SUBJECT: BRIEFING FOR HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE RE OTS INVOLVEMENT IN ESP RESEARCH (Sanitized)

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Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP96-00787R000500170001-0
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RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
S
Document Page Count: 
7
Document Creation Date: 
November 4, 2016
Document Release Date: 
August 27, 2004
Sequence Number: 
1
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Publication Date: 
November 17, 1977
Content Type: 
MFR
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Approved For Release 2005%03/24 .:'CIA-RDP91-0d787R000500170 SECRET SG1I OTS/BAB MEMO #287-77 17 November 1977 SG1A SG1I MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD SUBJECT: Briefing for House Permanent Select mittee re OTS Involvement in ESP Research I 1.0 In response to a request from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, OTS briefed Committee staff personnel on its involvement in,ESP research. The meeting was held in the Committee's offices from approximately 1000 to 1100 hours on 16 November 1977 and was attended by: David Brandwein D /OTS OLC OTS /BAB Committee Staff it 11 Michael O'Neil Dick Geza Pat Long SG1A SG1A SG1A 2 . [I The Committee's interest was occasioned* by. the artic e "Psychic Spying" which appeared in the Parade Section of the Washington Post on 7 August 1977. The staffers wanted an informal background briefing on Agency research efforts on ESP. 3. A short oral history of OTS efforts in the field, data.ng back to 1961, was presented. All three staffers asked very pertinent questions and were given frank and in-depth replies. 4. Since the Agency representatives present could SG1I speak only for OTS, was asked to find out SG1 A SG1 A Approved For Release 2005/03/24 :ICIA-RDPI96M0787R000500170001-0 Approved For Release 2005/03/24 : C1A-RDP96-00787R000500170001-0 S E C R E T OTS/BAB MEMO #287-77 Page 2 if any other Agency component was sponsoring ESP type research. 5.1I A written outline of QTS work. on ESP classifie SECRET --, the IEEE article covering the un- classified portions of the work done by SRI and,.a brief article on Mr. Pat Price were left with the Committee. Additional information was offered but they declined. QTS BAB SG1I Approved For Release 2005/03/24: CIA-RDP96-00787R000500170001-0 titer learn vi his instru ~vmqP `Picked u .the diabe a oms o 3e pic)gd a woman' s wits t ba f articles with. without k w?er wa d desc rib ' 470W of he ti tch fiat day. an Cher time, atch out of wi who the d a pain the owner. Sh ing tennisyartier olden feels ~tfrrongl say to f paraptycholog j' ',,6u, you're f9 d 'the impor- a one can ~Eppp, Ho v -wh lever it w o t pis field. I p riore, and Irk 'ho are inv ere is a gr. e eng o se it deal am people ? rsk~~/ 0787R00'05 rs presr envy, rice recently accom- panied chairman of the board David L. Francis and a group of company engi- neers on an inspection tour of the prop- ertiees and `"saw" beneath the surface seven seams of coal in a mountain. His analysis was corroborated by the engi- neers. Over the past year, Price has been tested by. physicists at Stanford Re- search Institute (SRI) in Menlo Park, California, with positive results. In one experiment he was able to mentally change the electronically measured out- put of a revolving clock pendulum at which a laser was beamed. On com- mand and for forty-five minutes, he al- tered the output of the system below its normal "at rest" level, seemingly an. Patrick Price impossible feat. in another experiment, he exteriorized and correctly described in detail a location several miles from.the he newly appointed president of Prin- laboratory that not even the experiment- :ess Coal Company in Huntington, West ers knew would be the target. This ex- rirginia, refers to himself as, "One who periment was reported in Nature, the perates with or without a body." Patrick prestigious English scientific journal. rice is not playing word games with Yet another experiment with an SRI cat statement. It has been scientifically physicist has convinced Price that he hown that he can "exteriorize" his con- can change the genetic structure of cious self to obtain data and informa- plant life. Thus, one of his. goals is to in through ESP. develop hybrid seeds. He now is setting Price's remarkable, ability is being put up a program at Kathys Farms to modify use by Princess. to, develop its coal the genetic structure of food plants in sources.in an expanding energy mar- order to build up their resistance to in- ct. His