"Uri Geller." Two words which seem to invoke passion in anyone who has read about or
seen this truly remarkable person. Yet if one is lucky enough to meet or speak to the man
himself, you quickly realise what a disarming and genuine person he really is.
So why all the fuss?
Some historians believe Jesus Christ was born on December 20th. Perhaps the first
unusual event of Uri's life was that he was born on the same day, although some time later,
in 1946 to be exact. Coincidence? Maybe, but a portent perhaps of the shape ( or
shape-shifting ) of things to come.
Uri says that he first became aware of his mindpower at the age of four. He was eating,
when the fork he was using bent and snapped. His mother, a member of the Freud family,
was not surprised at his ability and nurtured his childhood accordingly. It was this
acceptance, rather than denial, which enabled his self belief. A belief, Uri says, is inherent
in all children, it is social conditioning which creates the denial.
After getting wounded during the Six Day War, Uri left the Israeli Army, and worked as a
fashion model by day, and at night started to give displays of his mind-power with the
support of his brother, Shimson ( Shipi ). His extraordinary demonstrations quickly became
well known and he soon developed a professional stage show. Nothing really strange about
the story so far, yet word had spread. Far enough to warrant the mysterious Andrija
Puharich to enter the scene ( see http://www.forteantimes.com/artic/126/nine.html ).
Puharich had been working previously with the equally mysterious, Dr Vinod, drawing
together 'channelled' information on the principles of 'The Nine' and was a pivotal figure in
the 'contactee' movement. Under the wing of Puharich, Uri was flown to the USA, where he
was introduced to astronaut Edgar Mitchell, and physicists Hal Puthof and Russel Targ. In
December 1972 he allowed himself to become the subject of a scientific study undertaken
at the prestigious Stanford Research Institute at Menlo Park, California.
I asked Russel Targ to comment on his experiences resulting from the SRI experiments:
" Uri was at our laboratory at SRI for six weeks in 1973. He showed remarkable
ESP perceptual ability to describe and draw hidden pictures. He was by no
means the best person to visit our lab and carry out this type of remote
viewing, but he was certainly better than the average bear in this
capability. He did not bend any metal under acceptably controlled conditions,
but I have since that time seen and done paranormal bending under excellent
conditions."
He went on to give an account of his personal experiences of PK:
"My co-author Jane Katra, a spiritual healer with small delicate hands, rolled up
the bowl of a teaspoon at a PK party with Jack Hauk last year. She was quietly
meditating (waiting for the party to end, so that we could go home) when she
screamed! The bowl rolled up 180 degrees in her closed fist, and frightened her.
We took a picture of the spoon and put it, with its picture into a plastic bag.
By the time we arrived home, the bowl had bent an additional 90 degrees, 270 in
all. I wouldn't know how to create such a smooth roll, even if I took a spoon
to the lab. At the party, I later bent the bowl of a similar spoon by brute force,
damaging my hand in the process. The bowl creased sharply as I broke the
back of the bowl. It looked nothing like Jane's. The following month we had
another opportunity to go to a PK party. Northern California does have some
advantages. At this party Hauk (a metallurgist from Boeing) had one-foot long,
3/8 diameter aluminum rods as objects for bending. Holding one of these rods in
my two hands, I had the experience of it getting springy. As I bent it back and
forth with my eyes shut, I finally had the impression that it froze in the bent
position. This turned out to be about 30 degrees. Neither I, nor my two athletic
sons could bend a similar rod whatsoever, without putting it over a knee, which
is again quite a painful undertaking."
The results of the experiments and studies, which presented an " existence of one or more
perceptual modalities through which individuals obtain information about their environment "
were written up in 'Nature' magazine.
http://www.tcom.co.uk/hpnet/sria.htm
Hal Puthoff says of the SRI experiments;
"Our publications make our statement, and our personal feelings are congruent
with what we've published. And in the intervening years of listening to the
criticisms of the skeptics we have yet to be shown any viable reason to
reassess our position."
This particular point in time seems to have been a key point in the 'Geller phenomena', as
the resulting response of disbelief and claims of poor scientific method from a small group
of skeptics, resulted in a rise in publicity for Uri which lead to an intrigued media clamouring
for his presence. From this point on, Uri became famous for what he is perhaps best known
for now, 'spoon-bending', although even the smallest amount of further glance reveals other
phenomena displayed by Uri, including, remote-viewing (RV).
