perpetuity vary completely from one institution to another. For somebody who wants to make a living while doing research in parapsychology, it is better to be known for something else than successful proof-oriented psi research. Robert Morris’s legacy at Koestler Parapsychology Unit is an academic success with 27 PhD students, with 18 working currently in universities, but at what price? Psi phenomena are still far from proved. Only surrounding approaches, like studies of altered states of consciousness, paranormal beliefs, anomalous experiences and historical studies assure these academic positions. I wonder if certain properties of the paranormal entail inevitably the dissolution of its subversive reach when it penetrates into strongly structured and conformist circles (such as universities) as suggested in George Hansen’s Trickster theory (Hansen, 2001).
But the differences between private and academic institutions do not completely describe the reality. The private Institute of Border Areas of Psychology and Mental Hygiene in Germany is probably the most active in private parapsychological research. Its stance is, however, both careful and brave. It asks differently the question of the authenticity of psi phenomena by basing itself on theoretical models (such as Generalized Quantum Theory), which goes at the same moment farther and less far than the common representations. This model, where the psi is not a physical signal, allows the construction of a new field where psi receives a positive operational definition.
An exchange at the Utrecht II was very revealing of this aspect: in his lecture, Professor Harald Walach of the University of Northampton went so far as to say that parapsychology was dead, but Mario Varvoglis, president of the private Institut Métapsychique International in France, stated that if this model (GQT) of psi showed itself exact, it would be the death of one parapsychology, one view of psi accompanying one specific discourse. And it would be for that reason that parapsychologists still have a spark of life in the middle of a hostile world.
Hansen, G. (2001). The Trickster and the Paranormal. Philadelphia: Xlibris.
Renaud Evrard
Renaud Evrard is a French psychologist, preparing a Ph.D in clinical and differential aspects of exceptional experiences at the University of Rouen. He is an active member of the Student Group of Institut Métapsychique International since 2004, and a student affiliate of the Parapsychological Association since 2007. He co-founded in 2007 the Service for Orientation and Help of People with Exceptional Experiences (SOS-PSEE) in Paris.
Golden Gate Sufi Circle
The Retreat Center is currently hosting the space for The Golden Gate Sufi Circle's 7th annual 10-day sesshin. Participants come together to engage in Silent Meditation alternating with Zikr and Dances of Universal Peace, exploring this new way to integrate active practice with meditation. The retreats have been a deep and joyful success, often with nearly 100 participants. This potent practice combines the power and resonance of the Zikr Circle/Dance Circle with the profound calm and abiding insight of the meditative state. The goal is that this integrative approach will move us toward a grounded balance of serenity, insight and awareness. The teachings and transmission of Hazrat Inayat Khan and Murshid Samuel are woven into the retreat. Leaders are Pir Shabda Kahn, Murshid Wali Ali, MurshidaTaj Inayat, Sheikh Rahmat Moore and Gayan Long. In the spring the Retreat Center will be hosting the Federation of the Sufi Message (all the orders of Hazrat Inayat Khan) from April 28 to May 2. See www.suficircle.org.
Thank You to our December Retreat Center clients!
Jean Houston Mystery School
Veriditas
We host retreats, workshops and client events on an ongoing basis throughout the year at the Retreat Center. Please click here to see our detailed events schedule.
What's New?
The Retreat Center staff decided that two new storage units were top projects that would help them operate more efficiently. One storage unit, attached to the West Room, will be used for storing the chairs that are not in use. Managing the movement and storage of these chairs has been a time-consuming and labor-intensive job since these deluxe Herman Miller chairs are not stack-able. They were a generous donation several years ago, and are extremely comfortable chairs for our retreat groups to use. The second storage unit has also been completed and is located across from the Gordon Garden near the Community Building. This unit will be used for IONS books, publications, gift store inventory and facilities storage. The buildings were constructed using steel frame panels from Codding Steel Frame Solutions in Rohnert Park; follow this link to learn about steel as a green building product. The erection and construction has been done by Tomas Dupal Construction. These sheds were made possible by a donation from Daphne Crocker-White.
