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ESOTERICISM AND SCIENTIFIC FACTSIssue No. 1. Ten Amazing Studies
For thousands of years, yogis, mystics, magicians, and spiritual practitioners have spoken about unusual human abilities and mysterious phenomena in the world around us.
Today, some of these phenomena are being studied at universities and in scientific laboratories. Scientists use highly sensitive cameras, magnetic-field sensors, tomographs, and other instruments.
1.
The Human Aura: The Body Emits Invisible LightEsoteric traditions have spoken since ancient times of a glow emanating from the human body.
In 2009, Japanese researchers Masaki Kobayashi, Daisuke Kikuchi, and Hitoshi Okamura from scientific institutions in Sendai and Kyoto conducted an unusual experiment.
Using a highly sensitive cooled camera, they were able to photograph the human body’s ultraweak glow. Its intensity was approximately one thousand times below the sensitivity threshold of the human eye.
Interestingly, the glow varied across different parts of the body and changed over the course of the day.
Scientific source: PLOS ONE, 2009
2.
Tummo: yogis raise their body temperature through the power of practiceIn the Tibetan tradition, there is a practice called tummo, known as the yoga of inner fire. Practitioners describe the ability to warm the body even in extreme cold.
In 2013, a team of researchers led by Maria Kozhevnikova studied Tibetan practitioners directly in monasteries.
During meditation, the scientists measured body temperature and brain electrical activity.
An increase in axillary temperature to 38.3 °C was recorded. The result was accompanied by changes in brain activity, especially when special breathing techniques were combined with visualization of inner heat.
Scientific source: PLOS ONE, 2013
3.
Poltergeists and haunted places: unusual magnetic fieldsStories of strange sounds, sudden cold, an invisible presence, and other unexplained events occur in many cultures.
In 2003, a team of British researchers led by psychologist Richard Wiseman published the results of a study of two places known for ghost stories: Hampton Court Palace in England and the undergroundof the South Bridge premises in Edinburgh.
The researchers asked visitors to report unusual experiences while simultaneously examining the physical conditions of the premises.
It turned out that reports of strange sensations were distributed unevenly. Their locations were statistically associated with a number of environmental features, including changes in local magnetic fields and lighting.
Scientific source: British Journal of Psychology, 2003
4.
Telepathy: transferring information from one brain to anotherTelepathy is traditionally understood as the ability to transmit information directly between minds.
In 2019, researchers at the University of Washington presented an experimental system called BrainNet.
Three people took part in a joint computer game. Two saw the game situation and made decisions, while the third received their signals through a system that combined the recording of electrical brain activity with magnetic stimulation.
Information was transmitted from the senders’ brains to the recipient’s brain via a computer and the internet.
The recipient used the received signals to solve the game task.
Scientific source: Scientific Reports, 2019
5.
Mind reading: scientists have learned to reconstruct inner speechThe ability to learn another person’s thoughts has long been attributed to clairvoyants and telepaths.
In 2023, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin published a study on reconstructing the content of thought processes from brain activity.
Volunteers listened to stories while inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner. A computer system was trained to recognize patterns in their brain activity.
As a result, the researchers were able to create textual reconstructions that conveyed the meaning of the stories they heard and mentally replayed.
The experiment used a scanner and a specially trained neural network.
Scientific source: Nature Neuroscience, 2023
6.
Out-of-body experience: an unusual experiment in the laboratoryEsoteric traditions contain numerous accounts of astral travel and experiences in which a person feels as though they are outside their physical body.
In 2002, a group of Swiss researchers led by Olaf Blanke published in the journal Nature Description of an unusual medical observation.
During electrical stimulation of a specific area of the brain, the patient repeatedly experienced an out-of-body experience.
The woman reported feeling as though she had been transported beyond her body and perceived what was happening from a different spatial perspective.
The researchers were able to induce similar experiences repeatedly by stimulating the right angular gyrus of the brain.
Scientific source: Nature, 2002
7.
Lucid dreams: scientists spoke with sleeping peopleIn the traditions of dream yoga, there are practices that allow a person to become aware of themselves directly within a dream and retain a certain degree of control over what is happening.
In 2021, an international group of researchers published the results of experiments conducted in four independent laboratories.
The scientists established two-way communication with some people who were in a state of lucid dreaming.
The sleepers were asked questions, including simple mathematical problems. They conveyed their answers through prearranged eye or facial muscle movements.
Correct answers were recorded directly during sleep, as confirmed by physiological measurements.
Scientific source: Current Biology, 2021
8.
Mantras and prayers: the influence of sacred sounds on the body’s rhythmsFor thousands of years, spiritual traditions have used the rhythmic repetition of mantras and prayers to alter a person’s inner state.
In 2001, a group of researchers led by Italian physician Luciano Bernardi studied the effects of repeating yogic mantras and Catholic prayer on the human body.
The experiment involved 23 healthy volunteers.
The scientists found that rhythmically reciting prayer formulas slowed breathing to approximately six cycles per minute and increased the coherence of cardiovascular rhythms.
An increase in baroreflex sensitivity—the mechanism involved in regulating blood pressure—was also recorded.
Scientific source: British Medical Journal, 2001
9.
The power of consciousness: the influence of practices on the immune systemIn yoga and esotericism, there are ideas about a person’s ability to alter their body’s physiological processes through internal practices.
In 2014, researchers of the Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands conducted an experiment with a group of volunteers.
Twelve participants underwent ten days of training that included breathing exercises, meditation, and exposure to cold. Another twelve made up the control group.
The researchers then injected all participants with a bacterial endotoxin that causes a short-term inflammatory response.
The trained volunteers showed a significant increase in adrenaline levels, increased production of the anti-inflammatory interleukin-10, and reduced levels of several pro-inflammatory markers.
Scientific source: PNAS, 2014
10.
Telekinesis: controlling objects through thoughtTelekinesis is the ability to affect physical objects without direct contact.
In 2012, an international group of researchers published the results of an experiment involving people with severe paralysis of the limbs in the journal Nature.
Microelectrode sensors were implanted in the participants’ motor cortex.
A special computer system converted brain signals into commands for a robotic arm.
During the study, the participants were able to mentally control the manipulator’s movements, pick up objects, and move them space. One of the participants even managed to bring a bottle toward herself and drink coffee from it through a straw.
Scientific source: Nature, 2012
Esotericism and Scientific Facts — a section about mysterious human abilities, unusual phenomena, and scientific research revealing unexpected sides of familiar reality.