Hi,
This will be a short post, but just a thought. As we are using techniques to block out first attention, like darkness, what if we block all input? Add to the visual blockage, audial channel and kinaesthetic one? There is such a thing called sensory deprivation where people are blocking out all input and even special tanks for it. There are reports of very bizzare experiencies.
P. S. Inspired by the "Stranger things" post :-)
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Next time Cholita is a tiny bit rational and we end up in Laguna Beach, I'll try to talk her into a tank.
That ought to be interesting!
It'll cost me some clothes shopping though. Fortunately, I enjoy what she buys as much as she does.
The TV series Fringe goes even more heavily into the use of Isolation Tanks. Also the film Altered States (1980).
Joe Rogan is also a big proponent of the tech on his podcast, going as far as having a super expensive one custom built into his house.
Search for 'Hamilton's Pharmacopoeia Tank' on YouTube for a really good TV documentary episode, amongst other vids.
One user on this subreddit who's actually been in one, wasn't totally impressed. They mentioned that the salt gets into your eyes, stinging badly. And there are little sounds from the pumps and what not, so it's not totally silent.
And then there's the swimmers ear.
Maybe you just have to shell out big bucks to get the premium experience.
They thought a totally soundproof room coupled with a suspended chair setup was more promising.
I think to get that level of soundproofing on your own, you'd have to make it so airtight you'd suffocate.
Good points here. But still it would be interesting to try blocking out more channels of sensorium.
By the way, I've hearr of buddhists doimg some "dark retreats", where you stay in darkness and silence completely alone for a week. I wouldn't be surprised if you would be able to see other worlds unraveling before your eyes in such practice!
You'll need to read this then:
https://www.reddit.com/r/castaneda/comments/cm1zxx/practising_in_darkness_the_kogi_tribe_in_colombia/
Thanks. Yes, it was exactly the kind of practice I was speaking about.
Here’s one detailed account, of a darkness retreat, that I’ve come across. You definitely start seeing things ...
https://hridaya-yoga.com/reflections-on-a-40-day-dark-retreat/
I’m starting to think sensory deprivation (or the Ganzfeld effect) is really the core thing we are doing here. Except, instead of physically shutting out all sensory input, we are entering a state of mind that no longer processes this input.
Essentially, we are ignoring it, and in doing so the universe presents us with other options.
Thank you so much! It will be an interesting reading.
Seems to be this, yes. I am just thinking that by blocking out the input to maximum + shutting off the internal dialogue could bring even more dramatic result.
So it is remarkable indeed. It's a pity that they are taught to ignore the visions and think they are distractions of the mind... But still if we take only the phenomenological part, it is very promising.
I'll repeat my theory on this. Virtually every technique you can learn was passed down only because people made money on it, and so they have to reduce what can happen.
It's not because that's a good idea, as the general impression is in the meditation world. It's because they DON'T want you to succeed.
They want you to donate more money.
Otherwise it would be like trying to have real sorcery apprentices for money.
Imagine having Josefina, Pablito, and the rest, and having to teach them for cash.
You'd flee and go back to your real job at McDonald's.
So very quickly, you'd be telling them to ignore those weird things, and quit making trouble.
If they kept causing a commotion, you could toss them out for failure to follow instructions, and the rest of your students wouldn't realize you were a greedy bastard.
How about the complete silence?
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/earths-quietest-place-will-drive-you-crazy-in-45-minutes-180948160/