Skeptiko – Science at the Tipping Point

Researcher Mary Rodwell discusses FREE’s first comprehensive survey of alien contact experience. photo by: Chris Radcliff When I was a kid I was a terrible reader. Maybe I had a little dyslexia, I don’t know, but I sure hated reading. Nonetheless, many of the books I read stuck with me. One of them was a short story by Edgar Allan Poe “The Purloined Letter.” It’s a story about a blackmailer trying to hide a letter from Edgar Allan Poe’s famous Detective Dupin. His trick is to hide the letter in plain sight along with the other letters on his desk. I was thinking about this story while preparing for today’s interview with alien contact researcher Mary Rodwell because alien contact is a phenomena that despite the hundreds of movies, television shows and books, the topic remains hidden — particularly from science. How does one reveal that which is hidden in plain sight? Maybe the same way that Edgar Allan Poe’s Detective Dupin hid it in the “Purloined Letter.” Look in the obvious places. That’s what today’s guest Mary Rodwell and the group at FREE (The Foundation for Research into Extraterrestrial Encounters) has done. They marshaled a group of well-qualified academics (including a Harvard physicists and highly regarded psychology professor) to compile the first comprehensive, academic-quality research survey into alien contact. The results, although challenging, may be a first step towards revealing that which has been hidden in plain sight. I hope you enjoy my interview with Mary Rodwell. ——————– Alex Tsakiris: People understand the passion that you feel about this and really the common sense approach that you’ve taken to saying, this is happening. It’s been addressed by these highly respected people. We have every reason to believe that it’s true but then they look around and say, but Mary, if this is true the implications of this would be so enormous that this would be the most researched topic in the world, bar none. It’s the most important topic for our species so of course it would be the researched. Then they look at the research and there’s virtually none. How do you address that? Mary Rodwell: Look, it’s understandable. I think I would be saying the same thing. This is the most important issue for mankind: are we alone? And if we’re not why don’t we know about it? And then you have to, unfortunately for many who struggle with that, you have to look at the truth embargo. And you have to understand the basis of that truth embargo. Click here for forum discussion Click here for Mary’s website Read Excerpts From Interview: Alex Tsakiris: I had an interesting interview with a gentleman from Ohio State University, Dr. Alexander Wendt. And we talked about a number of different topics. We didn’t even talk about his rather controversial and I think very insightful paper that he wrote on the UFO issue from a political science perspecti...

Researcher Mary Rodwell discusses FREE’s first comprehensive survey of alien contact experience. photo by: Chris Radcliff When I was a kid I was a terrible reader. Maybe I had a little dyslexia, I don’t know, but I sure hated reading. Nonetheless, many of the books I read stuck with me. One of them was a short story by Edgar Allan Poe “The Purloined Letter.” It’s a story about a blackmailer trying to hide a letter from Edgar Allan Poe’s famous Detective Dupin. His trick is to hide the letter in plain sight along with the other letters on his desk. I was thinking about this story while preparing for today’s interview with alien contact researcher Mary Rodwell because alien contact is a phenomena that despite the hundreds of movies, television shows and books, the topic remains hidden — particularly from science. How does one reveal that which is hidden in plain sight? Maybe the same way that Edgar Allan Poe’s Detective Dupin hid it in the “Purloined Letter.” Look in the obvious places. That’s what today’s guest Mary Rodwell and the group at FREE (The Foundation for Research into Extraterrestrial Encounters) has done. They marshaled a group of well-qualified academics (including a Harvard physicists and highly regarded psychology professor) to compile the first comprehensive, academic-quality research survey into alien contact. The results, although challenging, may be a first step towards revealing that which has been hidden in plain sight. I hope you enjoy my interview with Mary Rodwell. ——————– Alex Tsakiris: People understand the passion that you feel about this and really the common sense approach that you’ve taken to saying, this is happening. It’s been addressed by these highly respected people. We have every reason to believe that it’s true but then they look around and say, but Mary, if this is true the implications of this would be so enormous that this would be the most researched topic in the world, bar none. It’s the most important topic for our species so of course it would be the researched. Then they look at the research and there’s virtually none. How do you address that? Mary Rodwell: Look, it’s understandable. I think I would be saying the same thing. This is the most important issue for mankind: are we alone? And if we’re not why don’t we know about it? And then you have to, unfortunately for many who struggle with that, you have to look at the truth embargo. And you have to understand the basis of that truth embargo. Click here for forum discussion Click here for Mary’s website Read Excerpts From Interview: Alex Tsakiris: I had an interesting interview with a gentleman from Ohio State University, Dr. Alexander Wendt. And we talked about a number of different topics. We didn’t even talk about his rather controversial and I think very insightful paper that he wrote on the UFO issue from a political science perspecti...

