Using Science To Explain Psychic Abilities

Given the long history of what we call psychic abilities, I think the modern era allows for a scientific exploration of the topic. This exploration is pre-supposing that psychic abilities exist and that there is a measurable reality granted to them. Though I'm not the first to suggest or attempt this, I do think I can do a better job of phrasing the experiences in scientific language, as well as ground the psychic experience in a cultural context - as I think past researchers have been taking the wrong approach.

On a grand scale, I'm certain that all psychic abilities are variations on a single type of energy manipulation, and that all organisms are using this manipulation to some degree.

An example would be found in the shark: sharks can't see very well, thus sharks hunt by sensing electrical signals in other fish. Among psychics, this is a version of the "empath" ability. Though sharks depend on this ability to survive, it doesn't seem to have any purpose for humans in the modern era - though it may have been used at some point in human history to hunt animals in the wild.

Though back to energy manipulation: abilities that control the elements, that control the movement of small or large objects, and abilities that control energy within the body all are a single type of control over a single type of energy. It's likely that your personality shapes how your control over the energy manifests - this part probably isn't news to anyone that frequents this site.

But perhaps collecting observations together could help people understand how the abilities are a form of energy manipulation, and that this means they can be controlled through certain means:

1) By exercising. By this I mean keeping the flow energy within you unblocked. Eastern medicine has a concept called the "meridian system," which is a network of 361 points along which energy flows - you might call it the psychic nervous system.

2) Psychics can sometimes see the meridian system, as well as control the flow of it. In Taoism, seeing and controlling the meridian system is part of a system of medicine, and monks/priests are even able to attain immortality in spirit form after a certain amount of training (think blue Jedi spirits) - though that's a topic worth discussing elsewhere.

3) Everyone has a meridian system, but for some reason psychics have an amplified amount of energy flowing through them, and can also connect to and absorb the energy flowing through nature, animals, and other people. On this point, I don't know what the different is between a natural psychic and a normal person that's been turned vampire style, but it'd be interesting if anyone knew anything on this topic.

4) This energy can be controlled by using various stones and metals: research chakra/qi/chi/mana stones and you'll discover that the right stone can dramatically help you control your abilities. And if buy or make a wand, you'll be able to protect yourself without much training.

5) I'll expand this list in a later entry.

Though for those looking for more than anecdotal advice, the largest recorded account thus far for psychic phenomenon in the public eye are the world religions. The major faiths are filled with stories about psychics using their abilities to lead, heal, and help people. And if you compare faiths across cultures, it seems that several different dogmas are actually the same. This leads me to believe that at some point a group of psychics agreed on a single book to use, and then simply changed the names and cultural references for the particular area they lived in.

To this end, psychics in the past have gone by the title of "wizards," and it seems that the leaders of the different faiths were all wizards that gained their positions through their psychic abilities. An example would be the Catholic bishops: the bishops wear amethyst rings. Psychic healers know that amethyst is a stone that increases the healing ability. On this point, I think psychics can find a position to argue from that their beliefs are not new or strange, but ingrained in culture under a different name.

There's no public service in the West to help new psychics, but if you research Eastern meditation practices, you'll find a lot of answers that wouldn't otherwise be apparent.