About First Sight Theory

Abstract

A model designed to represent an aspect of reality requires a ruleset that describes the relationship amongst the functional areas. James Carpenter’s First Sight Theory has proven to be a useful ruleset for the operation of the perception and expression functions in the Attention Complex (mind) modeled in the Implicit Cosmology. This essay is written to explain how First Sight Theory has been applied in the Implicit Cosmology.

Note that I have not consulted with the originator of First Sight Theory. Please be mindful that this essay includes an unofficial explanation of the theory based on my understanding as a layperson and as I have applied it to the Implicit Cosmology.

The Problem

If part of who we are existed before this lifetime and will continue to exist in a sentient, interactive form hereafter, then what is the nature of our spiritual body and what are the rules for its interaction with the rest of reality? More simply, if we are immortal being, what are the implications of our immortality?

It is okay to believe you are more than your body. But, while belief is a wonderful thing if you have nothing else, it is a logical dead-end when it comes to furthering understanding. If the necessary information is available to more correctly understand our nature, and it is, shouldn’t we do everything possible to develop that information into something more useful than belief?

The question of life beyond this lifetime is usually answered in terms of the Survival Hypothesis which represents the theory that some part of us continues to exist after bodily death. It is generally explained as “Oh yes, and some people believe they survive beyond this lifetime.” In fact, some parapsychologists argue that the very idea belongs to another time and only hinders legitimate parapsychological research.

According to John Kruth in his 2015 The Survival Hypothesis: A Very Brief Discussion, “The topic of survival in parapsychology encompasses a number of different phenomena and experiences. One description of the elements of the Survival Hypothesis comes from An Introduction to Parapsychology:”

The survival hypothesis concerns the notion of postmortem survival, that is, that a disembodied consciousness or some such discarnate element of human personality might survive bodily death at least for a time.  The survival hypothesis has obvious religious connotations, but these are of no concern in scientific parapsychology. (Irwin & Watt, 2007; p. 138)

The study of reincarnation, near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences and mediumship are traditionally thought of as the study of survival. In more recent times, Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC) has been added to that list by some, but thus far, not by most parapsychologists. It is still most common for those who would be scientists to bend conclusions toward survival of memory, rather than survival of sentient consciousness.

The focus of my work has been mostly from the perspective of ITC and mediumship. The Trans-Survival Hypothesis is my effort to frame the question of survival in a way that can be tested and from which more understanding might be gained. The Implicit Cosmology is a model of reality designed to address the implications of the Trans-Survival Hypothesis.

Here is a most important point I ask you to remember as you read this essay. After living with the Implicit Cosmology for a few years and testing it in every way I can manage, I have come to think of it as a successful model which I feel comfortable recommending to you. However, I do not recommend it as an expert or scientist, only as a reporter with a reasonably clear crystal ball.

My hope is that more qualified people will eventually learn enough about the Implicit Cosmology to integrate elements of it into a more comprehensive model. In the meantime, when you encounter other models, ask if they consider the evidence of ITC. And keep in mind that ITC, First Sight Theory and morphic fields are game changers when it comes to understanding survival and our immortal nature.

Trans-Survival Hypothesis

The question addressed by the Trans-Survival Hypothesis is “What are the implications of postmortem existence?” Following are the assumptions I used for this model. See the Opinion 2: Morphic Fields for a more complete discussion of the assumptions.

Assumptions

1. Actual Reality: There is a greater reality of which the physical universe is an aspect (Reality).
2. Psi Field: The etheric is characterized as a conceptual, everywhere is here space in which attention on an imagined outcome produces an intended order (Creative Process). This space is referred to in parapsychology as the Psi Field.
3. Immortality of Life Field (Survival): Mind, with its thoughts, memories and emotions, has evolved in the greater reality and continues to exist beyond death of the brain as a sentient, interactive consciousness (Immortal Self-Centric Perspective).
4. A Person: A person is an immortal etheric personality entangled with a human in an avatar relationship (Life Fields).
5. Avatar: During a lifetime, mind is expressed as conscious self with a body-centric perspective (I think I am this), and mostly unconscious mind (Attention Complex) which interfaces conscious self with the life field’s etheric personality (I am this as the Intelligent Core) and other life fields (Life Fields).
6. Perception: Mostly unconscious mind is informed by the person’s five physical senses and psi signatures from the environment (other life fields) (Perception).
7. Expression: Unconscious mind expresses to conscious self an understanding of the environment as it is informed by Worldview (memory, experience, human and personality instincts) (Perception).

