Simonsen was born in
Norway on April 23, 1963, in the municipality of
Kristiansand[3] and raised in the town of
Mandal.[4][5] He graduated from the
University of Oslo in 1993. In 2001, his
thesis on the Janus journal and
Alf Larsen was published by Solum Forlag as a book JANUS—A Journal and an Era.[6][7]
In the article “En språklig mutant i anmarsj” (“A Linguistic Mutant Approaching”), published in Morgenbladet, in 2006, Simonsen suggested that gender related changes in culture and society would result in an androgynous pronoun appearing through an evolutionary process resembling natural
evolution.[10]
Simonsen's main interest has been esoteric traditions—
hermeticism,
kabbalah,
sufism etc.—and he has also edited and authored writings within this field.[3] Among other things, he instigated the first Norwegian translation and edition of the antique esoteric text Book of Enoch in the series Verdens Hellige Skrifter ("The World’s Holy Scriptures"), where he also wrote an introductory essay.[3][11][12]
In 2013, Simonsen authored a book on
parapsychology, where he explored various paranormal phenomena in a historical context as well as the evolution of the intellectual foundations of
parapsychology.[13][14][15][16] In 2018, an expanded and updated English edition was published by an Italian company Pari Publishing.[17][18] In November 2019, it received the
Parapsychological Association Book Award.[1] A new edition was released in the United Kingdom and United States in 2020 by
Watkins Publishing (2020).[19]
| In 2013, Simonsen authored a book on parapsychology in Norwegian, where he explored various paranormal phenomena in a historical context as well as the evolution of the intellectual foundations of parapsychology.[13][14][15][16] It was published in English as Our Secret Powers—A Short History of (Nearly) Everything Paranormal (Pari Publishing, 2018) and Czech (Nakladatelství Prah, 2021).[17][18][20] In November 2019, the book received the
Parapsychological Association Book Award.[1] The following year an upgraded English edition was released under the title A Short History of (Nearly) Everything Paranormal - Our Secret powers: Telepathy, Clairvoyance and Precognition (Watkins Publishing, 2020).[19]
Simonsen, Terje (2013). Våre skjulte evner—telepati, klarsyn og fremsyn [Our Secret Abilities—Telepathy, Clairvoyance and Precognition] (in Norwegian).
Pax Forlag.
ISBN978-82-530-3559-8.
Simonsen, Terje (2018). Our Secret Powers—A Short History of (Nearly) Everything Paranormal. Pari Publishing.
ISBN978-88-95604-33-6.
Simonsen, Terje (2020). A Short History of (Nearly) Everything Paranormal: Our Secret Powers—Telepathy, Clairvoyance and Precognition.
Watkins Publishing.
ISBN978-1786783578.
^Jack Van Der Hagen Nørgaard (2013-10-23).
"Gjorde som Snåsamannen sa" [Did what the Snåsaman said]. Lindesnes (in Norwegian). Archived from
the original on 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-09-22.(subscription required)
^Jack Van Der Hagen Nørgaard (2014-10-22).
"Salsa i tåkete landskap" [Salsa in misty landscapes]. Lindesnes (in Norwegian). Archived from
the original on 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-09-22.(subscription required)