So what about skepticism? A small group of hardened skeptics seized the opportunity of
the SRI experiments in order to debunk the phenomena. However, debate still rages to this
very day and even a cursory glance at skeptic newsgroups on the Internet reveal that some
of the key issues and players are *still* picking over the bones. One of the key points held
by some skeptics, is that the 'Nature' editorial is evidence that the experiments lacked
sound scientific protocols. However, the editorial appears to have been based on the
opinion of three ( I have been unable to identify who they actually were ) people. The fact
that the CIA continued working with Targ and Puthoff for many years seems to indicate that
the CIA found significant cause. ( see:
www.biomindsuperpowers.com/Pages/CIA-InitiatedRV.html )
Geller, of course, has moved on. When I spoke with him he revealed that he became
uneasy about the motives of some of those who pertained to 'debunk' him. Indeed, there
appears to have been a 'PSI war' sparked as a result of Geller's demonstrations. So deep
and intractable became the 'war' that Geller felt he had no choice other than to protect
himself through the Courts. Law suits were filed and won, ( see:
http://www.tcom.co.uk/hpnet/courts.htm ) yet the campaign to 'expose' Uri became a
quagmire of personal attacks as the 'skeptics' failed to provide proof of their assertion that
he was somehow 'cheating'. The resulting mess perhaps affected the both the face of
'skepticism' and the progress of scientific co-operation from other people who claimed
ownership of similar phenomenal skills. Something quite ugly appeared to have reared its
head within the guise of 'skepticism'. Geller, perhaps wisely, walked away and chose to
regain his true 'self' which had taken rather a pounding!
( When I spoke with Uri, he told me that he still meets with scientists and accepts the
positive motive behind scientific discovery, it seems it is the adversarial 'pseudo skeptics'
which Uri has washed his hands with, not skepticism per se. ) Indeed, one only needs to
look at the highly credible witness testimony of people like Dr Werner von Braun , Dr EW
Bastin and Dr Edgar Mitchell ( see: www.tcom.co.uk/uribiog3.htm ) to see that some of
the most credible academics in the world have witnessed both the bending phenomena up
close and first hand. Some of these people even witnessed the objects *continued* bending
after Uri had touched them.
Skeptics often claim that these people are not experts at
recognising the tricks and tools of deception, yet how do we explain the witness accounts of
some of the worlds finest stage magicians, also seeing the first hand 'bending'
phenomena? ( see: www.tcom.co.uk/uribiog3.htm ). The testimony of these people alone
show that Uri Geller is perhaps NOT the 'Parlour Trick' charlatan some pseudo-skeptics
claim.
The ability to 'bend' metals by 'mindpower' is known as 'psychokenesis' ( PK). I asked
theoretical physicist, Dr. Jack Sarfatti for his experiences of PK:
" PK means action of mind on matter at a distance. The matter is "outside" the
"body" in some cases as in the alleged "Geller Effect".
This requires "signal
nonlocality" that violates quantum physics. There is a larger physics
"post-quantum physics" that permits "signal nonlocality".
Quantum physics is a
limiting case of post-quantum physics in the same way that classical physics is
a limiting case of quantum physics.
Consciousness generation is a post-quantum
physical process in strong violation of the uncontrollable local randomness of
quantum physics. Indeed one can make a sequence of limiting cases of physical
theories ;
Post-quantum physics -> quantum physics -> classical physics.
Within classical physics we have:
Non-Riemannian Einstein-Cartan torsion-gravity physics (AKA Einstein's Vision of
"Unified Field Theory 1929-55) ->
Riemannian zero torsion gravity physics (AKA
Einstein's general relativity of 1915) ->
special relativity of 1905 ->
Galilean
relativity of Newton's mechanics of 17^th Century."
Sarfatti has some intriguing insight as a witness to the 'bending' pheomena.
"I have seen things ( PK) in my trip to Brasil in 1985 shown to me by a General in
the Brasilian Army, allegedly from a UFO that landed in the Amazon jungle, that
is like what Uri did with metal but even more complex than what I saw Uri do in
1974.
It's like the Crop Circles evolving into more and more complex forms."
Dr. Jack Sarfatti.
Another credible witness to the Geller 'phenomena is Metallurgist and US Naval scientist,
Eldon Byrd. Byrd has had the opportunity to observe Uri first hand.
