TMI Journal 2011-1&2 (Winter/Spring)

(2) access the source of strength and nourishment; and/or (3) look for new information. First, participants learn how to release barriers through breathing. Breath is the sign of life. When we stop breathing, life will stop as well. To use our full capacity for breathing, we have to release not only the used-up air but also what we have repressed or suppressed, sometimes for a long time. Participants are invited to fully exhale from the diaphragm while they are visualizing that they are “sweeping their bodies.” Exhaling prepares us for the Next Page 22 TMI JOURNAL Winter/Spring 2011 drinking of fresh air. One’s whole body is being nourished. Breathing is also rhythmic, whether we breathe fast or slow. Breathing too fast can lead to hyperventilation. For a brief period, it may be very invigorating, but after approximately 3 minutes of fast breathing we become light headed, which has not the quality of clear awareness we are aiming at. There is also yogic breathing, which, practiced systematically, results in prolonged suspensions of breath to a high concentration of carbon dioxide in the lungs and blood, and this increase in the concentration of CO2 lowers the efficiency of the brain as a reducing valve and permits the entry into consciousness of experiences, visionary or mystical, from “out there” (Huxley, 1963, p. 144). Participants are told to breathe slowly but fully, to enjoy the release and go with the ebbing in and out of the breath. The next step is relaxation—full-body relaxation—so that we become receptive for tuning. The purity of the sound of a Tibetan bowl, for example, will clear and entrain one’s mind, alleviate mistrust, foster understanding, and evoke joy. Tuning is the most pleasant way to interconnect. For the third step—information retrieval—I use sonic driving (Heinze, 1988, pp. 84-94; 1991, pp.157-168; e.g., 10-minute drumming. Sonic driving assists in the process of connecting whatever needs to be reunited and we are motivated to act and to explore. By purifying and reconnecting our body with our mind, emotions, and soul, the conditions for breaking through the layers of misconception are provided. Expectations arise and may reduce the number of self-defeating thoughts and images and may increase the frequency of coping self-statements and posi- tive images (Bootzkin, 1985, p. 207). At this point, we begin to discover hidden resources and may find messages waiting for us. For the main part of the exercise, I designed a simple structure that borrows elements from hypnotherapy. Participants are reminded to remember each step so that they later can find their way in dreams or other journeys on their own. This means that I make sure they never surrender control. After having been led through breathing, relaxation, and tuning, participants are invited to mentally go down 10 steps, to see a door, and to memorize how it looks. They are asked to open the door, enter the room, and close the door behind them. The room serves as a space station between different states of consciousness. Participants are asked to look around and memorize what is in the room, on the walls, and on the ceiling. Whom do they meet? They can ask questions, why they are there, and they should look for a message. They then are asked to go to a second door on the other side of the room, memorize the nature of this door, open the door, step out, and close the second door behind them. Having stepped out, into the unknown, 10 minutes of sound (using either a drum or a Tibetan bowl) provides the container for the main part of the experience. Participants are told that it is important to start the quest with a quiet mind and clear intentions. It is also important not to expect anything but keep the mind in the observer posi- tion, like sitting in a movie theater, looking at the blank screen, not knowing which movie will be played. Discursive thinking would be interfering. However, everyone is encouraged to remember what transpires. As we begin learn- ing to trust the source of inner knowing and our connection with the universe, the conditions for the emergence of deep-seated memories have been created. After 10 minutes, participants are led back the same way and asked to write down their experiences immedi- ately, not to allow their minds to edit the content later. Trained and untrained participants alike have no problems during this partially controlled dissociative state. They feel generally quite comfortable and welcome newly found knowledge and power. Sound facilitates the exploration of the unknown and unlocks the information stored in our cells. The visions we are looking for are found inside of us. Discussion Deikman (1969, p. 24) talked about three forms of visionary and mystical experiences: (1) the untrained-sensate, (2) the trained-sensate, and (3) the trained-transcendent. Meditators and yogis have trained-sensate experiences (i.e., visions), while trained-transcendent individuals practice toward mystical experiences. For individuals without any regular spiritual practice, insights may emerge either at moments of complete tranquility or at critical moments when our consciousness cannot go any other way. We live simultaneously at least on five different levels of awareness—the biological-physical, the emotional, the mental, the social, and the spiritual. My technique provides the means to Next Page 23 TMI JOURNAL Winter/Spring 2011 recognize the language of each of these