Psychic Phenomena Terminology

by Joan Seth

What constitutes a Psychic ? Can anyone claim to be one? Or can anyone be infused with so called Psychic abilities from a "Master"?

To be a termed Psychic , one would need to have exhibited Psychic abilities. These abilities include abilities to perceive information hidden from the normal senses or using your mind to influence the state of the physical world around you.

Here, we will examine closely what are the various types of Psychic abilities.

1) Telekinesis (or Psychokinesis)

The ability to move objects with your mind. Throughout the ages, self professed mediums or psychics have claimed to be telekinetic and have held demonstrations to move objects with their mind. Many such claims, under close examination and scrutiny, have revealed to be hoaxes. However, the famous psychic Uri Geller, was able to bend spoons just by focusing on them.

2) Telepathy

The ability to transfer thoughts to another person's mind from your mind. This may also be termed as Mind Reading. However, many magicians or fortune tellers who claim to read your mind are using Cold Reading techniques, that involve making high probability guesses about the subject. However, till date, no real experimental proof has been obtained of a person possessing such abilities.

3) Remote Viewing

Using your mind to gather information about a distant subject. People who exhibit such techniques claim to be able to see things in their mind, from a distance. Several police cases have indeed been solved by these so called Psychics. However, experts believe that the success rate is down to a combination of the following factors: clever deduction and pure luck.

4) Mediumship

A common practice found in many religions, this is the claimed ability to contact the spirits of the dead. Subsequently, communication, automatic writing and bodily possession are claimed to be able to be performed by the medium. Unfortunately, many sceptics doubt the reality of these abilities and most mediums are exposed to be frauds.

5) Precognition

To be able to see an event or acquire information from an event that will happen in the future. This ability is mostly exhibited while dreaming. People believe that they are either seeing signs of what will happen in the future, or actually seeing events that will happen in the future.

6) Psychometry (Token Object Reading)

The ability to obtain information about an individual through making physical contact with an object that belongs to that individual. People with such abilities are able to tell the history, background and other information about an object just by touching it.

7) Astral Projection (Out of Body Experience)

This is the ability to separate one's spirit or soul from one's body, and travel outside of the physical body, into the non-physical realm or astral plane. According to sceptics, the subjective nature of the experience permits explanations that do not rely on the existence of an "astral" body and plane. Critics also say that there is little evidence to support the idea that people can actually "leave the body".