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INDEX
9.
Pilot Study in RV Target Attractors: A Protocol Proposal for Discussion - Lian
Sidorov
9.
Pilot Study in RV Target Attractors: A Protocol Proposal for Discussion One of the basic problems we encounter in RV seems to be the gradual "slide", during the session, toward peripheral or contextual aspects which, for one reason or another, represent more powerful attractors than the primary target. If this goes on for long enough, especially in the absence of a monitor who can redirect the viewer, the session summary will contain primarily "off-target" information and be considered a failure. What we need to develop, as viewers, is an ability to detect such psychological undercurrents and correct our course. A novice viewer follows the rigid structure given to him by his instructor in order to master the basic skills for staying afloat in a new, unfamiliar environment. Once these basic survival skills have been internalized, the rest of one's life-long training should address the problems of navigation, not swimming form: just as a sailor needs to read the wind, the tides, the shore and the stars, we need to understand the psychological influences of various "formations" we encounter in our sessions: everything we know is loaded with connotations, everything has its own gravity and psychological turbulence, its own dynamics. If we are not weary of these factors, we allow ourselves to sail blindly and are doomed to repeat the same mistakes. While no two sessions and no two viewers are ever alike, this should not discourage us from trying to derive some empirical conclusions based on our collective experience: it is a modest and awkward beginning, but that is how all true learning accumulates. What do attractors typically consist of and when do they form? The available RV literature suggests that emotionally charged events may displace a viewer time-wise, while large or unusually shaped structures can cause a similar geographical slide. What we propose, as a preliminary experiment, is to create a pool of double targets, each consisting of two unrelated pictures that are as similar to each other as possible, except for a single, isolated aspect - the experimental variable. For example, these could represent two fields - one empty, one filled with soldiers engaged in battle; or two crowds - one marching peacefully, one engaged in riots; or two ships - one sailing uneventfully, the other under construction; or two planets - one much larger than the other; etc. A list of variables could include, but is not restricted to, features like size, temperature/energy generation, speed of motion, number of people involved, the strength and type of their emotions, the complexity of a target's structure, the relative survival value of an event, the stability or transient nature of a phenomenon, single versus repetitive patterns, representative versus abstract designs, etc. For each double target, picture #1 should be designated as the one in which the specific variable is represented by a greater absolute value (i.e. greater size, temperature, emotional impact) or as the one in which the experimental variable is consistently isolated (i.e. repetitive patterns): this is to ensure uniformity in the statistical analysis of these effects. To avoid additional biasing influences, these double targets should not be loaded with any specific tasking questions, but assembled ahead of time under neutral conditions, enclosed in sealed, numbered envelopes and assigned to one global pool, from which daily targets can be chosen at random. While a separate record should be kept of the particular feature isolated for each target, the analysis of the results should not be carried out until all the targets in the pool have been exhausted and all the sessions collected. Unless this precaution is taken, there is a possibility that, by knowing the class a given target belongs to, the person posting the target might insert his own expectations into the outcome of the group's sessions. There is also a possibility that the viewers themselves might identify a pattern in the type of targets they receive and develop undesirable expectations about the nature of future targets. It would therefore be preferable that target pools consist of an assortment of several experimental samples (that is, several groups of variables) from which daily sessions are pooled at random. Once all the trials are complete, the sessions can be separated according to their experimental variables, and each data point can be assigned to one of 4 categories: A. Score of correct perceptions relevant only to picture #1; B. Score of correct perceptions relevant only to picture #2; C. Score of correct perceptions relevant to both; D. Data not relevant according to available information. A difference score M can be thus calculated for each session as (A-B) and the mean of difference scores over that specific session sample can be designated as [M]. Using a t distribution table, we can then test a number of hypotheses with variable degrees of confidence: 1. [M] = 0 (there is no statistically significant difference between the number of correct perceptions relevant to targets of types 1 versus targets of types 2: the experimental variable does not represent an attractor) 2. [M]>0 (targets of type 1 are more likely to be correctly perceived by the viewer) 3. [M]<0 (targets of type 1 are less likely to be correctly perceived by the viewer) A sample size of 30 or more sessions would be preferable for this test, but if we can assume that the distribution of difference scores is approximately normal across the population, smaller samples should suffice. Other considerations: 1. Can we use more than one session per experiment from any individual viewer? While it may be practically easier to collect