Terje G. Simonsen

I am a Norwegian author and Historian of Ideas, specializing in the esoteric and occult. For a period I taught introductory courses on central Western philosophical and literary works at the Institute of History of Ideas, University of Oslo. Today I work as a freelance writer (keeps me off the street...). I am also (or used to be...) an avid salsa dancer, amateur pianist and chess player, though some might say my enthusiasm is more notable than my abilities...these two one are quite OK, though: https://www.chess.com/live/game/1714114126 https://lichess.org/MD0Nt9Wj/black#0 Since childhood I have been fascinated by paranormal stuff, phenomena as telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition and healing—an interest based both on some peculiar experiences of my own as well as strange stories told by trusted friends. As a scholar I have used this interest as a starting point to explore the traditions where these phenomena are not seen as chimera, but as a part of our expanded consciousness, to wit, the esoteric and occult traditions. And I have also explored the_science_about such phenomena, namely parapsychology. The result of this exploration can be found in my book Our Secret Powers—Telepathy, Clairvoyance and Precognition. Subtitled: A Short History of (Nearly) Everything Paranormal (thank you, Bill Bryson...) The book is endorsed by several of the world's foremost scholars on the paranormal as e.g. Dean Radin and Stanley Krippner, as well as the Pulitzer-prize winner Teresa Carpenter and New York Times bestselling author Herbie Brennan; their kind words are found in the Editorial Reviews. It is also enthusiastically recommended by astute readers, as one will see from the Customer reviews. In November 2019 the book was given the prestigious Parapsychological Association Book Award: https://www.parapsych.org/articles/37/497/2019_pa_book_award_winner__a.aspx and in May 2021 it was given a Nautilus Silver Award (the same award has been given also to, among others, the Nobel Laureate in chemistry, Martin Karplus, and the Dalai Lama) An interview where I speak with the award-winning film creator Terje Toftenes about some themes in the book, is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CemWOrGnVU And a historical one, with the famous and paranormally excellent TV host Jeffrey Mishlove, is found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBSlnyhimEc&t=8s My spoken English is by no means fantastic but is quite easily understandable.:) All the best Terje