The International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS) claims their association with Eckankar is not different from other religious groups. photo by: Michael Swan I live in San Diego, California. As much as I love it here, the move to Southern California was a bit of a culture shock. Like the first time I ran into a group of Hare Krishna followers on the beach. It was a beautiful day and plenty of families, kids, dogs, and I guess you’d say “normal people” were out enjoying the positive ions rolling in off the surf.  Among the crowd, a small group of shaved-headed Hare Krishna people were bouncing around in robes singing, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna! Of course, this being San Diego, everyone went about their business, but to me, it all seemed very weird. Fast forward a bunch of years. As I’ve continued to practice yoga and develop my spiritual practice I’ve become interested in Kirtan. A devotional singing practice very similar to what I saw those Hare Krishnas doing on the beach all those years ago. And I’m sure, if anyone were to see me on my yoga mat, dripping in sweat, singing, Ram, Ram, Hare Ram, they’d probably think I’m pretty weird. I might have learned a lesson that day about judging someone’s spiritual practice. On the other hand, and this gets to the point of today’s show, when it comes to spiritual and religious practices, there’s a fine line between judgement and discernment. I have a lot of respect for the International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS). They do important work researching and communicating to the public about near-death experience science. But when couple of Skeptiko listeners alerted me that IANDS was getting cozy with a New Age cult called “Eckankar,” I took interest. Firstly, because I think near-death science is important and I don’t want to see any group try to co-opt it for their own purposes. And secondly, because this particular group had popped up on my radar screen before. You might remember episode #240 and my interview with Dr. David C. Lane. Dr. Lane came on to talk about consciousness but as part of his bio and introduction he mentioned his experience with cults and his extensively researched dissertation on the Eckankar cult. What he told me was on the one hand stunning, and on the other hand, if you’re familiar with New Age cults, not different from stories you’ve heard in the past.  Here’s an excerpt that interview: ————————————- Alex Tsakiris: …I directed you away from this other interesting topic that I want you to talk about a little bit – your book, Exposing Cults: When the Skeptical Mind Confronts the Mystical. And it is quite a story, right? Dr. David Lane: Yeah, because what happens is that at the age of 20 I do a term paper on Eckankar and it is supposed to be 10 pages but it balloons up to about 120 to 150 pages because I find out that Paul Twitchell had plagiarized his sacred writings. Alex Tsakiris: Okay,

