Observations placeholder
Puharich, Andrija - Beyond Telepathy - Reading the mind of the guide
Identifier
016236
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
The Varieties of Psychedelic Experience – Dr Robert Masters and Dr Jean Houston
quoting Andrija Puharich – Beyond Telepathy
Puharich devised a series of tests aimed at detecting telepathic performance whilst the subjects were using the drug Amanita Muscari.
The guide had noticed that her subjects often seemed to pick up random images that crossed her mind; and the subjects seemed most adept at this in the case of images that had, for the guide some emotogenic force – i.e. images that were aesthetically, historically or otherwise personally potent or emotionally charged.
It was thus decided to write down ten such images and to place them in ten envelopes. The subject would sit across the room from the guide or in an adjoining room with another guide. The first guide would pick up an envelope and image the scene described on the paper in the envelope. The subject would then tell the second guide what he had picked up and the second guide would record the subject's words. This continued for all the envelopes.…......
Out of the 62 subjects tested, 48 approximated the guide's image two or more times out of ten. Five subjects approximated the guide's image seven or eight times out of ten.......... of the 14 subjects who received less than 2 out of 10 of the images, almost all were persons not well known to the guide or persons experiencing anxiety or interested in eliciting personal psychological material.
The data on subject performance of one especially high scoring subject is as follows:
PAPER IN ENVELOPE READS SUBJECT PICKS UP GUIDE WAS IMAGING
Viking ship tossed in storm Snake with arched head Same as in envelope
swimming in tossed seas
A rain forest in the Amazon Lush vegetation, exotic Same as in envelope
flowers, startling greens with some exotic flowers
all seen through watery growing
mist
Atlas holding up the world Hercules tossing a ball up Same as in envelope
and down in his hand
Greek island with small white houses A circus Same as in envelope
built on terraced hills but with an earthquake
houses falling down
A sailboat off a rocky coast Sailboat sailing around a cliff Same as in envelope
Ski slope in New England, white A forest fire A forest fire, guide was
with skiers sliding down unable to image the ski
scene
New York city traffic scene Geisha girl in full oriental Same as in envelope
regalia but very brilliant colours
A plantation in the old south A negro picking cotton in a Many images relating
field to pre civil war plantation life, including
a negro picking cotton
An arab on a camel passing Camel passing through the same as in envelope
a pyramid inside of a vast labyrinthian
tomb
The Himalayas – snow capped A climbing expedition in the Same as in envelope
peaks Alps