Lehal Library

If one or both of these aims are served, whenever and wherever it may be, this is sufficient reward indeed. The presentation of such material is not designed for any particular scientific group. Rather, the principal attempt is to be as specific as possible in language understandable to scientists and laymen alike, with avoidance of ambiguous generalities. The physicist, chemist, life scientist, psychiatrist, and philosopher may each use more technical or specialized terminology to state the same premise. Such interpretation is expected. It will indicate that the plan of communication is workable, that the "plain" talk does convey the proper meaning to a wide base rather than to a narrow pinnacle of specialists. It is expected, too, that many interpretations will be contradictory. The most difficult mental process of all is to consider objectively any concept which, if accepted as fact, will toss into discard a lifetime of training and experience. Yet much has already been accepted as fact on far less direct evidence than that presented here, and is now "accepted." It is the hope that the same will apply to the data included here. It is indeed the most difficult mental process of all, this objectiveconsideration business. Once in a lifetime is enough. Let's look for a beginning to this candid report of a highly personal experience. In the spring of 1958 I was living a reasonably normal life with a reasonably normal family. Because we appreciated nature and quiet, ours was a country environment. The only unorthodox activity was my experimentation with techniques of data learning during sleep—with myself as the chief subject. The first sign of deviation from the norm took place on a Sunday afternoon. While the rest of the family had gone to church, I conducted an experiment by listening to a particular tape recording in a highly isolated environment It was a simple attempt to force concentration on a single intelligent-signal source (aural) with lowered signal input from the other senses. Degree of retention and recall would indicate the success of the technique. Isolated from other sights and sounds, I listened to the tape. It contained no unusual or stray suggestion. Most significant in retrospect was the strong suggestion to remember and recall all that took place during the relaxation exercise. The tape ran its course with no unusual result. My recall was thorough and complete because it had been a product of my own efforts and thus familiar to me. Perhaps too much so, as no retention and recall of