Podcast Summary: Inpresence 0263 – Remembering Charles T. Tart

Podcast: New Thinking Allowed Audio Podcast
Host: Jeffrey Mishlove
Airdate: September 8, 2025

Episode Overview

This heartfelt monologue by host Jeffrey Mishlove is a deeply personal tribute to his mentor and friend, the late Charles T. Tart—a pioneering psychologist renowned for his 70-year career in parapsychology, consciousness research, and transpersonal psychology. Mishlove reflects on Tart’s immense professional legacy, innovative research, and the profound personal impact he had on colleagues and the world of consciousness studies.

Key Points & Insights

1. Personal Remembrance and Gratitude

• Jeffrey Mishlove recounts his close, half-century-long relationship with Charles Tart, crediting Tart with unwavering support during his most challenging moments as a graduate student.

  “Charlie Tart stood by me and has been a strong supporter of my work and of the New Thinking Allowed foundation... I owe him a debt of gratitude.” — [04:46]

• Tart’s steadfast defense of Mishlove amid academic controversy over his dissertation is described as “standing by me at one of the most trying and traumatic times in my life.”

2. Professional Milestones and Impact

a. Signal-to-Noise in ESP Research

• Tart’s early ESP research with Andrija Puharich at the Roundtable Foundation led to the innovation of using a Faraday cage to reduce electromagnetic interference in psychic experiments, improving replicability.

  “You could reduce the signal to noise problem in ESP reception by putting your research subjects inside of a Faraday cage... he found that research subjects perform better inside the cage.” — [07:51]

b. “Altered States of Consciousness”

• Tart edited the seminal anthology Altered States of Consciousness, widely read on college campuses in the 1970s; it established the phrase in the academic and public lexicon.

  “It really put the phrase altered states of consciousness into our vocabulary.” — [10:04]

• Notable mention: The book’s influence extended to Hollywood, being referenced in the film Altered States starring William Hurt.

c. State-Specific Sciences

• Tart’s 1973 Science magazine article proposed that scientists should directly experience altered states, challenging the boundaries of scientific inquiry. Reception was both highly positive and negative.

  “Charlie envisioned an era in which scientists themselves would enter into altered states...a psychonaut, a person who was willing to experience altered states as a way of understanding reality more deeply.” — [13:40]

• Mishlove notes little progress has been made, primarily due to cultural barriers, but recognizes ongoing efforts in this direction.

d. Enhanced ESP Feedback

• Tart’s experimentation with automated, trial-by-trial feedback in ESP experiments led to improved participant performance and addressed the “decline effect” often observed in parapsychological research.

  “What Charlie discovered is with trial by trial feedback, some subjects actually learned how to improve their scores...these subjects learned how to prevent the decline effect.” — [11:52]

e. Anonymized Database of Paranormal Experiences

• Tart established a website archiving spiritual and paranormal experiences of scientists, allowing for anonymous sharing given the stigma within mainstream science.

  “Charlie created a venue where they could describe their experiences in detail and do it anonymously. His website, an archive of these experiences, is still available as a resource.” — [15:39]

f. Exploration of Spiritual Traditions & Gurdjieff

• Tart was deeply involved with spiritual psychology, including Buddhism and the teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky. He wrote about awakening from “automatic, robotic, habitual behavior” to greater self-awareness in his book Waking Up.

  “Charlie addressed the question of how we can become more vital, more alert, more aware, conscious and less robotic in our lives.” — [16:39]

g. Remote Viewing Pioneer

• Tart contributed a year at SRI International with the early remote viewing researchers Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ, editing the influential collection Mind at Large.

3. Final Conversations and Reflections on Death

• Mishlove shares his last moving exchanges with Tart just days before his death in March 2025, discussing Tart's readiness for death, his afterlife curiosity, and near-death experiences.

  “We also talked about his impending death...he was ready to die.” — [17:26] “I have had this feeling of being in touch with Charlie since his death." — [18:01]

• Mishlove metaphorically describes an imaginative connection with Tart after his passing, visualizing “passing a large...beach ball back and forth” between this world and the afterlife—a touching symbol for the continuity of their connection.

  “I imagined...that Charlie and I were passing a large like a beach ball back and forth between my reality here and...the afterlife.” — [00:00 & 18:13]

4. Enduring Legacy

• Mishlove concludes that Tart “lives on in my heart and he certainly lives on in the hearts of hundreds of his colleagues and students and friends.”

  “He was a towering giant in the field of psychology and I know he is missed and will be missed and will be remembered for a very long time.” — [18:19]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Charlie Tart stood by me...He has been a strong supporter of my work and of the New Thinking Allowed foundation...I owe him a debt of gratitude.” — [04:46]
• “He found that research subjects perform better inside the [Faraday] cage.” — [07:51]
• “It really put the phrase altered states of consciousness into our vocabulary.” — [10:04]
• “What Charlie discovered is with trial by trial feedback, some subjects actually learned how to improve their scores.” — [11:52]
• “A psychonaut, a person who was willing to experience altered states as a way of understanding reality more deeply...” — [13:57]
• “Charlie created a venue where [scientists] could describe their [paranormal] experiences... anonymously.” — [15:39]
• “He was ready to die. We talked about the afterlife and my interest in it and his interest in it.” — [17:26]
• “I imagined...Charlie and I were passing a large like a beach ball back and forth between my reality here...and the afterlife.” — [00:00 & 18:13]
• “He was a towering giant in the field of psychology and...will be remembered for a very long time.” — [18:19]

Key Timestamps

• [04:46] – Mishlove’s gratitude for Tart’s support during dissertation challenges
• [07:51] – Faraday cage innovation in ESP research
• [10:04] – Impact of Altered States of Consciousness anthology
• [11:52] – ESP experiments with trial-by-trial feedback
• [13:40] – State-specific sciences and the concept of the psychonaut
• [15:39] – Website for anonymized spiritual/paranormal scientist experiences
• [16:39] – Insights from Tart’s Waking Up and his interest in Gurdjieff
• [17:26] – Tart’s reflections on death and the afterlife
• [18:13] – Mishlove’s metaphorical vision of contact with Tart after death
• [18:19] – Closing tribute to Tart’s enduring influence

Episode Tone & Closing

The episode resonates with admiration, fondness, and deep respect for Charles T. Tart—a mix of scholarly appreciation and personal warmth. Mishlove’s reflections offer insight both into Tart’s professional significance and his impact on those around him, seamlessly blending historical milestones with intimate memory.

For those interested in Charles T. Tart’s life and work, Mishlove announces the new book “Charles T. Tart: 70 Years of Exploring Consciousness and Parapsychology” (available on Amazon), as well as ways to support the New Thinking Allowed Foundation with signed copies of Tart’s books.