Extrasensory Perception, the Reality of
an Unseen World

Ever answer a phone call, only to hear the person you were just thinking of on the other end? Ever had a dream about something that later actually happened? Ever felt like somebody read your mind? Some people may interpret these sorts of experiences as extrasensory perception, or ESP.

But what is it? Is it pseudoscience? Are mediums truly receiving messages from the deceased? Is the hereafter trying to get in touch with the living? Could it be that we are experiencing an odd form of neuroplasticity after experiencing a traumatic event? Or, are these psychic abilities nothing more than primordial information that is stored in the human cells and released after encountering the right triggers.

Welcome or welcome back to The Next Truth podcasts…“Let’s ask questions”.

ESP, also known as “the sixth sense”, a term adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine in the 1930-ties to denote psychic abilities, is still an unproven paranormal phenomenon in which people allegedly receive information about, or exert control over, their environment in ways that don’t use the recognized physical senses.

Skills that refers to a wide range of purported abilities, including telepathy (mind reading), psychokinesis (moving objects without physical contact) and precognition (predicting the future) and are violating our understanding of basic scientific principles.

Still, according to a 2019 study published in Europe’s Journal of Psychology, estimates suggest that around two-thirds of people in the United States alone believe in its existence — but how real is it?

I am your host Maria Anna van Driel and today I am speaking with the head of the University of London’s anomalistic Psychology Research Unit, British psychologist Chris French who specializes in the psychology of paranormal beliefs and experiences, cognition and emotion… and discusses with him the reality of an unseen world aka, extrasensory perception.

The Last Chapter of Your Story has Not Been Written Yet!

What do you do when it seems like suffering won’t stop? What do you do when it feels like your pain doesn’t have a point? What do you do when it feels like your weaknesses continue to worsen? You start living!

Maybe you have taken a knock down concerning your finances lately. Maybe it’s with your kids, with your marriage, with your health. Or maybe some other arena of life has you in its grip. You are laying on the mat gasping and you don’t know which step to take next. People ask you how you are and you say ‘fine’. But you are not fine and they will never know that unless you voice your thoughts.

We are people and we struggle, we suffer, we bleed and we cry. And if you think that true strength means never showing any weakness then I’m telling you you’re wrong. You are wrong because it’s the opposite!

You might feel depressed sometimes. You are going to have weeks where you don’t feel like eating, where gravity is working overtime and you can barely lift your fork to your mouth.

You are going to have a choice to either give up or get up. It’s like you have to save your own life.

We all struggle, we all know what it is to hurt, we all know what it is to have pain in our heart. And you know what? It’s okay not to be okay.

As much as you hate some of the parts of your life, depression has dragged you down into the valleys but only to show you there are peaks. Yeah it dragged you through the dark but only to remind you there is light. Life is not always good, life is not always rosy but it is worth living. Have faith in yourself because, on the other side of your pain is something good.

I believe that, where you are right now, that is your beginning. I believe that you are just in between two miracles. You have to become something new. Take those traumas, take that pain of those terrible events in your life and allow it to become a part of who you want to be. Create a new story of triumph.

This might be a page in your life, it might even be a chapter in your life but it ain’t the book. You are not finished writing yet! So, I need you to get up and get busy living! 

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Off Label Patterns That Reveal Narcissism (Part II of III)

What to expect when you unhook from a narcissistic relationship.

Narcissists first and foremost are injured, souls. They are emotionally damaged but are unable to carry this damage. And so, they want to make it all about you. But in fact, they are sidestepping their responsibility for the difficulties they have.

Now there is one overarching truth that we can say about what is going to happen when you let it be known, through word or deed, that you are disengaging and that is: a narcissist is going to come after you with lots of accusations. They will let the world know that you are the problem, you are the one who is creating all this difficulty.

It is so damn important for you to understand that it is not you who is the problem! They are the chronic victim.

