New Books and Media

From the publisher's website: Courageous scientists challenge the dominant paradigm of reality. Why are they so brave and what does their research reveal? What is reality? Is there more than we know from our five senses? Vanguard scientists believe there is more than we see so they formulate a non-materialist paradigm that expands human potential, to include mind and matter interaction. Since going against the dominant worldview provokes opposition, this book explores the personal backgrounds of the scientists to find out why they are so courageous. We learn that there is another dimension that allows for enhanced abilities. Based on interviews conducted by Gayle Kimball, The Mysteries of Reality: Dialogues with Visionary Scientists reports on the current research and personal characteristics of visionaries from around the world.

Further information at the publisher's website: John Hunt Publishing.

From the publisher's website: In the world of parapsychology and psychical research Erlendur Haraldsson may well be remembered as one of the great investigators, particularly in field research. In a career spanning more than six decades Haraldsson worked with past luminaries such as J. B. Rhine, one of the founders of parapsychology and Ian Stevenson, whose work with children claiming past life experiences, has spawned much of the today’s reincarnation research.Towards the Unknown chronicles Haraldsson’s work in India, the Middle East, the US and Europe and includes his studies of the Indian spiritual teacher Sathya Sai Baba, the Icelandic medium, Indridi Indridason, deathbed visions, past-life cases and a whole array of psychic phenomena.

Further information at the publisher's website: White Crow Books. 

Review by Nemo C. Mörck

From the publisher's website: This book consists of a collection of essays informing readers as to the contemporary status of selected cutting-edge issues in parapsychology (or “psi research”). Each chapter comprehensively reviews a controversial topic from a critical stance, and updates its status based on the latest theoretical and empirical considerations. Chapter authors are authoritative experts in their fields who have captured the complexity and importance of their topics. This is a resource for both the serious scholar and interested follower of psi research, containing in-depth analyses and discussions of topics that cannot be found elsewhere. Topics include cross-examinations of psychical investigations; a meta-analysis of anomalous information collected by mediums; an examination of the relationships between parapsychology, quantum theory and neuroscience; and a study of psychics’ involvement in police investigations.

Further information at the publisher's website: McFarland. 

From the publisher's website: Manifesting Spirits is an exploration of contemporary trance and physical mediumship at a private spiritualist home-circle called the Bristol Spirit Lodge. Located in a garden on the outskirts of Bristol, the Lodge is a wooden shed specially constructed for the purposes of mediumship development and spirit communication. Through a combination of ethnographic observations in séances – including his own experiences of mediumship development – and interviews with spirits and their mediums, Hunter delves into a sub-urban world of trance states, ectoplasm, spirit lights and discarnate entities. Issues relating to altered states of consciousness, personhood, performance and the efficacy of ritual are examined in order to make sense of the processes by which spirits become manifest in social reality.

Further information at the publisher's website: AEON Books.

Investigations in regression.To past lives, investigating the facts behind the stories.To early life where the hidden causes of many people’s anxiety problems lie and by discovering them the problem can be removed.Jim Alexander became an expert in this field because he wanted to understand the phenomena and see if there is something more meaningful than our fragile physical existence.There are aspects of every case that are revealing and thought provoking. The first six (in Part One and Part Three) illustrate key parts of the past life memories phenomenon but the final two are particularly relevant.The Jenny Cockell case is very well known but this is the only time that detailed research has been conducted to assess its validity – and the research was carried out by the hypnotist involved.The final case presents very powerful evidence in support of reincarnation.Part Two makes the case for vastly increased use of Hypnotic Regression in the treatment of mental anxiety. Not the occasional worries or doubts we all have but the irrational fears and habits or beliefs that a significant number of people suffer from but where the help that is possible is ignored by most of the medical profession, who favour the use of drugs that merely suppress or the therapies that take years and rarely work. Taking this approach will save the NHS millions of pounds and help thousands of people enjoy a normal life without wasting years being let down by poor advice.The information in this book needs to be spread widely.

