113. 5 May 2019
Just after noon local time. Carol has been washing/drying clothes and you have been cleaning and dusting. Sweeping is next. - Amorella
1205 hours. I was reading over the last two blog entries and it seems, like within the encounters in mind blog, that I am drawn into most of the content of the day. I am not conscious of this most of the time but I observe the evidence. These pages are, for the most part, unconsciously sprung from my fingertips via subconscious, associated memories, i.e. I am back to using a sophisticated version of the string with a dangly washer weight at one end and my thumb and forefinger holding the string at the other with a 'target' below shown to me by my psychologist, Dr. Payne at the University of Cincinnati (whom I went to for weight control consultation in the mid 1980's). The original target was a cross with a Yes at the top and a No at the bottom with the side arms Undecided. It is a simple variation of a Ouija board which uses the same "Ideomotor phenomenon".
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Ideomotor phenomenon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The ideomotor phenomenon is a psychological phenomenon wherein a subject makes motions unconsciously.
The ideomotor response (or ideomotor reflex), often abbreviated to IMR, is a concept in hypnosis and psychological research.[1] It is derived from the terms "ideo" (idea, or mental representation) and "motor" (muscular action). The phrase is most commonly used in reference to the process whereby a thought or mental image brings about a seemingly "reflexive" or automatic muscular reaction, often of minuscule degree, and potentially outside of the awareness of the subject. As in reflexive responses to pain, the body sometimes reacts reflexively with an ideomotor effect to ideas alone without the person consciously deciding to take action. The effects of automatic writing, dowsing, facilitated communication, and Ouija boards have been attributed to the phenomenon.[2][3]
The associated term "ideo-dynamic response" (or "reflex") applies to a wider domain, and extends to the description of all bodily reactions (including ideo-motor and ideo-sensory responses) caused in a similar manner by certain ideas, e.g., the salivation often caused by imagining sucking a lemon, which is a secretory response. The notion of an ideo-dynamic response contributed to James Braid's first neuro-psychological explanation of the principle through which suggestion operated in hypnotism.
History of scientific investigation
With the rise of Spiritualism in 1840s, mediums devised and refined a variety of techniques for communicating, ostensibly, with the spirit world including table-turning and planchette writing boards (the precursor to later Ouija boards). These phenomena and devices quickly became the subject of scientific investigation.[4][5]
The term Ideomotor was first used in a scientific paper discussing the means through which these spiritualistic phenomena produced effect, by William Benjamin Carpenter in 1852,[6] hence the alternative term Carpenter effect. (Carpenter derived the word ideomotor from the components ideo, meaning "idea" or "mental representation", and motor, meaning "muscular action"). In the paper, Carpenter explained his theory that muscular movement can be independent of conscious desires or emotions.
Carpenter was a friend and collaborator of James Braid, the founder of modern hypnotism. Braid soon adopted Carpenter's ideo-motor terminology, to facilitate the transmission of his most fundamental views, based upon those of his teacher, the philosopher Thomas Brown, that the efficacy of hypnotic suggestion was contingent upon the subject's concentration upon a single (thus, "dominant") idea. In 1855, Braid explained his decision to abandon his earlier term "mono-ideo-motor", based on Carpenter's (1852) "ideo-motor principle", and adopt the more appropriate and more descriptive term "mono-ideo-dynamic". His decision was based upon suggestions made to Carpenter (in 1854) by their friend in common, Daniel Noble, that the activity that Carpenter was describing would be more accurately understood in its wider applications (viz., wider than pendulums and ouija boards) if it were to denominated the "ideo-dynamic principle":[7]
In order that I may do full justice to two esteemed friends, I beg to state, in connection with this term monoideo-dynamics, that, several years ago, Dr. W. B. Carpenter introduced the term ideo-motor to characterise the reflex or automatic muscular motions which arise merely from ideas associated with motion existing in the mind, without any conscious effort of volition. In 1853, in referring to this term, Daniel Noblesaid, "Ideo-dynamic would probably constitute a phraseology more appropriate, as applicable to a wider range of phenomena." In this opinion I quite concurred, because I was well aware that an idea could arrestas well as excite motion automatically, not only in the muscles of voluntary motion, but also as regards the condition of every other function of the body. I have, therefore, adopted the term monoideo-dynamics, as still more comprehensive and characteristic as regards the true mental relations which subsist during all dynamic changes which take place, in every other function of the body, as well as in the muscles of voluntary motion.[8]
Scientific tests by the English scientist Michael Faraday, Manchester surgeon James Braid,[9] the French chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul, and the American psychologists William James and Ray Hyman have demonstrated that many phenomena attributed to spiritual or paranormal forces, or to mysterious "energies", are actually due to ideomotor action. Furthermore, these tests demonstrate that "honest, intelligent people can unconsciously engage in muscular activity that is consistent with their expectations".[10] They also show that suggestions that can guide behavior can be given by subtle clues (Hyman 1977).
