ESP

8 Pages 2064 Words

We have all learned about the five senses we possess: taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell. Still, we wonder, “Do we possess another sense, a supernatural power? Does ESP actually exist or is it just coincidence?” For over a century, scientists have run thousands of experiments to learn if we have supernatural powers. American parapsychologist, J.B. Rhine, coined the term "extrasensory perception" to describe the apparent ability of some people to acquire information without the use of the known five senses (www.parapsych.org 1). Extrasensory perception, or ESP, has been tested using three categories: telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition. Skeptics question the validity of these tests and suggest that ESP is attributed to lucky guesses or coincidence (Netzley 10). Despite the lack of belief in extrasensory perception, there is significant evidence and proof that most people possess this power, they just may not know how to use it, and that it clearly exists. (Netzley Parapsych.org)

“Extrasensory perception is the ability to experience reality independently of the known channels of sensory perception. It expands the limits of human experience to permit access to realities otherwise unavailable (Slate 7).” Although people possess ESP, it mostly goes unrecognized and occurs without the awareness of those involved. Likewise, for cases that have been consciously experienced, ESP may be suppressed, rationalized, or denied (Slate 7). As a result of the unconscious activities that have occurred, many instances of psychic occurrences have gone unreported. (Slate)

Extrasensory perception is classified into three main categories: telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition. Telepathy, the ability to receive a thought or feeling from the mind of another (Netzley 12), is “possibly the most frequently used mechanism for interpersonal communication (Slate 9).” Conditions that are commonly associated with occurrences o...