Future News Photographs as PSI Targets: A Precognition Methodology
Dale E. Graff*1 & Patricia S. Cyrus2
1. Psi-Seminars-Initiatives, Hamburg, PA USA
2. Siemens Corporation, Orlando, FL, USA
In this presentation we provide a feasible procedure to demonstrate precognition when there is no existing pictorial target pool from which to later select the psi targets. Between February and April, 2016 we performed 33 exploratory psi 26 59th Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association & 35th Society for Scientific Exploration Annual Conference Abstracts Continued sessions using Conscious State Psi (CSP) / Remote Viewing (RV) and Dream State Psi (DSP) protocols. Our objective was to determine if Associated Press news photographs that did not exist at the time of the psi sessions are feasible psi targets. The target photograph was taken at least one day after the psi session and published three days later on the bottom of page A6 in the Around the World section of an area newspaper. A secondary objective was to determine if the session’s data provided insight into the precognitive process and if differences between the CSP/RV and DSP data could be noted. Phase I was an investigation by the principle author to evaluate project feasibility. Phase II was an investigation with a colleague 1,000 miles from the principle author and the newspaper location. Following each psi session and prior to the photograph’s existence, the data were recorded in project records and email transmissions for date and time validations. The session data evaluations were done by individuals familiar with art and graphics design. Twenty one of the 33 sessions (64%) had sketches and narratives with “Medium” and “High” degrees of correlation with the future news photographs. The sketches had unique details and complex shapes that matched the configurational patterns in the photographs. Dominant colors were perceived. Twelve of the sessions (36%) had either a “Low” or no apparent correlation to the intended news photographs and were counted as misses. There was always one other news photograph on the top of this specific page in the Across the Nation section. Although data from five of the psi sessions correlated with news photographs in that section, they were counted as misses. This displacement and the other misses are discussed. The results of this exploratory study indicate that future news photographs are a feasible and convenient source for precognition targets. We noted differences between the data from CSP/RV and DSP sessions. DSP data had more detailed and integrated presentations of the photographs content, especially for faces. Data from the DSP sessions provided insight into the image creation process. A progression from basic shapes or forms into complex configurations seems to occur sequentially, suggesting that an adaptive pattern recognition process is involved that searches for the best memory match with the photographs imagery. This presentation concludes by considering the implications of precognition. Retrocausation of the future influencing the present or past is an alternative concept for our results. Issues related to data interpretation, biases in the photographs content and possible applications for precognition such as binary choice tasks are reviewed. Follow-on precognition investigations include extending the future news time period to 5 or 7 days and the use of quantitative evaluation procedures. We wonder if all psi projects are precognitive