Michael Thalbourne facts for kids
Michael Anthony Thalbourne (born March 24, 1955 – died May 4, 2010) was an Australian psychologist. He studied a special field called parapsychology. This field looks at things like mind reading (ESP) and moving objects with your mind (PK). Michael Thalbourne studied at the University of Adelaide and the University of Edinburgh. He also wrote several books about his research.
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His Studies and Work
Michael Thalbourne earned his first degree at the University of Adelaide in 1976. Later, in 1981, he received his PhD in parapsychology. He got this advanced degree from Edinburgh University.
From 1980 to 1987, he worked as a researcher. He was at the McDonnell Laboratory for Psychical Research. This lab was part of Washington University in St. Louis.
After that, from 1992 to 2007, he was a Visiting Research Fellow. This means he visited and researched at the University of Adelaide. He also led the Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research. Plus, he was the editor of the Australian Journal of Parapsychology.
His Research and Discoveries
Thalbourne spent a lot of time studying why people believe in paranormal things. He also tried to see if paranormal abilities could happen in a lab.
Transliminality
In the 1990s, he wrote about something called transliminality. This idea suggests a link between different parts of a person's mind. For example, it might connect believing in the paranormal with being creative. It could also link mystical experiences or certain mental health traits. He called this idea a "common thread" because it seemed to connect these different things. Later, he looked at how transliminality related to religious beliefs. He also studied how it might connect to dream interpretation.
Measuring Beliefs and Experiences
Michael Thalbourne also created special questionnaires. One was called the Mystical Experience Scale. It helps measure if someone has had a mystical experience. He also worked with another researcher, Erlendur Haraldsson. Together, they created the Australian Sheep-Goat Scale. This tool helps measure how much a person believes in paranormal things.
Kundalini Research
Thalbourne also researched something called kundalini. He worked with Bronwyn Fox, an expert on panic attacks. They published a way to measure the kundalini experience. More recently, he used a random number generator in his kundalini studies. In a paper from 2006, he explained kundalini as "the coiled one." He also connected it to near-death experiences. He mentioned the Physio-Kundalini Scale, which was made by Bruce Greyson. This scale has 19 items to help assess kundalini experiences.
