Circumcerebral Magnetic Stimulation and Psychic Skills - The Evidence

As you read over these research reports, it's important to bear a few things in mind. One of them is that the subjects were not psychics, and were not trying to become psychics. The jobs they were given to do during the experiments were intended to increase the kind of connectivity that appears between people so that a mother can instinctively "know" when something is wrong with one for children, even though they might live far away.

In one of the studies, people were asked to look at pictures and to guess at what kind of thoughts and memories these pictures might have inspired in another person. Real psychic work, that involves the practitioner "tuning in" to something was not attempted. This is not because the researchers didn't believe that such things were possible. It was because they were looking for evidence in normal people, to uncover the neural processes that support it.

One day, research using this kind of technology will probably be done with practicing psychics, and will record the results when the experiments are done so that psychics can use their own Skills, instead of being assigned specific mental tasks by the experimenters. Even without the benefit of such studies, these research papers show that psychic experience and perception has a clear neural basis.

The technology that helped create this breakthrough in the scientific understanding of paranormal perception can be expected to produce far more striking perceptions for those who use it with psychic perception in mind than it did for the research volunteers, who made no conscious effort to experience psychic perceptions.

In this sense the research was "blind" in that the subjects did not know the true purpose of the experiment. That made the results more certain, but not as immediately useful for emerging psychics as it was for the laboratory technicians. There is a page in the software that offers practical help.

Let's begin with an informal report from Paul Devereux, published in Fortean Times.

" When he tried it, the present writer found he was able to identify a photograph – without any obvious communication – that someone else was looking at in another room."

"Particularly interesting was the way the remote information was “received”: it was a non-visual impression that had to be deciphered by the logical, linguistic part of the brain. When a psychologist colleague of the writer’s later tested the device at his request, the same positive results were obtained – she described the nature of the received information as being “aconceptual”. "

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RESEARCH REPORTS, with commentary

Cook CM, Koren SA, Persinger MA. "Subjective time estimation by humans is increased by counterclockwise but not clockwise circumcerebral rotations of phase-shifting magnetic pulses in the horizontal plane." Neurosci Lett. 1999 Jun 18;268(2):61-4. link

This experiment worked with 14 volunteers who were told that they were participating in an experiment to lower the effect of relaxation. They were given a stopwatch, and told to click it to start and then to stop it ten seconds later. Each volunteer did this twice.

While this was going on, the volunteers, and who wore opaque goggles, received circumcerebral Complex magnetic field Stimulation. Two signals were used. One of them was derived from amygdaloid firing, and the other was a modified "chirp" sequence.

Half the volunteers got clockwise stimulation, and the other half received counterclockwise stimulation.

The counterclockwise group consistently estimated the time as longer than the clockwise group. The group receiving the counterclockwise stimulation estimated the time as much longer than the others. In one case, 10 seconds was drawn out to 15 seconds.

This was the first significant experiment with the octopus. It demonstrated a clear effect that derived from the fact that the "binding factor" for consciousness, which runs from the back of the head to the front, is refreshed every 20 msec. When the signals applied in this study were moved from one (solenoid) coil to the next at that same speed, the effect was pronounced. With the clockwise group, the signals were moving in the same direction as the "binding factor" over the right hemisphere, and were running in the opposite direction over the left.

As the stimulation reinforced "the binding factor" over the right, it disturbed it over the left. The left hemisphere is normally the dominant one. That's where the language centers are found. Left hemispheric functions would have been perturbed more than right hemispheric functions, so right hemispheric activity would dominate the person state of consciousness. The right hemisphere is strongly implicated in trance states, all the way from Hypnosis to spirit possession.

As is often the case with this range of experiences, the ability to know how long it lasted is impaired. People failed to estimate the passage of time correctly in this study for much the same reason that people lose track of the time during altered state experiences.

Persinger MA, Roll WG, Tiller SG, Koren SA, Cook CM. "Remote viewing with the artist Ingo Swann: neuropsychological profile, electroencephalographic correlates, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and possible mechanisms." Percept Mot Skills. 2002 Jun;94(3 Pt 1):927-49. link

Ingo Swann, a remote viewer once employed by government agencies who are not specifically named in the research paper, participated in his series of neurological tests with Dr. Michael Persinger, and the other authors of this paper. Two experiments were done with remote viewing. The first experiment was done by putting 16 pictures and four objects into manilla envelopes. They were selected by a the person knew it never met Ingo Swann and who had no other role in the experiment. They were told to select pictures with strong emotional themes. After the objects and pictures of been selected they were divided into groups of six. Several rooms away, a researcher took out one of the envelopes and put it on a table. He oriented the envelope the way Ingo Swann had asked, and the research paper even gives the size of the table (8,100 cm).

