Correlations of random binary sequences with pre-stated operator intention: a review of a 12-year program

Strong correlations between output distribution means of a variety of random binary processes and pre-stated intentions of some 100 individual human operators have been established over a 12-year experimental program. More than 1000 experimental series, employing four different categories of random devices and several distinctive protocols, show comparable magnitudes of anomalous mean shifts from chance expectation, with similar distribution structures. Although the absolute effect sizes are quite small, of the order of 10(-4) bits deviation per bit processed, over the huge databases accumulated, the composite effect exceeds 7sigma (p approximately 3.5 x 10(-13)). These data display significant disparities between female and male operator performances, and consistent serial position effects in individual and collective results. Data generated by operators far removed from the machines and exerting their efforts at times other than those of machine operation show similar effect sizes and structural details to those of the local, on-time experiments. Most other secondary parameters tested are found to have little effect on the scale and character of the results, with one important exception: studies performed using fully deterministic pseudorandom sources, either hard-wired or algorithmic, yield null overall mean shifts, and display no other anomalous features.

Information and uncertainty in remote perception research

This article has four purposes: 1) to present for the first time in archival form all results of some 25 years of remote perception research at this laboratory; 2) to describe all of the analytical scoring methods developed over the course of this program to quantify the amount of anomalous information acquired in the experiments; 3) to display a remarkable anti-correlation between the objective specificity of those methods and the anomalous yield of the experiments; and 4) to discuss the phenomenological and pragmatic implications of this complementarity. The formal database comprises 653 experimental trials performed over several phases of investigation. The scoring methods involve various arrays of descriptor queries that can be addressed to both the physical targets and the percipients' description thereof, the responses to which provide the basis for numerical evaluation and statistical assessment of the degree of anomalous information acquired. Twenty-four such recipes have been employed, with queries posed in binary, ternary, quaternary, and ten-level distributive formats. Thus treated, the database yields a composite z-score against chance of 5.418 (p = 3 x 10(-8), one-tailed). Numerous subsidiary analyses agree that these overall results are not significantly affected by any of the secondary protocol parameters tested, or by variations in descriptor effectiveness, possible participant response biases, target distance from the percipient, or time interval between perception effort and agent target visitation. However, over the course of the program there has been a striking diminution of the anomalous yield that appears to be associated with the participants' growing attention to, and dependence upon, the progressively more detailed descriptor formats and with the corresponding reduction in the content of the accompanying free-response transcripts. The possibility that increased emphasis on objective quantification of the phenomenon somehow may have inhibited its inherently subjective expression is explored in several contexts, ranging from contemporary signal processing technologies to ancient divination traditions. An intrinsic complementarity is suggested between the analytical and intuitive aspects of the remote perception process that, like its more familiar counterpart in quantum science, brings with it an inescapable uncertainty that limits the extent to which such anomalous effects can be simultaneously produced and evaluated.

Vicarious resilience: a new concept in work with those who survive trauma

This study explores the formulation of a new concept: vicarious resilience. It addresses the question of how psychotherapists who work with survivors of political violence or kidnapping are affected by their clients'stories of resilience. It focuses on the psychotherapists' interpretations of their clients' stories, and how they make sense of the impact that these stories have had on their lives. In semistructured interviews, 12 psychotherapists who work with victims of political violence and kidnapping were interviewed about their perceptions of their clients' overcoming of adversity. A phenomenological analysis of the transcripts was used to describe the themes that speak about the effects of witnessing how clients cope constructively with adversity. These themes are discussed to advance the concept of vicarious resilience and how it can contribute to sustaining and empowering trauma therapists.

Traumatic loss and major disasters: strengthening family and community resilience

This article presents the core principles and value of a family and community resilience-oriented approach to recovery from traumatic loss when catastrophic events occur. In contrast to individually based, symptom-focused approaches to trauma recovery, this multisystemic practice approach contextualizes the distress in the traumatic experience and taps strengths and resources in relational networks to foster healing and posttraumatic growth. The intertwining of trauma and traumatic losses is discussed. Key family and social processes in risk and resilience in traumatic loss situations are outlined. Case illustrations, model programs, and intervention guidelines are described in situations of community violence and major disasters to suggest ways to foster family and community resilience.

Traumatic loss and major disasters: strengthening family and community resilience

This article presents the core principles and value of a family and community resilience-oriented approach to recovery from traumatic loss when catastrophic events occur. In contrast to individually based, symptom-focused approaches to trauma recovery, this multisystemic practice approach contextualizes the distress in the traumatic experience and taps strengths and resources in relational networks to foster healing and posttraumatic growth. The intertwining of trauma and traumatic losses is discussed. Key family and social processes in risk and resilience in traumatic loss situations are outlined. Case illustrations, model programs, and intervention guidelines are described in situations of community violence and major disasters to suggest ways to foster family and community resilience.