The International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS) claims their association with Eckankar is not different from other religious groups. photo by: Michael Swan I live in San Diego, California. As much as I love it here, the move to Southern California was a bit of a culture shock. Like the first time I ran into a group of Hare Krishna followers on the beach. It was a beautiful day and plenty of families, kids, dogs, and I guess you’d say “normal people” were out enjoying the positive ions rolling in off the surf.  Among the crowd, a small group of shaved-headed Hare Krishna people were bouncing around in robes singing, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna! Of course, this being San Diego, everyone went about their business, but to me, it all seemed very weird. Fast forward a bunch of years. As I’ve continued to practice yoga and develop my spiritual practice I’ve become interested in Kirtan. A devotional singing practice very similar to what I saw those Hare Krishnas doing on the beach all those years ago. And I’m sure, if anyone were to see me on my yoga mat, dripping in sweat, singing, Ram, Ram, Hare Ram, they’d probably think I’m pretty weird. I might have learned a lesson that day about judging someone’s spiritual practice. On the other hand, and this gets to the point of today’s show, when it comes to spiritual and religious practices, there’s a fine line between judgement and discernment. I have a lot of respect for the International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS). They do important work researching and communicating to the public about near-death experience science. But when couple of Skeptiko listeners alerted me that IANDS was getting cozy with a New Age cult called “Eckankar,” I took interest. Firstly, because I think near-death science is important and I don’t want to see any group try to co-opt it for their own purposes. And secondly, because this particular group had popped up on my radar screen before. You might remember episode #240 and my interview with Dr. David C. Lane. Dr. Lane came on to talk about consciousness but as part of his bio and introduction he mentioned his experience with cults and his extensively researched dissertation on the Eckankar cult. What he told me was on the one hand stunning, and on the other hand, if you’re familiar with New Age cults, not different from stories you’ve heard in the past.  Here’s an excerpt that interview: ————————————- Alex Tsakiris: …I directed you away from this other interesting topic that I want you to talk about a little bit – your book, Exposing Cults: When the Skeptical Mind Confronts the Mystical. And it is quite a story, right? Dr. David Lane: Yeah, because what happens is that at the age of 20 I do a term paper on Eckankar and it is supposed to be 10 pages but it balloons up to about 120 to 150 pages because I find out that Paul Twitchell had plagiarized his sacred writings. Alex Tsakiris: Okay,

Dr. Eric Wargo has turned Carl Jung’s synchronicity idea upside down by suggesting a link to successfully replicated precognition experiments. photo by: Robbert van der Steeg One of the mantras I’ve learned on Skeptiko is, “follow the data wherever it leads.” As truth seeking mantras go this one is pretty good. I’ve had to endure some helpings of humble pie after doing an about-face on my cherished beliefs, but that’s part of the process . Sometimes, however, following the data isn’t enough. On today’s episode of Skeptiko Dr. Eric Wargo, creator of TheNightShirt.com and author Trauma Displaced in Time, gives us a new way to look at data that’s been staring us in the face all along. Has Dr. Wargo cracked the code of Synchronicity,  déjà vu  and remote viewing. Let’s find out: Eric Wargo: …I’m really starting to think in terms of our relationship to time as kind of this circuit. We’re completing these circuits [and] moving through life sort of oriented toward future rewards. This I think explains a lot. I had a series of blog posts about a year ago where I took on Carl Jung’s concept of synchronicity using this model. And I think it explains so-called meaningful coincidences much better than synchronicity can because really all it says is we are orienting constantly, unconsciously, toward information from our future. And we’re orienting toward rewards specifically in our future. But when we are completely unconscious of that fact–when we find this thing that we are unconsciously orienting towards, we feel this surprise and shock. It feels like some intelligence in the universe is guiding us or that God has sort of given us a sign. But I think it’s just really ourselves. We’re oriented toward [future reward] unconsciously, precognitively; and because our society doesn’t allow us to even think about the possibility of precognition, we throw up our hands and say well it’s some bigger organizing force in the universe. It’s archetypes. It’s collective unconscious or whatever. I think this PSI model of precognition, specifically precognition for our own future rewards, I think this explains synchronicity perfectly. Alex Tsakiris: And just let me interject because one point to take from that is part of what you’re saying is an unavoidable natural fallout from these presentiment and precognition experiments we have. It’s unavoidable, right? That’s what the data clearly says. So if you’re a student at Northwestern University and you’re told you’re going to win five dollars if you guess the right picture before it’s even selected by the computer, and that motivates you, and we can demonstrate that you’re therefore able to orient yourself towards the future that’s coming. Then it’s only a question of to what extent you’re right–not whether you’re right or not because you’re clearly right. The experiment shows that. It’s just to what extent that does play a role in guiding our lives. Eric Wargo: That’s a great example. Exactly.

