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How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one, but the light bulb has to want to change!
We can change material things by operating on them, but
to change people, we employ an interaction with them. One of
our basic defining assumptions about humans is that we have
choice. It's a weak assumption, one that is easily
threatened by the specter of ESP.
We assume our minds to be our personal, private castle,
free from all uninvited intrusions. An unexpected experience
with telepathy, however, especially the first time, often
elicits the reaction, "it was creepy." ESP calls
personal boundaries into question. Whether or not the
acceptance into society of ESP will be a blessing or a curse
depends upon how we will integrate the crisis in boundaries
ESP will bring.
It is a hopeful sign when the technological advances in
ESP merge with developments in spiritual awareness to
produce an enlightened approach to things psychic. A new
book, Miracles of Mind: Exploring Nonlocal Consciousness
and Spiritual Healing (New World Library) represents
such a merger. The first author, Russell Targ, is a
physicist and the foremost pioneer in research on remote
viewing. His work has made it commonplace among
consciousness workers to assume that your mind has a
"nonlocal" dimension that enables it to interact
with things, events and persons in other times and places.
The second author, Jane Katra is a public health educator
with a special gift for spiritual healing. When Targ
developed cancer, he met Katra who shared with him her
skills at "immune system coaching." Thus Katra
introduced Targ to spiritual aspects of the nonlocal mind,
such as prayer. In this book they each tell the story of
their own individual research, nd then explain how their
two fields interact, providing a spiritual perspective on
ESP and a psychic explanation for spiritual healing. It is
an extraordinary synthesis of scientific research with
spiritual wisdom.
We find it important to spiritualize psychic ability
because of its seemingly awesome power. For example, when we
prepare for even a mild mannered psychic experience, such as
meditation, we regularly surround ourselves with protective
light. This ritual suggests we perceive the possibilities of
danger in sitting alone with ourselves. When ESP is
acknowledged, are you ever alone with yourself?
Targ's research shows that psychic abilities can be used
for spying. Furthermore, Russian research shows that one
person can send telepathic suggestions of strangulation to
another person and cause choking. It would appear that ESP
can be used for immoral purposes. So it would seem that we
need spirituality to shape the use of psychic abilities
toward ethical ends. Katra's work in healing others seems
like such a positive application. But a surprising paradox
enters the picture.
Katra distinguishes spiritual healing from psychic
healing. It is a difference in world views, in paradigms.
"In psychic healing, the healer transposes intuitive
impressions into thoughts and specific healing actions to
remedy a perceived problem in a patient's body. In spiritual
healing, ...the spiritual healer maintains his or her
awareness in a nonlocal state of unity consciousness
throughout the healing session." She also distinguishes
spiritual healing from any kind of telepathic suggestion
because she does not involve herself in any intent that the
patient get well, so that no persuasion is involved. Rather,
she enters a unitive state of consciousness while feeling
merged with the patient. In effect she invites the patient,
or offers the opportunity for the patient, to come along
with her into God awareness, and then the patient
experiences his or her own "self healing" ability
in that unitive (God) awareness.
It would seem that psychic healing comes out of the
paradigm of power. One person with special powers operates
on another person. The operation could be done against the
person's will, and thus ethical standards are required.
Spiritual healing arises from a paradigm of love. It is an
interaction with a person and involves the patient's choice
to transcend ego consciousness to merge with "the
community of spirit.". Although psychic ability is
involved in this healing process (they propose that a
psychic resonance enables the patient to emulate the
healer's awareness), developing psychic ability is
downplayed. Entering the state of consciousness of oneness
both reveals the latent psychic ability and at the same time
makes it less an object of desire. The consciousness of
oneness seems to be both the psychic gift and the healing
fruit.
The fact of the matter is that psychic abilities do not
change the landscape of spirituality, they only illuminate
it. Maybe the stereotype of psychic ability can tempt
someone to pursue further the illusion of operating on
personal power, or to create a shield against an abuse of
such power. On the other hand, a deeper understanding of
psychic ability may promote more of a motivation to learn
how to live interactively the life of interconnectedness.
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