Events
Kim Rosen
Anodea Judith
Monthly Dinner Series, from 5:30-7:00 pm on campus here in Petaluma for dinner, with guest speakers.
Thursday, January 21: Dinner Salon featuring Kim Rosen and Anodea Judith
Pre-registration Required
Early Registration
Program and Dinner: $30
Program, Dinner & Wine: $35
After 48 hours prior to the events
Program and Dinner: $35
Program, Dinner & Wine: $40
Register now
Kim Rosen, MFA, author of Saved by a Poem: The Transformative Power of Words (Hay House, 2009), has touched listeners around the world with the spoken word's power to awaken, inspire and heal. She is the co-creator of four CDs of spoken poetry and music and has delivered poetry in a wide spectrum of venues from the crypt of Chartres Cathedral to the New Orleans Superdome. Combining her devotion to poetry with her background as a spiritual teacher and therapist, Kim has spent 30 years developing workshop environments that invite participants to discover new realms within—creatively, emotionally and spiritually. Kim has taught on the faculty of the Omega Institute, Wisdom University, Kripalu and the International Pathwork Foundation. An award winning poet and writer, her writing has been published in O Magazine, Huffington Post, Central Park, and The Texas Review, among other publications. Kim will be teaching a weekend workshop at IONS January 29-31. (See listing of Transformative Learning Workshops below).
Anodea Judith, PhD will talk about her lifetime of work with the chakra system, its application to psychological development and healing, and its political implications for our time. The Chakra System is an ancient map for both our personal development and our collective evolution. As a template for transformation, it describes the portals between the inner and outer worlds, the meeting points of matter and spirit, and the architecture of the human soul. Anodea is the author of several best-selling books on the chakras, including the classic Wheels of Life and the award-winning DVD, The Illuminated Chakras. She is the founder of Sacred Centers and a world renowned lecturer and workshop leader. Anodea will be teaching a 7-day workshop at IONS March 29–April 4. For more info go to www.SacredCenters.com.
Our February Dinner Salon will be a private event for members of Petaluma's Tara Firma Farms. The guest speaker for this event will be Joe Salatin. Tara Firma Farms offers healthy chemical-free, all-natural produce and meats from grass-fed, pasture-raised and humanely-treated pigs, cows, and chickens. Tara Firma Farms donates 10% of its income from IONS members back to IONS. Check them out at www.tarafirmafarms.com. We plan to collaborate with them on future events and that we'll keep readers informed through the newsletter.
Transformative Learning Workshops
January 29-31 – Speaking the Soul: The Transformative Power of Words with Kim Rosen
February 5-7 – Women in Transition: Climbing into Your Authentic Self with Suze Allen and Jnana Gowan
Lauren Vanett
March 5-7 – Live from Your Strengths: A Journey Toward Increased Engagement and Meaning in Life Lauren Vanett, MA
March 19-21 – Green in Spirit: Healing through Permaculture and Biosynamic Gardening with Brenda Sanders
April 16-18 – Cells and the Sacred: Discovering the Cell as Messenger for the Marriage of Science and Spirituality with Sondra Barrett, PhD
April 16-18 – From Science to God: A Journey into the Mystery of Consciousness with Peter Russell, MA
April 23-25 – Learning Telekinesis—Your Gateway to Mind Over Matter and
April 26 – Developing Subtle Energy Awareness and Telekinesis: One-day Intensive
both with Natalia Shareyko, MD, PhD, of the Institute for Biosensory Psychology in Saint Petersberg, Russia
Ralph Metzner
May 21-23 – The Six Life-paths of the Human Soul and the Imprints of Conception with Ralph Metzner, part of the six-part Alchemical Divination Series
May 29-31 – Shakti Awakening with Dr. David Frawley, Dr. Dennis Harness, and Shambhavi Chopra (online registration available soon)
June 25-27 – Primordial Qigong: A Gem from the Treasure Chest of Taoist Mystical Qigong with Donald and Cheryl Lynne Rubbo
Art, Culture, & Consciousness
Translucent Beings
Paintings by Toni Littlejohn
Exhibition: January 2-March 31, 2010
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 6th, 3-5 PM
Music by composer, Joyce Kouffman, of Point Reyes Music Retreats
Poetry readings by Nancy Bertelesen, Robin Leslie Jacobson and Devi Weisenberg
"Influenced by the Diamond Approach of integrating spiritual development with western psychology, my artwork is an experience in the practice of ego surrendering itself to the realm of being and then returning to self. The paintings in this exhibition reflect the impact of my recent trip to the Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya. Masai warriors dance, chant their way around the fire. Their tall sinewy bodies transpose into streams of color and light, forms dissolving into wholeness, humans becoming luminosity." —Toni Littlejohn
Toni Littlejohn has exhibited her work widely in the Bay Area. She is a founding member of Gallery Route One and has been leading artist workshops "Wild Carrots" since 1992.