Dr. Eric Wargo has turned Carl Jung’s synchronicity idea upside down by suggesting a link to successfully replicated precognition experiments. photo by: Robbert van der Steeg One of the mantras I’ve learned on Skeptiko is, “follow the data wherever it leads.” As truth seeking mantras go this one is pretty good. I’ve had to endure some helpings of humble pie after doing an about-face on my cherished beliefs, but that’s part of the process . Sometimes, however, following the data isn’t enough. On today’s episode of Skeptiko Dr. Eric Wargo, creator of TheNightShirt.com and author Trauma Displaced in Time, gives us a new way to look at data that’s been staring us in the face all along. Has Dr. Wargo cracked the code of Synchronicity,  déjà vu  and remote viewing. Let’s find out: Eric Wargo: …I’m really starting to think in terms of our relationship to time as kind of this circuit. We’re completing these circuits [and] moving through life sort of oriented toward future rewards. This I think explains a lot. I had a series of blog posts about a year ago where I took on Carl Jung’s concept of synchronicity using this model. And I think it explains so-called meaningful coincidences much better than synchronicity can because really all it says is we are orienting constantly, unconsciously, toward information from our future. And we’re orienting toward rewards specifically in our future. But when we are completely unconscious of that fact–when we find this thing that we are unconsciously orienting towards, we feel this surprise and shock. It feels like some intelligence in the universe is guiding us or that God has sort of given us a sign. But I think it’s just really ourselves. We’re oriented toward [future reward] unconsciously, precognitively; and because our society doesn’t allow us to even think about the possibility of precognition, we throw up our hands and say well it’s some bigger organizing force in the universe. It’s archetypes. It’s collective unconscious or whatever. I think this PSI model of precognition, specifically precognition for our own future rewards, I think this explains synchronicity perfectly. Alex Tsakiris: And just let me interject because one point to take from that is part of what you’re saying is an unavoidable natural fallout from these presentiment and precognition experiments we have. It’s unavoidable, right? That’s what the data clearly says. So if you’re a student at Northwestern University and you’re told you’re going to win five dollars if you guess the right picture before it’s even selected by the computer, and that motivates you, and we can demonstrate that you’re therefore able to orient yourself towards the future that’s coming. Then it’s only a question of to what extent you’re right–not whether you’re right or not because you’re clearly right. The experiment shows that. It’s just to what extent that does play a role in guiding our lives. Eric Wargo: That’s a great example. Exactly.

The Deeper You Go documentary looks beyond traditional neuroscience-based models of consciousness. photo by: 11thStory My first impression of The Deeper You Go, a new documentary about consciousness, was — I can’t believe flat-earth-society-consciousness-researchers like Daniel Dennett, Susan Blackmore, and Patricia Churchland are still say moronic things like, “consciousness is an illusion.” My second thought was, I’m sure glad documentary filmmakers Lora Nigro and Kevin Rutkowski captured this on film. And especially glad they included interviews with more sane researchers like Dean Radin and Rupert Sheldrake. BTW 11thStory has offered Skeptiko listeners a chance to view The Deeper You Go for free (but I hope you’ll stuff a couple bucks in the tip jar if you like it). Use password: Skeptiko Click here for forum discussion Click here for The Deeper You Go website   music by: RSF

The Deeper You Go documentary looks beyond traditional neuroscience-based models of consciousness. photo by: 11thStory My first impression of The Deeper You Go, a new documentary about consciousness, was — I can’t believe flat-earth-society-consciousness-researchers like Daniel Dennett, Susan Blackmore, and Patricia Churchland are still say moronic things like, “consciousness is an illusion.” My second thought was, I’m sure glad documentary filmmakers Lora Nigro and Kevin Rutkowski captured this on film. And especially glad they included interviews with more sane researchers like Dean Radin and Rupert Sheldrake. BTW 11thStory has offered Skeptiko listeners a chance to view The Deeper You Go for free (but I hope you’ll stuff a couple bucks in the tip jar if you like it). Use password: Skeptiko Click here for forum discussion Click here for The Deeper You Go website   music by: RSF

