A Manifesto for Psychic Liberation
The word "psychic" is derived from the Greek work 'psychikos' meaning "of the psyche," or "soul." The reference is to aspects of human nature that are not readily explainable in terms of conventional, material science. For millennia, the nature and powers of the human psyche have been investigated by mystics and philosophers; artists, poets, and storytellers; and -- with increasing evidence that the spiritual and the material worlds are intricately connected -- scientists.
Dr. Jeffrey Mishlove, president of the Intuition Network and host of PBS television's "Thinking Allowed," is leading a new social movement that has dedicated itself to "the liberation of human, psychic potential from the triple restraints of ignorance, prejudice and fear." In their manifesto, Mishlove writes:
"The focus of this movement will be to shed the light of reason upon those situations where ignorance, fear and prejudice regarding human psychic functioning exist - particularly in the domains of education, science and religion. By confronting ignorance, fear and prejudice regarding psychic abilities, we hope to help create a world in which people feel encouraged to cultivate and apply their inner, intuitive abilities. ... Our call for psychic liberation proposes that we study, honor and celebrate this knowledge, and the wisdom derived from it. This knowledge is widespread. Yet, it remains on the fringes of our culture. Now the time has come to infuse the mainstream institutions of our culture with a deeper, more authentic understanding and appreciation of the faculties of the psyche."
The Intuition Network's Manifesto
Another word for 'psyche' is 'soul.' Exactly what the soul is and its location in the body has been of interest to great thinkers from ancient times, and has driven the work of theologians and scientists alike. Scientists as diverse from each other as psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, and parapsychologists all have the root word 'psyche' in their titles, but don't necessarily agree about anything else in their given fields. Why did the word "psyche" come to mean "all that constitutes the mind and its processes"*?
Scientific thinkers who had been steeped in classical Greek and Roman literature and mythology developed the technical language and terminology used today. They were profoundly affected by the symbolism found in the story of Psyche.
Psyche was assigned seemingly impossible tasks by the vengeful Aphrodite, To accomplish the tasks, Psyche went on a mystical journey which took her to the Underworld, where she retrieved a magickal sleeping potion from the goddess Persephone. On the way back, she took a draught of the potion herself, and fell in to a deep, dreaming sleep. Dreams are like mystical journeys in themselves: our dreams take us to strange, esoteric places our bodies can never go. Early developers of disciplines relating to the invisible realm of how the mind works saw Psyche's mythos as being symbolic of their own search for the location of what makes us who we are and what motivates the things we do.
'Psyche' simultaneously represents the soul, and the complete totality of our unconscious and conscious life force as well. The 'psyche' is considered to be an organic system, just as the circulatory or nervous systems are organic systems. Like them, the 'psyche' is an organic system with a network which reaches throughout our entire body, and it affects our health and actions within the material world. This idea can be related to the way a sample of our complete DNA code is present in every single cell of our bodies.
DNA is a tiny speck which not only contains the 'code' which makes individual cells differentiate into hair cells or lung cells or muscle cells, but also contains the 'code' to our entire existence as a unique and individualized living being. There is a DNA strand unique to each individual living being in every single cell of the billions of constantly regenerating cells of every living creature on earth.
Those who were hunting for the location of the 'soul' can stop looking, because they'll never find it in one location. Ancient scholars who believed our 'vital force' was in the brain and primitive warriors who ate the hearts of their enemies to absorb their souls were misguided and too limited in their thinking. Like DNA, our 'psyche' or 'soul' is located throughout our entire bodies!
According to some, our 'psyche' is even capable of influencing and manipulating matter and energy that exists in the material world of our dimension of space/time, and able to influence other dimensions of space/time as well. Parapsychologists believe that this is how such 'psychic powers' as remote viewing, telepathy, psychokinesis, and precognition work.
-- Cat, the Editor*Source: Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, Edition 11.
Other Sources:
Jungian Glossary of Terminology
The Nature of the Soul and its Location
The Home of the Soul
Jung and Yang: Synchronicity
ESP
EVP: Sounds in the Dark
Ghosts
Beyond the Veil
The Day of the Dead
2nd Sight Publications
2nd Sight Magazine
Body & Soul - Health & Spirituality
* S * H * I * N * Y * New in the Gallery
Cat Tales: Prose, Poetry, Parody, and Punnishment
2nd Sight Index Pages
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Cat Tales: Literary Page Index