talent will also be used in direct- sects, droughts, severe soil and weather sg operations of Princess's sister'b6m7-_ conditions, and to reduce their growth hies which include Sycamore Coal cycles. Asked about the success of nd Kathys Farms, the group's agri- such a program, Price answers, ''The ultural arm encompassing some 4,500. numerous experiments I have willingly Ores of farmlands and game preserves, undergone under very stringent labora- . wall as a showcase ranch for raising ioroughbred horses. With a vast acre- age that extends over several states, rlnc.ess Coal is purchasing a helicopter whisk Price around the group's wide- ; read holdings. Excited about putting his abilities to se in the coal industry, Price says, "I !;ow that coal has certain properties t if released and properly utilized rould handle any energy needs we have -r the next three to four hundred years." A man of unwavering confidence with cordial disposition and penetrating lrue eyes. Price says he will also use his naque ability to ascertain the company's o~ploration and production reports. "I nn't need to physically leave the office do that," he asserts matter of.factly, :recause the coal fields are only a cou- e hundred miles away and distance is problem mentally." Nevertheless, he will go into the field tory conditions over the past year at SRI show that I can produce an effect at will that is measureable and that gives posi- tive results." Price was fifty when, as he states, "I had an analytical awareness as to the availability of abilities I already had." He credits Scientology for "open- ing new vistas and abilities of self to me and which I now use as a matter of fact." The unique businessman has oper- ated across the business spectrum from his family's construction and building business to a packaging company he once owned. He has also held various posts in government ranging from com- missioner of police and fire for the City of Burbank, California, to city council- man and board chairman. From his own personal experiences, and those with others in business and government, Price now believes that everyone can do what he does and that such abilities are not extra-normal or 'riod!cally to consult wi ',s a fir Re1'e4d~sde''8Y0 '4ei b1 P96-b07~ ',ra his impressions of areas eing uniquely displaying them," he agrees, II "but the only, difference is that I have knowingly assumed responsibility far what I do and make the constant deci- sion that it is perfectly okay to do it.'. Price feels that most people refuse to confront this aspect of themselves .which is why they are unaware of it or don't make proper use of it. Yet it does function for successful businessmen: whether they admit it or not, he adds. "Those who really make a thing a suc- themselves. They're 'not just following books, procedures, computers, or ad: visors because they innately understand that most of the combined data was gathered erroneously and, therefore,. would lead them to false conclusions." . He predicts that others like himseff will follow him in business and that com- panies will start utilizing such skills and: abilities in their operations. "By virtue of the fact that I have come forward," states Price, "it can help un- lock doors for those in business ... they can either challenge what I say and do or they can accept- it and apply it to self." Asked about how he sees his own performance with Princess Coal and its allied companies in the months ahead. Price replied, "I have no reservations about the positive results. Besides. I am putting myself on the line and am wilt- ing to be measured by the company's performance under my guidance. As any businessman knows, the final proof of how valuable I may be will tell on the bottom line, Approved For Release 2005/03/24 8196-00787R000500170001-0 SG1A Up to 1961 10/61 SG1 B SG1A 4/72 SG1A 8/72 SG1A 10/72 SG1A 2/73 SG1A 3/73 SG1A 4/73 5/73 OTS Involvement in ESP Research Monitoring only U ORD/OTS are contacted by Targ and Puthoff of SRI. Demonstrations by Ingo Swann appear to show ESP has useful/practical Intel application (Swann apparently caused a magnetometer to fluctuate). SG1 A I Contract with SRI (OTS/ORD) -- a demon- SG1 stration of using ESP to describe hidden objects. The A results are so good is provided to work up SG1 a more complete research plan. A OTS funds contract with SRI to explore e talents of two subjects., Both results and abili- ties are inconsistent. One Subject can cause a change of temperature while another can reproduce information in a sealed envelope. But neither can duplicate the work of the other. ORD renews its interest in the project and it