[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":2862},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Farticles\u002Fsensed-presence":3,"list-articles":2830},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":2814,"extension":2815,"file":2816,"group":2817,"label":2818,"meta":2819,"minutes":2820,"navigation":2821,"order":2822,"path":2823,"section":2824,"seo":2825,"slug":2826,"stem":2827,"updated":2828,"__hash__":2829},"pages\u002Fdocs\u002FEFFECT_SENSED_PRESENCE.md","Sensed presence: the feeling that someone is there",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":2761},"minimark",[9,13,16,19,44,47,109,115,186,189,194,284,286,290,295,305,446,450,587,590,592,596,600,651,666,670,676,690,694,872,876,928,932,964,966,970,974,1018,1040,1044,1051,1055,1127,1133,1137,1143,1185,1189,1197,1199,1203,1207,1252,1256,1259,1279,1290,1294,1316,1321,1325,1330,1351,1359,1363,1374,1377,1387,1391,1403,1407,1549,1552,1554,1558,1561,1565,1676,1680,1765,1769,1839,1843,1871,1877,1879,1883,1887,1967,1971,2044,2048,2156,2160,2272,2274,2278,2282,2285,2309,2313,2605,2610,2614,2617,2631,2635,2641,2718,2721,2725,2731],[10,11,12],"p",{},"A sensed presence (also \"felt presence\" or \"feeling of a presence\") is the conviction that another being is close by when nobody can be seen or heard. It is the effect the God Helmet is best known for. Persinger's laboratory said its weak fields could evoke it on demand. The one rigorous independent replication found that the field made no difference, and that personality and setting predicted who felt it.",[10,14,15],{},"The same experience turns up far from any helmet: in sleep paralysis, after a bereavement, in Parkinson's disease, on high mountains and polar journeys, and in neurological patients. Two groups outside Persinger's lab have produced it reliably, one with electrodes inside the brain and one with a robot that touches people's backs.",[10,17,18],{},"This page covers:",[20,21,22,26,29,32,35,38,41],"ul",{},[23,24,25],"li",{},"what people report, and how often;",[23,27,28],{},"the Persinger\u002FKoren laboratory record on presence;",[23,30,31],{},"the independent tests and the suggestion explanation;",[23,33,34],{},"sensed presence without any helmet, and the proposed mechanisms;",[23,36,37],{},"videos worth watching;",[23,39,40],{},"a reading list;",[23,42,43],{},"how to test it honestly with this helmet.",[10,45,46],{},"Related documents:",[20,48,49,57,64,71,78,85,97],{},[23,50,51,56],{},[52,53,55],"a",{"href":54},"\u002Farticles\u002Fresearch","RESEARCH.md",": the full evidence review, including every lab protocol cited here.",[23,58,59,63],{},[52,60,62],{"href":61},"\u002Fdocs\u002Fexperiments","EXPERIMENTS.md",": blinded real\u002Fsham sessions, checking the blind, and the replication designs.",[23,65,66,70],{},[52,67,69],{"href":68},"\u002Fdocs\u002Fsafety","SAFETY.md",": who should not use the helmet, session rules and the adverse-event record.",[23,72,73,77],{},[52,74,76],{"href":75},"\u002Fdocs\u002Fquestionnaires","QUESTIONNAIRES.md",": the Sensed Presence Questionnaire (SenPQ) and the post-session checklist.",[23,79,80,84],{},[52,81,83],{"href":82},"\u002Farticles\u002Fhistory","HISTORY.md",": the people and institutions behind the God Helmet.",[23,86,87,91,92,96],{},[52,88,90],{"href":89},"\u002Fdocs\u002Fsignals","SIGNALS.md"," and ",[52,93,95],{"href":94},"\u002Fdocs\u002Fplacement","PLACEMENT.md",": the signals and coil sites the programs use.",[23,98,99,100,91,104,108],{},"The two other effect articles: ",[52,101,103],{"href":102},"\u002Farticles\u002Fout-of-body","Out-of-body experiences",[52,105,107],{"href":106},"\u002Farticles\u002Fremote-viewing","Remote viewing",".",[10,110,111,112,114],{},"Evidence words, as in ",[52,113,83],{"href":82},":",[116,117,118,131],"table",{},[119,120,121],"thead",{},[122,123,124,128],"tr",{},[125,126,127],"th",{},"Word",[125,129,130],{},"Meaning",[132,133,134,146,156,166,176],"tbody",{},[122,135,136,143],{},[137,138,139],"td",{},[140,141],"evidence-word",{"level":142},"established",[137,144,145],{},"Independently replicated",[122,147,148,153],{},[137,149,150],{},[140,151],{"level":152},"single-lab",[137,154,155],{},"Reported by one laboratory or research group only",[122,157,158,163],{},[137,159,160],{},[140,161],{"level":162},"claim",[137,164,165],{},"Stated by an author, agency or vendor without independent support",[122,167,168,173],{},[137,169,170],{},[140,171],{"level":172},"anecdote",[137,174,175],{},"A personal account",[122,177,178,183],{},[137,179,180],{},[140,181],{"level":182},"unverified",[137,184,185],{},"Could not be checked against a primary source",[187,188],"hr",{},[190,191,193],"h2",{"id":192},"at-a-glance","At a glance",[116,195,196,209],{},[119,197,198],{},[122,199,200,203,206],{},[125,201,202],{},"Question",[125,204,205],{},"Short answer",[125,207,208],{},"Evidence",[132,210,211,223,236,248,259,271],{},[122,212,213,216,219],{},[137,214,215],{},"Is the sensed presence a real, common experience?",[137,217,218],{},"Yes. It is reported by healthy people under stress, isolation or sleep loss, and by many patients",[137,220,221],{},[140,222],{"level":142},[122,224,225,228,231],{},[137,226,227],{},"Can the brain produce it without any outside agent?",[137,229,230],{},"Yes: electrical stimulation of the left temporoparietal junction, brain lesions, and robot-made sensorimotor conflict all evoke it",[137,232,233,235],{},[140,234],{"level":152}," per method (Blanke's group for stimulation and robotics), consistent across several cohorts",[122,237,238,241,244],{},[137,239,240],{},"Do Persinger's weak magnetic fields evoke it?",[137,242,243],{},"The lab reported so in many small studies",[137,245,246],{},[140,247],{"level":152},[122,249,250,253,256],{},[137,251,252],{},"Did an independent double-blind test confirm it?",[137,254,255],{},"No. Granqvist et al. 2005 (N = 89) found no field effect",[137,257,258],{},"independent null",[122,260,261,264,267],{},[137,262,263],{},"Do expectation and setting produce it?",[137,265,266],{},"Yes. Inert sham helmets produce presences and other \"extraordinary experiences\" in people who expect them",[137,268,269],{},[140,270],{"level":142},[122,272,273,276,279],{},[137,274,275],{},"Can this helmet test the field claim?",[137,277,278],{},"Yes, with blinded real\u002Fsham sessions. A striking experience alone tells you nothing about the field",[137,280,281,282],{},"see ",[52,283,62],{"href":61},[187,285],{},[190,287,289],{"id":288},"what-people-report","What people report",[291,292,294],"h3",{"id":293},"the-experience","The experience",[10,296,297,298,304],{},"A recent clinical review defines felt presence as the basic feeling that someone else is present in the immediate environment without clear sensory evidence. It ranges from benevolent to distressing and from a definite person to something vague (",[52,299,303],{"href":300,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1016\u002FS2215-0366(23)00034-2","noopener","_blank","Barnby et al. 2023","). Accounts from very different settings share a set of features:",[116,306,307,320],{},[119,308,309],{},[122,310,311,314,317],{},[125,312,313],{},"Feature",[125,315,316],{},"What is typically reported",[125,318,319],{},"Source",[132,321,322,336,354,366,385,404,416,430],{},[122,323,324,327,330],{},[137,325,326],{},"Position",[137,328,329],{},"Close by, most often behind or to one side; rarely in front. In Parkinson's disease 58 % felt it beside them and 27 % behind them",[137,331,332],{},[52,333,335],{"href":334,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1136\u002Fjnnp.2010.234799","Fénelon 2011",[122,337,338,341,344],{},[137,339,340],{},"Side",[137,342,343],{},"Persinger's lab reported more left-sided presences when the field was strongest over the right hemisphere",[137,345,346,350,351,353],{},[52,347,349],{"href":348,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F11883572\u002F","Tiller & Persinger 2002"," (",[140,352],{"level":152},")",[122,355,356,359,362],{},[137,357,358],{},"Identity",[137,360,361],{},"Often unknown; sometimes a living relative, a dead person, a guardian figure or a deity. In the Parkinson's series about half were identified, 23 % as someone dead for more than a year",[137,363,364],{},[52,365,335],{"href":334,"rel":301,"target":302},[122,367,368,371,374],{},[137,369,370],{},"Mimicry",[137,372,373],{},"The presence copies the person's posture and movements: it sits when they sit and stands when they stand",[137,375,376,380,381],{},[52,377,379],{"href":378,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1038\u002F443287a","Arzy 2006","; Rognini in ",[52,382,384],{"href":383,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=CfMZVq6ZI_8","BBC News 2014",[122,386,387,390,393],{},[137,388,389],{},"Emotion",[137,391,392],{},"Either comforting (survival, bereavement) or menacing (sleep paralysis); fear is common at night",[137,394,395,399,400],{},[52,396,398],{"href":397,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1046\u002Fj.1365-2869.1999.00165.x","Cheyne 1999","; ",[52,401,403],{"href":402,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1136\u002Fbmj.4.5778.37","Rees 1971",[122,405,406,409,412],{},[137,407,408],{},"Duration",[137,410,411],{},"Usually seconds; in Parkinson's disease 79 % of episodes lasted seconds",[137,413,414],{},[52,415,335],{"href":334,"rel":301,"target":302},[122,417,418,421,424],{},[137,419,420],{},"Sensory content",[137,422,423],{},"Usually none: nothing is seen or heard, yet the person is certain someone is there. It can come with a shadow, a voice or a touch",[137,425,426],{},[52,427,429],{"href":428,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1007\u002Fs11097-020-09666-2","Ratcliffe 2020",[122,431,432,435,438],{},[137,433,434],{},"Behaviour under attention",[137,436,437],{},"In Persinger's lab, trying to \"focus\" on the presence moved it or changed its location",[137,439,440,350,444,353],{},[52,441,443],{"href":442,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F9347559\u002F","Cook & Persinger 1997",[140,445],{"level":152},[291,447,449],{"id":448},"how-often-it-happens","How