Research Fellow, PF
Welcome to the 2018 Video Update on the Parapsychology Foundation YouTube Channel.This is going to be a long blog, mainly because it’s conceived of as a guide to the videos that have been uploaded since August 25th of 2017, and at each step useful links, information, and “finding guides” to what else is on offer on the PF YouTube Channel. Feel free to dip in and out of any section that interests you. We have some wonderful new stuff on the channel and more to come. On to the blog …
The PF Legacy and Current Projects on YouTube
Last August we did a compilation of the videos that had been uploaded to PF YouTube Channel mainly as a way to make the video history of the Parapsychology Foundation available to all those folks around the world who are interested in the scientific study of psychic phenomena, the history of parapsychology, theory, research, and current research from students in advanced degree programs and active researchers from a variety of academic and scientific disciplines. While most of the materials are in English, we have some offerings in other languages, and recently we’ve started to pop that material up on the channel with PF Research Fellow Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado’s introduction to the field in Spanish that was presented at the old Manhattan-based PF Library (we’re now out on Front Street in the amazing north fork Long Island town of Greenport).
But First Some Tips on How to Use the PF YouTube Channel
Before we get started I just wanted to make a couple of comments on how to use the Parapsychology Foundation YouTube Channel as a way to learn about the scientific study of psychic phenomena. First, we recommend that you explore the “Featured Channels” section to the right on the PF You Tube Channel home page. We feel those are great channels to explore, and their “Featured Channels” sections will give you ideas about other channels you should sign up for if you’re interested in learning more about the scientific study of psychic phenomena. For basic information on research at the start of the 2000s, check out the Classic Perspectives Lectures playlist, and for recent research explore both the PF International Affiliates Conferences playlist, the PF Book Expo playlist and Classic PF Lyceum Lectures. For a good look at the history of the Foundation check out the 65th Anniversary playlist. (More about these specific playlists in the descriptions below.) And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to make comments on the channel on the Discussion Section or under the videos you’re watching. Now on to the Video Update!
Last Year’s Video Update
In August of 2017, we had uploaded 92 public videos, and the total as of last week is now 117, so we’ve added just under 2 new videos every month in the past year. If you’ve visited the PF YouTube Channel, you’ll know that we have organized our content into playlists and set up the front page of the channel for browsing our content. At the moment we have 20 such playlists that range from playlists of videos made by colleagues and others, playlists devoted to the various online and onsite events the PF has offered over the years, with the “classic” videos and modern videos in the same event series separated into their own playlists.
A Playlist that Highlights PF’s History and the History of the Field
One of the most interesting playlists that has a historical theme is the 65th Anniversary with 9 videos that include interviews with such elder statesmen and women of the field such as Dr. Lawrence LeShan, Dr. Stanley Krippner, Dr. John Palmer, Dr. Charles T. Tart, and Dr. Sally Rhine Feather. One of my favorite videos out of this particular playlist – and they are all great videos in my opinion – is the interview with Eileen Coly. Mrs. Coly was the second administrator of the Parapsychology Foundation, the daughter of PF founder Eileen J. Garrett and the mother and grandmother of the current administrative team, PF President Lisette Coly, and her daughter Anna Damalas (who has been the principle videographer of much of the PF’s newest content). Mrs. Coly was a steady hand at the helm who helped perpetuate and grow the mission of the PF that Lisette and Anna are still dedicated to, that is to support serious students and researchers into the field, as well as work towards the recognition of the importance of the phenomena to the lives of so many people.
Our Largest Playlists
One of the largest playlists is Don’t Miss Videos from Other Folks (36 videos) which is the result of various PF Staffers searching YouTube for interesting videos we feel that PF followers and friends would find interesting. Because we’re an eclectic group of folks – the PF staff and those of us who work on various aspects of the channel – the content of that playlist is wonderfully broad. My personal favorites are the audio recording of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle about spiritualism and Sherlock Holmes and of course, the series of interviews that originally appeared on Dr. Jeffrey Mishlove’s New Thinking Allowed YouTube channel. Of these interviews one of the best of the Matlock interviews, I think, is the one on patterns found in reincarnation cases.
