For those of you who are left visiting the website, you may have noticed a severe lack of promised updates. There is of course a reason for it.
Some of you may know that I have been "retired" from active practice for over a year now, and that my life has made me too busy to be able to contribute to the site like I need to. I do not practice anymore, and I'm not really posting on the forums either. I haven't seen anyone in the IRC room in ages.
This is my message to my community. I am no longer actively involved, and to be quite honest, I am strongly questioning the existence of psychic abilities at all. Its been a long and difficult process for me to go through. Could I really have deceived myself for 9+ years? Are all these smart, kind, helpful people deceived in the same way? It seems that all these common experiences would be very hard to fake on a large scale, and after all, they seemed so real! What am I to do? Perhaps I should remain agnostic on the issue.
Secondly, I am a chemistry major. I know that I cannot be taken seriously in my research when I am associated with psionics. Now, you might argue "Stony, you can just keep it secret". That really isn't so easy. Not only is the internet more and more transparent, there are psychological reasons behind this as well. I can't have my science life tell me one set of things, and my psionics life tell me another. For me, the gap is closing. So I'm leaving the community as a practitioner, I simply cannot do it anymore. So what happens now?
I will finish the new version of PsiOnline.org. I will move to a new server with the new layout. I will put up all the articles I promised. I will keep the forums and chat room open, and I will continue to do it all out of my own pocket. Why? Because I believe that information of all kinds should be free for anyone to use. Psionics was important in my life and the communities therein helped me through many a tough time. For those who still firmly believe in their practices, do not take this as me trying to dissuade you from that. Seek happiness and truth in whatever way you know how. This is simply a decision about my life, not the life of the community I and the rest of you, have helped create.
PsiOnline.org is NOT closing. I am simply not a practitioner any longer. I will still keep the site up to date, and keep everything in order. I will still answer e-mails and questions based on the experiences I've had and the things I have done. I may not be sure about the phenomena any longer, but that doesn't mean I cannot use my personal experiences to help others.
Expect the new website in the coming weeks, and thank you to everyone who has stuck through with us.
My apologies to my staff for not warning you all about my personal decisions. I promise that my insecurities about the subject will not affect the services provided by this website in any way. Your hard work and dedication is appreciated and is not forgotten. IF you decide that you cannot staff here anymore because of this, that is fine, but for those who decide to stay I owe you my deepest gratitude.
May you all seek happiness in your studies, and I wish you luck with your practices. I hope that you will all gain the same kind of enlightening and life changing experiences I did.
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"I can't be taken seriously if I am a scientist who believes and even practises psi" ... and, will you be able to take yourself seriously ever again if you change your worldview for your career?
It would be one thing if you, personally, became doubtful about how to interpret your own experiences concerning psychic phenomena. It is an entirely other thing if you retreat from something you can use to shape your personal reality out of submission towards other people.
And your posting speaks volumes about which of the two it will be.
Have a look at Wikipedia about something termed "Stockholm Syndrome" and compare. You will understand what for after reading.
There is always the important difference between experience and the interpretation/reflection of that experience, foremost but not only in science.
If you have had such experiences for 9+ years, then you really had them for 9+ years, nothing will change that. And if you change your perspective on that, don't do it for other people.
Having such experiences and then negating them because of peer pressure is not only bad for your mind and self-esteem, it's also bad science.
Really, think again.