often it happens",[116,451,452,464],{},[119,453,454],{},[122,455,456,459,462],{},[125,457,458],{},"Group",[125,460,461],{},"Figure",[125,463,319],{},[132,465,466,483,496,512,528,542,557,571],{},[122,467,468,471,474],{},[137,469,470],{},"General population, sleep paralysis",[137,472,473],{},"7.6 % have at least one episode in their lifetime; 28.3 % of students; 31.9 % of psychiatric patients (35 studies, N = 36,533). A sensed presence is a core part of the \"Intruder\" cluster of sleep-paralysis hallucinations",[137,475,476,399,480],{},[52,477,479],{"href":478,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1016\u002Fj.smrv.2011.01.007","Sharpless & Barber 2011",[52,481,398],{"href":482,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1006\u002Fccog.1999.0404",[122,484,485,488,491],{},[137,486,487],{},"Students with sleep paralysis",[137,489,490],{},"Almost 30 % of 870 students had at least one episode; fear was most clearly linked with sensed presence",[137,492,493],{},[52,494,495],{"href":397,"rel":301,"target":302},"Cheyne, Newby-Clark & Rueffer 1999",[122,497,498,501,504],{},[137,499,500],{},"Bereaved spouses",[137,502,503],{},"Almost half of 293 widowed people had illusions or hallucinations of the dead spouse; the sense of presence was the most common (about 39 %). Reviews put post-bereavement experiences at 30–60 %",[137,505,506,399,508],{},[52,507,403],{"href":402,"rel":301,"target":302},[52,509,511],{"href":510,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1016\u002Fj.jad.2015.07.032","Castelnovo 2015",[122,513,514,517,520],{},[137,515,516],{},"Parkinson's disease",[137,518,519],{},"\"Minor\" hallucinations, including a sensation of presence, in 25.5 % of 216 patients; a feeling of presence in the past month in 38 of 116 consecutive outpatients",[137,521,522,399,526],{},[52,523,525],{"href":524,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1093\u002Fbrain\u002F123.4.733","Fénelon 2000",[52,527,335],{"href":334,"rel":301,"target":302},[122,529,530,533,536],{},[137,531,532],{},"Extreme-altitude climbers",[137,534,535],{},"7 of 8 world-class climbers (above 8,500 m without oxygen) reported somesthetic illusions and pseudohallucinations; solo climbing and danger were triggers",[137,537,538],{},[52,539,541],{"href":540,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F10082335\u002F","Brugger 1999",[122,543,544,547,550],{},[137,545,546],{},"Survivors, explorers, solo sailors",[137,548,549],{},"Many case reports, collected but not counted",[137,551,552,556],{},[52,553,555],{"href":554,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1177\u002F0013916587191002","Suedfeld & Mocellin 1987","; Geiger 2009 (book)",[122,558,559,562,565],{},[137,560,561],{},"Online surveys (psychosis and voice-hearing, spiritualists, endurance athletes; N = 206 in total)",[137,563,564],{},"In all three groups, how often people felt a presence was predicted by a general tendency to hallucinate",[137,566,567],{},[52,568,570],{"href":569,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1017\u002FS0033291722000344","Alderson-Day 2023",[122,572,573,576,579],{},[137,574,575],{},"Persinger's lab",[137,577,578],{},"A presence \"in up to 80 %\" of the general population, as Granqvist's group summarised the lab's claim",[137,580,581,350,585,353],{},[52,582,584],{"href":583,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F15849873\u002F","Granqvist 2005",[140,586],{"level":162},[10,588,589],{},"The figures come from different questions and samples, so they cannot be compared directly. They do show that the experience is not rare and does not need a helmet.",[187,591],{},[190,593,595],{"id":594},"the-god-helmet-laboratory-record","The God Helmet laboratory record",[291,597,599],{"id":598},"the-hypothesis","The hypothesis",[20,601,602,616,628,640],{},[23,603,604,608,609,399,613,615],{},[605,606,607],"strong",{},"1983."," Persinger proposed that mystical and religious experiences come from brief electrical \"microseizures\" in the deep temporal lobes, and that life crises and deathbed conditions are optimal triggers (",[52,610,612],{"href":611,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.2466\u002Fpms.1983.57.3f.1255","Persinger 1983",[140,614],{"level":162},").",[23,617,618,621,622,399,626,615],{},[605,619,620],{},"1993."," His \"vectorial hemisphericity\" model made the sensed presence the starting point. When the hemispheres briefly fall out of step, the right-hemisphere equivalent of the left hemisphere's linguistic sense of self intrudes into awareness. Depending on the balance, the result is \"evil entities\", gods, out-of-body experiences or distortions of space and time (",[52,623,625],{"href":624,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.2466\u002Fpms.1993.76.3.915","Persinger 1993",[140,627],{"level":162},[23,629,630,633,634,399,638,615],{},[605,631,632],{},"1994."," The idea appeared in a case-study title: the sensed presence \"as right hemispheric intrusions into the left hemispheric awareness of self\" (",[52,635,637],{"href":636,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.2466\u002Fpms.1994.78.3.999","Persinger et al. 1994",[140,639],{"level":172},[23,641,642,645,646,650],{},[605,643,644],{},"2002."," The lab described the mechanism as \"intercalation between the hemispheres\" (",[52,647,649],{"href":648,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F12193838\u002F","Persinger & Healey 2002","). On this view the presence is, in effect, the person's own self perceived as someone else. That idea is close to the mainstream self\u002Fother account below, but Persinger tied it to hemispheres and to weak fields, and those two parts have not been independently supported.",[10,652,653,654,399,658,615],{},"In television segments Persinger described the classic lab report as a presence \"usually on the left side\" (",[52,655,657],{"href":656,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002F_O_aGlm9QjU?t=128","TLC segment",[52,659,661,662],{"href":660,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FxfuLKHlMh4M?t=574","Discovery ",[663,664,665],"em",{},"Ultrascience",[291,667,669],{"id":668},"setting-and-dose","Setting and dose",[10,671,672,673,675],{},"The details are in ",[52,674,55],{"href":54},". In short:",[20,677,678,681,684,687],{},[23,679,680],{},"a blindfolded subject in an armchair, inside an acoustic chamber that was also a Faraday cage;",[23,682,683],{},"subjects told it was a relaxation study, and asked to experience whatever happens without labelling it;",[23,685,686],{},"mostly about 1 µT, from 100 nT up to about 10 µT, with almost no paper saying where the field was measured;",[23,688,689],{},"20 to 40 minutes per pattern, often a right-hemisphere pattern first, then a bilateral one.",[291,691,693],{"id":692},"the-presence-studies","The presence studies",[116,695,696,711],{},[119,697,698],{},[122,699,700,703,706,709],{},[125,701,702],{},"Study",[125,704,705],{},"Design",[125,707,708],{},"Reported result",[125,710,208],{},[132,712,713,729,747,766,782,798,816,835,853],{},[122,714,715,719,722,725],{},[137,716,717],{},[52,718,443],{"href":442,"rel":301,"target":302},[137,720,721],{},"15 volunteers; successive 3-min bursts of different 1 µT patterns or sham; button press at each presence",[137,723,724],{},"9 of 15 pressed for a presence. The abstract does not separate field from sham presses",[137,726,727],{},[140,728],{"level":152},[122,730,731,737,740,743],{},[137,732,733],{},[52,734,736],{"href":735,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F10833767\u002F","Persinger, Tiller & Koren 2000",[137,738,739],{},"One man with a history of apparitions; right-hemisphere frequency-modulated pattern, then bilateral",[137,741,742],{},"\"Rushes of fear\" and an apparition like his natural one; 15 Hz EEG spikes",[137,744,745],{},[140,746],{"level":172},[122,748,749,755,758,761],{},[137,750,751],{},[52,752,754],{"href":753,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F11361305\u002F","Cook & Persinger 2001",[137,756,757],{},"16 subjects, 20 min, right or bilateral 1 µT field",[137,759,760],{},"None of 8 low scorers on epileptic-like signs reported a presence; 75 % and 60 % of the 8 high scorers did (right and bilateral)",[137,762,763,765],{},[140,764],{"level":152},"; no sham arm in the abstract",[122,767,768,772,775,778],{},[137,769,770],{},[52,771,649],{"href":648,"rel":301,"target":302},[137,773,774],{},"48 subjects; right, left, bilateral or sham; 100 nT–1 µT, 20 min, opaque goggles, very quiet room",[137,776,777],{},"More presences, fears and odd smells with right or bilateral fields than with left or sham",[137,779,780],{},[140,781],{"level":152},[122,783,784,788,791,794],{},[137,785,786],{},[52,787,349],{"href":348,"rel":301,"target":302},[137,789,790],{},"12 subjects, 8 configurations × 5 min over the right parietotemporal region; button presses coded left, right or front\u002Fback",[137,792,793],{},"More left-sided presences during the \"Thomas\" pattern with 3-ms points; 40 % of all left-sided presences came in that 5-min block",[137,795,796],{},[140,797],{"level":152},[122,799,800,806,809,812],{},[137,801,802],{},[52,803,805],{"href":804,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F14738362\u002F","Booth 2003",[137,807,808],{},"6 subjects; a 7 Hz sine with point durations of 1–20 ms",[137,810,811],{},"Most left-sided presences at 1 and 10 ms",[137,813,814],{},[140,815],{"level":152},[122,817,818,824,827,830],{},[137,819,820],{},[52,821,823],{"href":822,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F16861170\u002F","St-Pierre & Persinger 2006",[137,825,826],{},"Re-analysis of 19 experiments, 407 subjects",[137,828,829],{},"The field pattern, not suggestibility or exotic belief, predicted presences; prior presence history correlated with exotic beliefs and temporal-lobe sensitivity",[137,831,832,834],{},[140,833],{"level":152},", retrospective",[122,836,837,843,846,849],{},[137,838,839],{},[52,840,842],{"href":841,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F19116832\u002F","Meli & Persinger 2009",[137,844,845],{},"Right-hemisphere burst-firing in coloured light, 30 min",[137,847,848],{},"Red light increased dizziness, presence and detachment",[137,850,851],{},[140,852],{"level":152},[122,854,855,858,861,868],{},[137,856,857],{},"Saroka's thesis protocol (2015)",[137,859,860],{},"30 min of the Thomas pattern on both temporoparietal regions, then 30 min of burst-firing",[137,862,863,864,353],{},"The lab's standard two-phase \"sensed-presence protocol\" (see the ",[52,865,867],{"href":866},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-saroka-2015-sensed-presence","program notes",[137,869,870],{},[140,871],{"level":152},[291,873,875],{"id":874},"what-the-lab-said-about-rates","What the lab said about rates",[20,877,878,890,903,916],{},[23,879,880,883,884,886,887,889],{},[605,881,882],{},"\"Up to 80 %.