Introduction
Communication of thoughts or ideas from one mind to another without the normal use of the senses is a truth that is common in our daily life. Sometimes we feel that we are close to a friend or an acquaintance that is far away from us, or to an unknown person that haphazardly we find in front of us. These events clearly happen many times in our daily lives but what one usually admits that it is just an unrelated, by-chance phenomenon. According to the Encyclopedia of Popular Science, published by the Ministry of Culture in Syria and translated under the title of 'Concise Encyclopedia of Science, Volume 9, page 57', "telepathy is an unclear communication between two brains". Scientists and skeptics claim that telepathy is invalid because there are no theories to explain the ability and no physical evidence of its existence.

Discussion
There are many different definitions for communication of thoughts available in the domain of parapsychology. The term telepathy most often refers to information shared between two or more people other than through the normal means of communication. It has also been defined as "A direct communication between two minds without the use of any normal means". Such a definition determines that one mind works as a transmitter and the other as a receiver. The Rhine Research Center of United States of America has analyzed hundreds of experimental Ganzfeld studies with a 34 per cent hit rate. These results suggest genuine telepathy.

Telepathy is a real and true phenomenon which is scientifically standardized by experiences. The fact that is happening in a continuous way is a real truth of its existence even if most people do not agree on such a truth.

Once called "thought transference" telepathy has a long history of research, is the psychic ability most often recognized by science, and the most robust of the paranormal abilities.
Telepathy is the term coined by English writer F.W. Myers, 1882, as "supposed communication between minds by some means other than the normal sensory channels".

The term telepathy most often refers to information shared between two or more people other than through the normal means of communication.

• Clairvoyance is perception of distant events by one or more persons.
• Russians referred to telepathy and clairvoyance as biocommunication.
• Hypnosis can enhance telepathy by suggesting a calm, receptive ambiance.

History

• 1884 Charles Richet first carried out tests of telepathy using playing cards.
• 1934 Rhine published Extrasensory Perception, used Zener cards with special ESP symbols.
• Psychologists Freud and Jung documented telepathy during psychotherapeutic sessions between therapist and patient.
• 1882 William Barrett used telepathy to send specific sensations i.e. tastes to hypnotized subjects.

The present

• Many labs including University of Washington, Scotland, Germany and IONS have shown that individuals can telepathically pick up body sensations from another person.

• 2001 NSF survey results showed 60% people agreed that some persons possess ESP
Ethics and Telepathy.

Theories
There are many theories that have been proposed

Electromagnetic theory - telepathic signals are carried by some sort of radio wave, disproved by underwater studies and Faraday shielded test rooms that excluded radio waves.

Non-Physical Nature of Telepathy theory states that the mental and physical worlds are very different yet can interact with each other to access and share information.

Quantum Mechanics Theory
Physicists state non-physical properties of atoms responsible for telepathy phenomenon.
Non-Locality theory = Body and mind are separate, mind can travel to source of information and retrieve data.

Brain as Transmitter theory - that electrical energy of brain send signals.
Disproved due to the often present long distances and time between individuals who demonstrate telepathy.

Nervous System as Antenna Theory
Swann suggests reception of telepathic information via CNS system, that body acts as antenna
Information enters subconscious mind before emerging into consciousness.

Fraud and Deception Theory
• Fraud theory = that there is no telepathy, it is all guesswork and deduction.
• Skeptics organizations assume fraud before they will accept validity of telepathy.

Zero-Point Energy theory
• An ether or very low energy field may carry information from mind to mind.
• Work of Dr. Hal Puthoff important to this theory.

Spiritual theory = information accessed via gods, spirits, or other spiritual entities.

Other Dimensions theory = mind able to travel between dimensions to access information.

What Facilitates Telepathy?

• Researchers have found that an atmosphere of fun and excitement produces good results when practicing telepathy.
• Receiver responds best to positive imagery, sense of shape and luminosity, and exhibit harmony.
• Respond worst to complex images, sense of anxiety and intellectualization.