the requisite number of sessions from a few committed volunteers, one needs to take into account how this might affect the sample distribution: since each viewer processes the data in a highly idiosyncratic way, the distribution of M scores might be severely skewed by using only a few viewers. Since we are trying to identify whether the experimental variable represents a universal attractor, it would not be wise to base such a test on only a few participants, for whom the hypothesis may or may not hold true. By using a one session/viewer approach for each set of variables, we are probably safe in assuming that the M distribution is normal and therefore that a smaller sample size is sufficient. However, the sample should include at least several target pairs, in order to ensure that any detected patterns are due to the chosen experimental variable and not to some other factors particular to the individual target. 2. Target pool preparation: how can we ensure that there are no significant, hidden variables in addition to the one we are testing for? And how can we achieve uniformity between the two targets in a pair while preserving sufficient difference in order to separate between perceptions relevant to each of them? For example, if we use two mountains as a target pair, only one of which is in the middle of a volcanic eruption - how many perceptions are we likely to identify as relevant only to the "quiescent" target? Since every additional visual element that might help identify a target is also a potential hidden variable, it may be desirable to collect a certain amount of "neutral" collateral data about each target, such as location, season, etc and use that information to filter the raw data yielded by each session. It may also be advisable to convert all target pictures to black-and-white and crop them to the same size for feedback purposes. 3. Viewer protection: since each target will consist of two unrelated images, it is very important that participating viewers be warned against any attempt to try to integrate the session information. While they should be entirely blind to the nature of the experimental variable involved in the trial, they should understand that only raw, low-level data is to be provided, and that site/meaning integration is to be strongly discouraged in order to avoid the psychological frustration associated with an impossible task. 4. Finally, viewers should submit session summaries as described above and keep the original session notes, since feedback won't be available until the completion of a particular experiment. Thanks, Lian
8.
CALL FOR PAPERS FOR THE 47TH ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE PARAPSYCHOLOGICAL
ASSOCIATION, 2004, TO BE HELD IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA
The 47th Annual
Convention of the Parapsychological Association will be hosted by the Austrian
Society for Parapsychology and Border Areas of Science, and will be held from
5th to 8th Aug, 2004, at Vienna University. For information regarding
registration and hotel accommodation, visit http://parapsychologie.ac.at/pa-2004/
or contact: Peter Mulacz by e-mail at pa-2004@parapsychologie.ac.at. 7.
RE: Lyn Buchanan and Bill Stroud's comments on "Data Integration in RV:
Abstraction Levels and Context"
I am very grateful to Lyn and Bill for taking the time to read and reply to my suggestions: Lyn is one of the most experienced and most highly respected figures in the RV community, a true legend to some of us, and I have no doubt that his ability to anticipate the likely impact of these proposals is far more accurate than mine. I also think that Bill, as an advanced CRV student and a truly original thinker, is in a position to share valuable insights into these matters and steer our efforts in the right direction. This being said, I'd like to clarify a few points. Lyn is entirely right in stating that the worst thing a viewer could do is try to identify the target early in the session. The example he gives ("a monument in a park") is representative of such identification - but this is very far from what I had in mind. The challenge I presented was this: can we find a set of neutral, early cues that would lead to relevant abstract descriptors which are general enough that they, for all intents and purposes, CAN NOT coalesce into a preconceived meaning at this early stage? My suggestion was based on a precedent - the fact that our early ideograms and cues are in fact preliminary filters giving us basic information about the target: natural versus man-made structure, static versus dynamic, etc. We know that a triangle does not necessarily identify a mountain, and a square is not necessarily a box. We recognize the typical ideograms that our subconscious uses to represent living creatures, water, energy, etc - but we know better than to start putting together a scenario after the first three sketches. Indeed, we put all this information aside and forget about it until the first integration stage (S3 in the HRVG method) - at which point every element of the session is considered again against the full tapestry of data points, and the interpretation of ambiguous "terms" is decided in the context of our results. At that point, and that point only, do we apply logical deductions for any significant length of time. And it is also at that point that we may be allowed to ask ourselves: do we assign slightly more credibility, or weight, to the early data - is there a chance that the essential (to the tasker) features of the target were less contaminated in the early contact by our inherent attraction to more "exciting", if tangential, aspects? (The rationale could be that the preliminary "contact" with the target is made through the aligned intent of viewer and tasker, while later in the session the viewer is more free to move around the