Cryptesthesia
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Cryptesthesia (or cryptaesthesia) means, literally, "hidden sensation." Cryptesthesia refers to information gathered by the senses that enters conscious awareness by some other form.
The waking awareness generates a narrative based on the sensory input it receives. Input deemed irrelevant is frequently ignored or stored for later within the mind. Sometimes, however, the mind recognizes the need for that information, typically for the survival of the individual. In order to bring that information to the forefront of consciousness, the mind will transmit that material through sensory hallucinations (e.g. tactile, visual, aural) in an attempt to redirect and refocus the efforts of the individual.
This unconscious use of sensory cues and ostensibly extraneous data has been the undoing of several parapsychological experiments, particularly those dealing with ESP. It has been argued that this perception and integration of physical cues outside of the boundaries of normal waking consciousness is, in fact, responsible for all claims of extra-sensory perception.
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