Spirituality Lesson 10 - Empricism, Lesson 11 - How We Know Things.

Spiritualism -Lesson 10- Empiricism, Lesson 11-How We Know Things Empiricism is defined on page 451 of the American Heritage College dictionary as the view that experience, esp. of the senses is the only source of knowledge. Empirical is defined as (1) relying on or derived from observation or experience, (2) verifiable or provable by means of observation or experiment. Empiric is defined as one who is guided by practical experience rather than precepts or theory. Psyche is defined from two perspectives on page 1104 as (1) the spirit or soul and (2) the mind functioning as the center of thought, emotion and behavior. In the Donning International Encyclopedic Psychic dictionary on page 496 the word psyche is defined from five different perspectives. The definitions of psyche that I found to be most useful were (1) life force, soul, spirit, mind (2) the soul encased in a physical body in its failures and its successes. The word psychic is defined in the Donning dictionary on page 497 from many perspectives. The definition of psychic I found to be most useful was (1) one whose total Mind/Body organization tunes into more subtle vibrational frequencies and who is able to decipher this sensitivity for practical purposes. Empirical Energy is defined on page 204 as psychic skills which occur willed and spontaneously, not determined through scientifically proven facts, but just because practice makes it work; psychic phenomena that defies all laws known to man; (Paraphysical law: If it works for you, it is a law for you). Empirical knowledge (defined on the same page in the Donning dictionary) is defined as psychism experienced and perceived by one's self that becomes knowledge to oneself regardless of science or theory. Humans have created tools throughout time that enable them to detect phenomena with their senses that they could not detect in previous moments in time. Over time humans form opinions from their experiences and collect and record data. The opinions and experiences of the collected data are documented in the form of written words, artwork and at this moment in time video and audio recording. In many scientific communities theories are formed and experiments are created to determine if measurable results and outcomes can be reproduced. Some humans prefer to document the same experience repeatedly by using the same conditions to determine if the measurable outcomes of the experiments or experiences will be the same or different. If the measurable outcomes of the experience or experiment are the same in say 8000 out of 10000 times then one could say that given the same situation, under the same circumstances or conditions there is a reasonable probability that 8 out of 10 times one will achieve certain expected measurable outcomes. Conversely, this also means that given the same situation, under the same circumstances or conditions, there is a reasonable probability that 2 out of 10 times one will not achieve certain expected measurable outcomes. Just because humans have not yet invented or discovered a tool or a machine or a computer program that enhances our ability to perceive certain phenomena does not negate the possibility of the existence of that phenomena. Great strides are being made however to detect and document unique energy fields and energy field disturbances in human beings. Kirlian photography is able to record human energy fields to some degree. Some people have referred to this type of energy field documentation as aura photography. In the healthcare field many Nurses and a few doctors can now receive training and certification in a discipline known as Healing Touch. During the Healing Touch seminars people are taught to assess human energy fields and to use certain techniques to balance the energy field where imbalance exists. I have attended many healing touch seminars and for myself at least it helped me to better understand the healing techniques I learned when I originally attended seminary many years ago .I also studied and became certified in another form of energy field balancing and healing known as Reiki when I attended seminary. Having always had the ability to detect energy fields in humans, animals, crystals, and plants inspired me to seek explanations for the existence and my abilities. That was the reason I chose to study sciences and various religions from a very early age. What we as humans perceive with the "known" senses we store in our minds, our bodies and our energy fields. Other words for energy fields can be used such as Psyche, Spirit or Soul. How, when or why did my Soul or Spirit come into existence I do not know. I only know that from my perspective based on my life experiences I have a Soul or Spirit. I believe humans have Souls, Spirits or energy fields because I choose to believe this is so. I also choose to believe all humans have the free will to choose their belief systems and their spiritual paths. In my life experiences I have known many humans who have chosen paths that were filled with more darkness that light, more disharmony than harmony, and more imbalance than balance. After many years and much meditation I discovered that by choosing to balance the light and darkness within my own soul I could achieve inner harmony and balance. Respectfully submitted by Rev. Susan K. Bowers