geza maroczy
October 2008 
The Society for Psychical Research
Posted on Aug 27th, 2007
by 
Jeff Mishlove
Jeff Mishlove
Anyone reading this blog who considers themselves to be a student of the paranormal will find that the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a very important resource. The organization was founded in 1882 and has a long history of scholarly investigations to its credit.
You can read a brief overview of the SPR in my online edition of my book, The Roots of Consciousness. And, I would also encourage you to visit the Society's webpage. Should you decide to join the Society, you will have access to their considerable online archive.
The graphic shown above is taken from the cover of the most recent issue of the Journal published by the Society. And, there are two articles in particular to which I would like to call attention.
The first of these was written by Seattle psychiatrist Vernon M. Neppe -- who was also a former chess champion in South Africa. Neppe provides a detailed -- and very insightful -- analysis of a chess match between grandmaster Victor Korchnoi and an ostensibly deceased, Hungarian chess master named Geza Maroczy. (Maroczy's chess moves were obtained through the auspices of a spiritualist medium.) I have reported on this case in a previous blog. Now, Neppe's analysis adds further detail and greatly increases the credibility of this case.
I regard this particular case to be of great importance for our understanding of the possible survival of human personality after death. It involves more than the mere communication of information from a paranormal source -- but the demonstration of a rare talent that, apparently, has survived the grave. The case is particularly interesting to me because of my own theory of Archetypal Synchronistic Resonance (ASR) that can be viewed as a potential alternative to the survival hypothesis. However, to be honest, I am hard pressed to explain this chess match as an example of ASR.
The other article that I found significant is the book review by John Poynton of a very obscure volume written by the South African physicist and mathematician J. H. M. Whiteman called Old and New Evidence on the Meaning of Life: The Mystical World-View and Inner Contest. Vol. 3. Universal Theology and Life in Other Worlds. I have referred to Whiteman, and a synchronicity involving his death earlier this year, in a previous blog. His work, in my estimation, is very important. He is one of the rare individuals gifted both with unusual mystical powers of insight and a contemporary education in science. Nevertheless, because of these highly refined talents, his work is hard to follow. John Poynton, to his credit, provides a very elegant, concise and insightful analysis of Whiteman's last book.
I would be remiss if I did not also mention that this issue of the Journal also includes a replication of an important parapsychological experimental study on the phenomenon known as presentiment. It involves brain measurements showing a sensitivity to emotionally charged stimuli -- before they are presented.
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There's a big discussion on presentiment study's validity in the Parapsychology forum, in thread one for the skeptics?
Dr. Mishlove, what are your thoughts on the possibility of anticipation being the explanation for presentiment?
Also, what does this replication show and who performed it?
Hi Jacob,
Good to hear from you. I do not think that anticipation can explain the presentiment data. The reason is simple: when the experiments are done properly, the target stimuli are randomly presented (i.e., emotionally-charged targets vs. neutral targets). If it were an anticipation effect, one would expect to see it before the neutral targets were presented. But, the statistical analysis compares the response prior to these two sets of targets.
I will provide further details regarding the SPR article later.
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
Your work is of great interest to me. Thank you for sharing your insight and intuition. R
I am currently facinated by your book, roots of consciousness. I am especially interested in the section about the little girls, Rancy Vennum and Mary Roff. This is a very convincing case of what I know happens. It is so hard to prove, and then I see evidence like this, and don't see how anyone can deny it. Sometimes though spirits don't have so clear a memory of their death and especially of their burial location… nor do they want to remember for that mater. Who would want to think of their own grave? To me that doesn't mean it isn't just as real. This is an incredible case, and it is also interesting that the girl was completely replaced with the other one for an extended period of time.
Another thing that has really come to bother me is the idea that allowing others to speak through you is creepy, or frightening, or that people who have these abilities are any less sane than people who can't channel. It is a perfectly natural ability which can be cultivated, or can occur naturally. I really winced when I read the part about those people wanting to take Rancy to the assylum… knowing what kind of places those were in those days esepcially. Why can't people realize that not everything we experience is concrete and logical. Being aware of deeper vibrations isn't a sign of insanity. IT is like a world full of blind people, calling the man with one eye delusional. If more people gain sight they keep quiet about it. No one likes to be called delusional. You'd probably be amazed how many people see, and deny it.
