Paranormal
Do paranormal abilities exist? A bold question we often feel is based on belief and not science. But looking to parameters that can help determine if something is real or not in our world, like peer-reviewed publications, video footage, and the ability to experience something, then yes, paranormal abilities do exist and there are many different examples to choose from that clearly illustrates this.

The funny thing is, these abilities are studied and trained at the highest levels of government and military, yet within academia, it's almost completely ignored.

As the Chinese Institute of Atomic Energy pointed out in 1991, in a study archived by the CIA:
"Such phenomena and paranormal abilities of the human body are unimaginable for ordinary people. Nevertheless they are really true."
In the study the Chinese researchers provide multiple examples of a Qi Gong master, who under double-blind controlled conditions, was able to teleport small objects out of containers from one location to another using nothing but mental influence (breaking through spatial barriers). Multiple test subjects were able to do this including gifted children. This is just one example of research and published observation of this type of phenomenon under tight controls.

Another great example and the main subject of this article, comes from a study published in The Chinese Journal of Somatic Sciences by researchers from Fudan University, a major research university located in Shanghai. The study is/was also documented and translated by the CIA at the time, but not approved for release until the year 2000.

The study is titled Investigation Into The Force of Parapsychological Writing. The study explains that parapsychological writing is only one form of paranormal abilities displayed by humans, and cites a "large number of experiments" where this type of phenomenon has been demonstrated and documented repeatedly.
Parapsychological writing includes a number of complex parapsychological phenomenon including moving the writing instrument, breaking through spatial barriers and thought directed writing. These paranormal phenomenon cannot be explained using modern scientific knowledge. However, the recording of paranormal phenomena, especially of the accumulation of data on experiments conducted using strict scientific methods must eventually approach and disclose the truth about this unknown realm.
The study was designed to detect any type of possible "force" that could somehow be measured when gifted people demonstrated their 'paranormal' ability. Three experiments to do this were conducted.

The first one used a mechanical balance and a girl named "Little Gi." The balance had a glass cover and was very sensitive to lightweight objects. On the left plate of the balance, the researchers placed a plastic film canister. Inside that film canister they placed a square of white paper. The lid to the film canister was slightly open. On the right hand side plate of the mechanical balance, they placed a piece of material identical to the weight of the canister with the piece of paper inside it, so the balance would be kept level.
Paranormal Investigation
More illustrations are available in the study.

Placed next to the mechanical balance was a concrete slab with a pen on it.

The experiment required Little Gi to use her thoughts to "write" or "draw" on the piece of paper located inside of the film canister with a black ink fountain pen. The results were incredible:
She was able to concentrate her thoughts on this to the exception of everything else. We conducted a total of nine experiments, of which three were successful. Each experiment lasted for 15 to 25 minutes. The words and drawings were all black like the ink in the fountain pen used in the experiment. In the three successful experiments, two had clear characters and drawings and the other had fairly blurry circles and dots. Neither of the two observers saw the mechanical balance move at all, demonstrating that the film canister was not under any observable "outside force".
If you're floored by the claimed results of this study, you're certainly not alone. What we're seeing here is an example that humans may have abilities far beyond what we are aware of today, and that it may be a matter of development for others to realize these abilities.

For me, it would have been interesting if before and after the experiment they examined the ink inside of the pen to determine if it somehow was the source of the writing. But the various pens used had different color ink, and in the next experiment, researchers mention how the ink marks that appeared on paper were both blue and green, just like the ink in the pens.

The second experiment used a thermobalance to try and detect some sort of force generated by the mental will of the subjects. A thermobalance gives a continuous recording of the relationship between mass and temperature. In the experiment, a blank piece of tape was stuck to one of the arms of the thermobalance. The arm was covered with a glass tube to keep air currents from affecting the experiment. Little Gi sat at the edge of a table that was 0.5 meters from the balance with her back turned to the instrument. On the table there was a fountain pen.
The experiment required that the subject use her thoughts to "write" on the white tape with the fountain pen. During the experiment, those administering the experiment always observed the progress of the experiment from the side, and the automatic recorder drew the weight/time graph. Ten experiments were conducted in all, and three of these were successful. Each experiment lasted approximately 20 minutes. The "writing" was always dots in the same color as the ink used in the fountain pens in the experiment (green and blue).
Yet another incredible result, but they weren't done.

