Journal of anomalistics
June 1, 2018
Birgit Menzel
1 citation
A discussion of Anglo-American and German publications since 2000 on Altered States of Consciousness (ASC) examines an expansion of brain research that has promoted reductionist models of the mind and visions of technologically augmented humanity, alongside a new movement toward integrative approaches reconciling science, humanities, and spirituality. The first part describes specialized studies and four comprehensive textbooks offering basic explanatory models for consciousness. The second part contrasts two opposed approaches: Transhumanism, which advances neuroscience in service of neuro-enterprise, and Fritjof Capra’s and Pier Luigi Luisi’s Systems View of Life, paradigmatic for an integral approach to ASC.
Journal of anomalistics
December 1, 2025
Evelyn Elsaesser, Chris A Roe, Callum E Cooper et al.
Spontaneous after-death communications (ADCs) occur when a person unexpectedly perceives a deceased individual through sight, hearing, touch, smell, or a sensed presence, often while awake, asleep, or in transitional states of consciousness. A long-term international mixed-methods survey in six languages collected 1,311 completed questionnaires. This complementary analysis of 235 German-language responses focused on the perceived state of mind of the deceased and its impact on grieving. Most participants who sensed the deceased's state of mind reported positive moods, with the contact centered on offering comfort and support. A minority perceived negative states, where contact focused on the deceased's difficulties and did not provide comfort, potentially complicating the grieving process. Positive effects on grief are attributed to the experience feeling real, the belief in a continuing connection, and the perceived messages.
Journal of anomalistics
July 24, 2025
James Houran, Debra Katz, J C Williamson et al.
A case study of a woman called Nell, who reported four experiences of being physically transported to other realms, was analyzed using AI-assisted content analysis and expert evaluation. The experiences were compared against explanations including kundalini awakenings, physical mediumship, bilocation, and electromagnetic field (EMF) effects. The findings aligned most strongly with EMF-related activity and, to some extent, bilocation phenomena. Post-hoc accounts from family members in the same area suggested possible environmental influences or behavioral contagion. The authors introduce a continuum model of bilocation integrating psychology, neuroscience, and parapsychology. No evidence was found that Nell physically moved, pointing instead to an interplay of boundary-thinness, altered states, and environmental factors in her anomalous cognitions.
Journal of anomalistics
June 30, 2023
Cedar S. Leverett
No Summary
Journal of anomalistics
December 1, 2022
Eberhard Bauer
Hans Bender, the dominant figure in German parapsychology after World War II, founded the Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health (IGPP) in Freiburg in 1950 and directed it until his death in 1991. Lotte Böhringer, a commercial employee who began collaborating with Bender in 1946, was instrumental in establishing the Institute, securing its land and building, and managing its daily operations. She lived in the Institute building for life, and Bender called her the "Anima of the Institute." Böhringer left no formal parapsychological publications but appears in early Institute photographs.
Journal of anomalistics
December 1, 2022
Caroline Watt
A female parapsychologist recounts her academic career, from being the first in her farming family to attend university to becoming the second holder of the Koestler Chair of Parapsychology. She acknowledges privileges of being white and middle-class, and having an open-minded boss, while facing gender-related obstacles such as maternity leave and disproportionate domestic responsibilities, managed partly through part-time work. Her progression to senior positions was slow relative to male colleagues, a typical experience for many female UK academics, but data show other groups, especially black people, are even more poorly represented. The paper concludes that parapsychological research will benefit from a more inclusive academy.