Boy meditates beyond scientific comprehension

[Xmac]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3YoE8HEz2A

[catherine]

Interesting..

I'm almost done reading Autobiography of a Yogi, and there are a lot of supernormal experiences that Yogananda relates, in a very matter-of-fact way--not as if they are miracles, but as if they are predictable outcomes to a transcendental state. The book is really compelling.

The boy in this video seems to be an unfortunate target for people who feel threatened by the possibility that the mind can do things that "science" is not prepared to address. I don't know if he's a fake or not, but I do believe that people can push the limits of the everyday, and the current rational thinking. All one has to do is look at the placebo effect, which is used and accepted by science every day, to know that the mind creates its own reality.

Thanks for posting!

[Tussiemussies]

Hi Catherine, I have been studying spirituality for over twenty years and have had what some would call miracles in my life. If you are interested in reading any other books let me know!

[catherine]

Hi Catherine, I have been studying spirituality for over twenty years and have had what some would call miracles in my life. If you are interested in reading any other books let me know!

Hey, Chris,

I'd love to share booklists with you.. I'm not so much interested in miracles per se, but more so in one of the roots of miracles--mysticism. However, I'm completely open to "miracles." I've read Evelyn Underhill, St. Teresa of Avila, Bernadette Roberts, Byron Katie, Richard Foster, Anthony deMello, Richard Rohr.

Please do share your booklist!

(You, too, Xmac!)

[ToomuchStuff]

Didn't see anything on the scientific method. That entails observation, AND testing. (think of it this way, even in Astronomy, predictions are made and theories tested, even though we can't reach them. None of that on your video)

[catherine]

Didn't see anything on the scientific method. That entails observation, AND testing. (think of it this way, even in Astronomy, predictions are made and theories tested, even though we can't reach them. None of that on your video)

As Hamlet said,

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

To me, that's the point.

[Xmac]

Didn't see anything on the scientific method. That entails observation, AND testing. (think of it this way, even in Astronomy, predictions are made and theories tested, even though we can't reach them. None of that on your video)

They video recorded 96 hours of the boy's continuous meditation in which he neither drank nor ate. He didn't move either. The temperature fell to the mid 30's one night and he had no visible signs of shivering. So, while this may not be laboratory conditions, they are observations that cannot be explained scientifically.

Additionally, there is a part of the documentary in which they do scientifically observe an old man who doesn't eat or drink anything for ten days.

[iris lily]

They video recorded 96 hours of the boy's continuous meditation in which he neither drank nor ate. He didn't move either. The temperature fell to the mid 30's one night and he had no visible signs of shivering. So, while this may not be laboratory conditions, they are observations that cannot be explained scientifically.

Additionally, there is a part of the documentary in which they do scientifically observe an old man who doesn't eat or drink anything for ten days.

I wonder if kidney tests were performed on either person after the hydration fast.

[iris lily]

Didn't see anything on the scientific method. That entails observation, AND testing. (think of it this way, even in Astronomy, predictions are made and theories tested, even though we can't reach them. None of that on your video)

Ah, that "scientific" observation. Kind of defeats the fun.

Many decades ago the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's group invaded tiny Fairfield, Iowa and set up Maharishi University. Those TM disciples claimed that they were 2/3 to the way to flying. Now, in 2014, I just checked in to the web to see if they have reached that goal. The first piece of evidence here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kelb5IGbLXM

makes me think they have not progressed beyond that 2/3 mark because this is exactly what they were doing those decades ago. It looks fun, though, and certainly doesn't harm anyone.

[Xmac]

I wonder if kidney tests were performed on either person after the hydration fast.

The condition of the old man is, in a way, more interesting because he was checked by many professionals, apparently and he was observed for ten days. He was using energy as opposed to staying still. In the video, they did mention that they took blood from him.

[ToomuchStuff]

They video recorded 96 hours of the boy's continuous meditation in which he neither drank nor ate. He didn't move either. The temperature fell to the mid 30's one night and he had no visible signs of shivering. So, while this may not be laboratory conditions, they are observations that cannot be explained scientifically.

Additionally, there is a part of the documentary in which they do scientifically observe an old man who doesn't eat or drink anything for ten days.

