Untitled (32 page)
Authors: Unknown Author
Another interesting phenomenon documented by anthropologists is the apparent invulnerability of participants in certain kinds of trance states. For example, a movie shot by Elda Hartley in Bali shows ecstatics rolling in piles of broken glass and climbing ladders with sharp swords for rungs without suffering any harm to their bodies. I took part in a Brazilian umbanda ceremony in Rio de Janeiro in which participants consumed several quarts of hard liquor (
aquavit
) while they experienced possession by the deities and showed absolutely no signs of drunkenness when, minutes later, they
aquavit
) while they experienced possession by the deities and showed absolutely no signs of drunkenness when, minutes later, they
came out of the trance. This is one of the things that regularly happens in voodoo-type rituals in South America and the Caribbean. Phenomena similar to those described above have been observed in many other cultures throughout the world.
In recent years, one phenomenon of this kind has been demythologized for the Western mind. Descriptions of ceremonies in which participants walked barefoot across several yards of glowing embers, with temperatures reaching 1200 to 1400 degrees Fahrenheit, were once debunked in the West as unsubstantiated fairy tales. However, in the late 1980s firewalking was brought to the United States from Indonesia and quickly became a New Age fad. Since that time, tens of thousands of people in this country have been able to replicate this feat and burns of any kind have been exceptions rather than the rule. Whether or not firewalking can be explained naturally, this example clearly indicates that our culture's understanding about what is and is not possible has plenty of room for expansion.
Supernatural Feats of the Yogis
Oriental spiritual literature, particularly Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist, suggests that in advanced stages of their spiritual practice adepts often develop extraordinary abilities, some of them clearly belonging to the realm of the supernatural and miraculous. Among these capacities is an extraordinary mastery of physiological functions that are normally governed by the autonomic nervous system and believed by Western neurophysiologists to be quite beyond our conscious control. Indian
yogis
have been able to interrupt arterial and venous bleeding, stop their hearts, live without food, and even survive without oxygen. Himalayan hermits have been able to meditate for prolonged periods of time while sitting naked in ice and snow. The Tibetan Tantric exercise known as
Tum-mo
can produce within a short time span an astonishing increase of body temperature. A practitioner of this method can sit in ice and snow and develop so much body heat that it is sufficient to dry wet sheets.
yogis
have been able to interrupt arterial and venous bleeding, stop their hearts, live without food, and even survive without oxygen. Himalayan hermits have been able to meditate for prolonged periods of time while sitting naked in ice and snow. The Tibetan Tantric exercise known as
Tum-mo
can produce within a short time span an astonishing increase of body temperature. A practitioner of this method can sit in ice and snow and develop so much body heat that it is sufficient to dry wet sheets.
Like the reports about firewalking, descriptions of similar feats used to be taken with a grain of salt by Western scientists, in spite of the fact that Indian researchers had published studies confirming many of these claims. In the last two decades, however, important experiments in this area were conducted in the West and reported by scientists with impressive credentials. Some of the best studies of this kind originated in the laboratories of the prestigious Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas. In the early 1970s, doctors Elmer and Alyce Green working at Menninger's began to examine these ancient claims and to measure and document the effects of spiritual practices. Their research represents a unique combination of deep knowledge of the transpersonal realm, sophisticated electronic equipment, and rigorous Western research techniques.
One of the first subjects of the Greens was an Indian
yogi
Swami Rama. He was able to produce within a few minutes and under laboratory conditions a temperature difference of eleven degrees Fahrenheit between two thermistors attached to the left and right sides of his palm. In other tests focusing on his cardiovascular system, Swami Rama was able to slow his heart rate from 93 beats per minute down to the low 60s in a matter of seconds. In a particularly dramatic test, he actually stopped the flow of blood through his heart by producing an atrial flutter of about 306 beats per minute, lasting for sixteen seconds. Immediately after the experiment, the Swami's heart rate returned to normal and he was fully alert, laughing and joking with the researchers. In addition to controlling the heart rate, blood flow, and body temperature at will, Swami Rama performed a number of other feats for the Greens's research staff.
yogi
Swami Rama. He was able to produce within a few minutes and under laboratory conditions a temperature difference of eleven degrees Fahrenheit between two thermistors attached to the left and right sides of his palm. In other tests focusing on his cardiovascular system, Swami Rama was able to slow his heart rate from 93 beats per minute down to the low 60s in a matter of seconds. In a particularly dramatic test, he actually stopped the flow of blood through his heart by producing an atrial flutter of about 306 beats per minute, lasting for sixteen seconds. Immediately after the experiment, the Swami's heart rate returned to normal and he was fully alert, laughing and joking with the researchers. In addition to controlling the heart rate, blood flow, and body temperature at will, Swami Rama performed a number of other feats for the Greens's research staff.
