OCC-402
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2004
- Messages
- 270
- Reaction score
- 68
I have been reading recently that it is possible to trigger alternate states of reality without drugs, I knew before that it is possible to achieve a higher state of mind through meditation. Through some practice I have found center through mediation, but what I have been reading lately there are allegedly other ways to go about this.
A few in particular
Joyce's Finnegan’s Wake,
Some believe reading this experimental novel aloud can trigger altered states
Breathing
Hyperventilation can cause a brief, uncontrolled altered state. However in a more sophisticated approach, proper breathing technique is the cornerstone to all forms of meditation, but sometimes breathing is the complete focus of the technique. In fact Breath work is an entire field in holistic medicine
Strobe Lights
This is an interesting one, as not only does it create a feeling of unreality, but also it has a concrete physical effects on the brain. This is evidenced by the fact that it causes seizures in people with epilepsy
Music
Whether it's loud crunching thrash metal that makes you fell like you've taken speed, or deep ethereal trance that lifts you out of your body, music has myriad ways of changing your state of being. And that’s just from listening to it. Playing it can take you into a zone where nothing but you and your music exists.
Touching, sex and orgasm
Physical contact with other people releases endorphins, which explains the pleasurable sensations of massage, cuddling and sex. Orgasm releases a cascade of endorphins all by itself, as well as the hormone Oxytocin. Not much is known about oxytocin, but it seems to increase interpersonal bonding and feelings of closeness
Besides inciting the release of these hormones, the orgasm itself is simply a transcendent experience. A plateau of another level of consciousness is reached, a place where ego cannot tread. There’s a reason that the French call it petit mort, "little death." Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism all have branches that seek to use orgasm (or withholding of orgasm) as a means of channeling life-force energy into heightened spirituality
A few in particular
Joyce's Finnegan’s Wake,
Some believe reading this experimental novel aloud can trigger altered states
Breathing
Hyperventilation can cause a brief, uncontrolled altered state. However in a more sophisticated approach, proper breathing technique is the cornerstone to all forms of meditation, but sometimes breathing is the complete focus of the technique. In fact Breath work is an entire field in holistic medicine
Strobe Lights
This is an interesting one, as not only does it create a feeling of unreality, but also it has a concrete physical effects on the brain. This is evidenced by the fact that it causes seizures in people with epilepsy
Music
Whether it's loud crunching thrash metal that makes you fell like you've taken speed, or deep ethereal trance that lifts you out of your body, music has myriad ways of changing your state of being. And that’s just from listening to it. Playing it can take you into a zone where nothing but you and your music exists.
Touching, sex and orgasm
Physical contact with other people releases endorphins, which explains the pleasurable sensations of massage, cuddling and sex. Orgasm releases a cascade of endorphins all by itself, as well as the hormone Oxytocin. Not much is known about oxytocin, but it seems to increase interpersonal bonding and feelings of closeness
Besides inciting the release of these hormones, the orgasm itself is simply a transcendent experience. A plateau of another level of consciousness is reached, a place where ego cannot tread. There’s a reason that the French call it petit mort, "little death." Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism all have branches that seek to use orgasm (or withholding of orgasm) as a means of channeling life-force energy into heightened spirituality
