The God helmet

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

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.

Comments

[box-in-the-box.livejournal.com]

Wasn't there some research, that was very similar to this, that was the basis of that one scene in Altered States?