1. INTRODUCTION

Anyone who gathers evidence comes to reaise that some findings are more specific, evidential, and compelling than others. It is, of course, desirable to go to primary sources whenever possible, and we have made it a practice to go to the original sources whenever we can.

People's experiences and philosophical outlook influence their perceptions or interpretations. As knowledge has become systematized, progress has been made on many fronts. Persons trained to do research in chemistry, physics, biology, etc. have drawn upon the accumulated knowledge in their fields to push the frontiers of learning forward with their own explorations. By and large, this has contributed enormously to the rate at which progress and technology have become part of our scientific world.

These definitions point to useful or practical ways to proceed in any area of knowledge, providing we do not assume that all "knowledge" or "facts" accumulated to date are final and immutable. There is a general tendency to move from doubt to possibility to probability to certainty. Since the path of scientific investigation is strewn with so much which has been modified or changed as new evidence came along, it should be obvious that it is desirable to view things as being probable, rather than absolutely true or false. Such an approach is more likely to enhance knowledge (although not in any, absolute sense) than automatic acceptance of what those who have positions of power, influence or authority assert to be true - be it the value or limitations of x-ray treatment, chemotherapy, organic gardening, jogging, nuclear power, war, etc.

The scientific community feels more comfortable with evidence obtained in a laboratory or via a telescope, and if it is repeatable and reported by those considered experts in the field. Much is to be said for that approach if it is not pushed too far, but there are many instances where the biases and belief systems of scientific persons violate their own rules and result in judgements without adequate evidence simply because the phenomenon does, or does not fit their "real" world.

There could be more progress on many fronts if more scientists were to say: "On the basis of what I have learned and experienced to date, what you report seems quite improbable and I cannot accept it unless (or until) such impressive data is accumulated that a second look is warranted." Reports of very unusual events are difficult to deal with "'scientifically." We think there is room for both the laboratory approach and the gathering of direct evidence from ordinary people, keeping in mind that memory distortion and interpretation may have a significant bearing on what finally "comes out in the wash."

We are optimistic enough to think that may be only partly true, but the history of science is replete with pioneers in astronomy, physics, biology, etc. who were shunned by their colleagues because their discoveries and theories were at variance with the dominant view of the times.

It is easier to understand phenomena which occur in our lifetime and which can be recorded on videotape or film, or observed in a laboratory setting. Interest in psychic phenomena has grown tremendously in the last decade because there has been both a "push" and a "pull" in that direction. The push comes from the inadequacies of presently held concepts to explain all the experiences encountered; the pull comes from the intriguing implications such evidence suggests about the nature of reality. This interest is obviously increased by reports of the unusual feats attributed to Uri Geller, Jean-Pierre Girard, Matthew Manning, Silvio, Ted Serios, and more recently, Yukio Ishii, Masuaki Kiyota, Hiroto Yamashita and others. Public opinion ranges all the way from rejection of these feats as fraud and trickery to acceptance of them as genuine paranormal phenomena.

In our observations of Geller, Manning, Kiyota and Yamashita we have not encountered any fraud or trickery, although that does not categorically prove that one or more of them may not, at times, or for that matter at all times, have performed feats by deception. But it is just as unscientific to allege fraud without evidence, or to generaise from one instance of what appeared to be fraud and claim that all a psychic does is trickery, as it is to assert that all reported PK phenomena are genuine. We can only speak for what we have personally observed and experienced and state why, in our judgement, we think the phenomena we are familiar with are genuine.

We attended Uri Geller's lecture and demonstration at Harold Sherman's ESP Research Associates Foundation workshop in St. Louis, July 25, 1976. We witnessed about 200 persons bring watches to the stage, where after several minutes, most of them began running. The ticking was amplified by microphones placed near the pile of watches which was carefully, guarded by several police so that none would be taken, since many of them were valuable.

Jeff Bergey, a jeweller in Oregon, Wisconsin,, had given us a "junk" watch on which he had broken one end of the balance pivot to see what Geller could do with it. Mary Jo had this watch and did not get it to the stage before Geller requested, "Stop! That's enough! Those who still have watches, please take them to your seats and we will work on them afterward." He asked the audience to join him in commanding the watches to "Work! work! work!" and everyone, participated in a lighthearted mood. The watch in Mary Jo's hand started running, although she was about fifty feet away from the stage in the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel where Geller was standing. A number of astonished people found their watches ticking away in their hands after Geller asked, "Now, let's see how many watches in the audience have started running."

