science and the evidence for post mortem survival

8/11/2019 Science and the Evidence for Post Mortem Survival

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Science & the Evidence

for Postmortem Survival

Presentation at the 37th Annual Conference of theAcademy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies

6/1/12-6/3/12

WILLIAM E. STONEY M.Sc.

[email protected]

Flammarion 1888
http://atransc.org/http://atransc.org/


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Afterlife Contacts (ALCs) ALCs are all human experiences that

purport to be contacts with the spirits of the

departed.

Sought Experiences Raps

Automatism:Table tilting, Ouija,AW

Mental Mediums

Physical Mediums

Electronic Voice/Image Phenomena

Psychomanteum

Induced After Death Communication

Past life regressions

Spontaneous Experiences Raps

Apparitions (After Death Communications)

Death Bed Visions/Communications

Near Death Experiences (NDEs)

Children who remember past lives

Dreams

Ghosts, (location based apparitions)

Poltergeists

Possession


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ALCs and Science The rapid rise of Spiritualism after the Fox sisters

generated a significant number of seriousinvestigations seeking to disprove both the spirit

concept and the miraculous phenomena involved.

These investigations, the high intellectual status of

the investigators and their conclusions have been

virtually forgotten.

But Mike Tymn is trying, read his The Articulate Deadand The Afterlife Explorers

These skeptical investigators were forced to

conclude that the ALC phenomena were real &

could not be dismissed as always being the

product of fraud, or bad or imagined observations.

The number and quality of these accounts are a

challenge to the academic science community

certainly in physics and psychology

This paper provides an overview of the ALC

family and a detailed look at their characteristics

that should get the attention of the scientificcommunity

Note that the above reality conclusions were only

about the ALC phenomena, not about their source

The big question, spirit or mind, is still with us.


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Some preliminary observations

There are two parts to every ALC

The message

The delivery mechanism

Both are open to the mind or spirit question

The message to Spirit or SuperPsi

The delivery to

Influence of spirit or mind on ideomotor activity

Spirit directed ectoplasm or Super psychokinesis

Philip The Imaginary Ghost (a new element)

A research group in Canada created a story about

Philip and sat around a card table once a week for

four years. When they asked Philip questions the table would rap

and/or tiltanswers but only to questions that were

involved in the story

The results have been replicated by several other

groups.

The Philip type experiments have demonstratednon-spirit macro PSI and a group invented

discussion both of which must be considered in any

analysis of mediumship


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Raps Raps started modern spirit communications

Raps signature cannot be reproduced byany known physical process

QuickTime and a

decompressorare needed to see this picture.


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Table Tilting - Phil Jordan


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Table Tilting

Table Tilting, developed soon after

the Fox sisters, is still a part of someSpiritualist groups.

Some may be due to the ideomotor

function.

My own half dozen table tiltingexperiences could have been ideomotor

however I was never able to make the

table reproduce its movement over the

carpeted floor by the pressure of my

hands

Phil Jordan is certainly not using

ideomotor.

The Philip Group and its successors

replicated table tilting


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Q uickTim e an d a

decom pr essor ar e needed t o see t his pict ur e.


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Ouija BoardProbably the ALC most people have tried and

ismissed as teenage nonsense

The movement of the planchette to the lettersould be the ideomotor of the strongest sitter.

Ideomotor can be directed by spirit or mind

The ideomotor process cannot explain some sitters

ability to locate the letters blindfolded

Again the source of the messages (mind or

pirit) can only be judged by their content.

In my one board experience the message was

certainly from a specific (and blindfolded) sitter.

Stephen Braude spends 45 pages in ImmortalRemains arguing whether the 25 years of Patience

Worths high quality literary output came from Patience

or the sitter. He picked the sitter because that required

believing only one miracle.

Some warn that Ouija Board use can beangerous because low or evil spirits may

mentally disturb or even possess the user.

