Rhine Education Center

Every good scientist recognizes the importance of taking a skeptical perspective to research and study results. From examinations of early spiritualists to recent psi challenges, skeptics have played an active role in the progress of parapsychology and our understanding of psi phenomena.

This course will discuss parapsychology from a skeptical perspective including an evaluation of how skeptics have helped and hindered the progress of the science. Important concepts of critical thinking will be introduced, including how true skeptical thinking has been a part of the parapsychological process both in and out of the lab.

This course will also look at popular misunderstandings and misconceptions about psi phenomena, the onset of pseudo-skepticism, and the role of true skepticism in scientific investigations.

This 8 week academic course will discuss the nature of research and the different types of research methods that are used in scientific inquiry. It will include a discussion of science versus psuedo-science and provide an overview of quantitative and qualitative research techniques. This course will ask the student to read numerous research articles from the field of parapsychology and to draw on the course material to evaluate the strength of the research and the conclusions posted within the published papers.

The special issues related to research in parapsychology will be included in this course, and students will have an opportunity to discuss these issues and creatively provide ways to address these issues.

This 8 week academic course examines the phenomena, experiences, and research related to the survival of human consciousness outside of the physical body. The course reviews the characteristics of Near Death Experiences (NDEs), Out of Body Experiences (OBEs), and after death communication (Mediumship) and examines the current research that is occurring in this area. Additional topics related to the survival of consciousness, including apparitions and hauntings, will also be explored.

Besides a discussion of the description of the phenomena and the evidence supporting the survival hypothesis, the course will also discuss qualitative investigations and laboratory studies into the effects of these experiences on individuals, and counselling efforts that have been used to help people with these experiences.

Many people claim that there is no theoretical foundation for psi phenomena, but over a century of research has involved many theories of psi activity and the best way to demonstrate psi phenomena.  From theories of animal magnetism to quantum physics to astrology, researchers have been testing the validity of theories that may contribute to the events that so many people experience in their lives.

This course is an introduction to the theories that guide psi researchers in their quest to better understand how psi works.  It includes practical theories like the experimenter effect and the decline effect, psychological theories like the sheep-goat effect, and more recent theories like Decision Augmentation Theory, First Sight Theory, and even an exploration of similarities between psi phenomena and quantum physics.

Students should have a foundation in parapsychology with a focus on reviewing research articles.  It is an introduction to the theories of psi, but does not include an introduction to parapsychology. 

This 8 week academic course will explore a different scientific study in parapsychology each week.  Students will be asked to read a scientific paper to prepare for each week, and the class will examine the purpose of the study, the methodology presented, the analysis technique, and the significance of the study to the field of parapsychology.  Each week, the studies will be reviewed in class, and students will be asked to discuss specific topics in the courseroom to help provide additional insight into the study.

Studies will include Zener card research done at the Duke Parapsychology Lab, the Ganzfeld technique, studies of Remote Viewing, micro-PK experiments from the PEAR Lab, studies of healing, and poltergeists, among others.

The special issues related to research in parapsychology will be included in this course, and students will have an opportunity to discuss these issues and creatively provide ways to address these issues.

It is strongly recommended that students taking this course have a background in Research Methods or have taken a course in Research Methods for parapsychology.

In this course students will be introduced to the topics that are studied by professional parapsychologists. Topics will include an overview of the phenomena (Telepathy, Clairvoyance, Precognition, Psychokinesis, and Survival Issues), history, research methodologies and researchers that make up the vibrant field of scientific parapsychology. The course textbook is Introduction to Parapsychology, 5th edition by Harvey Irwin and Carline Watt. Besides the weekly class broadcasts, there is an online discussion forum for students to share their ideas, answer questions about the lectures, and communicate with the instructors.

Students who choose to be graded in this course will receive letter grades based on their participation in the weekly discussion forums, and their scores on two multiple choice/short answer essay tests given in weeks 4 and week 8. Students who complete this course with a passing grade will receive a certificate of completion from the Rhine Education Center.

