Theos-Talk Archives (May 1996 Message tl00717)

Rich Taylor writes>
>But I think everyone on the board will admit that psychic (and other) powers
>NECESSARILY arise when one gets involved in spiritual development.

Richard Ihle writes>
Rich, you must know by now that it is doubtful that *everyone* on this board
will admit to anything someone else says they will admit to.

In my work with the high school "talented-and-gifted," a problem can arise
from time to time in regard to bragging about I.Q. scores.  Over the years, I
have had a few true "super-exceptional" students who have been followed by
Johns Hopkins and other universities from a very early age, and the flaunting
of their reputed scores is often enough to cause serious personality clashes
with the more "run of the mill" TAG-types. Sometimes, the validity of these
scores are often taken so much for granted that there can even be a problem
where a 135-I.Q. student will keep bringing up the subject in order to keep
lording it over a 134-I.Q. student.

Consequently, at the beginning of the year I have all my students commit a
little saying to memory:  "If advertising your I.Q. score is the only way you
can think of to get others to recognize your intelligence, perhaps you have a
low "creativity quotient."

Anyway, in the days when I used to do a little seminar speaking, I used to
run across many individuals who were billed as "psychics."  Getting to know
some of them in informal situations, I often found myself thinking to myself
that it was a good thing that they had thus labled themselves--for it
certainly would not have been very easy to guess from their conversations,
insights, etc. that they were in possession of any advanced perceptional or
precognative apparatus at all.

But I am not a doubter by nature, so if someone says they are a
such-and-such, I usually treat them as a such-and-such.  Still . . . apart
from the self-advertising, I sometimes find myself wondering just how common
a development true psychic ability really is among those who get "involved
with spiritual development.". . .

On the other hand, I am pusillanimous by nature so I will admit to your
statement along with everyone else. . . .

Godspeed,

Richard Ihle