The third experiment was similar to the previous two. Only this time it used a piezoelectric crystal to try and detect some sort of electromagnetic force. There was no force detected, but multiple subjects in this experiment were able to successfully write on the blank paper ten successful times.

There is no known and widely accepted explanation for the phenomenon observed by the researchers, and perhaps our methods of detecting some type of "force" aren't advanced enough yet. Regardless, these abilities are real and have been demonstrated many times, yet we fail to come up with an explanation to explain them. Moreover, most people would likely be too skeptical to even wish to attempt to wrap their minds around how this is happening, and it would likely challenge their entire worldview.

The authors of the study explain that:
...the "pen" appears in their "mind", they imagine the object on which the pen is to write (paper, tape, etc). Finally, the 'pen' will suddenly write or make a mark on the paper or tape in their minds with a flash and the process is over. There are also times when the person will use thought to image the paper or tape and then to imagine the "pen", and finally the flash described above.
The authors hypothesize that some sort of thought waves are directly interacting with the "matter waves" of these objects, but again, there is no possible way to tell exactly what is going on. Right now it remains unexplainable, but one thing seems certain, the power, intention and sheer will of the human body, possibly not only of the mind, is somehow interacting with physical material matter. We've seen this in a number of consciousness and quantum physics experiments at the quantum level, and also at the conventional level using, in this case, people with 'paranormal' abilities.

Why This Is Important: The scientific study of such phenomenon is often ignored, belittled and ridiculed from the get go. Many people, especially within the scientific community, are quick to instantly dismiss the possibility that such things can be true or possible. Not examining phenomena, or at least acknowledging the results of a phenomenon based on what we believe to be true or not, is not very scientific. Once again, this demonstrates a common challenge amongst humanity that we are often not willing to look at information that could deeply challenge our foundational worldview.

Anybody looking at this subject matter from an objective standpoint would no doubt have their beliefs challenged. Studies in this field really make one question the true nature of our reality, what we are capable of, and how much we know about ourselves. It's no secret that a very conservative mainstream scientific establishment often rejects anomalies based on subject matter alone.


Comment: Also known as scientific dogma.


How much do we limit our consciousness and perceptions about our world, who we truly are, and what we are capable of as a result of our beliefs, and our determination to say "this is the way things are?"

Cassandra Vieten, PhD and President/CEO at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, which was founded by Apollo 14's Dr. Edgar Mitchell touches upon this point in her piece, it's a quote I've used many times to illustrate this point "When Skeptics Face The Evidence."
There seems to be a deep concern that the whole field will be tarnished by studying a phenomenon that is tainted by its association with superstition, spiritualism, and magic. Protecting against this possibility sometimes seems more important than encouraging scientific exploration or protecting academic freedom. But this may be changing. The session I presented in was very well-attended, and I found that most people, while not exactly open-minded, were open-hearted, thoughtful, and willing to engage in respectful discussion about the topic.
The Takeaway: It's important to mention again that there are many examples of such parapsychological phenomenon. This article is only providing a tidbit on the subject. Why is most of the literature available on this subject coming from defense departments of multiple countries? Why is it that it's studied in classified and secretive settings and not really made available or open to public scrutiny? Why are these things being studied at the highest level of government yet completely ignored and unacknowledged within academia?

I truly believe that all humans possess capabilities we are not yet aware of, and I believe this has been demonstrated quite well. In a free, open and transparent society we would be utilizing these concepts and learning more about them, simply because they seem to be a natural part of the human being.

Study in these fields can truly expand human consciousness.

That being said, I don't believe that human beings are operating from the correct place within to utilize or learn these concepts. The collective, in some sense, craves power, service to self, and the desire to advance oneself in a materialistically inclined way, we are not yet operating from the correct level of consciousness to have these abilities present in our human experience.

It's like technology, we can use it to make weapons, make money, not share it, or use it for the collective good. It's a choice, but what drives our choices? It's not our abilities or technology that can create change, it's the level of consciousness we operate from and the place from within we implement these solutions, not the solutions themselves.