And speaking of things on the Parapsychology Foundation YouTube Channel that you shouldn’t miss, don’t miss two of our other larger playlists, PF Book Expo with 20 videos focusing on recent recommended books on the field, some with an academic focus and others that are meant for everybody; and the Classic Perspectives Lectures with 20 videos of onsite lectures presented between the late 1990s and the early 2000s at the PF Library when it was just off 2nd Ave on 71st Street in Manhattan. The PF Classic Perspectives Lectures covers the gamut of the field and includes a number of incredible speakers such as the late Dr. Robert L. Morris who was the first Koestler Professor of Parapsychology at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Etzel Cardeña, the Paul Thorsen Professor of Psychology and Hypnology at Lund University in Sweden, and Dr. Stephen Braude, retired professor of philosophy who is the current editor of the Journal of Scientific Exploration.
Our three smallest —so far—playlists are Parapsicología, Psi Bytes, and New Perspectives Lectures. The first of these (of course) includes my husband, PF Research Fellow Carlos S. Alvarado who I mentioned above. Not only was it fun to watch his introductory course recorded when we were on-site employees at the PF, then in Manhattan, but this playlist is kind of a promissory note for the eventual publication of other videos which the PF in the queue for editing and publication, among which is the record of a conference we held in the early 2000s at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico, featuring researchers from the island. The second of the new playlists, Psi Bytes features an interview with Dr. Jim Matlock filmed recently by Anna Damalas. Psi Bytes is a series idea that we’ve had in mind for a number of years but with this excellent start by Anna, we’re all excited about how that new playlist will fill out over the years coming. The final one playlist in this list features Dr. Stanley Krippner speaking on dreams at an event co-hosted by the Morbid Anatomy Museum, then housed at 3rd and 1st in Brooklyn. The best thing about this playlist is that it’s evidence that the PF is committed to occasional on-site Perspectives Lectures as it goes forward. At least one more event in this series is already waiting in the queue for editing.
Why We Hope You’ll Subscribe to the PF YouTube Channel
From here on out, I’ll be listing and describing the new videos clustered in terms of the playlists to which they were added. I’ve included or edited the original video descriptions, so that you can see whether the video interests you and then link to the video if that’s the case. The final section of the blog, then, is a kind of index to the newest videos. But before you begin to browse that list, I wanted to reiterate the point about subscribing to the channel if you love it. In setting up this channel, the PF is not only making its treasure trove of events available to the public, there is also the hope that eventually the monetization of these videos will provide another donation stream that will help the Foundation continue to provide programs and grants and otherwise keep on supporting the scientific study of psychic phenomena. Watching our videos, subscribing to the channel, clicking on the bell so that you get notifications, and clicking like on individual videos that speak to you will help us achieve this donation stream.
We are so grateful to the 1300+ subscribers for their support, and to the many more who have viewed all or part of our videos. While the PF is not yet at the level where a YouTube income stream has started, there is potential there, especially with the number of videos we’re still working on. It’s been a very long time (over 30 years) since the Foundation received any significant outside support, and the fact that it is still operating is a testament to good management and the willingness of so many to volunteer for the PF and help out in other ways. But even if we don’t get there, our larger goal will be accomplished, that of sharing these unique and important videos to as many folks as possible.
And Now The 25 New PF YouTube Channel Videos Uploaded Since August of 2017
So here is the list to the new videos. They are arranged by playlist, include runtimes and the descriptions included with videos. Enjoy!