If these assumptions are correct, it is necessary to explain the nature of the immortal self-to-physical avatar entanglement. The short answer is the relationship Rupert Sheldrake’s Hypothesis of Formative Causation suggests between a nonphysical morphic field and a physical organism. I have used the hypothesis to define Worldview, as is discussed in the Morphic Fields opinion.

Worldview is basically a database which contains Inherited spiritual instincts (purpose) and prior understanding acquired by the hosted life field (that is us), instincts of the avatar and memory of the current lifetime. Two points to note are that we, as hosted or symbiotic life field, share Worldview with our avatar during a lifetime. That means we are influenced by our human’s survival instincts, and in our childhood, we are mostly driven by them.

The second point is that the avatar has a Body Mind as described in the Hypothesis of Formative Causation. The Body Mind represents the animating intelligence of the human organism. In every respect, our human is an independent organism which is capable of existing without us.

By itself, Worldview is just a database, but that database represents the limits and conditions by which the life field is able to interact with reality. In effect, it contains the information we use to construct our sense of reality.

The problem is that Worldview requires a mechanism by which it can be accessed, evolved and used to influence expression and perception. That is where Craig Weiler came in. In a 2013 issue of his Weiler Psi blog, he wrote First Sight: A Comprehensive Theory of Psi. In it, he explained part of First Sight Theory as “When our need for information exceeds the abilities of our five senses, we have a situation where ambiguity is present.” The word ambiguous was like a huge signpost telling me that “Here is the key to your model!”

First Sight Theory

James Carpenter’s First Sight Theory is explained in a 2015 book, First Sight: ESP and Parapsychology in Everyday Life. (the link is to Amazon, ISBN-13: 978-1442213913) Since its introduction, I have noted that First Sight Theory is becoming increasingly accepted amongst parapsychologists as the model for psi functioning. Describing the theory only takes a few of the 500+ pages in the book. The rest offers background supporting his conclusions. I have taken the liberty of explaining it in Your Immortal Self in terms of the Implicit Cosmology. The related pages are under the Concepts tab of EthericStudies.org as the Perception essay. Much of that is repeated here.

In his book, Carpenter explains that people first sense the world psychically. As he puts it: “What if ESP is like subliminal perception? What if psychokinesis is like unconsciously but psychologically meaningful expressive behaviors?” He answers these questions by proposing two propositions based on the following assumption.

I have paraphrased a lot of this. Please refer to Carpenter’s book if you need the more correct explanation. Be mindful that Carpenter is trained in psychology and I am trained in engineering. All of my phrasing is intended to translate First Sight Theory for the Implicit Cosmology without losing his intended meaning. Use discernment.

Assumption (paraphrasing)

Everything and everyone, every action in the past, now or in the future, perturbs the subtle energy space that connects all of us. Carpenter argues that research indicates people psychically sense these changes in psi space just as they physically sense changes in physical space.

Think of subtle energy space as the Psi Field, or as the etheric as it is usually referred to in the Implicit Cosmology.

If that is True, then: (paraphrasing)

Proposition One

People sense their environment psychically as well as with their physical senses.

Proposition Two

People process this information unconsciously, and it is the conclusion of that processing that they are aware of and react to … not what has been psychically or physically sensed or unconsciously considered. A person might psychically sense someone near or far, a person’s actions and apparently their thoughts when they are expressed as intention.

Note 1: The Intention Channel shown in the Functional Areas of Perception and Expression Diagram above represents the mechanism by which the conscious self is able to influence the perceptual process.

Note 2: In this theory, the expression of intention is what produces a change in psi space which can be sensed by others. Simply thinking of something does not appear to produce information which is detectable by others.