In one highly controlled experiment, where he was draped and masked so that there could be no question of his using his breath to accomplish this feat, he was able to move a compass-like device that was several feet away from him by using only the power of his mind. He repeated this experiment twice, moving the object ten degrees on its axis every time. Swami Rama was also able to produce cysts in the large muscles of his body within a matter of seconds and have them disappear in about the same time. One of them was excised and medically validated. The Swami claimed that the "soft tissue" of the body was very easy to manipulate and that tumors could be produced and made to disappear by the power of the mind. At a demonstration in Chicago, he was able to make the subtle energy of his chakras visible to the audience; several Polaroid photos by observers documented this phenomenon.
The Greens's research at the Menninger Foundation has continued over the past two decades and has by now included hundreds of subjects, ranging from Indian medicine men like Rolling Thunder to a number of Eastern spiritual teachers. The "Western yogi" Jack Schwarz from Oregon, besides demonstrating his ability to accurately diagnose medical conditions by reading the patients' auras, showed an amazing capacity to control his brain wave activity, blood flow, and healing processes. The Greens's investigations in this area contributed to the development of biofeedback techniques that have helped thousands of people get permanent relief from migraine headaches, certain types of disorders of the circulatory system including high blood pressure, and even epilepsy.
The possibility of controlling many involuntary functions (in medicine it is now called biofeedback training) has now been accepted by Western science. As a result, scientists no longer think of this phenomenon as impossible but discuss it in the context of the medical model—with the exception of some extreme forms, such as living without food and oxygen, where the skepticism remains. However, other claims of supernatural powers (
siddhis
) exercised by the
yogis
continue to challenge traditional science. These include the ability to materialize and dematerialize various objects and even one's own body, move physical objects by the power of one's mind, project oneself to remote locations at will, appear in two places at the same time (bilocation), and levitation. The existence of such seemingly impossible phenomena remains to be confirmed or refuted by future research. However, in view of the discoveries in quantum physics concerning the relationship between consciousness and matter, even these no longer appear to be as preposterous as they once were.
siddhis
) exercised by the
yogis
continue to challenge traditional science. These include the ability to materialize and dematerialize various objects and even one's own body, move physical objects by the power of one's mind, project oneself to remote locations at will, appear in two places at the same time (bilocation), and levitation. The existence of such seemingly impossible phenomena remains to be confirmed or refuted by future research. However, in view of the discoveries in quantum physics concerning the relationship between consciousness and matter, even these no longer appear to be as preposterous as they once were.
Laboratory Research of Psychokinesis
There is a growing body of data, drawn from modern scientifically validated experimentation, that supports the existence of psychokinesis; however, these findings continue to be controversial. The reason for this is that even the most careful and meticulous research of our day is met with great resistance if it seems to support a "supernormal" reality, that is, one that does not conform to the Newtonian model. Psychokinesis has been documented in numerous laboratory experiments with methodology ranging from simple dice-throwing devices to designs using emission of electrons in radioactive decay, sophisticated electronic gadgets, and modern computers. There have been even successful experiments with living targets, for example attempts to psychokinetically heal animals, plants, tissue cultures, and enzymes, and even to stop and reactivate the heart of a frog that had been removed from its body.
Of special interest has been the work with exceptionally gifted individuals such as Nina Kulagina, a Soviet psychic. Under laboratory conditions she has demonstrated the ability to move macroscopic objects by simply concentrating on them. In another laboratory demonstration, an American by
the name of Ted Serios was able to project his mental pictures on the film inside a camera, which was later developed, producing clear photographs of scenes he had held in his mind.
