| Abstract/Results: | ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND AND AIM
A defining aspect of Spiritual Emergency (SE) is ‘psychic opening’ which may predict psi performance. This study tested psi performance of individuals experienced in spiritual emergency, and compared performances with controls. Also assessed were psychological aspects of SE to differentiate it from psychosis, alogia, depression, anxiety, and stress.
METHOD
Two groups: controls (Psych. students) and SE-Experients. Participants completed the study on computer. Questionnaires on SE, psychic opening, psychosis, spiritual identity, paranormal belief, mysticism, depression, anxiety, and stress were administered to participants, who then completed the Imagery Cultivation (IC) picture-identification psi task (Storm & Rock, 2009).
RESULTS
The differences between controls and SE-experients on the psi measures, direct hitting (hit-count) and mean rank scores, were not significant, but the sum-of-ranks difference was highly significant. SE-experients had a near-significant mean rank score. Direct hitting did not correlate significantly with psychosis, alogia, SE, psychic opening, spiritual identity, paranormal belief, or mysticism, but rank scores correlated significantly with psychic opening, spiritual identity, and paranormal belief, and marginally significantly with SE. Direct hitting, rank scores, and SE did not correlate significantly with the psychosis measures (depression, anxiety, and stress), but psychosis did correlate significantly with alogia, depression, anxiety, stress, and SE.
CONCLUSIONS
The statistical evidence suggests SE-experients experienced more psychic opening and more psi than controls. SE was differentiated from psychosis, by not correlating with alogia, depression, anxiety, or stress.
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