Paranormal community/Glossary

Glossary of terms related to the study of the paranormal

These terms are often encountered in the study of paranormal (non-physical) subjects. Theyare based on glossaries maintained by:, and .

C

Clairvoyance: Sometimes called remote viewing; obtaining information about events at remote locations, beyond the reach of the normal senses.

E

Extra-sensory perception (ESP): Anomalous perception of information; information acquired by a person by using other than the five physical senses. See: telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition and presentiment.

F

First sight: the hypothesis that people are able to sense information from a hypothetical subtle energy field, and that this is a natural form of human sensing.

H

Haunting: Recurrent phenomena reported to occur in particular locations that include apparitions, sounds, movement of objects, and other effects.

M

mental medium: A person who practices mediumship in behalf of other people. In this concept, a medium is a person who has learned to sense information from the hypothetical subtle energy-space and convey that information to others. If the person is operating in a mediumistic mode, then the information is assumed to be coming from a discarnate personality. If the person is operating in a psychic mode, then the information is assumed to be coming from the subtle-energy environment. Mediumship: A form of psi functioning that is thought to involve anomalous acquisition of information from discarnate personalities.

N

Near-death experience (NDE): The process of physically dying, being revived and being aware of experiences acquired while clinically dead. Commonly reported experiences include: feelings of peace, being out of the body, seeing lights, visitation by loved ones and a light at the end of a tunnel which is thought to represent the beginning of transition out of this lifetime.

Mind-matter interaction: Also known as psychokinesis (PK); direct mental interaction with physical objects, animate or inanimate. More traditionally known as levitation.

O

Out-of-body experience (OBE): The sense of feeling being out of the body so that the person sees his or her physical body.

P

Place memory: Sometimes referred to as "echoes of the past," this is the apparent retention by places and objects of information about past.

Poltergeist: Large-scale PK phenomena often attributed to spirits. Current research suggests that phenomena may be caused by a living person or group of people; most frequently a child.

Precognition: Also called premonition. Obtaining information about future events, where the information could not be inferred through normal means. Many people report dreams that appear to be precognitive.

Presentiment: Changes in a person's physiological parameters are instrumentally noted prior to the application of a stimulus. This is thought to suggest that a person is aware of the environment on an unconscious level. See: First sight

Psi energy: A term that is frequently used to describe a hypothetical ubiquitous, nonlocal subtle energy field.

Psi phenomena: Phenomena that is thought to involve psi energy.

Psi functioning: Human (mind) interaction with psi energy to cause psi phenomena. Psi, psychic and psychical are synonyms.

Psychic: A person who is able to influence psi or is sensitive to information in psi energy. See: Medium

R

Reincarnation: The concept that a person's present lifetime is but one of many past and future lifetimes: being reborn into a lifetime.

T

Telepathy: Mind-to-mind communication. In psi functioning, this is a psychic behavior.