Additions to the 65th Anniversary playlist
Over this past year we have uploaded three additional videos to the playlist in honor of the Parapsychology Foundation’s 65th anniversary in operation which was officially from the 14th of December in 2016 through the 14th of December in 2017. These are the videos with links and descriptions:
Uploaded on October 6th, 2017: PF Leadership through the Years 4:36 minutes runtime. A reading from the founders of the Parapsychology Foundation read by the current President Lisette Coly. The first segment focuses on Eileen J. Garrett’s writing on the importance of the scientific study of psychic phenomena over a slide show of photographs from the PF’s past meetings, conferences. The second segment features the founding Vice President of the Parapsychology Foundation, the Honorable Frances P. Bolton. The third segment features Mrs. Eileen Coly the second President of the Foundation. The final section focuses on comments that have been made by Lisette Coly, the current President of the Foundation.
December 18th, 2017: Eileen Coly on The Parapsychology Foundation 10:50 minutes runtime. An archival clip of Eileen Coly’s description on how the PF was founded and what its mission and vision has been from its beginning to today.
February 7th, 2018 65th Anniversary Interview with Dr Carlos S. Alvarado, Dr Nancy L. Zingrone 46:54 minutes runtime. Lisette Coly, President of Parapsychology Foundation along with PF research fellows Dr. Nancy L. Zingrone and Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado sit down to discuss past, present and future PF programs in this special 65th anniversary review.
To view the entire 65th Anniversary playlist click here.
Additions to the PF Book Expo Playlist:
This year the PF added two of the November 2016 PF Book Expo videos to the PF Book Expo playlist. This series has one more substantive video to go, Dr. Renaud Evrard’s discussion of his book Enquête sur 150 ans de parapsychologie: La légende de l’esprit which will be uploaded later this year.
The presentations from the November 2016 Book Expo that were uploaded this past year were:
September 7th, 2017: PF Book Expo November 2016 Imants Baruss & Julia Mossbridge. 59:55 minutes runtime. Dr. Julia Mossbridge of the Institute for Noetic Sciences will present Transcendent Mind: Rethinking the Science of Consciousness, which she co-authored with first author Dr. Imants Baruss. Dr. Mossbridge is an experimental psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist at the Institute for Noetic Sciences, and a Visiting Scholar in Psychology at Northwestern University. Dr. Baruss is a Professor of Psychology at King’s University College at the University of Western Ontario. Published by the American Psychological Association this year, in Transcendent Mind, Baruss and Mossbridge utilize findings from quantum mechanics, special relativity, philosophy, and paranormal psychology to build a rigorous, scientific investigation into the origins and nature of human consciousness. Along the way, they examine the scientific literature on concepts such as mediumship, out-of-body and near-death experiences, telekinesis, “apparent” vs. “deep time,” and mind-to-mind communication, and introduce eye-opening ideas about our shared reality. The result is a revelatory tour of the “post-materialist” world and a roadmap for consciousness research in the twenty-first century.
March 7th, 2018 November 2016 PF Book Expo: Titus Rivas and Rudolf Smit: The Self Does Not Die. 46:35 minutes runtime. Recently a book original in Dutch was edited and translated into English. Written by Titus Rivas, Anny Dirven and Rudolf H. Smit, the book is the result of deep research using case archives and new interviews with experiencers to pull together the 100 best cases that provide evidence of verifiable paranormal phenomena reported in near-death experiences. Titus Rivas and Rodolf H. Smit talk about the book, discuss its contents and goals, and engage in a question and answer session with attendees.
To view the previously uploaded presentations from the Spring 2016 Book Expo and the Spring and Fall 2015 Book Expos click on the playlist link here.
Additions to the PF International Affiliates Conferences Playlist
In 2017 the PF International Affiliates Conference was featured individuals who are current or past students of PF Affiliates whose work deserves a wider audience. To set up this conference, PF Research Fellow Carlos S. Alvarado contacted all the serving PF International Affiliates and asked them to nominate a present or past student to be contacted for the conference. Out of the recommendations, three individuals rose to the top of the list, Hungarian college lecturer and psychologist Csongor Matyi (nominated by Dr Zoltán Vassy, the PF Affiliate for Hungary), then post-graduate student in psychology at the University of São Paul, Gabriel Texeira de Medeiros (nominated by Dr Fátima Regina Machado and Dr Wellington Zangari, the PF Affiliates for Brazil), and then post-graduate student in psychology at the University of Edinburgh, Ana Flores (nominated by Dr. Caroline Watt, the PF International Affiliate for Scotland). Here are the two presentations uploaded this past year.