More about the artists who will perform at the February 6 Opening Reception:
Poets
Devi Weisenberg lives in Inverness and her love affair with West Marin sizzles so hot that she's forced to live near water for safety. She considers herself a part of the oral tradition, gleefully clacking the bones of spoken words together. She self published Poems from around the Bend and her work has appeared in the West Marin Review and Joy No Matter What.
Robin Leslie Jacobson, whose poetry and prose have been published widely in literary journals and anthologies, is a two-time winner of Marin Arts Council individual artist grants and has been a resident at the Headlands Center for the Arts. Formerly a teacher for California Poets in the Schools and for Poets & Writers, she has collaborated with visual artists Toni Littlejohn and Judith Selby Lang in Gallery Route One's Artists in the Schools Program. At UC Berkeley, Robin is currently learning to teach English as a Second Language.
Nancy Bertelsen, a West Marin poet and former psychotherapist, combines narrative and lyrical modes in exploring the natural world, the human condition, and their points of intersection. Her work has been published in the West Marin Review.
Musician
Joyce Kouffman is a Bay Area composer who has spent decades studying and living with traditional rhythms of West Africa, including intensive study with drum masters of the National Ballet of Senegal. Having searched for the roots of American jazz in Africa, she is also a jazz drummer, improvisational cellist, and classical guitarist. Joyce teaches all ages and levels in the Bay Area and offers Point Reyes Music Retreats in classical and jazz. More info: www.JoyceJazz.com
You can enhance and support the Retreat Center by gifting us with some of our specific needs around the campus by visiting our Amazon.com "wish" list (click here). In small but significant ways, your help supports the Retreat Center, guests in their personal transformative journeys on the campus, and some of the animals that inhabit the land. We welcome your gift and invite you to make other suggestions.
Focus Project: Outdoor Furniture
Our focus project this month is to fund furniture and awnings for our chalets. There are fabulous views of the Petaluma hills from these porches. They call for furniture and awnings to give our guests comfortable spaces to hang out and relax. Click on the link to take you to the furniture and awnings we need. If you would like to contribute, we would be grateful, and not only will we honor your contribution in the newsletter, but we will honor you on a framed list in the chalets.
Thank You
Catherine Kyle of Groveland, CA
for a Star Resin Training Multipurpose Table
Community News
2009 IONS Holiday Open House
Neither rain, nor fog, nor a PG&E power outage could dampen the joyous spirits of over 200 of us who ventured out to enjoy an afternoon of holiday festivities including eating, drinking, dancing, caroling, and communing at our 2009 Holiday Open House. We send out a special thank you to all our musician friends; to Aldo Garibaldi on the piano and classical guitarist Giovanni Mandala for leading our Christmas Carol sing-a-long and to the Love Choir whose delightful harmonic gifts set the energetic tone for the day. Kudos to our chefs for their tasty delicacies paired with delicate wines and homemade desserts which were savored by all. One very lucky person won a free pass to our upcoming Chabot Space Center event in February and many others had the chance to take a tour of our infamous "Cube," or "Box" as our Senior Scientist Dr. Dean Radin prefers to call it, in the research lab.