\""," This is how the independent replicators summarised the lab's claims (",[52,885,584],{"href":583,"rel":301,"target":302},"). We found no single paper that reports 80 % with a sham comparison (",[140,888],{"level":182}," as a figure).",[23,891,892,895,896,399,900,902],{},[605,893,894],{},"Visions of Christ."," In an e-mail quoted by Murphy, Persinger wrote that about 20 of roughly 2,000 subjects had felt or seen Christ (",[52,897,899],{"href":898,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.god-helmet.com\u002Fwp\u002Fgod-helmet\u002Fintro_to_god_helmet.htm","Murphy: intro to the God Helmet",[140,901],{"level":172},", second-hand).",[23,904,905,908,909,399,913,915],{},[605,906,907],{},"Sham levels."," After the Swedish replication, Persinger and Koren wrote that sham groups score about 0.3 (SD 0.5) on the sensed-presence item and effective fields \"0.8 or higher\" (",[52,910,912],{"href":911,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fweb.archive.org\u002Fweb\u002F20050223022113\u002Fhttp:\u002F\u002Flaurentian.ca\u002Fneurosci\u002FNews\u002FDec_news.htm","Persinger & Koren 2004",[140,914],{"level":162},"). This is the clearest testable prediction the lab made.",[23,917,918,921,922,399,926,615],{},[605,919,920],{},"At home."," Todd Murphy, who sells the consumer descendants of the lab helmet, writes that the presence \"is less frequent\" with his Shiva system than in the lab, and credits the lab's \"rigorous conditions\" (",[52,923,925],{"href":924,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.god-helmet.com\u002Fwp\u002Fgod-helmet\u002Findex.htm","Murphy: God Helmet",[140,927],{"level":162},[291,929,931],{"id":930},"problems-in-the-record","Problems in the record",[20,933,934,939,953,956],{},[23,935,936,937,615],{},"The human studies are small (6 to 71 subjects) and appeared mostly in two journals. No independent group has replicated one of the lab's presence effects (",[52,938,55],{"href":54},[23,940,941,942,945,946,350,949,615],{},"In the lab's usage, \"double-blind\" meant blind to the ",[663,943,944],{},"hypothesis",": subjects were told it was a relaxation study. Granqvist objected that nobody was blind to the ",[663,947,948],{},"condition",[52,950,952],{"href":951,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fweb.archive.org\u002Fweb\u002F20101112203802\u002Fhttp:\u002F\u002Fwww.laurentian.ca\u002FLaurentian\u002FHome\u002FDepartments\u002FBehavioural+Neuroscience\u002FCorrespondence\u002FEmail+1.htm","Granqvist, 27 Nov 2004",[23,954,955],{},"The 1997 button-press study pooled field and sham exposures in its headline figure.",[23,957,958,959,961,962,615],{},"The physics is against it. Smooth signals from coils like these induce about a microvolt per metre in the brain. Neural networks start to respond at about 0.1–1 V\u002Fm (",[52,960,55],{"href":54},"). Granqvist's group noted that the fields are about six orders of magnitude weaker than ordinary TMS (",[52,963,584],{"href":583,"rel":301,"target":302},[187,965],{},[190,967,969],{"id":968},"independent-tests-and-the-suggestion-explanation","Independent tests and the suggestion explanation",[291,971,973],{"id":972},"granqvist-et-al-2005-uppsala","Granqvist et al. 2005 (Uppsala)",[20,975,976,984,990,998,1008],{},[23,977,978,981,982,615],{},[605,979,980],{},"Design."," Double-blind and sham-controlled, N = 89 (43 field, 46 sham). Equipment and software were lent by Persinger's lab. The Thomas pattern ran for 15 min over the right hemisphere, then burst-firing for 15 min over both, at 3–7 µT. The setting was a small isolation chamber with a blindfold (",[52,983,62],{"href":61},[23,985,986,989],{},[605,987,988],{},"Predictors."," Absorption, signs of temporal-lobe lability, and a \"New Age\" orientation, all measured before the session.",[23,991,992,995,996,615],{},[605,993,994],{},"Result."," The authors found no evidence of any field effect, \"neither in the entire group, nor in individuals high in suggestibility\". The personality measures did predict sensed-presence and mystical reports (",[52,997,584],{"href":583,"rel":301,"target":302},[23,999,1000,1003,1004,615],{},[605,1001,1002],{},"Who had the strongest experiences."," Two of the three people with strong spiritual experiences were in the sham group, as were 11 of the 22 with subtle ones (",[52,1005,1007],{"href":1006,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nature.com\u002Fnews\u002F2004\u002F041206\u002Ffull\u002Fnews041206-10.html","Khamsi 2004",[23,1009,1010,1013,1014,615],{},[605,1011,1012],{},"Religious priming."," In the same data, religiousness predicted mystical experiences with a religious quality. The authors read the pre-session questionnaires plus the sensory deprivation as a prime that activated religious schemas (",[52,1015,1017],{"href":1016,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.3200\u002FJRLP.140.4.319-327","Granqvist & Larsson 2006",[10,1019,1020,1023,1024,1028,1029,1033,1034,1036,1037,1039],{},[605,1021,1022],{},"The dispute."," Persinger and Koren said the timing was distorted on a fast Windows computer, that 15 min per pattern was too short, and that the Swedish field group's score (M = 0.3) showed they \"never received an effective field configuration\" (",[52,1025,1027],{"href":1026,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1016\u002Fj.neulet.2005.03.060","Persinger & Koren 2005","). Granqvist replied that Persinger had specified both the duration and the software settings, and that the equipment was checked before and after (",[52,1030,1032],{"href":1031,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1016\u002Fj.neulet.2005.03.059","Larsson et al. 2005","; archived letters in ",[52,1035,55],{"href":54},"). The lab's re-analysis of 407 of its own subjects came a year later (",[52,1038,823],{"href":822,"rel":301,"target":302},"). No third party has settled the timing and duration question.",[291,1041,1043],{"id":1042},"french-et-al-2009-the-haunt-project","French et al. 2009 (\"The Haunt Project\")",[10,1045,1046,1047,615],{},"Seventy-nine people walked for 50 min in a dim circular chamber with hidden coils replaying Persinger's burst pattern, infrasound, both or neither. Neither the field nor the infrasound mattered. Only scores on a temporal-lobe-signs questionnaire predicted unusual reports. The study was not double-blind (",[52,1048,1050],{"href":1049,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fresearch.gold.ac.uk\u002Fid\u002Feprint\u002F4209\u002F2\u002FFrench_et_al_Haunt_accepted.pdf","French 2009",[291,1052,1054],{"id":1053},"sham-helmets","Sham helmets",[116,1056,1057,1069],{},[119,1058,1059],{},[122,1060,1061,1063,1066],{},[125,1062,702],{},[125,1064,1065],{},"What was done",[125,1067,1068],{},"Finding",[132,1070,1071,1085,1099,1113],{},[122,1072,1073,1079,1082],{},[137,1074,1075],{},[52,1076,1078],{"href":1077,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1163\u002F15700682-12341323","Andersen et al. 2014",[137,1080,1081],{},"A placebo helmet with a convincing cover story; no field",[137,1083,1084],{},"The paradigm alone was \"enough to elicit mystical experiences\", which participants still remembered three months later",[122,1086,1087,1093,1096],{},[137,1088,1089],{},[52,1090,1092],{"href":1091,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F30355534\u002F","Maij & van Elk 2018",[137,1094,1095],{},"Placebo brain stimulation; expectation manipulated within subjects",[137,1097,1098],{},"Expectation changed how many extraordinary experiences people had; absorption predicted their frequency and intensity; agency detection did not rise",[122,1100,1101,1107,1110],{},[137,1102,1103],{},[52,1104,1106],{"href":1105,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fpure.uva.nl\u002Fws\u002Ffiles\u002F34902680\u002FThe_role_of_alcohol_in_expectancy_driven_mystical_experiences.pdf","Maij, van Elk & Schjoedt 2019",[137,1108,1109],{},"Pre-registered; 193 festival visitors; a skate helmet wired to a dummy box; eyeshade and white noise, 15 min",[137,1111,1112],{},"Self-identified spirituality predicted experiences; alcohol did not raise them",[122,1114,1115,1121,1124],{},[137,1116,1117],{},[52,1118,1120],{"href":1119,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1177\u002F0276236617749185","Simmonds-Moore et al. 2017",[137,1122,1123],{},"Inert helmet; 32 sceptics, 35 believers; 30 min in a Faraday chamber",[137,1125,1126],{},"Believers reported more exceptional experiences; conditions did not differ",[10,1128,1129,1130,1132],{},"Three independent groups (Aarhus, Amsterdam, West Georgia) found that expectation, absorption and belief produce helmet experiences with no field. That part is ",[140,1131],{"level":142},". It does not prove the field is inert; it proves that a striking experience under a helmet is not evidence that the field did anything.",[291,1134,1136],{"id":1135},"celebrity-sessions","Celebrity sessions",[10,1138,1139,1140,1142],{},"The well-known filmed sessions illustrate both sides, but they were unblinded single sessions (",[140,1141],{"level":172},"):",[20,1144,1145,1164,1175],{},[23,1146,1147,1150,1151,1154,1155,1159,1160,615],{},[605,1148,1149],{},"Richard Dawkins"," (BBC ",[663,1152,1153],{},"Horizon",", \"God on the