FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2001      File #175
Contact: Jean Wasp, Media Relations, (707) 664-2057

Psychology Professor Explains Precognitive Dreams in Bin Laden Video Tape

There is a vast body of work in the field of parapsychology that supports the phenomenon of "precognitive dreams," that is dreams that somehow foreshadow future events, says Van Nuys, who is also chair of the university's psychology department. "These dreams are never exact replicas of the future but, when they occur, have enough similarities to be compelling."

Parapsychological research has shown, in fact, that the most likely place for "psi," or ESP, to occur is, in fact, during the dream state or other altered states of consciousness, he reports.

"There are many cases of mothers with sons away at war who woke up from a dream in the middle of the night knowing their son had just been killed, only to have this later confirmed. And most families have members that can recount one or two such events," he says.

Van Nuys says that sensitivity to psi is heightened by inner-oriented, contemplative practices such as prayer, meditation, etc.

"Whatever else they may be, the followers of Bin Laden are very religious and devout and engage in such inner-world oriented practices. One is more likely to notice precognitive dreams if one takes their dream life seriously, rather than dismissing it," he says.

"In this country, we tend to have a dismissive attitude toward the significance of dreaming. This evidently is not the case among Bin Laden's followers. While they might take such precognitive dreams as evidence that God is on their side, parapsychologists would instead understand these dreams as natural phenomena," the professor notes.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

David Van Nuys, Ph. D.
Chair, Psychology Department
Sonoma State University
Office phone: (707) 664-2847
Home office: (707) 585-7363
E-mail: vannuysd@sonoma.edu
http://www.sonoma.edu/psychology/vannuys/