We wish to make this magical moment in IONS history an annual event, and hope that next year you too will be able to join in the festivities!
Contact Us
Lisa VanderBoom 707.779.8224
events@noetic.org
The Retreat Center at the Institute of Noetic Sciences
Located on 200 acres of beautiful rolling hills just 25 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, we offer meeting facilities, cuisine, and accommodations for 5-120. Our clients offer educational programs, workshops, and retreats, with a broad focus on health, personal growth, and transformation. We also welcome weekend workshops and retreats for small groups (fewer than 25). Many programs are open to the public.
The Institute of Noetic Sciences is a nonprofit membership organization located in Northern California that conducts and sponsors leading-edge research into the potentials and powers of consciousness—including perceptions, beliefs, attention, intention, and intuition. The Institute explores phenomena that do not necessarily fit conventional scientific models, while maintaining a commitment to scientific rigor.
www.noetic.org/retreat.cfm
101 San Antonio Road, Petaluma, CA 94952
Katherine Fair Donnelly
Katherine, one of Dr. Tanous' very close friend and colleuge has written nine books as well as articles for various magazines and periodicals. She co-authored the column entitled RECOVERING FROM GRIEF, which appeared regularly for seven years in The Dallas Morning News and other newspapers throughout the country.
In recognition of their work in this field, Donnelly and her co-author of the Recovering From Grief column, Judith Haimes, were featured in PEOPLE Magazine and on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. They have also appeared on innumerable national and local television programs.
Ms. Donnelly has lectured extensively throughout the United States and Canada to colleges and universities in an educational outreach program.
She has worked closely with mutual support groups for bereaved families, social workers, psychologists, teachers, and all those in the care- giving profession.
Her late husband, John H. Donnelly, was also a writer and co-author with Katherine Donnelly of the mystery entitled, The Secret of the Crystal Skull, [Published by iUniverse.com. ISBN # 0595-17021-8]. Donnelly resides in Texas.
Contact Information
General Information: kfdonnelly@juno.com
Grief Column: recovering-grief@juno.com
The Spiritual Envoy
A weekly program whose focus is crossing and bridging the "spiritual divide" to find common ground, inclusivity and civility among varying schools of spiritual thought and practice.
The host of the show, Eva Ravenwood invited Alice Kelley of the Alex Tanous Foundation for Scientific Research to her show on January 29, 2008.
Alice is the Administrative Director of the Foundation for the past 15 years. She talked about the work of the Alex Tanous Foundation, the famed scholar and psychic who left a collection of work to further research the fields of psychic and creative development. Click here to listen to the show
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thespiritualenvoy/2008/01/29/The-Spiritual-Envoy-Alice-Kelley-of-the-Alex-Tanous-Foundation and to learn more about the host, Eva Ravenwood and her work go to www.evaravenwood.com
Hello! I have recently joined ASD although I have been dreaming for
lifetimes and learning how to interpret dreams for 30 years this lifetime!
I am a student and teacher with the School of Metaphysics, a not-for-profit
educational and service organization in the United States.
We are conducting a research project to study the effect the moon has on our
dreams. We want as broad a spectrum of people as possible, to explore how
the full moon and the new moon influence dreams. This year there is a
unique sequence of events: a full moon, a new moon on a solar eclipse day,
and eclipsed full moon and a new moon occurring one after another within 48
days. We are asking people to remember and record their dreams on those
days so we can study the influences.
Would you like to participate? The study begins on January 21st and we need
participants to register in advance, to receive instructions and to send
demographic data. You can register at experiment@dreamschool.org and can
learn more at www.dreamschool.org. I am also pasting at the end of this
email a press release with more information about the study.
I've submitted a proposal to present the results of this research at the ASD
Conference in Montreal.
People throughout history have noted the effect of the moon as it relates to
imbalance, such as "lunacy" and increase in crime during times of full and
new moon.
