Burns' Brainperiments

[LMNO]

Um... No.

[Dido]

I as well am curious.

It took me a goddamn year to find that quarter, I hope you have better luck with it. 

I found about 3 dollars in quarters when I tried it.

You must have been doing it wrong.

I did it with 5€ bills and it worked but only with one belief system. While trying to believe in chance I would find leaflets with bills printed on them. Providence and omnipotence did not work at all.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

I as well am curious.

It took me a goddamn year to find that quarter, I hope you have better luck with it. 

I found about 3 dollars in quarters when I tried it.

You must have been doing it wrong.

I did it with 5€ bills and it worked but only with one belief system. While trying to believe in chance I would find leaflets with bills printed on them. Providence and omnipotence did not work at all.

I found a few with the "selective thinking" frame of mind and then found a few more with the "universe obeys my mahadgicks" frame, but found the most when I fused the two together:

The "universe obeying my mahadgicks" is a matter of me using selective thinking in places where it's most likely for me to find them.

[Dido]

The "universe obeying my mahadgicks" is a matter of me using selective thinking in places where it's most likely for me to find them.

Tried that too. Nada. My belief system apparently does not like to be tampered with.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

The "universe obeying my mahadgicks" is a matter of me using selective thinking in places where it's most likely for me to find them.

Tried that too. Nada. My belief system apparently does not like to be tampered with.

Well, I already had loosened mine up quite a bit with all sorts of imprudent maneuvers.

You don't hail from a very small town, do you?

[Dido]

The "universe obeying my mahadgicks" is a matter of me using selective thinking in places where it's most likely for me to find them.

Tried that too. Nada. My belief system apparently does not like to be tampered with.

Well, I already had loosened mine up quite a bit with all sorts of imprudent maneuvers.

You don't hail from a very small town, do you?

Yes. All Greeks are animists.

[Dido]

May 20, 2008

After practicing Method 1 for a week I've become very aware of areas where i have tensed up.  I've noticed that my shoulders, neck, eyelids (!), temples, lower back and ass cheeks tend to be more predominantly tense than the rest of my body.  Although, there is often a twitching that occurs as i lay down to relax.  Obviously holding up the shoulders and dropping them was my favorite, and the face thing.
The dreams have started again.  Last night i dreamed of the grim reaper. it wasn't a scary dream just strange.  we kind of had respect for each other.  the previous night i dreamed i was with prisoners and proud of them for some reason or other. it was as if they did something that touched my heart...woke up teary.  again, strange.  i remember when i was little and used to dream of normal things like muppets and shit.

I started dreaming about my death too when I started practicing Hyatt's Methods. At the beginning it was not frightening, more like: so this is how it is. It changed then to: finally it is happening, and I also became a lot less distracted (while awake, but I was extremely distracted to start with). I took both as indications that I was not doing it totally wrong.

I have always had an extremely talkative subconscious, but these dreams felt as if they had been designed by a different section.

[Bu🤠ns]

DOGMA is AMGOD Backwards.
A great deal of the book discusses dogma and how it influences the individual into choosing arbitrary moral viewpoints resulting in useless and painful emotional dispositions. Hyatt shows how deeply rooted these ideas pushed by "dogma dealers" such as: parents, religion, monotheism, lawyers, friends, media...etc. actually reach. The three exercises are designed to rid the body/mind tension that accumulates by subscribing to these pointless and often dangerous concepts so that quieting the mind becomes easier. A quiet mind is an essential step toward changing oneself.

Superego Shenanigans
Taking an objective look at the conscience uncovers those creepy, ugly, evil aversions that lie opposite our moral stances. If we really go into them honestly it's possible to see how our real motivations are often arbitrary belief structures chucked at us by the afore mentioned 'dealers'.

   

"The word Evil functions in such a way as to allow one group to justify its own atrocities and make them noble. By dealing with such a powerful metaphysical abstraction (one which is psychologically associated with pain, fear, trembling and survival), it's an easy step to the performance of an act such as "execution," with the sense of moral righteousness and vindication. It is not a man being executed, it is Evil."