Brain\", 2003) reported dizziness, twitchy breathing and leg sensations but \"didn't get the sensation of a presence\" (",[52,1156,1158],{"href":1157,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FY_-txbHNyOY?t=185","clip","). Persinger attributed this to Dawkins's low temporal-lobe sensitivity score (",[52,1161,1163],{"href":1162,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FY_-txbHNyOY?t=261","same clip",[23,1165,1166,1169,1170,1174],{},[605,1167,1168],{},"Michael Shermer"," sat in the dark for nearly an hour and reported a presence that \"rushed by\" him, which he was not sure was not himself (",[52,1171,1173],{"href":1172,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FnCVzz96zKA0?t=209","Skeptic","). He knew what the session was meant to do.",[23,1176,1177,1180,1181,615],{},[605,1178,1179],{},"Susan Blackmore",", a parapsychologist turned sceptic, tried the helmet in Persinger's lab and recalls it in a 2000 interview (",[52,1182,1184],{"href":1183,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=DBI9Ms_HEZ0","Web of Stories",[291,1186,1188],{"id":1187},"what-would-settle-it","What would settle it",[10,1190,1191,1193,1194,1196],{},[52,1192,55],{"href":54}," describes the experiment that has not been run: Granqvist's blinding with Persinger's parameters (verified point timing, 30–40 min per pattern, a blindfold in a quiet chamber, the field checked before each subject), with the sensed-presence score as the primary outcome. Persinger's own figures (0.8 or more vs 0.3, SD 0.5) imply a large effect, about d = 1, so a modest sample would detect it (computed; ",[52,1195,62],{"href":61},"). This build's hardware-timed engine removes the \"distorted timing\" objection for the signals it plays.",[187,1198],{},[190,1200,1202],{"id":1201},"sensed-presence-without-any-helmet","Sensed presence without any helmet",[291,1204,1206],{"id":1205},"brain-stimulation-and-lesions","Brain stimulation and lesions",[20,1208,1209,1228,1238],{},[23,1210,1211,1217,1218,399,1220,1224,1225,1227],{},[605,1212,1213,1214,108],{},"Arzy et al. 2006, ",[663,1215,1216],{},"Nature"," A 22-year-old woman was being evaluated for epilepsy surgery and had no psychiatric history. Electrical stimulation of her left temporoparietal junction repeatedly produced a shadowy man behind her. He took her posture: when she leaned forward and hugged her knees, she felt him reach round and grasp her, which she found unpleasant (",[52,1219,379],{"href":378,"rel":301,"target":302},[52,1221,1223],{"href":1222,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bioedonline.org\u002Fnews\u002Fnature-news-archive\u002Fbrain-electrodes-conjure-up-ghostly-visions\u002F","Nature news","). The authors read it as the patient's own body, misplaced and not recognised as hers. ",[140,1226],{"level":152},", one patient, but with milliamp currents applied directly to the cortex.",[23,1229,1230,1233,1234,615],{},[605,1231,1232],{},"Autoscopic phenomena."," Peter Brugger and colleagues classified the feeling of a presence as one of a family of \"doubles\" of one's own body, alongside autoscopic hallucinations and heautoscopy (",[52,1235,1237],{"href":1236,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1080\u002F135468097396397","Brugger, Regard & Landis 1997",[23,1239,1240,1246,1247,1251],{},[605,1241,1242,1243,108],{},"Blanke et al. 2014, ",[663,1244,1245],{},"Current Biology"," Twelve neurological patients, mostly with epilepsy, who had felt a presence were compared on lesion maps. The presence was linked with sensorimotor loss and with damage to temporoparietal, insular and especially frontoparietal cortex (",[52,1248,1250],{"href":1249,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1016\u002Fj.cub.2014.09.049","Blanke 2014","). See the robot experiment below.",[291,1253,1255],{"id":1254},"robots-and-sensorimotor-conflict","Robots and sensorimotor conflict",[10,1257,1258],{},"In the second part of the 2014 study, blindfolded healthy volunteers moved a master robot in front of them while a slave robot touched their backs.",[20,1260,1261,1267],{},[23,1262,1263,1266],{},[605,1264,1265],{},"In sync",", people felt they were touching their own back.",[23,1268,1269,1272,1273,399,1275,615],{},[605,1270,1271],{},"With a delay"," between movement and touch, some felt a presence, located themselves further back, and estimated that more people were in the room. Some counted up to four, and some asked to stop (",[52,1274,1250],{"href":1249,"rel":301,"target":302},[52,1276,1278],{"href":1277,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.eurekalert.org\u002Fnews-releases\u002F461632","EPFL press release",[10,1280,1281,1282,1286,1287,1289],{},"The authors concluded that the presence arises when the brain misattributes the source and identity of its own tactile, proprioceptive and motor signals. Blanke's group later used the same robots with Parkinson's patients. A subgroup was unusually sensitive to robot-induced presences, and a fronto-temporal network mapped in healthy people and lesion patients was disrupted in patients who had presences in daily life (",[52,1283,1285],{"href":1284,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1126\u002Fscitranslmed.abc8362","Bernasconi 2021","). This is one group across several cohorts (",[140,1288],{"level":152},"), but it is the only method that induces the experience in healthy people with a simple, physically plausible manipulation.",[291,1291,1293],{"id":1292},"extreme-environments-the-third-man","Extreme environments: the \"third man\"",[10,1295,1296,1297,1304,1305,1308,1309,1312,1313,1315],{},"Shackleton wrote of the 36-hour crossing of South Georgia in 1916 that it \"seemed to me often that we were four, not three\" (",[52,1298,1300,1303],{"href":1299,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gutenberg.org\u002Febooks\u002F5199",[663,1301,1302],{},"South",", 1919","). Worsley and Crean later told him they had felt the same. Similar accounts come from mountaineers, solo sailors, polar travellers, pilots and survivors of disasters. They were collected by Suedfeld and Mocellin (",[52,1306,1307],{"href":554,"rel":301,"target":302},"1987",") and by John Geiger in ",[663,1310,1311],{},"The Third Man Factor"," (2009). In these accounts the presence is usually helpful: it guides, encourages or warns (",[140,1314],{"level":172},", many independent reports).",[10,1317,1318,1319,615],{},"The common conditions are monotony, isolation, cold, exhaustion, hypoxia, sleep loss and danger. In Brugger's interviews with eight extreme-altitude climbers, experiences clustered above 6,000 m and with solo climbing. They were unrelated to neuropsychological, EEG or MRI findings (",[52,1320,541],{"href":540,"rel":301,"target":302},[291,1322,1324],{"id":1323},"sleep-paralysis","Sleep paralysis",[10,1326,1327,1328,615],{},"During sleep paralysis a person wakes from REM sleep but cannot move. Cheyne's surveys found that hallucinations fall into an \"Intruder\" cluster (sensed presence, fear, voices and visions) and an \"Incubus\" cluster (chest pressure, breathing difficulty, pain) (",[52,1329,398],{"href":482,"rel":301,"target":302},[20,1331,1332,1337,1344],{},[23,1333,1334,1335,615],{},"Fear was most clearly linked with the sensed presence (",[52,1336,495],{"href":397,"rel":301,"target":302},[23,1338,1339,1340,615],{},"Cheyne and Girard read the presence as an early output of a threat-activated vigilance system (",[52,1341,1343],{"href":1342,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1016\u002Fj.concog.2007.01.002","Cheyne & Girard 2007",[23,1345,1346,1347,615],{},"Nielsen proposed instead a spatial form of ordinary \"social imagery\", not tied to threat (",[52,1348,1350],{"href":1349,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1016\u002Fj.concog.2007.02.002","Nielsen 2007",[10,1352,1353,1354,1358],{},"A meta-analysis put the lifetime prevalence of the full \"incubus\" experience at about 11 % in random samples (",[52,1355,1357],{"href":1356,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.3389\u002Ffpsyt.2017.00253","Molendijk 2017","). This matters for helmet sessions: Persinger's lab ran most sessions between midnight and 4 am, in darkness and silence, with relaxed subjects at the edge of sleep.",[291,1360,1362],{"id":1361},"bereavement","Bereavement",[10,1364,1365,1366,1368,1369,1371,1372,615],{},"Rees interviewed 293 widowed people in Wales. Almost half had experienced their dead spouse, most often as a sense of presence, and most found it helpful (",[52,1367,403],{"href":402,"rel":301,"target":302},"). Later reviews put post-bereavement experiences at 30–60 % of widowed people (",[52,1370,511],{"href":510,"rel":301,"target":302},"). A phenomenological study argues that many of these presences have no sensory quality at all, which is why \"hallucination\" fits them badly (",[52,1373,429],{"href":428,"rel":301,"target":302},[291,1375,516],{"id":1376},"parkinsons-disease",[10,1378,1379,1380,399,1382,1384,1385,615],{},"A feeling of presence is one of the \"minor\" hallucinations of Parkinson's disease, often an early one. In Fénelon's series it was usually brief and not distressing. It was linked with higher dopaminergic doses and with visual illusions or hallucinations (",[52,1381,525],{"href":524,"rel":301,"target":302},[52,1383,335],{"href":334,"rel":301,"target":302},"). The robot work above suggests that it may mark a more severe course, with a higher risk of psychosis and cognitive decline (",[52,1386,1285],{"href":1284,"rel":301,"target":302},[291,1388,1390],{"id":1389},"psychosis-anxiety-and-everyday-life","Psychosis, anxiety and everyday life",[10,1392,1393,1394,1396,1397,399,1401,615],{},"Felt presence occurs in psychosis and paranoia, and also in people with no diagnosis. In Alderson-Day's three surveys, how often people felt a presence was predicted by a general tendency to hallucinate in every group, and by paranoia and being female in the population sample (",[52,1395,570],{"href":569,"rel":301,"target":302},"). The Sensed Presence Questionnaire (SenPQ), which this app uses at