Helpful delusions

@Qaeyious (2357)
United States
August 12, 2010 6:47pm CST
There are many of examples unhealthy delusions such as panic attacks, where one's body experiences fear when there is nothing in the environment to warrant it, or hallucinations that disrupt one's interaction with the world around them But due to the power of the human brain one can put some delusions to use.  The most famous example is the placebo effect, where a person is convinced that a pill, for example, will cure a condition, or at least ease the symptoms.  Hypnosis is another, where one's attention is diverted away from the pain or discomfort so that it is either not felt or is not emphasized.  One type of meditation is just the opposite, where all the attention is given to a situation to lead to its acceptance. There are some spiritual practices that teach that what you feel inside will be reflected outside.  For example, if you are full of anger at other people, people will be angry at you.  Same thing with fear and other negative emotions.  But it is the same with positive ones as well, say love or generosity.  Thus everything that happens to you is a result of your own thinking. Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" comes to mind. Here I will give a disclaimer, that I have no idea if what I am going to describe is an actual practice by any group.  It is an exercise that came to my mind today that I am pondering and wish to share with you. I imagine that there is no such thing as an individual.  We are just one little piece of one body that is the entire species, all races and all nationalities and every other label that our conscious minds puts on people.  It makes no difference between  ages, occupations (or lack of,) religion (ditto,) - nothing. How will a person with such a world view behave?  Won't one be more tolerant and patient with another they would originally be less cordial to?  I wonder if I am strong enough to successfully carry out the experiment.  As all my friends here know, I can get quite judgmental.
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1 response
@ruperto (1552)
• Philippines
13 Aug 10
I think it was Chopra who suggested something like: "If we "learn" how, our body can generate the needed "substances" in our body toward good effects such as healing and well-being (e.g. physically, physiologically and emotionally/psychologically) Perhaps with that mentioned, it seems we need better and more attractive ways to learn optimum meditation - as a critical (not optional) ability to counter all forms of illnesses from mild infections to major ailments, diseases and terminal conditions... What do you think?
@Qaeyious (2357)
• United States
13 Aug 10
There's a lot of links about it, are you meaning "Meditation for Optimum Health"? I have reservations about things from self-help books, but I'll see if I can find any actual studies on the process.
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@ruperto (1552)
• Philippines
13 Aug 10
I'm glad to come across your phrase "helpful delusions". For instance, it seems to be healthy to believe we do not own anything even if we seem to own certain things. It seems we could also consider a phrase: "healthy delusions" that rids our mind and body of man-made structural violence that are major/significant causes of human sickness. What do you think?
@Qaeyious (2357)
• United States
13 Aug 10
Do you have examples of what you call "man-made structural violence?" And yes, my original post gave examples of healthy delusions, such as the placebo effect.
1 person likes this