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by Paul H. Smith
October 2009
from
IRVA Website
Spanish
version
One of the burning questions people have when they first discover
remote viewing is,
How can I try it...?
Though it takes training,
time, and practice to become a highly-skilled operational-level
remote viewer, it is fairly easy for even a beginner to do a simple
remote viewing experiment successfully.
Below are some guidelines
for two basic experiments.
One easy type of experiment involves merely trying to "see" what is
in a picture sealed in an opaque envelope.
Have a friend select
several clear, interesting photos with strong shapes, lines, and
colors, paste each on a plain white piece of paper, and seal each in
a separate opaque envelope (it is important that nothing of the
contents shows through to the outside).
Your friend should also
number the envelopes sequentially from "1" to whatever the highest
number is.
The photos should not be too complex, but striking enough that they
will hold some interest to the remote viewer's subconscious mind
(which is heavily involved in the process).
It is also helpful if the
photos are as different as possible from each other, so it is easier
to tell from the often partial results produced by a beginner's RV
process which photo the viewer has described when the session is
over.
When you are ready to do the session, select one of the envelopes,
and sit at a table in a quiet or peaceful area with several sheets
of paper and a black-ink pen. After jotting down the date and time,
begin your session by writing "Target 1" (or whichever envelope you
have selected) at the top of your paper.
That is your
"ready-set-go!" signal, and you should then relax and try to
perceive the impressions that come into your mind from the photo in
the envelope.
Some things to remember: Remote viewing impressions must compete
with all the mental "noise" that occupies all of our minds all of
the time. Mental noise is made up of all the memories, thoughts,
worries, guesses, deductions, distractions, and so on that keep our
brains buzzing.
Sorting this out from the
true remote viewing signal is the hard part of the whole process.
There are some guidelines, though.
Bright, sharp, clear,
static mental images are almost always "noise," and therefore
mistaken information.
I know this sounds
counterintuitive. Isn't it called remote viewing, after all?
Yes, that is so - but not
everything we "see" in the remote viewing process is necessarily
true. Often mental imagery is made up by our conscious minds to try
(unsuccessfully) to explain more subtle things going on deeper in
our minds.
True remote viewing signals are often vague, fuzzy, indistinct - I
like to say,
"like half-remembered
memories that we nevertheless know are memories you never had
before."
With a few practice
sessions you will start to get a feel for and notice the difference
between the signal and the noise.
This is, by the way, why
it is important to make sketches as you go along of what you think
you are perceiving. Quite frequently, sketches that don't appear to
make much sense when you first make them turn out to be fairly
accurate depictions of part or all of the target.
As you go through the
session, record small bits of perception - colors, smells, sounds,
textures, or tastes you think you perceive.
Lines and shapes are also
often important. Your perceptions will be fragmentary at first, but
start to come together a little as time goes on. You may never get a
full "picture" of what the target is (in fact, a fully-formed,
sensible idea of what you think the targets represents or looks like
will usually be erroneous), but what you do get will often make
sense afterwards.
This sort of experiment should only take five to ten minutes. When
you feel you have gotten all you are going to get from your target,
write "End" and your ending time at the bottom of the last sheet of
paper you have used.
From this point on, you
should make NO FURTHER MARKS on your written remote viewing record
(this is called the "transcript" of your remote viewing session).
At this time, you may now open the envelope to see what the target
was and compare it to your session transcript to see how you have
done.
Be honest with yourself -
where something matches well, give yourself credit. But don't try
too hard to find a correlation between what you "viewed" and the
target photo. This is sometimes called "data-fitting," and is
essentially a form of making excuses for yourself; it can get in the
way of you improving your remote viewing abilities.
If you can't acknowledge
where you've been wrong, it's harder to learn how to do things right
the next time.
This brings up a further principle that is very important in
learning remote viewing:
You must be willing
to fail to succeed.
You have to try things -
take intuitive risks, trust impressions you might not be sure of,
acknowledge a thought you have that "doesn't make sense" - in order
to gain the experience to tell the difference between correct and
incorrect data.
Finally, keep good records so you can monitor your process. You
should always keep your session transcripts together with the photo
target that goes with it.
And always date and put
your name on everything you do, then file it in an accessible place.
Outbounder or
Beacon Remote Viewing
Some people prefer a slightly more complicated remote viewing
protocol called an "outbounder" or "beacon" experiment.
In this experiment, the
remote viewer will describe and sketch details of a
randomly-selected physical location. Targets that have been used in
past experiments of this type have included playgrounds, public
buildings, boat marinas, windmills, unique natural landmarks,
commemorative monuments, and so on.
Just about any location
with distinct features can serve as a target.
The idea is to use one or two persons as "beacons," to help the
remote viewer (or just "viewer") to "home in" on the intended target
site with her conscious awareness.
