Comedian Steven Wright once said, “Every night I go home and stare at my rug, trying to move it using telekinesis. I’ve been doing it every night for eight years, but the rug hasn’t moved an inch. The rest of the house is gone.”
What Wright describes in the anecdote is the concept of telekinesis, or how to move things with your mind. If this practice comes up in conversation, the discussion and debate can go in many different directions. There certainly is some controversy around the concept. Let’s dive in and explore this fascinating idea.
What Is It?
Telekinesis is considered a power that can be called psychic, spiritual, or paranormal. Some other capabilities that are in this category are telepathy, which is describing something in a remote location and precognition, or being able to predict the future.
Webster’s Dictionary defines telekinesis as “the production of motion in objects (as by a spiritualistic medium) without contact or other physical means.” It has also been referred to as “mind over matter.”
It is the notion that human thought can manipulate or influence forces outside the body. Through telekinesis, a person could control what numbers come up when the dice are rolled, levitate off the ground, or bend a metal spoon.
How Long Has It Existed?
There have been people that claim they are telekinetic for many centuries.
Back in 400 BC, Shakuni, a character in the epic “Mahabharata,” uses telekinesis to manipulate the dice so he will win the game. Manipulation of dice among the most common uses of telekinesis.
Some would argue that the perfect telekinetic was Jesus. Is healing the sick, turning a basket of food into enough to feed thousands, and turning water into wine the ultimate application of telekinetic powers?
In the 12th century, the legend of King Arthur featured the wizard Merlin. Among the tales of Merlin’s exploits, he transported Stonehenge across the Irish Sea from Ireland to England and sailed through the ocean in a house of glass.
A Russian psychical researcher named Alexander N. Aksakof was the first one to use the term “telekinesis” in 1890. Studies on telekinesis have been going on since the early 1800s.
How Does It Work?
Another long-running joke about telekinesis goes, “Is anyone here a psychic? Raise my hand!”
That doesn’t describe the phenomenon nearly as well as Wright’s joke does – this is not a process where one person can manipulate another person’s actions.
Telekinesis can be divided into two main categories. There is Macro-PKare, which results in effects that the naked eye can see. Then there is Micro-PK, which affects items on such a small scale that statistics are required to measure it. An example of micro-PK is influencing a random number generator or program.
The most common claim to telekinetic abilities is levitation. Levitation is also the most natural ability to manipulate through trickery. Some even claim to have an ability to bend metal objects, which was disproven in every study conducted on it since the 1970s. Moving objects without touching them, the subject of the Steven Wright joke above,e is another widespread ability that is claimed.
There is a theory that humans can go against gravity. A Swedish electrical engineer named Haakon Forwald believed that a person could manipulate gravitational fields. You would use your mind to agitate the neutrons and atoms within an object.
Then there’s the race against the speed of light. Columbia University physicist Gerald Feinberg theorized that there is a particle that moves faster than light. He called it the tachyon.
Are You Born With Telekinesis?
Is telekinesis natural and only present at birth? It is believed that some people were born with telekinetic powers.
Some believe a person has natural telekinetic abilities. Those that ascribe to this philosophy point to the following signs:
- You can’t wear a watch, because it never keeps accurate time or quits working quickly.
- If there is a poltergeist (ghost) activity in your area, you might be its human agent.
- Unusual power activity – if you see street lights going out near you, or if batteries that should work suddenly drain, or if lights flicker near you, that may be a sign.
Can You Learn Telekinesis?
Others believe telekinesis can be learned. There is a detailed set of instructions for developing this power. It’s a lengthy, time-intensive process; here are some of the steps.
Get Your Thoughts In Order
Let’s start with a fundamental concept. To learn telekinesis, one must accept that it is real. Skepticism is deadly. If you tell yourself that nothing will happen, then nothing will happen. This is true in the conscious and subconscious thinking. So the first thing you need is the belief that you CAN do this.
Meditate daily. Discipline is an essential trait, and meditation helps develop it. Ensure what you wear and how you sit are comfortable, and your eyes need to be closed. Engage in deep breathing practice – count to four as you inhale, count to four as you hold it, then exhale as you count to eight. Examine your thoughts during this time. See each idea as a star.
During the exhale, imagine one bright star, like the sun. The sun gradually increases in brightness. The stars slowly disappear. Your focus on the single star causes random thoughts to melt away.
Keep controlling how you breathe, and concentrate on a unique idea. Don’t strain yourself. If you are like most people, you usually try to focus on multiple things at one time. It could require some time to train your brain to hone in on only one thing. Be patient.
