Some rituals can have neurological effects. Here are just two examples.
In the 1960s, Robert Irwin participated in the 'imara, a ritual performed at an Algerian sufi community.
[books.google.com]
[quote.Occasionally a faqir would collapse on the ground in a fit.A person who had fallen victim to one of these scary fits was described as melboos. It was generally a sign that something was wrong in the person who was writhing on the ground. It was as if the dance was being policed by a fierce and vigilent spirit. Over the years, I went melboos several times and I found it a terrifying experience. It was as if something vast, alien and dispassionate
was reaching into the heart of me to take over.This was impossible to bear and hence the fits."[/quote]
This second account was written was written by a man who was a graduate student at the School for South Asian Studies in London. (SOAS). He went to attend a chanting service led by a celebrated sheikh, sometime in the 1980s while the shiekh was touring in the UK.
The SOAS scholar was quite affected by the long chanting. But he distrusted the fawning adulation of the leader.
Neurologist Marc Lewis wrote a biography entitled Memoirs of an Addicted Brain.
He used lots of substances. He describes in each chapter how he would use
a substance (cough syrup, alcohol, marijuana, LSD, opiates) and then, takes the reader aside and gives a tour of the human body and nervous system, describing what the drug does.
The most interesting and humbling description Lewis gives is how he fell madly in love for the first time. Then, after at last winning the girl, he rapidly became bored.
Turns out dopamine and the centers of the human nervous system influenced by dopamine are part of the entire craving/hunting/pursuit/quest process. When at last you get your desired outcome (or person) -- bam, the dopamine is gone.
Explains how one craves some object, buys it, brings it home -- and gets that well known buyers remorse.
There are sneaky ways and very effective ways to instill fear. Es[ecially if one is in a scene where everyone shares belief in 'energy' 'astral influences' belief that alleged saints or gurus or operators have powerful 'auras' -- one gets versions of this in social scenes which utilize magical thinking and mental frameworks derived from Western esoteric traditions, and theosophy, whether from Blavatsky, or derivations from Blavatsky's system, such as Alice Bailey, Rudolf Steiner (anthroposophy/waldorf schools, etc)
A leader can arrange to scare people into complaince through subtle means, such that people come to fear their own doubts.
A clever leader need not state this explicitly to an entire group.
All the leader needs to do is hint to just one or two persons in a group how very dangerous it can be to disparage a "saint" because that holy persons "aura" will not only deflect ill will but will add additional energetic rebound against the tale bearer.
Those entrusted with this significant hint will feel important. Then they will, over time, pass this claim around the group.
The group, already bound together by this shared belief may well assume that this very wise leader is probably not only in contact with these saints, but may be one of these saints, one who must never be questioned for fear ones own doubts rebound against one.
Keep in mind the power of confirmation bias. We remember that which confirms our belief system.
Two -- bad things happen all the time, to the great and good, as well as to to scoundrels.
Suppose you obey the leader, have no doubts and something bad happens.
You can be told, or the leader will hint that because of your fidelity, you were spared a much worse ordeal. Or..that your ordeal is a purification for your own good.
If the misfortune happened to a skeptic, or one who did leave the group, members will assume their doubts and evil thoughts rebounded against them.
For this to be believable, one has to be in a group that;
* Takes the leader seriously
* Believes in auras
* Believes saints have specially powerful auras which act as deflector shields
* Believe in 'mental energy'
Very likely a group of this kind will have a method of vetting which excludes skeptics, keeping only those who share this belief system/cultic milieu.
Perhaps, very long ago, when there were few food surpluses, crops had to be planted and harvested on time, and communities could not afford to have too many members distracted or disabled by over indulgence in trance, this might have created a control mechanism.
One could not afford for too many members of a subsistence economy to trance out and become incapacitated. Ecstatics would take place at set times of year.
But now that we have monetary surplus and ease of transportation, plus food
surplus, more people can do these rituals repetitively, and risk addiction and long term subservience to those who possess the technology of ecstatic group
release.
Just as we now have more people who get trapped in life long enslavement to products provided by drugs dealers.
Only difference is, the dictators who produce ecstacy and craving through use of social technology go free. Some can even get tax exemption as spiritual non profits and accumulate wealth and freedom from social accountability.
In the 1960s, Robert Irwin participated in the 'imara, a ritual performed at an Algerian sufi community.
[books.google.com]
[quote.Occasionally a faqir would collapse on the ground in a fit.A person who had fallen victim to one of these scary fits was described as melboos. It was generally a sign that something was wrong in the person who was writhing on the ground. It was as if the dance was being policed by a fierce and vigilent spirit. Over the years, I went melboos several times and I found it a terrifying experience. It was as if something vast, alien and dispassionate
was reaching into the heart of me to take over.This was impossible to bear and hence the fits."[/quote]
This second account was written was written by a man who was a graduate student at the School for South Asian Studies in London. (SOAS). He went to attend a chanting service led by a celebrated sheikh, sometime in the 1980s while the shiekh was touring in the UK.
The SOAS scholar was quite affected by the long chanting. But he distrusted the fawning adulation of the leader.
Quote
Once we were all seated again, Sheikh Nazim began leading the Zikr (Remembrance), congregational chanting of God’s names or supplications. He started repeating the words “Allahu, Allah Haqq” (God! God is Truth). Everyone immediately joined in and started gently swaying to the rhythm of the words.
After what seemed like a very long time Sheik Nazim signaled a change in the words and the pace, by repeating
“Allahu, Allah Hayy” (God! God is Living). By the time Sheikh Nazim led another change, the energy level had grown so great that the whole room seemed to be vibrating to the rhythm.