already "familiar" target.) If early functional cues can help us circumscribe the aspects of greatest interest to the tasker, then the advanced protocols can be used more effectively. The alternative is, of course, using a monitor to steer the viewer toward those aspects that are more critical to the investigation - but as everyone knows, monitoring is never 100% free of unwanted influences. My aim was thus simply to expand the classes of early descriptors to include more functional reference points - such as the predominant form of energy and motion, the relative prominence of physical versus emotional or intellectual activity, the perceived "urgency" of the situation, etc... As I said earlier, these were mere examples - it would be up to the RV community to pool its collective experience and decide what types of cues would best fulfill the above criteria. Once the ideal cues have been identified, they should be condensed to 1-2 word prompts, rather than elaborate questions (which are indeed distractive). The other idea that Lyn addressed was my proposal to develop a higher-level vocabulary of unique mental images/ideograms to help us navigate more abstract targets. I think his concerns are very insightful and valid: ********************************************************************************* [...] suggestion for the experiment is an excellent one, scientifically based and scientifically valid. I hope that people get involved in this experiment and I look forward to seeing the results. The basic problems will still be there, however, that: 1) a viewer will be trying to force what is otherwise a natural occurrence (this is not necessarily a bad thing, but might still be a problem.) 2) a viewer will be more prone to limit the "best" sessions to those targets within his/her own personal experienced. In fact, I would wonder whether or not doing this as a matter of habit would retard a viewer's ability to get targets which are not within his/her personal experience. 3) since this is an advanced technique, there will need to be a "qualification" process. The experiment, if limited to more experienced viewers, would be valid. If inexperienced viewers are included, simply because they want to be a part of a research project, or because they overestimate their abilities, the real potential for the process to do harm to those viewers' learning curve is real. *********************************************************************************** I think the primary concern here should be the potential for "over-specialization" in a particular field. Someone who spends an extensive amount of time developing physics or mathematics-related ideograms will likely end up "seeing" such ideograms in almost every target he/she is assigned. But that has always been a caveat in RV: people who are primarily tasked with missing persons cases will develop a strong expectation that the next target will be of the same nature. Viewers who are obsessed with UFOs or conspiracy theories will develop this type of story line in a remarkable proportion of their sessions. Nothing new so far - we simply need to make sure that our targets cycle through a healthy spectrum of subjects and suspend all expectations. I would certainly not recommend that a viewer try to become an "expert" in a particular field by developing an advanced vocabulary of concepts limited to that discipline: I fully agree with Lyn that such an attempt would be disastruous both to the long-range quality of the viewer's sessions, and to viewer himself. But I believe that the development of a well balanced thesaurus of abstract ideograms (including concepts from fields such as physics, biology, politics, sociology, geology, religion, etc) can lead to a gradual increase in the specificity with which we are able to probe our targets. RV in its present form is designed primarily for describing the tangible world around us. If we limit ourselves to that vocabulary, it's unlikely that we'll be able to get far in our scientific projects: it's really not all that different from our normal use of language - we would not expect a first grader to understand the theorems of trigonometry or calculus, although they know circles and curves: those packages of reinforced knowledge which are later evoked by the simple mention of a specialized term are not available for easy manipulation in their minds. Joe McMoneagle once spoke about how the Stargate viewers were tested on a series of targets representing various mechanical implements, in order to see how well they could differentiate between different technologies. That is what I'm talking about: getting correct glimpses of the target is far easier than being able to integrate that information at the next level of abstraction - which is, for example, "process". It is not a specialized vocabulary of target "identities" I am arguing for, but one of higher-level classes, such as purpose or dynamics, which our minds are not currently trained to explore and communicate effectively. As far as forcing a process to occur prematurely, I would not include these highly abstract concepts among the early cues discussed above: I would expect that, with sufficient repetition, they will arise spontaneously at various points in the session, and simply add to the overall pool of data. Finally, at no time should the viewer attempt to force a choice between available categories: all such lists of higher descriptors should be considered OPEN, allowing for the possibility that the purpose, process or any other aspect one is aiming to describe is one which may not be part of our current conceptual vocabulary. If anyone is interested in pursuing some of these exercises, a list of abstract descriptors and categories has been started already: we look forward to your additional comments and suggestions. Sincerely, Lian 6.
