NEWS
PERCEPTUAL STUDIES
JOHN CLEESE SUPPORTS MEDIUMSHIP AND REINCARNATION RESEARCHERS Famous comedian raises £35,000 for University of Virginia BRITISH comedian and actor John Cleese shared a platform early in April with University of Virginia academics exploring various aspects of consciousness and the paranormal. These are subjects in which he has been interested for more than two decades. He has attended Scientific & Medical Network conferences in the UK and he also sits on the advisory board of the University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies, which is part of the School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioural Sciences. He took to the stage at the Paramount Theatre, Charlottesville, to introduce five members of division’s team and explore with them, as moderator, the serious and clinical research they conduct into unusual phenomena. The event was part of the annual Tom Tom Founders Festival which attracts large numbers of people to the city. Sharing the platform with Cleese were Dr Bruce Greyson, former director of the division and a professor emeritus, who discussed near-death experiences; Dr Emily Kelly and Prof Ed Kelly (her
husband) spoke about death-bed visions and postmortem survival; Dr Jennifer “Kim” Penberthy, gave insights into meditation; and Prof Jim Tucker delved into cases suggestive of reincarnation, the presentation that drew the most responses from the audience. Tucker was recently interviewed in our columns [PN January 2018]. Covering the event for The Daily Progress, Ruth Serven reported: “Cleese said he became interested in the Division of Perceptual Studies about 20 years ago, and [his] stand-up act Wednesday night, also at the Paramount, netted $50,000 [£35,000] in donations for the group’s research. “In previous interviews, he has discussed moving away from an Anglican upbringing to an interest in the paranormal, poltergeists and reincarnation.” n
Reincarnation researcher Dr Jim Tucker (Photo: Meghan Rand)
John Cleese speaking at a 2014 event in Melbourne (Photo: Bruce Baker) PSYCHIC NEWS | MAY 2018
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