"Me, too, but that would have taken away the conundrum aspect of it all, and most of the time I really *enjoy* that -- not knowing exactly what to think about it all."
Being comfortable with ambiguity. That takes a bit of practice doesn't it? Thanks for the detailed response. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" > <curtisdeltablues@> wrote: > > > > > "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! > > Be careful what you wish for...you just might > get it. :-) As I've suggested, having to live > with this stuff is not as easy as it sounds. > > Thanks for replying...I'll spend my last post > of the week bouncing off of your impressions > (as opposed to arguing with them). > > > 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. > > Nor do I. The environments in which I and others > saw these things just didn't lend themselves to > apparatus of any kind. I honestly don't think > that's a possibility, much less a likelihood. > > > 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. > > And I have *no problem* with this. As I've said > many times, I not only don't know whether a > camera trained on the scene would have recorded > some of the siddhis I witnessed, I have severe > *doubts* that they would have. > > I consider it *likely* that what I saw was some > kind of "subtle level" phenomenon that wouldn't > be perceived by a camera. In other words, I am > *not* claiming that he was actually floating in > mid-air because I have nothing with which *to* > assert that. It could have been that something > was happening that caused dozens to hundreds of > people at a time to *perceive* him as floating > in mid-air. > > One of the reasons I'm comfortable with saying > this is another of the siddhis I witnessed often, > "invisibility." I'll give you a sample scenario. > I'm sitting in the desert on one of our hikes > there, and the Rama guy comes walking along in > front of the group and pauses when he gets to > me. He's not looking directly at me or singling > me out or anything; he just stopped there and > continued giving a talk to the whole group. > > But as I'm sitting there watching this guy who > is at best 2-3 feet in front of me, all of a > sudden his body starts to turn transparent. > First it gets a little opaque, and then fully > transparent, and I can see the canyon in the > background and the night stars *through* a > faint outline of where he used to be. This is > such a shock to me that I start leaning back > and forth to shift perspective, to see if the > background objects change perspective the way > they really would if I were really looking > through him. They do. > > OK, now in such a situation, did the guy *really* > disappear? Well, of course not. Even in you can > somehow justify violating the laws of physics > and floating in the air to levitate, what is gonna > explain someone really "going invisible." What it > seemed like was more like the light got "bent" in > such a way that it seemed not to reflect off of > him any more, but passed through him, as if he > were not solid, more a hologram. I'm pretty sure > that if I'd had a camera, its "eye" wouldn't have > recorded the invisibility. But mine did. > > So *something* happened to cause the *perception* > of invisibility, of light passing through a body > rather than bouncing off of it. What that some- > thing is I don't understand. I know it wasn't > suggestion, because in none of the many times I > saw this phenomenon was it ever suggested to me > that I should; it just happened, and was always > a surprise when it did. > > So, similarly, is there a possibility that what > happened with his "levitating" was that my state > of attention was shifted such that I perceived > something on a different level of existence that > wasn't there on the surface level of existence? > You betcha. > > > 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. > > Mine, either. :-) Even if that were the *only* > thing going on, as you say, that's not chopped > liver. > > > 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. > > Yup. > > > 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. > > Yup. > > > 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. > > I, for one, do not for a moment claim to "understand" > all that I experienced. I'm only relating the exper- > iences. And, as I keep reminding people, it's not as > if I have anything to *sell* here. The dude is DAID. > If he *wasn't* dead I wouldn't necessarily recommend > that anyone study with him, because I've seen how a > lot of his students turned out, and I don't think that > they wound up in as good a place as they should have. > > The Rama dude himself said it well: "Writers write > because they're trying to figure things out." I'm > just trying to figure things out, while well aware > that I probably never will. > > > 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! > > I was there, and I don't have a clue, either. :-) > > > Maybe the guy could actually float. I > > wish he had allowed it to be studied if that were the case. > > Me, too, but that would have taken away the conundrum > aspect of it all, and most of the time I really *enjoy* > that -- not knowing exactly what to think about it all. > > See ya Saturday... >