enrollment, separates benign presences (protective, accompanying) from malign ones (threatening, at night) (",[52,1398,1400],{"href":1399,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.7717\u002Fpeerj.3149","Barnby & Bell 2017",[52,1402,76],{"href":75},[291,1404,1406],{"id":1405},"proposed-mechanisms","Proposed mechanisms",[116,1408,1409,1424],{},[119,1410,1411],{},[122,1412,1413,1416,1419,1422],{},[125,1414,1415],{},"Mechanism",[125,1417,1418],{},"Idea",[125,1420,1421],{},"Support",[125,1423,208],{},[132,1425,1426,1442,1462,1477,1495,1510,1527],{},[122,1427,1428,1431,1434,1437],{},[137,1429,1430],{},"Self\u002Fother misattribution of body signals",[137,1432,1433],{},"The brain builds a second \"body\" from its own sensorimotor signals and fails to tag it as self",[137,1435,1436],{},"Electrode stimulation, lesion maps, robot induction in healthy people and Parkinson's patients",[137,1438,1439,1441],{},[140,1440],{"level":152}," (Blanke's group), several cohorts",[122,1443,1444,1447,1450,1457],{},[137,1445,1446],{},"Temporoparietal junction as the key node",[137,1448,1449],{},"The TPJ integrates body, space and self–other distinctions; disrupting it yields presences and out-of-body experiences",[137,1451,1452,1454,1455],{},[52,1453,379],{"href":378,"rel":301,"target":302},"; see ",[52,1456,103],{"href":102},[137,1458,1459,1461],{},[140,1460],{"level":152}," per study, consistent across groups",[122,1463,1464,1467,1470,1474],{},[137,1465,1466],{},"Threat-activated vigilance",[137,1468,1469],{},"At night or under danger, the brain's detector for agents fires without a target",[137,1471,1472],{},[52,1473,1343],{"href":1342,"rel":301,"target":302},[137,1475,1476],{},"correlational",[122,1478,1479,1482,1485,1492],{},[137,1480,1481],{},"Social imagery",[137,1483,1484],{},"A spatial form of the ordinary sense of others around us, released by isolation",[137,1486,1487,399,1489],{},[52,1488,1350],{"href":1349,"rel":301,"target":302},[52,1490,1491],{"href":300,"rel":301,"target":302},"Barnby 2023",[137,1493,1494],{},"theory",[122,1496,1497,1500,1503,1507],{},[137,1498,1499],{},"Hallucination proneness",[137,1501,1502],{},"One general trait predicts presence in very different groups",[137,1504,1505],{},[52,1506,570],{"href":569,"rel":301,"target":302},[137,1508,1509],{},"survey",[122,1511,1512,1515,1518,1523],{},[137,1513,1514],{},"Expectation and setting",[137,1516,1517],{},"Darkness, silence, a cover story and absorption produce helmet experiences without a field",[137,1519,1520,1522],{},[52,1521,584],{"href":583,"rel":301,"target":302},"; the sham-helmet studies",[137,1524,1525],{},[140,1526],{"level":142},[122,1528,1529,1532,1535,1541],{},[137,1530,1531],{},"Interhemispheric intrusion by weak fields",[137,1533,1534],{},"Right-hemisphere self-representation intrudes on left-hemisphere awareness; weak fields can trigger it",[137,1536,1537,399,1539],{},[52,1538,625],{"href":624,"rel":301,"target":302},[52,1540,649],{"href":648,"rel":301,"target":302},[137,1542,1543,1545,1546,1548],{},[140,1544],{"level":162},"; the field part ",[140,1547],{"level":152}," and not replicated",[10,1550,1551],{},"The mechanisms are compatible. Blanke's misattribution account and Persinger's \"own self perceived as other\" are close in spirit. They part company over what can trigger it: milliamp currents or sensorimotor conflict on one side, microtesla fields from outside the skull on the other.",[187,1553],{},[190,1555,1557],{"id":1556},"videos","Videos",[10,1559,1560],{},"Every link below was checked for title, channel and length. Timestamps were checked against the transcripts. Years are the broadcast or recording year where the video states it; otherwise the upload year (approximate, from YouTube's \"years ago\").",[291,1562,1564],{"id":1563},"documentaries-and-news","Documentaries and news",[116,1566,1567,1580],{},[119,1568,1569],{},[122,1570,1571,1574,1577],{},[125,1572,1573],{},"Video",[125,1575,1576],{},"Channel · year · length",[125,1578,1579],{},"What it shows",[132,1581,1582,1606,1623,1636,1649,1662],{},[122,1583,1584,1590,1596],{},[137,1585,1586],{},[52,1587,1589],{"href":1588,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FY_-txbHNyOY?t=143","Persinger & Dawkins",[137,1591,1592,1593,1595],{},"everythingispointles · clip from BBC ",[663,1594,1153],{}," 2003 · 5:36",[137,1597,1598,1599,1602,1603,353],{},"Persinger applies right-sided, then bilateral fields to Richard Dawkins \"to increase the chances of feeling a sensed presence\" (2:23). Dawkins reports no presence (",[52,1600,1601],{"href":1157,"rel":301,"target":302},"3:05","); Persinger blames his low temporal-lobe sensitivity (",[52,1604,1605],{"href":1162,"rel":301,"target":302},"4:21",[122,1607,1608,1613,1616],{},[137,1609,1610],{},[52,1611,1612],{"href":1172,"rel":301,"target":302},"Michael Shermer Out of Body Experiment",[137,1614,1615],{},"Skeptic · uploaded c. 2007 · 6:13",[137,1617,1618,1619,353],{},"Shermer's hour in Persinger's lab: a presence \"rushed by\" him (3:29); his summary of presence and out-of-body feelings (",[52,1620,1622],{"href":1621,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FnCVzz96zKA0?t=277","4:37",[122,1624,1625,1630,1633],{},[137,1626,1627],{},[52,1628,1629],{"href":656,"rel":301,"target":302},"Dr. Michael Persinger – The God Helmet on The Learning Channel",[137,1631,1632],{},"jivesoulbro · uploaded c. 2012 · 5:23",[137,1634,1635],{},"Persinger lists the classic reports, including the sense of a presence \"usually on the left side\" (2:08)",[122,1637,1638,1643,1646],{},[137,1639,1640],{},[52,1641,1642],{"href":660,"rel":301,"target":302},"Ultrascience segment featuring Dr. Michael Persinger – Part 2",[137,1644,1645],{},"William Iannaccone · uploaded c. 2011 · 12:49",[137,1647,1648],{},"Discovery segment on the lab's \"complex, meaningful\" fields; the same list of experiences (9:34)",[122,1650,1651,1656,1659],{},[137,1652,1653],{},[52,1654,1655],{"href":383,"rel":301,"target":302},"\"Ghostly presence\" created in lab",[137,1657,1658],{},"CS Video (re-upload of a BBC News report) · 2014 · 3:14",[137,1660,1661],{},"The EPFL robot study; Giulio Rognini on how the presence copies the person's posture",[122,1663,1664,1670,1673],{},[137,1665,1666],{},[52,1667,1669],{"href":1668,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FUb8Wj_tJhdQ?t=195","The terrors of sleep paralysis",[137,1671,1672],{},"TED-Ed · uploaded c. 2013 · 4:49",[137,1674,1675],{},"Animated explainer of sleep paralysis and its \"menacing presence\" (3:15) across cultures",[291,1677,1679],{"id":1678},"scientists-and-authors","Scientists and authors",[116,1681,1682,1692],{},[119,1683,1684],{},[122,1685,1686,1688,1690],{},[125,1687,1573],{},[125,1689,1576],{},[125,1691,1579],{},[132,1693,1694,1708,1722,1736,1752],{},[122,1695,1696,1702,1705],{},[137,1697,1698],{},[52,1699,1701],{"href":1700,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FaNdg4XmeeDc?t=327","Presence: Hallucination or Visitation?",[137,1703,1704],{},"Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery · uploaded c. 2023 · 28:20",[137,1706,1707],{},"Psychologist Ben Alderson-Day on felt presence in health and illness; Shackleton's \"fourth man\" from 5:27",[122,1709,1710,1716,1719],{},[137,1711,1712],{},[52,1713,1715],{"href":1714,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=wbMDzS9R3Zw","Dr Ben Alderson-Day & the Feeling That Someone Is Behind You",[137,1717,1718],{},"MQ Mental Health Research · 2023 · 45:38",[137,1720,1721],{},"Podcast conversation on presence research, hallucinations and the \"fourth man\"",[122,1723,1724,1730,1733],{},[137,1725,1726],{},[52,1727,1729],{"href":1728,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002F4zD1j_nImD0?t=86","John Geiger Interview about the Third Man Factor book",[137,1731,1732],{},"TheRunningManReturns · uploaded c. 2009 · 3:55",[137,1734,1735],{},"Geiger on Shackleton and other survivors who felt \"an unseen presence\" (1:26)",[122,1737,1738,1744,1747],{},[137,1739,1740],{},[52,1741,1743],{"href":1742,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=dC5eAA6oaeE","Jim Sevigny talks about the Third Man",[137,1745,1746],{},"TheRunningManReturns · uploaded c. 2009 · 2:49",[137,1748,1749,1750,353],{},"A climber describes a presence that guided him after an avalanche (",[140,1751],{"level":172},[122,1753,1754,1759,1762],{},[137,1755,1756],{},[52,1757,1758],{"href":1183,"rel":301,"target":302},"Susan Blackmore – Michael Persinger and the God Helmet (13\u002F23)",[137,1760,1761],{},"Web of Stories · recorded 2000 · 6:04",[137,1763,1764],{},"Blackmore recalls her own sessions in Persinger's lab",[291,1766,1768],{"id":1767},"murphy-vendor-talks","Murphy (vendor) talks",[116,1770,1771,1781],{},[119,1772,1773],{},[122,1774,1775,1777,1779],{},[125,1776,1573],{},[125,1778,1576],{},[125,1780,1579],{},[132,1782,1783,1799,1825],{},[122,1784,1785,1791,1794],{},[137,1786,1787],{},[52,1788,1790],{"href":1789,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002FzqrpKUTMXgY?t=380","Enlightenment, The Self, and the Brain",[137,1792,1793],{},"brainsci (Todd Murphy) · uploaded c. 2011 · 1:39:09",[137,1795,1796,1797,353],{},"Murphy's account of the sensed presence as the right-hemisphere counterpart of the sense of self (6:20) (",[140,1798],{"level":162},[122,1800,1801,1807,1810],{},[137,1802,1803],{},[52,1804,1806],{"href":1805,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002F1uVjHmi51HM?t=835","God Helmet Interview with Todd Murphy and Tony Balbin",[137,1808,1809],{},"brainsci · interview 2018 · 1:01:16",[137,1811,1812,1813,1817,1818,1822,1823,353],{},"The sensed presence in the lab (13:55); why he thinks silence matters (",[52,1814,1816],{"href":1815,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002F1uVjHmi51HM?t=1210","20:10","); his \"sensed presence protocol\" (",[52,1819,1821],{"href":1820,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002F1uVjHmi51HM?t=2375","39:35",") (",[140,1824],{"level":162},[122,1826,1827,1833,1836],{},[137,1828,1829],{},[52,1830,1832],{"href":1831,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=K-0PHkfvEhg","Lynne