Scientists have identified features that could increase the likelihood that a person could claim to hear the voices of the dead.
Predisposition to a high level of cognitive tasks, unusual hearing experience in childhood, and high susceptibility to auditory hallucinations appear more strongly in self-described harmful environments than in the general population, according to research published in 2021.
The researchers say the findings may help us better understand the disturbing auditory hallucinations that accompany mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.
The spiritual experiences of clairvoyance and consciousness — the experience of seeing or hearing something in the absence of external stimuli, and the experience associated with the spirits of the dead — are of great scientific interest both among anthropologists and scientists who study of religious and spiritual experiences. evaluation of experiences of pathological hallucinations.
In particular, researchers want to better understand why some people with hearing experiences report a spiritual experience, while others are more anxious and receive a mental health diagnosis.
Psychologist Peter Mosley, of Northumbria University in England, explained when the study first came out: “Spiritists tend to report unusual, positive auditory experiences that they can normally control, starting early. part of life. And understanding how it develops is important because the material is painful. or out of control. This will help us better understand good hearing experiences. ”
He and fellow psychologist Adam Powell from Durham University in the UK recruited and surveyed 65 soothsayers from the UK’s National Federation of Spiritualists and 143 members of the general population, recruited by social media, to determine what distinguishes Spiritualists from the general public. He (usually) reports hearing the voices of the dead.
Overall, 44.6 percent of spiritists reported hearing their voices every day, and 79 percent said the experiences were part of their daily lives. While most of them said they heard voices in their heads, 31.7% reported that the voices also came from outside.
Spiritists often had their first hearing experience as young adults with an average age of 21.7 years and reported high levels of assimilation. This term describes total immersion in mental activities, activity or changing situations and the individual’s effectiveness in controlling the world around him or her.
They also reported that they were more likely to experience experiences such as hallucinations. Researchers have noticed that they often have not heard about spirituality before their experience. Instead, they met while looking for answers.
The researchers suggest that these findings are likely not the result of being suggested because of peer pressure, a positive social context, or paranormal belief that the experience of “voices of the dead”. Instead, these individuals accept spirituality because it is consistent with their experience and personally meaningful to them.
They concluded that future research needs to explore different cultural contexts to better understand the relationship between assimilation, belief, and the unique spiritual experience of whispering ghosts in a person’s ear.
The research was published in the Journal of Mental Health, Religion and Culture.
Source: Science Alert
Source: Arabic RT
