States of mind ESP and altered states of consciousness

208 Pages·1975·25.83 MB·English

by  Adrian Parker

O
STATES MIND:
A
ESP and tered States
of Consciousness
Adrian Parker
Introduction byJohn Beloff
$9-95
States ofMind
ESP andAlteredStates ofConsciousness
Adrian Parker
Introduction byJohn Beloff
Probably more than at any other time in
history, there is today a preoccupation with
personal relationships, subjective reality, and
inner experience. We are discovering that as
well as an external world, we have access to
—
internal realities states of mind which trans-
cendourwakingconsciousness and can provide
a rich source of meaningful experience and
potential.
These are the altered states ofconsciousness
(ASCs) we know as dream states, trance states,
psychedelicexperiences, and meditation, which
can give a new perspective to our relationship
with the world around us, a perspective which
may sometimes include knowledge derived by
extrasensory perception (ESP). With the pass-
ing of the behaviorist era in experimental
—
psychology, two neglected topics conscious-
—
ness and the paranormal are once again
attracting the attention of mainstream psy-
chologists. In this book the author boldly
brings together these two fields and discusses
their relationship to one another.
This revival of interest in introspective psy-
chology is partly due to the methodology and
instrumentation developed in the behaviorist
laboratory. The use of the electroencephalo-
gram transformed the whole area of sleep
research, which the author describes in his
discussion of dream states and ESP. Another
striking example ofthe application ofobjective
techniques to subjective states comes from the
sphere of meditation. The author reports the
findings on the physiological concomitants of
yoga, and of Zen meditation, and notes the
similar control achieved with biofeedback
techniques. He also deals with the relationship
between ESP and hypnosis, and he discusses
the ongoing controversy over the fundamental
nature ofhypnosis. No less controversial is the
research and interpretation given over to the
areas of psychedelic states and the so-called
pathological states, which the author reviews,
as well as the implications this inquiry may
have for the possibility ofsurvival after death.
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Mind
States of

Mind
States of
ESP
and Altered States of Consciousness
Adrian Parker
Taplinger Publishing Company
New York
To Inger
First published in the United States in 1975 by
TAPLINGER PUBLISHING CO., INC.
New York, New York
Copyright (g) 1975 byAdrian Parker
All rights reserved
Printed in Great Britain
No part ofthis book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy,
recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now
known or to be invented, without the permission in writing from the
publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote briefpassages
in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine,
newspaper or broadcast.
Library ofCongress Catalog Card Number 75-808
:
ISBN 0-8008-7374-2
Contents
Acknowledgments 6
Author's Preface
7
Introduction by Dr John Beloff 8
1 ESP and Consciousness 15
2 Hypnosis and ESP 34
3 Trance Mediumship 54
4 Dream States and ESP 75
5 Out-of-the-Body Experiences and Lucid Dreams 99
6 Pathological States 114
7 Psychedelic States 125
8 Meditation, Mysticism and Alpha States 146
9 Is there a Post-Mortem ASC? 159
Glossary 173
Reading List and References 177
Indexes 193
. :
Acknowledgments
The author and publishers are gratefulfor permission from the
following to quote from their publications
JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR PSYCHICAL RESEARCH
Barker,J. Premonitions ofthe Aberfan Disaster 1967 (44), pp. 169-
180; Beloff, J., and Mandelberg, I. An attempted validation ofthe
^RyzV techniquefor training ESP subjects 1966 (43), pp. 229-49;
Edmunds, S., and Jolliffe, D. A GESP experiment with four
hypnotisedsubjects 1965 (43), pp. 192-4; Evans, C, and Osborne,
E. An experiment in the electroencephalography of mediumistic trance
1952 (36), pp. 588-96; Parker, A. Some success at screeningfor
ESP subjects 1974 (in press) ; Stephenson, C. J. Cambridge ESP-
hypnosis (1958-64) 1965 (43), pp. 77-91 ; West, D., and Fisk, G.
A dualESPexperimentwith clock cards 1953 (37), pp. 185-97.
AMERICAN ARCHIVES OF GENERAL PSYCHIATRY
GLASS, G. and bomters, m. Chronic psychosis associated with long-
termpsychotomimetic drug abuse 1970 (23), pp. 97-130.
green, c. Lucid Dreams. Proceedings of the Institute for
Psychophysical Research 1968 i Oxford (b) (published by
Hamish Hamilton, London, on behalf of the Institute for
Psychophysical Research)
MCCREERY, c. Physical Phenomena andthePhysical World. Proceed-
ings of the Institute for Psychophysical Research 1973 (4),
London (Hamish Hamilton).