Perhaps we can add more wholistic knowledge about how the moon influences
intuition, lucid dreaming, and other dreamstates...
Hope to meet you in Montreal in July!
Happy dreaming,
Dr. Laurel Clark
School of Metaphysics
www.som.org
www.dreamschool.org
417-345-8411
What effect does the moon have on our dreams?
This is the question a team of researchers at the College of Metaphysics
will be seeking to answer in the next two months as the positioning of the
earth, moon, and the sun move through a sequence rarely seen in human
history. Within 48 days, we will experience a full moon, a new moon on a
solar eclipse day, an
eclipsed full moon, and a new moon.
"Our task is to receive, tabulate and analyze records of dream activity on
each of these days," says project creator Barbara Condron. "Physical
science is exploring what females have known for millennia -- that the pull
of the earth's moon affects our biological cycles. The data we collect in
the next three months will open dialogue on the moon's effect
on the consciousness we call dreaming."
Condron and others have been researching the field of dreams for 40 years
through classes and seminars sponsored by the School of Metaphysics, a
not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational institute devoted to the exploration
and development of mental technology. Ten years ago www.dreamschool.org
opened the research to a worldwide audience with a steady stream of dreamers
reporting their personal night time
movies.
"Every day we receive dreams for analysis and interpretation," Condron says.
"They come from across the U.S., of course, and they can come from Germany,
Australia, Nigeria, even Vietnam. The internet enables us to verify a
longstanding hypothesis: Homo Sapiens dream, in every country, in every
culture.
Collecting these dreams gives us a unique window into the nature of
humankind's consciousness that some call soul.
"Through our Global Lucid Dreaming Experiments we hope to advance scientific
knowledge and awareness of consciousness,"? Condron says. Her documentary
TEN POWERS OF DREAMING details how individuals' dreams -- from scientists
and artists to inventors and warriors
-- often find a place in our everyday lives. "From the Periodic Table of
Elements to Gandhi's nonviolent resistance to British colonization to Mary
Shelley's Frankenstein, dreams have helped shape the course of human history
and it's time we understand how and why."
School of Metaphysics
2606 Oakview Terrace
Maplewood, MO 63143
314-645-0036
sommaplewood@yahoo.com
World Headquarters website: http://www.som.org
CERTIFICATE IN PARAPSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES
HCH Institute, Lafayette, CA
Parapsychologist Loyd Auerbach has teamed up with HCH Institute in Lafayette, CA to present a Certificate Course in Parapsychological Studies!!! This course is registered with the California Bureau of Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education is approved for CE Units for MFTs, LCSWs and RNs.
Parapsychological Studies: The Study of Psychic Phenomena ( the Basics)
Contrary to what so many believe, the field of Parapsychology studies much more than ghosts and hauntings. Parapsychologists are generally not very psychic (and psychics are rarely parapsychologists). Parapsychology is not "paranormal psychology." So, what’s the field all about? Just who are the parapsychologists and what do they do?
This 60 hour course series is an overview to the field of Parapsychology, and the main areas of research and investigation: ESP, PsychoKinesis (mind over matter), and Survival of Bodily Death. Included will be a general discussion of where the field came from, where the major centers of research are today, and where the field might be headed. Students will have an opportunity to review some of the basic research in the field and to apply the theories and applications to their current helping profession or to pursue parapsychological field investigations on their own.
All courses may be taken individually for Continuing Education Credit or just for fun!
The program and course descriptions, schedule of classes, and costs can be found at: http://www.hypnotherapytraining.com/parapsych.cfm
Course titles are:
Introduction to Parapsychology
PK & Precognition: Mind, Matter & Time
Being Psychic
The Search for Life After Death
Theories and Models of Psychic Experience: How It Might Work
Parapsychology: The Cross-Over Science
Ghost Hunting: How to Investigate the Paranormal
This is a basic certificate program -- in the foundations of Parapsychology. If this is successful, we plan to expand the program to a more extensive group of classes (and higher level of state certification).
