Fate Magazine Review of Psi Explorer CD-ROM

BECOME A PSI-EXPLORER
Review by Loyd Auerbach
Fate Magazine, August 1997, p 14

"In the early '80s I worked for the American Society for Psychical research in New York City. At the time, the Psychophysical Research Laboratories was active in Princeton, NJ, run by the late Charles Honorton. I was fortunate to know a number of folks there at the lab during my time on the East Coast. One of them, Mario Varvoglis, Ph.D., moved to France a few years later and only recently came back into contact with me.

"Last summer, Mario introduced something new on the parapsychological scene to his colleagues: a CD-ROM product that covers many bases and allows much interaction for those having an interest in psychic functioning, research, and investigation. The CD is called Psi Explorer and before I get to specifics, let me say that it is on the market and I highly recommend it.

"I have spent a few hours on the CD-ROM now, there's still more for me to view and play with. I look forward to keeping the CD easily available as a reference source and a means to test my own meager psi talents.

"When you first enter the program, the screen is set up to look like a hollowed-out mountain. You begin in a virtual room called the Crystal, which gives you access to five doorways. You can get short presentations about each of the five rooms behind the doors, as well as a general introduction to psi phenomena.

"Here's a quick run-down of the five rooms, which can lead you further into the "mountain:"
"The Forum: Here you can explorer differing views on psi phenomena, including psychological and physical science perspectives.

"The Lab gives you an overview of the history of psi research and experimentation, including video presentations on some experiments, examples from real laboratory sessions, and access to the Test Room, where you can try your mind at tests of telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition. Spending time here will allow you to see whether you can use the feedback and analysis that the program provides to improve your scores.

"The Sphere room is a place to get in touch with your inner self. A guided visualization program teaches you to quiet your mind and, hopefully, gain connection to your intuition.

"The Gate is a game that, according to the on-screen guide, "is designed to stimulate intuitive finctioning and to induce a state of consciousness conducive to psi," while still staying experimentally sound. In fact, Mario has put much thought and hard work into all the psi tasks you can try in Psi Explorer, so that you can get results that reflect statistical analyses you might find in a real lab. The Gate is a visually interesting and symbolically engaging game that you'll want to try again and again.

"The last door is to the Library. This is a room that will lead you to a variety of information sources and topics, ranging from research to real-life psi experiences, from applied psi to spontaneous case investigations (and to the researchers and investigators and organizations involved). This is a great collection of information about psi experiences and applications, spontaneous cases, surveys, and resources.

"As someone who teaches courses in Parapsychology, I am putting Psi Explorer on the required-reading list for my courses. Anyone with a serious interest in psi (and anyone who has wanted to have access to a variety of testing/training programs) should get this CD-ROM. "

Check out the Psi Explorer CD-ROM