> I can't. I have tried. > > Oh yes, I tried. > > I have tried meditation techniques, > > I even read the several manuals and tried a bunch of techniques (in > private, so I wouldn't get too embarrassed...) > > Nothing... -> Gave up and decided that rationalism really is the way to > approach all this crap...
So I figured I'd join in at this point. After all this sort of discussion that turns me on. >From my own research on various meditation techniques, I believe it's fairly likely that one can induce all kinds of altered states of consciousness that include the perception of things like 'astral projection', merely through applied and sustained concentration. Specifically by inducing certain discrete altered states of consciousness. (Like 4th jhana territory when practicing samatha [Disclaimer: No personal experience with this form of meditation]) I've interviewed several advanced mediators who have told me about some of their experiences with this territory, and they match some of the things justcamel has mentioned to me. Justcamel may in fact be having experiences that seem to him very much like traveling out of body. Although I think most people here would just interpret these experiences as hallucination. My own experiences with lucid dreaming, psychedelic drugs, tulpas, and vipassana meditation have shown me that the mind is capable of producing all sorts of elaborate states. I mean...try talking to one of these things on DMT (http://bit.ly/1RXCVI4) and you might feel like that experience was more 'real' than sitting here at the computer. There's a reason these states are typically associated with spirituality, they're incredibly different that waking consciousness, and incredibly profound. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be analyzed rationally. My experiences have also shown me you can't always trust your senses. I don't make the leap to believing in precognition or ESP or other forms of psi, even though at times it seems like I have experienced some of these phenomenon. I can see why other people might interpret their experiences as paranormal, but I don't buy that, not unless I had some hard evidence to the contrary. It's much more productive to think of these altered states in terms of cognitive psychology. There's a lot of different techniques under the umbrella of what people refer to as “meditation”, so much that the label is kind of useless in many contexts. If you are still interested in inducing altered states of consciousness without drugs, and willing to keep detailed logs of your experience, I can show you some techniques that could actually work. (Example, although almost certainly not the kind of meditation justcamel practices: http://bit.ly/1Lp1qeX) Aleks TK PS: Isn't this an AGI board? ------------------------------------------- AGI Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/21088071-f452e424 Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=21088071&id_secret=21088071-58d57657 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
