Understanding Mental Telepathy

By Rachel Jordan

Most people do not really understand the term 'mental telepathy'. The definition of mental telepathy implies that two people are able to share their thoughts with each other without the intervention of the five senses. Nevertheless mental telepathy can involve a range of varied communication ranging from trying to watch somebody to trying to read someone's mind. The science of telepathy has many facets to it which can range from utterly simple to highly evolved. The aim of this article is to delve into the various forms of mental telepathy

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Kinesics, or non-verbal communication, occurs whenever two people communicate without speaking, using their eyes, body language, and facial expressions instead. This can range from simple messages like 'go away' to entire conversations. Any parent who has tried to communicate something to their spouse that they don't want their children to hear has experienced this. Non-verbal communication is achieved easiest and most accurately between people who know each other well"siblings, parents and children, husbands and wives, and close friends.

Most people do not regard this form of communication as mental telepathy since here communication is through senses and not just with sounds. Theoretically, this argument holds good. However, we cannot disregard the role of mental telepathy here. The very observation that this kind of non verbal communication is most effective in people who are intimate with each other or know each other well tells us that the minds of these people are more in synch with each other. However, skeptics may argue that this communication is merely effective because people who know each other well understand each other's body language well or have previously developed a mode of non verbal communication.

EMPATHY:

When you can understand and perceive the emotional state of the other person, then this ability is known as empathy. Many people can do this well and many cant because the ability to put your self in somebody else's shoes is not inherent. However one can develop empathy with preparation and observation. This fact can be seen in actors who can not only emulate the emotional states of others but also enhance their empathy so much that they can laugh and cry exactly like the other person.

'Sympathetic pain'"feeling another person's pain as if it were your own is something expectant fathers mention, some claiming they can feel the mother's labor pains at the same time she is experiencing them. If someone close to you is experiencing an overwhelming emotion, you may feel an echo of the same emotion inside you, and mothers often describe this uneasy feeling when their child has been injured. The phenomena of long distance empathy, where a person suddenly feels that someone close to them is in danger, even though they are not near the person at the time is common in other relationships, as well.

Psychologists write off such empathetic phenomena as a simple trick of an overactive imagination. At the very least, they do have a point that other senses are being used. Would we be able to feel the sympathetic pain of a broken arm, for example, if we could not actually see the injury? This does not explain, however, the phenomena of long-distance empathy.

SYMBOL AND OBJECT PROJECTION:

This is the thought transference of concrete symbols and objects between two minds. Mental telepathy at this level must by necessity move beyond the regular five senses, and often requires a designated sender and receiver, intense concentration, training, and practice.

The simpler the concept, the easier it is to communicate through thought alone. For example, a color or shape may be easier to convey than an animal.

Experiments in telepathy are often conducted on this level. The Zener cards used in tests of mental telepathy are simple, concrete black-and-white symbols (a circle, square, star, plus sign, and three wavy lines). On one hand, skeptics and critics of the Zener cards have pointed out that with only five cards to choose from, even a random guess has a 20% chance of being right. On the other hand, one could argue that a shared, known, limited set of concrete symbols increases the ability of the sender and receiver to coordinate their thoughts. Furthermore, although anyone can get a 20% success rate with enough guesses, a success rate of 50% or higher (which have happened) can not be explained away by simple statistics.

ABSTRACT CONCEPTS

Mental telepathy at this level involves abstract concepts like ideas or actions, which are more complex to communicate than colors and shapes. Telepaths rarely achieve this level, and lower success rates are indicated in experiments.

Interestingly there are certain animals which can communicate effectively and we have still not discovered their modus operandi. Telepathy may be one of the methods. In this kind of communication between animals very basic abstract concepts will be involved. Since animals do not have prefrontal lobes which enhance complex communication, this communication will be restricted to basic impulses like thirst hunger and even danger.

While humans may have once been capable of telepathy, as the species evolved and developed language, it was no longer needed as a form of communication. With the right stimulation humans may be able to call upon this dormant ability that includes abstract communication of ideas. Mental telepathy could be used to communicate, without the need for the use of the five senses.

Other scientists believe however that telepathy and other esp and psychic powers are in fact the 'future' for mankind. And if enough people can develop these powers, theoretically all humans in the future could become telepathic.

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