Finally, we have audio-recorded the classes, so the courses -- and certification -- can be offered to Distance Learners and for those wanting to finish up sooner! Classes are also available Live via Telephone. See BELOW.
Classes are held at HCH Institute, 3702 Mt Diablo Blvd Lafayette, California 94549 For more info on course content, contact Loyd Auerbach at esper@california.com or 925-518-4071.
For more info from HCH or to register: 925-283-3941 (Tues - Fri, 10 AM - 4 PM) or email: Info@hypnotherapytraining.com
------------------------------------------------------
Distance Learning
CERTIFICATE IN PARAPSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES
HCH Institute, Lafayette, CA
Parapsychological Studies: The Study of Psychic Phenomena ( the Basics)
The Certificate program or individual classes may be taken via a distance learning option. All courses have been audio-taped, live. This includes lectures, discussion and questions/answers between students and the instructor.
To participate in the distance learning option for the certification program, students pay full tuition and fees. Students receive all course CDs (mp3 format of class recordings), handouts, required books, and additional materials. Individual courses are available without entering the program.
In addition, distance learning students will be scheduled for a one to two hour tele-class (via telephone) with the instructor per course. Longer courses get two hours, shorter classes get one hour. In this way, students will still be able to interact and ask questions of the instructor without having to be in the classroom. Naturally, students may interact via email as well.
Distance learning students are invited to participate by conference call (via an in-classroom speakerphone) in the class sessions as they are held at HCH (generally Thursday evenings from 6:30 - 9:30 PM Pacific time). This is not a requirement for certification however.
For each certificate-related course, attending the additional tele-classes and interacting with the instructor will ensure the material has been understood by the students.
Distance-learning students completing the entire program will be entitled to the same Certificate received by local students attending in-person.
COURSE CDs ONLY
CDs of each of the classes will also be made available at a reduced price for those people who simply want the information, and do not want to participate in the Certificate program, tele-classes or “attend” classes by conference call.
See the HCH website at www.hypnotherapytraining.com/parapsych.cfm for information on pricing for individual classes, with (full price) or without (generally half price) participation.
Besides the above listed curriculum, additional classes as they occur will also be available in mp3 format on CD.
The International Association for the Study of Dreams
Business Office: MON-THUR
Richard Wilkerson
1672 University Avenue Berkeley, CA 94703
phone/fax: 1-209-724-0889
Web: www.asdreams.org
e-mail: office@asdreams.org
The International Association for the Study of Dreams is a non-profit, international, multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the pure and applied investigation of dreams and dreaming. Our purposes are to promote an awareness and appreciation of dreams in both professional and public arenas; to encourage research into the nature, function, and significance of dreaming; to advance the application of the study of dreams; and to provide a forum for the eclectic and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and information.
Eileen J. Garrett's AWARENESS in print again! PF goes to Book Expo!
Literally hot off the presses! The Parapsychology Foundation has published
a new edition of Eileen J. Garrett's classic AWARENESS with contributions
before and after the book by the late Exceptional Human Experiences
theorist Rhea A. White and by the Foundation's Executive Director, Mrs.
Garrett's grand-daughter, Lisette Coly. In AWARENESS, Mrs. Garrett
thoughtfully considered her psychic abilities, what they were, how they
worked and what they implied about consciousness. A must read for psychics
and mediums, and for students, teachers and researchers of psychic
functioning. A DVD Audio book version is in production with its
availability to be announced. The new paperback version is available on
Psi-Mart by clicking on this page:
http://www.psi-mart.com/details.php?IdArt=391
The Parapsychology Foundation is now making a selected list of its titles
available to bookstores and book wholesalers through the AtlasBooks program
of our distributor, Bookmasters, Inc. Now you'll be able to get Helix Press
books, ADVENTURES IN THE SUPERNORMAL and AWARENESS by Eileen J. Garrett and
INVESTIGATING THE PARANORMAL by Tony Cornell; all the titles in our
"Primers in Parapsychology" pamphlet series among them GETTING STARTED IN
PARAPSYCHOLOGY by Carlos S. Alvarado; and a selection of our best-selling
proceedings in your local bookstore! To kick off the new program,
Bookmasters has taken our books and brochures to the annual international
convention for the book industry, BOOKEXPO, which opens to the public
tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City
and continues on through Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. For more information
on BookExpo go to the following page:
http://bookexpoamerica.com/App/homepage.cfm?moduleid=42&appname=288
Today was the deadline for the Eileen J. Garrett Summer Library Fellowship.