Note 3: The result of the unconscious perceptual process is described by Carpenter as formatting “experience and action.” This is the perception functional area in the Functional Areas of Perception and Expression Diagram above. In this context, the person does not directly experience information from the environment. Instead, the person becomes aware of the information after it is formatted in a way that agrees with Worldview.

Note 4: The Implicit Cosmology model predicts that reality consists of life fields and expressions of life fields. As such, objects we would consider inanimate and thoughtforms are expressions. This would mean that, in Proposition One, the environmental information a person senses originates from another life field, in the physical or not.

Therefore

The following 13 corollaries address the perceptual process: (paraphrasing):

1. Personalness Corollary: The unconscious processes that constitute consciousness are personal and deliberate.

The more important it is to us, the more we unconsciously pay attention.

2a.  Ubiquity Corollary Part 1: Psi sensing is not limited by time or distance.

2b.  Ubiquity Corollary Part 2: Psychokinesis contributes to the formation of experience by bringing intention to bear upon the physical processes of the nervous system.

The first response to a meaningful stimulus is transmission of a telekinetic expression (Psychokinesis ) signal into the Psi Field. This may also manifest as an alert signal to the body.

3. Integration Corollary: Other preconscious processes are processed together with psi in a rapid, holistic, efficient, unconscious manner to format experience and action.
4. Anticipation Corollary: The mind seeks to anticipate events.

If this is true, a characteristic of the Attention Complex in a life field would be to always look for patterns with which to recognize emerging potential futures.

5. Weighting and Signing Corollary: The importance of sensory and extrasensory information is weighted as being more or less important before it is acted upon.

The yardstick for importance is based on the body’s survival instincts and cultural conditioning stored in worldview.

6. Summation Corollary: The content of conscious experience, emotional states and behavioral choices are constituted in a summative way by unconscious thought.
7. Bidirectionality Corollary: In this summative process, the person may turn toward information (signed positively) to include it in the construction of experience, affect or action, or turn away from information (signed negatively) and exclude it.

This helps explain why people who accept the possibility of things paranormal are more apt to experience things paranormal.

8. Intentionality Corollary: Including or excluding information is a function of unconscious intention in regard to an element of potential meaning.

While attention is the result of an “is this important to me” decision, information that results in action by the person is given force if there is an intention to act. This is represented by the Intention Channel in the Functional Areas of Perception and Expression Diagram.

9. Switching Corollary: A person will be fairly consistent in how information is processed, (but) may switch in how information is weighted, the sign attributed to it, and therefore, whether or not it is included in behavior. This switching will occur rapidly or slowly depending on the consistency and purity (focus) of unconscious intention, and this, in turn, is determined by the relative weight of the information over time, situational factors that promote or diminish critical analysis, changes of approach in a task and mood.

Switching, which is influenced by personality style, is not necessarily a good thing.

Persons who are disposed to switch rapidly include those who:

• tend to approach situations cognitively and analytically
• lack consistent purpose and motivation
• take a detached-observer posture toward most situations
• are chronically ambivalent
• are cognitively disorganized are highly distractible

Persons who tend to switch slowly, conversely, tend to be persons who:

• approach situations globally and holistically
• are strongly and consistently purposive
• engage themselves wholeheartedly in situations
• are not overly self-doubting or uncertain
• are well-integrated cognitively
• are prone to hold focus purposively and not become distracted
• are dissociative (when in certain states).

Note 5: Highly dissociative people often experience altered ways of being that are more complex and enduring than simple moods.

10. Extremity Corollary: The frequency of switching affects the relative density of accumulated additive or subtractive references to the meaning in question. Rapid switching renders potential meaning irrelevant to ongoing experience.
11. Inadvertency and Frustration Corollary: Information gathered via psi is not available to conscious experience but does contribute to the formation of conscious experience by the arousal of anticipatory networks of ideas and feelings (assuming that they are heavily weighted, afforded slow switching and approached with the intention of assimilation). Because of this arousal, their action can be glimpsed consciously only by observing thoughts, feelings and behaviors that are inadvertent; that is, not intentional and not obviously caused by any current experiences. Someone who has become skillful in interpreting them is thought of as relatively psychic.

