Mysterious
Experiences
A Study In Paranormal Phenomenology
(This is an expert from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
Written by Balthazar Seferiades
Introduction
“There is no such thing as a paranormal event. There are only events that do not fit into your current system of organizing reality.”—Lawrence LeShan, Alternate Realities (1976)
In the pages that follow, I propose to develop a paranormal branch of the metaphysical science known as phenomenology. What does this uncomfortably large word mean? Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia (1987) (which I highly recommend for its concise entries concerning philosophical schools of thought, an understanding of which will provide you with the intellectual background essential for success in this course), provides us with the following definition of “phenomenology: In philosophy and metaphysics, the description and classification of phenomena, or acts of perception, as the only objects of knowledge possessing ultimate reality.” Therefore, in this course we will be describing and classifying experiences. We will leave conjecture about the objective reality of phenomena to the natural scientists, who care about such things. For phenomenologists, ideas have more substance than objects. Like George Berkeley, the eminent empiricist of the 18th century, we maintain, at least within the confines of this course, that material things are first and foremost ideas contained within our minds; and that the collective mind, or Divine Mind if you will, contains the world. Scientific theories can only be of use to us if they can help us organize experience into a coherent and predictable pattern.
In the pages that follow, we will examine and discuss some of the odd events that people have witnessed and attributed to divine or supernatural causes. We will review the evidence that points to the existence of things and worlds beyond the material realm. We will examine the experiences of those who exhibit or claim to possess powers beyond those of ordinary mortals. We will trace the history of ruins and ponder the fate of lost civilizations. To conclude this introduction to our subject I would like to quote from Jacques Vallee’s book The Invisible College (1975): “Descriptive phenomenology attempts to communicate the quality and structure of experiences, be they clear and symbolically defined... or diffuse and even not symbolized. Its subject matter is any concrete phenomenon in experience.” Advanced scholars ought to study the writings of 20th century philosopher Edmund Husserl, whose thought represents the most advanced stage of phenomenology yet developed.
The term phenomenon includes paranormal activity, unexplained mystery, paranormal transport or unexplained activity. Phenomenology includes the conscious exploration of paranormal phenomenon, psychic activity, natural phenomenon, and ancient mystery. Anything mysterious leads many people to explore new age phenomenon unexplained. Many scientists consider new age parapsychology to be on the far edges of science because parapsychology supports the idea that our perceptions are limiting and that there is much more to time and life than the current picture in most scientists minds.