The NOMA concept discussed on the last
page raises interesting issues. An overlap in the magisteria of science
and religion means that some subjects require investigation from both
physical and spiritual viewpoints. This is difficult and potentially
controversial, since there is a perception that the scientific method cannot cover both. And that is why so-called paranormal activities or psychic phenomena ("showings of the
soul") can get bad press and are shunned by traditional scientists.
This is not surprising, really. Think of
the entities involved who may be the subjects of research: not only ordinary
people, but mediums, angels, demons, spirits, ghosts and wizards. You may also have to
consider a moral dimension - are some "good" and "bad"?
If the latter, is it wise to try doing experiments on them? Not something
many scientists really want to bother with. Then think of the
constraints to the scientific method. You can imagine that the repeatability of
experiments is going to be difficult with such ephemeral bodies. And if it
is accepted that the experimenters and subjects may actually effect outcomes by their
attitude and thoughts, then we have big problems untangling everything and
drawing conclusions objectively . But does this mean we must not try?
These topics are not necessarily the realm of fantasy, and many have been well documented
throughout the centuries. They deserve our unbiased attention.
What are these phenomena that appear to
bridge the physical and spiritual and are so controversial? I found the Octaikon useful in classifying them. Here are
just a few (and some more conventional ideas), with explanations as to what they mean (I've taken the descriptions
from the book The Personality of Man, by G.N.M.Tyrell, who wrote in
the middle of the last century).
OBSERVATION faculty: Clairvoyance
("clear-seeing") or telęsthesia is the alleged power of
perceiving physical as distinct from mental events in paranormal
fashion. Apparitions are hallucinations that have telepathic or
other paranormal causes.
INTERPRETATION faculty: Precognition
or foreknowledge is the apparent knowledge of future events that has
not been inferred from existing information. Instinct could be
included here, anddefined as the ability to know what to do without
thinking about it.
EXPRESSION faculty: Telepathy
literally means "far feeling". It can be defined as the
communication of impressions of any kind from one mind to
another, independently of the recognised channels of sense. The
Biblical "speaking in tongues" could be included in this
faculty, and is discussed later.
APPLICATION faculty: Telekinesis
is the alleged movement of of objects without physical contact. I guess this
can include the Uri Geller type spoon-bending, as well as poltergeists!
It is also the realm of physical miracles.
If we look at the Octaikon's
faculty links, then we could also include phenomena such as inspiration/genius
(CREATING link); the supernatural magnetic charisma of some people
(DIRECTING link ) and prophetic judgement - as found in the Bible
(JUDGING link).
The ideas of the present day biologist Rupert Sheldrake, who champions the
concept of morphic and morphogenetic fields to complement conventional genetic
theory, are of particular relevance and interest here (see his book The Sense Of Being Stared At).
These fields are not confined to the human body but
extend beyond, creating interconnections with other living beings. As such,
they can help to explain some of these phenomena.
If these ideas are correct, then maybe
the white central of the Octaikon, in the sense that it represents our psi-faculties
as well as our "soul", should extend
outside the coloured "body" as well. Thus, in the case of
our normal five senses, the connection between two people, limited by space,
can be represented as
whereas the extended " tele"
connections, not limited by space (or time?), can be represented as
showing how the two people are not in
fact separate but somehow always connected.
This is as far as I have got in
representing these ideas as an animation:
While I am on these intriguing
phenomena, I must mention one which my father-in-law, along with many other
people, has experienced - the out -of-body experience - where the
subject appears to be looking down upon him/herself. He describes it in his
book Facing up to Reality - and happened while he was on the
Underground between Green Park and Piccadilly Circus stations. It can
be represented like this:
These are just a sample of phenomena that
cross the physical/spiritual boundary, widely documented in the literature,
for which there is abundant evidence, but which require an open and honest mind to separate fact from fraud.
They can't be ignored. To make any sense of them, it is clear that we have
to extend our understanding of the physical world to include the spiritual,
and to be prepared to consider other mechanisms that science has so far not
proven, such as organising
life-fields and thought fields, as well as all the weird and wonderful ideas
of quantum physics which might help explain such
phenomena.
Fascinating stuff! But in the next section I will stick to
more conventional religious ideas, starting with God.
Phenomenal!
