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Randy Faustino

About Randy Faustino

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Citius, Altius, Fortius.

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These three Latin words are perhaps more recognizable when translated: “Higher, Faster, Stronger”– the motto of the Olympic Games. With the 2012 summer Olympics underway, fans cannot help but appreciate the volume of athletic talent being showcased in London. Feats of strength, speed, endurance, and accuracy are regularly demonstrated, and witnessing such finely honed human abilities is both spectacular and inspiring. As world and Olympic records are broken and set on an almost daily basis, the athletes currently competing are able to show the global audience that there seem to be no limits on how far human prowess can be developed. But are we really seeing the limits of what human beings are physically capable of? The strongest or fastest athletes in the world are not necessarily demonstrating a paranormal human ability, though they are exhibiting finely honed ones grounded in some essential human physiology. For example, the human fight-or-flight response, in which strength and speed are increased well beyond normal levels, occurs when adrenaline is released into the human

How truly shocking…

How truly shocking…

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Most people have experienced the disconcerting jolt of sudden static discharge in some form or another, whether voluntarily or not. That we experience electrical shocks in the first place is no surprise; we are electrical beings, after all, and critically dependent on the proper conduction of impulses to keep our hearts beating and our brains working. Controlled electrical cascades allow our muscles to move and our senses to operate, and is one of the principal energy currencies that permits our bodies to function as a collective whole. But does all this represent the limit of how the human body can handle electricity?

Charmed, to be sure…

Charmed, to be sure…

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Charisma refers to “a spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people.” Who among the readership hasn’t met the guy who everyone can’t help but listen to, or the woman who projects an aura of serenity that calms everyone in her vicinity? Natural leadership ability like this is explained by psychologists as an aggregation of distinct character traits that functions collectively to create a persuasive gestalt, a magnetic personality. While most will agree that some degree of leadership skill can be acquired with proper training, there are others who have an almost supernatural ability to exert their will upon others… Mind control is a concept that describes a direct or indirect ability to influence another person’s thinking, regardless of that individual’s willingness to co-operate. Though seemingly paranormal in some cases, secular methods of behavior modification do exist and have been broadly employed, from theaters of war to clinics of healing. Such strategies are employed by government PSYOP divisions, in which attempts

I’m here, I’m there, I’m anywhere: Astral Projection

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Clinical reports of individuals who have been resuscitated after flatlining have recounted out-of-body experiences upon regaining consciousness. The accounts described by all these individuals share certain similarities: a sensation of becoming detached, or floating above their body, yet still able to perceive the world in front of them. In fact, some people have reported this type of disembodiment as a voluntary ability that they are able to engage at will. Is this capacity to detach consciousness from body a legitimate human talent? Or is it merely an illusion generated by some haywire neurochemistry brought close to the brink of death? Astral projection, or the ability to separate the spiritual from the corporeal body, is predicated on the existence of an intangible soul that defines the essence of a human being. For conceptual validity, the assumption is made that the human spirit can be voluntarily separated and controlled in order to perceive the world in a location separate from the immediate area surrounding the body. This has served as the philosophical

Infinity and Beyond: Immortality

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Forget about seeing into the distant future, what about existing long enough to actually live it? The quest for immortality is a beguiling theme in human culture, and it is no surprise to see why the concept of living forever, for better or for worse, has been popularized throughout history. To have the opportunity to watch time unfold with your own eyes is something that dwells in the depths of many people’s thoughts, for a variety of reasons. However, people accept that they will never see their twentieth generation grandchildren, or witness the types of technological breakthroughs we only dream about in science fiction media. Granted, it is a fact that human lifespan has been extended significantly with the advent of modern medical and hygienic practices, but it seems that we as a species have reached the upper limits of how much time we are allotted on this planet. Or have we? There are countless organisms with extremely long lives that inhabit the earth. Tortoises, elephants and whales are all

Feeling the Heat? Spontaneous Human Combustion

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Though archaeologists disagree on the exact date for man’s discovery of fire, the primitive allure that it evokes cannot be denied. Fire creates the background for so many social settings- a romantic candlelit dinner, ghost stories whispered around a campfire, and nighttime gatherings around a beach bonfire.

A Touching Story: Psychometry

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Human beings have evolved a remarkable capacity to gather information from their environment. Sight, taste, smell, sound and touch- these traditional senses provide a concrete way to define the space in which we live. Individuals can develop these senses, some to a level of proficiency beyond that of the average human being. Consider the visual acuity involved in military marksmanship, the discriminating palate of a gourmet cook, a wine taster’s sensitivity to the bouquet of a bottle of wine, or a trained musician’s ability to identify perfect pitch. Despite the fact that people like these have honed their sensory abilities to an advanced degree, however, their talents would not be called paranormal. However, there is the belief that an extrasensory capacity for touch exists within the repertoire of human abilities. The term psychometry was first coined by Joseph Buchanan in 1842, and its meaning has evolved since then to refer to the ability to “read” an object’s history through touch. As fantastic as this is perceived to be, like many

Oracles, prophets and seers……

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Human precognition has always held a special place throughout human culture and history. In ancient Greece, for example, major (and even some minor) decisions were made with prior oracular consultations. Prophets from the East were revered for their perceived ability to foretell the future, and shamans within tribal societies were respected for their ability to divine the unknown. However, modern day fortune tellers have become somewhat of an anachronistic gimmick, as contemporary thinking generally accepts that no reliable way of seeing what’s around the proverbial corner exists. Or is there?

Read my mind- go ahead, I dare you!

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Abilities outside the traditional senses have tantalized human imagination for decades, but all proof of paranormal human activity has been anecdotal for the most part. Or has it? While empirical data does exist for incidences of telepathic communication, it has been subject to numerous criticisms of validity and interpretation. However, despite a lack of available/reputable documentation of this meta-human potential, enthusiasm for the notion of direct, mind-to-mind communication remains undiminished.