By Lisa Keddie
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“Remote Viewing is a perceptual technique, whereby a person can describe people, places or events that are perceived mentally but are separated from the viewer by distance, shielding, and even time.” (Mike Webster, Remote Viewing UK)
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Having remote perceptions sounds like something ‘technically paranormal’, or a unique ability that only some might be privy to. But after doing a one-day crash course with Mike Webster from Remote Viewing UK, there is actually something altogether unexplainable going on…
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Momentum Pictures’ wacky new comedy, The Men Who Stare At Goats, is all about this - some might say - psychic skill called ‘Remote Viewing’, complete with references in the film to Remote Viewer (RVer) David Morehouse’s book, Psychic Warrior. Ewan McGregor’s character Bob Wilton asks George Clooney’s character, Lyn Cassady, a Special Forces agent who reveals the existence of a secret, psychic military unit: “Are you a psychic warrior?” “No, I’m a Jedi Knight”, replies Cassady, as eager reporter Wilton begins to discover more about the U.S. Army’s First Earth Battalion, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.
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In brief, Remote Viewing research began in Russia in the late 60s, early 70s, prompting a suspicious United States to get in on the game with trials at Stanford Research Institute, after the Americans believed that the Soviets were stealing secrets using these new methods. Around the same time the CIA became interested and began funding a Remote Viewing programme. In 1977 the US Military formed a RV unit at Fort Mead, with government support continuing through the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The late 70s saw the rise of established Military RVers, such as ‘Skip’ Atwater, Paul Smith, Joe McMoneagle, Mel Riley, Ed Dames, Ken Bell, and later on, Lynn Buchanan and David Morehouse. But in 1995 when an Act of Congress passed responsibility for the ‘Stargate’ programme from the DIA to the CIA, who declassified some information from the programme, the Military RV was ‘officially’ disbanded. It was later in 2001 that the International Remote Viewing Association (IRVA) formed the civilian and ex-Military RVers. Today, it is still very much used, including the corporate world to fish out potential candidates - so be warned in your next job interview or negotiation!
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Our trainer, or ‘Monitor’ as he is known, is Mike who has been using his unique skills as an ‘Out-bounder’, a RVer who finds missing persons and even criminals (by looking through their eyes!), on a variety of murder investigations, missing persons cases, including Madeleine McCann, and in insurance scams, private investigations and business situations. He teaches Controlled Remote Viewing (CRV), developed by the Stanford Research Institute.
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Mike Webster
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How does it work? Well, we’re still scratching our collective heads on that one, but it just ‘appears to’ by following an intense process of three stages of six. Stage 1 is about identifying the overall nature of the target site (what you are are trying to identify) and what makes it unique by giving a description of the site and its physical consistency - e.g. hard, soft, fluid, prickly etc. Roughly translated, we were given a ‘coordinate’, a supposedly random series of numbers and letters that is usually supplied by the person on the case, like a police officer, private investigator etc. The idea behind CRV is to go in blind, or using minimal ‘front loading’, simply meaning having no details as to who or what you are trying to find. With the assistance of the Monitor, whose job it is to put together bits of information received from the RVers and to monitor them throughout the stages, you are asked to first write down details, including who you and where you are, almost like an exercise in focusing the mind on the task at hand. Then you must draw the site, an ideogram (basically, in layman’s terms, a squiggle), and to explain how it looks. After this, you describe how it ‘feels’ by touching the line - either tapping on it with a pen to it, or with your fingers. Everything you think of, or say aloud is written down in detail - including rogue visions called Advanced Visions (AV).
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Stage 2 moves onto sensory information, as though you are present at the site, such as colour, smell, textures, taste, feel etc, as well as simple dimensions. All your responses that feel like wild guesses, to be perfectly honest, are documented for the final feedback. But after ‘feeling and seeing’ a series of earthy brown colours, ‘wavy’ patterns, glass (often misconceived as water) and tall metalwork, this sceptic was surprised to open up the dedicated envelope containing my target site, a photo of a wrought-iron bridge over water. Was it coincidence, clever mind reading, or an untapped psychic ability - who knows? But Derren Brown, is this what makes you tick?
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Any lingering doubts were soon fading fast on the second attempt that included Stage 3 of movement, energetics (presence of electricity, static, lightning etc), Aesthetic Impact (AI) - how you feel about being at the site, and Emotional Impact (EI) - what the feeling of the site is? After dramatically drawing large loops in the air (general waving around of arms and hands), unusually mentioning the colour silver (not a personal favourite), tasting salt, and experiencing a non-threatening but lifeless feeling, out pop a photograph of silvery fish laid out in a circular pattern in a basket. Chills continued to run down the spine when a fellow journo and fledging RVer described seeing working boots, working near machinery in a ‘lit’ environment, and her hidden photo was revealed as steelworkers at work in such surroundings! The mind boggles…
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Anybody interested in finding out more about Remote Viewing, or taking a five-day course in Scotland, can visit Mike’s site at: www.waveformenergetics.com, or the RV Forum: www.rv-uk.com. Paul Smith’s Reading the Enemies Mind was given as suggested reading, as well as the ‘lighter read’, Psychic Warrior, by Morehouse. There is even a film called The Real X-Files that features some of the original RVers and their fascinating experiences.
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The Men Who Stare At Goats is out 6th November.
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