Psi-Favorable Conditions Research Paper

Psi-Favorable Conditions
William Braud Institute of Transpersonal Psychology Under which circumstances is psychic functioning most and least likely to occur? The identification of psi-favorable and psi-antagonistic conditions can allow greater practical applications of psi and also increased understanding of its nature and underlying processes. An adequate account of psi-favorable conditions would be an inclusive, systemic one that would address an extensive range of influencing factors. These would include not only the characteristics of the individuals who are experiencing psi, but also environmental, familial, societal, cultural, planetary, and extraplanetary influences. This chapter will honor the systems approach to some degree, but will
Psi-functioning appears to be facilitated by the presence of belief, confidence, and trust on the part of all personnel involved in the research project. Persons self-reporting greater levels of belief in psi have been found consistently to perform at higher levels on laboratory psi tasks than persons reporting lesser levels of belief; this is the well-known "sheep-goat" effect. Similar belief-related effects have been explored in the realm of direct mental influence. Many psi researchers point to the importance of feedback (knowledge of results) to participants in their studies. Perhaps at least part of the psi-favorable influence of feedback may be related to the fact that positive feedback (feedback for successful psi performance) may enhance confidence and belief in the possibility of effective psi in the particular experimental setting at hand. On the other hand, attitudes of disbelief, distrust, doubt, and suspicion appear to be inimical to effective psi performance. Hope-related relationships. Hope, as desire accompanied by expectation of fulfillment, may contribute to enhanced psi performance. Factors such as need, importance, significance, and meaningfulness of the knowledge or effect being sought, or of the goal of a particular experiment or study, may contribute positive motivation or incentive to a study 's context, increasing the desire component of a study, and directing the psi process to a particular target, goal, or outcome. Hope, in the form of wishing, wanting, or intending in instances of psychokinesis, may help facilitate a desired and expected target or study outcome. Mental strategies that have been found to be favorable to successful psi performance—such as imagery or visualization of the desired goal outcome in psychokinesis studies, or the use of focusing, concentration, and