At this point we have no adequate explanation for what happened, but there is no question that it did. How can Geller be accused of trickery when he was about fifty feet away and did not see or touch the watch? This watch ran for about thirteen hours and stopped the following noon, about two minutes after it was shown to David Hoy, a rival of Geller.

When we reached Bergey by phone on the morning of June 26th, he was non-plussed. The following spring, a young woman from Madison, Wisconsin, who has some psychic ability, held the watch a short time and it again started running. So long as it was wound, it ran for days. I took the watch to Dykman and to Goodman jewellers in Madison to be examined. Both repairmen said, "Why this watch shouldn't run - it's got a broken balance pivot," to which I replied, "Yes, I know. I just wanted to have it verified by an independent witness." The watch still keeps good time when wound, but only when lying flat. At first it would run in any position.

Defined in the simplest terms, it is "mind over matter." As researchers in parapsychology and other disciplines investigate what is often referred to as the physical manifestations of psychic phenomena, more sophisticated concepts and definitions will emerge. A growing number of physicists, psychiatrists and psychologists have tentative theories about energies involved when metal is bent in ways which could not normally occur if it were bent by brute force; or when images appear on film even when the shutter is not tripped; and when psychics, such as the. well-known Nina Kulagina in the Soviet Union, can move objects by "the power of the mind."

Students of psychic phenomena are familiar with PK events that go back as far as recorded history, including events recorded in the Bible. We are fully aware that events recorded from the past can only be considered as anecdotal and not scientifically proven, so we will not take much space to review the extensive history of PK phenomena. Only in retrospect have many of these events been interpreted as having a psychokinetic component. Since the evidence for PK has been frequently observed and often recorded or measured in laboratories, fraud and trickery seem totally inadequate to explain all that is reported.

The truly scientific approach considers ALL conceivable explanations for a phenomenon, putting them in a rank order from the most likely to the least likely, and leaving room for several other possible explanations which may not yet have been thought of. One should be willing to examine all the evidence, pro and con, and to modify the rank order if the evidence warrants. Any other approach is "scientific" in name only.

The first part of this book deals with the unique, although no longer rare, PK abilities of two young Japanese whom we have observed in Japan and the United States. The evidence that these lads possess such abilities, which many now believe are latent in a large number of persons, poses questions worth investigating. It is unfortunate that such persons are labelled "tricksters" by those with rigid belief systems, who have never met them or seen them demonstrate their talents. Should objective and thorough investigation someday show that the boys are merely "clever tricksters," we will certainly modify our rank order of possible explanations.

Willis W. Harman, president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, founded by the former astronaut, Edgar Mitchell, presented a paper at the 1979 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, entitled "The Role of Consciousness in the Physical World." The three points which he elaborated were:

Fuller reports that at its 1979 meeting there was a feeling that both science and religion have lost credibility in the eyes of the public because of the failures of each, and that each should remain open to the ideas of the other while retaining its own integrity. He concludes that their statement still falls far short of encompassing the basic conflict between religion and science because it does not deal with "the nature of reality." Rather than a mind vs. matter dualism Fuller sees the possibility of moving toward a unified concept which recognizes the two as inseparable. He quotes Gary Zukav, a Harvard psychologist and student of physics, who pointed out that "as science penetrated deeper into the subatomic world and discovered objects millions of times smaller than the nucleus of the atom, it appeared the act of observation itself had an organic impact on the object being observed, changed it from what it was."

Such concepts may bring us closer to comprehending the forces at work when gifted psychics affect metal, film, etc. A retired engineer whom we know, who never expected he could bend metal, when it happened said he merely "visualised the molecules expanding" - not a meaningful concept for metallurgists, but it worked. Do we really know to what extent we can direct, rather than disperse, the energies that come from or through the mind?

It is our hope that persons actively working in the field of parapsychology may find the book of value in their work and for supplemental reading in parapsychology courses and in workshops on psychic phenomena - not as the final and complete answer, but as a compilation of specific information and illustrations which should stimulate discussion and inquiry in an area which can no longer be dismissed.