becomes a joint OTS/ORD effort. A third "sensitive" (Pat Price) is discovered with an apparent ability for "remote viewing." The poten- tial use of this technique for intelligence gathering spurs all concerned to move ahead quickly. A new contract to continue and expand the work at is forwarded from OTS/ORD to the DDO (Mr. Colby) for review and is'referred to the Executive Management Committee because of its sensitivity. who.decides to allow the existing contract to be completed without a follow-on. OTS is told this work is too sensitive and potentially embarrassing. At this time OTS is in the midst of an investigation The contract is finally sent to the DCI (Schlesinger) Approved For Release 2005/03 DP96-00787R000500170001-0 IEGSTF Approved For Release 2005/03/24 l DP96-00787R000500170001-0 regarding its role in the Watergate affair. I An "informal" experiment at SRI with an OSI scientist on remote viewing uncovers classified information and renews Agency interest in ESP. Two "remote viewers" provide a good description of a military site by accident. They are then asked to describe the interior of the building and produce physical layout, code words and a list of personnel. The names of the people prove to be incorrect but the 'description of the interior and the code names are accurate enough to convince the new DCI (Colby) to renew work on ESP. A new joint OTS/ORD project is funded to develop and utilize ESP. ORD is to concentrate ?n identifying and measuring the phenomena while OTS is to evaluate the operational usefulness of the people and techniques without trying to "understand" them. L Friction soon develops between ORD, OTS and the con- ractor because of conflicting interests. ORD wants very strict experimental procedures. OTS wants more practical applications and the contractor wants less security constraints. The Agency wants more research while the contractor wants more time and money. ORD and OTS come up with different interpretations of the same data. New directors are named to OTS and ORD. Neither c. irector feels "comfortable" with the project. The first real use of ESP for intelligence collec- tion is a remote viewing attempt of a Soviet research facility (URDF-3 or PNUTS). Results are frustrating and inconclusive. Much of the information is simply wrong. But some of it is so unusual and detailed that it cannot be ignored. The results are des- cribed as valid messages being transmitted over noisy channels. Approved For Release 2005/0 RDP96-00787R000500170001-0 Approved For Release 2005/03/2DP96-00787R000500170001-0 3 SG1A SG1 B SG1A SG1A SG1A SG1A OTS quickly looses its enthusiasm for ESP re-- search and directs the project officer to come up with practical applications or abandon the project. These results :,pare reviewed by other DDO components and new requirements are generated. However, OTS and ORD managements both decide' not to continue the project. OTS believes the long range nature of the research take it out of the purview of its charter and ORD believes the work performed by SRI ?is unworthy of further support. In response to specific requests from DDO components OTS does agree to maintain a very limited interest in ESP. Responsibility for the work is turned over to an OTS psychologist. He .:is told to conduct "opera- tional" experiments but to devote no more than two percent of his time to the work. The best of the SRI Subjects agree to work -- on a part-time basis -- with the psychologist, as do'. two OTS staff officers who hove also demonstrated "remote viewing" ability. One of the requests for operational support is a set of geographic co-ordinates which one of the Area Desks has submitted as a target for "remote viewing." The two OTS engineers volunteer to "view" the site and describe an installation under construction which they believe to be The customer is highly impressed with this information Approved For Release 2005/03/24: 6-00787R000500170001-0 SG1A SG1A SG1A SG1A 9/75 SG1A 10/75 Approved For Release 2005/03 a DP96-00787R000500170001-0 This same DDO office then provide new co-ordinates which are in turn passed on to the "outside" Subject, (Price). The results of this experiment are presented to the customer in report form -- with a detailed sketch-- for evaluation. Before a meeting can be set up, however, Mr. Price dies of a heart attack. Subsequent attempts to have the area desk evaluate the experiment -- in writing -- finally result. in a somewhat confusing, but nevertheless official, report. Mr. Price's death effectively ends all official OTS. involvement in ESP research. Approved For Release 2005/03/24 : , 6-00787R000500170001-0