Assessing Hematological and Psychophysiological Correlates of Anomalous Information Reception in Mediums
Julie Beischel
Mediumship research at the Windbridge Institute includes a three-tiered approach to investigations of secular, American mediums. The Information, Operation, and Application research programs examine (i) the accuracy of the information mediums report; (ii) the mediums’ phenomenology, physiology, and psychology, and (iii) the potential social applications of mediumship readings, respectively. Studying mediums’ physiology as part of the Operation research program may help in predicting, preventing, and/or managing medical issues in mediums. An informal survey of the current team of Windbridge Certified Research Mediums (WCRMs) regarding their health issues demonstrated that chronic medical problems may be a serious concern for this population. For example, this sample has seven times the incidence of autoimmune disorders compared to the incidence in the general US population. Their incidence of diabetes is nearly twice the national prevalence. And the incidence of migraines in female WCRMs is nearly two and a half times the prevalence in women in the US. The current study aimed to systematically investigate the biological components of anomalous information reception (AIR; the reporting of accurate and specific information about the deceased in the absence of prior knowledge, feedback, or deceptive means) in this population of mediums by examining general physiological measures and 33 hematological elements during mediumship readings and a control task. Data collected to date do not demonstrate any significant changes in these measures when pre- and post-condition comparisons were made for the counter-balanced sessions. These preliminary results imply that the mediumship process itself may not be responsible for the increased health issues in this population. An alternative model addressing the relationships among childhood trauma, dissociation, and physical illness is proposed.
Julie Beischel, Ph.D., received her doctorate in Pharmacology and Toxicology with a minor in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Arizona in 2003. She is the co-founder and Director of Research at the Windbridge Institute for Applied Research in Human Potential and Adjunct Faculty in the School of Psychology and Interdisciplinary Inquiry at Saybrook University. She serves on the scientific advisory boards of the Rhine Research Center and the Forever Family Foundation. Dr. Beischel’s research interests include examinations of the accuracy and specificity of the information secular, American mediums report as well as their experiences, psychology, and physiology and the potential social applications of mediumship readings. She is the author of “Among Mediums: A Scientist’s Quest for Answers” and “Meaningful Messages: Making the Most of Your Mediumship Reading” and is editor of the “From the Mouths of Mediums” series.
Recorded at the 34th annual SSE Conference in 2015 at the Hilton Washington DC/Rockville hotel.
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Published on November 19, 2018
