One of the most popular lectures hosted by our organization has been our “Parapsychology 101: The Science of the Supernatural,” which was developed and is presented by SGRA’s very own Founder and Director, Jon Nowinski. For those who don’t know about Jon, here’s a brief biography.

Jon has always had an interest in what he calls “fringe” topics, which aren’t just limited to paranormal topics such as ghosts and UFOs. Because of that, he has studied a wide range of subjects. However, instead of just exploring the unknown, Jon has always held what he describes as a “unbreakable tie” to scientific principals and methods. We asked him what he means by this…

“Well, claims of the unexplained are interesting, don’t get me wrong, but in order to truly prove that any of them are real we need to present something more than an eerie feeling or a strange picture.” That, Jon says, is where Parapsychology comes in.

“Parapsychology is the actual application of science to the investigation of the paranormal.” He goes on to explain that Parapsychology provides theories that can be experimented and documented using scientific methods, and which provide scientific support for the existence of those “fringe” topics. To try an promote his believe in Parapsychology, and the fact that there is science in the paranormal, he created the “Science of the Supernatural” multimedia presentation from the ground up, using his years of personal research, communications with experts in the Parapsychology field, examples from real-life scientific experiments, and much more.

Over the past few months, Jon says he’s been adding some new features to his lecture, which is already beginning to spark some increased attention. Among the new features is a short animated video that he uses for his introduction. The video is titled “Open Mindedness” and shows the audience that while it’s important to be open-minded, it doesn’t help if you believe absolutely every claim you hear as fact.

“As a proper researcher I promote what I call being a skeptical-believer,” says Jon. “That means that you have to understand not everything can be explained, even by the best of science. However, that doesn’t mean that everything that goes bump in the night is a ghost. I take a lot of effort to train our investigators in this idea.” In addition to the short introduction clip that Jon plays, he’s also added what he calls an “interactive feature” to the lecture.

“It’s one thing to get up in front of a group of people and yack about something you work on,” he says, “but it’s another thing to invite them to actually give it a try,”To allow people to “give it a try,” Jon brings with him some of the equipment that his team uses to conduct investigations into claims of paranormal activity.

The audience is encouraged to come up after the program and ask questions and try it out for themselves. At the closing of the lecture, Jon also explains and displays some new software being used by the organization to experiment with psychic abilities. Computers he brings are set up on a table in the room so that people can sit and give the program a try for themselves.

A smaller version of Jon’s “Parapsychology 101: The Science of the Superstition” lecture will be presented at all of the PHD Psychic Fairs in February, but there will be a special lecture at the New London Public Library of February 27 from 12-3 too. Check the website for details!