The Committee met just after 5:00 p.m. and chose PF International
Affiliate, Greek physicist Dr. Fotini Pallikari as this summer's Library
Fellow. Dr. Pallikari has been working on the papers of Greek naval hero,
physician and psychical researcher Admiral Angelos Tanagras and will be
using her week in Greenport to make copies of materials available by and
about Tanagras in our archives. Congratulations to Dr. Pallikari!
For those interested in Tanagras' work, the Foundation published his
monograph entitled "Psychophysical Elements in Parapsychological
Traditions" in 1967. It is available for sale by going to the following Web Site:
page: http://www.psi-mart.com/details.php?Id=&IdArt=47
******************************************************
THE PARAPSYCHOLOGY FOUNDATION is a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to
the scientific study of psychic phenomena.
www.parapsychology.org
www.pflyceum.org
www.psychicexplorers.org
www.psi-mart.com
Sweet Dreams -
The International Association for the Study of Dreams Launched a New Weekly Radio Program on Dreams in February 2007.
San Francisco, CA - The International Association for the Study of Dreams in conjunction with the DreamScience foundation, is launching a weekly live Internet Radio program on Dreams and Dreaming called DREAMTIME. This new show will focus on IASD’s support of dream studies and dreamwork. Bob Hoss, IASD Past President and Executive Officer will host this hour-long show. DreamTime will air live on the VoiceAmerica™ Health & Wellness Channel every Wednesday at 9AM PST with an encore broadcast at 9PM PST.
According to Bob Hoss, “The show is designed to be educational as well as entertaining. It is theme based, and includes dream experts from the IASD organization. The weekly radio show format will include guest interviews along with the opportunity for listener’s to call-in or e-mail questions.”
Beginning February 14, 2007 and broadcasting each Wednesday at 9AM PST / 12PM EST, “Dream Time” with Bob Hoss on the VoiceAmerica Health & Wellness Channel will air live, with a rebroadcast 12 hours later. All past shows will be available on demand and podcast ready. The internet radio program is available to Internet users worldwide from the IASD, (www.asdreams.org), Dream Science Foundation (www.dreamscience.org/idx_radio.htm) or the VoiceAmerica Health & Wellness Channel (www.health.voiceamerica.com ) - periodically check the IASD site for updates to the weekly programs.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE:
2-May Working in Dream Groups - Jeremy Taylor, Bob Haden
9-May Closing Show
ABOUT IASD:
IASD is a nonprofit, international, multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the pure and applied investigation of dreams and dreaming. Its purpose is to promote an awareness and appreciation of dreams in both professional and public arenas; to encourage research into the nature, function, and significance of dreaming; to advance the application of the study of dreams; and to provide a forum for the eclectic and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and information. IASD is open to anyone who studies, explores, or works with dreams. Membership represents about 30 countries and people from all disciplines. For more information visit: http://www.asdreams.org.
ABOUT Modavox:
Modavox, Inc. (www.modavox.com) is a pioneer in internet broadcasting, producing and syndicating online audio and video, and offering innovative, effective and comprehensive online tools for reaching targeted niche communities worldwide. Modavox is the leading producer and distributor of online, talk radio content, streaming approximately 250 hours of live programs and scheduled replays weekly on its Modavox VoiceAmerica™ Network (www.voiceamerica.com) and the 7th Wave Network (www.7thwavenetwork.com). Through its patented Modavox Central™ technology, Modavox "takes the search out of search," delivering content straight to desktops and internet-enabled devices. Through its proprietary StreamSafe™, WebcastWizard™ and Stream Syndicate™ tools, Modavox provides managed access for live and on-demand internet broadcasting and syndication; content management; and online meeting, event management, enterprise communications and distance learning.