September 18th, 2017: New Faces in Parapsychology Csongor Matyi PF International Affiliates Conference 2017. 1 hour 16:54 minutes runtime. The second annual PF International Affiliates Conference took place on Saturday January 29th during the first month of the 2017 Parapsychology Research and Education online course. College instructor, researcher, and counselor Csongor Matyi, nominated by PF International Affiliate for Hungary, Dr. Zoltán Vassy, presented his autoganzfeld research conducted to fulfill the requirements of his master’s degree some years back. Now teaching the history and research methods of parapsychology at Eötvös Loránd University, he is developing a new research program.
October 16th, 2017: New Faces in Parapsychology Gabriel Texeira de Medeiros PF International Affiliates 2017. 1 hour 31:36 minutes runtime. The second annual PF International Affiliates Conference took place on Saturday January 29th during the first month of the 2017 Parapsychology Research and Education online course. University of São Paulo doctoral student, Gabriel Teixeira de Medeiros, nominated by PF International Affiliates for Brazil, Dr. Wellington Zangari, and Dr. Fátima Regina Machado, presented an overview of out-of-body research and a questionnaire study he conducted as a partial fulfillment for his graduate program.
October 16th, 2017: Closing Session New Faces in Parapsychology PF International Affiliates Conference. 28:33 minutes runtime. The final session from the January 29th, 2017 PF International Affiliates Conference “New Faces in Parapsychology” featuring Ana Flores, a doctoral student from the University of Edinburgh recommended by Professor Caroline Watt, Csongor Matyi, now a college instructor and counselor in Hungary nominated by Dr. Zoltán Vassy, and Gabriel Teixeira de Medeiros, a doctoral student at the University of São Paulo nominated by Professor Wellington Zangari and Dr. Fátima Regina Machado. The closing session includes comments from Lisette Coly, President of the Parapsychology Foundation, and news and updates from PF Research Fellow, Dr. Nancy L. Zingrone, as well as a discussion of the day’s proceedings.
Ana Flores’s presentation from the “New Faces” Conference and the previous year’s international Affiliates Conference which features six of the Affiliates (Dr. Alejandro Parra, Argentina; Dr. Chris Roe, England; Dr. Fátima Regina Machado and Dr. Wellington Zangari, Brazil; Hideyuki Kokubo, Japan; and Dr. Mario Varvoglis, France) reviewing the scientific study of parapsychology in their countries, some reviewing historical as well as present-day research) are available on the PF Internationals Conferences playlist which is available here.
Classic PF Lyceum Lectures
Two videos were added to this playlist. They are two parts of the same event and provide an overview of research into OBEs and NDEs as it stood in the early 2000s.
April 3rd, 2018 Beyond the Body: Out-of-Body and Near-Death Experiences with Carlos S. Alvarado and Nancy L. Zingrone. 1 hour 50:50 minutes runtime. In part 1 of this PF Lyceum course Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado discusses out of body and near-death experiences. He provides examples of these events that have been recorded through time and discusses our current understanding.
April 12th, 2018 Beyond the Body: Out-of-Body and Near-Death Experiences Part 2. With Nancy L Zingrone and Carlos S Alvarado. 1 hour 42:06 minutes runtime. In part 2 of this PF Lyceum course Dr. Nancy L. Zingrone discusses the laboratory work on out-of-body and near-death experiences and the explanations that have been put forth. Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado then joins for a question and answer period.
