What do you think?
Rate this book
The Borders of Normal: A Clinical Psychiatrist De-Stigmatizes Paranormal Phenomena
Most of us have heard stories of these unusual phenomena, as told by millions of people throughout history and across cultures. Or perhaps we have experienced them ourselves, and we are still grappling with their validity in a world of empirical science and psychiatry that deems anything unseen or spiritual as impossible, weird, or even disturbed. The stigma surrounding the paranormal prevents us from exploring the possibility that there are, perhaps, events that occur outside the realm of human comprehension, inoculating us against the lessons and spiritual significance these events might hold. As an experienced psychiatrist, Dr. Manuel Matas is very familiar with the science of the human brain—as well as the possibilities that exist beyond the known borders of consciousness. He has never been a classic rationalist, as he himself has experienced phenomena that defy logic and the explanations of Western medicine. In The Borders of Normal, Dr. Matas reveals just how accepted (and studied) many of these phenomena are, providing a compelling overview of influential thinkers who have, over the years, recognized events and experiences that fall outside the realm of current scientific thought. As a proponent of a nuanced, respectful approach that lies between belief and scepticism, Dr. Matas helps us to view paranormal experiences as normal and indeed endemic to the human species, for it is in this space of the unknown that we may learn more about ourselves, each other, and the bodies and worlds that we inhabit.
- GenresScience
284 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 15, 2017
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 3, 2021
When I re-read The Borders of Normal not simply for pleasure and interest but as a reviewer, I felt an obligation to do so with an intensely critical eye. But the more I read (and re-read) Doctor Matas’ work, the more I find myself unable to criticize this psychiatrist’s treatise. This is in exceptionally well researched book, approached with the meticulous care of expertise—each story shared, each fact, each speculation and leap of metaphysical faith approached with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel—each cut designed not only to open or explore, but engage, enlighten, and ultimately heal.
This book left me, as I suspect it will for most readers, with a calm and reassuring sense of optimism. Questions remain unanswered, as they should. Some things, after all, we ought to feel and even know without quantifiable proof. I can’t, after all, definitively prove gravity. And yet we know it to be true. In his epilogue, Matas shares even more, as we learn of his leukemia diagnosis, effectively a slow but inevitable death-sentence, which resulted in quite the opposite.
Thank you Dr. Matas, for sharing your story, and for providing us with a depth of understanding in a field that can be challenging to navigate with topics that remain difficult to share for many. And yet these are the things we should speak of openly. I believe The Borders of Normal will give more of us the courage to do so.
This book left me, as I suspect it will for most readers, with a calm and reassuring sense of optimism. Questions remain unanswered, as they should. Some things, after all, we ought to feel and even know without quantifiable proof. I can’t, after all, definitively prove gravity. And yet we know it to be true. In his epilogue, Matas shares even more, as we learn of his leukemia diagnosis, effectively a slow but inevitable death-sentence, which resulted in quite the opposite.
Thank you Dr. Matas, for sharing your story, and for providing us with a depth of understanding in a field that can be challenging to navigate with topics that remain difficult to share for many. And yet these are the things we should speak of openly. I believe The Borders of Normal will give more of us the courage to do so.
June 20, 2020
In this impressive debut, clinical psychiatrist Matas draws from his personal experience and widespread resources across literature in an effort to redefine the public perception of the psychic phenomenon experienced by many.
His careful examination of parapsychology ranges from near death experiences, precognitive dreams, telepathy, premonitions, and apparitions to after-death and out-of-body experiences, second sight, inner vision, mediums, channels, guardian angels, and the theory of reincarnation among others. Matas's inspiring, must-read analysis offers brilliant insights into the existence of paranormal and the probabilities that exist beyond the known borders of consciousness.
In developing his case, Matas cites countless examples of famous individuals (Charles Dickens, Abraham Lincoln, Mark twain) who experienced psychic phenomenon and reported precognitive dreams.
Matas’s impressive array of meticulously researched documented evidence should persuade open-minded readers to believe in the possibility that paranormal experiences are normal and more common than is generally believed.
Persuasive and thorough.
His careful examination of parapsychology ranges from near death experiences, precognitive dreams, telepathy, premonitions, and apparitions to after-death and out-of-body experiences, second sight, inner vision, mediums, channels, guardian angels, and the theory of reincarnation among others. Matas's inspiring, must-read analysis offers brilliant insights into the existence of paranormal and the probabilities that exist beyond the known borders of consciousness.
In developing his case, Matas cites countless examples of famous individuals (Charles Dickens, Abraham Lincoln, Mark twain) who experienced psychic phenomenon and reported precognitive dreams.
Matas’s impressive array of meticulously researched documented evidence should persuade open-minded readers to believe in the possibility that paranormal experiences are normal and more common than is generally believed.
Persuasive and thorough.
November 14, 2019
An insightful and invaluable read!
February 16, 2022
This book is a heavily anecdote presentation of all manner of phenomena that fall with the broad domain of what could be called paranormal, including hallucinations, out of body experiences, near death experiences, seeing visions, deathbed visits by deceased relatives, ESP, telepathy, prescience, precognitive dreams, mediums, psychics and reincarnation. There is also a chapter on research into and sceptics of such phenomena with a good number of citations from both sides of the debate. Added to this are discussions of what is reality, predestination, the mind-body dualism versus mind-body unity, empiricism verses rationalism and the potential use of psychedelic drugs for the terminally ill.
As interesting as the very many anecdotes were, overall this book was a disappointment. First, while the presentation of paranormal phenomena was coherent enough and the citation of the views of sceptics appropriate, the inclusion of sections on reality debates, empiricism and end of life care were beyond the bounds of the paranormal and of insufficient depth to properly address these topics. But my biggest objection was that the book appears to have been quickly thrown together following the dump of a filing cabinet in which Dr Matas compiled a large number of bullet points, grouped these under headings and turned each bullet point into a paragraph, each with little connection to those preceding and following instead of writing an overall narrative on each topic and using the anecdotes cited to illustrate this narrative. And why did an editor not pick this up? With all his years of teaching, research and writing, he could have done much, much better.
As interesting as the very many anecdotes were, overall this book was a disappointment. First, while the presentation of paranormal phenomena was coherent enough and the citation of the views of sceptics appropriate, the inclusion of sections on reality debates, empiricism and end of life care were beyond the bounds of the paranormal and of insufficient depth to properly address these topics. But my biggest objection was that the book appears to have been quickly thrown together following the dump of a filing cabinet in which Dr Matas compiled a large number of bullet points, grouped these under headings and turned each bullet point into a paragraph, each with little connection to those preceding and following instead of writing an overall narrative on each topic and using the anecdotes cited to illustrate this narrative. And why did an editor not pick this up? With all his years of teaching, research and writing, he could have done much, much better.
July 10, 2020
I've always been interested in paranormal and found this book enlightening. It was reassuring to read about the author's own personal experiences with mysterious happenings and how common these are in the general population. He references many professionals--doctors, scientists, psychologists and other psychiatrists-- who've also experienced paranormal phenomena. There is so much we can't explain. This non-fiction book, which was a finalist for the 2019 Whistler Independent Book Award, doesn't explain these mysterious occurrences, but at least Dr. Matas does a good job in de-stigmatizing events and feelings of this nature, ones that so many have.
Read
November 15, 2019*Finalist 2019 Whistler Independent Book Awards*
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews