Dr. Charles T. Tart has been a leader in the fields of Hypnosis, Psychology, Transpersonal Psychology, Parapsychology, Consciousness and Mindfulness since 1963.
     His research and output have helped shape the paranormal field, as well as contributing greatly to other schools of thought that relate to the human mind and its operating systems.
     His work on understanding altered states of consciousness has given us two classic texts in the form of Altered States of Consciousness (1969), and Transpersonal Psychologies (1975), which are highly regarded in the world of psychological studies.
     Having been published consistently for 40 years, Dr. Tart now draws on his vast bank of knowledge and experience to give us The End of Materialism: How Evidence of the Paranormal Is Bringing Science and Spirit Together.
     The title itself makes a bold claim and should raise the hackles on the back of any skeptic’s (or believer’s) neck. Nevertheless, Dr. Tart is not one to senselessly rip down the walls of history to expose the ‘lies’, the ‘truth’, and tell us what we should reasonably be thinking. No, Dr. Tart takes a gentleman’s approach.
     He ambles through the Introduction, presenting Richard Bucke’s famous experience of ‘Cosmic Consciousness’ while on his way home from a mind expanding evening of poetry and deep thought in the company of like-minded individuals.
     This story and Dr. Tart’s interpretation of it sets the scene for the rest of the book, where the reader should try not to stick to old habits of cognition and open up to the material Dr. Tart presents.
     The opening chapters tackle not only the age-old argument of science vs spirit, but also the argument of science vs scientism. Dr. Tart maintains his love for both science and spirit, but bemoans the rise of scientism over the last 150 years. He defines scientism thus:
     “Scientism in our time consists mainly of a dogmatic commitment to a materialistic philosophy that diminishes and ‘explains away’ the spiritual, rather than actually examining it carefully and trying to understand it.”
     The difference between that and hard science, Dr. Tart explains, while referencing his mentor Abraham Maslow is that “science can be practiced in a way that makes it an open-ended, personal growth system for the practitioner.”
     We have all come across the ‘holier than thou’ skeptics who sometimes are harder to talk to than religious fundamentalist believers. Dr. Tart constantly reminds us not to fall into either trap.
     Most of the book is taken up by Dr. Tart recounting his varied research-psychologist experiences. These include experiments working towards scientific proof of what Dr. Tart calls ‘The Big Five’: Telepathy, Clairvoyance, Precognition, Psychokinesis and Psychic Healing.
     Each is presented in their own chapters with detailed interpretations of what they mean, what they (reportedly) do, and examples of experiments undertaken by Dr. Tart and others.
     One stand-out is the experiment done relating to psychokinesis, the ability to influence solid objects with the mind. A subject spun a coin and then tried to influence its spinning trajectory in order to make it land either heads or tails. The percentage of heads over tails and vice versa for most subjects was, predictably, around 50%. However, one man named William Cantor got 100% of the desired target face. The odds of this happening, especially in a controlled environment, are as Dr. Tart says, astronomical.
         In the remaining chapters Dr. Tart opens up about his own reflections and experiences as a scientist and spiritual seeker. Dr. Tart accepts that a lot of ideas, concepts and facts remain uncertain, and unlike most scientists or skeptics, uses this insight as a way of motivating himself forward:
     “…just as we can’t live life only on the basis of what’s certain, we can’t base our spirituality on what’s certain. We need to get on with life…”
     With a lot of years behind him, Dr. Tart has a massive vault of knowledge and experience, and amazingly still has a huge, open mind.
     In the book he sums up his current view on the nature of reality:
     “My current best bet is that there’s a real spiritual realm, as real or perhaps even ‘more real’ (in some sense that’s hard to understand in our ordinary state of consciousness) than ordinary material reality. My current best bet is that this spiritual realm has purpose and is intelligent and loving in some profound sense. My current best bet is that our human nature partakes of this spiritual nature. The deep experience of many mysticsthat we are one with all of reality, including spiritual reality, is about something vital and true. The several psychic ways we occasionally connect with each other (telepathy) and the material world (clairvoyance) are partial manifestations of this inherent connection with all of reality, spiritual as well as material.”
     This is a serious and celebratory book, indispensable for those interested in Dr. Tart and Transpersonal Psychology, and well worth a look-in by seekers and scientist alike.