* Read about some tactics that narcissists like to use to make you look as if you are being responsible for them in part II of my article ‘Off Label Patterns That Reveal Narcissism’ published on the website of CPTSD Foundation https://cptsdfoundation.org/2022/09/02/off-label-patterns-that-reveal-narcissism-part-ii-of-iii/

* To read my other articles on e.g. PTSD, narcissism, Social Camouflaging and shadow visit https://cptsdfoundation.org/author/maria-vandriel/

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Off Label Patterns That Reveal Narcissism (Part I)

Happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, surprise, and anger are the six basic emotions psychologist Paul Eckman identified during the 1970s. Basic emotions that he suggested are universally experienced in all human cultures.  He later expanded his list of basic emotions with pride, shame, embarrassment, and excitement.

These basic, or core, emotions, we all have bumped into them in one way or another in our relationships where they are experienced on a deeper level when it concerns our romantic relationships. In a healthy relationship, these core emotions are experienced in a balanced manner. We can talk about our feelings with those people we share these emotions with in order to minimize the duration of the lesser moments, to learn from ourselves and others, create a mutual understanding, and have a healthy and close bond with the ones who are most important to us.  But, when you are in a toxic relationship this is a one-way street, a business contract set up by a narcissist, these fundamental emotions are being used against you in a very twisted way.

Gaslighting is one of the sickest forms of narcissistic abuse you will experience when dating a psychopath. It is their secret weapon of ultimate mind control and they use it all the time to torture and psychologically abuse their victims.

There are numerous ways for the narcissist to execute their manipulative mind games but in a nutshell, the narcissist’s happiness becomes your reward, they punish you by making you doubt yourself and feeling sad, and their fear (insecurity) and anger become your daily stress and confusion.  As for the emotion of disgust, this is what the Narcissist displays in projecting and leveling the emotions of their victim(s).  The emotion of surprise, well, this is what most of these individuals often experience and translate as shame.

This wry way of thinking is caused by the narcissist being incapable of experiencing any depth of vulnerability and thus projects his/her shame and rage outwards onto carefully chosen ‘targets’ in order to not have to ‘carry’ his/her shame and rage within him/herself.  The result is them gaslighting you and using you as a flying monkey in order to maintain the controlling power over you…their victim. The narcissists start to brag, exaggerate, and lie about their greatness and self-esteem which suggests that they are trying to convince themselves to disguise hidden self-loathing and feelings of inferiority.

To read the full article visit the website of CPTSD Foundation https://cptsdfoundation.org/2022/08/17/off-label-patterns-that-reveal-narcissism-part-1/?fbclid=IwAR02wtNrfVP4xQ5I8MiBrcnviD9ziuIwvov7NKPAPg0Y4yAW-ile73BQTsA

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STEM Education: A New Wave in a Vast Ocean of Possibilities

Some months ago the publisher of STEM News Chronicle, Mr. Lawrence King, contacted me with the following question, “Many academically talented girls often leave STEM majors or shy away from careers in STEM here and in Europe. Do you have any insights?”

For a few days I let my mind run over this sad but very true fact. And, after having several conversations with different people concerning this matter, my personal thoughts went out to: we seem to life in a democratic system what is containing from a unified language.

A language that is being imprinted in young creative minds somewhere around the period of them attending a university. And with this I mean, young people who are extremely enthusiastic about a particular topic and wanting to find out whether A) their first idea/theory regarding their question asked might be correct and B) what else can be researched in this matter, run into a huge and massive wall as soon as they present their amazing theories, spawn from creative thinking, to their peers and/or professors.

Sure, it is good to know and understand what was once written by well-known scientists both historical and modern names. But, frankly, I am of the opinion that in the moment we keep these brilliant minds from being creative and playing with known scientific facts, is killing an open mind as well as ones personality in the end.

Welcome or welcome back to The Next Truth podcasts…“Let’s ask questions”.