Author and poet Dr. Drew Dellinger uses spoken word performances to challenge science’s narrow view of human consciousness. photo by: Gary S I don’t quite know how the artistic gene skipped me. I have a whole side of my family who are incredible artists. I have an uncle who’s an amazing painter and sculptor and a bunch of aunts and uncles who are artistically gifted. I am not. But art speaks to me, like it speaks to many of us. The arts tell us we’re something more. On today’s show we explore the arts as an embodiment of the repudiation of materialistic science. We’re going to do it with a very talented guest who is an author and spoken word poet, Dr. Drew Dellinger. I don’t think this interview needs much of an introduction beyond that so let’s get right to my conversation with Drew Dellinger: Alex Tsakiris: One of the things that you do that I think is really fantastic, and anyone who is familiar with your work will immediately find, you bring this–and I hesitate to use the word ‘performance’ aspect to it because that has such a strange connotation for a lot of people–but you bring a poetic, spoken word energy to it that I think is fantastic because in a lot of ways it’s the embodiment of a complete repudiation of just what you’re talking about. This crazy reductionistic science. This crazy idea that we’re biological robots. That we can use this meaningless planet that we live on as we will. It’s not just what you’re saying. It’s the way you’re saying it. That in and of itself is, like I say, a reputation of science that says, no, that doesn’t matter. How you say things doesn’t matter. Stirring people’s emotions? That doesn’t really matter. Emotions aren’t real. What do you think about that in terms of spoken word as the vehicle for the change for the movement? Drew Dellinger: Absolutely. I really think what you’re tapping into says so much about what I call the power of art. One of the things I look at inspired by Thomas Berry is what I call the power of dream; the power of story; the power of art; and the power of action. I talk about building a movement that connects ecology and social justice and cosmology using the power of dreams, story, art, and action. So I think art is absolutely pivotal to understanding our relationship to reality, and also how we’re going to move imaginatively into the future. Those are just some of the links that I make between art and activism. It really comes down to what you’re saying about embodiment. There’s a social justice term where we talk about pre-figurative politics…that we need to embody the kind of politics and the kind of political change that we seek. [It’s] what we need to embody right now as we do this work for social transformation. That’s what pre-figurative politics means and so I think what you’re tapping into–that’s really what the arts give us an experience of. The arts give us an experience of liberation. The arts give us an experience of compassion, and equanimity, and awe, and wonder.

Author and poet Dr. Drew Dellinger uses spoken word performances to challenge science’s narrow view of human consciousness. photo by: Gary S I don’t quite know how the artistic gene skipped me. I have a whole side of my family who are incredible artists. I have an uncle who’s an amazing painter and sculptor and a bunch of aunts and uncles who are artistically gifted. I am not. But art speaks to me, like it speaks to many of us. The arts tell us we’re something more. On today’s show we explore the arts as an embodiment of the repudiation of materialistic science. We’re going to do it with a very talented guest who is an author and spoken word poet, Dr. Drew Dellinger. I don’t think this interview needs much of an introduction beyond that so let’s get right to my conversation with Drew Dellinger: Alex Tsakiris: One of the things that you do that I think is really fantastic, and anyone who is familiar with your work will immediately find, you bring this–and I hesitate to use the word ‘performance’ aspect to it because that has such a strange connotation for a lot of people–but you bring a poetic, spoken word energy to it that I think is fantastic because in a lot of ways it’s the embodiment of a complete repudiation of just what you’re talking about. This crazy reductionistic science. This crazy idea that we’re biological robots. That we can use this meaningless planet that we live on as we will. It’s not just what you’re saying. It’s the way you’re saying it. That in and of itself is, like I say, a reputation of science that says, no, that doesn’t matter. How you say things doesn’t matter. Stirring people’s emotions? That doesn’t really matter. Emotions aren’t real. What do you think about that in terms of spoken word as the vehicle for the change for the movement? Drew Dellinger: Absolutely. I really think what you’re tapping into says so much about what I call the power of art. One of the things I look at inspired by Thomas Berry is what I call the power of dream; the power of story; the power of art; and the power of action. I talk about building a movement that connects ecology and social justice and cosmology using the power of dreams, story, art, and action. So I think art is absolutely pivotal to understanding our relationship to reality, and also how we’re going to move imaginatively into the future. Those are just some of the links that I make between art and activism. It really comes down to what you’re saying about embodiment. There’s a social justice term where we talk about pre-figurative politics…that we need to embody the kind of politics and the kind of political change that we seek. [It’s] what we need to embody right now as we do this work for social transformation. That’s what pre-figurative politics means and so I think what you’re tapping into–that’s really what the arts give us an experience of. The arts give us an experience of liberation. The arts give us an experience of compassion, and equanimity, and awe, and wonder.