Jacob's comment on anticipation is one that comes up a lot in a variety of different ways. I would like to say that yes anticipation can be a factor, in physical life as well as in supernatural occurances. Even our perception of the physical world becomes distorted by our mindset. Parinoia vs. Trust, Belief vs. Doubt, how we percieve others, and the world around us is largely subjective.
OF COURSE sometimes our understanding of visions as well as physical reality are off. People may misinterpret or misunderstand a visionary experience, in the same way they misunderstand an overheard argument between two strangers. Were those two people really angry? Were they joking? Two people could make totally opposite conclusions, of the same scene, based on their expreiences and expectations. This doesn't discredit their ability to see, only their ability to explain and comprehend. The problem most visionaries, mediums, and channels etc. have is being able to explain their observations, within the frame work of their belief systems, and arranging their belief systems to match what they see. Accepting something unexpected, and inexplicable within the framework of their understanding, is as hard for the visionary as it is for the reader or listener. IT is understandable that sometimes the subconscious chooses to steal a detail or two, to prevent the pain of those questions.
The human mind assumes certain things. Our eyes fill in the blind spot, even in the physical, and we all want to fill in the blanks with something people want to hear. We've all had the experience of having a short but important conversation, and then our friends asking. “what did he say?” After we tell our friends what they said, people continue to question us, as if we could make more of the conversation than was said… and we do. Over and over we have all elaborated on things we weren't sure of, or assured people by overstating someone else's words. It is the same with visions, or channels or anything else. Yes we can all be led. It is a constant challenge in the concrete and in the visionary situations, not to fill in those blanks, or spread a simple statement into a paragraph, when someone's words or actions create more questions than they answer.
A vision or channel or any other parinormal experience is no different than a physical one to the one who sees it. It is no more or less explainable, than a little snipit of somone else's conversation overheard on the street.
What a fascinating blog! Thank you for so much insight. I am an intuitive that just came out of the closet, so to speak, over the last year. I just did not want people thinking I was weird! I have a question for anyone willing to give me an answer. I have a gift called xenoglossy that came about in 2000, after what I feel was an experience of an enlightenment. I speak 2 beautiful foeign languages fluently, but have no idea what they words mean. I was told by a man who spoke 5 languages that it sounded like an old for of latin. From what I have read of this, some people are in a trance like state, or channeling. I am do have medium gifts, however, I am in no trance, hypnotised or anything like that. I can speak the language at any time…doing laundry, dishes, whenever whatever.
I want to find a linguist, but am waiting for…the right person to come to me I suppose,
Anyone have any good articles to read, the internet has very limited resourses on this subject.
Thanks!
Well AlphaGal, have you ever heard of speaking in tongues? Pentacostalism, or what those churches call the Baptism in the Holy spirit? Your experience seems similar except for the possible omission of the religious experience. You didn't say about your religious beliefs. Anyway Pentacostals speak in tongues as they go through daily life, as you said, doing laundry, or driving down the road. It is obviously a spiritual practice that not only defines that movement it transends it. The practice goes back to the time of Christ. It is very interesting that you got your ability without religious introduction, or expectation, but hardly unherd of.
It is also possible you are channeling entities which speak foreign languages, but I think given your abilities you would know that. I have a pentacostal background, and though I have learned a lot of stuff since, that hardly fits the profile of a Pentacostal, I still speak in tongues. I find it a practice that opens me, and makes me more able to vision, much like a mantra. It causes me to give over control, and also gives me a degree of spiritual protection. Sometimes I slip into English, and discover that I am praying for people I wouldn't have thought of praying for, about situations that I had no conscious knowledge of, but later discover have really happened. I think speaking in tongues was a good step for learning to channel more easily, because I learned to let go of natural controls.
It is easier to speak without thinking in a foreign langage than one you know. It is hard to just start talking, writing or typing in English, and not end up adding a word because it makes sense, and before you know it you are contaminating your channel with your own thoughts. I think that is the hardest part about being a light trance medium. Now in Deep trance one has let go entirely, but when in light trance… well it is more difficult. Gary, my main channel complains that I tend to finish his sentences for him occasionally, and not necessarily in the way he intended. But, my husband says the same thing…. LOL I guess I need to work on my tendency to jump to conclusions.