Has been and could again be used for research


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Mental Mediums By far the most studied of all ALCs

Mediums communications are presented infour different ways. Readings, They see and/or hear the spirit and

communicate descriptions and messages

The most common in modern times

Are the backbone of the Spiritualist religion

Are currently being tested at U of A and UVA

Trance,The spirit speaks through and movesthe mediums unconscious body

Those most tested in the mid-century used trance

Voice, Spirits voice is not the mediums

They present a real challenge to science since ithas been shown the voice does not come from thebody of the medium. The spirits explanationinvolves ectoplasm, another never explainedphenomena

Automatic writing, Spirit (or subconsciousmind) controls the writing arm

See previous chart


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Historical Tests of Mental Mediums

Leonora Piper 1859-1950(Trance) Investigated over 43 years by James, Lodge,Myers, Hodgson & Hyslop (maybe 5000 sittings)

Gladys Osborne Leonard 1882-1968 (Trance) For over fifty years, Mrs. Leonard was studied

by the best investigators of the British and

American Societies of Psychical Research. Eileen Garrett 1893-1970

(Trance) Famous for the R101 case (see AECES case 2)

Founded the Parapsychology Foundation forinvestigation of psychic phenomena

Sophia Williams mid 1900s(Direct Voice) Directed the finding of 15 crosses buried by

American Indians in the 1800s around LA bytalking to the spirits of the Indians and severalCatholic missionaries. (see AECES case 6)

Leslie Flint 1911-1994 (DirectVoice) Many of his voice sessions are available on the

internet

http://www.leslieflint.com/recordings.html
http://www.leslieflint.com/recordings.htmlhttp://www.leslieflint.com/recordings.html


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Contemporary Tests of Mental

Mediums There are two university located programs that have or

are currently testing mental mediums Gary Schwartz, PhD, University of Arizona

Emily Kelly, PhD, University of Virginia

Schwartz tests started in the late 90s He used the double, triple blind procedures of modern

psychology to preclude any sensory connection betweenthe medium and the sitter.

He used 4 very well known mediums and one other to read

the same set of 4 sitters. The average accuracy of the mediums statements was over

70%

Academic scientists have ignored the tests. He haspublished his studies in 2 books (see refs) but they havenot been published in a scientific journal..

The UVA medium program under Emily Kelly PhD is partof a larger privately funded paranormal program.

Children Who Claim to Remember Previous Lives Near-Death Experiences (NDEs)

Veridical NDEs Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs)

Apparitions and After-Death Communications

Deathbed Visions

Psychophyslological Studies of Altered States ofConsciousness and Psi

Other current medium testing activities Julie Beischel PhD, Schwartzs graduate student has

created the (privately funded) Windbridge Institutededicated to testing mediums.

The Forever Family Foundation has been created to spreadthe word about communication with loved ones throughmediums


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Physical Mediums All physical sances (except those of D.D. Home)

were/are conducted in the complete dark or low redlight, providing the strong opportunity for fakephenomena. There were many fraudulentmediums.

The Phenomena: All of the following have been reported

Raps (that have different acoustic patterns thannormal physically produced raps)

Levitation of objects, the medium, other people

Apports (objects transported into the sance fromoutside the sance room) sometimes randomly,sometimes by specific request.

Playing of musical instruments (no visible hands)

Movement of light objects (usually trumpets) about

the room rapidly and the gentle touching of the sittersby them (in the total dark)

Lights moving rapidly about the room and touchingand going through the sitters hands.

Materialization of hands of various sizes that felt realand would simply dissolve if not let go. Hands have

been dipped in wax and moulds made of them. Materialization of full people recognized by the sitters,

touched and kissed by them and long conversationsexchanged. A red light or spirit self illumination madethis possible. Sessions with 10 to 20 different people,from small to large, have been reported.


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Eusapia Palladino levitating a table


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Engineer Henri Mathouillot

Measuring Table Levitation

QuickTime and a

decompressorare needed to see this picture.


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Table Levitation The previous pictures are courtesy of Walter

Meyer zu Erpin from his presentation Do

Tables Tilt ,Turn and Float?

They confirm the many testimonies of table

levitation by mediums and private circles.

Object levitation, spirit or mind induced,

directly defies the law of gravitation and would

thus seem to present a pressing challenge tophysicists.

Table levitation has in fact been measured in

laboratory tests in the 1960s 70s.

Batcheldor got levitations in 70 out of 200

simulated dark seances, some without any handcontact.

Collins Brookes-Smith reported 57 sittings with

levitations

Julian Issacs conducted some successful

sittings but concluded that the long term group

sittings required were probably toopsychologically difficult for physicists

Nobody has tried since


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Ectoplasm

Medium Jack Webber: Use of ectoplasm as

rods to move trumpets. Note that medium is

tied hand and foot to the chair, that the sittersare holding hands, and that they do not

appear to be noticing the trumpets, probably

because its a dark sance


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Ectoplasm


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Spirit Hand Materialization


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Materialization of the Spirit Guide

Silver Belle from EctoplasmEpharata, Pennsylvania 1953

Ethel Post-Parrish, MediumJack Edwards, Infra-Red Photographer

These pictures were taken in 50 second intervals, using infra-red film.

