Telepathy: A paranormal phenomenon, a symptom of Psychosis, or a Love language?
Telepathy according to the dictionary means communication from one mind to another by extrasensory means. As per Wikipedia, “ it is a way of communicating thoughts directly from one mind to another without speech or signs.
The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W. H. Myers. The word Telepathy is derived from a Greek word, “Tele”, which means ‘ Distant”, and “Pathy”, meaning “feeling, perception or an experience“..
In simple words we often refer to Telepathy as ‘ an ability to read one’s mind” and many of us casually, say, “Oh! you just read my mind”!
For us to be more emotionally intelligent, we do need some subtle form of telepathic powers to be able to pick on others’ emotions and feelings.
Telepathy is long being recognized as some form of a paranormal experience, or what psychologists call extra-sensory perception (ESP). or a sixth sense in simpler terms. Yet in extreme forms, it can be a symptom of a psychotic disorder like Schizophrenia.
The key difference between Telepathy being a paranormal Phenomenon, or extra-sensory perception (ESP), and a symptom of psychosis is that in the latter, we can feel what the other person is thinking, while as in Schizophrenia or any other psychotic condition, a person verbalizes or perceives to have telepathic powers, but also exhibits other symptoms of psychosis like disorganized behavior, hallucinations, delusions, and paranoid thinking. They believe that “others can actually find out what is in their mind”. They may be worrying that either FBI, a specific person, or people are able to know their thoughts and their actions. They feel exposed, and in danger.
A study done on patients who were admitted to a Psychiatric hospital diagnosed with schizophrenia showed that 40 percent were having telepathic experiences during their active psychotic outbreak.
Most mental health professionals can easily tell the difference if a person is having telepathic experiences due to ESP or whether it is a symptom of an underlying psychotic disorder.
Telepathy as a Paranormal experience or ESP, as well as some other similar experiences like clairvoyance or knowledge of hidden objects, ability to predict the future, near-death experiences (NDE), and out-of-body experiences have been carefully investigated, studied, and found to be authentic by many independent investigators. Much has been published in the literature, by neuroscientists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, on ESP and published in medical and non-medical journals.
More than a decade ago, Telepathy as a form of ESP could not be overtly seen or measured, and hence many questioned its existence. . However, recent research explores the possible biological mechanisms behind such phenomena. For example, research has found a strong connection between oxytocin, and our ability to develop trust, empathy, and social connection.
Mirror neurons which are a class of neurons located primarily in our Frontal lobe or pre-frontal cortex may also play some role in Telepathic experiences. They were discovered about 20 years ago, that have been shown to get activated or fired by the actions and feelings of other individuals.
People who are low in emotional intelligence, psychopaths, and those who are high in narcissistic traits seem to lack the number of these neurons, explaining their lack of empathy.
Telepathic abilities are not only limited to Humans but have been studied extensively in animals. Raphaela Pope has been studying and practicing telepathic animal communication since the late 1970s.
She writes, “ My experience is that telepathy is the universal language of the animal kingdom. I believe that humans are actually born with telepathic ability, but tend to suppress or forget it when they learn spoken language. Telepathic communication assumes that animals are sentient beings with their own purposes, desires, choices, and manner of looking at the world.”
A common belief exists that two people can be deeply in love when they possess these telepathic or paranormal capabilities and thus can communicate through unsaid words.
The reality is that even deep love and emotional connections between partners do not bestow telepathic abilities. No one can directly experience another person’s mind and emotions, regardless of the intensity of their love or devotion.
The truth is that most people, do not possess such unusual or sixth senses.
It is often glorified in our society, especially through movies and songs. It leads people to have unreasonable expectations from their partners, thus putting unnecessary pressure on the relationships.
We human beings are unique in the sense that we have the ability to communicate complex thoughts and feelings through spoken language. Hence, to be able to get along and better understand our partners or each other, we may have to learn to communicate our thoughts and feelings effectively.
And if we are lucky enough to have some form of telepathic powers or just be intuitive, empathic, curious, and above all mindful, then we sure will be able to create lasting, and emotionally connected relationships, which is by far is the best gift we can give ourselves and our partners.
References:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/debunking-myths-the-mind/201804/the-biology-telepathy
https://www.liveabout.com/telepathy-with-animals-2596219