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Of course, just
as Tart's experiment could be interpreted in terms of ESP, so too the
early results of this study could be interpreted in terms of mundane psi:
perhaps Harary simply entered a mental state in which he exerted a calming
influence upon his cat, i.e., through a form of bio-psychokinesis. A more
stringent test would be for the person having the OBE to both report
distant events, and to be "detected" at the distant location.
The late Karlis Osis, of the American
Society for Psychical Research, sought to determine whether a physical
instrument could detect a psychic's "astral body" at the time he
was attempting to view a hidden target through his astral vision. Osis
installed a strain gauge (which detects extremely subtle physical
movements) in front of an optical device in which a graphic
"target" was concealed. The setup was such that the image could
only be perceived face-on - from the place where the strain-gauge was
located; otherwise, from a different angle, a viewer would only see
overlapping lines. The psychic Alex Tannous, who was not told about the
strain gauge, was asked to attempt to project in front of the optical
apparatus, and describe what he saw. Osis found that the strain gauge
registered significantly more movement in those trials in which Tannous
gave correct descriptions of the target. The implication may be that some
facet of Tannous' mind was indeed "projecting" in front of the
optical apparatus. |
