PsiPog.net

Yo yo!

So last night I was messing with Hemi-Sync again. I started Wave 3, Track 1 - Lift Off. Well... I didn't really "lift off", but at one point my left arm did some crazy shit. It was like my left arm was a guitar string that got plucked, and it vibrated. I wasn't expecting any OBE action because I hadn't had luck with "Lift Off" in the past... so the sudden "BOOOOINGGGG!" of my left arm surprised me .

Cool stuff! I think my breakthrough with Focus 12 a little while ago played an important role.

~Sean

So I bought this DVD set for $40 on amazon.com: click here. I know it sounds expensive, but there are 5 DVDs, so it's about $8 per DVD.

The entire thing is over 9 hours of interviews with scientists about what different fields say about consciousness, and how it all fits together. I haven't finished watching it, but I did watch the first DVD. Some of the interviews are a little hard to understand, but the one with Dr. Stuart Hameroff, M.D., is really interesting (Dr. Hameroff also runs the website QuantumConsciousness.org).

Hameroff has some cool ideas that can answer some questions in the field of OBEs. I've listened to his interview twice now, and I think I understand what he's mostly saying. I recommend buying the DVD to hear him directly, but I'm going to give you my interpretation and understanding at this point.

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The first thing you need to understand are the terms and ideas behind quantum physics. Which is WAY too complicated for this post. So go read up on it. For a crash course in QP, check out this movie.

His idea is that our brains use quantum computing. It breaks down like this: our brain (and nervous system) is made up of neurons. These neurons have things called "microtubules". Now, if we keep zooming in, we eventually get to the atoms, and electrons, neutrons, and protons... In the atomic world, things are wishy washy because of quantum physics. But as we zoom out, things become more solid. So if we want to use the power of the quantum world in our brains, there has to be some point where quantum information is transfered from the quantum world, to the solid world that we've been studying since Newton.

Microtubules are the things that perform that function of transfering the quantum data to the Newtonian world. They are large enough to affect the neurons, but small enough to be susceptible to quantum physics. When it leaves the Newtonian world to get some quantum data, it is said to be in "superposition". (Please be aware that I am grossly simplifying Hamerhoff's research... for more accurate and detailed information, please see his website.)

Ok, so we got a shit load of these microtubules in our nervous system. Hamerhoff says that not all of these are in superposition all the time, just a percentage. They leave for a little bit, then collapse back into the Newtonian world with some information from the quantum world. Hamerhoff postulates that every time they collapse, we experience consciousness (I might disagree here, but I don't know yet).

He uses the analogy of a movie. A movie is a bunch of frames that flicker so quickly, that we perceive a fluid movie. But really it's individual frames that happen so quickly in succession, that we don't notice the gaps. Collapses happen about 40 times per second, which is the rate at which we experience reality.

He says we can alter how quickly these collapses happen - and we do so during emotional times. This would explain why we perceive time differently during emotional experiences... like in a fight when we perceive things in slow motion. Hamerhoff would equate that intense emotion to a signal to your nervous system to speed up the collapsing, so that consciousness flickers quicker.

In the interview, he's asked what he thinks about Near Death Experiences. He replies with the idea that when the brain loses the ability to collapse in an organized mannor, that the quantum information is still around... it just doesn't really have a way to communicate with the brain. He says, "The quantum information isn't lost, it just kind of leaks out to the universe at large. ... You may think that it's going to disipate and spread out and be lost, but because of quantum entangelment, it tends to stay together."

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Ok, so basically he's making a scientific case for the soul. But more importantly (to me), is does his theory help us in understanding OBEs, and can I actually use the ideas to help me out when I get out of my body?

Possibly! Theories are pointless without some practical application. If, when we leave our body, we are turning our attention towards a quantum existance (as opposed to our normal waking Newtonian existance), then different rules apply. Things that collapse and are static in the Newtonian world are now possibly dynamic. I.e., when you experience your immediate environment, and see everything is mostly correct... but notice a few things that are off - the explaination for this could be that you are perceiving a superposition instead of the collapsed version of the same thing.

Also, the rules about time and space are fudged in the quantum world. Which would explain why people report easily travelling through time, and moving quickly through space.

So how can I apply this to my current training? Instead of looking at objects in my OBEs as static and rigid, I can try to open myself up to the idea that they can be multiple things at once. When I leave my body, I am expecting a rigid Newtonian environment... this expectation could have a drastic effect on what I'm capable of experiencing. Instead, I can try to be more open attitude, and be willing to accept a dynamic environment.

That doesn't mean I should go crazy and accept everything I experience as fact, and interpret everything through this new perspective... but it does open up a logical and possible way of explaining and accepting some phenomenon. It will still take a lot of experience to investigate a theory like this, but I like the new direction.