Use a lot of detail while visualizing items. Start with a small thing nearby, such as a utensil or piece of fruit. Try to memorize everything you know about it. When you’re confident that you can visualize the item with your eyes closed, shut them, and visualize it in your brain as accurately as possible. Try to see the shape, nuances, firmness (or lack thereof), what it smells like and other essential, small aspects.
During meditation, practice visualizing, clear your brain, focus on your breath, and bring your attention to one item. Over time, build up the things you see. Envision more sophisticated items gradually. Keep going until you can imagine broader visions, such as your kitchen or part of a nearby park.
Repetition and practice are essential. This requires you to be completely present. Your thoughts cannot stray or wander. Achieving this level of discipline takes time. Do your best to practice every day.
As you practice regularly, it should be easier to focus your attention, clear your thoughts, and visualize items. Once your brain is trained, you can start trying to connect with items with your thoughts.
You and the Item Are One
Focus on one small item. Start with a little item, like a letter opener or pencil. Place it in within reach. Use your meditation techniques to get the proper mindset. Rid yourself of random thoughts. See the item clearly with your brain.
Focus on making a connection with the item. Soon you’ll see that you’ve trained your brain, and you can see things. Then, focus on the energy and how it connects you to the world outside. There is energy from you, the item, and the distance between the two. Visualize that energy.
Imagine the limitations between you and external items disappearing, Realize that you and the item are one unit. This is where the basis of telekinesis is formed. You and the item are one. You must develop an unshakeable belief in this connection if you want to move something.
Imagine very clearly what the item will do. How do you want the item to move? Will you spin, push, or pull it? Focus on the item. See it moving the way you want it to move. Visualize only one motion. Try not to think about how it moves in multiple ways, or allow distractions to derail you.
Focus on the item. Send your desire to the item as you do when you want to move one of your limbs. Keep your focus on a single action. You’re one with the item, so move it as you would any body part. If you aren’t successful right away, do not call yourself a failure. Keep working on disciplining your brain. Also, you can use exercises to improve your ability.
Exercise Your Telekinesis
You are now aware of the energy flowing through you. Flex all the muscles in an arm from the shoulder to the fist. Hold it for 10-15 seconds and then let your arm relax.
Notice how the energy feels as you build, control, and release it. How does that feel? Use these feelings to develop further the ability to connect with an item and move it as you desire. Since the key is that you and the item are one, it’s essential to understand and feel the energy within this connection.
Use a psi wheel, which is a piece of paper folded into a pyramid on a toothpick which is then connected to aluminum foil. You can use one of these in your exercises. Zero in on the item, use your thoughts to communicate with it, and use your brain to give it a spin. To learn to harness your ability, attempt to turn the wheel without knocking it over. Prevent wind from spinning it by placing a container over the wheel.
Use a psi ball, a source of energy that you can feel, manipulate, and use to manage items. This is also an excellent exercise tool. With your hands held around your stomach, feel the power at your core. Hold your hands like you are holding a sphere or ball, and visualize what it looks like.
“See” the sphere with your brain. What is its size? Does it radiate? What is its color? Move it and let it change shape and sizes. Eventually, you will use it to connect with other items. Use this ball to effect substantial, visible items, just as a good-sized ball would knock over a lighter item.
Do some flame work. Light a candle, focus your thoughts and let the flame fill your brain. Watch it move and flicker. Focus on it, and use your energy to make it move. Send it to the left or right, stretch it up, make it dimmer, then more intense.
Keep things fresh by switching up your exercises. Attempt 2-3 different exercises each day. Begin with the meditation and visualization you have mastered by this point. Move on to some flamework, the psi ball or wheel, roll a pen or pencil, or bend a kitchen utensil.
You can avoid getting frustrated or bored by practicing a variety of exercises. Spend about 20 minutes on each exercise. Spend a total of about an hour a day on your tasks.
Take breaks when you’re tired. Just like regular exercise, it’s essential to rest when you get exhausted. Drink water, eat a snack and rest for a little while. Return to exercise after you are refreshed. Don’t fall into the old “I’ll just push through it” mentality. You might end up needing an aspirin.
Other sites that offer instructions on how to learn telekinesis include LoveToKnow.com and dotelekinesis.com. You can also spend lots of time watching telekinesis YouTube videos.
This level of detail shows that there is a market for those that believe telekinesis can be learned. Note that these sets of instructions require a significant time commitment. This adds an element of credibility that wouldn’t be given to “quick fixes” or other sensational tips that imply that learning telekinesis can be done in little or no time.
Is Telekinesis Real?
From a purely scientific perspective, it’s not completely clear if telekinesis is a real thing. There is no scientific proof that it doesn’t exist. At the same time, there is no substantial evidence that it does exist. Many studies have been conducted. Most of them were inconclusive or had their results challenged.