Additions to the PF Lyceum Forum on Physical Mediumship
Added recently are almost the main presentations from the PF Lyceum Forum on Physical Mediumship which took place in October/November of 2016 and the opening session. Presented originally on the social media teaching platform WizIQ.com, the presentations were part of a month-long course that included the primary lectures two Saturdays in October. The addition two works allowed those who registered to watch recordings, and all attendees to access other materials uploaded to support the presentations.
November 10th, 2017: PF Lyceum Forum on Physical Mediumship Opening Session. 11:44 minutes runtime. The first live session of a month-long course on the PF Lyceum Academy on WizIQ.com oriented the attendees to the events of the month which included two private discussion forums, and four presentations on physical mediumship. With comments by Lisette Coly, President of the Parapsychology Foundation (the comments are listed below because of audio problems in the session), and moderated by Dr Nancy L Zingrone, PF Research Fellow.
November 10th, 2017: PF Lyceum on Physical Mediumship: Brief Historical View by Carlos S. Alvarado 1 hour 19:17 minutes runtime. Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado’s presentation on October 15th, 2016 and covered physical mediumship with an emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries.
April 25th, 2018 PF Lyceum Forum Physical Mediumship Rosemarie Pilkington on the Bindelof Case. 1 hour 3:04 minutes runtime. Dr Rosemarie Pilkington discussed her book, The Spirit of Dr Bindelof: The Enigma of Seance Phenomena (2010), giving her take on a group of intelligent teenagers in 1920 who attempted to investigate their experiences.
September 12th, 2018 Walter Meyer zu Erpen Physical Mediumship Forum October 20th 2018. 1 hour 18:40 minutes runtime. Canadian archivist Walter Meyer zu Erpen’s presentation highlighted the psychical research experiments by Dr. T. Glen Hamilton and Associates, which took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba from 1918 through 1935. Walter Meyer zu Erpen also examined the importance of maintaining archives of records and papers of similar groups that attempted to study exceptional experiences systematically.
October 24th, 2018 Stephen E Braude PhD on the Felix Experimental Group. 1 hour 11:31 minutes runtime. Retired Professor of Philosophy Dr Stephen E. Braude reviewed his own research experiment with the Felix Experimental mediumship group, discussing the problems for researchers when the mediumship cannot be investigated in an unrestricted manner.
Additions to the new PF International Conferences playlist
In 2005, the PF held an international conference in Charlottesville, Virginia, called “The Study of Mediumship: International Perspectives”. While the proceedings were never published, the PF has begun to edit and upload the film shot at the conference. The two presentations uploaded this past year were the first two on the conference schedule. The rest of the conference presentations are in the queue for upload in the future. The abstracts of all of the presentations are available on the old PF Lyceum website by clicking here.
November 19th, 2017: Carlos Alvarado Presents Brief History of Mediumship at PF International Conference on Mediumship 2005. 1 hour 1:29 minutes. In 2005 the Parapsychology Foundation held an international conference in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA called “The Study of Mediumship: International Perspectives.” The conference took place over two days at the end of January in 2005 and included an international group of speakers and a large audience of scientists and mediums. Part 1 is a talk given by then PF staff member (now PF Research Fellow) Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado and covers the history of mediumship research up to that point. The Question and Answer period was also filmed. An introduction to Mrs. Eileen Coly, then President of the Parapsychology Foundation, was given her daughter, Lisette Coly, who is now President, followed by an introduction to the conference by Ms. Coly, and Dr. Alvarado’s presentation.
March 19th, 2018 Etzel Cardeña Presents Anomalous Identity Experiences in PF International Mediumship Conference. 35:27 minutes runtime. In 2005 the Parapsychology Foundation held an international conference in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA called “The Study of Mediumship: International Perspectives.” The conference took place over two days at the end of January and included an international group of speakers and a large audience of scientists and mediums. Part 2 is a talk given by Dr. Etzel Cardeña, the Paul Thorsen Professor of Psychology and Hypnology at Lund University in Sweden, and the PF International Affiliate for Sweden.
