Book Review: The Sense of Being Stared At and Other Unexplained Powers of Human Minds
Rupert Sheldrake
The Sense of Being Stared At and Other Unexplained Powers of Human Minds
2013, Park Street Press, Rochester, VT
Dog owners know the crazy feeling of being woken up by Fido’s stare. Many people correctly anticipate phone calls. Psychic researchers study these events, and despite an impressive accumulation of evidence, their conclusions are often dismissed by the scientific community. In The Sense of Being Stared At, biologist Rupert Sheldrake offers experimental proof of the so-called paranormal activities of telepathy, remote viewing, animal premonitions, the power of staring and precognition based on more than 25 years of research and 5,000 case histories.
Rupert points out how scientific paradigms can be limiting. In the 1800s, meteorites fell to earth and people witnessed them. Unfortunately, the science of that era didn’t allow for this possibility and authorities of the day insisted the villagers who said rocks were falling out of the sky were delusional. “There are no stones in the sky. Therefore stones cannot fall from the sky.” Likewise we learned in school that our minds functioned using the brain’s hardwiring to transmit signals to the nerves and organs in our bodies. In this telephone model, the brain is a central switchboard that sends and receives messages. Those old-style telephone exchanges don’t even exist anymore, phones now transmit signals wirelessly. Similarly, our minds are not confined inside our skulls. Our thoughts and intentions reach beyond our brains, connecting us with others, the world around us, and even the future. Telepathy, precognition and the sense of being stared at are not paranormal, but instead a normal inherent part of our biological nature.
Gail Lord is a freelance writer living in Massachusetts. Please send book review copies to 51 North Street, Grafton, MA 01519 or email socbookreviewer@gmail.com.
