Star Trek

First, define pagh.

Three possibilities:

1. Bajorans, with discipline, may be partially telepathic in sensing another's Pagh. Either that, or they may be accessing this information from the Prophets.

or

2. It may be simply a spiritual act -- a ritual where the cleric is really closely measuring the person's strength or character through hints in their body language.

or

3. It may be something like astrology where people choose what messages to take from the cleric, in order to interpret their own lives. After all, you never hear someone saying, "Wow -- your pagh is absolutely pissweak."

It's good that they never quite tell us in detail.

So, if the pagh is the life force, why would they be telepathic?

They just need a LFM.

for some reason i imagine one of the Bajorians yelling this:

Kai Winn: I can't belive it..his Pagh is over 9000!!!!!

Well, first of all, only the religious leaders seem to be the ones to grab ears... Ha.

And I just always assumed it was more of a spiritual "feeling" than telepathy or a fake psychic prognosis. Sorta like when a pastor/preacher/reverend might say, "I sense the Holy Spirit in you."

If you are a religious person (and I'll admit I'm a "Doubting Thomas"), then you would probably just accept that an aura of goodness/holiness can actually emanate from certain individuals ... in the same way you'd accept the presence of a god and afterlife.

Sisko, of course, is suspicious at first. Later, I think he very clearly becomes a believer.

I think that's probably pretty close to the mark, even if you are not a believer. Pagh seems to come from a kind of inner strength which would show with a person's mannerisms, the way they carry themselves, and the way they conduct themselves. We can generally tell, for better or worse, when someone seems "holy".

It may equally be that taking the other person's ear forces them to submit to a longer, more personal study than if they were standing off in the distance or simply walking by. Remember though, too, that the Bajoran gods are "real" in the Star Trek universe; so it is entirely conceivable that they may also be guiding the cleric's interpretation.