Additions to the Classic Perspectives Lectures Playlist
The three new additions to this playlist are arranged in the order of upload.
January 29th, 2018 Parapsychology in the 21st Century: Dr Robert Morris. 1 hour 25:25 minutes runtime. First presented on June 12th, 2002, Dr. Robert L. Morris, then the Koestler Professor of Parapsychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Edinburgh, presents the history of the founding of the Koestler Chair, the remit of studying both what looks like psychic phenomena but isn’t (upon research) and the possibility that real phenomena uncovers another method of communication, or otherwise adds to the understanding of the natural world. He also talks about the cultural environment in which the experiences and the research occur, as well as the implications of the research and its findings for science as a whole.
March 2nd, 2018 Doorways to Higher Consciousness by Dr Alan Vaughan. 33:06 minutes runtimes. In one of the earliest Perspectives Lectures to be held at the Eileen J. Garrett Library when the Parapsychology Foundation was located on 71st a few doors up from 2nd Avenue on the Upper East side of Manhattan, Dr. Alan Vaughan gave this presentation based on his experience as a psychic and as a collaborator in a number of important research efforts in the scientific study of parapsychology.
June 21st, 2018 Parapsychological Interpretations of Religious Experience by Lisa S. Schwebel. 1 hour 29:05 minutes runtimes. In “Parapsychological Interpretations of Religious Experience” Dr. Lisa Schwebel, discusses the interface between parapsychology and religion, particularly regarding Christian miracles.
To watch the rest of the classic lectures in the playlist, click here.
An addition to the PF on the Move playlist:
The PF on the Move playlist includes PF’s library tour, announcements and the trip to the Rhine Research Center that took place a couple of years ago. Here’s the most recent video from that trip:
October 17th, 2018 Experience the Ganzfeld Experiment with John G Kruth. 7:21 minutes runtime. Lisette Coly is guided by John G. Kruth on a tour of their Ganzfeld testing room, where he explains the experimental process.
For an earlier tour of the Rhine Research Center in the same playlist, click here.
An addition to the Face to Face playlist:
May 10th, 2018 Face to Face with Walter Meyer zu Erpen 39:48 minutes runtime. In this Face to Face interview Walter Meyer zu Erpen is interviewed by Lisette Coly at the Eileen J. Garrett Library. Here Walter discusses how his career began in the field, his first-hand experiences with physical mediumship phenomena and his current work with the Survival Research Institute of Canada and University of Manitoba Archives and Special Collections. For further information about The Survival Research Institute of Canada check out: www.survivalresearch.ca For more information on The University of Manitoba’s Spiritualism and psychical research collections check out University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections in the link below: https://libguides.lib.umanitoba.ca/archives/archivalcollections/psychicalspiritualism For previous interviews the link to the playlist is available here.
The first video in the new Psi Bytes playlist
June 7th, 2018 What Evidence Do We Have for Reincarnation? Dr James G Matlock 7:25 minutes runtime. In the first of our Psi Byte series, Dr. Jim Matlock briefly describes the types of evidence suggestive of reincarnation.
The first video in the new Parapsicología playlist
August 30th, 2018 Introducción a la Parapsicología por Carlos S Alvarado, PhD. 1 hour 32:47 minutes runtime. En este video, filmado en la Parapsychology Foundation (PF) a comienzos del 2000, el Dr. Carlos S. Alvarado describe la historia y el estudios científicos de los fenómenos psíquicos. Introduce al espectador a términos, individuos y áreas de investigación en el campo. 
And finally, an addition our thanks to all our subscribers:
January 28th, 2018 Thank You for Subscribing!. 49 seconds runtime. Parapsychology Foundation President, Lisette Coly, thanks our followers for helping us get to the 1000 subscriber milestone. By subscribing to our channel, you are allowing us to continue our efforts in providing the public with new and classic perspective lectures, conference presentations, in-depth interviews, book expos and much more. Thanks to you all!