The PEAR Proposition

For more than a quarter century, the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) laboratory has engaged in a broad range of experiments on consciousness-related physical anomalies and has proposed a corresponding selection of theoretical models that have combined to illuminate the fundamental nature of the provocative phenomena that emerge. Productive pursuit of this topic has inescapably involved a spectrum of political, cultural, personal, and interpersonal factors that are normally not encountered in more conventional scientific scholarship, but have both enriched and complicated the enterprise in many ways. Some of the insights gleaned from the work are objectively specifiable, such as the scale and structural character of the anomalous effects; their relative insensitivity to objective physical correlates, including distance and time; the oscillating sequential patterns of performance they display; the major discrepancies between male and female achievements; and their irregular replicability at all levels of experience. But many others relate to subjective issues, such as the responsiveness of the effects to conscious and unconscious intention and to individual and collective resonance; the relevance of ambience and attitude in their generation; and the importance of intrinsic uncertainty as a source of the anomalies. This blend of empirical features predicates radical excursions of the dedicated models, and hence of the more general scientific paradigms, to allow consciousness and its subjective information processing capacities a proactive role in the establishment of objective reality, with all of the complications of specificity, causality, and reproducibility that entails. The attendant complexities of conceptualization, formulation, and implementation notwithstanding, pragmatic applications of these phenomena in many sectors of public endeavor now can be foreseen.

Intercessory prayer for the alleviation of ill health

BACKGROUND

Prayer is an ancient and widely used intervention for alleviating illness and promoting good health. Whilst the outcomes of trials of prayer cannot be interpreted as 'proof/disproof' of God's response to those praying, there may be an effect of prayer not dependent on divine intervention. This may be quantifiable; which makes this investigation of a widely used health care intervention both possible and important.

OBJECTIVES

To review the effectiveness of intercessory prayer as an additional intervention for those with health problems already receiving standard medical care.

SEARCH STRATEGY

We systematically searched ten databases (June 2005).

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included any randomised trial of personal, focused, committed and organised intercessory prayer with those interceding holding some belief that they are praying to a God. This prayer should be offered on behalf of anyone with health problems.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We extracted data independently and analysed on an intention to treat basis calculating, for binary data, the fixed effect relative risk (RR), their 95% confidence intervals (CI), and the number needed to treat or harm (NNT or NNH).

MAIN RESULTS

Ten studies are now included (n=7646). We found a slight difference between groups, favouring prayer for death (6 RCTs, N=6782, RR 0.88 CI 0.80 to 0.97, NNT 42 CI 25 to 167, I(2 )83%) but no differences between groups for clinical state, complications or leaving the study early. Individual studies did find some effects. One trial separated death data into 'high' and 'low' risk and found prayer had a positive effect on those at 'high' risk of death (1 RCT, N=445, RR 0.3 CI 0.2 to 0.46, NNT 8 CI 7 to 11). A second study found a positive effect of prayer on women undergoing IVF treatment with significantly more successful implantations in the prayer group compared with standard care (1 RCT, n=169, RR 0.68 CI 0.53 to 0.86, NNT 5 CI 3 to 10). A larger study assessed the effect of awareness of prayer and found those aware of receiving prayer had significantly more post operative complications than those not receiving prayer (1 RCT, n=1198, RR 1.15 CI 1.04 to 1.28, NNH 14 CI 8 to 50) and those uncertain if they were receiving prayer (1 RCT, n=1205, RR 1.12 CI 1.01 to 1.24, NNH 17 CI 9 to 201)

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

It is not sensible to interpret any of the interesting results with great confidence. However, for women hoping for successful IVF treatment there are some data suggesting a favourable outcome of prayer but these data are derived from only one of the smaller trials. On the other hand, one of the larger studies suggests that those undergoing operations may not wish to know of the prayer that is being offered on their behalf. Most data are equivocal. The evidence presented so far is interesting enough to justify further study into the human aspects of the effects of prayer. However it is impossible to prove or disprove in trials any supposed benefit that derives from God's response to prayer.

Sacred moments: Implications on well-being and stress

This research provides a theoretical, empirical, and qualitative examination of the role of cultivating sacred moments in daily life on subjective well-being (SWB), psychological well-being (PWB), and stress. Seventy-three participants were randomly assigned to two groups: (a) a 3-week intervention group where members were instructed in cultivating sacred moments, or (b) a 3-week control group where members were instructed in writing about daily activities. Findings indicate that the intervention was equally as effective as an adapted therapeutic writing intervention. There were significant effects over time across multiple assessments related to SWB, PWB, stress, and daily spiritual experiences after the 3-week intervention and again 6 weeks later. Qualitative analysis complemented and enriched the findings of these results. This study introduces a new intervention into the field of clinical psychology and extends the findings of prior research.