My effectiveness as a mental medium has always been highest when impressions come to me which are unexpected. The surprise factor is an indicator for me that the information is less likely to be stream of consciousness storytelling by my mind based on environmental clues.

12. Liminality Corollary: The arousal of anticipatory networks of ideas and feelings resulting from unconscious psi information may be considered liminal ones, in terms of the boundary between conscious and unconscious thought. Habitual interest in liminal experiences facilitates expression of psi processes (openness), leading to unconscious reference to psi material (and other streams of unconscious material). A more positive, open, secure state of mind will tend to facilitate reference to a broader spectrum of contextual, potentially liminal experience.

Here, luminal means on the threshold between unconscious and conscious; just becoming conscious.

Habitually paying attention to subtle information emerging from your mostly unconscious can lead to more direct awareness of what has been psychically sensed.

Ruleset for the Perceptual Process

Most of James Carpenter’s book is concerned with providing background material in support of First Sight Theory. He has been involved in psi function research for years and is clearly an excellent observer. A most important ability of a metaphysician is being able to recognize common elements in experiences. For instance, noting that successful psi practitioners tend to have playful personalities, might reveal the ability to process sensed information without unduly intending a specific outcome. Carpenter offers many such observations that might provide important hints to a psychic in training.

Take a close look at the Perceptual Loop in the Perception and Expression Diagram . The Agree decision box is the key to everything that makes you work as a life form. Without it, you are just a passive thoughtform.

I explain the perception and expression processes in the Perception essay and just about everywhere in my writing. These days, when I write, I do so to explain the importance of your Perceptual Loop, so I will spare you all of the details here. The Conditional Free Will essay is an easy version to get you started.

In brief, the propositions and corollaries of First Sight Theory help to explain apparent paranormal experiences in terms of the way we are known to process information. The theory comes in part from mainstream science and in part from parapsychology. It is consistent with what we know from transcommunication and it contradicts many of the truths I have been taught over the years. You may be out of date if you do not understand the theory and the implications it has for the paranormal phenomena we study.

Ideas That Further Understanding

Some of my writing is concerned with the way people representing the science aspect of the paranormalist community have interacted with the rest of us, especially the practitioners. This relationship is hugely important when it comes to furthering our understanding of these phenomena, and by extension, our understanding of our spiritual nature.

In too many cases, the scientist is really a poser; probably a retired professor from an unrelated discipline dabbling in the paranormal. Most do not really have an open mind, but instead, seek to prove that there is no such thing as survival. One of the gripes I have with these people is that they pose as open-minded, but subversively find ways to make us doubt the fact of these phenomena. They seldom tell us what they really believe.

Of course, some parapsychologists are open-minded and do seek to discover the actual nature of these phenomena. A true scientist will take the evidence as it comes and seek to establish the nature of the event it represents rather than find ways to prove it is something else. It is important to me to know if we survive but it is far more important not to believe something that is not correct. I think you are probably the same way.

Make the distinction clear in your mind between an observer and a theorist. Most would be scientists are just observers like the rest of us. Anyone can attend a séance and write a first-person account. Having a Ph.D. does in itself does not make a better observer or account any more scientific.

A real scientist is both a careful observer and a theoretician. He or she will develop a hypothesis with which to model the question and then test it. When someone tells you things are one way or another, ask them to explain their model and how it has been tested.

Rupert Sheldrake has done this and there are people testing his hypothesis. James Carpenter has also done this, and his model is quickly becoming the standard for other researchers. I wanted to tell you about these pioneers before writing the next essay. I have told you a little of the good science has done for us. Next, I want to tell you a little about those who would prove we are delusional.

One of the points of this essay is that some scientists have contributed a great deal to our field of study. I have complained about bad science in the past and will complain about bad science in the next essay. Before I do, though, I want you to know that we cannot further our study very much without the cooperation of academically trained thinkers.

It is up to us to make that clear to our learned advisers.