According to Durham University, mediums who “hear the dead” may have a history of unusual auditory experiences – they are more likely to experience absorption, which is linked to altered states of consciousness.
In the past, we have discussed how science explains romantic attraction and what science has to say about the possibility that strangers want to communicate with us.
Science now offers us an explanation for the experiences of mediums.
There are countless beliefs about what awaits mankind on the other side of death. For some it is heaven or reincarnation, for others it is the earth’s earth or a new world. Then there is further division – those who believe that communication is possible, and those who do not.
This research was done by Durham University to investigate what people are more likely to believe.
In the current pandemic, more than two million people have died. As vaccination patterns in some countries are slowly creeping up, others are still waiting for their first innocence. More deaths are coming, which are hampering the mental and physical health of the world population. This is an unprecedented situation that has led to communities seeking support in each other.
First, what is spiritualism?
One of these communities is the Spiritualists’ National Union (SNU). Their website describes Spiritualism as the ‘true’ way to communicate with ‘deceased spirits’:’ Spiritualist churches and centers offer many places where communication through the medium is possible and many beloved family members and friends use this opportunity to continue to pursue interest in our well-being and us. ”
Interest in Spiritualism is growing in the UK, with various organizations supporting, training and offering the services of exercise media. The SNU claims that it has a congregation of about 11,000 people today.
The researchers conducted a survey among 65 clairvoyant spiritualist mediums of the Spiritualists’ National Union and 143 members of the general population in the largest scientific study on the experiences of clairvoyant mediums.
Dr Peter Moseley, co-author of the study at Northumbria University, said: ‘Spiritualists tend to report unusual auditory experiences that are positive, start early in life and which they are then able to control. It is important to understand how it develops, as it can help us understand more about disturbing or uncontrollable experiences of hearing voices as well. ”
Second, what did the researchers find out about communication?
Through their study, the researchers collected detailed descriptions of the way in which mediums experience ‘voices’ and compare the levels of absorption, hallucination, aspects of identity and belief in the paranormal.
Less than half spoke to the dead every day
They found that 44.6% of the spiritualist participants reported daily to hear the voices of the deceased, while 33.8% reported an experience of clarity in the last day.
This is part of the daily routine for those who have done it
A large majority (79%) said that experiences of auditory spiritual communication were part of their everyday lives, which took place only when they were alone and as a medium as a spiritualist church.
Inside or outside the mind?
Although spirits were heard mainly inside the head (65.1%), 31.7% of the participants in spiritists said that they experience spiritual voices coming from inside and outside their minds.
Usually 21 when communication begins
Spiritualists reported that they first had clarity at an average age of 21.7 years. However, 18% of spiritualists reported that they had ‘as long as they could remember’, and 71% had not encountered Spiritualism before their first experiences as a religious movement.
Third, how do these experiences compare to the general population?
For the general population, absorption was linked to levels of belief in the paranormal, but there was no significant correlation between belief and hallucination propensity.
To understand any of this, we must first understand what absorption is.
According to this research, absorption reflects the cognitive ability of an individual to engage in sensory and imaginative experiences in ways that alter the perception, memory, and mood of the individual with behavioral and biological consequences. In the words of Auke Tellegen, the psychologist who coined the term, it is a disposition or personality trait that enables a person to be absorbed in their mental images.
According to the researchers, this indicates that it does not yield to social pressures, learning to have specific expectations, or a level of belief in the paranormal that leads to experiences of spiritual communication.
On the contrary, some people seem to be uniquely prone to absorption and more likely to report unusual auditory experiences that occur early in life. For many of these individuals, spiritualistic beliefs are adopted because it meaningfully connects to those unique personal experiences.
‘Learn and taste’
Lead researcher Dr Adam Powell of Durham University’s Hearing the Voice project and the Department of Theology and Religion said: ‘Our findings say a lot about’ learning and longing ‘. For our participants, it seems that the principles of Spiritualism make sense of extraordinary childhood experiences as well as the frequent auditory phenomena they experience as exercise mediums.
“But all these experiences can be more the result of certain tendencies or early abilities than simply believing in the possibility of coming into contact with the dead if one tries hard enough.”
Read the full study here.