On Monday I will be giving a talk at another dream conference. Unlike the talks I gave earlier in the month in Kerkrade, I will have a full two hours to talk about some of my experience with psi dreams. It will take all of this time to lead up to answering a question that should take all of one minute or less to provide: why does psi matter? The question is on my mind because of an on-air conversation I recently had with the UK's Pete Price, the host of a popular talk show. He asked me the question, just as many other people have asked me before. For the first time, I think I knew at least a portion of the answer. You can listen to the interview here.
Some listeners first need to see that there is a reason to suspect that there is such a thing as psi. That will take about one hour and fifty-nine minutes of the talk. Why psi matters, on the other hand, can be stated quite simply, but can also open the door onto a very long conversation. Strangely enough, that conversation is often like the first section of the talk I tend to give because it will be a demand for proof.
What it comes down to is this: psi does happen and there is evidence to demonstrate it. Secondly, it happens because we are not purely physical beings. One could even say we aren't even partly physical beings in the same way that we aren't "partly" an automobile simply because we get inside of them when we want to drive. Psi is the natural mode of communication and action for our non-physical selves.
Psi can be looked at as a meaningless side effect, as the Hindus say it is when the describe it as a siddhi, but it is a bit more than that. Psi allows communication with other beings who know more than we do about certain things. This is why psi matters. Psi, as it is popularly conceived as a kind of music hall magic trick, is not that useful. Even if you take it to the extreme of that kind of thinking, winning the lottery for instance, it only brings material rewards. This has no permanent utility and may be considered irrelevant in the face of far more important things, such as developing a sense of compassion, mercy, and charity. Even as a way to enhance one's spiritual insights, psi is more useful on a genuinely practical level than any amount of gambling winnings.
AP