Nancy Talbott claims to have unlocked crop circle science. Matt Williams is a crop circle maker encountering the paranormal in his circles. Why are they at odds? photo by: Gary S On this episode of Skeptiko, I return to a topic that’s haunted me for awhile. I’m from Chicago. For a lot of people from Chicago one value that’s ingrained into you from a young age can be summed up by the phrase, “don’t be a chump.” For someone from Chicago, there’s nothing worse than being played for the fool. The chump. A couple of years ago when I interviewed Suzanne Taylor about her movie about crop circles and about her investigation into the crop circle phenomena, I got played for a chump. I bought into Suzanne’s story without fully investigating it. I bought into her claim that no imperfect crop circle or incomplete crop circle had ever been found. I bought into the idea that the phenomena was shrouded in a mystery that was being revealed by science. Thanks to you Skeptiko listeners, I was quickly reeducated. Many of you told me about the work that’s been done by people with a more skeptical perspective on crop circles and what’s been revealed by human crop circle makers. Of course, much of this is old news, both to the general public that has moved on from crop circles, and for me. That is until I heard from today’s guest, Nancy Talbott. Nancy is one of the best-known crop circle investigators. She claims to have adhered to very tight scientific protocols, and investigated crop circles from a scientific perspective. And, she claims to have peer reviewed papers to back-up her work. So when Nancy popped up in my Facebook and started messaging me, I responded. I told her about my skepticism. I told her how I had gone down this path and felt like there really wasn’t much there to investigate but she persisted and convinced me to take a second look. So we set up this interview: Alex Tsakiris: Blinding is just a control mechanism. Nancy Talbott: No, the double-blind study means very specifically something. Alex Tsakiris: A double blind study, for example in pharmacology, means something very specific but blinding is just a basic scientific control that can be instituted in any experiment. And in this case, the simple fact is–one of the people that you get when you Google that is Colin Andrews who said, in 1995 I tried to send samples to Nancy, to BLT, collected independently, and say here are the samples. One is from a field that we presume to be alien. Another is from a field that is subjected to wind damage. [These are] independently collected samples–photographed and videotaped so we know that they’re independent–send them to you. You evaluate them. I’ve talked to a number of people including crop circle maker Matthew Williams who I know you don’t feel fondly of. But I’ve talked to a number of people and they all say the same thing: there’s this real resistance from BLT when it comes to just doing simple blinding and– Nancy Talbott: Okay, I get what you’re saying. But first of all, you don’t know a lot of stuff so let me tell you a few things.

