In his book, “Travels”, Michael Crichton shares many interesting experiences. One is about his experience with spoon bending:
http://www.michaelcrichton.net/books-travels-spoonbending.html
I found this account interesting and wanted to try this myself. The Monroe Institute offers one program that includes spoon bending. So I signed up for it and I brought my own utensils with me.
During the exercise one cultivates a relaxed and joyful state of consciousness. As I was holding a fork, I felt it become pliable, I bent it with little force, then at some point it stopped being pliable. I saw others who preferred to apply no force. They would hold a spoon by the handle with one hand with the bowl pointing upwards and wait for it to bend on its own. Others using light force bent the bowl of the spoon.
Dean Radin recounts a similar exercise.
http://www.deanradin.com/spoon.htm
I was happy to have had the experience. I repeated the process again a few times at later dates to confirm the experience.
In watching others, I noticed that when they saw one person bend a spoon, then many people became able to do it as well. Belief about the possibility affected the ability.
Some Skeptical Questions
Why isn’t this scientifically verified? The facilitator/instructor for the program was involved with extensive experiments at the PEAR lab. One can find a number of accounts of researchers investigating the topic.
If someone has PK, why aren’t they rich? The facilitator was a multi-millionaire, but that’s not his main interest.
If there is “mind over matter” isn’t there something more useful than bending spoons? Yes, many are interested in use of PK for healing. The simple experience of spoon bending can convince one of larger possibilities.
What about fraud? You supply the utensils, you do the bending.
Paradigm Implications
The causal factor here is the state of mind and the intention. Replication depends on achieving the state of mind. Negative beliefs will not produce results.
Current western science is tied to materialistic views so that assessment of an inner state is likely to be approached via FMR. For example, eeg does not detect lucid dreaming so scientists attempt to use FMR. A more productive approach would be for scientists to develop these abilities themselves.
I looked down. My spoon had begun to bend. I hadn't even realized. The metal was completely pliable, like soft plastic. It wasn't particularly hot, either, just slightly warm. I easily bend the bowl of the spoon in half, using only my fingertips. This didn't require any pressure at all, just guiding with my fingertips.
I put the bent spoon aside and tried a fork. After a few moments of rubbing, the fork twisted like a pretzel. It was easy. I bent several more spoons and forks.
Then I got bored. I didn't do any more spoon bending. I went and got coffee and a cookie. I was now far more interested in what kind of cookies they had then anything else.
Of course, spoon bending has been the focus of long-standing controversy. Uri Gellar, an Israeli magician, who claims psychic powers, often bends spoons, but other magicians, such a James Randi, claim that spoon bending isn't a psychic phenomenon at all, just a trick.
But I had bent a spoon, and I knew it wasn't a trick. I looked around the room and saw little children, eight or nine years old, bending large metal bars. They weren't trying to trick anybody. They were just little kids having a good time. Staying up past their bedtimes on a Friday night, going along with the adults, doing this silly bending stuff.
I put the bent spoon aside and tried a fork. After a few moments of rubbing, the fork twisted like a pretzel. It was easy. I bent several more spoons and forks.
Then I got bored. I didn't do any more spoon bending. I went and got coffee and a cookie. I was now far more interested in what kind of cookies they had then anything else.
Of course, spoon bending has been the focus of long-standing controversy. Uri Gellar, an Israeli magician, who claims psychic powers, often bends spoons, but other magicians, such a James Randi, claim that spoon bending isn't a psychic phenomenon at all, just a trick.
But I had bent a spoon, and I knew it wasn't a trick. I looked around the room and saw little children, eight or nine years old, bending large metal bars. They weren't trying to trick anybody. They were just little kids having a good time. Staying up past their bedtimes on a Friday night, going along with the adults, doing this silly bending stuff.
I found this account interesting and wanted to try this myself. The Monroe Institute offers one program that includes spoon bending. So I signed up for it and I brought my own utensils with me.
During the exercise one cultivates a relaxed and joyful state of consciousness. As I was holding a fork, I felt it become pliable, I bent it with little force, then at some point it stopped being pliable. I saw others who preferred to apply no force. They would hold a spoon by the handle with one hand with the bowl pointing upwards and wait for it to bend on its own. Others using light force bent the bowl of the spoon.
Dean Radin recounts a similar exercise.
After 5 minutes of intently watching the woman attempting to bend a similar spoon, to my surprise my spoon started to bend! In accordance with previous claims I had read, the bowl momentary felt like putty, and I easily pinched the bowl over as shown. It immediately hardened up, and it felt cold throughout. I used a thumb and one finger to make this bend, with hardly any force.
I was happy to have had the experience. I repeated the process again a few times at later dates to confirm the experience.
In watching others, I noticed that when they saw one person bend a spoon, then many people became able to do it as well. Belief about the possibility affected the ability.
Some Skeptical Questions
Why isn’t this scientifically verified? The facilitator/instructor for the program was involved with extensive experiments at the PEAR lab. One can find a number of accounts of researchers investigating the topic.
If someone has PK, why aren’t they rich? The facilitator was a multi-millionaire, but that’s not his main interest.
If there is “mind over matter” isn’t there something more useful than bending spoons? Yes, many are interested in use of PK for healing. The simple experience of spoon bending can convince one of larger possibilities.
What about fraud? You supply the utensils, you do the bending.
Paradigm Implications
The causal factor here is the state of mind and the intention. Replication depends on achieving the state of mind. Negative beliefs will not produce results.
Current western science is tied to materialistic views so that assessment of an inner state is likely to be approached via FMR. For example, eeg does not detect lucid dreaming so scientists attempt to use FMR. A more productive approach would be for scientists to develop these abilities themselves.