I’ve noticed over the years that the only demonstrable effects from meditation are internal to the meditator. They can change their hear rates, their blood pressure, etc. This is interesting, and can be of some clinical value, but it’s hardly surprising. The fact that a change in the mental state can have a physical effect is surely reasonable. And many of these effects have been produced by hypnosis and biofeedback.
The jargon that has been created by the sages over the years grew out of the need to communicate the experiences of the meditators; to describe the feelings they experienced. Personally, I think that all of the experiences can be explained by the physiological changes that take place when a certain state is achieved, either through meditation or some other means. For example, the feeling of “being one with the universe” that is often described is probably due to the release of a particular chemical (or chemicals) in the brain; like a runner’s “high” or a “peak experience”. Of course, even if the particular experience can be reproduced by means of a particular cocktail of chemicals in the brain, that wouldn’t prove that that is the explanation of the meditator’s experience. But, it would be suggestive.
What I’d like to see is a person, who has achieved a higher state of consciousness, affecting his environment in some way. Where are all the violations of the laws of nature that should be happening if some people have the ability to transcend the everyday and project their astral bodies beyond the event horizon, or some such nonsense?
Back in the 1970’s, I learned Transcendental Meditation. That’s the technique created by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (you may remember him as the guru to the Beatles). I found it to be interesting, and, when it “worked”, I would feel refreshed, like I had just awakened from a nap. I ignored the metaphysics and cosmology that came along with it; it was just an easy way to get into a relaxed state. But then the silliness began. The Maharishi started talking about how continued meditation would take you through the many “houses”, some of which would give you supernatural powers, like invisibility and the ability to levitate. They actually had conventions where, through the combined efforts of meditation by the attendees, they would try to get people to levitate. What was actually happening was: people in the lotus position were “hopping” off the ground for a very short time (the time it takes something to return to the ground due to the effects of gravity!) due to an enhanced ability to flex their gluteus maximus muscles. It was impressive, but not a violation of the laws of nature.
Where are all the supernatural powers?
Thanks,
Glenn
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