Braud and Schlitz chose the Galvanic Skin Response (GSR--essentially a
measure of sweating) as the physiological measure, because the GSR is a good general index
of sympathetic nervous system activation: high GSR levels indicate that a person may be
anxious or nervous (which is why the GSR is one of the main measures in lie-detectors).
The 'patient', situated in one of the laboratory rooms, was hooked up to the GSR
electrodes; the signal coming from these electrodes was channeled into another room, and
displayed through a polygraph to the 'healer.' The healer was given a precise schedule
which instructed him when to attempt to 'influence' the other person (i.e., to increase or
decrease GSR activity), and when to simply 'rest' (ignore the graph and concentrate on
something else). So the healer was instructed to alternate between, say, one-minute
'influence' periods and one-minute 'rest' periods.
After running a large number of 'patients' through this protocol, Braud and Schlitz
analyzed results, comparing each person's average GSR activity during 'influence' vs.
'rest' periods. It turned out that the GSR activity during 'influence' periods was
significantly 'shifted' from GSR activity during 'rest' periods: the distant 'healer' had
somehow succeeded in affecting the other person's physiology, in a very precise manner.
Subsequent studies, at the Mind Science Foundation and elsewhere, have similarly yielded
significant results -- both for talented 'healers' (including 'psychics') and for 'normal'
folks, who claim no particular psychic talent.
The effects obtained were sometimes quite strong. In one of the studies, in addition to
the procedure described above (biofeedback information given to a distant 'healer')
participants were also given the opportunity to learn to control their own GSR, through
normal biofeedback. The researchers could thus compare GSR shifts when the person is
controlling his or her own body, vs. GSR shifts when someone else is attempting to
influence them. It turned out that during the self-control sessions, the average GSR shift
was about 19%; in sessions with a distant healer, the average GSR shift was 10%.
Obviously, self-control did produce a stronger effect; but, still, the difference was not
that great. What's really surprising here is that the influence of another person, from a
distance, would be in the same ballpark as the influence we have on our own physiological
system. |