Qualitative research methods typically gather information through interviews, questionnaires, observation, or a review of literature and art. Analysis methods vary for qualitative research, but there are extremely well-defined processes that will help the researcher to learn more about the event or phenomena being studied.

This course will describe some common methods of qualitative research and analysis techniques to gather information about psi phenomena outside of the laboratory environment. Through the review of articles and psi reports, the students will learn how qualitative research is performed and reported for paranormal and psi phenomena.

This academic course is designed for the serious student and qualifies for many certificate programs.

This course can be applied towards a number of certificate programs.

The Field Investigations course is designed as an overview to introduce students to the methodologies of parapsychologists specifically with regard to the spontaneous occurrence of psychic experiences as they occur outside laboratory settings, with a main focus on cases of reported Apparitions, Hauntings and Poltergeists. Attendees will gain an understanding of the very basic skills and needed for investigation of ghosts, poltergeists, haunted places and related psychic experiences. The class will include:

• The conceptual models of the phenomena,
• How the scientific and psychic approaches can mesh together, and
• How to assess a situation, investigate it, and resolve the case to the satisfaction of the people having the experiences.

This 4-week course will go beyond the tools usually associated with paranormal investigations. Students will examine a wide range of technologies and applications allowing for a deeper exploration of paranormal phenomena. Emphasis will be placed on properly deploying these technologies during field investigations and how to interpret the resulting data.

The course will explore both quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (experiential) data collection techniques. Topics will include understanding and measuring human physiology and biofields, testing non-local effects on random number generators, documenting the intuitive processes of investigators, and more.

Students will come away with a new appreciation for the complex relationships between various paranormal phenomena and an expanded set of tools to use during their own investigations.

This course is included in the Professional Field Investigations certificate and the Paranormal Investigations certificate programs.

The Field Investigations course is designed as an overview to introduce students to the methodologies of parapsychologists specifically with regard to the spontaneous occurrence of psychic experiences as they occur outside laboratory settings, with a main focus on cases of reported Apparitions, Hauntings and Poltergeists. Attendees will gain an understanding of the very basic skills and needed for investigation of ghosts, poltergeists, haunted places and related psychic experiences. The class will include:

• The conceptual models of the phenomena,
• How the scientific and psychic approaches can mesh together, and
• How to assess a situation, investigate it, and resolve the case to the satisfaction of the people having the experiences.

This four week course is designed for people interested in finding a legitimate psychic, those who want to evaluate psychics, or even the researchers who wants to learn more about the skills necessary to determine if a psychic is fooling you or themselves.  The course will give you the basic tools to:

• Properly understand what a practitioner means when using the term psychic, medium, channeler, or other similar labels.
• How to find psychic practitioners for personal readings or to take on paranormal investigations.
• How to understand the role of “window-dressing” that many practitioners (even genuine ones) might use, and how to get the practitioner past that.
• How to act/react in a reading so you get the most out of the session, and some good questions to ask.
• The qualities of the best psychics and mediums.
• Psychic Fraud (and a guidance on what you might want to learn about Magic and Mentalism).
• How to assess the psychic/medium practitioners’ claims and determine if they’re real or fraudulent.

The research findings from the field of Parapsychology have demonstrated that psi abilities-- ESP and PK (psychokinesis / mind over matter) – are functions of normal human beings, much like creativity. Some people are more creative than others in different disciplines, but everyone seems to have some creativity in them, provided they can find it and have some belief it can be developed and utilized.

Developing one's psychic/intuitive abilities is much the same. Some people have a natural aptitude for certain psychic talents that spontaneously manifest themselves, others need to find which applications of psi they have aptitude for and work on bringing them out.

This course will cover the major findings of Parapsychology relating to what makes a person more (or less) intuitive/psychic and will include exercises that will help you both test and develop the abilities you may have aptitude for, including a remote viewing experiment and a "Telepathy" game you can play with your family and friends.

