"Curtis, I'm *more* than open to suggestions from you or anyone else as to how these things could have been "staged" by a magician. I don't see that as being a relevant option when trying to "explain away" this particular guy's levitations."
Your experiences are really compelling and I am not inclined to just toss them handily in some "I know what happened" box." That is one of the reasons I really enjoy your descriptions. I wish I could have had my own mind blown that way! There are levitation tricks for small groups that can be practiced on the street, but I don't think that is probably the most likely answer. Here is how I break it down in my perspective. You have often talked about how this guy seemed to exhibit a powerful ability to change your state of mind and perceptions. If I had to choose between a person having this ability over actually floating in the air, I would probably choose the first. I do believe that our minds are mysterious in many ways. I also recognize the limits of what we know about nonverbal communication. Having the ability to change someone's perception or state of mind isn't exactly chopped liver in my book. There are so many levels of the power of rapport that are unknown. Here is a more mundane but powerful experience in my own life. We were recently talking about a friend who passed away, Steve Shimer. He was a guy who had one of the most unique "vibes" of anyone I ever met. Since he was MMY's secretary I just always assumed that he was enlightened when I first met him. But as I spent more time with him I came to believe that this explanation didn't really cut it. He was just a special human. Although it may sound trite, Steve would look at me with such openness and kindness that it would shift my state every time. It was completely hypnotic in the best possible sense of the word. It created a space where thinking and feeling were enhanced. When I think of the guy I feel it again. I'm sure you can relate. So if this teacher had some version of this ability, and you were in deep rapport with him, it doesn't seem like too much of a stretch to think he might have developed some other interesting ways to shift a person's state. The French have a term "folie aux duex" that touches on how two people can enter into a shared mental state. On a less positive note, my personal interactions with mentally ill people have produced some real strange moments for me. Since I enjoy sinking into people, I have had my world rocked by entering into rapport with someone who was running some broken software. In your descriptions of how you relate to people you meet you have revealed your own empathic rapport is at a high level, so I know you understand. So those are my thoughts for what its worth. I am fascinated with learning more about how humans effect each other mentally. I feel like this area has some real magic to uncover as it is better understood. The fact is that you were there and I was not, so thanks for sharing the stories. It is nice to be reminded that in so many areas of life, I really don't have a clue! Maybe the guy could actually float. I wish he had allowed it to be studied if that were the case. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" > <curtisdeltablues@> wrote: > > > > > "Any more exactitude to the answer, especially down to a > > > yes/no is too much ensconced in a materialistic worldview. > > > The rarity of siddhis makes them more mysterious, it's the > > > loving intimacy that matters most, devotion." > > > > When it comes to demonstrating sidhis, yes/no is the ONLY > > criteria that matter. > > I would agree. It's *exactly* the same scenario > as Off bragging about how Shotokan karate guys > are "the best" and could kick anyone else's ass. > Empty, self-important rhetoric until they actually > DO kick some ass. As Cuba Gooding might say, "Show > me the money!" Show us the levitation, don't talk > about it and theorize about it. > > > And it matters even more if a professional magician is > > in the room cuz they can smell the bullshit that Buddha > > only dreamed of. > > Again, I'd be the first to agree. It would be good > to hear a professional magician try to explain away > some of the levitation I saw the Rama guy do, because > it often took place "on the fly," in circumstances > where "apparatus" didn't seem a possibility. I mean, > we've hiked out into the desert for three hours, > and the guy is wearing nothing more than shorts > and a T-shirt and hiking boots, carrying nothing, > and he just stops in the middle of an open space > with nothing around him that could even be *used* > as "apparatus" (the nearest trees or cliffs from > which to string wires were half a mile away). And > yet the dude just steps up off the sand and walks > around for a few minutes, a foot above the ground. > > Or in a Denny's at 3 a.m., deserted except for him > and a few of his students and one waitress. Rama > didn't even *choose* the Denny's in question; I did, > because I was driving us back from somewhere and > needed some coffee. So the waitress gives us all > our coffee and then asks if we need anything more, > and when we say no she ducks out the front door and > goes around to the side of the building, out of > sight, to smoke a cigarette. Rama grins at us and > just lifts up off the genuine naugahyde of the > Denny's booth and hangs there in mid-air for a > few seconds, sipping his coffee. Everybody cracks > up and laughs, which was probably the point of the > stunt. > > Curtis, I'm *more* than open to suggestions from > you or anyone else as to how these things could > have been "staged" by a magician. I don't see that > as being a relevant option when trying to "explain > away" this particular guy's levitations. > > The idea of being somehow "hypnotized" into seeing > these things might be more relevant, except that > over the years, almost *none* of the instances of > siddhis I and other people saw were "suggested" or > "announced" ahead of time. It was as if the guy > was purposefully *avoiding* anything that could > later be regarded as suggestion. He'd just DO them, > sometimes in the middle of a sentence, to catch > everyone by surprise. > > So have at it, dude. I wish you'd been there in > the desert at the time, and could bring your know- > ledge of stage magic to the table. I have *tried* > over the years -- Lord knows I've tried -- to come > up with some way to rationalize these experiences > away and write them off to some trick, and damnit > I can't. They -- WHATEVER they were -- happened, > and I'm stuck with having seen them. > > Believe me, that is FAR scarier and harder to live > with than being able to explain them away as some > kind of trick or hallucination. >