I am your host Maria Anna van Driel and today I am speaking with the founder and publisher of STEM News Chronicle, Mr. Lawrence King, STEM Thought Leader, Media Personality, CEO, Physicist and Public Speaker, Dr. Trina Coleman and The founder of Agent Hi5 Marketing, Mr. Brian K. Saunders about the importance of STEM education and, how STEM News Chronicle is bringing awareness to the general public concerning how we can inspire young people and let their minds set off on a voyage of discovery.

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Trauma, PTSD and 1st responders…Let’s Talk

A new You Tube channel is under construction

“We can’t call 911, we are 911!”
“They will not understand what I have gone through!”
“Why should I say anything if they don’t ask about it!”
“I have no where to turn to!”
“Perhaps it is better for me to disappear from the grid.”

If I, in the past 10 years, had gotten a quarter for each time I heard “I am doing fine”, I would be a millionaire by now! But that is not what psychological and peer support is about. In my opinion, it is about respecting people, their thoughts, ideas, emotions and experiences. It is about knowing that you can call your confidant at 2 O’clock in the morning and actually hearing him/her answering your call, for instance. (let’s try not to let it get that far)

Trauma and (C)PTSD can hit anyone and can activate someone’s darkest behaviors and language as well as it is letting someone look into the abyss of their own psyche. The behaviours accompanied with these trauma’s are confusing too many therapists still because A) they are still working with the written words of old-fashion textbooks and B) they have never ride with you or your colleagues. Meaning, they will diagnose you too quickly with ‘being a danger for yourself and others’ without knowing the details of what is happening out there.

Although not everyone is voicing their emotions and/or thoughts in such a strong manner (cursing or using dark humor), with a peer focused mindset this way of speaking up the mind is a perfectly normal reaction of e.g. a pent-up frustration.

I believe in working with someone’s strongest skills in order to build them up and make them smile. I don’t believe in taking away those resorts that make people feel safe and secure what in turn make them feel small and insecure. Simply in order to impose a therapy that does not even come close to the person sitting in front of you talking about their experiences.

For the therapists, (psycho) psychologists and psychiatrists out there…did I addressed your thinking? Good! Take that powerful energy you are feeling right now, convert it into a positive energy and apply it to your approach towards those who are sitting across from you. Because, most of the times, the behaviours you see are the effects of an underlying problem that has become a habit over time.

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Light Emitting Cryptids: What Is the Science of These Secret Life Forms?

With the director of the nonprofit Institute for Resonance, Dr. Simeon Hein

Is bigfoot an undiscovered primate, a relic hominid, or an alien species?  Why are so many encounters filled with unusual and extraordinary phenomena like luminosities, apparent time slips, and telepathic interactions?   And, how are cryptids related to ball lightning and orbs?

Although Crypto-zoology is not considered a real science, it is based on the sciences of Zoology and Paleontology and can therefore offer a scientific solution in the existence of these cryptids are and, their evolutionary path. 

Some Cryptids might not exist, but there is a high possibility that others do. In fact, National Geographic proved that Hogzilla and the Congo Elephants, two Cryptids thought to be hoaxes, did exist.

If these Cryptids once existed, then there could be scientific evidence that evolutionary roots on to how these creatures possibly evolved in unison with human evolution, is available for us to and research the existence of today’s cryptids.

I am your host Maria Anna van Driel and today I am welcoming back the Director of the nonprofit Institute for Resonance in Boulder, Colorado, Dr. Simeon Hein, about new scientific findings in coherent energy-matter and how these ideas help explain paranormal phenomena, like space-time anomalies and orbs, seen around creatures such as bigfoot and other mysterious cryptids.

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Knowledge Can Save Lives!

I want to thank the team of Beamte Infoportal for publishing my very first German written article on their website.

(private health) Insurance and PTSD…now that sounds as a very odd combination does it not? Well, not quite but…you must have an open mind to see the connection. And, how it might even prevent people committing suicide.