In addition, we will discuss the importance of specific characteristics and beliefs, the range of beliefs about ESP around the world, how personal belief -- whether arrived at because of culture, religion, education or family upbringing -- can effectively support or block psychic experiences, and how to assess psychic readings.

This 4 week course will provide overview of the full range and depths of exceptional experiences, also known as anomalous events, including experiences of hallucinations, lucid and precognitive dreams, near-death and out-of body events, UFO sightings, alien abductions, psychokinesis, remote viewing, mysticism, anomalous healing, psi-events and past-lives.

Experiencing the Exceptional and Extraordinary will evaluate whether there are underlying similarities among all the phenomena and the issues with moving forward with a new scientific paradigm.

This is a continuing education course, but students will be introduced to scientific articles and references that will help them to make their own decisions about the world around them and its possibilities. Prepare to open your mind to a changing view of science while continuing to challenge your innermost thoughts and most firmly held beliefs.

Are you interested in writing or talking about the paranormal like a professional? This course provides guidelines and practical skills necessary to present information about psychic/paranormal topics and parapsychology.

Students will learn the importance of determining whether they are speaking or writing to a general or specific audience, and the best ways to appear credible while presenting information to produce a positive impact. Topics will include public speaking and overcoming fear of speaking in public, and techniques that make presentations easier to understand. Additional topics will focus on working with the media, how to provide a good interview, and some basic marketing and publicity skills.

Whether you plan to write a book, produce articles, speak to general or paranormal-interested audiences, or even teach workshops, this course provides the practical skills you’ll need to be understood and appreciated by your audiences. While the emphasis will be on psi-related topics, these skills will serve you well in a variety of contexts (maybe even your day jobs).

This 4 week course is designed for anyone who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of how Art has given us a series of clues about the Psi human experience. We will review critical artworks going back to ancient times and we will wander across the Art history timeline to present for illumination. Who were these renegade artists who saw the creative potential of expressing what Psi meant to them, and who tried to capture the miraculous and mystical through various art media and across various cultural contexts? We will explore how artists have used art to convey the extraordinary, the unimaginable...

As we critically examine various art and art forms, the biography of a few selected artists will be placed within the framework of their time and their own personal and societal/cultural expressions. This journey shall enable the course participants to gain a deeper appreciation of a more obscure artistic legacy that has been given to us over the millennia, and to develop the tools to understand Art's more profound impact on our understanding of Psi phenomena and, equally, the importance of the creative muses in the exploration of consciousness.

How do native cultures view psi phenomena?

How do culture-based beliefs and folklore around healing and psychokinesis differ between places like China, Mexico, and the Australian Outback? Why are seers and clairvoyants accepted in some cultures but shunned by others, modern culture included? How are culture-bound/religion-bound magic, witchcraft, and sorcery beliefs related to psychic abilities and experiences?

This 8-week academic seminar will be a high level overview of the ideas and beliefs of psychic experiences, the human mind and spirit, and related areas (life after death, reincarnation, etc.) as those beliefs have been “seen” by anthropologists and parapsychologists around the world. 

We will look at and discuss the possible instances of psi phenomena best reported in studies of divination, witchcraft and sorcery beliefs and practices, various cross cultural studies, modern beliefs in the occult and supernatural, and the application of psychic functioning in archaeology and anthropology.  From the parapsychological side, we will examine the ways culture affects belief, which in turn affects the psychic experience.

The format for the seminar course is a short(ish) lecture and live discussion each week. Additionally, there will be weekly discussion questions (following up on our live discussions), a short-answer midterm quiz and short-answer final quiz.

The course will take an in-depth look at dreams and dreaming in general and specifically how psychic information and abilities manifest in the dream state. We will consider out-of-body experiences in the dream state, apparitional visitations, clairvoyant dreams, past-life dreams, telepathic/mutual dreaming and the most prevalent form of psychic dreaming: precognitive dreams. In the course, we take a look at methods of working with dreams in order to further discover and influence your own psi-filled dreaming, and also look at the Lucid Dreaming state and how one might use it to enhance psi even in the waking state.