--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "sparaig" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >
> > http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/cgi/reprint/44/2/133.pdf > > > Whether or not this is "real" pure consciousness or not, who can say? > > > Lawson > Yup, that is the bottom line. All we know is that some transcendental meditators suspend breathing for a period of time, most for some seconds and one person for an entire minute and there is a correlation with a mental experience they describe as "pure consciousness." These brief holding periods were not extensive and even untrained healthy people can hold their breath for up to a minute. Because the time periods of apnea were not long, I am not surprised to see no adverse or compensatory effects. I would note: CO2 will accumulate after a period of time. Hyperventilating before holding your breath can minimize that, purging CO2. So, were the meditators doing breathing exercises before their meditation session? If not, it would be an interesting experiment to see if those doing the breathing exercises first had longer breath suspensions. It would be interesting to read accounts of divers who are experienced at apnea. What kind of mental experiences do they have?