I saw where they did four days, continuous, but prior to that, they kept getting moved back out of the view at night. (means legally not observed) He was enclosed in a tree, so that should have acted as a blanket, keeping body heat in, but there were no sensors to show that. The time lapse video did show him move slightly. You should have just included the title the film ran by, rather then make one up I think.


Ah, that "scientific" observation. Kind of defeats the fun.

Many decades ago the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's group invaded tiny Fairfield, Iowa and set up Maharishi University. Those TM disciples claimed that they were 2/3 to the way to flying. Now, in 2014, I just checked in to the web to see if they have reached that goal. The first piece of evidence here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kelb5IGbLXM

makes me think they have not progressed beyond that 2/3 mark because this is exactly what they were doing those decades ago. It looks fun, though, and certainly doesn't harm anyone.

Maybe they should just try the Douglas Adams method (ever read the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy?). Aim for the ground and miss.:laff:

[bae]

scientifically


http://blog.givelify.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Princess_Bride_That_Word.jpg

[Xmac]

At bae, I'm willing to modify the word "scientifically" to medical observation, which can be found at 29:30 and that's good enough for me. As to whether or not the boy's meditation meets the rigorous scientific standard, I'd say it doesn't. Given how much the scientific method cannot explain particularly with regard to mystic disciplines of mind, I'm more than comfortable assuming that the boy did in fact meditate for 96 hours until somebody can demonstrate he didn't.

I'm fully aware there are frauds in India, Nepal and elsewhere. So, it's completely possible the boy was a fraud too, arguably even probable. I don't however assume a position skepticism with respect to that which is uplifting because it's a habit of mind that is limiting and closed. I used to and it was not profitable for me, I missed a lot of what was inspirational. I'd rather be gullibly unattached than skeptically committed, which led to cynicism, under the radar, in the past.

[bae]

I always found this fellow interesting on the faith/reason issue. It's not an either/or thing:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHqxlj_n-nk

[awakenedsoul]

Xmac,
I wasn't able to watch the video but did listen to a portion of it. It's amazing how you can control the body after years of disciplined yoga and meditation practice. I've been at it daily for about 30 years. The results have been very rewarding. I can see how he would be able to put himself into a state of hibernation. There are charlatans out there, but also many masters.
My experience has been that life is definitely more exciting and inspiring when you are open to the creative forces. I find the same thing through art and theater. One thing the yogis taught me was not to get sidetracked by the psychic development. They wanted us to continue the discipline, regardless of the outcome. Some days were glorious, others were average. Glad to hear you are finding inspiration. I agree about being close minded. Everyone is at a different place...

[Din]

I personally feel that the progress I want to make is inward, not so much to impress or do extraordinary things but to find peace and freedom in everyday life. For me that involves being aware of my thoughts and perceptions, not so much to pay attention to them but to let them be what they are without the need to identify with them. There's a line in the bible about "being still" and that's what feels right, not going with your thoughts and perceptions but just letting them come and go freely without attaching to them.

[Tussiemussies]

In the Hindu religion they really believe in chanting in your mind especially. They believe in starting to do as much as you can and work uhh by up to constant and chanting constantly. They feel that this links you to God and keeps your mind centered in God. There chants are in Sanskrit and are usually a phrase about God or for liberation of the lower self. I tried it for awhile and did feel some benefits but not as much as they claim since they say that the chanting will also prevent unwanted thoughts, and that DIDN't happen for me....Very interesting...

[Xmac]

It's not an either/or thing

In any given moment it is either/or: I'm open or closed.

If I'm regularly open to something extraordinary being true or false, I find I'm saner and healthier than I would be if I was regularly closed to one.

[catherine]

The compelling thing to me about the world we can "see" and the world we can't see, which remains concealed to us by choice or just by virtue of our limited senses, is that they are part of the same whole. If "science" is the world that can be observed and tested, and "religion/faith" is the world we can't see, one doesn't negate the other (as bae said, it's not either/or). Or as Richard Rohr said, the way to approach openness is to not say "Yes….but" but "Yes…and"

One of the things I love about spiritual ecology is the idea that we are part of the world--at an atomic level. As Joanna Macy has said, the Amazon forest is our lungs--literally. If we could get to that level, of truly believing that we are the sun, and we are the clouds, and we are the river, there might be hope for us. And it might partially explain Xmac's video.

[Tussiemussies]

Love your post Catherine....