Beyond the range of normal experience or scientific
explanation: such paranormal phenomena as telepathy; a
medium's paranormal power.
Most equate the paranormal to
the world of ufos, little green men, ghosts, goblins, slimy
blobs oozing from the ceiling and other weird things. Based
on experience it is utilizing our perfectly normal senses
and abilities to see, hear, feel and experience that go far
beyond what we assume or have been told we can do. Also
based on experience almost without exception everyone I
have ever met has paranormal abilities and experiences,
some far greater than others.
Paranormal is an umbrella
term used to describe a wide variety of purported anomalous
phenomena. According to the Journal of Parapsychology
(Parapsychology Association), the term paranormal describes "any
phenomenon that in one or more respects exceeds the limits
of what is deemed physically possible according to current
scientific assumptions." [1] The term is derived from the
Latin use of the prefix "para", meaning "against, counter,
outside or beyond the norm." Many see the term paranormal
as synonymous with parapsychology, which deals with
psychical phenomena like telepathy, ESP, and survival
studies like ghosts. However, the paranormal also includes
subjects considered to be outside of the scope of
parapsychology, including UFOs, cryptozoology, the Bermuda
Triangle and many other non-psychical subjects
Although this isn't a
complete list, the following are some subjects considered
to fall under the term
paranormal:
[3]
Dowsing.
ESP.
Precognition.
Remote
Viewing.
Communicating with the Dead
and/or
"Channeling".
Violations of Newton's Laws
of Motion (Perpetual motion
Devices).