The viewer then verbalizes, and records with paper and pen
impressions that come into her mind during the experiment.
There are a few rules to follow:
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The viewer should
never be told what the target is or anything about it until
the session is over.
-
No one with the
viewer before or during the session should know what the
target is, either. Following these two rules sets up what is
known as a double-blind condition.
-
The viewer should
be placed in a situation where she can relax, and where
external stimulation (loud noise, brights lights and colors,
etc.) is kept to a reasonable minimum. A quiet, comfortable
living room, home office, bedroom, or similar setting would
be appropriate for this.
The procedure for the
experiment is as follows:
OVERVIEW:
A remote viewer in a
closed room and having no knowledge of the target, uses his or
her mental faculties to perceive and describe a target location
where one or more other persons (the beacon team) have gone.
PARTICIPANTS:
PREPARATION:
Someone not directly
involved in the actual remote-viewing part of the experiment
prepares four or more possible targets (in an informal
experiment like this a member of the outbounder team can prepare
the targets, but it should not be the interviewer, and certainly
not the viewer).
As touched on above,
the possible targets are geographical features, structures, etc.
that can be reached within 30 minutes or less (including both
drive + access time) from the location where the remote viewer
is sequestered.
The name, location,
and driving instructions to each separate target are put
together into an individual envelope and sealed, resulting in
four or more identical envelopes, each with a different target's
information in it.
The envelopes used
must be thoroughly opaque so nothing can be seen of the contents
from the outside, and there must be no identifying features on
the outside of any of the envelopes.
TARGETS:
Just as mentioned
above, the targets should be as different as possible one from
another, with as few features in common as practical (it will
probably be impossible to eliminate every common feature).
This is so that by
the end of the remote viewing session it will be as obvious as
possible whether the viewer has described one target or another.
An example target set
might include a bridge, a library, an amusement park carousel,
and a bakery.
Another example might
include the inside of a steel mill; a boat marina; a waterfall;
and a botanical garden. Use your imagination, but don't pick
targets that are too complicated - that is, have too many
different features and details associated with them.
When the viewer is
from the local area, care should also be taken if at all
possible to not select well-known landmarks that the viewer
might be tempted to guess.
PROCEDURE:
Small variations on
the process are allowed, but should proceed somewhat along the
following lines:
-
Beacon team,
designated remote viewer, and interviewer gather in the
vicinity of the room to be used for the remote viewing
session. The viewer meets and shakes hands with the beacon
team. Watches are synchronized, and a time to begin the
viewing is agreed upon.
-
The target
envelopes are shuffled, then someone arbitrarily numbers
them from 1 to 4 (or more if there are more envelopes).
Another party rolls a die, and the number on that comes to
the top of the die will indicate the envelope selected (if 4
envelopes, roll die until a number from 1 to 4 comes up).
-
The beacon team
takes the selected envelope but DOES NOT open it yet. They
proceed to their car, where - out of sight of the viewer and
monitor = they open the envelope and follow directions to
the target.
-
The remaining
envelopes are put away where the viewer cannot have access
to them, and the viewer and interviewer enter the viewing
room.
-
If necessary, the
interviewer explains to the remote viewer about the remote
viewing process. Meanwhile, the beacon team is approaching
the target.
-
If the beacon
team arrives in the targets vicinity earlier than the
agreed-on remote viewing session start time (see #1 above),
they will wait to approach the target until the time
arrives.
-
Once at the
target, the beacon team will attempt to interact with it as
much as possible. If, for example, the target is a amusement
park carousel, they will look at it, ride it, stand near it,
touch it, etc. This lasts for 15 minutes, at which point the
team will return to the car and drive back to the viewer's
location.
-
During the 15
minutes the beacon team is at the target site, the remote
viewer and interviewer will be conducting the session, which
will consist of the viewer verbalizing and recording with
pen on paper any mental impressions that might have to do
with the target. The interviewer assists by prompting the
viewer to direct his/her attention around the target.
-
At the conclusion
of the session and after the return of the beacon team, the
remote viewer is then escorted by the beacon team back to
the actual target so he/she can receive feedback as to what
the target was and to compare what was perceived during the
session to the actual target. (Alternatively, if the return
trip is impractical the beacon team can take a video camera
along to the target to record the experience while they are
there. The video can then be played back to the viewer for
feedback purposes.)
MATERIALS:
-
Target envelopes
and die. (Each envelope contains a different target,
including name of target, directions to it, and perhaps even
a photograph of it.)
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A stack of white
8.5×11 paper, and a pen with black, indelible ink, medium
point. The viewer will use this to record her impressions.
-
A car to
transport beacon team and also to take remote viewer to
target afterwards.
-
A quiet place
with a table and chairs where the session can be conducted.
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