Hypnosis and Relaxation
• Researchers have also found that hypnotized or relaxed subjects do well.
Crisis Telepathy.
• Telepathy manifests strongly in a crisis situation particularly between bonded couples like twins.

Psi-Conducive States
Psi-conducive states such as dreaming, daydreaming, relaxation, mild sensory deprivation, and hypnogogic states facilitate telepathy.

The Ganzfeld Technique
The Ganzfeld is a laboratory technique that employs white noise, ping pong balls over the eyes, red light, to create a state of relaxation that facilitates telepathy Researched at many psi laboratories.

Gender and Age
Some researchers have found that women are better telepathic receivers and men are better senders .Children are naturally telepathic.

Twin Studies
Studies and anecdotes have shown that twins share a telepathic ability and are able to communicate thoughts, emotions, and sensations despite being many miles apart.

Music and Telepathy
Listening to music with certain frequencies such as Baroque can induce a receptive state to receiving telepathic information.

Drumming and rattle rhythms also facilitate telepathy.

What Hinders Telepathy?

Sheep/Goat Effect Researchers have found that people who strongly believe in telepathy (sheep) get good results and those who don't (goats) get poor results.
Super sheep do best!

Boredom and Repetition hinder telepathy.

Medications
Nicotine and alcohol and some drugs interfere with telepathic functioning
Caffeine such as in coffee and chocolate enhance telepathic functioning.

Elusive Nature of Telepathy

Very rarely can telepathy be elicited "on demand".
It is elusive and depends on both internal and external conditions. Swann calls these personal in clemencies.

Mind Set
An overly religious, psychic, scientific or skeptical mindset can hinder telepathy
Fear of success, fear of failure, fear of the process itself can hinder good telepathic ability

Methods

Psi-conducive states such as sleep and dreaming, day dreaming, meditation and contemplation can aid telepathy.

Spontaneous Dream Telepathy
Reports of spontaneous dream telepathy often between members of the same family
Remote viewing in dreams was studied by Star Gate Manager Dale Graff.

Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming is a dream in which the dreamer becomes conscious that they are dreaming.
This is an ideal state to share telepathic thoughts and impressions with another person who is awake or asleep.

Shared Dreaming
Shared dreams often happen between couples and friends.
The couple can set up a dream scenario prior to sleep and try and share information between them during sleep and dreaming.

Day Dreaming
Individual becomes immersed in an inner experience.

Meditation
Meditation allows the individual to become physically relaxed that is conducive to telepathic functioning.

Interspecies Communication
Interspecies communication such as that between dolphins, parrots and other animals with humans has been documented.

Interdimensional telepathy with other- worldly species has been attempted with some successAlien/human interaction is reported to be via telepathy 90-95% of time.

Telepathic Mediumship
Telepathic communication has been successfully carried out by mediums and seers to communicate with persons from the past and the future.

Remote Viewing and Telepathy
Remote viewing is a trained ability to access information that includes the thoughts, feelings, and activities of distant people using something other than the normal five senses.


Future Telepathy Exercise

- We can be our own telepathic Senders and Receivers.
- Send yourself information back in time when outcome of a decision is known.
- Aids in decision- making over time.

Like any other ability, telepathic ability can be misused by unethical use of information obtained through telepathy.

Paradoxically, it could be used by law based psychic agents to venture into the mind set of convicts and criminals to assess their activities.


Conclusion

Telepathy is a difficult skill to develop but once acquired usually persists.There has been much research into telepathy but more needs to be done.Everyone has the ability to develop their own telepathic ability.Medical validity of extra sensory perception (telepathy) is not established because of lack of objective evidence or tangible validation. In the end, it all depends on individual perceptions, but the significant effects of this phenomenon in many situations can not be ignored. Science may yet take many more years to quantify its existence. If we develop some way to harness its powerful impacts for our own convenient survival,it would be a major break through. This is hard to imagine,but so was flying, before the advent of aeroplanes. Who knows what miracles are waiting to unfold by and from the human brain.

About Author / Additional Info:
I am an Indian currently working in Saudi Arabia as a doctor.