Comments on "Data
Integration in RV: Abstraction Levels and Context"
I was very impressed with Lian's very excellent article and proposal for experimentation on a concept. This is the kind of thing we need more in this community. It can be found at: http://www.emergentmind.org/sidorovii3.htm I have a few comments, both pro and some which may at first sound con, but really aren't. The first thing I noticed was the basic tenet of the article.... that the viewer should seek to name or identify the target - at least the contextual basics of it. Second, he suggests that certain "neutral" cueing be used right after the viewer starts into Stage 2. Not having had CRV training, I don't think he realizes that such neutral cueing is a standard part of the CRV process. Therefore, on this one point, he has very effectively reinvented the wheel. A very necessary wheel, but he has come to this conclusion on his own - something for which I praise him very highly. He suggests, though, that the viewer
stop early in a session and ask him/herself these cues in the form of full-blown
questions and then analyze what little target contact has been established, in
order to get an answer The cues he suggests at this point are for gaining advanced, more conceptual information early on in Phase 2. This is one of the points of his article - that such information could be very helpful in this early stage, because it would let you make better sense of the raw sensories and dimensionals by being able to put them into a context. This brings us back to one of the most basic tenets of remote viewing.... you are not there to name or identify or even to understand. You are there to describe. You are the village idiot to whom the doctor, lawyer, and all the other town leaders come for advice. You don't have to understand it - you just have to be plain and honest and allow to spill out of your mouth whatever is going on in your mind. When you get down to it, the best remote viewers and the village idiot have many things in common. The reason for this basic
"describe, don't identify" tenet is that we, as humans, do our
thinking in very predictable and actually, very inefficient ways. One of our
first tendencies is to "pigeon-hole" or stereotype "For this reason, during the collection of S1-S2 data, the information elicited through these exercises should not be given any more consideration than every other piece of matrix data: ideally each should be recorded, then erased from the viewer's short-term memory and the target should be probed as if for the first time. Otherwise, trying to establish the general context too early in the process might unduly restrict or contaminate the data with preconceived notions. " In other words, he explains a second basic tenet of remote viewing, "There is no session above the line you're on." [I have to interrupt the point I'm
trying to make to add in one other comment of Lian's - which totally affects
everything.... Lian made the distinction throughout his paper between
inexperienced and experienced At the point of a viewer identifying
the target ("This is a monument in a park!"), the inexperienced viewer
will stop the session and want his/her feedback. Having seen that the target is,
indeed, a monument in a park, And this is key to the issue. If the
viewer is obligated to identify the target, then he/she can only "get"
those targets which are within his/her own experience. But, if the viewer's only
responsibility is to describe, But this gets back to Lian's statement
that, at some point in a session, the random perceptions will coalesce and the
viewer will suddenly realize what the target is. This happens automatically at
the advanced stages, As I read Lian's article, I understood
it to be an attempt to make this naturally-occurring coalescing happen on
demand, in the earlier stages. But this places an additional responsibility on