From the publisher's website: When it comes to the subjects of God and life after death, some people demand evidence that extends to absolute certainty. At the other extreme are those who are content with a belief based on emotion, instinct, or the opinion of higher authority, what is referred to as blind faith. In between are varying degrees of belief or certainty ranging from extreme skepticism to strong conviction. Discussions and debates on the two subjects are often interwoven, usually beginning with the implication that one must have proof of God before even considering the survival of consciousness at death. Since God, whatever He, She or It happens to be, is apparently beyond both human comprehension and mainstream science, the discussion or debate often stalls without proper consideration being given to the evidence strongly suggesting that consciousness does survive death in a larger life.

Further information at the publisher's website: White Crow Books.

Poltergeist - The Night Side of Physics is a close-up theoretical and scientific analysis of the activity that took place in the Bothell house. Spontaneous fires, stone-throwing, teleportation, apport, asporting, strange water puddle appearances, objects levitating, strange sounds - it's all here. How is the poltergeist able to perform these machinations? What's the mechanics behind it? Short answer. Not telekinesis. The Night Side of Physics is the first book ever to look at poltergeist activity through a quantum physics lens and, in doing so, come up with some startling revelations. New theories. The first paranormal book of its kind to combine known physics with the phenomenon known as poltergeist activity. Keith Linder has brought some new questions and new answers to the field. Let the conversation begin.

From the publisher's website: Over the past century and a half, a wealth of evidence has emerged that is consistent, at least, with the hypothesis of life after death.

• Near-death experiences
• Deathbed visions
• Mediumship
• Apparitions
• Past-life memories, and memories of a between-lives state

Yet even those who are inclined to take this evidence seriously may struggle to make sense of it. How can the idea of an afterlife be integrated into our everyday experience? How can we connect the seemingly nebulous notion of postmortem survival with the hard, tangible reality of life on earth?

Through metaphors, images, and analogies—illustrated with dozens of documented cases drawn from the literature of parapsychology—this book suggests ways of looking at life beyond death, not as a baffling anomaly, but as a logical extension of our experience of reality here and now.

Further information at the publisher's website: White Crow Books.

From the publisher's website: Parapsychological research has produced significant findings over the last few decades, and science has the obligation to continue exploring this area, seeking to contribute to the spiritual enlightenment of humanity. This book examines evidence of traditional psychic phenomena, promoting a more comprehensive understanding of them, and offering new perspective to see ourselves as particles of “universal energy,” interconnected with all others.

Further information at the publisher's website: McFarland. 

From the publisher's website: She was revered—and disdained. Maria B. Hayden of Boston and later New York City was the first American medium to introduce the religion of Spiritualism to the U.K. in 1852–53. Through her séances in England and America, Maria’s spirit communication convinced many of the elite and upper classes, as well as scientists and the clergy, that there is life after death. In a day when women were to be deferential to men, Maria forged ahead despite her critics, managing successful careers as a spirit medium, a healing medium, a clairvoyant physician, a psychometrist, and a medical doctor.

In this definitive biography, Sharon DeBartolo Carmack rescues Maria from the mists of Spiritualist history, not only returning her to her rightful place as an important pioneer, but also providing an engaging portrait of this remarkable woman. Carmack masterfully weaves together previously undiscovered archival, historical, and family documents with the social history of the Spiritualist movement to tell Maria’s life story.

This biography also includes accounts of more than thirty of Maria’s seances, 130 illustrations, and appendixes with reproductions of her medical articles, a handwritten spirit communication from one of Maria’s private sittings, and fully documented Trenholm and Hayden genealogies.

From the publisher's website: Weaving together the story of his fractured relationship to his mother with research into her paranormal abilities, Dr. Christian Smith has created, in The Scientist and the Psychic, a captivating, one-of-a-kind memoir of belief, skepticism and familial love.

Further information at the publisher's website: Random House Canada.

Review by Ciaran Farrell.

From the publisher's website: Dowsing simply means searching for something by intuition. It’s widely regarded as being a psychic method of looking for water, but it’s so much more than that – you can dowse for everything from lost objects to the self-knowledge hidden in your subconscious – and this book will show you exactly how.

Further information at the publisher's website: Watkins.