THE
WOO-WOO FACTOR IN SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY Those who seek to probe the realm of existence beyond the physical universe are aware of the so-called “woo-woo” factor, that no-man’s land that separates the trenches of the established scientific-academic community and what they were calling the lunatic fringe of air-headed mystics who had no idea of the principles of empirical inquiry. From my perspective, however, it was the scientific community that was suffering from a myopia that refused to entertain the possibility of the existence of anything that could not be verified according to the standards and methods which they themselves had created. In the vast history of human civilization across the broad expanse of this planet and down through the millennia of time, there have been innumerable incidents of unexplained phenomena that could not be subjected to laboratory analysis. Most of these incidents involve the appearance in one form or another of persons known to have died. The Bible reports several sightings of ghosts, as has literature from ancient Egypt to modern times. Lacking palpability, there has always been a question of their reality. It is no wonder that Macbeth asks if his “dagger of the mind” is “a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain.” How does one “test” reality without the use of one’s senses that we depend on to get us through our daily existence? Many years ago I met a retired postal worker named George. He had the habit of having out-of-body experiences and could relate in detail to his wife all that occurred to her during the time that he was asleep. During one of these episodes, his wife heard a voice coming from George’s body that sounded like George, but wasn’t. The voice had a strong German accent and used many German words. George said that he was unfamiliar with the German language. I observed one of these events. After George laid flat on the floor, I noticed a slight stiffening of his body and then the thumb of his right hand began to make a circular motion against his leg. I had been told that this was a sign that Katie, a young girl who had died in a skiing accident in the 1920's, was now present in George’s body. Katie spoke in terms that communicated a profound kindness and love. She said nothing that contradicted my beliefs, except for the very fact I was listening to a man lying on the floor saying that he was someone else. It was most bizarre, but not at all frightening. I did not know what to make of this, nor did it enter my mind that some people might disapprove of what was happening. I was going to listen to Katie and then evaluate what she said based on its own merits. For all I knew, I could have been listening to an aspect of George’s persona, or for that matter, a very elaborate charade. I intended to approach this as a researcher with an open, but slightly skeptical mind. Those within the group never used the word “seance” since it conjured up images of people sitting around in a circle trying to talk with the dead. And yet this is what we were doing. Katie said that her colleagues in the spiritual realm often took offence that we would consider them “dead.” “We are very much alive,” she would say, “just not in a physical body.” What was most unbelievable about this event is that we were believing it. We were talking with Katie as though she were some traveler just returned from a far country and was relating the wonders and mysteries of an exotic land. I kept saying to myself, “I’ll sort this out later. Let me just get the information now and we will have time to analyze it afterwards.” I am still sorting it out, but at least I now have a working hypothesis. The journey into mystery and enlightenment continues. Dr. Harry L. Serio |
|