The U.S. government has been studying telekinesis for well over 100 years. Many of the cases studied turned out to be fraudulent. Some examples could not confirm or deny anything. This suggests that telekinesis may exist, but it can’t be proven scientifically.
One notable study involved a yogi named Swami Rama. He was able to control some of his body functions, such as his heart rate. He also was able to move a needle without touching it or creating an air current to move it. Despite no evidence of fraud, the scientists concluded he somehow fraudulently moved the needle.
J. B. Rhine, an American parapsychologist, sought to prove or disprove telekinesis in a laboratory environment in the 1930s. When a gambler approached him in 1934, claiming he could influence the roll of the dice, Rhine started testing him. He tested more than 650,000 experimental die throws over the next seven years. His conclusion? Telekinesis was “possible.”
A vital component of the scientific method is repetition. Science seeks to have the same result over multiple experiments as a sign of proof. Very little about telekinesis can be repeated. Other scientists could not replicate the results of Rhine’s die-throwing experiments. In the world of the scientific method, that makes the experiment a failure.
How Is It Viewed?
A Gallup poll found that 29% of those polled believe in telekinesis. This figure is high enough that it leaves people vulnerable to fraud by magicians and psychics. The number of fraud cases influences people in science and government to not believe that telekinesis exists. A British scientist polled some magicians, a majority of which did not believe in telekinesis.
One very famous detractor was magician Harry Houdini. He wrote a book, Miracle Mongers and Their Methods, in which he exposed the fraud of many tricksters who claimed to have telekinetic and other supernatural powers.
You can see the public interest in the concept through storytelling. The X-Men movies, the 2009 film “Push,” and the book and movie “Carrie” feature humans with superpowers. Also, television series such as “Stranger Things” and “Charmed” have psychic powers prevalent in one or more characters.
These productions often show the use of the psychic powers against a corrupt government or evil force, casting the mystic in a hero role. And we haven’t even begun to talk about the Jedi order in “Star Wars,” whose telekinetic powers not only can bend metal objects, they actually can lift people and objects off the ground and move them.
Can It Evolve?
As humans, we love to speculate on what the future holds. How many times have you heard that one of these days, we’ll be driving flying cars? There is an entire industry around doomsday preparation, as predictions flow about the end of life as we know it. The movies and TV shows mentioned above are just a tiny fraction of the futuristic entertainment options at our disposal.
The paranormal arena is no different. There are numerous theories on how to move things with your mind in the future.
The human brain is quite amazing. It contains 100 billion neurons (that’s 100,000,000,000). Those neurons make it possible for us to talk, walk, create, build, think, and an endless array of other tasks.
And not only does the brain like to speculate on what lies ahead, but it also pushes to want to know more and do more. Many people hear “that’s impossible” and immediately seek to disprove that statement. It’s what drives many people. So who’s to say paranormal things like telekinesis can go from the sketchy and unproven state of today to a regular part of our lives?
If you’re talking pure biology, the odds aren’t good. There isn’t much evidence that points to that type of human evolution. But there are other avenues of possibility. Psychology Today touts the oncoming Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) as a way the human brain could control computers, other connected devices, and their programs without voice interaction or typing.
This type of interface has its roots in shock therapy, which came around in the late 1930s as a treatment for severe depression. Shock therapy is still around, but the BCI would allow for two-way communication between the brain and the machine. Initially, this is being explored as a way to treat conditions like brain injuries, amnesia, blindness, and paralysis.
That compassion element – curing illnesses and relieving pain – will undoubtedly drive the development forward. But why should it only be used for medical reasons? Some might dream of being able to do their own Yoda impersonation and lift a vehicle out of a parking space. But others might consider a robust BCI as a way to learn a new trade or digest a large, complicated college textbook.
What Else Is Possible?
There are plenty of other possibilities. Some technology company leaders are funding research into concepts such as the “thought-to-text” composition of text messages or emails. The future may include your thoughts being commands to control technology. There truly is no limit to the possibilities.
If such amazing possibilities do come about, we must also guard against its use for illegal or unethical practices. We wouldn’t want hackers to access a BCI to break into a company or government database with highly sensitive information, for example. Of course, that is the case with anything new – some people want to use it for good, others for evil.
Final Thoughts
What can we conclude after considering all this? We really can’t find very much. Telekinesis may very well be the answer to how to move things with your mind, and it may not be. It’s hard to prove scientifically. There are plenty of evil characters that will use fraud and trickery to make you think they are telekinetic. We are left with as many questions as answers.
In the end, when one person says, “I believe in telekinesis,” and another person says, “I don’t believe in telekinesis,” there is no way to prove either one of them 100% right or wrong.