As can be seen from the Table of Contents, the Chapters II, III, IV, V, VI and VIII deal largely with the unique abilities of two young Japanese. Chapters VII, IX, XI, XII, and XIII discuss broader implications of PK. In Chapter X we discuss those who still claim there is little or no evidence for that which lies beyond the five senses, and who are embarked on a crusade to "expose" all "these charlatans" and "psychic hucksters."

Later in this book you will read about U.S. taxpayers' dollars being spent to check on young Kiyota's PK abilities, surprising as this may be for some members of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.

When the author was a student at the University of Wisconsin, he ridiculed someone who told him about some psychic experiences and was fortunate to be challenged by the question, "Do you consider yourself open-minded?" His "umbilical cord" was not so firmly attached to either the theological or scientific "establishment" that he was afraid to question, and this was the beginning of a life-long quest for whatever is true. For about thirty years he let the evidence accumulate until it became obvious to his skeptical mind that there was something worth exploring in the field of the paranormal. This interest has grown as we have come across more and more "white crows" and could no longer be satisfied with the conventional belief that all crows are black. We have also discovered that many people are more concerned with neatness than with accuracy; they want their world neatly defined and tend to rely heavily on authorities they respect - be it science, their church, or whatever, and find it difficult to live with uncertainty and ambiguity. As Prof. Roger Severson says, "a high level of 'ambiguity tolerance' is necessary when investigating the paranormal" because simple or precise answers do not readily emerge.

Some parapsychologists struggle to remain aloof from anecdotal evidence. We ourselves were also strongly indoctrinated about what is presumably possible and it has taken years to develop an attitude of letting the evidence accumulate and not being in a hurry to accept or reject.

This book is intended for those who are familiar with other psychic phenomena, those who would like to learn more about the field, as well as those who believe there is no compelling evidence for nonmaterial realities. We will let the evidence speak for itself and suggest that the reader suspend judgement, both for and against, until s/ he has finished the book.

We hope this book will be read in the spirit in which it is written. Our lives have been greatly enriched by the writings of others. We recognize that on some aspects of the paranormal, there are others who would write with greater insights, but we do know that sharing our observations and experiences has contributed to understanding, provided assurance, or supported tentative conclusions which others had reached.

The evidence presented is in our files for those who are interested in additional documentation. As you read this account of a venture into what may be unfamiliar and strange territory, please keep in mind that we have honestly reported the information to which we had access. We have identified the circumstances under which we obtained the evidence, some of it in a laboratory setting and some based on personal reports and observations. The reader is free to decide how much can be integrated into his/ her expanding world of reality.

Rather than wait six months or perhaps a year to get the material into print, we decided to prepare the manuscript for this book in camera-ready form so it could more quickly be available to workshop participants and others. It is being simultaneously published by Colin Smythe. Ltd. in England and New Frontiers Center, a non-profit foundation incorporated under Chapter 181 of the Wisconsin statutes, and committed to "the exploration and dissemination of evidence related to the broader dimensions of health (holistic), psychic phenomena, and survival."

As the reader may note, Mary Jo prefers the "low key" approach in writing. Each of us has written those sections in which we have had the greater interest. Walter, a professor most of his adult life, is inclined to be more explicit, at times repetitious, for the sake of emphasis, agreeing with the saying, "Never underestimate a person's intelligence or overestimate his knowledge." In the author's teaching experience he found that students remember aphorisms or truisms long after they have forgotten thousands of words of prose. Some of these aphorisms and quotations which were helpful in his teaching are:

Believing also, that a picture is worth a thousand words, we have included numerous photos and photocopies in the text.

We invite readers to look at the evidence we have gathered and to speculate as to the implications. We hope that the "Et Cetera" at the end of the long sub-title will convey our impression that psychokinesis (PK) is a pervasive aspect of reality; and that mind and consciousness can and do interact with the physical dimensions of the universe in many dimly understood ways.

Some of the persons the reader will encounter in the book are introduced here: (left to right) Hiroto Yamashita, Elaine Morikawa, Masuaki Kiyota, Walter H. Uphoff, Dr. Tsutomu Miyauchi, Yutaka Fukuda, and Toru Ozaki. Photo by Mary Jo Uphoff.