PTBS: Ihr Zustand ist nicht Ihr Endergebnis (beamten-infoportal.de)

Trauma(s), PTSD and CPTSD is invisible to the outside world but it is very realistic and does not only creep into the lives of military personnel. It can hit anyone!  Dealing with the nightmares of a traumatic event and thus the multiple after effects (behaviours) is a normal reaction but not quite understood with family, friends and therapists/psychologists. This can result in people sliding into a health threatening addiction and/or spending a huge amount of money on stuff simply to compromise this feeling of emptiness, confusion, mental decay and, not being understood while looking in the abyss of their own psyche. 

Now this feeling of being in a downwards spiral could have been prevented tremendously when people were properly informed in front about the opportunity of them being able to close an insurance for these murky moments in life. I mean, although it is still a bit odd for many, understanding these conditions on a deeper level AND bringing an insurance that is also covering professional support, including the medication that is accompanied with, into the open, the threshold is much lower and can even result in a less percentage of suicides. Simply because the problems someone is dealing with are not directly related to this scary idea of visiting a psychologist.  Similar to having a life insurance.

PTBS: Ihr Zustand ist nicht Ihr Endergebnis (beamten-infoportal.de)

In a nutshell, I believe that once these darker moments in life are better understood, also private health insurers, as can be found on the website of Beamte Infoportal, can offer more personalized and detailed advice.

So, click the above link then ‘Wissenblog’ then ‘Weiterlesen’ and my very first German written article will pop up on your screen. Please, share this with German reading/speaking family, friends, colleagues and let them know that their condition is not their conclusion.

Also, when you scroll down to the end of the article you see ‘Autorin: Maria Anna van Driel’. When you click my name you will be directed to the website of The Next Truth.

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Silence is Sometimes the Loudest Cry!

Shake it off! Man up! Don’t you let them see you cry! Never let them see you sweat! These are the words that you can hear echoing through society whereas too many therapists and psychologist are often too quick with writing down ‘Danger to the uniform’ when it comes down to when 1st responders are saying “Uhm, can I talk to you about something that is bothering me?”

These sounds from society and the clinical diagnoses from a civilian point of view is smothering the voice of a 1st responder, it is strangling their vocal cords. The result is that too many 1st responders will go through it alone and in silence. And, sometimes, with devastating actions that are impossible to reverse. That should never be the option! It does not make you less of a man or less of a woman or less of a first responder when you talk to the people around you or utilize that people that are there to help you.

Understanding the uniform equals gaining an understanding about the mindset of those who are wearing it.

Besides being an emergency counselor and me understanding the mindset of a police officer due to the fact I was working in law enforcement myself once, firefighters and paramedics are the professions I deal with on a daily basis, and thus the events that go along with it, as my family are practicing these professions.

Listening to their experiences as well as the experiences form other 1st responders, made me realize that, in the region I live that is, still too few therapists and psychologists do not fully understand the mindset of these people. So, my very personal goal is becoming a licensed Psychotherapist with the expertise in trauma and PTSD with 1st responders.

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Are We Sending Unmanned Spacecrafts from Another Galaxy to Earth?

What are the basic requirements for life? Could life have arisen outside the solar system? Could the theory of Quantum Immortality be a plausible answer for us to witness dimensional visitations?

Or should we aim our thoughts in the direction of thermodynamically, photosynthesis based on stellar radiation to be the smoking gun…the optimal source of energy for extraterrestrial life to rise?

Many scientists search for bio-signatures within the Solar System by studying planetary surfaces and examining meteorites.  Some even claim to have identified evidence that microbial life has existed on Mars.   Still, the exact origin of life remains an unfathomable mystery, however this does not mean that it will always remains so.

Welcome or welcome back to The Next Truth podcasts…“Let’s ask questions”.

I am your host Maria Anna van Driel and today I am welcoming back clairvoyant medium, UFO researcher and co-host of the radio show “Twin Souls”, Philip Kinsella and discuss with him how likely an evolution of intelligent life outside the borders of our cosmic freezer, is?

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