McTaggart's God Helmet discussion with Todd Murphy, 2006",[137,1834,1835],{},"brainsci · interview 2006 · 50:36",[137,1837,1838],{},"Persinger's procedure and the God Helmet's history, from the vendor's side",[291,1840,1842],{"id":1841},"sceptical-overview","Sceptical overview",[116,1844,1845,1855],{},[119,1846,1847],{},[122,1848,1849,1851,1853],{},[125,1850,1573],{},[125,1852,1576],{},[125,1854,1579],{},[132,1856,1857],{},[122,1858,1859,1865,1868],{},[137,1860,1861],{},[52,1862,1864],{"href":1863,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fyoutu.be\u002Fgx1THkYzdNg?t=151","People Felt God Wearing This Helmet…But It Was Fake",[137,1866,1867],{},"ReligionForBreakfast · uploaded c. 2025 · 11:26",[137,1869,1870],{},"Religious-studies overview of the God Helmet, the failed replications and the placebo explanation (2:31)",[10,1872,1873,1874,1876],{},"The full 2003 ",[663,1875,1153],{}," episode and a video of the 2014 robot experiment from EPFL itself were not found as verifiable uploads.",[187,1878],{},[190,1880,1882],{"id":1881},"reading-list","Reading list",[291,1884,1886],{"id":1885},"persinger-laboratory","Persinger laboratory",[20,1888,1889,1899,1908,1917,1923,1929,1940,1950,1956],{},[23,1890,1891,1892,1895,1896],{},"Persinger, M. A. (1983). Religious and mystical experiences as artifacts of temporal lobe function. ",[663,1893,1894],{},"Perceptual and Motor Skills"," 57, 1255–1262. ",[52,1897,1898],{"href":611,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.2466\u002Fpms.1983.57.3f.1255",[23,1900,1901,1902,1904,1905],{},"Persinger, M. A. (1993). Vectorial cerebral hemisphericity as differential sources for the sensed presence, mystical experiences and religious conversions. ",[663,1903,1894],{}," 76, 915–930. ",[52,1906,1907],{"href":624,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.2466\u002Fpms.1993.76.3.915",[23,1909,1910,1911,1913,1914],{},"Persinger, Bureau, Peredery & Richards (1994). The sensed presence as right hemispheric intrusions into the left hemispheric awareness of self. ",[663,1912,1894],{}," 78, 999. ",[52,1915,1916],{"href":636,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.2466\u002Fpms.1994.78.3.999",[23,1918,1919,1920],{},"Cook & Persinger (1997). Experimental induction of the \"sensed presence\" in normal subjects and an exceptional subject. ",[52,1921,1922],{"href":442,"rel":301,"target":302},"PubMed 9347559",[23,1924,1925,1926],{},"Cook & Persinger (2001). Experimental elicitation of the experience of a sentient being by right hemispheric, weak magnetic fields. ",[52,1927,1928],{"href":753,"rel":301,"target":302},"PubMed 11361305",[23,1930,1931,1932,1935,1936],{},"Persinger, M. A. (2001). The neuropsychiatry of paranormal experiences. ",[663,1933,1934],{},"J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci"," 13, 515–524. ",[52,1937,1939],{"href":1938,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1176\u002Fjnp.13.4.515","doi:10.1176\u002Fjnp.13.4.515",[23,1941,1942,1943,1946,1947],{},"Persinger & Healey (2002). Experimental facilitation of the sensed presence: possible intercalation between the hemispheres. ",[663,1944,1945],{},"J Nerv Ment Dis"," 190, 533–541. ",[52,1948,1949],{"href":648,"rel":301,"target":302},"PubMed 12193838",[23,1951,1952,1953],{},"Tiller & Persinger (2002). Increased proportions of the left-sided sense of presence. ",[52,1954,1955],{"href":348,"rel":301,"target":302},"PubMed 11883572",[23,1957,1958,1959,1962,1963],{},"St-Pierre & Persinger (2006). Re-analyses of 19 experiments. ",[663,1960,1961],{},"Int J Neurosci"," 116, 1079–1096. ",[52,1964,1966],{"href":1965,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1080\u002F00207450600808800","doi:10.1080\u002F00207450600808800",[291,1968,1970],{"id":1969},"independent-tests-and-sham-helmets","Independent tests and sham helmets",[20,1972,1973,1984,1993,2003,2017,2027,2038],{},[23,1974,1975,1976,1979,1980],{},"Granqvist et al. (2005). Sensed presence and mystical experiences are predicted by suggestibility, not by the application of transcranial weak complex magnetic fields. ",[663,1977,1978],{},"Neuroscience Letters"," 379, 1–6. ",[52,1981,1983],{"href":1982,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1016\u002Fj.neulet.2004.10.057","doi:10.1016\u002Fj.neulet.2004.10.057",[23,1985,1986,1987,399,1990],{},"Persinger & Koren (2005), reply, and Larsson et al. (2005), response. ",[52,1988,1989],{"href":1026,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1016\u002Fj.neulet.2005.03.060",[52,1991,1992],{"href":1031,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1016\u002Fj.neulet.2005.03.059",[23,1994,1995,1996,1999,2000],{},"Granqvist & Larsson (2006). Contribution of religiousness … in a sensory deprivation context. ",[663,1997,1998],{},"J Psychology"," 140, 319–327. ",[52,2001,2002],{"href":1016,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.3200\u002FJRLP.140.4.319-327",[23,2004,2005,2006,2009,2010,399,2014],{},"French et al. (2009). The \"Haunt\" project: an attempt to build a \"haunted\" room by manipulating complex electromagnetic fields and infrasound. ",[663,2007,2008],{},"Cortex"," 45, 619–629. ",[52,2011,2013],{"href":2012,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1016\u002Fj.cortex.2007.10.011","doi:10.1016\u002Fj.cortex.2007.10.011",[52,2015,2016],{"href":1049,"rel":301,"target":302},"accepted manuscript",[23,2018,2019,2020,2023,2024],{},"Andersen et al. (2014). Mystical experience in the lab. ",[663,2021,2022],{},"Method & Theory in the Study of Religion",". ",[52,2025,2026],{"href":1077,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1163\u002F15700682-12341323",[23,2028,2029,2030,2033,2034],{},"Maij & van Elk (2018). Getting absorbed in experimentally induced extraordinary experiences. ",[663,2031,2032],{},"Consciousness and Cognition"," 66, 1–16. ",[52,2035,2037],{"href":2036,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1016\u002Fj.concog.2018.09.010","doi:10.1016\u002Fj.concog.2018.09.010",[23,2039,2040,2041],{},"Maij, van Elk & Schjoedt (2019). The role of alcohol in expectancy-driven mystical experiences. ",[52,2042,2043],{"href":1105,"rel":301,"target":302},"Open full text",[291,2045,2047],{"id":2046},"mainstream-presence-research","Mainstream presence research",[20,2049,2050,2060,2070,2077,2087,2096,2105,2115,2125,2131,2141,2148],{},[23,2051,2052,2053,2056,2057],{},"Barnby, Park, Baxter, Rosen, Brugger & Alderson-Day (2023). The felt-presence experience: from cognition to the clinic. ",[663,2054,2055],{},"Lancet Psychiatry"," 10, 352–362. ",[52,2058,2059],{"href":300,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1016\u002FS2215-0366(23)00034-2",[23,2061,2062,2063,2066,2067],{},"Alderson-Day et al. (2023). Varieties of felt presence? Three surveys of presence phenomena and their relations to psychopathology. ",[663,2064,2065],{},"Psychological Medicine"," 53, 3692–3700 (open access). ",[52,2068,2069],{"href":569,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1017\u002FS0033291722000344",[23,2071,2072,2073,2076],{},"Alderson-Day, B. (2023). ",[663,2074,2075],{},"Presence: The Strange Science and True Stories of the Unseen Other",". Manchester University Press (book).",[23,2078,2079,2080,2083,2084],{},"Barnby & Bell (2017). The Sensed Presence Questionnaire (SenPQ). ",[663,2081,2082],{},"PeerJ"," 5, e3149. ",[52,2085,2086],{"href":1399,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.7717\u002Fpeerj.3149",[23,2088,2089,2090,2092,2093],{},"Arzy, Seeck, Ortigue, Spinelli & Blanke (2006). Induction of an illusory shadow person. ",[663,2091,1216],{}," 443, 287. ",[52,2094,2095],{"href":378,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1038\u002F443287a",[23,2097,2098,2099,2101,2102],{},"Blanke et al. (2014). Neurological and robot-controlled induction of an apparition. ",[663,2100,1245],{}," 24, 2681–2686. ",[52,2103,2104],{"href":1249,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1016\u002Fj.cub.2014.09.049",[23,2106,2107,2108,2111,2112],{},"Bernasconi et al. (2021). Robot-induced hallucinations in Parkinson's disease depend on altered sensorimotor processing in fronto-temporal network. ",[663,2109,2110],{},"Science Translational Medicine"," 13, eabc8362. ",[52,2113,2114],{"href":1284,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1126\u002Fscitranslmed.abc8362",[23,2116,2117,2118,2121,2122],{},"Brugger, Regard & Landis (1997). Illusory reduplication of one's own body. ",[663,2119,2120],{},"Cognitive Neuropsychiatry"," 2, 19–38. ",[52,2123,2124],{"href":1236,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1080\u002F135468097396397",[23,2126,2127,2128],{},"Brugger et al. (1999). Hallucinatory experiences in extreme-altitude climbers. ",[52,2129,2130],{"href":540,"rel":301,"target":302},"PubMed 10082335",[23,2132,2133,2134,2137,2138],{},"Suedfeld & Mocellin (1987). The \"sensed presence\" in unusual environments. ",[663,2135,2136],{},"Environment and Behavior"," 19, 33–52. ",[52,2139,2140],{"href":554,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1177\u002F0013916587191002",[23,2142,2143,2144,2147],{},"Geiger, J. (2009). ",[663,2145,2146],{},"The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible",". Penguin Canada \u002F Weinstein Books (book).",[23,2149,2150,2151,2023,2153],{},"Shackleton, E. (1919). ",[663,2152,1302],{},[52,2154,2155],{"href":1299,"rel":301,"target":302},"Project Gutenberg",[291,2157,2159],{"id":2158},"sleep-paralysis-bereavement-parkinsons","Sleep paralysis, bereavement, Parkinson's",[20,2161,2162,2171,2181,2190,2199,2209,2219,2229,2239,2248,2258],{},[23,2163,2164,2165,2167,2168],{},"Cheyne, Rueffer & Newby-Clark (1999). Hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations during sleep paralysis. ",[663,2166,2032],{}," 8, 319–337. ",[52,2169,2170],{"href":482,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1006\u002Fccog.1999.0404",[23,2172,2173,2174,2177,2178],{},"Cheyne, Newby-Clark & Rueffer (1999). Relations among hypnagogic and hypnopompic experiences associated with sleep paralysis. ",[663,2175,2176],{},"J