First Afterlife Research Centre (ARC) Workshop

The first meeting of the Afterlife Research Centre (ARC) in the Department of Archaeology & Anthropology at the University of Bristol went really well yesterday. We had wide ranging discussions; from spiritualism and physical mediumship, through neo-platonism and creativity to Tibetan healing and the new religious movement Tenrikyo. All fascinating stuff. The first steps were also made in establishing a new peer-reviewed journal for presenting the research interests of members of the ARC, although this is still some way off.

On the whole the workshop was highly constructive and very informative. I look forward immesely to the development of the ARC.
(Left-Right, Yueh-po Huang, Fiona Bowie, Geoffrey Samuel, Angela Voss, Jack Hunter, Alexis Karkotis).

Clinically Dead Boy 'Saw Granny In Heaven'

Another Near-Death Experience related news-piece has just come to my attention:

It tells the story of a German boy who, while clinically dead, claimed to have been with his grandmother in heaven.

Click here to read the full article: SOURCE

Carbon Dioxide & Near-Death Experiences...

I just found this news item, from Sky News, detailing new research into the link between CO2 levels in the body and near-death experiences (NDE):

"CO2 May be Cause of 'Near-Death Experiences'"

It is interesting to note that while the headline of the article reads: "Near death experiences could come about by something as mundane as raised levels of carbon dioxide, scientists suggest", clearly an attempt at suggesting a purely physical, and hence reductionist, explanation for the phenomenon, Zalika Klemenc-Ketis, the research leader, when asked if the study would rule out a paranormal component said: "I don't think that, based on our study, we can say that paranormal believers are wrong. We have simply found out that one of the factors that could play a role in provoking the NDE, is carbon dioxide. But a lot still has to be done to totally explain this phenomena."

I wonder why the media is so keen to present such stories as though they were evidence against a supernatural reality?

Pre-Cognitive Dream of Unfortunate Lotto Winner

I just stumbled across this story about a former Baker who won £9million on the Lottery in 2005. The money he won negatively affected his life, ultimately leading to his death 5 years later. What interested me most about the article was the following passage:

"At the time the couple scooped the jackpot, Mrs Gough, a secretary, said her husband had a dream their numbers would come up. She said: "A few nights ago Keith told me he had dreamt we had won the lottery. I dismissed it and told him that 'everyone has those kind of dreams' and to forget about it. I never believed it would come true."

Looks like a case of pre-cognitive dreaming.

I wonder how many pre-cognitive dreams are simply dismissed? It is a shame as they do appear to perform the function of an early warning system of sorts; signs that, naturally, ought to be heeded.

To read the whole article click here: SOURCE

Rhine Online Magazine

In addition to numerous other interesting features, there is a great article by Hannah Gilbert on "A Sociological Perspective on Becoming a Spirit Medium in Britain" in the latest issue of the Rhine Online Magazine, an web-based newsletter published by the Rhine Research Centre.

The Anthropologist & the Spiritualists

An article that I wrote about my dissertation research has been published in Issue 47 (April 2010 edition) of Paranormal Magazine.

Sacramental Plants and Their Role in Undersanding the Possible Neurochemistry of Psi - David Luke

An article by David Luke entitled "Sacramental plants and their role in understanding the possible neurochemistry of psi" has been added to the "Articles Section" of the Transpersonal Anthropology website.

Take Part in EVP Research

The Furzey Hill Cirlce is currently investigating the EVP phenomenon. As part of their research they have created an on-line survey. This is what they say about their research:

"As part of the research its important to know that our interpretations of voice clips are as accurate as possible. This can be very difficult, when one person may hear something clearly that the second is unable to hear with repeated playing. The only way to determine a common understanding is by asking as many people as possible, to listen to and interpret a clip. Obviously we can not do this for every clip, but we have isolated 8 that illustrate the diversity of the voices.

When you have listened to the clips below and written down an interpretation for each, please click the following link to enter the online submission of your results. If you are unable to understand one or more of the clips, please enter "unknown" in the free text field. You can remain anonymous if you wish and it should only take a few minutes to complete ; VOICE RECORDING RESEARCH

1st Voice

2nd Voice

3rd Voice

4th Voice

5th Voice

6th Voice

7th Voice

8th Voice"

This is a great opportunity to take part in some interesting research.

First Afterlife Research Centre Workshop - 12th April 2010

An informal event for members of the Afterlife Research Centre forum and others interested in the ethnographic study of the afterlife. To be held in Lecture Room 2 in the Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Bristol.

The flyer, registration form and time-table can be downloaded here:

Flyer - Registration Form & Timetable

Speakers to be announced.

Information concerning events can now be found on the "Events page" of the Transpersonal Anthropology website.

The Dark Side - Patrick Huyghe

A great article by Patrick Huyghe, editor of the wonderful Anomalist website, has just been added to the "Articles Section" of the Transpersonal Anthropology website. "The Dark Side" is concerned with scientific, specifically psychological and psychiatric, approaches to the study of anomalous experiences and how to deal with and treat experiencers responsibly.