"Special Abilities" of Yoga/Quigong Masters are caused by a psychosis related to the vision startle reflex?

[BounceEasy 0]

During the 1960's, employees using close-proximity work stations were having bizarre or psychotic episodes. The problem was peripheral vision reflexes and the solution at the time was the Cubicle.

When yoga is done in groups, the movement from those behind you constantly triggers the startle reflex. You attempt to ignore the reflex through concentration, but your brain cannot stop "seeing" the movement, thus triggering internal conflict.

This conflict can build to a mental break. The resulting altered mental state is the source of the benefits you perceive.

Or at least thats the theory for Accidental Operant Conditioning:

http://visionandpsychosis.net/

http://visionandpsychosis.net/QiGong_Psychotic_Reaction_Diversion.htm



"There is a history from those who have serious mental and physical problems associated with long term use of this slow motion martial arts exercise. Case histories from China say victims become addicted to Qi Gong and can't/won't stop gathering others to exercise with them. Exposure to Subliminal Distraction only happens when the exercise is done in groups. Subliminal, Accidental, Operant Conditioning causes both the beneficial and detrimental effects of this exercise."

If you walk, just walk. If you sit, just sit. But whatever you do, don't wobble.
- Master Ummon

[Nightingale 0]

LOL. If that were the case, you'd have people addicted to karate class too, and ballet, and pretty much any activity where you're in a group setting.

[nanook 1]

Could you imagine being in a Marching Band and being charged by a rogue tuba player?

"'BomBomBom. .Bom..Bom..Bom..Bom...'"

_____________________________

"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

[mattaman 0]

How about living in a house with others, any school class. Why aren't birds that fly next to each others crazy. How about people who jump out of airplanes for that matter, that triggers fear in the brain

Those stuck in maya, seek to be seen.

[Cudlo 0]

i always thought the cubicle was to prevent socializing....

doesn't really matter tho... whoever thought this up is probably the child of the person who put tin foil on his/her head to stop the aliens

_________________________________________
"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid." - Kierkegaard

[mnealtx 0]

Quote

whoever thought this up is probably the child of the person who put tin foil on his/her head to stop the aliens

Nah, Rob isn't old enough to have a kid that age!!

*no, wait... the all-powerful THF was to prevent MLB broadcasts, wasn't it?*

[Emily Litella]

"Oh.... nevermind!!!"

[/Emily Litella]

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Flying_Penguin 0]

yeah, thats why yoga is no good on the beach in the morining, or on a new york city rooftop, or by the waterfalls in the jungle...yup no spiritual experience there

edit, thanks for posting it though...renaming phenomena does not explane it, psychology is often just renaming, nothing like a fancey lable -

What is yoga?, yoga is breathing, breath is life, hence that nice feeling

[BounceEasy 0]

I don't know if they're labeling anything as much as discussing different activities that would be prone to accidental conditioning.

In skydiving, for example, you wouldn't want to repress anything involving your peripheral vision. If anything, you would be purposely conditioning yourself to do the opposite. Same with living in a house, you would gain no benefit for forcing yourself to ignore stimuli from your peripheral.

But, in yoga (for ex.) you do gain a benefit for conditioning yourself to ignore those around you to better focus on your technique. You are accidentally conditioning yourself to fight arousal with relaxation.

Being that reflexes are on a biological level, our attempts to combat them with thought only create internal stress. (We can't cut off the raw sensory data flow, but we can condition our response to it) Now, everyone has stress, and generally everything is fine until enough stress factors cause a problem.

Long-term retreats in a crowded room would be the idealized culprit of exposing these factors. The opposite of these negative conditions would be...yoga on the beach in the morning, or on a new york city rooftop, or by the waterfalls in the jungle.

They're not saying there's no such thing as a spiritual experience, just that there are psychological dangers for ignoring the vulnerability of our minds.

If you walk, just walk. If you sit, just sit. But whatever you do, don't wobble.
- Master Ummon