One of the most controversial phenomena of this kind has been the psychokinetic bending of spoons and other metal objects, introduced into the United States by the Israeli psychic Uri Geller. The events surrounding his performances seem to demonstrate particularly well the trickster quality of psychoid experiences that I discussed earlier. While capable of the most astonishing feats in some seances, he was caught cheating in others. There are many stories describing how electronic instruments used by the laboratory to record experimental data often failed in the most critical moments or how significant things tended to happen outside of the reach of video cameras set up to document his work. While Uri's own psychokinetic abilities were seriously questioned, children in the United States, Europe, and Japan, inspired by his television demonstrations were able to master the art of spoon-bending. In spite of all the confusion that surrounds him, it is difficult to imagine that everything associated with Uri Geller's case has been a product of trickery and sleight of hand.
I would like to mention here a story that illustrates the sorts of problems researchers face in their efforts to document phenomena of this kind. My brother Paul, who is a psychiatrist living in Canada, was working at McMasters University in Hamilton. He was asked to be present as a professional witness in Uri Geller's meeting with Canadian journalists. At one point, Geller was asked to guess and reproduce simple drawings that journalists had drawn on small pieces of paper and then concealed in sealed envelopes. Although he tried, Uri himself was unable to perform this feat. However, at that moment my brother began having vivid mental images and he was able to perform the task in his stead. I have to emphasize that my brother does not think of himself as a psychic. He never did anything of this kind before or after the Uri Geller meeting. He himself felt as if some kind of energy field was transferred from Uri to him.
The Unexplored Territory
We can conclude this section on psychoid experiences by stating that references in the mystical literature, observations from modern consciousness research, as well as laboratory data amassed in the United States, Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and elsewhere, strongly suggest the existence of connections between individual consciousness and the world of matter that seriously challenge our culture's view of reality. I believe that systematic
and unbiased study of psychoid phenomena and transpersonal experiences will eventually lead to a revision of our view of reality that will be equal in scope to the Copernican revolution or the shift from Newtonian to quantum-relativistic thinking in physics.
IV.
IMPLICATIONS FOR A NEW
PSYCHOLOGY OF BEING
"There are seasons, in human affairs, of inward and outward revelation,
when new depths seem to be broken up in the soul, when new wants
are unfolded in multitudes, and a new and undefined good is thirsted
for. There are periods when…to dare, is the highest wisdom."
when new depths seem to be broken up in the soul, when new wants
are unfolded in multitudes, and a new and undefined good is thirsted
for. There are periods when…to dare, is the highest wisdom."
—William Ellery Channin
11.
N
EW
P
ERSPECTIVES ON
R
EALITY
AND
H
UMAN
N
ATURE
"Man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows
beyond his work, walks up the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his
beyond his work, walks up the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his
accomplishments."
—John Steinbeck
The new vision of the psyche described in this book has far-reaching implications not only for each of us as individuals but for professionals in psychiatry, psychology, psychotherapy, and medicine. It can also help open up vast new territories in the study of history, comparative religion, anthropology, philosophy, and even politics. An in-depth study of the impact of this work on virtually every area of human exploration would, of course, require many volumes. But it is possible to briefly outline some of the most important areas affected by our new understanding of human consciousness. For the sake of simplicity, we can look at those implications in terms of the following four categories:
1. Human consciousness and its relationship to matter
2. The nature of emotional and psychosomatic disorders
3. Psychotherapy and the healing practices
4. The roots of human violence and the current global crisis
Human Consciousness and Its Relationship to Matter
Newtonian-Cartesian science views matter as the foundation of the universe. Scientists who adhere to this system of thought portray consciousness as a product of physiological processes taking place in the brain. From such a perspective, each of our consciousnesses is confined to the inside of our skulls, absolutely separated from the consciousnesses of other people. Traditional science also looks upon consciousness as an exclusively human phenomenon and tends to treat even the highest non-human life forms as little more than unconscious machines. However, careful study of the experiences that become available to us through non-ordinary states of consciousness, particularly those of a transpersonal nature, offer convincing evidence that these old definitions of consciousness are incomplete and incorrect.
While the picture we have here of human consciousness boxed up inside the skull might appear to be true where everyday states of consciousness are concerned, it ceases to explain what happens when we enter non-ordinary consciousness states such as trance states, and spontaneous psychospiritual crises, or those states achieved through meditation, hypnosis, psychedelic sessions, and experiential psychotherapy. The amazingly broad spectrum of experiences that become available under these circumstances clearly suggests that the human psyche has the potential for transcending what we ordinarily consider the limitations of space and time. Modern consciousness research reveals that our psyches have no real and absolute boundaries; on the contrary, we are part of an infinite field of consciousness that encompasses all there is—beyond space-time and into realities we have yet to explore.
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