~Sean

I had something like an OBE just now. Really though, I'm not sure what the hell it was . It felt like I left my body... but at the same time, what I actually experienced reminded me of dreaming. I really don't think things are as simple and distinct as dreams and OBEs... I think there is a lot of overlap and blurred experiences. OBEs exist... but so do experiences that are like 50% OBE and 50% dream... and like 72% OBEs and 28% dream... etc... Things are weird, that's for sure. If it was a dream, then I did a great job of staying lucid and aware during it. I asked very conscious questions that were logical and well thought out (for some reason, a lot of times logic and reason get deactivated during dreams/OBEs). Perhaps one day I will figure this out.

EDIT: I was sitting here thinking more about it. Some parts were definitly a dream... I remember one point when I was luigi playing dodgeball in my old highschool gym. That strikes me as too strange to be an OBE (not like I would know, but I'm just going on basic ideas here).

Also, I forgot to mention that the OBE/dream did start out in my room, in my bed. This is the basic break down: Laying in bed, tranced out, started flapping and vibrating in the wind like a flag, snuck out the bottom of my body, stood up on my floor, couldn't see, but could walk around and feel stuff... after messing with this state back and forth, I eventually was able to see. Once I could see, I don't remember where the switch was, but at one point I remember being in my house in NY and running and jumping in the air. It was raining outside, and I was lucid. Everything after that point was very dream like.

Perhaps that switch was when I went from the OBE into a dream. I don't remember the transition from inside of my room, to my lucid NY experience. Oh yeah, now I do! Once I began seeing, I went through a door in my room, and walked into the bathroom area. However, the bathroom area was NOT the same layout as my bathroom in real life. From there, I met some people in the bathroom area... then somewhere along there I transitioned into the NY experience.

So it sounds like my transition happened when I walked through the door into the bathroom area. HOWEVER - before that happened, when I still couldn't see correctly and was bumping into things in my room, I remember picking up my chair, and feeling the texture. The texture was all wooden, yet my chair in real life has padding. I noted this differece while OOB/dreaming (which shows how conscious I was during the experience, normally things like that wouldn't be noticed until after I completed the experience).

Also, while in bed and slipping in and out of body, I was playing music in my head. I could select a song, and hear the music. At one point, I knew my alarm was going to wake me up, so I turned over and gave myself another hour (did I do that in real life? or was it a false-awakening? I can't remember or tell - THIS IS WHY I NEED TO VIDEO TAPE MYSELF WHEN I HAVE OBES). After reseting the alarm, I had to lay back down and take another minute or so to trance out to the level where the music was playing again. Then I could leave my body.

Oh yeah, and one more memory: while leaving my body at one point, I was getting frustrated. Then I heard someone say something along the lines of, "This is something you need to experience." . Bizarre.

I have no clue.

~Sean

Today I wrote around 400 lines of code, and actually got some shit up and running. It feels good to code and get something accomplished. It's been a while since I've worked on PsiPog.

I found I was losing motivation because it's very tiring and feels like an uphill battle to constantly pound basic ideas into peoples' heads. Reading the forums tend to depress me . However, to offset that depression, I've (1) focused on how I could make it work better and get people to think with a more skeptical/evidence driven mind, and (2) decided to create an entirely seperate website dedicated to helping people learn how to program and write games, and stuff like that.

My new site will eventually be located at codetank.com (still working on DNS issues), and I'm going to use the same exact code for PsiPog on that site. Just instead of articles on psionics, there will be articles on programming. This has really helped me with motivation, because now when I code for PsiPog, I'm also coding for codetank.com at the same time. So it feels like I'm getting a lot done .

For those programmers out there, or even people wishing to learn to program, expect the same quality of articles from me on codetank.com in the distant future. Hopefully it'll help!

~Sean

So, I normally think of a million ideas for PsiPog every day, but I'm actually starting to do something about it. I've been in a slump the past month or two, but I feel my motivation coming back. One thing that has helped is that I've been reading Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins, which is a great book for getting you focused and motivated on accomplishing your goals.

So, while showering the other day, I thought of a way to make it all work. You see, the current PsiPog has a lot of systems running to accomplish the goals. For example, it has a News system for posting news to the home page. It has a different system for the home page poll. It has a different system for the articles. And a different system for even catagorizing the articles. And a different system for the forums at PsiPogBB, and a different system for article submission, and a different system for updating the links page, and a different system for the calendar, and a different system for the search page, and the Q&A is completely seperate...

You see the problem? It's challenging to keep it all working and functioning. Each system independently evolves over time as I work on them individually. So if I add a feature to the Q&A system, and I want a similar feature for the links page, then I have to write the same code twice.

This situation came about because when PsiPog was young, all we really had was articles. Then I added something here, then something there, then got a new idea and added another thing... etc. So it's turned into a bunch of seperate ideas functioning all on their own.

Well, the idea I had in the shower (where most of my best thinking happens), was to get one giant backend for all of this. The idea is kind of technical... but the basic idea is that all those systems I have on PsiPog fit a basic pattern. And that pattern can be modelled more accurately, and connect all these different systems together.

SO! What does that mean?

Well, it means that I have to code a huge ass giant system for doing everything. So it sounds like a huge pain in the ass - but really, it will save me time in the long run. By bringing all these different systems together under one system, a lot can be accomplished that would be a lot harder in the past.