levels and to interact with them. Thus, information that is not available to waking consensus-reality but is vitally important to the present condition of the individual is now accessible. Through education at home, at school, during our professional training, and by other peer groups, grids are imposed on us that filter out all so-called “useless” information. Additionally, we have to take into account the interferences of our autonomic nervous system that always tries to prevent systems overload. When we create a space and a time where we can relax some of the control mechanism, we are able to retrieve vitally important information that indicates areas that require attention. I argue that during our waking state in consensus-reality, important information is screened out. Nearly every culture known to us has developed techniques to access this natural source of nourishment, encouragement, and information. It does not seem to be a coincidence that many scientific discoveries have been made in different states of consciousness. Related articles of interest published by the Anthropology of Consciousness Journal http://www.sacaaa.org/anthropologyofconsciousness.asp: “Consciousness Studies: The Emerging Military-Industrial-Spiritual-Scientific Complex” by Chris Hables Gray Anthropology of Consciousness Volume 18. Issue 1. March 2007 (pages 3-19) http://www.anthrosource.net/Abstract.aspx?issn=1053-4202&volume=18&issue=1&supplement=0&article=237 127&jstor=False&cyear=2007 “The Evolution of Consciousness? Transpersonal Theories in Light of Cultural Relativism” by Michael Winkelman Volume 4. Issue 3. September 1993 (Pages 3-9) http://www.anthrosource.net/Abstract.aspx?issn=1053-4202&volume=4&issue=3&supplement=0&article=23720 6&jstor=False&cyear=1993 “Meditations on Anthropology without an Object: Boulder Hopping in Streams of Consciousness” by Sarah Williams Volume 18. Issue 1 (March 2007) http://www.anthrosource.net/Abstract.aspx?issn=1053-4202&volume=18&issue=1&supplement=0&article=237 130&jstor=False&cyear=2007 References Bootzkin, R .R. (1985). The role of expectancy in behavior change. In L. White, B. Tursky, & G. E. Schwartz, (Eds.), Placebo: Theory, research and mechanisms (pp. 196-210). New York, NY: Guilford. Deikman, A. J. (1969). Deautomatization and the mystic experience. In C. T. Tart (Ed.), Altered states of consciousness (pp. 23-43). New York, NY: John Wiley. Fischer, R. W. (1971). A cartography of the ecstatic and meditative states. Science, 174(4012), 897-904. Fitremann, J. M. (1994). The use of ecstatic trance for the treatment of addictive and abused individuals. In R.-I. Heinze (Ed.), Proceedings of the eleventh international conference on the study of shamanism and altered modes of healing. Berkeley, CA: Independent Scholars of Asia. Next Page 24 TMI JOURNAL Winter/Spring 2011 Heinze, R.-I. (1988). Trance and healing in southeast Asia today. Berkeley, CA: White Locus, Independent Scholars of Asia. Heinze, R.-I. (1991). Shamans of the 20th century. New York, NY: Irvington. Heinze, R.-I. (1993). Alternate states of consciousness: Access to other realities, In B. Kane, J. Millay, & D. Brown, (Eds.), Silver threads: 25 years of parapsychology research (pp. 201-209). Westport, CT: Praeger. Hilgard, E. R. (1978). Divided consciousness: Multiple controls in human thoughts and action. New York, NY: John Wiley. Huxley, A. (1963). The doors of perception. New York, NY: Harper and Row. Jung, C. G. (1963). Memories, dreams, reflections. A. Jaffe, Ed. New York, NY: Vintage Books. Krippner, S. (1972). Altered states of consciousness. In J. White (Ed.), The highest state of consciousness (pp. 1-5). Garden City, NY: Doubleday. Ludwig, A. M. (1966). Altered states of consciousness. Archives of General Psychiatry 15, 225-234. Mottola, A. (Trans.) (1964). The spiritual exercises of St Ignatius. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. Prabhavananda, S., & C. Isherwood (Trans.) (1969). How to know God. The yoga aphorisms of Patanjali. New York, NY: New American Library. Tart, C.T. (1969). Altered states of consciousness. New York, NY: John Wiley. Tart, C.T. (1986). Waking up: Overcoming the obstacles to human potential. Boston, MA: Shambhala. Winkelman, M. (1986). Trance states: A theoretical model and cross-cultural analysis. Ethos, 14,174-203. Even when I was studying mathematics, physics, and computer science, it always seemed that the problem of consciousness was about the most interesting problem out there for science to come to grips with. ~David Chalmers Next Page 25 TMI JOURNAL Winter/Spring 2011 Recent Member/Affiliate Publications: “The Mind of Placebo: In Search of the Perfect Medicine” By Kenneth Smith. EdgeScience, 6, January-March 2011, 9-13. There may be no better pursuit than that of examining the placebo response to understand the nature and mystery of mind. Scientific investigation has now demonstrated that there is not one placebo “response” but many, as evidenced by multiple areas of the body being influenced by different types of pathway activation for different indications. The interaction of patient and physician appears key in understanding placebo mechanisms as both conscious expectation and unconscious conditioning play a role. Just as science has begun unraveling the mechanisms of placebo, it is also documenting nocebo responses whereby a person undergoes an untoward response to something outside of the intended therapy. Due to the complexities of placebo response,