Fostering ecologic perspectives in child psychiatry

In this article, the authors seek to instill a readiness and enthusiasm for appreciating the many-faceted influences in the lives and struggles of developing children and their families. A framework for clinical investigation is proposed that draws from ecologic, ethnographic and attributional perspectives and therein augments and extends contemporary notions of culturally competent care. This framework can be used to help illuminate the culturally-relevant geography of the child's world such as: 1) health care and social welfare zones, 2) child activity zones, and 3) cultural and religious spheres of influence. Training tools and strategies are offered for building insightful, respectful and convivial co-investigator partnerships with patients and their families.

The healing forest metaphor revisited: the seen and "unseen world" of drug use

There is one world we live in. Its geographical and spatial boundaries tell us this. We see it on maps, we see it on television, and we see it when we walk out of the door. Children, adults, and people of all races and creeds live in this one world. The world we live in is viewed differently by these many individuals. Some see it as hostile, some see it as peaceful, and some go about their daily business and do not see it at all. This is the seen world. The one we can see with our eyes. The seen world is not the only one that exists, however, because there is also another world behind our eyes. When we close our eyes, it is in there. We have an imagination to tell us what it could be like, we have thoughts to tell us what we want it to be like, and we have dreams to tell us what we want it to be. Where is this unseen world? We carry it around with us every nanosecond of every day that we are alive. While we live in the seen world, the unseen world is alive in us. What could the unseen world be like for substance users? This is the topic of the current article.

Sri Lankan sanni masks: an ancient classification of disease

The classification of disease used in Sri Lankan sanni masks is still relevant today

Spiritual transformation, relation and radical empathy: core components of the ritual healing process

Based on studies of spirit healing, this article proposes a model of the process of ritual healing that is focused on the core components of spiritual transformation, relatedness and empathy. It describes the central role of spiritual transformation in healers from which emerges their capacity for relation and empathy. Many spirit healers, following a spiritual transformation, begin to exercise 'radical empathy,' in which individual differences between healer and sufferer are melded into one field of feeling and experience. The model is compared and contrasted with aspects of healing processes in some psychotherapeutic and analytic therapies. These comparisons are offered in the light of the growing interest in incorporating spirituality into psychological and medical treatments.A concluding section briefly explores some implications of aspects of the model of healing process that support the claim that it is widely applicable and identifies foundational components.

Explanatory models of illness: A study of within-culture variation☆

The current studies explore causal models of heart attack and depression generated from American healers whom use distinct explanatory frameworks. Causal chains leading to two illnesses, heart attack and depression, were elicited from participant groups: registered nurses (RNs), energy healers, RN energy healers, and undergraduates. The domain-specificity hypothesis predicted that psycho-social and physical causes would not interact in illness models. Across illnesses, RNs and undergraduates rarely cited interactions between mental and physical causes, consistent with the domain specificity hypothesis. In contrast, energy healers frequently mentioned interactions. Study 2 showed that these differences were not due to salience. These results suggest that domain-specificity theory is supported for groups with extensive exposure to western medicine but does not explain energy models of illness. Implications for other cultural models of illness are discussed.

My battle with spasmodic torticollis: a healing experience

The life-transforming experience of overcoming spasmodic torticollis compelled the author to write the following personal account. The author, who triumphed over this debilitating disease, is now an advocate of holistic nursing practices that motivate patients through a genuine concern for patient well-being, community, and humanity. The author describes her personal experience of grief and the grieving process; the healing effects of crying; and her selection of the complementary and alternative therapies of prayer, music, and massage that became instrumental in finding a pathway to recovery. The story has appealing implications for strategies that utilize these concepts and techniques in clinical practice.

World Hypotheses and the Evolution of Integrative Medicine: Combining Categorical Diagnoses and Cause-Effect Interventions with Whole Systems Research and Nonvisualizable (Seemingly “Impossible”) Healing

It has been proposed that to understand (1) the evolution of science and medicine, and (2) the integration of conventional, complementary and alternative medicine, it is essential to consider at least eight universal implicit meta-cognitive hypotheses. It has been suggested that these implicit "world" hypotheses can be applied in every discipline of science. The present paper reviews the eight world hypotheses and proposes an additional hypothesis, termed the nonvisualizable or "Nth" world hypothesis (adopting the mathematical concept of "N"; eg, as in N dimensional space). Drawing on contemporary mathematics and quantum physics, we propose that certain theories and data-by their inherent nature-can not be visualized, and therefore may seem "unimaginable" and "impossible" (if not "unbelievable"), even though they are real. Certain seemingly anomalous observations in mind-body and energy medicine, including areas historically labeled as parapsychology or spiritual energy healing, often elicit strongly skeptical and dismissive reactions. We propose that these skeptical and dismissive reactions to purportedly impossible (yet logical) theories and seemingly unbelievable (yet replicable) data can be tempered when the Nth world hypothesis is understood and incorporated. Integrity in evidence-based science and medicine may require that scientists and nonscientists alike develop comfort and humility in accepting the human mind's restricted ability to envision and imagine certain nonvisualizable-yet fundamental and real-concepts and effects, as illustrated in contemporary physics and complementary and alternative medicine.