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ABSTRACT: There has been a recent increase in qualitative research to help uncover process oriented aspects of performing psi. Informal reports (Isaacs, 1992; Stanford, 1977/1986) and descriptive analyses (Gissurarson,1997) have revealed a number of factors that seem to correlate with PK performance. This study used the phenomenological method to analyze the spontaneous and intentional experiences of eight participants to try to better understand its meaning and nature. There appears to be one core PK experience, which is far more fluid than normal experience. Rather than discrete elements, there are constituents that form a fluid pattern, organic in quality. Fifteen constituents were found for all PK experiences (with 2 more that appear in intentional PK). They are: 1) the presence of an altered state of consciousness; 2) a sense of connection to the target or other people that involves a transcendent level of interconnectedness; 3) a feeling of dissociation from the individual ego identity; 4) suspension of the intellect; 5) the presence of playfulness and/or peak levels of emotion; 6) a sense of energy that may have a transcendent quality; 7) the physical state may contribute to, and reflect, PK energy; 8) awareness is focused; 9) release of effort/attention; 10) an altered sense of time; 11) investment;12) openness to the experience;15) impact on feelings and/or worldview;14) a sense of "knowing"; and 15) overlap with ESP. With intentional PK there are also: 16) guiding the process; and 17) trusting the process. This paper briefly reviews some of the more important aspects of these constituents, and how it might impact on our understanding of PK and future research.
Recent years have seen an increase in interest in qualitative research to help uncover process oriented aspects of performing psi. Gissurarson (1992) has suggested that "future research might consider reporting and exploring more systematically what subjects claim to do and experience while trying to use their PK" (p. 332). Informal reports (Isaacs, 1992; Stanford, 1977/1986) and descriptive analyses (Gissurarson, 1997) have previously revealed a number of factors that seem to correlate with PK performance, but what those factors mean, and how they might relate to each other, remain unclear.
Phenomenology would seem to be a particularly effective tool for revealing the qualitative aspects of PK. It was originally developed...