the viewer which, I am reminded of a time when I was in
northern Japan, where there are a lot of geysers. It is a mark of distinction
for a rock hound to have a personally procured "geyser stone". That
is, one of the stones which Anyway.... the point to all of that
totally senile digression.... when the inexperienced viewer is grabbing around
blindly in the darkness for anything which may or may not happen to bonk into
his/her mind, the lost But a more experienced viewer, simply
out of the natural course of gaining experience, will also gain the faith and
knowledge that the moment of target awareness will come in its own due time, and
be willing to work For the experienced viewer, the task during the early stages has become routine, and Lian's suggested method might be very helpful, even add some welcomed struggling to the now routine early stages of the experienced viewer's session. So, the reader of Lian's article should realize that this is a tool for more experienced viewers, and not for beginners.. Even the proposed experiment of creating advanced or complex contextual or conceptual ideograms is an experiment which is (or certainly should be) reserved for more advanced viewers. Viewers who haven't yet established a basic set of dependable ideograms should certainly not be given the task to create contextual ones. Further, Lian is aware of and raises the question mentioned above about identification requiring life experiences, when he asks: Since the level on which we tend to naturally integrate the data seems to be dependent on our own background, would it be possible to artificially design cues meant to identify the proper abstraction level required for a given target? And could we reduce the likelihood of "translation error" by artificially building a vocabulary of abstract concepts - to be trained into the mind as "single mental images", replacing the natural shortcut loops which form with extensive exposure to a particular field? His suggestion for the experiment is an
excellent one, scientifically based and scientifically valid. I hope that people
get involved in this experiment and I look forward to seeing the results. The
basic problems 1) a viewer will be trying to force what is otherwise a natural occurrence (this is not necessarily a bad thing, but might still be a problem.) 2) a viewer will be more prone to limit
the "best" sessions to those targets within his/her own personal
experienced. In fact, I would wonder whether or not doing this as a matter of
habit would retard a viewer's 3) since this is an advanced technique,
there will need to be a "qualification" process. The experiment, if
limited to more experienced viewers, would be valid. If inexperienced
viewers are included, simply Well, this is getting long... There are two bottom lines in all of this. Lian points out one of them when he says, But are there valid, process-based objections to this exercise? Is there a reason to believe that target aspects such as energy, function or emotions CAN NOT typically and reliably emerge so early in the process? This is perhaps an answer that can only be given by controlled experimentation and comparing the scores of standard sessions with those in which this cueing is used. So, the first bottom line is that, in
order to find out whether or not you can benefit from this idea, you have to try
it out, keep documentation, and make that documentation accurate. That is
the proposal made by this The other bottom line is that you need to become an experienced viewer, and that requires (cover your eyes, kids, I'm going to use the "P" word..) practice. Lots and lots of practice. I was very impressed by Lian's article
and his suggested experiment - and in fact, with the overall publication in
which it is located. I hadn't known about this source of remote viewing
information before, but
Lyn Buchanan, Problems Solutions
Innovations It's your mind - use it or lose
it.
5.
