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talkpolitics2011-07-05 02:37 pm
ddstory.livejournal.com) wrote in talkpolitics2011-07-05 02:37 pm
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The God helmet
Found this mentioned in that same book by Michio Kaku (Physics of the Impossible) that I talked about recently. Some Dr Michael Persinger found that there's a neural center in the right half of the brain which, when stimulated with electromagnetic waves, causes the subject to feel an alien presence.
"Persinger reports that at least 80 percent of his participants (working with the Koren Helmet) experience a presence beside them in the room, which ranges from a simple 'sensed presence' to 'God'."
Wikipedia - God Helmet
Here's the relevant excerpt from a documentary which deals with this discovery:
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Dr Persinger went on as far as to create the so-called "God helmet", a device which, when put on the subject's head, could stimulate said neural center and cause the subject to hallucinate, and feel that someone else was in the room with them. The scientist interprets this as some kind of "division" (or breaking of the symmetry) between the two halves of the brain, a disruption of the links between them and thus, each half starts to perceive the other as an "alien" entity. Ghost, poltergeist, angels, even God. Depending on the cultural background of the particular individual who's being examined.
Now, imagine that this is what happens to an individual in deep Antiquity. What if a select apprentice gifted with particular talent is trained in a Buddhist monastery by some yogi who have learned how to unlock this neural center through physical and mental exercises, then goes back to his country and starts preaching their wisdom and spreading a very topical (for the time) and socially relevant (for his society) message among his people, while using such yogi tricks on people? Would he possibly be perceived as an "enlightened" one, a Messiah, a person possessing divine powers and thus having the authority to speak on behalf of a divine boss? And how would that reflect on said society, and on the chances of establishing a new faith, with its institutions, adherents and all in all, of changing the course of history?
You know what? Fuck that. Let's strike off that part about the Messiah. You guys are right. I should've never had the audacity to even consider implying such a theory is right. You know what? It isn't. Let's say a guy went somewhere, met some people, they taught him some tricks, then he used them on the populace. Let's say his name was... well, let's say it was Muad-dib. OK?
Just curious: Does this hypothesis about the possible inception of religious systems sound too far-fetched, too Dan Brownish to you? Back to you, folks.
"Persinger reports that at least 80 percent of his participants (working with the Koren Helmet) experience a presence beside them in the room, which ranges from a simple 'sensed presence' to 'God'."
Wikipedia - God Helmet
Here's the relevant excerpt from a documentary which deals with this discovery:
[Error: unknown template video]
Dr Persinger went on as far as to create the so-called "God helmet", a device which, when put on the subject's head, could stimulate said neural center and cause the subject to hallucinate, and feel that someone else was in the room with them. The scientist interprets this as some kind of "division" (or breaking of the symmetry) between the two halves of the brain, a disruption of the links between them and thus, each half starts to perceive the other as an "alien" entity. Ghost, poltergeist, angels, even God. Depending on the cultural background of the particular individual who's being examined.
You know what? Fuck that. Let's strike off that part about the Messiah. You guys are right. I should've never had the audacity to even consider implying such a theory is right. You know what? It isn't. Let's say a guy went somewhere, met some people, they taught him some tricks, then he used them on the populace. Let's say his name was... well, let's say it was Muad-dib. OK?
no subject
However the initial hypothesis mentioned in the OP does rest on some points seen in popular documentaries, i.e. it's not something entirely pulled out of my sleeve while I was high on mushrooms.
Granted, I'm hardly the one with the expertise to try prove any of that wrong or right, but my point is, it is based on previously presented hypotheses (with some amount of alleged "evidence"), so I was somehow hoping that we'd focus on the implications from said hypothesis rather than the veracity of the hypothesis itself.
Surely, someone who doesn't feel like delving deeper into those implications could easily try to defeat the very hypothesis itself by stopping at the point of "Wait, first prove that this happened or I refuse to go on any further!", but I think that would be more like an attempt to torpedo the discourse in its infancy rather than trying to achieve anything constructive.
So which of those rhetorical tactics is your preference?
no subject
And the fair answer is...
Moving on to the rape thread if you prefer so.
Re: And the fair answer is...
Re: The clever answer is...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DXCZFRsyl8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T340DUSq9SY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cy8M4VzU-Y
, then proceed with the actual topic of the OP.
Or we could forever argue if that story is true or not and if the evidence is real or not etc etc et cetera. But that still wouldn't have touched the actual topic of the OP. At all. Your choice.
Re: The clever answer is...
Re: The clever answer is...
Re: The clever answer is...
As far as I can tell (and from extra research) the main evidence is a tomb that was said to contain a "Jesus was here" engraving at one time but no longer does, and a Hindu book:
Bhavishya Purana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhavishya_Purana
The unfortunate thing about the Puranas is that while some parts are very old, some are not. The section particularly with mentions that people claim are Jesus also contain information about the British occupation of India for instance. Its believed to have been heavily edited.
The fact that anyone would try to use that as a reliable source makes me heavily doubt the authenticity of the claim entirely.
Re: The clever answer is...
Re: The clever answer is...
What....
Aren't you presuming too much about what people think? Are you some kind of clairvoyant? I call divine intervention! :p
You know what? Fuck it. Fuck it all. Let's strike off that part about the Messiah. You're right. I should've never had the audacity to even consider implying such a theory was right. You know what? It isn't. Let's say a guy went somewhere, met some people, they taught him some tricks, then he used them on the populace. Let's say his name was... well, let's say it was Muad-dib. OK? Would that make you address the actual fucking issue that I'm presenting here?
Re: The clever answer is...
Re: The clever answer is...
Re: The clever answer is...
Re: The clever answer is...
Re: The clever answer is...
no subject