I asked him what these
observations revealed:
"I first became interested in "paranormal" (in quotes because the phenomena
will be "normal" once we understand the mechanisms) phenomena in general
after seeing Ted Serios on the Alan Burke TV show (many years ago). The
host was a skeptic, but changed his mind after Serios imprinted images on a
sealed and guarded video tape.
I first became interested in metal bending
after meeting with Uri Geller in the Washington, DC area when he came to do
a demo at George Washington University. I first got involved in studying
metal bending after Geller altered the memory of a new shape memory alloy of
nickel and titanium called NITINOL, invented at the US Navy Government Lab I
where I was working at the time.
There were analytical tests run on NITINOL that
Geller had altered, including electron micrographs, density, photographic, and
microscopic. Other tests on Geller material I did not conduct included electron
microscope photos of broken keys, cracked gold rings, broken needles, and
water imprinted with energy.
I have made many direct observations of Geller
performing telepathy, mending broken watches and clocks, and sprouting seeds.
Some of these I have experienced myself, as a recipient."
Q: What is your 'up to date' knowledge of PK and do you have any thoughts regarding the
future understanding of PK?
Byrd: "I developed several theories about how PK might work in the metal bending
phenomena. As a physical scientist I have always been more interested in
phenomena that produce hard analyzable data, rather than the soft statisical
pablum of parapsychology.
Recently I have become acquainted with new
information on how the mind can interact with biological processes; I have
altered my previous theories. That is how science progresses--not with
"proof", but by coherency. We are close to understanding how intention can
create action at a distance."
During the eighties, Uri moved away from demonstration to put his skills to a more practical
test. He began prospecting for minerals and was successful enough to have created the
bulk of his fortune by doing so. He also became increasingly positive about his belief that
ordinary people could, with personal faith, use similar skills themselves. He took an interest
in writing ( see * ) and developed an interest in the medium of the 21st century, the Internet
( see www.urigeller.com )
So what can be learned from this phenomenal story?
It seems, Uri Geller is the real deal.
The fact that I have been able to track down and get up to date responses from some of the
key figures in this story indicates that what became known as the 'Geller Phenomena', is
still held by many people with credible scientific backgrounds as being a very real ability of
human 'mindpower'. Indeed, Targ speaks of 'PK Parties' amongst the intteligentsiai, Govt
sponsored physicist bending metals bars using the power of their minds.
In his book, 'Mind
Medicine' ( Element Books, 1999) Uri sums up what this 'mindpower' is;
"I believe it represents a deep wisdom that we all inherit form our forebears and which, once
harnessed, can effectively give every one of us much greater knowledge and insight into out
lives. I believe that with such awareness comes healthier minds and bodies. Some of us
learn how to tap into this energy earlier than others; some come upon it through trial and
error. Others cannot explain it but trust it totally. Its power is formidable and this frightens
those who have not yet reached the point of understanding the potency of such an invisible
force."
I sought out the opinion of Dr Susan Blackmore regarding Uri. She provided an interesting
perception:
" Although millions of people believe in extra-sensory perception, ghosts, UFOs, crystal
powers, and the tenets of astrology - the evidence for ESP is controversial (at best), and
the claims of astrology demonstrably false. However, people don't want to see endless
meticulous experiments with nothing but negative results. Viewers, and the producers who
are their slaves, seem to prefer conspiracy theories, beings from outer space, scientists
who cover up the truth about our mental powers, and Russians with strong accents who
can move trains with their teeth or bamboozle TV presenters with children's party tricks."
In respect of Geller, there is too much credible witness evidence to suggest that he is just
employing mere trickery. Indeed, if such were the case, he would be perhaps even more of
a phenomenal person, having maintained a level of deceit so powerful it has managed to
fool some of the most credible academics in history, people with high level security
clearances, physisists, metallurgists, astronauts, magicians, politicians and world leaders.
Such supposed 'trickery' to such a large and grand scale has certainly never been done
before, and leads even some of the most skeptical to consider: "This can't be possible.......
can it?"
Stainless steel spoon belonging to author; found partially distorted in cutlery rack after interview with Geller.
Sources:
Interview with Uri Geller, July 2000
corespondence with Dr J.Sarfatti, Dr.S.Blackmore, Edgar Mitchell,
Russell Targ, Eldon Byrd.
Want to try yourself?
www.fork-you.com
www.themindbender.com
(c)Copyright. www. peekatyou.org - 2001
web design:www. peekatyou.org
Coming soon - Zammit and Dr Sheldrake.
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