RE: "Data Integration in RV: Abstraction Levels and Context" RE: http://www.emergentmind.org/sidorovii3.htm Lian: Your paper (Remote Viewing Proposals: Data Integration in RV: Abstraction Levels and Context) addresses a question that, I think, has been relegated to a Neverland, but not one built by Michael; it is one left naturally standing from frustration with the usual limitations of the discipline of remote viewing. And your posing the question of a better integration of data is certainly timely and significant for current and future study of remote viewing dyamics. Unless I have misinterpreted Buchanan's take on this, he sets as the primary goal of CRV, not the identification of the target, but the acquisition of data about the target. This primary goal entails--again as I understand his position--a couple of corollaries as to methodology and progression dynamics; i.e., that the Structure was built to keep the focus at first on simple descriptors, tactiles, etc., and gradually progress to more complexity in S-4 and S-6. Imposing your desire for integration and more defined conceptuals at an early stage would seem to derail this sequential progression by addressing the problem up front, like trying to figure out where one is going on a trip by noting the first things seen out the window during the movement of a few blocks down the street. This, indeed, has a tendency to drive AOL's onto a fast horse headed for some sunset. As I understand CRV in the context of its tradition of concept development, its greatest value has been, not in target identification, but in the acquisition of descriptive data, data that can be used to amplify, clarify and supplement other sources of traditional informational gathering. I see the EOM as simply another step in discovering a common conceptual kernel among descriptors. If a detective finds a sea shell, a bit of sand, and a ball, he could conclude that the suspect had been to the beach. That type of work is strictly a deductive operation and strictly rational. However, with the EOM ("essential overlap matrix"), we are trying to ferret out condensations of themes, like trying to understand the grammar of the unconscious, not the plot of the story which the grammar is only related to as an underlying dynamic of symbol formation. I share your hope and frustration in trying to squeeze out of CRV a more focused target identification. Keep at it and let's try to move this wagon on down the road. Thanks for your effort and commitment to the discipline. Bill Stroud
4. Binary Remote Viewing
Dear Lian,
I'm curious if the concept of
"binary remote viewing" (or anything comparable to this term) is to be
found in "Binary remote viewing" as
I'd use the term would refer to RV experiments in which exactly two
locations or [Example, just off the cuff: two adjacent rooms: * a "cold room," held at a chilly temperature; decorated entirely in "cold" colors and icy themes; pictures of snow, ice, eskimoes, polar bears on the walls; cold tub of water with chunks of ice in the middle of the room; etc * a "warm room", held at a warm temperature; decorated entirely in "warm" colors and warm or tropical themes; pictures of warm sunshiny themes; maybe a blazing fireplace. One can obviously think of other examples, but the basic objective is just two different environments, designed to be fully acceptable to participating subjects as being clearly as different and distinguishable from each other as possible.] You can see what's coming: experiment
involves starting with a long string of binary digits; in each successive Bottom-line measure of remote viewing
success is then, what is the "channel capacity" of remote
viewing? A Google search on "binary remote viewing" brought up nothing. Does this concept, or something like it, find any resonance in the remote viewing community?
Yours truly, AES
3.
Call for Abstracts: International Scientific Symposium "Paradoxical Effects
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS AND CO-SPONSORSHIP This is a call for abstracts and an
invitation to join the cosponsoring coalition The R-13 Grant Application for this
Symposium was filed with NIH on the approval 31 abstracts of presentations at the
Symposium by scientists of 10 countries A new scientific basis has to be
developed in order to comprehend organisms� general Topics of discussion will include: - Paradoxical properties of water and
very low concentration water solutions of - Hypothesis of the biofield as the
general control system of the organism and - Alternative physical models, which
could encompass life, mind and associated Cosponsoring organizations and
individuals are encouraged to donate funds, share Please send abstract and donations to: Monterey Institute for the Study of
Alternative Healing Arts (MISAHA)
Savely Savva 2.
RE: "Collective Consciousness and Cultural Healing"
Thank you for sending me the latest issue of your journal. I read with interest Duane Elgin's article, "Collective Consciousness and Cultural Healing". I thought he made some good points but that the article suffered from the lack of a physical basis for his notion of collective consciousness. It lacked a physical basis because Elgin was unable to transcend the conventional model of reality as existing only from moment to moment. Indeed, far from transcending this model, Elgin affirmed it, stating: "Everything in the cosmos is a flowing movement that co-arises along with everything else, moment-by-moment, in a process of continuous regeneration." In my view, the notion that reality is created from moment to moment is only slightly less absurd than the notion that reality ceases to exist from moment to moment. Reality clearly has a continuous existence in time stretching back into the past and forward into the future. It is only our consciousness of reality that moves from moment to moment. Adoption of this simple postulate would solve many unsolved mysteries. Sincerely, Robert Wolfe
From: Mark Germine About three years ago I suggested that the Taos Hum, a humming noise heard by certain individuals in the area of Taos, New Mexico, and elsewhere, might be the result of the effect of extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic radiation on the brain ( ). In the course of investigating this possibility I constructed a crude apparatus for generating ELF radiation and tested the effect of such radiation on myself.
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