Ingo Swann was told when a picture was on the table, and he would endeavor to view it remotely. Sitting with a sketch pad, he would draw the images that came to him, and then he would ask for another picture.

The other experiment consisted of Ingo Swann remote viewing a pair of the researchers who had been given two pictures randomly selected from a group of nine, all of which depicted places in and around the city where the research took place. Once they had arrived at two locations, the researchers "observed" the place for 15 minutes.

As in the first experiment, Ingo Swann made drawings as he remotely viewed the two researchers. A group of a 44 undergraduate students, who knew nothing about the experiment, were given the job of rating the similarities between the drawings and the pictures of the places as well as the drawings of the pictures and objects - the ones in the manilla envelopes. They also rated the similarity between the content of Swann's drawings and photographs of the places the researchers had visited. In addition, they also rated the similarities between the emotional connotations of the words Ingo Swann used, and the mood of the photos. A picture of a tornado, for example could be called dark and threatening, but not warm and cuddly.

While this was going on, he also received neural stimulation using the "octopus", as well as EEG monitoring.

Three different time frames for the delivery of a signal a derived from a "chirp" sequence emerged as the most effective in creating markedly altered states for Mr. Swann. One of them induced an out of body experience, or an experience that was very much like one. Another caused all of his inner mental images to be suppressed, which he found to be quite refreshing. Another one was accompanied by remote viewing, in one instance the skeletons of three researchers in the next room.

After studying the pictures and the reports, the 44 students each submitted their ratings. The times when Ingo Swann was drawing the pictures that most accurately matched the photographs and locations, there was a clear 7 Hz "spiking and slow wave" pattern from the occipital lobes.

The 7 Hz component of his EEG readings probably derives from deeper structures, most likely the hippocampus, and is more likely to be generated from the right hemisphere than the left. If this result applies to all remote viewers, then a neural basis will have been discovered for the phenomenon of remote viewing, while not sufficient to explain all details that appear with respect to remote viewing, but enough to demonstrate that it has a neurological basis.

This research paper also devoted extended discussion above possible physical basis for remote viewing, and suggested that the earth's magnetic field provides a basis for the phenomenon.

Persinger MA, Cook CM, Tiller SC. "Enhancement of images of possible memories of others during exposure to circumcerebral magnetic fields: correlations with ambient geomagnetic activity." Percept Mot Skills. 2002 Oct;95(2):531-43 link

This experiment used nine pairs of volunteers who were all intimately related. Five of these were mothers and daughters, one was brother and sister, one was a pair of twins, and two were married couples. Each pair of volunteers were tested on a different day. The pairs were divided into two - ones stimulus and one response person. The response person was the one who got the magnetic stimulation using the octopus, and the stimulus person was in another room being shown one of five postcards, picked at random.

The response person was always the younger, and the woman of the pair, when the two had different genders. This is because earlier research had suggested that overall, women are more sensitive than men with respect to psi receptivity.

There were six different timings used, and two signals. When the first signals being applied, one of the researchers carried on casual conversation with response person, and a couple of minutes before the second signals applied, the person who was being given the octopus stimulation was asked to describe any "image, idea, or hunch" that came to them. As they shared their inner dialog out loud, another researcher sat nearby and wrote it all down.

The particular signals were given in the order they were because experiments done applying the signals in the opposite order did not produce the kinds effects that were being studied in this experiment did, though it did produce a wide range of paranormal experiences.

The stimulus person, the one who was not receiving the octopus stimulation, was given an envelope containing a picture. The envelope had been chosen at random, and the picture was given to the stimulus person. They were told to think of the response person, and to write down what they thought the response person would think of the scene in the picture, and the experiences that both had shared that would be most like the scene in the picture. When the stimulus person was going over their memories, the response person got octopus stimulation using a signal tailored from a chirp sequence.

The method was partly inspired by a previous experiment in which the content and themes of dreams matched the subjects of paintings viewed by another person during the first one's REM sleep.

Out of the nine pairs, two didn't say enough to be analyzed, so these were excluded. The comments of both the stimulus and the response person were typed up, making sure that all comments from the response person that contained the phrase "I see" or any of its variations were preserved.

To go over the comments and match the stimulus person's comments with those of the response person, a group of 44 raters was recruited. These had no other connection with the experiment, and did not know what it was for. Their job was to figure out which comments from one person were most likely to comments from the other.

In addition to this, the values for geomagnetic activity were taken for each day of the experiment, and eventually found that increased global geomagnetic activity was moderately correlated with accuracy.

