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Mon 12 Jan, 2009 01:45 am
Just trying to to mold some thoughts , fit some of my experiences with any experiences or thoughts others might have on these subjects.
I've had various experiences that lead me to question whether the mind makes up a story for us about what controls body movements.
I don't suffer from Alien Hand Syndrome...but I once read that the mind needs reassurance that it is in control, and if it does not receive that reassurance from a center in the brain - if the brain received a certain type of injury that stops that reassurance message - that Alien Hand is the result. I'll try to tie this in later.
As a child, when almost asleep, many times I experienced a twitching of my eyelid, and then a "spinning" effect , which, if I did not stop it through some mental task such as math, would start to accelerate uncomfortably, uncomfortable perhaps to my ego, which rebelled at this loss of control.
I told my father, and he took me to the doc.
Doc darkened the room and shined a light into my eye, then told me that it was a weakness in the lens of the eye, and now that I knew, it would go away.I knew, even as a child, that he was psyching me out.
Yet it did go away ..
Later on I related this experience to someone who was undergoing medical hypnosis, and she immediately told me that the experience had is the start-up of "astral projection". She said that people usually stop the feeling of movement, or they "wake up" if it is a "falling" experience. I had that falling experience many times too. Usually I felt as if I had been dreaming of being on a swing, and then falling off backwards.
I determined that if the spinning happened again, I would let the experience proceed.
When it did happen years later, I decided to let it proceed. As soon as I allowed it, I felt tremendous spinning acceleration and in a flash I was sucked out through the top of my head and traveled very far, then was stationary , standing in total darkness. I could not think properly, it seemed I didn't even have a name . I was stunned by this, as I was conscious the whole time.
Then a voice spoke. A very masculine and commanding voice, which said in an unknown-to-me language, "Go on. Go on".
This frightened me so that I began to struggle to "come out of it".
I heard my name, and was immediately "out" of the darkness and back to "usual". but I had some effect as if I had just landed on the bed..a couple of shaking or bouncing movements.
My wife asked if I was OK. I asked her, and she said that she had said my name as she saw me struggling.
A biologist friend suggested it was a petit mal seizure .
Years later I picked up a book on astral projection , for a glance, and it said that the shaking affect after "coming out of it" was called "percussing", and it happens to newbies who don't control "re-entry".
more next post
feel free to comment or enjoy some humour. it won't be totally at my expense - because it's funny to me, too.
.
@memester,
I read a cranky book once about encouraging astral travel..It required a mental exercise of imagining your boy expanding and contracting while one person massaged your third eye and another your ankles.Unfortunately my friend who we had chosen as the guinee pig was having his ankles massaged by my wife, his wife took exception to my wife being that intimate. A terrible quarrel blew up and our astral travel experiment never did get to be fulfilled.Seriously many have made the claim but there is no proof of it being anything other than illusion.
@xris,
I will attempt to relate the "astral projection" feeling to changing of brain wave pattern while not asleep. The feeling of movement is strong enough to wake people from sleep, I think.
It seems as if the mind invents the "falling off a roof top" , or "falling from a swing" afterward, in order to supply some - any - reason for the effect felt. It compares it, perhaps, to a suitable dream of falling and "goes with that" in an excuse-making attempt.
@memester,
I have also had several experiences of "sleep paralysis" and some have been in connection with the already mentioned experiences of "astral projection".
The "sleep paralysis" - though a rare event - is most often noted when I awaken, through being disturbed by a noise that is actually occurring in the nearby environment. I can't move, and usually fall back asleep. I have , however, also been able to gain control of body movements after awaking in that paralyzed state
I might mention that I have had one episode of convulsions, when I was teething. I was sitting in front of the TV at that time. Nothing more since early childhood.
@memester,
Very interesting. It is of course possible that it is simply a mental or physical problem, however who knows? You mentioned letting this sensation proceed at one point, and as it seems that you have control over how far this proceeds, then I would personally reccomend trying this again. At the very least you might be able to learn more about the sensation, and if it is some problem, then a doctor or pyschologist might be able to diagnose it based on further information on the experiance.
@avatar6v7,
Yes, I have experienced it lots more times since then, but never in the way it happened the first time..never any voice, never any extreme velocity, always floating.
I've experienced it as I passed through different states of "awakening" and of being awake, as if peeling layers off an onion. Some kinds of external stimuli such as sound comes through clearly, as "usual" when awake, but sights , never. My eyes are closed at the time
So I may experience the look, appearance of the inside of my eyelids when my eyes are closed. Mostly not. With eyes open I have never remained in that state.
@memester,
A type of physical meditation I sometimes practice for perceived health benefits seemed to encourage it to happen, and allowed me to more closely observe while not sleeping, from the start to finish of the experience.
@memester,
memester wrote:Just trying to to mold some thoughts , fit some of my experiences with any experiences or thoughts others might have on these subjects.
I've had various experiences that lead me to question whether the mind makes up a story for us about what controls body movements.
I don't suffer from Alien Hand Syndrome...but I once read that the mind needs reassurance that it is in control, and if it does not receive that reassurance from a center in the brain - if the brain received a certain type of injury that stops that reassurance message - that Alien Hand is the result. I'll try to tie this in later.
As a child, when almost asleep, many times I experienced a twitching of my eyelid, and then a "spinning" effect , which, if I did not stop it through some mental task such as math, would start to accelerate uncomfortably, uncomfortable perhaps to my ego, which rebelled at this loss of control.
I told my father, and he took me to the doc.
Doc darkened the room and shined a light into my eye, then told me that it was a weakness in the lens of the eye, and now that I knew, it would go away.I knew, even as a child, that he was psyching me out.
Yet it did go away ..
Later on I related this experience to someone who was undergoing medical hypnosis, and she immediately told me that the experience had is the start-up of "astral projection". She said that people usually stop the feeling of movement, or they "wake up" if it is a "falling" experience. I had that falling experience many times too. Usually I felt as if I had been dreaming of being on a swing, and then falling off backwards.
I determined that if the spinning happened again, I would let the experience proceed.
When it did happen years later, I decided to let it proceed. As soon as I allowed it, I felt tremendous spinning acceleration and in a flash I was sucked out through the top of my head and traveled very far, then was stationary , standing in total darkness. I could not think properly, it seemed I didn't even have a name . I was stunned by this, as I was conscious the whole time.
Then a voice spoke. A very masculine and commanding voice, which said in an unknown-to-me language, "Go on. Go on".
This frightened me so that I began to struggle to "come out of it".
I heard my name, and was immediately "out" of the darkness and back to "usual". but I had some effect as if I had just landed on the bed..a couple of shaking or bouncing movements.
My wife asked if I was OK. I asked her, and she said that she had said my name as she saw me struggling.
A biologist friend suggested it was a petit mal seizure .
Years later I picked up a book on astral projection , for a glance, and it said that the shaking affect after "coming out of it" was called "percussing", and it happens to newbies who don't control "re-entry".
more next post
feel free to comment or enjoy some humour. it won't be totally at my expense - because it's funny to me, too.
.
it's tough to form clear language about our subjective experiences
no doubt due in part to our lack of knowledge about the brain and the creation of consciousness
I'm sure all these metaphysical disciplines have some truth in them - alot of ancient practices evolved for reasons - not that we fully understand them
or will anytime soon
it certainly doesn't hurt to theorize and humans will create belief systems whether they want to or not due to our design
I guess you just have to be careful that you don't go to the point in belief whereby you risk your lifelong individual happiness for something you aren't sure about - unless you have different values
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