STRANGEST MYSTERIES

REMOTE VIEWING IS one of the most verifiable of all human paranormal abilities. It allows ‘viewers’ the power to see and experience situations and places separated from them by distance and time. Using naturally inherent psychic talents, known as psi, the viewer then records details of what he or she has seen. Many enthusiasts say it is an acquirable craft rather than some divine gift and that, whereas many so-called psychic powers now have unfortunate connotations of con-men and tricksters, remote viewing, or RV, began as a scientific experiment and is used by police, military and large corporate organisations.

Many companies now offer remote viewing tutorials and promise that anyone can understand and control this ability with practise and a good teacher. Unlike other psi powers such as clairvoyance, remote viewing is conducted under strict controls. Viewers are not allowed to know anything of their target other than the detail that instigates the search. It might be a photograph or a coordinate on which the viewer then trains their thoughts following a scripted format. The viewer operates in a quiet room, often going into a trance-like state, and sometimes has a companion who helps direct them. Unlike an out-of-body phenomenon, the viewer always knows where they really are. They still feel and experience all aspects of their target.

The creator of remote viewing was an American artist and paranormal student called Ingo Swann. Swann had taken aspects of previous psychic experiments and formed a new technique, which was tested by scientists at the American Society for Psychological Research. In these tests, he was able to accurately describe in detail the weather in different US cities. In 1972 Swann was introduced to Dr Hal Puthoff, a physicist at the Stanford Research Institute in California. The two conducted further experiments and were subsequently approached by the CIA. The department approached Puthoff with some tasks it wanted his team to look at, and were impressed with the results.

At the time, American intelligence experts were becoming increasingly worried about reports coming from Russia that Soviet authorities were spending vast sums on paranormal activities. The CIA had become aware that Communist scientists were developing psychic warfare capabilities including ‘psychic spies’. Initially, Puthoff’s programme was used to test the feasibility of this. But as remote viewing produced more accurate and detailed results, the use of viewers in intelligence gathering roles was explored, and various military and intelligence agencies developed their own branches of the remote viewing programme.

The potential of Swann’s work grew immensely, and rather than just using people who already had a demonstrable psychic ability, he recruited normal, non-psychic civilians. In 1991 the entire US programme was renamed the ‘Star Gate’ project. With the end of the Cold War, viewers were used to collect intelligence against a broad range of targets, including drug dealers, tyrants and terrorists. Swann had also developed an effective new technique called Co-ordinate or Controlled Remote Viewing, which actually directed viewers to their targets. In 1995 the US Congress decided that the remote viewing programme be given back to the CIA, who then commissioned an unfavourable report. The team was disbanded and many of the military viewers have gone on to offer their services privately with a few even receiving contracts from the US intelligence agencies to work in a freelance capacity.

Other nations have not been so quick to end their official psychic warfare divisions. The intelligence agencies of Russia, France and especially China continue to fund and study in-depth experiments. Many intelligence experts believe China has a select group of military ‘Superpsychics’. Their programme is said to be highly advanced, even to the point of recruiting and training particularly talented psychic children.

More peaceful uses of remote viewing have been adopted by large corporations, and controlled, scientific research in civilian universities has come to some staggering conclusions – particularly talented viewers are said to achieve results with odds of over 100 billion to one. As the subject has become more widely available in the public domain, former members of the US military involved in the project have spoken out; even former president Jimmy Carter has recounted tales of remote viewing. He reports having once met a female viewer who was looking for a lost aircraft: ‘She went into a trance. And while she was in the trance, she gave us some latitude and longitude figures. We focused our satellite cameras on that point, and the lost plane was there.’ With testimonies like this there can be little doubt that remote viewing is a genuine phenomenon.

MOST RELIGIONS AGREE that when we die, we are going to face some kind of reckoning or judgement. However, so much of our lives are spent dealing with trivial day-to-day distractions that we often forget this. For some people, a truly amazing phenomenon reasserts their priorities. It is a phenomenon that takes them beyond the shroud of life, to the very edges of the next dimension where they leave their mortal bodies and are shown the error of their ways. It is a phenomenon characterised by a dark tunnel, a shining light at the end, and extreme feelings of serendipity or fear. These are Near Death Experiences.

Near death experiences are reported by people who have been, at some stage, physically and medically dead – that is to say, they show no vital signs of life. It is normally experienced by heart attack sufferers, overdosed drug users, and people who have attempted suicide. Some estimates suggest that over ten million people in the United States have had personal experiences of near death experiences, so it is hardly a select phenomenon.

Although no two near death experiences are the same, they do share some common qualities. Many people report that they feel as if they have risen out of their body. Often they look down upon the medical teams trying to bring them back to life. Indeed, many people who have had near death experiences can even state exactly what happened, who said what, and which instruments were used to resuscitate them. Other experiences involve the person hovering above members of their family at the time of death.

Sometimes seeing their close relations is enough to force them to return to their mortal frames. But if they continue their near death experience, it is often reported that a feeling of sublime peace and joy sweeps over them. They find themselves in a dark tunnel with a beautiful white or golden light at the end of it. Sometimes they hear the voices of deceased loved ones, or even God, telling them to return to Earth. Some near death experiences involve an overview of the person’s life, showing where things have gone wrong or need completing, and sometimes the person feels as though they have gained knowledge about the meaning of life. Whether by voluntary or involuntary means, they return to their bodies.

Not all near death experiences are so enjoyable, for there are some people who suffer horrific fear during their near death experience and see monsters or devils. What is largely universal is the effect of the experience on the person; they often instigate massive, life-changing decisions as a result. People review what is important in their life, and find new happiness from simple things. Many do voluntary work, or become teachers or lecturers. Those who do not chose to show their commitment to serving people publicly frequently reveal a new approach to life, and often become more pleasant, sympathetic and understanding.

In 2001, The Lancet medical journal published a report of a 13-year study into near death experiences that occurred in Dutch hospitals. The investigation was conducted by cardiologist Pim van Lommel, and was unique in that it questioned 344 patients immediately after they had been resuscitated. It was established that the patients’ brains had no flow of blood, and so would have ceased to operate, yet 18% of those questioned had some memory of events during the time they were technically dead.

The researchers also found that 12% had a deep experience – that is, an out-of-body, bright light, or meeting of dead relatives type of phenomenon. The most impressive part was that the details of their experiences stayed precisely exact, even when they were re-interviewed two and eight years later. It was also seen that those who had near death experiences reprioritised, and became noticeably more appreciative of life, when compared to non- near death experience flatliners. Near death experience sufferers also had a radically declined fear of death.

Some in the medical profession considerthe accounts to be products of fantasy, false memory or confused consciousness. This view does a disservice to the huge numbers of people who genuinely feel they have had these moments; their reported near death experiences are just a sample – it has to be pointed out that many who had near death experiences in the past failed to come forward for fear of ridicule.

Do these experiences mean there really is an after-life? There is no scientific proof, although many near death experience sufferers will slip into death without fear when the time comes again. For them, it is not a step into the unknown.