International Association for Near-Death Studies

IANDS' mission is to respond to needs for information and support concerning near-death and similar experiences. Our goals are; To encourage thoughtful exploration of all facets of near-death and similar experiences; To provide reliable information about near-death and similar experiences to experiencers, caregivers, researchers, and the public; To serve as a contact point and community for people with particular interest in near-death and similar experiences.

After-Death Communications Project

 The Alfred Russel Wallace Page

 A website dedicated to celebrating the life and work of the English naturalist, evolutionist, and social critic Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) one of history's most prominent scientists and defenders of Spiritualism.  

http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/index1.htm

 Findhorn

Classic New Age Centre in Northern Scotland - also known for growing gigantic vegetables, produced in close co-operation with nature spirits (devas). Information on workshops, retreats and news a spiritual community, eco-village, educational centre.

http://www.findhorn.org

  Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei - 

The incredible running monks in Japan. A very unusual account of some remarkable monks, well worth a read.

http://www.lehigh.edu/~dmd1/holly.html

 The Rhine Research Center. USA

When Joseph B. and Louisa Rhine joined Professor William McDougall at Duke University in 1927, the field of investigation into the unexplained powers of the mind was called psychical research and was largely devoted to the study of Mediums and questions of survival of death. J.B. Rhine recognized that answering these questions depended on a better understanding of the ability of the living to gain information from and about other people and things through non-sensory means (via telepathy and clairvoyance), an ability he dubbed extrasensory perception (ESP). He began experiments to study ESP and, later, psychokinesis (PK), the movement of objects through the will of the mind.

By 1935, Rhine's experiments had shown sufficient promise to justify the creation of a special unit devoted to them, and the Parapsychology Laboratory came into being. It was within those walls and under his guidance, that a new science was built.

From the start, parapsychology has known both progress and controversy. While J. B. Rhine continued to forge new territories in the young science throughout the 1940s and 50s, the study of parapsychology remained on the fringes of academia where it shook in uncertainty. Skeptics, disbelievers, and conservatives pervaded the academic environment that encapsulated J. B. Rhine, and as he neared retirement, J. B. foresaw the need for an independent organization.

In 1962, with the help of benefactors, such as Chester Carlson (founder of Xerox), J. B. Rhine started the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man (FRNM) to sponsor and thus ensure the continuation of his work. For the next thirty years FRNM served as a parent organization to the Institute for Parapsychology, its major research and education institute, and Parapsychology Press, its publishing branch. In 1995, the centenary of J. B. Rhine's birth, the FRNM was renamed the Rhine Research Centre to honour the Rhines and their unique contributions to this now established field of science.

Today, the Rhine Research Centre operates in an effort to continue the vision of its founder; utilizing advances in science and technology to further explore the relationship of psi and the natural world. While it stands on the history established through the pioneering work of J. B. Rhine, it has expanded, and will continue to progress as new boundaries in the field are pushed, and new barriers in science are broken.

As parapsychology steps into the 21st century, the days of ESP cards and dice games are almost unrecognizable, replaced by ever advancing experimental techniques that probe even further into the unknown. While the questions become more complicated, research has moved from being solely basic (in which the how and why of psi is examined) to including applied research (in which psi based technologies are being developed). Research today is marked by the Ganzfeld, Remote Viewing, and DMILS, and projects are being conducted around the globe, as the field of parapsychology broadens internationally.

In 2002, it was decided that the facilities that housed the Rhine Research Centre and Institute for Parapsychology no longer provided the most conducive environment for the study of this cutting edge science. Limited space and outdated equipment restricted the amount and type of research that the Institute could and should be doing. A lack of fundamental resources restricted the level of educational outreach that the Institute was able to provide for the public and hindered the expansion of the Centre's Library. The Buchanan Avenue building was sold to Duke University and construction on a new home for the Rhine Research Centre was begun at 2741 Campus Walk Avenue in Durham. Construction was completed in April, 2002, and we moved in May.

http://www.rhine.org/index.html