ESP and altered states of consciousness: an overview of conceptual and research trends

In another paper, Moriarty and Murphy (1967) speculated that altered states promoted

regression to "primary process" thinking, or even voluntary autistic

attending, which serves to heighten the sensory experiences in focus and to

shut out extraneous impressions. This "capacity for dissociability," insofar

as it is temporary and voluntary, is not pathological ... and thus is not

incompatible with high ego strength and cognitive effectiveness." (p. 204)

Such vision led them to postulate not only a relationship between ESP and a capacity for dissociation or alteration of consciousness, but also one between ESP and a general openness to all sorts of psychological experiences.

The interest in ESP and ASCs during the 1960s and the 1970s was also apparent in discussions from a variety of conferences (Cavanna, 1970; Cavanna & Ullman, 1968; Proceedings, 1961; Shapin & Coly, 1978), and in symposia or roundtables during the annual conventions of the Parapsychological Association (e.g., Honorton, 1978; Stevenson, 1971; Ullman, 1971; Van de Castle, 1975). By the 1970s, the topic had already entered into general books in the form of chapters or sections (e.g., Douglas, 1976; Panati, 1974; Pratt, 1973; Rogo, 1975) and was discussed in what, to this date, remains the best general discussion of ESP and ASCs, Adrian Parker's States of Mind: ESP and Altered States of Consciousness (1975b). During this decade, moreover, Charles Honorton, a leading figure in the experimental study of ESP during ASCs, published the most influential papers on this topic which both summarized this work and shaped a modern specialty of parapsychology devoted to ESP and ASCs (Honorton, 1974a, 1974b, 1974c, 1977).(11) Also influential at the time were the writings of Lawrence LeShan (1969, 1974), whose explanation of ESP in terms of access to other levels of reality helped maintain the idea that altered states could be glimpses of those alternate realities. But what was particularly important in this period was a return to empirical exploration of the idea of the existence of ESP-conducive states and variables responsible for success in these tests.

This period, which extends to the 1980s and to the 1990s as well, was mainly focused on experimental explorations. However, there were some studies with spontaneous cases that presented relevant information about dreams (e.g., Green, 1960; Prasad & Stevenson, 1968; L. E. Rhine, 1962). There have also been studies that explored precognitive dreams in terms of imagery, the previous experiences of the percipient (Heywood & Stevenson, 1966; Stevenson, 1963, 1992), and other features of the experience (Schriever, 1987; Sondow, 1988; Stowell, 1997a, 1997b). One influential study was Louisa Rhine's (1962) analysis of dream-ESP cases. She found that the proportion of ESP cases with complete information about an event or a person was higher in dreams than in waking states. More recently, re-analyses of spontaneous ESP cases collected by Sybo Schouten (1979, 1981, 1982) have also shown that dreams have more details related to the ESP message than do waking experiences.