Several results emerged. One that one of the modified chirp sequences was more effective in eliciting mental images and visions Another was more effective for detailed visual imagery, and the comments of both the stimulus and the response person were selected as having a closer match on days of geomagnetic quiet.

The most effective configuration for generating similar comments was also the configuration that gave Ingo Swann the clearest remote viewing images in another experiment. In one instance when he was exposed to the signal he was able to see the positions of the researchers in another room, which he experienced subjectively as a vision of their skeletons.

The results of this experiment showed that the degree of congruence or agreement between the comments of the stimulus person and those of the response person were significantly higher than chance alone would allow. The proportion of chance matchings for the seven pairs of comments was 14 percent, while the students who served as raters were able to match 40 percent of them.

In addition, the paper discussed the implications of these results with respect to the binding factor for human consciousness.

Persinger MA, Cook CM, Tiller SC. "Enhancement of images of possible memories of others during exposure to circumcerebral magnetic fields: correlations with ambient geomagnetic activity." Percept Mot Skills. 2002 Oct;95(2):531-43 link

This experiment used nine pairs of volunteers who were all intimately related. Five of these were mothers and daughters, one was brother and sister, one was a pair of twins, and two were married couples. Each pair of volunteers were tested on a different day. The pairs were divided into two - ones stimulus and one response person. The response person was the one who got the magnetic stimulation using the octopus, and the stimulus person was in another room being shown one of five postcards, picked at random.

The response person was always the younger, and the woman of the pair, when the two had different genders. This is because earlier research had suggested that overall, women are more sensitive than men with respect to psi receptivity.

There were six different timings used, and two signals. When the first signals being applied, one of the researchers carried on casual conversation with response person, and a couple of minutes before the second signals applied, the person who was being given the octopus stimulation was asked to describe any "image, idea, or hunch" that came to them. As they shared their inner dialog out loud, another researcher sat nearby and wrote it all down.

The particular signals were given in the order they were because experiments done applying the signals in the opposite order did not produce the kinds effects that were being studied in this experiment did, though it did produce a wide range of paranormal experiences.

The stimulus person, the one who was not receiving the octopus stimulation, was given an envelope containing a picture. The envelope had been chosen at random, and the picture was given to the stimulus person. They were told to think of the response person, and to write down what they thought the response person would think of the scene in the picture, and the experiences that both had shared that would be most like the scene in the picture. When the stimulus person was going over their memories, the response person got octopus stimulation using a signal tailored from a chirp sequence.

The method was partly inspired by a previous experiment in which the content and themes of dreams matched the subjects of paintings viewed by another person during the first one's REM sleep.

Out of the nine pairs, two didn't say enough to be analyzed, so these were excluded. The comments of both the stimulus and the response person were typed up, making sure that all comments from the response person that contained the phrase "I see" or any of its variations were preserved.

To go over the comments and match the stimulus person's comments with those of the response person, a group of 44 raters was recruited. These had no other connection with the experiment, and did not know what it was for. Their job was to figure out which comments from one person were most likely to comments from the other.

In addition to this, the values for geomagnetic activity were taken for each day of the experiment, and eventually found that increased global geomagnetic activity was moderately correlated with accuracy.

Several results emerged. One that one of the modified chirp sequences was more effective in eliciting mental images and visions Another was more effective for detailed visual imagery, and the comments of both the stimulus and the response person were selected as having a closer match on days of geomagnetic quiet.

The most effective configuration for generating similar comments was also the configuration that gave Ingo Swann the clearest remote viewing images in another experiment. In one instance when he was exposed to the signal he was able to see the positions of the researchers in another room, which he experienced subjectively as a vision of their skeletons.

The results of this experiment showed that the degree of congruence or agreement between the comments of the stimulus person and those of the response person were significantly higher than chance alone would allow. The proportion of chance matchings for the seven pairs of comments was 14 percent, while the students who served as raters were able to match 40 percent of them.

In addition, the paper discussed the implications of these results with respect to the binding factor for human consciousness.

Booth JN, Charette JC, Persinger MA. "Ranking of stimuli that evoked memories in significant others after exposure to circumcerebral magnetic fields: correlations with ambient geomagnetic activity." Percept Mot Skills. 2002 Oct;95(2):555-8. link

This study replicates the results of the previous study. this time with 15 pairs of volunteeers.

Richards MA, Koren SA, Persinger MA. Circumcerebral application of weak complex magnetic fields with derivatives and changes in electroencephalographic power spectra within the theta range: implications for states of consciousness. Percept Mot Skills. 2002 Oct;95(2):671-86 link

Eight subjects received octopus stimulation. At the same time, their brain activity was monitored through EEG.