“Allah Hayy, Ya Qayyum.” (God is Living, Oh the Awake!)
Most had their eyes closed and appeared to be in a state of intense concentration as they swayed together.
I couldn’t resist the pounding rhythm and became carried away with rocking back and forth as I repeated “Allah Hayy, Ya Qayyum” over and over again.
The room became hazy and looked like a black and white negative image; everything around me was disappearing. It was an almost psychedelic experience and I was completely lost in the moment, throwing myself backwards and forwards without any inhibition or self consciousness.
(Corboy this may have been trance effect.
[www.google.com]
[www.google.com])
Unfortunately it also meant that I was unaware of the abrupt end to the proceedings and to my great embarrassment, I continued chanting and swaying for a second or two after everyone else had stopped.
Neurologist Marc Lewis wrote a biography entitled Memoirs of an Addicted Brain.
He used lots of substances. He describes in each chapter how he would use
a substance (cough syrup, alcohol, marijuana, LSD, opiates) and then, takes the reader aside and gives a tour of the human body and nervous system, describing what the drug does.
The most interesting and humbling description Lewis gives is how he fell madly in love for the first time. Then, after at last winning the girl, he rapidly became bored.
Turns out dopamine and the centers of the human nervous system influenced by dopamine are part of the entire craving/hunting/pursuit/quest process. When at last you get your desired outcome (or person) -- bam, the dopamine is gone.
Explains how one craves some object, buys it, brings it home -- and gets that well known buyers remorse.
There are sneaky ways and very effective ways to instill fear. Es[ecially if one is in a scene where everyone shares belief in 'energy' 'astral influences' belief that alleged saints or gurus or operators have powerful 'auras' -- one gets versions of this in social scenes which utilize magical thinking and mental frameworks derived from Western esoteric traditions, and theosophy, whether from Blavatsky, or derivations from Blavatsky's system, such as Alice Bailey, Rudolf Steiner (anthroposophy/waldorf schools, etc)
A leader can arrange to scare people into complaince through subtle means, such that people come to fear their own doubts.
Quote
Fear Installation -- Scaring people into silence
[forum.culteducation.com]
Date: July 28, 2014 10:58AM
Do not buy this.
One person in a discussion wrote that he'd been told that it is
very dangerous to malign a holy person or saint.
A mere mechanical rationale was given.
Some allegedly holy leader claim, or their disciples claim that negative energies directed at a blameless saintly person return automatically to the sender after gaining energy from the aura of the guiltless one.
(Sounds like the deflector shield around USS Starship Enterprise)
This is a classic way to scare people into feeling afraid not only to say anything deemed negative, but to scare people into suppressing doubt of any kind, even distrusting valid emotions of repulsion, doubt, disgust, dismay.
It is common place for oppressive religious leaders to claim that anyone who speaks ill of their abuses will come to a bad end.
A) What 'negative energy?' Can it be measured? Has it been measured? Or must one take someone's say-so?
B) If a leader is indeed abusing trust, abusing power, abusing money, abusing sexuality, teaching followers to act in arrogant bad faith toward the outside world, then that leader is *not* guiltless.
Therefore truthful reporting of an oppressive leader's abuses will not automatically 'curse' or 'energetically' harm one who thinks truthfully and speaks truthfully. One may incur painful legal or social flak from the group, but thats not paranormal.
A true saint would not have lawyers on staff, anyway. A true saint trusts in God and does not instill fear or speak in hints, or maintain a quasi royal court.
A clever leader need not state this explicitly to an entire group.
All the leader needs to do is hint to just one or two persons in a group how very dangerous it can be to disparage a "saint" because that holy persons "aura" will not only deflect ill will but will add additional energetic rebound against the tale bearer.
Those entrusted with this significant hint will feel important. Then they will, over time, pass this claim around the group.
The group, already bound together by this shared belief may well assume that this very wise leader is probably not only in contact with these saints, but may be one of these saints, one who must never be questioned for fear ones own doubts rebound against one.
Keep in mind the power of confirmation bias. We remember that which confirms our belief system.
Two -- bad things happen all the time, to the great and good, as well as to to scoundrels.
Suppose you obey the leader, have no doubts and something bad happens.
You can be told, or the leader will hint that because of your fidelity, you were spared a much worse ordeal. Or..that your ordeal is a purification for your own good.
If the misfortune happened to a skeptic, or one who did leave the group, members will assume their doubts and evil thoughts rebounded against them.
For this to be believable, one has to be in a group that;
* Takes the leader seriously
* Believes in auras
* Believes saints have specially powerful auras which act as deflector shields
* Believe in 'mental energy'
Very likely a group of this kind will have a method of vetting which excludes skeptics, keeping only those who share this belief system/cultic milieu.
Perhaps, very long ago, when there were few food surpluses, crops had to be planted and harvested on time, and communities could not afford to have too many members distracted or disabled by over indulgence in trance, this might have created a control mechanism.
One could not afford for too many members of a subsistence economy to trance out and become incapacitated. Ecstatics would take place at set times of year.
But now that we have monetary surplus and ease of transportation, plus food
surplus, more people can do these rituals repetitively, and risk addiction and long term subservience to those who possess the technology of ecstatic group
release.
Just as we now have more people who get trapped in life long enslavement to products provided by drugs dealers.
Only difference is, the dictators who produce ecstacy and craving through use of social technology go free. Some can even get tax exemption as spiritual non profits and accumulate wealth and freedom from social accountability.