Sleep Research"," 8, 313–317. ",[52,2179,2180],{"href":397,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1046\u002Fj.1365-2869.1999.00165.x",[23,2182,2183,2184,2186,2187],{},"Cheyne & Girard (2007). Paranoid delusions and threatening hallucinations. ",[663,2185,2032],{}," 16, 959–974. ",[52,2188,2189],{"href":1342,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1016\u002Fj.concog.2007.01.002",[23,2191,2192,2193,2195,2196],{},"Nielsen (2007). Felt presence: paranoid delusion or hallucinatory social imagery? ",[663,2194,2032],{}," 16, 975–983. ",[52,2197,2198],{"href":1349,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1016\u002Fj.concog.2007.02.002",[23,2200,2201,2202,2205,2206],{},"Sharpless & Barber (2011). Lifetime prevalence rates of sleep paralysis. ",[663,2203,2204],{},"Sleep Medicine Reviews"," 15, 311–315. ",[52,2207,2208],{"href":478,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1016\u002Fj.smrv.2011.01.007",[23,2210,2211,2212,2215,2216],{},"Molendijk et al. (2017). Prevalence rates of the incubus phenomenon. ",[663,2213,2214],{},"Frontiers in Psychiatry"," 8, 253. ",[52,2217,2218],{"href":1356,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.3389\u002Ffpsyt.2017.00253",[23,2220,2221,2222,2225,2226],{},"Rees, W. D. (1971). The hallucinations of widowhood. ",[663,2223,2224],{},"BMJ"," 4, 37–41. ",[52,2227,2228],{"href":402,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1136\u002Fbmj.4.5778.37",[23,2230,2231,2232,2235,2236],{},"Castelnovo et al. (2015). Post-bereavement hallucinatory experiences. ",[663,2233,2234],{},"J Affective Disorders"," 186, 266–274. ",[52,2237,2238],{"href":510,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1016\u002Fj.jad.2015.07.032",[23,2240,2241,2242,2023,2245],{},"Ratcliffe (2020). Sensed presence without sensory qualities. ",[663,2243,2244],{},"Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences",[52,2246,2247],{"href":428,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1007\u002Fs11097-020-09666-2",[23,2249,2250,2251,2254,2255],{},"Fénelon et al. (2000). Hallucinations in Parkinson's disease: prevalence, phenomenology and risk factors. ",[663,2252,2253],{},"Brain"," 123, 733–745. ",[52,2256,2257],{"href":524,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1093\u002Fbrain\u002F123.4.733",[23,2259,2260,2261,2264,2265,399,2268],{},"Fénelon et al. (2011). Feeling of presence in Parkinson's disease. ",[663,2262,2263],{},"JNNP"," 82, 1219–1224. ",[52,2266,2267],{"href":334,"rel":301,"target":302},"doi:10.1136\u002Fjnnp.2010.234799",[52,2269,2271],{"href":2270,"rel":301,"target":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Farticles\u002FPMC3382202\u002F","author manuscript",[187,2273],{},[190,2275,2277],{"id":2276},"trying-it-with-this-helmet","Trying it with this helmet",[291,2279,2281],{"id":2280},"what-to-expect","What to expect",[10,2283,2284],{},"Be clear about two things before you start.",[20,2286,2287,2303],{},[23,2288,2289,2292,2293,2295,2296,2298,2299,615],{},[605,2290,2291],{},"The field is weak, and weaker where the lab said it mattered."," Programs default to 1 µT, measured 20 mm in front of each coil, which is roughly the cortex under it. Less than 0.1 µT reaches the depth of the amygdala and hippocampus. Full current gives about 8 µT at 20 mm (",[52,2294,55],{"href":54},"). The temporoparietal cortex that the presence programs aim at is near the surface. The ",[605,2297,2253],{}," tab of each program shows the computed field (",[52,2300,2302],{"href":2301},"\u002Fdocs\u002Fbrain-view","BRAIN_VIEW.md",[23,2304,2305,2308],{},[605,2306,2307],{},"The independent replication was null."," A presence during a session is quite likely in a dark, silent room, especially if you are absorbed, expectant or close to sleep. On its own that says nothing about the field. Only a real-vs-sham difference under a blind that holds does.",[291,2310,2312],{"id":2311},"programs","Programs",[116,2314,2315,2331],{},[119,2316,2317],{},[122,2318,2319,2322,2325,2328],{},[125,2320,2321],{},"Program",[125,2323,2324],{},"What it is",[125,2326,2327],{},"Evidence (original protocol)",[125,2329,2330],{},"Field map",[132,2332,2333,2353,2376,2400,2424,2448,2468,2487,2508,2528,2552,2574,2590],{},[122,2334,2335,2341,2344,2348],{},[137,2336,2337],{},[52,2338,2340],{"href":2339},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpresence-right","Sensed presence (right temporoparietal)",[137,2342,2343],{},"Burst-firing on four right-side coils (FT8, T8, CP6, TP8), 20 min plus an optional 10 min; the arm in which Persinger & Healey reported more presences",[137,2345,2346],{},[140,2347],{"level":152},[137,2349,2350],{},[52,2351,2253],{"href":2352},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpresence-right\u002Fbrain",[122,2354,2355,2361,2367,2371],{},[137,2356,2357],{},[52,2358,2360],{"href":2359},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpresence-left","Sensed presence (left temporoparietal)",[137,2362,2363,2364],{},"The same pattern on the left; by the lab's account this arm should do ",[663,2365,2366],{},"less",[137,2368,2369],{},[140,2370],{"level":152},[137,2372,2373],{},[52,2374,2253],{"href":2375},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpresence-left\u002Fbrain",[122,2377,2378,2388,2391,2395],{},[137,2379,2380,91,2384],{},[52,2381,2383],{"href":2382},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-healey-burst-right","Persinger lab: right temporoparietal burst-firing (20 min)",[52,2385,2387],{"href":2386},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-healey-burst-left","left (comparison arm)",[137,2389,2390],{},"The 20-min arms of the Healey designs",[137,2392,2393],{},[140,2394],{"level":152},[137,2396,2397],{},[52,2398,2253],{"href":2399},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-healey-burst-right\u002Fbrain",[122,2401,2402,2412,2415,2419],{},[137,2403,2404,91,2408],{},[52,2405,2407],{"href":2406},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-tiller-2002-thomas-right","Tiller & Persinger 2002: \"Thomas\" FM pattern, right",[52,2409,2411],{"href":2410},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-tiller-2002-thomas-reversed","time-reversed",[137,2413,2414],{},"The 5-min block in which 40 % of left-sided presences were reported, and its control",[137,2416,2417],{},[140,2418],{"level":152},[137,2420,2421],{},[52,2422,2253],{"href":2423},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-tiller-2002-thomas-right\u002Fbrain",[122,2425,2426,2436,2439,2443],{},[137,2427,2428,91,2432],{},[52,2429,2431],{"href":2430},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-cook-2001-fm-right","Cook & Persinger 2001: FM field, right",[52,2433,2435],{"href":2434},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-cook-2001-fm-bilateral","bilateral",[137,2437,2438],{},"20 min; the study in which only high scorers on temporal-lobe signs reported presences",[137,2440,2441],{},[140,2442],{"level":152},[137,2444,2445],{},[52,2446,2253],{"href":2447},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-cook-2001-fm-right\u002Fbrain",[122,2449,2450,2456,2459,2463],{},[137,2451,2452],{},[52,2453,2455],{"href":2454},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-cook-1997-pattern-screen","Cook & Persinger 1997: 3-min pattern screen with sham blocks",[137,2457,2458],{},"Six documented patterns alternating with sham blocks, 36 min",[137,2460,2461],{},[140,2462],{"level":152},[137,2464,2465],{},[52,2466,2253],{"href":2467},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-cook-1997-pattern-screen\u002Fbrain",[122,2469,2470,2475,2478,2482],{},[137,2471,2472],{},[52,2473,2474],{"href":866},"Sensed-presence protocol (Saroka 2015)",[137,2476,2477],{},"The lab's two-phase protocol: 30 min Thomas pattern on both sides, then 30 min burst-firing",[137,2479,2480],{},[140,2481],{"level":152},[137,2483,2484],{},[52,2485,2253],{"href":2486},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-saroka-2015-sensed-presence\u002Fbrain",[122,2488,2489,2495,2498,2503],{},[137,2490,2491],{},[52,2492,2494],{"href":2493},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-synthetic-ghost-2000","Synthetic ghost (Persinger 2000)",[137,2496,2497],{},"Thomas pattern right, then burst-firing on both sides",[137,2499,2500,2502],{},[140,2501],{"level":172}," (one man)",[137,2504,2505],{},[52,2506,2253],{"href":2507},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-synthetic-ghost-2000\u002Fbrain",[122,2509,2510,2516,2519,2523],{},[137,2511,2512],{},[52,2513,2515],{"href":2514},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-meli-2009-red-light","Meli 2009: right-hemisphere burst-firing in dim red light",[137,2517,2518],{},"Eyes open in red light, which the lab reported increased presence",[137,2520,2521],{},[140,2522],{"level":152},[137,2524,2525],{},[52,2526,2253],{"href":2527},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-meli-2009-red-light\u002Fbrain",[122,2529,2530,2536,2543,2547],{},[137,2531,2532],{},[52,2533,2535],{"href":2534},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fgod-helmet-classic","God Helmet classic",[137,2537,2538,2539,2542],{},"Murphy's Shiva version: 30 min \"chirp\" on the right temporal cross, then 30 min amygdala burst-firing on both sides. Phase 1 can frighten; ",[605,2540,2541],{},"Skip"," jumps to phase 2",[137,2544,2545],{},[140,2546],{"level":152},[137,2548,2549],{},[52,2550,2253],{"href":2551},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fgod-helmet-classic\u002Fbrain",[122,2553,2554,2564,2567,2569],{},[137,2555,2556,91,2560],{},[52,2557,2559],{"href":2558},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-granqvist-2005-replication","Granqvist 2005 replication",[52,2561,2563],{"href":2562},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Freplication-granqvist-2005","the sequenced-coil version",[137,2565,2566],{},"15 min Thomas right, then 15 min burst-firing on both sides, as in the Uppsala