The Reality of Extrasensory Perception

Russell Targ  is a physicist, an author, a pioneer in the development of the laser and laser applications, and a cofounder of the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) investigation of psychic abilities in the 1970s and 1980s. SRI is a research and development think tank in Menlo Park, California. His work in the psychic area, commonly referred to as remote viewing, has been published in Nature, The Proceedings of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE), and the Proceedings of the American Association the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Targ has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Queens College and did his graduate work in physics at Columbia University. He has received two National Aeronautics and Space- Administration awards for inventions and contributions to lasers and laser communications. In 1983 and 1984 he accepted invitations to present remote viewing demonstrations and to address the USSR Academy of Science on this research.

He is the author or co-author of nine books dealing with the scientific investigation of psychic abilities and Buddhist approaches to the transformation of consciousness, including Mind Reach: Scientists Look at Psychic Ability (with E. Harold Puthoff, 1977, 2005); Miracles of Mind: Exploring Nonlocal Consciousness and Spiritual Healing (with Jane Katra, 1998); and Limitless Mind: A Guide to Remote Viewing and Transformation of Consciousness (2004). He also wrote an autobiography, Do You See What I See: Memoirs of a Blind Biker in 2008. His current book is The Reality of ESP: A Physicist’s Proof of Psychic Abilities.

As a senior staff scientist at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, Targ developed airborne laser systems for the detection of wind shear and air turbulence. Having retired in 1997, he now writes books on psychic research and teaches remote viewing worldwide.

Post-Material Science

In discussions of the reality of psychic, or "psi" phenomena, especially from the scientific perspective, it is normal, and expected, to be skeptical and question it's validity. However, Psi has been shown to exist in thousands of experiments. There are disagreements over how to interpret the evidence, but virtually all scientists who have actually studied the evidence, including the skeptics, now agree that something interesting is going on that merits serious scientific attention.

A great place to start your research is with Targ, by visiting his website at http://www.esprsearch.com

Another great place would be to browse through a selected list of downloadable, peer-reviewed journal articles reporting on the studies of psychic phenomena, compiled by Dr. Dean Radin, Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences.