Inner Awareness When the paranormal is normal By Jaime T.

Licauco Philippine Daily Inquirer 11:39 pm | Monday, July 8th, 2013 There are several often-used terms in the paranormal and occult fields which I w ish were never invented, because they tend to confuse rather than clarify. One of them is the word paranormal itself. This word does not tell us what it is. On the contrary, it tells us what something is not namely, it is not normal. But what do people regard as normal? Well, they consist of things that are commo nly agreed upon by the majority of people, and that science considers to be norm al and natural. Everything else outside this broad definition is considered to b e paranormal or beyond the normal. But as far as I am concerned, ironically enough, there is no such thing as the ranormal, meaning beyond the normal or natural state of things. What people consider to be paranormal are those events or practices that are app arently outside the scope of science. So everything that science cannot explain is considered paranormal. But science was never intended to explain things beyo nd physical reality. Its concepts, assumptions, tools and paradigms are limited to what can be seen, touched, smelled, heard or tasted, and to things that can be detected or measure d by scientific instruments, like the microscope, the telescope, the electrocard iograph, x-rays and so on. Ludicrous Any attempt to explain nonphysical phenomena in terms of physical standards of m easurement is bound to fail and appear ludicrous. For example, one accepted theo ry why the native people of, say, Hawaii, India and Fiji Island can walk on fire is because the natives have developed thick soles and very strong sweat glands s o that when they step on the fire, the sweat glands on their feet are activated, thereby cooling them. That s why they are not burned or hurt. It never occurred to these distinguished scientists that the natives of Fiji wal k on six-foot- long, three-foot-wide and three-foot-deep paths of molten lava, w hich are a thousand times hotter than ordinary charcoal fire. No amount of sweat glands can cool such a high temperature, and yet this theory is accepted by sci entists. I believe that so-called paranormal phenomena are still normal, but not from the point of view of materialist physical science. If they had included the role of the mind and spirits in the explanation, everything becomes clear and normal. Another word which is a pet peeve of mine is psychic. In the Philippines, this wor d has become associated with fortune-telling, or the ability to tell what s going to happen before it does. But this is not what the word psychic means. Literally o r etymologically, this word means mind or soul. So anybody who has a mind or a soul is a psychic. And that covers practically al l human beings, including congressmen and politicians, believe it or not. pa

Degrees

Although I am convinced that everybody is indeed psychic, there are degrees of i ts manifestation. Some people are more psychic than others and are able to manif est such abilities at will or deliberately. Others may do so only rarely. But this is the same case with almost any other human skill, talent or ability. For example, anybody can sing, but not everybody can sing like Gary Valenciano o r Nora Aunor. Everybody can draw, but not everybody can draw or paint like Ferna ndo Amorsolo or my greatgreat grandfather, Damian Domingo. The same is true with psychic ability. It is natural. Related to the word psychic is extrasensory perception (ESP), sometimes referred to as the sixth sense. This was, in fact, the title of a popular Hollywood movie starring Bruce Willis. It was about a 12-year-old boy who could see ghosts all t he time. Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an extra or sixth sense. We all hav e only five senses. But some rare and extraordinary individuals have such streng th and sensitivity in the sense of sight, sound, touch or smell that it is regar ded as a sixth sense. Actually, what people consider a sixth sense is the use of the five senses in th e astral or nonphysical body of man. For example, we see ghosts not with our phy sical sense of sight, but with our spiritual sight. That s why even if you close o r cover your eyes, you can still see ghosts. I have experienced this several tim es. And people have reported to me a similar experience. So it is not rare or un common. Because of the vagueness of such terms as psychic or extrasensory perception, a famous Dutch psychic researcher from the University of Utrecht, the late profess or Tenhaeff, has proposed the use of the word paragnost (a term which he invented) to refer to persons who have strong or well-developed psychic faculties or abil ities. But this word never caught on. And therefore, we have no choice but to us e words which are commonly accepted despite their vagueness and confusing nature . There are other vague terms which I would rather not use but am forced to becaus e people have become familiar to them for example, supernatural, or the third eye, or occult or even ghost. But that s another story. Note: Attend the next Practical Mind Dynamics seminar on July 13-14, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the next Soulmates, Karma and Reincarnation seminar on July 20, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Rm. 308 Prince Plaza I, Legazpi St., Greenbelt, Makati City. For details, call tel. nos. 8107245, 8159890 or 0908-3537885. E-mail jaimetlica uco@yahoo.com. Visit www.jimmylicauco.com. Read more: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/112817/when-the-paranormal-is-normal#ix zz2jUwvmmO8 Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook