ROBERT J.R. GRAHAM: San Francisco

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Sunday, 7 September 2014

Tortured Man Experienced Astral Projection

Having read recently on the subject of Astral Projection I noticed how many of the experiences come about in crisis situations, such as while in intense pain, when seriously ill, while under a medical operation, following an accident and so on.

Not all, of course, are experienced under such conditions but I thought today I’d give a reasonably well known case which was. In this instance the astral projection came about while being tortured.

The person concerned is Ed Morrell who was tortured in an Arizona State Penitentiary. He describes some of his experiences in the book The 25th Man which shows him as the author. In fact it was his wife who actually wrote the book as he was illiterate. Jack London also made him the hero of his novel The Star Rover.

While in the penitentiary Morrell was often subjected to various forms of torture. It was under this torture that he experienced astral projection for the first time.

It appears that refractory prisoners were tied into two strait jackets which were then soaked with water. As these dried they shrank in size, so much so that the prisoners felt they were being crushed to death.

The first time this happened to Morrell he felt as if he was smothering and lights danced in front of his eyes. Suddenly he felt himself to be walking around outside of the prison as if he was a free person. He had managed to leave his pain wracked body.

He was a difficult prisoner and was often tortured in this way. When this happened the guards were amazed as to Morrell’s reaction to the subsequent pain – he appeared to fall asleep. Though some say he had learned self hypnosis.

It was during this ‘sleep’ that he was able to ‘walk’ freely and explore the streets of San Francisco. In other words he became free of his physical body to travel wherever he wished.

Morrell was able to verify his astral projections by telling others of what he had seen including a shipwreck in San Francisco Bay.

His travels, while under torture, where even verified by the then Governor of Arizona, George W.P. Hunt. He was able to agree that happenings which Morrell had seen and described were absolutely true.

It’s strange though that once Morrell was no longer subjected to torture he lost the ability to leave his body. It’s as if astral projection in such cases is an escape mechanism when the body can’t take any more.

The circumstances are similar to Near Death Experiences (NDE) such as the case of Iris Lemov which I wrote about in my post Near Death Experience Changes A Woman’s Life. The difference being that with Astral projection there is free movement to travel wherever we wish. With NDEs it is usually where someone experiences what happens after, or just prior to, death.

I guess the importance of Astral Projection and NDEs is that it shows quite clearly that we are not simply physical beings. The body is just a temporary home.

Source

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The post Tortured Man Experienced Astral Projection appeared first on Robert JR Graham.

Saturday, 6 September 2014

The Mastery Learning Model

A fundamental change in thinking about the nature of instruction was initiated in 1963 when John B. Carroll argued for the idea of mastery learning. Mastery learning suggests that the focus of instruction should be the time required for different students to learn the same material. This contrasts with the classic model (based upon theories of intelligence ) in which all students are given the same amount of time to learn and the focus is on differences in ability. Indeed, Carroll (1989) argues that aptitute is primarily a measure of time required to learn.

The idea of mastery learning amounts to a radical shift in responsibility for teachers; the blame for a student’s failure rests with the instruction not a lack of ability on the part of the student. In a mastery learning environment, the challenge becomes providing enough time and employing instructional strategies so that all students can achieve the same level of learning (Levine, 1985; Bloom, 1981).

The key elements in matery learning are: (1) clearly specifying what is to be learned and how it will be evaluated, (2) allowing students to learn at their own pace, (3) assessing student progress and providing appropriate feedback or remediation, and (4) testing that final learning critierion has been achieved.

Mastery learning has been widely applied in schools and training settings, and research shows that it can improve instructional effectiveness (e.g., Block, Efthim & Burns, 1989; Slavin, 1987). On the other hand, there are some theoretical and practical weaknesses including the fact that people do differ in ability and tend to reach different levels of achievement (see Cox & Dunn, 1979). Furthermore, mastery learning programs tend to require considerable amounts of time and effort to implement which most teachers and schools are not prepared to expend.

The mastery learning model is closely aligned with the use of instructional objectives and the systematic design of instructional programs (see Gagne, Merrill). The Criterion Referenced Instruction (CRI) model of Mager is an attempt to implement the mastery learning model. In addition, the theoretical framework of Skinner with its emphasis on individualized learning and the importance of feedback (i .e., reinforcement) is also relevant to mastery learning.

References:

Block, J. H. (1971). Mastery Learning: Theory and Practice. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Block, J. H., Efthim, H. E., & Burns, R.B. (1989). Building Effective Mastery Learning Schools. New York: Longman.

Bloom, B.S. (1981). All Our Children Learning. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Carroll, J. B. (1963). A model of school learning. Teachers College Record, 64, 723-733.

Carroll, J.B. (1989). The Carroll model: A 25 year retrospective and prospective view. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 26-31.

Cox, W.F. & Dunn, T. G. (1979). Mastery learning: A psychological trap? Educational Pyschologist, 14, 24-29.

Levine, D. (1985). Improving Student Achievement Through Mastery Learning Programs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Slavin, R.E. (1987). Mastery learning reconsidered. Review of Educational Research, 57(2), 175-214.

Source

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The post The Mastery Learning Model appeared first on Robert JR Graham.

Wednesday, 27 August 2014

Similarities Between “Control Memes”

Cults, Terrorism, and Religious Fundamentalism

Perhaps the most significant difference between a cult and a religion is the fact that in the latter the veneration is directed towards God, whereas in a cult the love and devotion is directed towards itself. The leader is either God-manifest or God himself. There is no room for question or doubt. Allied with this notion is the belief in the leader’s infallibility. This belief has far-reaching implications.

Total and unquestioning commitment to a guru or a master carries the risk that in the event the leader becomes paranoid or deranged, the followers will have no choice but to remain loyal to the whims of his madness. The tragedies of Jonestown, Waco and Heaven’s Gate involved leaders who, at one time, had credibility. Jim Jones, for example, commenced his work as an ordained member of a Christian Church and was highly regarded by various U.S. dignitaries. During the 1976 American presidential campaign, Jones met with Vice Presidential candidate Walter Mondale on his campaign plane. First Lady Rosalynn Carter personally met Jones for a private dinner at the Stanford Court Hotel in San Francisco.

The notion of infallibility leads many cult members to believe that life without the cult leader is unthinkable. In the event of the leader’s death, the cult members may choose one of two options: to believe that the leader has not really died, as was the case with Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, guru of the Rajneesh organization whose death was viewed as the shedding of a physical cloak, or tragically to follow their leader by committing suicide.

According to terrorism expert, Anthony Stahelski, a professor at Central Washington University, in exchange for providing joiners with meaningful existences and for fulfilling their affiliative emotional needs, the terrorist leader also requests and receives unquestioning obedience from the joiners. Long-term members of the group support the leader’s obedience pressure by applying conformity pressure on new joiners in order to forestall any deviation from the group’s mission or values. The joiners’ initial susceptibility to this intense obedience and conformity pressure makes them extremely vulnerable to the social psychological conditioning process used in violent cults.

There are other differences between cults and religions. Unlike cults, religious groups support the family structure and can be credited with attempting to emphasize its importance in the face of the collapse of the nuclear family. They encourage family contact as well as the use of counseling service to heal relationships. Religious leaders do not assume the role of parents.

Religious orders will not disguise information about the true nature of the organization, its beliefs, and its structure. There are opportunities to question and to inquire. In the mainstream churches, the mission statements, the methods of appointments and the financial records are available to the public. Cults, on the other hand, often make a deliberate effort to conceal the true nature of the group by operating under a variety of names or withholding information from the potential recruit.

The restriction on inquiry or criticism of the organization is a very disturbing feature of many cults. In his book When God Becomes a Drug, Leo Booth suggests that the discouragement of independent thinking is the primary identifying mark of a dysfunctional system. If you cannot question or examine what you are taught, if you cannot doubt or challenge authority, you are in danger of being victimized or abused.

Religions do not divide the world between the good—those who follow the religion—and the bad—those who do not follow it. This division of the world into good and evil is one of the features of cults that are almost universal. Whether the message is presented overtly or subtly, the followers are led to believe that their way is the only way; any departure from the cult and its beliefs will compromise the individual’s quality of life and may be fraught with danger.

The tendency to divide the world into good and evil is also a characteristic of the “fringe churches” that are becoming increasingly popular today. These churches, which present as bona fide Christian organizations, are often guilty of the misrepresentation and deceit practiced by some of the better-known cults.

The complaint against these cult is not the fact that they are secretive, but that they are deceitful, concealing their true aims and their potential effects from followers and families.

In contrast, fraternities such as the Masons, though secretive, openly inform members that they will be taught the more secret rituals of the group as they progress. On this issue Margaret Singer said very succinctly, ”A secret handshake is not equivalent to mind control.”

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