Parapsychology articles and blog

Magola

I'm preparing questions for my upcoming interview with Miroslaw Magola, the magnetic man. Miroslaw seems to possess a rare gift to "glue" objects to himself. These objects are not only metal and he demonstrated his ability also with gloves and talc on his hands. If you want to ask the man some questions, please do so before I send them to him (couple of days).

To get a glimpse into his ability, read my previous story about Miroslaw Magola, which I wrote in last October. You can write your questions here in the comments or on the forum.

Marcel Cairo posted on the Skeptiko podcast forum a call for questions for Dr. Dean Radin. Marcel will interview Dr. Radin on February 27th for his AfterLifeFM podcast. Below is Marcel’s message:

Hello esteemed consciousness enthusiasts.

I will be conducting an interview with Dr. Dean Radin on February 27th, 2008. You are once again invited to contribute to this interview by submitting your question to my toll-free AfterlifeFM Interview line at 1-877-372-5367. This is a voice mail system that is open and available 24/7.

Please submit your questions by Monday, February 25th.

Things to keep in my mind:

1. Ask only one question at a time (two parts of same question is acceptable), but do not make it impossible for me to edit.
2. Be clear, concise and conservative with time.
3. Don’t answer your own question or try to declare your own position.
4. Be chipper & charming. This is radio, not a morgue.
5. You can always erase or edit by pressing # sign during/after your recorded message

Thanks for your cooperation and participation,
Marcel

For those who don’t know what EFT is: EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is a healing technique which bases itself in the meridian energy knowledge and which especially excels in treating psychological issues along physical ones. See my experience treating migraines with EFT. To get started with learning EFT (it’s quite easy), go to EFT Get Started.

Latest newsletter from EFT founder Gary Craig links to a story by an EFT practitioner (actually, an EFT journal founder, Gary Williams). Williams discusses the topics of whether EFT can be explained by placebo effect. He shares Gary Craig’s views about it, which discuss why placebo effect differs from EFT procedure:

Placebo effects require some belief in the process and this is rarely the case for newcomers to EFT. Also, although EFT may appear to be distracting, it will not work if the client is, in fact, distracted. That is why the client continually repeats a reminder phrase which “tunes in” to the problem.

Williams then tells a story where he witnesses a car accident and went to help the injured, among them a little girl, crying hysterically on one of the cars:

I approached her, looking her in the eye and said, “What I am about to do is a little strange,” and then began tapping her on the face and hands whilst still holding her gaze. Within a matter of seconds, to my own surprise, she stopped shaking and became totally calm. It was as though we had built an island of calm amongst the chaos.

I can remember her saying “I am going to be late to pick up my father” – a strange thing to say, but I just reminded her that she had had an accident and that picking up her father would have to wait. Meanwhile the services had been called and then when they arrived she calmly climbed into an ambulance to be assessed.

Could this be a placebo effect or does EFT really work?

To learn more about EFT visit EFT homepage.

First thing I noted is the better production quality. Although the content of the show is the most important aspect, good production quality really benefits listeners.

The first episode a little over 20 minutes long, which is shorter than most episodes, but the reason is that it is not the regular interview episode but more like an opening show for the season, in my opinion. Alex called the episode Academic Snobbery and the Journal of Scientific Exploration and he talked about the issue of fringe science research and publication. He include audio quotes of his talks with Dr. Peter Sturrock, the editor of the Journal of Scientific Exploration. Also, University of Florida animal behaviorist, Dr. Clive Wynne and University of Colorado Ethologist, Dr. Marc Bekoff.

The show has a narrative tone with hints of humor, which really gives it a bit different feel. Some people expressed negative reactions to this change in the Skeptiko forums and you are welcomed to give your opinion, after you listen to the podcast.

I really wish great second season to Alex and I’m sure the content of it will be at least as good as in 2007.

The famous Uri Geller was interviewed for a german site Telepolis. The interview (in English) is quite interesting, though it touches not only Uri’s “mystical” carreer but also his help with in the Israeli Palestinian conflict, his new book “Ella”, why he lives near London and some interesting facts from his life, like his Mexican citizenship, fnding oil and a lot of stories from his work for the CIA. I really enjoyed reading this interview. Some excerpts:

...The first contact was in Mexico City, to the best of my recollection. It was a CIA agent, and he told me, “I’m a CIA agent, we want you to work.” You know, I was very excited about this because I was young, and it was like a movie for me. It was like an unbelievable experience. Wow! To work for the CIA. And then I started getting tasks. To spy on the Russian embassy, to erase floppy disks that were attached to KGB agents in diplomatic pouches…

And then in Mexico, when I found oil, the CIA said to me to come close to the Mexican President. To become friends. For many reasons I can’t tell you why. But, I remember, the Mexican President made me a secret agent for the Mexican treasury. I actually had a card, it was metal, where I was Uri Geller, secret, it doesn’t say “secret”, but it said, “special agent for the treasury department”...