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In October 2017, Chapman University conducted a survey of \u201cAmerican fears\u201d that included a battery of items on paranormal beliefs. These ranged from a belief in Bigfoot to psychic powers and haunted houses, ancient civilizations like Atlantis, to visits by aliens. The results show just how dramatically beliefs about the paranormal have changed: 55 percent believe that advanced civilizations like Atlantis existed; 52 percent believe places can be haunted by spirits; more than a third believe aliens visited Earth in the ancient past; more than a quarter believe aliens have visited the planet in modern times; and a quarter believe objects can be moved with the mind. The study concluded that 75 percent of Americans believe in some facet of the paranormal.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s astonishing about this statistic is how it compares to a study conducted by Baylor University twelve years earlier, which concluded that just 15 percent of Americans believed in the paranormal. This begs the question: what accounts for the increase? How were the studies conducted? Did the phrasing of the questions account for some of the differences in the statistics? Even when taking such qualifiers into account, the Chapman study shows a dramatic increase in interest in the paranormal.<\/p>\n
Ironically, this boost in curiosity about such mysterious matters might be related to technology\u2014specifically, social media. Numerous websites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram interest groups that focus on psychic phenomena have had a tremendous impact. It also could be the result of a proliferation of movies and TV shows about different facets of the paranormal. Then there are books, workshops, and seminars, an entire cottage industry that has grown up in the last 20 years and revolves around the human curiosity about and need for expanded awareness.<\/p>\n
Scientists on the cutting edge believe the old paradigm\u2014that our perception is limited to the five senses\u2014is starting to change. But ordinary people have experienced paranormal phenomena for decades and their stories tell us that a paradigm shift has been underway for years. Only now is it reaching a tipping point.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In October 2017, Chapman University conducted a survey of \u201cAmerican fears\u201d that included a battery of items on paranormal beliefs. These ranged from a belief in Bigfoot to psychic powers and haunted houses, ancient civilizations like Atlantis, to visits … Continue reading