The EEG samples were split into frequency ranges.these were between three and fourHz, four and fiveHz, 5 and 6Hz, and so on up to 9 Hz. The band of frequencies that was affected most was from 4 to 8 Hz. This is the range of neural activity classically associated with trances, and psychic perception, and altered states of consciousness.

The most powerful affect was from a modified chirp sequence which was maintained for 20 msec longer over each successive location until it reached its longest duration, after which it abruptly returned to the first length. There were no significant links between the side of the brain, or a specific lobe, suggesting that the enhanced theta activity is a whole-brain phenomena. Interestingly, there were EEG changes when the fields were removed that were not like the ones before the experiment, or the ones derived during the experiment.

The most responsive band was between 5 and 5.9 Hz (lobe theta). This was most pronounced over the right hemisphere when any of the 6 configurations were used, though one of them the elicit a more powerful response in the others.

Theta activity is discussed with reference to its association with spatial perception, a function that strongly implicates the hippocampus. The paper even speculates that hippocampal activity may be the only or sole source for theta activity in this specific range.

This experiment didn't address any psychic phenomena. Rather, it established an empirical basis for the observation that theta activity, elicited by the octopus in this case, may also be the underlying agent for the enhancement of psychic information reception using the same equipment. As with much of the other work in this field, the signals were applied using a 20 msec time frame, which derives from the observation that the binding factor for human consciousness reappears at about this speed.

Persinger MA, Koren SA, Tsang EW. "Enhanced power within a specific band of theta activity in one person while another receives circumcerebral pulsed magnetic fields: a mechanism for cognitive influence at a distance?" Percept Mot Skills. 2003 Dec;97(3 Pt 1):877-94. link

This experiment used four pairs of adult siblings who volunteered to participate. One from each pair sat in share and received the octopus stimulation well seated in an acoustic chamber. The other from each pair sat blindfolded with earplugs. The one who was not receiving the octopus had their brain activity monitored using EEG.

One week later the same pairs return to the laboratory and repeated the procedure this time with the roles reversed.

The stimulus person, the one receiving the octopus stimulation was told to imagine that they were in the same room with their sibling, and actually touching them at the same time as they received the octopus stimulation

The response person's EEG monitoring sample data from between .5 Hz and 35 Hz, and the session began by taking a sample before their partner began receiving octopus stimulation.

The response volunteers EEG data showed a significant increase between 5 and 6 Hz over the frontal and occipital lobes.

When the two siblings changed places for the second session the occipital lobes responded more than their partners had during the session the previous week. In those cases, it showed a significant increase between six and 8 Hz. The implication is that some kind of learning went on, and participation the previous week receiving the signals may have taught them to achieve a greater response and perhaps receptivity towards whatever stimulus is at work in these effects.

The most effective signals for those that changed their place every 20 or 100 msec. The 20 msec rate of change is one with which the brain can resonate in the Theta Range.

During experiments in the second sessions, the subjects showed more response from the left parietal and right parietal lobesa have when the signals were 20 msec long and became 2 msec longer each time they were presented.

The great deal of the theta bands total content comes from the hippocampus, whose role in spatial perception is implicated in the perception of information at a distance.

The paper concludes with a brief mention of how we might affect one another with our thoughts or "focus" and a caution that there could even be an impact upon a person's health.

Tsang EW, Koren SA, Persinger MA. "Power increases within the gamma range over the frontal and occipital regions during acute exposures to cerebrally counterclockwise rotating magnetic fields with specific derivatives of change." Int J Neurosci. 2004 Sep;114(9):1183-93. link

A total of 11 men and women were exposed for 5 min each to six different temporal configurations of pulsed magnetic fields that were delivered through serial activation of 8 solenoids in a counterclockwise direction around the head within the horizontal plane above the ears.

eleven volunteers received five-minute sessions using the octopus. While they were receiving the sessions, their brain activity was monitored using EEG. The EEG gathered data from 5 to 45 Hz.

When the rate of change was reduced (from the speeds in previous studies) to 2 msec, there was a significant increase in the power of the Gamma range (35 to 45 Hz) monitored over the frontal and occipital lobes, but not the temporal or parietal lobes.

Taken together with other studies on this page, this one seems to imply the theta range of frequencies - the one most interesting to Shiva users - is more likely to be produced using one set of timings and speeds, while the Gamma Range, studied in this experiment, is more likely to be produced by another. This means that this technology depends on the right numbers being used to configure the signals.

This technology succeeded in producing one range of brain activity in one circumstance, and different activity in another circumstance. This implies that the brain produces activity in specific frequencies (including those that are classically associated with trance, Hypnosis, meditation, and relaxation) in response to specific stimuli From circumcerebral stimulation.