Eighty-one people witnessed this sance, and some of them even

walked arm in arm with Silver Belle, the materialized Spirit

1. The white, smoky ectoplasm is being drawn from medium,

sitting inside of the cabinet (the curtained enclosure).


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2. The ectoplasm coming from the mediums body forms a Pillar of

Cloud from the ground upwards.


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4. Slowly Silver Belle sculpts her features into the column of

ectoplasm.


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5. More of Silver Belles features form in the column of

ectoplasm.


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6. The fully formed Silver Belle is now able to speak with the

people attending the sance.


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7. Unfortunately, Mr. Edwards had to change film between

pictures 6 & 7. At this point, Silver Belle blesses the people.

Her ectoplasmic form is breaking up. The ectoplasm will

retract back into the mediums body, however, not all of it will

return; leaving the medium very exhausted. This is why

Joshua did not leave the tent in Exodus 33:11. Joshua was themedium for Jehovah to materialize and speak with Moses

face to face.


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3. This type of phenomena is how Moses spoke to God

face to face in Exodus 33:7-11.


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The Scole ExperimentA Modern Physical Sance Investigation

A 4 person (2 mediums) group sat in

dark sances twice weekly in Scole

England from 1993 to 1998

The sances produced most of the

physical phenomena listed. 3 scientists from the Society for

Psychical Research (SPR) sat in 30

sessions

They stated that the evidence favoredthe hypothesis of intelligent forces

able to influence material objects and

to convey associated meaningful

messages, both visual and aural.

In the same report several SPRmembers argued that there were

insufficient controls to fully support the

paranormality of the effects.


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Scole Photographs

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle


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Physical Sances Seem to be

Coming Back

R. Craig Hogan, Ph.D (An Academy Trustee) hastestified on one of the current physical mediums

David Thompson has been demonstrating his

mediumship abilities for twenty-nine years

Davids abilities include mental mediumship,

physical or materialization mediumship with

ectoplasm, deep trance mediumship, andspiritual healing.

I, with my wife and daughter, attended a dark

sance by Tom Morris in NY last year.

They thought it a total fake, I am on the fence.

A friend of Mike Tymn was very impressed by her 2sittings with him in France.

The Problem is of course the total darkness

Dr. Braude, (U of MD) is negotiating with The Felix

Experimental Group to attend part of a sance

with IR equipment.


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Death Bed Visions

The dying often report having visions and discussions with

Deceased relatives coming to help them cross over

Deceased relatives they thought were living

Angels

Attendants have also reported seeing

Mists and full body shapes leaving the body at death

(Taken by a French researcher in 1907 three hours after his

wife death)

There are case histories of attendants sharing the visions ofthe dying, some having NDEs themselves in which they go

part way with the dying.

The normal persons NDE cannot be attributed to the dying

process

As more and more hospice workers report their observations

of death bed visions the potential is here for a systematic

sustained study updating Karl Osiss 1977 study


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Apparitions, Ghosts

After Death Communications

Ghost of Raynham Hall, Norfolk,

England. Taken in 1936.


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Apparitions, Ghosts

After Death Communications

Seeing apparitions/ghosts is not rare. In a recent survey 25% of British adults claimed to

have experienced a ghost

What the sighting means is the question

Sightings provide information unknown to the observer

They have been seen simultaneously by multiplepeople

Very frequent stories

A deceased person appearing to a close relative at ornear the time of their death (Apparition)

Many repeated disturbances (footsteps, doorsopening, and less often, figures seen) over months,years in a single location (Haunting, Ghosts)

What are people reporting they observe?*

80% humans, 20% animals (cats/dogs), locations

28% are recognized

33% of the recognized are living

14% of visual apparitions speak

66% of living not in crisis situation 84% Visual, 37% Audible,15% Tactile, 18%

Temperature, 8% Smell


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Secular % U.S. % India

Mother 21.98 5.61

Father 5.49 5.61

Spouse 17.95 3.51Sibling 9.89 5.26

Offspring 9.89 5.96

Other relatives 2.56 7.37

Unidentified relatives 3.30 4.91

Friends, acquaintances 7.69 2.81

Unidentified persons 9.16 21.40

Secular total 87.91 62.46

Religious

God or Jesus 4.76 5.96

Shiva, Rama, Krishna 0.00 4.56

Mary, Kali, Durga 1.83 1.40

God of Death, Messengers 0.00 6.32

Saints & Gurus 1.10 1.75

Angels, Devi, etc. 3.30 5.96

Demons & Devils 0.37 0.70

Other religious. unidentified 0.73 10.88

Religious total 12.09 37.54

Karlis Osis, PhD, and Erlendur Haraldsson, PhD,At The Hour Of Death, TheResults of Research On Over 1,000 Afterlife Experiences(1977)

