Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

GANZFELD STIMULATION

An experimental technique used in Para-Psychology since the 1970s to create an environment of sensory deprivation to stimulate the receptivity of ESP. Ganifeld means 'whole field' in German and refers to the blank field of vision that confronts a test subject.

In a ganzfeld test a receiver attempts to perceive thoughts and impressions transmitted by a sender. The receiver is placed in a soundproof room, wears eye cups to remove visual distractions (the eyes remain open throughout the procedure) and earphones to mask sounds. The sender is seated in a similar soundproof room and given an image to focus on and transmit, selected at random by a computer. At the end of the session, the receiver is shown a selection of images and asked to pick the target.

The removal of extraneous sensory data creates a sense of disorientation in the receiver, and the subject may have periods of 'blank out' similar to a hypnotic or meditative state (see ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS). According to the research results, it is during these periods that subjects are most receptive, with success rates of up to 50%, co~pared to the expected chance rate of 5%.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc