The term ‘Mental telepathy‘ is misleadingly broad. It essentially means the direct communication of thoughts between people without using the basic five senses. There is a huge difference, however, between having a creepy feeling that someone is watching you and being able to pick the plans for a nuclear reactor out of an unsuspecting scientist’s mind. Mental telepathy covers a huge range of abilities from very basic to fairly complex. This article will attempt to explain the different levels of mental telepathy.

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

If you are a parent who has tried to tell your kid or spouse something non-verbally by using your body language, eyes and facial expressions, then you would know what Kinesics or non-verbal communication is. In this form of non verbal communication almost everything can be said without speaking by merely using the eyes and expressions and body language. For this kind of communication you need to know the other person well in order to communicate effectively. Its most effective between parents, children, lovers and intimate friends.

Most people do not regard this form of communication as mental telepathy since here communication is through senses and not just with sounds. Theoretically, this argument holds good. However, we cannot disregard the role of mental telepathy here. The very observation that this kind of non verbal communication is most effective in people who are intimate with each other or know each other well tells us that the minds of these people are more in synch with each other. However, skeptics may argue that this communication is merely effective because people who know each other well understand each other’s body language well or have previously developed a mode of non verbal communication.

EMPATHY:

When you can understand and perceive the emotional state of the other person, then this ability is known as empathy. Many people can do this well and many cant because the ability to put your self in somebody else’s shoes is not inherent. However one can develop empathy with preparation and observation. This fact can be seen in actors who can not only emulate the emotional states of others but also enhance their empathy so much that they can laugh and cry exactly like the other person.

‘Sympathetic pain’—feeling another person’s pain as if it were your own is something expectant fathers mention, some claiming they can feel the mother’s labor pains at the same time she is experiencing them. If someone close to you is experiencing an overwhelming emotion, you may feel an echo of the same emotion inside you, and mothers often describe this uneasy feeling when their child has been injured. The phenomena of long distance empathy, where a person suddenly feels that someone close to them is in danger, even though they are not near the person at the time is common in other relationships, as well.

There are some skeptics and psychologists who scoff at these kind of incidents and call them the work of an overactive brain. In certain cases they may have a point because we can see the injury and the hurt. However in cases of long distance empathy where a person doesn’t even know that his loved one is injured or hurt, then they don’t have an explanation about why a person who cannot even see the other person can feel the pain.

CONCRETE CONCEPTS

This is the thought transference of concrete symbols and objects between two minds. Mental telepathy at this level must by necessity move beyond the regular five senses, and often requires a designated sender and receiver, intense concentration, training, and practice.

The simpler the concept, the easier it is to communicate through thought alone. For example, a color or shape may be easier to convey than an animal.

This level involves a lot of trials in telepathy. In these experiments Zener cards are used. These cards have simple symbols engraved on them like black and white patterns, squares, circles, waves etc. There are many cynics and doubters who may say that since there are merely five cards involved, there is a probability of a guess being right at least 20% of the time. However, on the other end, people feel that having known symbols can enhance the thought coordination between the sender and the receiver thus enhancing their telepathic technique. Moreover even if we assume that random guesses may succeed 20% of them time, there is no explanation of success rate of 50% or more.

ABSTRACT CONCEPTS

Mental telepathy at this level goes beyond simple colors and shapes to more abstract concepts like ideas, actions, or values. It is rare and difficult for telepaths to achieve this level, and experiments have shown that they have a lower success rate.

Interestingly there are certain animals which can communicate effectively and we have still not discovered their modus operandi. Telepathy may be one of the methods. In this kind of communication between animals very basic abstract concepts will be involved. Since animals do not have prefrontal lobes which enhance complex communication, this communication will be restricted to basic impulses like thirst hunger and even danger.

There is a theory that humans were once capable of telepathy, but lost it as the species evolved and developed language. If this is true, then with the right stimulation humans should be able to ‘relearn’ this dormant ability.

If enough people can develop these powers, theoretically all humans in the future could use mental telepathy to communicate, according to some scientific beliefs.