Nancy Talbott claims to have unlocked crop circle science. Matt Williams is a crop circle maker encountering the paranormal in his circles. Why are they at odds? photo by: Gary S On this episode of Skeptiko, I return to a topic that’s haunted me for awhile. I’m from Chicago. For a lot of people from Chicago one value that’s ingrained into you from a young age can be summed up by the phrase, “don’t be a chump.” For someone from Chicago, there’s nothing worse than being played for the fool. The chump. A couple of years ago when I interviewed Suzanne Taylor about her movie about crop circles and about her investigation into the crop circle phenomena, I got played for a chump. I bought into Suzanne’s story without fully investigating it. I bought into her claim that no imperfect crop circle or incomplete crop circle had ever been found. I bought into the idea that the phenomena was shrouded in a mystery that was being revealed by science. Thanks to you Skeptiko listeners, I was quickly reeducated. Many of you told me about the work that’s been done by people with a more skeptical perspective on crop circles and what’s been revealed by human crop circle makers. Of course, much of this is old news, both to the general public that has moved on from crop circles, and for me. That is until I heard from today’s guest, Nancy Talbott. Nancy is one of the best-known crop circle investigators. She claims to have adhered to very tight scientific protocols, and investigated crop circles from a scientific perspective. And, she claims to have peer reviewed papers to back-up her work. So when Nancy popped up in my Facebook and started messaging me, I responded. I told her about my skepticism. I told her how I had gone down this path and felt like there really wasn’t much there to investigate but she persisted and convinced me to take a second look. So we set up this interview: Alex Tsakiris: Blinding is just a control mechanism. Nancy Talbott: No, the double-blind study means very specifically something. Alex Tsakiris: A double blind study, for example in pharmacology, means something very specific but blinding is just a basic scientific control that can be instituted in any experiment. And in this case, the simple fact is–one of the people that you get when you Google that is Colin Andrews who said, in 1995 I tried to send samples to Nancy, to BLT, collected independently, and say here are the samples. One is from a field that we presume to be alien. Another is from a field that is subjected to wind damage. [These are] independently collected samples–photographed and videotaped so we know that they’re independent–send them to you. You evaluate them. I’ve talked to a number of people including crop circle maker Matthew Williams who I know you don’t feel fondly of. But I’ve talked to a number of people and they all say the same thing: there’s this real resistance from BLT when it comes to just doing simple blinding and– Nancy Talbott: Okay, I get what you’re saying. But first of all, you don’t know a lot of stuff so let me tell you a few things.

Dr. Dan Booth Cohen and Emily Volden merge extended consciousness and after-death communication into psychotherapy. photo by: Pip R Lagenta Welcome to Skeptiko where we explore controversial science with leading researchers, thinkers, and their critics. Today we talk about families… and what a pain in the neck they can be! Don’t get me wrong, I treasure my family. I treasure my relationship with my wife, but it’s difficult at times. My kids? They’re awesome; except when they’re not. My brother, sisters, aunts, uncles, brother-in-laws, all that extended family I don’t see much, they’re great too. But like the rest of my family their problems can become my problems. Family issues can become overwhelming.  They can send us look for help. Today’s guests (Dan Booth Cohen and Emily Blefeld Volden) are two psychotherapists who help individuals and family systems get back on track. But what makes them interesting, and relevant for Skeptiko listeners, is they’ve shattered the traditional family therapy model by incorporating in the growing, inescapable body of evidence suggesting consciousness extends beyond death and that those who are deceased may still be among us. So, if you thought you had problems with your family — stick around — you’re liable to find out you have a lot more folks in your lineage to worry about: —————— Alex Tsakiris: If we accept what you’re doing, and we accept the reality of [after death communication], what does this say about our relationship with the deceased? In a way it’s hard to fathom. We have enough problems dealing with the relationships of the people who are here with us. Now you’re telling us we have to worry about our unseen intergenerational relationship with some great-great-grandfather we never met? Dr. Dan Booth Cohen: Definitely. It’s a great question and it’s at the core of what we’re doing: the ancestors are not all okay. Some of the ancestors are okay and they’re in a loving relationship with us. But when the ancestors are not okay, and often they are not, they show up in our lives as our symptoms.     Click here for forum discussion Click here for Dan and Emily’s website Read Excerpts From Interview: Alex Tsakiris: What I heard from you and felt from you is this excitement that you have because you found something that really works. And it seems to be much more effective than some of the other techniques and protocols that you’ve learned with your extensive traini...

