01379. LARCHER, HUBERT. PARAPSYCHOLOGY: YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: STARGATE
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96-00792R000701050001-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 5, 2000
• Sequence Number: 1
• Content Type: LIST

Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792RO'OO7G1G5000104379-01383
be attended by Dietz and six medical doctors. From the very start
of the seance, Dicbel was intensely watched such that he could not
play any fraudulent tricks. Dressed only in bathing trunks, he was
seated in an armchair, and the armchair was placed on top of a
table so every person present could watch him. On two places of his
body (the left thigh and the left side of his trunk) circles about 5 cm.
in diameter were drawn. Diebel was then asked to make blood
come out of these circles. After some time blood was suddenly seen
to gush out of the circle on Diebel's thigh. Several drops of blood
ran down his leg. When this circle was examined by means of a
magnifying glass, the circle's skin was found to be completely
intact. An experiment to make Diebel's eyes bleed did not succeed.
All those present declared that they were convinced that the
bleeding of the circle on the thigh could not be explained in a
normal manner. Dietz stated that Diebel's bleeding was a para-
normal phenomenon. -- G.Z.
REVUE METAPSYCf11QUE
(Editor: David Hess)
Hubert,. Parapsychology: Yesterday, today, ant
tomorrow. es_e etapsyc? ique1982, 16(1-4), 7-2-1. 36 refs
"this article divided into three sections corresponding to the
divisions of the title. The terms "parapsychology" and "para-
physics" were coined by Max Dessoir in 1889, and the Rhinean
usage was introduced in.. ranee around 1954 by Robert Amadou.
The term metapsvchique (metapsychics) was introduced by Charles
Richet in 1905. "Objective metapsychics" corresponds to para-
physics, and "subjective metapsychics" corresponds to parapsy-
chology. The term "psychotronics" was first introduced in 1954 by
the French engineer Fernand Clerc, and it was subsequently
adopted by the Prague school.
Today a war of paradigms dominates the field. Parapsycholo-
gists with a "spiritualist" (philosophical, not religious, sense)
perspective tend to argue for a new paradigm, whereas psycho-
tronicians, with a materialist perspective, attempt to encompass
metaphysical phenomena under the existing scientific paradigm as
reducible to matter and energy. Metaphysical researchers propose
a more global paradigm that encompasses objective and subjective
phenomena as well as their interactions.
The future will be a time of the "supplement of the soul," as the
philosopher Henri Bergson called metapsychical phenomena.
Certain promising areas of future research include dermal-optical
perception, altered states of consciousness, microplethysmography,
and ethnometapsychics. - D.H.
01380. Duplessis, Yvonne. Non-visual perception of colored sur-
faces. Revue Metapsychique, 1982, 16(1-4), 29-45.2 figs; 30 refs,.]
table
nonvisual perception of colored surfaces: synesthesia, paranormal
perception (clairvoyance and/or telepathy), and dermal-optical
perception (DOP). The latter operates through a sensing mechanism
in the skin that is probably responsive to infrared radiation. The
author argues that one in six people can develop DOP, and it is a
skill comparable to musical ability. For DOP training and tests,
colors are put on various types of surfaces (e.g., paper, plastic) and
placed in opaque boxes. Training takes place in four stages: (1)
Subjects learn to associate colors with some tactile sensation such
as weight, thickness, or heat; (2) Subjects move from distinguishing
pairs of colors to triads; (3) Subjects do not touch the stimuli,
which are placed at a 5-20 cm distance from the hands; and (4) Sub-
jects try DOP with various transparent (glass, plastic) or opaque
(cardboard, aluminum foil) screens placed over the colors.
In addition to DOP tests, the author also performed a clair-
voyance test with bi-color cards in opaque cardboard envelopes. A
protocol of 25,000 trials with 25 color combinations yielded above
Approved For Release 2000/08/15
chance results, with green giving the highest results and the colors
at the end of the spectrum (red-orange and blue-violet) yielding the
lowest results. Other data on results by color are presented. There
is no information in this article on double blind conditions
(although the author reports using them in DOP studies), optional
stopping, number of subjects, statistical procedures, etc. - D.H.
01381. Virel, Andre. Image of the body. Image of the world.
Revue Metapsychique, 1982, 16(1-4), 47-50. 8 refs
The author questions dichotomies such as expression/im-
pression, motor/sensory, etc. Images or cognitive schemes of the
body cannot be separated from general spatio-temporal schemes.
Greek and Christian myths are compared; they mark the transition
between mythic thought (atemporal) and historical thought (tem-
poral). In these myths, images of the body and of the world are
intertwined. - D.H.
01382. Daran, Henri. The structure of perception and meta-
psychics: Anthropodynamic Studies I. Revue Metapsychique,
1982, 16(1-4), 51-55. 3 refs
The author describes the perceptual act as that which gives
reality to the objects of the exterior world. He insists on a
relativistic concept of reality for individual, cultural, and historical
schemes, and he applies these considerations to the "objects of
deformed reality," which are the objects or events shaped by
psychokinesis. The author discusses the importance of the system
of inhibition of information in the production of certain meta-
psychical phenomena. He presents metapsychics from the perspec-
tive of a cross-fertilization of the reality of the world and the
presence of the person, that is, from the perspective of an
"anthropodynamic of perception." - D.H.
01383. Passeron, Aube. Haiti: Horse-men and the living dead.
Revue Metapsychique, 1982, 16(1-4), 57-76. 7 refs
The author first reviews the historical and cultural background
of Haitian religion. Haitian voodoo is the result of a mixture of
African religions brought by the slaves during the colonial period.
These religions were further syncretized with the Catholicism of
the European colonists, resulting in a complex pantheon of deities.
Voodoo encompasses both a domestic version, which is localized
in a village or neighborhood temple called a hounfort, and a tourist
version. Training of voodoo sacerdotes is a complex process
involving four major stages. The fourth stage is called the "prise des
yeux" (capture of the eyes or second sight), when the sacerdote or
houngan is believed to obtain clairvoyant powers.
The author describes several voodoo ceremonies that he ob-
served, including both tourist and nontourist voodoo. He argues
that tourist voodoo should not be dismissed out of hand, and he
cites some anomalous behavior that he observed during one of
such ceremonies. In nontourist voodoo ceremonies at Jacmel, the
author saw several trance episodes. (The "horse" of the title of the
article refers to the popular designation of mediums as horses.)
Possible paranormal phenomena that the author observed included
swallowing glass, walking through a wood fire (about 10 seconds),
and chewing on hot fire brands. He offers alternative, nonpara-
normal explanations for the phenomena observed, and he compares
possession episodes to the general phases of possession-trance
described by Georges Lapassade in Essaisur la trance (Essay about
Trance). The general range of ostensible paranormal phenomena
associated with voodoo includes "spirit" voices, xenoglossy,
levitation, telepathy, divination, healing, and black magic.
The author also discussed three case histories of zombies who
had been in the care of Dr. Lamarck Douyon, Director of the
Center of Psychiatry at Port-au-Prince. One victim suffered from
poisoning symptoms, was pronounced dead, and was buried.
During this period he had an experience similar to an out-of-body
experience of the parapsychological literature. This victim was
later exhumed and taken away as a slave. Dr. Douyon explained
that a neighbor or relative of the victim pays the bokor, or
practitioner of black magic, a sum of money to make the victim
into a zombie. Victims must be exhumed within 12 hours if they are
CIA-RDP96-00792R000701050001-4