Parapsychology is the scientific and scholarly study of certain unusual events associated with human experience. These experiences have been called "psychic" for want of a better term.
Please note: A common misconception is that a parapsychologist is a psychic. Not so. Likewise, a child psychiatrist is not a child! Instead, a parapsychologist is a scientist or scholar who is seriously interested in the "paranormal." Unfortunately, many telephone books and on-line sites use "parapsychologist" as a synonym for psychic entertainer, mentalist, conjurer, astrologer, or psychic reader. This is an inappropriate use of the term "parapsychologist."
What does it mean to study psychic phenomena?
A long-held, common-sense assumption is that the worlds of the subjective and objective are completely distinct, with no overlap. Subjective is "here, in the head," and objective is "there, out in the world." Parapsychology then is the study of phenomena suggesting that the assumption of a strict separation between subjective and objective may be wrong. Human experience suggests that some phenomena occasionally fall between the cracks, and are not purely subjective nor purely objective. From a scientific perspective, such phenomena are called "anomalous" because they are difficult to explain within current scientific models.
These anomalies fall into three general categories: ESP (terms are defined below),
PK, and phenomena suggestive of survival after bodily death, including near-death experiences, apparitions, and reincarnation. Most parapsychologists today expect that further research will eventually explain these anomalies in scientific terms, although it is not clear whether they can be adequately understood without significant (indeed, probably revolutionary) expansions of the current state of scientific knowledge. Other researchers take the stance that existing scientific models of perception and memory are adequate to explain some or all parapsychological phenomena.
What is not parapsychology?
In spite of what the media often imply, parapsychology is not the study of anything considered weird or bizarre. Nor is parapsychology concerned with astrology, searching for Bigfoot, paganism, vampires, alchemy, or witchcraft.
Many scientists have viewed parapsychology with great suspicion because the term has come to be associated with a huge variety of mysterious phenomena, fringe topics, and pseudoscience. Parapsychology is also often linked, again inappropriately, with a broad range of "psychic" entertainers, magicians, and so-called "paranormal investigators."
What do parapsychologists study?
Many feel that the strangest, and most interesting, aspect of parapsychological phenomena is that they do not appear to be limited by the known boundaries of space or time. In addition, they blur the sharp distinction usually made between mind and matter. In popular usage, the basic parapsychological phenomena are categorized as follows:
Psi : A neutral term for parapsychological phenomena. Psi, psychic, and psychical are synonyms.
Telepathy : Direct mind-to-mind communication.
Precognition: Also called premonition. Obtaining information about future events, where the information could not be inferred through normal means. Many people report dreams that appear to be precognitive.
Clairvoyance : Sometimes called remote viewing; obtaining information about events at remote locations, beyond the reach of the normal senses.
ESP: Extra-sensory perception; a general term for obtaining information about events beyond the reach of the normal senses. This term subsumes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.
Psychokinesis : Also called PK; direct mental interaction with physical objects, animate or inanimate.
Bio-PK : Direct mental interactions with living systems.
NDE : Near death experience; an experience reported by those who were revived from nearly dying. Often refers to a core experience that includes feelings of peace, OBE, seeing lights and other phenomena.
OBE : Out-of-body experience; the experience of feeling separated from the body, often accompanied by visual perceptions as though from above the body.
Reincarnation: The belief that we live successive lives, with primarily evidence coming from the apparent recollections of previous lives by very small children.
Haunting : Recurrent phenomena reported to occur in particular locations that include apparitions, sounds, movement of objects, and other effects.
Poltergeist: Large-scale PK phenomena often attributed to spirits, but which are now thought to be due to a living person, frequently an adolescent.