Dr. Dan Booth Cohen and Emily Volden merge extended consciousness and after-death communication into psychotherapy. photo by: Pip R Lagenta Welcome to Skeptiko where we explore controversial science with leading researchers, thinkers, and their critics. Today we talk about families… and what a pain in the neck they can be! Don’t get me wrong, I treasure my family. I treasure my relationship with my wife, but it’s difficult at times. My kids? They’re awesome; except when they’re not. My brother, sisters, aunts, uncles, brother-in-laws, all that extended family I don’t see much, they’re great too. But like the rest of my family their problems can become my problems. Family issues can become overwhelming.  They can send us look for help. Today’s guests (Dan Booth Cohen and Emily Blefeld Volden) are two psychotherapists who help individuals and family systems get back on track. But what makes them interesting, and relevant for Skeptiko listeners, is they’ve shattered the traditional family therapy model by incorporating in the growing, inescapable body of evidence suggesting consciousness extends beyond death and that those who are deceased may still be among us. So, if you thought you had problems with your family — stick around — you’re liable to find out you have a lot more folks in your lineage to worry about: —————— Alex Tsakiris: If we accept what you’re doing, and we accept the reality of [after death communication], what does this say about our relationship with the deceased? In a way it’s hard to fathom. We have enough problems dealing with the relationships of the people who are here with us. Now you’re telling us we have to worry about our unseen intergenerational relationship with some great-great-grandfather we never met? Dr. Dan Booth Cohen: Definitely. It’s a great question and it’s at the core of what we’re doing: the ancestors are not all okay. Some of the ancestors are okay and they’re in a loving relationship with us. But when the ancestors are not okay, and often they are not, they show up in our lives as our symptoms.     Click here for forum discussion Click here for Dan and Emily’s website Read Excerpts From Interview: Alex Tsakiris: What I heard from you and felt from you is this excitement that you have because you found something that really works. And it seems to be much more effective than some of the other techniques and protocols that you’ve learned with your extensive training that you...

Dr. Dan Booth Cohen and Emily Volden merge extended consciousness and after-death communication into psychotherapy. photo by: Pip R Lagenta Welcome to Skeptiko where we explore controversial science with leading researchers, thinkers, and their critics. Today we talk about families… and what a pain in the neck they can be! Don’t get me wrong, I treasure my family. I treasure my relationship with my wife, but it’s difficult at times. My kids? They’re awesome; except when they’re not. My brother, sisters, aunts, uncles, brother-in-laws, all that extended family I don’t see much, they’re great too. But like the rest of my family their problems can become my problems. Family issues can become overwhelming.  They can send us look for help. Today’s guests (Dan Booth Cohen and Emily Blefeld Volden) are two psychotherapists who help individuals and family systems get back on track. But what makes them interesting, and relevant for Skeptiko listeners, is they’ve shattered the traditional family therapy model by incorporating in the growing, inescapable body of evidence suggesting consciousness extends beyond death and that those who are deceased may still be among us. So, if you thought you had problems with your family — stick around — you’re liable to find out you have a lot more folks in your lineage to worry about: —————— Alex Tsakiris: If we accept what you’re doing, and we accept the reality of [after death communication], what does this say about our relationship with the deceased? In a way it’s hard to fathom. We have enough problems dealing with the relationships of the people who are here with us. Now you’re telling us we have to worry about our unseen intergenerational relationship with some great-great-grandfather we never met? Dr. Dan Booth Cohen: Definitely. It’s a great question and it’s at the core of what we’re doing: the ancestors are not all okay. Some of the ancestors are okay and they’re in a loving relationship with us. But when the ancestors are not okay, and often they are not, they show up in our lives as our symptoms.     Click here for forum discussion Click here for Dan and Emily’s website Read Excerpts From Interview: Alex Tsakiris: What I heard from you and felt from you is this excitement that you have because you found something that really works. And it seems to be much more effective than some ...