COMPARISON OF U.S. & INDIA DATA*

Death Bed Visions (DBV)

There has been one scientific study of this phenomena


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Near Death ExperiencesHieronymus Bosch (16th Century)


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Near Death Experiences NDEs may be the phenomena that allows scientists

to start examining the after life theory seriously

Veridical NDE An NDE in which the patient has an Out of Body

Experience (OBE) during which they seethemselves being operated on, see relatives in

other rooms and hear them talking, see objectsoutside the hospital, which are verified by thepeople observed.

Such observations strongly imply the separationof the mind and the brain.

There are many such case histories in theliterature.

The AWARE Study Dr. Sam Parnia of Cornell is leading a team that will

be working in collaboration with more than 25 majormedical centers throughout Europe, Canada and theUS

They are testing the validity of the OBE with randomlygenerated hidden images only visible from near theceiling

They will also tape the operations so that descriptionsby the NDEer can be checked


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Children Who Remember Past Lives

Reincarnation is the only spiritual hypothesisthat has strong scientific data to support it.

This is based on UVAs Ian Stevensons 40 yearscollecting 3000 cases of children remembering pastlives, mostly in India and nearby countries.

The data suggest that reincarnation may be limited tothose who die prematurely by accident or murder,

For many cases the childs birthmarks are identical to

the physical marks that caused the original death,bullets, knife cuts,etc

There are U.S. cases

Jim Tucker at UVA, is collecting US cases..

Carol Bowman has written two books of Americancases and has a website. She emphasizes the

healing effects that occur with these memories. Bruce Leiningeret al, Soul Survivor(2009) A very

convincing story of a fathers 10 year investigation ofhis sons memories of a previous life as a naval aviatorshot down near the end of World War II.

Past life regressions as proof of reincarnation.

Rejected by Stevenson because of the suggestibilityfactor involved in hypnotism.

Academic science has ignored the results

The only current studies are those in Stevensons UVAgroup that, as was Stevenson, is privately funded


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Summary There are 19 human experiences that seem to be

afterlife contacts (ALCs) All of them have been shown scientifically to be

real events (not always fraud, bad observation, or

imagined memories)

Both parts of the ALC are open to the mind or

spirit question on a case by case basis

The Philip non-spirit sance results have made

this discrimination much more difficult.

Many ALC phenomena violate current laws of

physics and should be studied on that basis

alone. (independent of the mind vs. spirit issue)

The physical phenomena defy gravity and go waybeyond demonstrated psychokinesis. (Tables

levitate, & spoons bend)

The communications through mediums go equally

far beyond that defined in ESP experiments.


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Concluding remarks For some of us, the amount and

quality of the communication data in

the ALCs has proven the existence ofspirit beyond (or at least right up to) ashadow of doubt We should admit that the limits to our

knowledge of our minds capabilitiesleaves the SuperPsi mind vs. spiritquestion theoretically open.

We need the power and stamina ofuniversity science to really resolve

the issue. We ultimately need their statement if

the existence of spirit is ever to beaccepted as fact by the majority.

Perhaps the Academy should makethe subject of the next symposium The effects on society if the existence of

the afterlife and communications with thedeparted were taught in grade schoolscience classes


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Epilogue

Academic Science Rejects A Priori All Data

Implying Spirit Contact

Academic science has extrapolatedthe

success of their theories about the physical

world to pronounce that the world is totally

material and works through cause and effect.

Our minds and our consciousness are totally causedby the chemical/electrical changes in our brains, the

cause & effect clause leaving no room for free will.

But there is hope

The small group of scientists who have

accepted that the four elements of psi(telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance,

psychokinesis) have been scientifically

demonstrated under laboratory conditions

have adopted William James transmission

mind/brain theory.

The brain acts like a multi-channeled TV that is

normally set on the five sense channels but can in

some people some of the time access channels

science and the evidence for post mortem survival

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