Later in the book an article by one Jack Willis, MFT, D.C. (who?) adds 14 additional exercises (the 'other devices') that work to put the individual into situations that create a disruption to the superego. Activities like eating food for which you don't particularly like, being polite if you're a rude person and being rude if you're a polite person, .. .shit sculpture (I'm sure the wife would throw me out for that one)... place the person into a state of shame, guilt, fear (perhaps?), and anxiety. Working through these emotions help to rid one of the moral/immoral duality that seems to create internal conflict.

Do What Thou Wilt...
The amoral attitude intrigues me. There is a sense of personal freedom there that i can't seem to put into words. However, i see that there's room for great error too. Without a strong Will, one could become so seduced by one's thoughts and drives that one might end up in very uncomfortable circumstances.

But that's the Art, it seems. Will and Desire working together.

It seems to be about stepping away from those secure and comfortable places to which we're so accustom. If life itself is insecure, unknowable, the ultimate Black Swan, then why are we wasting time looking for that cozy, warm corner of comfort instead of venturing out into that cold uncomfortable chaos?

[LMNO]

Bump.  How's the experiments going?

[Bu🤠ns]

not bad -- i have an overall conclusion in mind as well as an idea about the 3rd exercise..i've just been too lazy to get it down. 

overall, however, i think they might tend to focus more on Prometheus Rising in the future moreso than EM.   i will get this down soon, though, it keeps nagging at me in the back of my mind.

[Bu🤠ns]

Technique
The third meditation begins by having you stand and all of a sudden drop without forcing it, breath for 5 counts and repeat. then more facial distortion for reducing tension as well as stretching the head back. vomit if necessary. the next phase involves a little emotion manipulation. You start by thinking about your troubles while repeating a phrase like "what's going to happen to me?" or something similar. then after about five minutes think of something happy and wonderful while repeating a phrase that corresponds to that feeling of happy. repeat. next alternate between laughter and crying for about five minutes. last, roll up into a ball and tense every muscle in the body and hold for 3 minutes and then let go of the tensions while shouting in relief. meditate.

Commentary
I really thought the emotional aspect of the technique was pretty cool. The whole process seems to make "real life" worries seem trivial. (which the ARE of course.) The dropping is a little unpleasant but the tensing into a ball is so incredibly relaxing i often feel like just laying there and sinking into the ground.

Overall
I think the major part of these practices are to help the individual become more in touch with the living sensation of the body without necessarily trying to feel it. Some of the more physical exercises create certain involuntary reactions...twitches, vomits, burps, farts...etc. which familiarizes the practitioner with his own bodily functions. There is often a stigma attached to these reactions most particularly with vomit. Most folks i know HATE vomiting and may even be somewhat afraid of it. Although the more it's done the more it becomes less stigmatized and, in fact, more easily controlled. This is the point. The whirling dervishes, for instance, must have the most amazing control over their reactions from that constant spinning. An act such as that must heighten sensation to such a degree i can't even imagine. It all seems like a wacky Hatha Yoga.

There is something to say about this, though. During the meditation phase i progressively noticed a better ability to allow presence and thoughtless to arise. Thoughts don't seem so prevalent afterwards and i have to attribute it to the enhanced bodily sensation. There seems to be more emphasis on feeling rather than thinking--a non-dogmatic mental state.

Also, these sort of exercises, for me, illustrate the idea that what i do and what happens to me are really one process. Breathing being the obvious one since it's a process that happens of itself but also can be controlled. But involuntary functions such as heartbeat, blood circulation, growth all seem to feel like they're all part of one process in the same way that breathing is only on a more subtle level. I really don't know how to describe it better than using a word 'sensation' but there it is.

I think I'll keep up with the practice but i feel like i need to make certain adjustments to suit me better: some of the same and some different movements. perhaps I'll try whirling..(yeah right)..  I would expect the rest of the posts to pertain mostly to the Prometheus Rising exercises now that i can focus on them.