What does it MEAN though? What actual tangible features will be added?

1. Forums that use the PsiPog.net username (not a seperate phpBB system where you have two logins).
2. A mailbox system that is modelled after Gmail.
3. Every user can have a blog or psi journal type of thing where they can share their experiences.
4. Every user can have their own forum that they moderate and control.
5. Any user can post an article, and also keep track of the drafts for their articles.
6. All other systems will work like before, but better . I.e., Q&A, Search, Links, Calendar (which will be updated to a better idea), and all those other side pages that need to be maintained.

All these ideas will have the same backend that stores content and handles the delivery of information to the visitor/users. NOT seperate buggy systems independant of each other.

Also, one more idea that I want to implement in the future is psi games online that people can practice, and get highscores, and stuff like that. But this will be after all the above ideas have been completed.

The specifics for each feature are being worked out, and the code is starting to get written. I'm not sitting on my ass anymore - and I'm motivated to get this up and running.

~Sean

So I was reading SheepKing's Blog - more specifically, his post "Meditation on Psi Manipulation". In it, he mentions how focusing on areas will make psi appear there, and compares it with moving psi to that location instead.

So that got me thinking a little bit . Please be aware that these are just random thoughts.

Realistically speaking, our theories on what psi is could be completely wrong. In that I mean, looking at the raw evidence, there could be a million explainations for what's going on. Literally. The mind has an insane creative ability to "explain" things. The thing to realize is that this action of "explaining" is a creative process - like writing a story, or painting a landscape. Since we are so clueless about reality in general, it takes a large creative process to formulate theories on how reality works.

One problem I notice is that people will create a theory, and then be very proud of that theory. They will think that since their artwork is so beautiful and fits together so nicely, that it must be true, and that there can be no other truth. If you argue in favor of another theory, then they feel like you are telling them their artwork isn't beautiful, and will get upset.

People will get into arguments over how beautiful a theory is. But this is just like any other art - it's completely subjective and personal. One beautiful theory to me could be really ugly and boring to someone else.

Since humans have this awesome creative ability - what is the problem? Well, the problem is introduced when people equate beauty to truth. The more beautiful a theory is, the more true it must be. This logic doesn't make sense. I will agree (on an emotional level) that the entire truth is probably very beautiful and elegant. However, that doesn't mean that if your theory is beautiful and elegant, that it must also be true.

So we have to stay focused on our goal. If our goal is to theorize about reality, then we must test our artwork against the artwork of truth. If our artwork doesn't match up, that doesn't mean our art isn't beautiful or elegant - it just means that it isn't true. We must focus on testing our ideas against reality.

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Bringing it back... Psi is unknown. I notice a lot of theories about psi coming from different sources. I theorize in my own head, and critisize the theories of others. Those who paint pictures similar to my own I like. Those who paint pictures drastically different, I don't like. I own my beliefs, and therefore take pride in them. This pattern is dangerous.

The creative process is what makes this dangerous. I suppose the danger is that we think our creative minds generate truth, and that our creative conclusions must be the only possible conclusion of an "intelligent" mind. If you reach a different conclusion, then you aren't intelligent. Hmm.

You know where the real problem exists? In that reality is a fucking enigma . Just kidding .

Anyways: I like SheepKing's new focus on testing his beliefs against reality. I think that when we get a lot of experience, we sort of forget to do that. We slowly build up ideas over time, and create a rift between ourselves and reality because of our desire to have definite answers. We creatively explain things, and get so hypnotized by our own creations, that we forget to bring the focus back to reality. It's funny how we are constantly surrounded by reality yet we can't figure anything out. It feels like if we could escape reality, and look at it from a distance, then we could see it all working together. Since we can't separate ourselves, we are forced into subjective experience and understanding. Anyways - some things to think about.

~Sean

I don't know if this even does anything, but I randomly did it the other day and thought it was fun, so I'm posting it...

I was walking down the hall, and coming into my room, when for some reason I tried pushing outwards from my "third eye" area. (Please note I am highly skeptical of chakras and the "third eye", I'm just using the term for easier location identification). I push out in the shape of a concave bubble sort of thing... then when it hits the ground, it bounces back and I catch it. Then push it back out.

I drew a picture in paint to demonstrate:

I don't push more than one out at a time - I push one bubble out, then it bounces, and I catch it then push it out again. I do this very fast, so that I go through 2 or 3 cycles per second.

Anyways, it's fun! I don't know if it does anything.

~Sean

Last night and the night before I had lucid dreams. Last night I decided a fun scenario would be to fight off some zombies, while flying around... so I did that .

I've also experimented with Focus 12 a little more (you can read more from my previous post). I think my practice with Focus 12 has brought about the lucid dreams. The reason for this (I believe) is because Focus 12 has a lot to do with "awareness", and your level of awareness while sleeping is what dictates whether or not you have a lucid dream.

Focus 12 is cool. I recommend it for anyone. In the future, I will write articles for PsiPog about the focus levels, described by Monroe.

~Sean