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         MindNet Journal - Vol. 1, No. 79
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         V E R I C O M M sm                 "Quid veritas est?"
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    REMOTE VIEWING TEST

    By Martin Cannon

    May 1996

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    Hi. My name is Martin Cannon. About five years ago I annoyed
    researchers in various fields with a monograph called "The
    Controllers." The book-length update of this paper will include a
    few words about "Remote Viewing," which seems to be THE hot topic
    among both political and paranormal investigators right now. Ever
    since a CIA officer discussed the Agency's interest on Nightline,
    a sort of RV mania has swept over many people.

    This mania has been exacerbated by the recent book "Cosmic
    Voyage," by Courtney Brown ("PHD.," as he like to remind us)
    which has proven extremely popular -- some people revere it as a
    Third Testament. In the book, Brown uses RV to obtain interviews
    with Martians, Jesus, and Buddha. Now, if I were having a
    dialogue with a discarnate entity calling itself Jesus, I'd ask
    him to say a few words in Aramaic. And Buddha might want to
    predict the winner of next year's World Series in Sanskrit. But
    the RV advocates with whom I've spoken say that this response
    indicates a decidedly negative, un-groovy attitude, the sort of
    attitude that inhibits proper RV functioning.

    Now, let me quickly make one point quite clear: I am not
    completely skeptical of remote viewing claims. A few years ago, I
    got a call out of the blue from a lady named Shelly Thomas, who
    described herself as a remote viewer trained by the Psi-Tech
    organization. I tested her. Specifically, I asked her if she
    could describe the painting then hanging over my couch. As it
    happened, this was a particularly unusual painting (Jupiter as
    viewed from one of its moons -- I had done this airbrush work in
    my other life as a commercial illustrator). Shelly had a go at it
    -- AND SHE WAS SPOT ON! Very accurate. I made sure not to say ONE
    WORD -- I did not even breathe an audible breath -- while she
    delivered her description. The whole experience was genuinely
    uncanny.

    So I cannot dismiss all such claims. It's possible, of course,
    that she had spoken to someone who visited my home. This seems
    unlikely, since no-one I know appears to have met or spoken with
    Shelly.

    Despite this experience, I am becoming somewhat skeptical of the
    many remote viewing claims that I am now hearing. The whole thing
    has become rather too faddish for my taste. Moreover, I am
    finding it quite difficult to have a normal conversation with
    certain people -- they refuse to differentiate between
    information received via the normal five senses and information
    obtained psychically. It is annoying to have to constantly ask:
    "Wait -- just HOW do you know this?"

    Sorry folks, but data obtained through RV is NOT "just as valid"
    as data obtained via the eye and the ear. For example: I've met
    two people who "RV-ed" what happened in 1947 at Roswell, New
    Mexico, and neither story even "remotely" matches the other.

    Anyone out there want to prove me wrong? Okay, let's do it. I am
    quite sincere here. I'd like to offer a challenge -- in the TRUE
    spirit of inquiry, and not in the spirit of CSICOPian smarminess.
    I'll publish the results in my book. Instead of remote viewing
    things which cannot be validated, such as Jesus, Martians,
    Roswell, etc., let's have a go at things which CAN be validated.

    Specifically: The NEW paintings above my couch.

    I have two new paintings on the wall above my couch. I moved into
    this place only quite recently, and have had very few visitors.
    Thus, it is not likely that any hoaxer can determine the nature
    of those paintings using conventional means.

    Now, let's not have any rationalizations about why this is not a
    fair test. I've heard plenty of such rationalizations, and to be
    frank, they always sound to me like special pleading , or --
    forgive my bluntness -- like whining. The point is this: Shelly
    Thomas did not rationalize. She faced the test fairly and
    squarely, and came through with flying colors. Maybe some of you
    folks can do the same?

    If co-ordinates pinpointing my home are necessary -- well, all I
    can tell you is that I live quite near the corner of Lankersheim
    and Laurel Canyon in North Hollywood, California. (A truly CRUMMY
    neighborhood.) Sorry, I don't have longitude or latitude for that
    location, but you can look it up on a map if you need to.

    I'd be very grateful to anyone who participates in this
    experiment. Any successful RV-ers who want to be mentioned by
    name in my book or radio appearances, will be. I promise to keep
    private all other names. And I promise NOT to make fun of, or to
    criticize in any way, anyone who honestly attempts this test, and
    fails.

    This challenge seems perfectly fair to me. C'mon, all you
    self-proclaimed RV-ers: Give it a go. Fame and glory to those who
    succeed, and no hard feelings toward those who fall short. If I
    can prove that Shelly's hit was NOT just a fluke, if I can prove
    that this stuff really DOES exist, I would love to state so in my
    book.

    I look forward to any replies...

      - Martin Cannon

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