Research:
The Use
of Psychic Insights in Science and Business
There are two equally
dangerous extremes--
to shut reason out, and to let nothing else in.
Pascal
Many academics and scientists in higher education
would likely dismiss my using psychic abilities in my sociological research. And yet, I am not alone.
Psychic
insights often come through dreams. Robert Van de Castle, Ph.D.,
former director of the Sleep and Dream Laboratory at the University of Virginia Medical School, discusses in his book, Our Dreaming Mind, the accounts of scientists, inventors, politicians, writers, artists,
and musicians who used their dream insights in their work. For example, the periodic table of elements was created by
Dmitri
Mendeleyev in 1869 after seeing the table in a dream. Three of the elements on the table were not known at the
time. Insulin was found by physician Frederick Banting after being given instructions in a dream for extracting it from non-human
pancreases. After years of unsuccessful effort, Elias Howe
finally invented the lock-stick sewing machine needle when trying to understand a nightmare.
In
the last semester of my undergraduate degree in business, a professor said that regardless of the information garnered from
the wealth of data we had learned to produce, successful business professionals rely on gut instinct. You might think
he was referring to a gut instinct informed by the data and experience. But as the professor continued, he clearly was
suggesting that another piece of "data" not only should be included in decision-making but that one's gut instinct
should at times override the "hard" data. Incorporating psychic insights in business seems more acceptable
when referred to as gut instinct. And perhaps the concern for profit contributes to a willingness to use information
received from non-rational sources.
What are psychic abilities?
This
question will be explored in this study.
Although I am a professional psychic, I am also a social
scientist. To be successful, both require an open mind and intellectual curiosity. I am interested in how scientists
and business professionals experience and view things "psychic." Perhaps you wouldn't use that term to
refer to insights gained from your imagination.
When I was first developing my psychic abilities
further, I asked a psychic, "How do I know that what I am getting is psychic or just my imagination?" She
replied, "A better question to ask is, 'Is it psychic or fantasy." She went on the explain that the psychic
sense is a function of the imagination.
Melvin Calvin explains how he came to understand
photosynthesis by plants (for which he won a Nobel Prize): "I was waiting, sitting at the wheel, probably parked
in the red zone (waiting for his wife) when the recognition of the missing compound occurred. It occurred just like
that--quite suddenly--and suddenly, also in the matter of seconds the cyclic character of the path of carbon became apparent
to me...in a matter of 30 seconds. So there is such a thing as inspiration, I suppose, but one has to be ready for it."
(Journal of Chemical Education, September 1958, p. 428)
I am interested in including a broad spectrum
of experiences in this study. What I call psychic, others might refer to as intuitive, imaginative, or creative.
It's your term and your definition that
I am interested in. Your "psychic abilities" might be ever present or situational flashes of insight or hunches.
Your insights may come from dreams or from imaginal leaps after much study. Like Melvin Calvin, your inspiration may
seem to come out of nowhere without conscious thought or reasoning.
Research
Questions
Are psychic insights currently being used by scientists/researchers and business professionals?
If so, how did you come to use psychic insights? How do you define psychic insights; what terms do you use? How
are you using psychic insights? Are you keeping this private, and if
so, why? What's the benefit? What's the downside?
Research Products
The study will form the basis of a book and possibly articles on the use of psychic insights in science/research and
business. The study might also be used to teach educators how into incorporate psychic development in their curricula.
Study Participants
I am looking for individuals
who meet the following criteria to participate in my study:
Scientists/Researchers from all disciplines in higher education, private labs, or
companies
Business
professionals at any level of an organization whether you own or are
employed by
the company
- You live anywhere in the United States, and
- You have used to some degree your
own psychic insights, e.g., inspiration, flash of insight, dreams, etc.
- or You have received input from a professional psychic
Interview
Process
Upon your request to participate in the study, I will speak with you briefly about the study and send you
a consent form for your signature.
If you prefer, your name and identifying information will be
kept private in all published material and other communications.
I will call or meet with you as
we mutually deem appropriate for the interviews.
With your permission, the interviews will be taped.
1
to 3 interviews, each lasting 30 to 60 minutes.
Contact Information
If
you would like to discuss this study before deciding whether you want to participate, please contact me, Karen Fox, at 303-942-0646
or karen@backyardhippo.com
