Dr. Charles T. Tart has been involved with research and theory in the fields of hypnosis, psychology, and parapsychology since 1963. He presented scientific evidence that humans have a spiritual nature, as well as discussed a variety of paranormal and psychic experiences. Spirituality is the quest for people to find out who they are, and "parapsychology is very important for showing the basic validity for spirituality," he said. There are five parapsychological things "for which I think there is so much evidence, that it's stupid to doubt them," he said, listing: telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, psychokinesis, and psychic healing.
Tart also cited Near Death Experiences (NDEs), as showing evidence for our spiritual nature, especially when unconscious experiencers describe parts of the real world that can be verified (such as in the Pam Reynolds case). He also reviewed the work of R.M. Bucke, who first wrote about "Cosmic Consciousness" over a hundred years ago (free PDF file of Bucke's book, 36 mb). Interestingly, Tart noted that professional athletes have had some of the most mystical experiences, but are typically reluctant to discuss them.
He revealed that meditation doesn't always work for certain people, and they may glean no positive effects from practicing it. Tart has developed techniques to teach specific kinds of meditation so that people actually get somewhere with it, and in early 2012 will be offering an online workshop on meditation and "mindfulness."
Astrological Analysis
First hour guest, astrologer Linda Schurman talked about the astrology of the stock market plunge, and upcoming events based on the planets. Mercury going retrograde, and opposed to Neptune, leads to wild fluctuations, she said. Previous astrological patterns, that we are going through now, such as Pluto squared to Uranus, took place during the Great Depression, and the Revolutionary War, and she believes there could be a revolt in the US again during the current time frame. We are also in a very severe earth changes cycle, with more earthquakes and volcanoes to come, she added.
New segment guests: Charles Shults, Jeff Nelken