The Original Survey of the Paranormal closed with 4,000+ Surveys Completed. Read more about this research in the Press Release that was issued by Monash University.
The supervisor of the research study, Faculty of Education senior lecturer, Dr Beverley Jane, said the aim of the research is to gather information about people’s experiences of paranormal events that cannot be explained using the current laws of science.
“This includes out-of-body and near-death experiences, premonitions, telepathy, and apparitions,” she said. “We are interested in knowing more about what people are experiencing, how frequently these phenomena occur, at what age they start, and the impact they have on those who experience them. In particular, we would like to survey people who have had paranormal experiences but have been reluctant to talk about them, until now.”
Dr Jane reported that nearly number of people from all over the world have already responded to their questions online. “They are sincere and they want to report what they have experienced,” she said.
Creative Commons License photo credit: Royal Olive
The survey forms part of a research study into the paranormal by Monash Masters student, Ms Rosemary Breen. There has been an explosion of interest in the paranormal in recent years, so much so that it is now considered mainstream and part of everyday contemporary life for many people,” Ms Breen said. “It is also the central tenet of most cultures, and some of the earliest reports of paranormal phenomena are found in ancient scriptures including the Talmud, the Koran, Homer, Socrates, Aristotle, the New Testament and Old Testament of the Bible and the Kabbalah.”
A recent Gallup poll indicated that three out of four Americans hold at least one paranormal belief, and a UK newspaper poll showed that 60 per cent of Britons accept the existence of the paranormal. However, little is known about contemporary spontaneous experiences, and official surveys are rare.
“The potential benefits of participation in this study include adding to the volume of academic literature on spontaneous paranormal events, and helping raise the level of understanding about the immediate and long term effects of such phenomena on the individual and on society,” Dr Jane said.
Join the Conversation Below
* Have you ever paid for the services of a psychic?
* Have you ever consulted a tarot card reader?
* What about a spiritual medium?
There are so many types of specialists working in the paranormal industry and there are even more experts. How do we tell the difference between a charlatan and a genuine consultant?
These are the sorts of questions that came to the fore when the Survey was originally built. That is why we have been working behind the scenes with numerous independent paranormal consultants.
There is so much misinformation and misunderstanding in the paranormal industry it’s no wonder we don’t know who is who and what it is that they are actually offering. More importantly we don’t know who is genuinely good at what they do and who is just good at marketing their services. If you’re like us you’ll agree the paranormal industry is a minefield!
I did receive the telepathic message in 2003.
Was at an extremely soul rendering time, a time of great sorrow, when my husband bled to death.
The angel of God sent me the message.
Rita
Sounds an awful time for you Rita but it it must have been such a comfort to receive this.
Cheers Rita
Rosemary
Hello,
yeah about 3-4 years ago I went to see a psychic in Boston, because I was curious mainly. Though the other part of me was highly skeptical; even though I myself have had many experiences in my life. When I usually heard the word psychic I’d kinda sneer at it. My feeling was that their all charlatan’s and are just looking for a buck.
So me being this skeptical 20 something walked in and the lady eventually got to me. She sat me down and looked at my palms, then she asked my name. The lady had taken out some tarot cards and made a spread. Eventually we got to the good stuff. I was so nervous. lol I asked her about my “abilities”…it was embarrassing trying to address such a delicate topic. The lady kinda gazed at me and said, I needed to deal w/ it. I had to figure which spirits were right/wrong or good/bad. This had me miffed, because nothing deeper was spoken of it, but I didn’t say anything either.
We got to my family and she started freaking out. It was like she saw something that shocked her. After a minute the psychic told me to stay out of my family’s arguments and troubles. Just don’t get involved. There’s nothing you can do about it.
For that reason and if nothing else I felt she might possibly be genuine. The reaction was so strange yet real. My family seems normal to me, but I always wondered what she saw.
After that I left and went to the library. There I ended up running into a spirit. That episode, in such a public place, left me freaked out. I never saw it, but the way reality sort of slowed, and people unconsciously reacted left me no doubt. It’s like I was gazing at manga one moment, the next I noticed people leaving the main aisle. It was like a twilight moment and everyone was steering clear of something. It affected me. I kinda froze and looked around, but I saw nothing.
It seemed everything got quiet and then like a bullet it was behind me. I literally almost jumped, but couldn’t. The entity leaned around me whispering things I never understood into my ear. I felt it breathe on my neck and as suddenly as it came it went. Everything was back to normal. The lights were bright, the people were chattering and filling the aisles, and I just kinda stood there. I snapped my neck in the direction it left, but there wasn’t anything.
The men at the store front were unaware anything happened at all. They didn’t see my reaction or nothing. So I put the book back and went home.
That left me kinda paranoid…
The only other time I visited a psychic was during halloween w/ a friend, but we went to a different one. These people were clearly fake and I still regret seeing them. I was going by reviews and didn’t live up to their hype. Now I kinda just see the experience as fun.
Hi Brandie
Do you see a connection between the psychic visit and the entity in the library? Was it just a coincidence perhaps or were you more ‘open’ having been with the tarot reader? Just wondering what your take on the experience is.
Cheers
Rosemary
Hey Rosemary,
I’m not sure actually. The whole experience was just classified as weird. Maybe it was a coincidence, but it would’ve been a very strong one. By now though I stopped believing in coincidences. This most likely was purposeful. lol Maybe I was followed or something. It seemed like I wasn’t the only one at the psychic reading.
Experiences like that don’t deter me. They egg me on more and I still see psychic visits as entertainment, mostly.
Later, Brandie