test",[137,2568,258],{},[137,2570,2571],{},[52,2572,2253],{"href":2573},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fpersinger-granqvist-2005-replication\u002Fbrain",[122,2575,2576,2582,2585,2588],{},[137,2577,2578],{},[52,2579,2581],{"href":2580},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Fsham","Sham (no field)",[137,2583,2584],{},"Every coil silent",[137,2586,2587],{},"–",[137,2589,2587],{},[122,2591,2592,2598,2601,2603],{},[137,2593,2594],{},[52,2595,2597],{"href":2596},"\u002Fapp\u002Fprograms\u002Freplication-maij-2019-festival-sham","Maij 2019 placebo God Helmet",[137,2599,2600],{},"15 min, no field: the sham-helmet design",[137,2602,2587],{},[137,2604,2587],{},[10,2606,2607,2608,615],{},"The lab never published its point values for burst-firing. The programs use the published timing with a stand-in burst; the Thomas pattern is the exact patent table. Each program's notes say what was copied and what was inferred (",[52,2609,90],{"href":89},[291,2611,2613],{"id":2612},"setting","Setting",[10,2615,2616],{},"Copy the lab's setting as closely as you can, and keep it identical in every session:",[20,2618,2619,2622,2625,2628],{},[23,2620,2621],{},"a dark, silent room (\"silence, not just quiet\", in Murphy's phrase); a blindfold or opaque goggles; seated or reclined;",[23,2623,2624],{},"the same time of day each session. The lab worked mostly at night, but a sleepy subject brings sleep-onset presences with them, so note how drowsy you were;",[23,2626,2627],{},"neutral instructions. Persinger's subjects were told to experience whatever happens without labelling it; Granqvist's were told the study concerned the effect of weak fields on experiences. Write your wording down and reuse it;",[23,2629,2630],{},"no meditation, other devices, alcohol or drugs.",[291,2632,2634],{"id":2633},"a-blinded-design","A blinded design",[10,2636,2637,2638,2640],{},"Follow ",[52,2639,62],{"href":61},". The short version:",[2642,2643,2644,2656,2662,2703,2709],"ol",{},[23,2645,2646,2649,2650,2653,2654,615],{},[605,2647,2648],{},"Enrol first."," Run ",[605,2651,2652],{},"Guides → Enrollment battery (one time)"," on an earlier day. It includes the SenPQ, so your baseline tendency to sense presences is on record (",[52,2655,76],{"href":75},[23,2657,2658,2661],{},[605,2659,2660],{},"Check the blind."," Do the cue test with the helmet on a cushion, not a person: record sound and vibration with a phone, then do a 20-run listening test. If a listener can tell real from sham, fix that before anything else.",[23,2663,2664,2667],{},[605,2665,2666],{},"Pick the comparison and write it down.",[20,2668,2669,2685,2692],{},[23,2670,2671,2672,2676,2677,2680,2681,615],{},"The simplest: ",[2673,2674,2675],"code",{},"presence-right"," vs sham. ",[605,2678,2679],{},"Guides → Blinded helmet session with questionnaires"," runs exactly this, with a free report, the post-session checklist and a real\u002Fsham guess before the reveal (",[52,2682,2684],{"href":2683},"\u002Fdocs\u002Fguides","GUIDES.md",[23,2686,2687,2688,2691],{},"The Healey design: right vs left vs sham, in blinded, counterbalanced order (a helper chooses right or left; tick ",[605,2689,2690],{},"Blind"," each time).",[23,2693,2694,2695,2698,2699,2702],{},"The duration test: ",[2673,2696,2697],{},"persinger-saroka-2015-sensed-presence"," or ",[2673,2700,2701],{},"god-helmet-classic"," vs sham. This tests Persinger's claim that Granqvist's 15-min phases were too short.",[23,2704,2705,2708],{},[605,2706,2707],{},"Rate before you look."," Write the free report first. Then rate the presence item 0–10, and note where the presence was (left, right, behind, in front), whether it felt like a known person, its emotional tone, and roughly when it came. Then make your real\u002Fsham guess.",[23,2710,2711,2714,2715,2717],{},[605,2712,2713],{},"Count every session."," Persinger's own figures imply a large effect, about d = 1; detecting it needs about 17 sessions per arm, and a medium effect about 64 (computed; ",[52,2716,62],{"href":61},"). At one session per 72 hours, a solo series takes months. A group with one session per person is faster.",[10,2719,2720],{},"A real field effect would show up as higher presence ratings in the real arm than in the sham arm, with a blinding index near zero. Several vivid presences in a series that also has vivid presences under sham are what the independent literature predicts.",[291,2722,2724],{"id":2723},"safety","Safety",[10,2726,2727,2728,2730],{},"Read ",[52,2729,69],{"href":68}," first. The points that matter most here:",[20,2732,2733,2742,2747,2753,2756],{},[23,2734,2735,2738,2739,2741],{},[605,2736,2737],{},"Right-sided fields frightened some lab subjects",", by Murphy's account. In the classic program, phase 1 (right side only) can cause fear; ",[605,2740,2541],{}," jumps to phase 2. Stop at once on fear, panic, headache, nausea or dizziness, and don't repeat a session that felt bad.",[23,2743,2744,2745,615],{},"The app raises a safety alert when the post-session checklist shows a sensed presence of 5 or more together with anxiety of 5 or more (",[52,2746,76],{"href":75},[23,2748,2749,2752],{},[605,2750,2751],{},"Do not use the helmet"," with epilepsy or a seizure history, a psychiatric diagnosis or psychiatric medication, implanted electronics, pregnancy, a recent head injury, or under 18. Nightly frightening presences, sleep paralysis that distresses you, or presences with other new symptoms are a reason to see a doctor, not a reason to run sessions. In Parkinson's disease a new feeling of presence is worth reporting to the neurologist.",[23,2754,2755],{},"At most one session per 72 hours (Murphy recommends weekly, with a 21-day break after six). Have someone else present for your first session. Don't drive for an hour afterwards.",[23,2757,2758,2759,615],{},"If you run sessions on other people, screen them, debrief them, and never deceive them about risk (",[52,2760,69],{"href":68},{"title":2762,"searchDepth":2763,"depth":2763,"links":2764},"",3,[2765,2767,2771,2778,2785,2795,2801,2807],{"id":192,"depth":2766,"text":193},2,{"id":288,"depth":2766,"text":289,"children":2768},[2769,2770],{"id":293,"depth":2763,"text":294},{"id":448,"depth":2763,"text":449},{"id":594,"depth":2766,"text":595,"children":2772},[2773,2774,2775,2776,2777],{"id":598,"depth":2763,"text":599},{"id":668,"depth":2763,"text":669},{"id":692,"depth":2763,"text":693},{"id":874,"depth":2763,"text":875},{"id":930,"depth":2763,"text":931},{"id":968,"depth":2766,"text":969,"children":2779},[2780,2781,2782,2783,2784],{"id":972,"depth":2763,"text":973},{"id":1042,"depth":2763,"text":1043},{"id":1053,"depth":2763,"text":1054},{"id":1135,"depth":2763,"text":1136},{"id":1187,"depth":2763,"text":1188},{"id":1201,"depth":2766,"text":1202,"children":2786},[2787,2788,2789,2790,2791,2792,2793,2794],{"id":1205,"depth":2763,"text":1206},{"id":1254,"depth":2763,"text":1255},{"id":1292,"depth":2763,"text":1293},{"id":1323,"depth":2763,"text":1324},{"id":1361,"depth":2763,"text":1362},{"id":1376,"depth":2763,"text":516},{"id":1389,"depth":2763,"text":1390},{"id":1405,"depth":2763,"text":1406},{"id":1556,"depth":2766,"text":1557,"children":2796},[2797,2798,2799,2800],{"id":1563,"depth":2763,"text":1564},{"id":1678,"depth":2763,"text":1679},{"id":1767,"depth":2763,"text":1768},{"id":1841,"depth":2763,"text":1842},{"id":1881,"depth":2766,"text":1882,"children":2802},[2803,2804,2805,2806],{"id":1885,"depth":2763,"text":1886},{"id":1969,"depth":2763,"text":1970},{"id":2046,"depth":2763,"text":2047},{"id":2158,"depth":2763,"text":2159},{"id":2276,"depth":2766,"text":2277,"children":2808},[2809,2810,2811,2812,2813],{"id":2280,"depth":2763,"text":2281},{"id":2311,"depth":2763,"text":2312},{"id":2612,"depth":2763,"text":2613},{"id":2633,"depth":2763,"text":2634},{"id":2723,"depth":2763,"text":2724},"The feeling that someone is there: what people report, what Persinger’s lab claimed, what the one rigorous replication found, and where the experience turns up without any helmet.","md","docs\u002FEFFECT_SENSED_PRESENCE.md","Effect","Sensed presence",{},28,true,0,"\u002Farticles\u002Fsensed-presence","articles",{"title":5,"description":12},"sensed-presence","docs\u002FEFFECT_SENSED_PRESENCE",null,"Lwezo0uO5mHh5QaHGSUQyJM4rSdQRl8XgK_uKHLKx4k",[2831,2832,2839,2845,2854],{"path":2823,"title":5,"description":2814,"section":2824,"slug":2826,"label":2818,"group":2817,"order":2822,"minutes":2820,"updated":2828,"file":2816},{"path":102,"title":2833,"description":2834,"section":2824,"slug":2835,"label":103,"group":2817,"order":2836,"minutes":2837,"updated":2828,"file":2838},"Out-of-body experiences: what is reported, what the brain does, and what this helmet can test","What is reported, what the brain does when the body image comes apart, and what a weak-field helmet can and cannot test.","out-of-body",1,27,"docs\u002FEFFECT_OUT_OF_BODY.md",{"path":106,"title":2840,"description":2841,"section":2824,"slug":2842,"label":107,"group":2817,"order":2766,"minutes":2843,"updated":2828,"file":2844},"Remote viewing: what it is, why it is tied to the God Helmet, and how to test it","What remote viewing is, why it is tied to the God Helmet, and how to test it with committed targets and blind judging.","remote-viewing",22,"docs\u002FEFFECT_REMOTE_VIEWING.md",{"path":54,"title":2846,"description":2847,"section":2824,"slug":2848,"label":2849,"group":2850,"order":2763,"minutes":2851,"updated":2852,"file":2853},"Research review: weak magnetic fields, the God Helmet and what this build can test","The evidence review: the Persinger lab, independent tests, vendor claims, mainstream low-field science, and which brain regions go with which reported states.","research","The evidence","Review",46,"2026-10-27","docs\u002FRESEARCH.md",{"path":82,"title":2855,"description":2856,"section":2824,"slug":2857,"label":2858,"group":2858,"order":2859,"minutes":2860,"updated":2828,"file":2861},"History: military, intelligence and institutional involvement","Military, intelligence and health-agency history: ELF research, the remote-viewing programmes, Gateway, the replication controversy, and what WHO, IARC and ICNIRP concluded.","history","History",4,38,"docs\u002FHISTORY.md",1794317839963]