Overactive Imagination

Akashic Records, whose name is derived from the Sanskrit word “Akasha” meaning “space”, are supposed to contain all knowledge from all human experiences in the Universe. The Akashic Records are frequently described as a library that is constantly updated whenever any person anywhere thinks a thought. The mystic Edgar Cayce (March 18, 1877 – January 3, 1945) claimed to be able to answers questions about health, astrology, and reincarnation by accessing the Akashic Records when he was in a state of self-induced trance. The Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) based in Virginia Beach, offers a variety of therapies in keeping with the spirit and philosophy of the Edgar Cayce readings. Edgar Cayce Centers are now found in 25 countries and each year attract thousands of curious people, scholars, researchers, philosophers, and even health care professionals.

Interest in mysticism and paranormal phenomena seems to fulfill a human need for absolute knowledge which science cannot provide. Some companies are running very profitable businesses by encouraging people to explore the power of their subconscious by tapping into the Universal Energy which is within the reach of enlightened individuals. There is a web site that for $98 Dollars will sell you six cassette tapes to teach “remote viewing”, a technique to access subconscious and universal mind information in space and time so that present, past, and future events are revealed.

Akashic Records, Collective Consciousness, and Remote Viewing are philosophies for which there is no proof and which cannot be scientifically verified. Remote viewing (the current version of “clairvoyance”) is a fancy way of doing thought experiments, or brainstorming about something that you know nothing about. Any findings produced through remote viewing or access to Akashic Records without physical observations or background knowledge cannot be much better than wild guesses. We can have a greater awareness of our surroundings and can even make some insightful predictions by paying close attention to our perceptions and by using our power of deduction.

One Million Dollar Challenge: The James Randi Educational Foundation, a not-for-profit organization which was established in 1996 to promote critical thinking, offers a prize of one million Dollars to any person who can demonstrate any psychic, supernatural or paranormal ability of any kind under mutually agreed conditions. To date, the prize remains unclaimed.