Psychokinesis

by Bruce King

     It happened at an Outback Steakhouse as my wife and I were waiting for our food—a decidedly psychokinetic event. A light fixture hung just a few feet above our heads and illuminated the table. On a spontaneous whim I decided to change the light's intensity with my thoughts. I looked at the incandescent bulb and said, "The light is getting brighter." And, the light got noticeably brighter. My wife said, "Wow, do that again." So I said, "The light is getting dimmer." Right on cue the light got dimmer.

     This was the second time in my life that I had experienced psychokinesis. I wondered if I wasn't fooling myself since light intensity can seem to fluctuate when the eye's pupils expand or contract. I remember checking this by looking at my wife’s pupils during the "event." I detected no change in her pupils. This convinced me that what we had witnessed was a real psychokinetic event. Of course, it's not scientific proof, but still very intriguing.

     What evidence is there that psychokinesis is real?

     Some of the more famous scientifically controlled psychokinetic experiments were done by Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Lab (1979-2007). The statistical data gathered in these experiments showed that humans could indeed mentally influence random number generators, if only slightly. Good scientific evidence, but not very dramatic.

     A little more impressive is the research Rene Peoche did with newly hatched chickens. What he found was that baby chicks had psychokinetic powers. He took a small rolling robot driven by a random number generator and had baby chicks imprint on it by presenting it to them at birth as their "mother." What he found was that the robot spent more time around the baby chicks than away from them. This is probably because the baby chicks thought this robot was their mother and wanted it to be close to them. If baby chicks can have some psychokinetic ability, then, presumably so can humans.

     In a much different approach to psychokinetic research Russian researchers L. N. Pyatnitsky and V. A. Fonki showed in 1995 that the molecular structure of water could be changed by thought. They managed to get their experiment published in a peer reviewed scientific journal called Journal of Scientific Exploration, which adds some credibility to their findings that water can be affected by thought.

     The three studies just mentioned strongly indicate that physical matter can be influenced by thought, but what about the dramatic stuff like visibly moving objects around? 

     You might have seen some of the numerous YouTube videos of people supposedly performing psychokinetic feats. Some of the more impressive videos found on YouTube are those of Russian psychic Nina Kulagina. She is shown in several old black and white films sliding objects around on tables and moving a compass needle using her supposed psychokinetic ability. But, as pseudo-skeptic James Randi has pointed out, Kuligina could have been pulling objects towards her with an invisible thread. Randi's theory has some validity since all the film I have seen of Kulagina's psychokinesis shows the objects moving towards her body and not away. This would make sense if she were using an invisible thread hooked to objects and then fastened to her leg. All she would have to do is move her leg slightly to pull objects towards her. Also, the trick of moving a compass needle is easily accomplished by having a magnet hidden in the hand.

     I wish there was some legitimate scientific film footage of someone moving objects with their mind, but alas, there is not. Probably one of the reasons that dramatic psychokinesis has not been seen in the laboratory is because it is so hard to recreate. The circumstances of my own psychokinetic experiences seem to have had a lot to do with my state of mind. My whimsical attitude and belief in psychokinesis might have been combined to create these supernormal occurrences. It is always possible that I was deluded, self hypnotized or otherwise fooled by my brain, but the events seemed so real that if I doubted them I would have to doubt all my other "real" experiences.

     This leads to the next question—What is real? Maybe nothing is real and that is why psychokinetic abilities are possible.
    
     I will explore the idea that "nothing is real" in my future columns. Meanwhile try your own psychokinetic experiments for yourself. I recommend having a whimsical attitude and complete belief that what you are trying to do is possible. You might want to start small, as opposed to jumping off the roof with your first levitation attempt (not recommended). Also, not being attached to any particular outcome could be helpful. Give it a try and let me know how you do.

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Bruce King has an ongoing column in The New Era Times called The Power of Thought so be sure to check back often for more of his insight into the power of thought.