Some operators claim to use ideomotor responses to communicate with a subject's "unconscious mind" using a system of physical signals (such as finger movements) for the unconscious mind to indicate "yes", "no", "I don't know", or "I'm not ready to know that consciously".[11]
A simple experiment to demonstrate the ideomotor effect is to allow a hand-held pendulum to hover over a sheet of paper. The paper has keywords such as YES, NO and MAYBE printed on it. Small movements in the hand, in response to questions, can cause the pendulum to move towards key words on the paper. This technique has been used for experiments in extrasensory perception, lie detection, and ouija boards. This type of experiment was used by Kreskin[12]and has also been used by illusionists such as Derren Brown.[13]
Uses
Responding to questions
It is strongly associated with the practice of analytical hypnotherapy based on "uncovering techniques" such as Watkins'"Affect Bridge",[14] whereby a subject's "yes", "no", "I don't know", or "I don't want to answer" responses to an operator's questions are indicated by physical movements rather than verbal signals; and are produced per medium of a pre-determined (between operator and subject) and pre-calibrated set of responses.[15]
Scientific analysis and skepticism
Scientists and skeptics consider automatic writing to be the result of the ideomotor effect.[2][3][4][5]
According to skeptical investigator Joe Nickell, "automatic writing is produced while one is in a dissociated state. It is a form of motor automatism, or unconscious muscular activity."[36] Neurologist Terence Hines has written "automatic writing is an example of a milder form of dissociative state".[37] In 1900, Swiss psychologist Theodore Flournoy studied the case of the French medium Helene Smith, particularly her handwriting during seances.[10] He concluded that the automatic writing phenomenon was an effect of autosuggestion produced by autohypnotization, leading to the emergence of a secondary self.[38]
Paranormal researcher Ben Radford writes in his 2017 book Investigating Ghosts that there is no real way to know if the writing is coming from "outside their bodies," you "must take their word for it. Because the source of the information is at issue and the medium cannot be validated, we must turn to the content of the material." Various psychic mediums have claimed to channel famous dead people like Susan Lander who claimed that Betsy Ross contacted her to say, "I am gay and I fly the flag of pride and liberty for all of us." Radford states that historians say that there is "no credible historical evidence that Ross ... either made or had a hand in designing the American flag." Without some kind of validation, "anyone can claim to communicate with the spirit of anyone." Radford states that it would seem to be easier for the ghost to communicate by voice than by controlling a pen, considering spelling and grammar are more difficult. "Automatic writing should logically hinder, not help spirit communication."[39]
Scientific studies
In an 1890 paper on hypnotism Morton Prince claims, "automatic writing is not a purely unconscious reflex act, but, the product of conscious individuality," and further claims that the hand that is writing is under the control of a separate hypnotic personality during trances.[40][41] Physician Charles Arthur Mercier in the British Medical Journal (1894) criticized the spiritualist interpretation of automatic writing, concluding, "there is no need nor room for the agency of spirits, and the invocation of such agency is the sign of a mind not merely unscientific, but uninformed."[42]
Psychology professor Théodore Flournoy investigated the claim by nineteenth-century medium Hélène Smith (Catherine Müller) she did automatic writing to convey messages from Mars in Martian language. Flournoy concluded her "Martian" language had a strong resemblance to Ms. Smith's native language of French and her automatic writing was "romances of the subliminal imagination, derived largely from forgotten sources (for example, books read as a child)." He invented the term cryptomnesia to describe this phenomenon.[43]
In 1927, psychiatrist Harold Dearden wrote that automatic writing is a psychological method of "tapping" the unconscious mind and there is nothing mysterious about it.[44]
In 1986, A. B. Joseph investigated two female patients who were found to exhibit ictal hypergraphia.[45]
Automatic writing behavior was discovered by Dilek Evyapan and Emre Kumral in three patients with right hemisphericdamage.[46]
A 2012 study of ten psychographers using single photon emission computed tomography showed differences in brain activity and writing complexity during alleged trance states vs. normal state writing.[47]
Selected and edited from Wikipedia
Selected and edited from Wikipedia
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Scientific analysis and skepticism
Scientific studies
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Automatic writing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Automatic writing or psychography is a claimed psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing. The words purportedly arise from a subconscious, spiritual or supernatural source.[1]Scientists and skeptics consider automatic writing to be the result of the ideomotor effect[2][3][4][5] and even proponents of automatic writing admit it has been the source of innumerable cases of self-delusion.[6] Automatic writing is not the same thing as free writing.
Scientific analysis and skepticism
Scientists and skeptics consider automatic writing to be the result of the ideomotor effect.[2][3][4][5]
According to skeptical investigator Joe Nickell, "automatic writing is produced while one is in a dissociated state. It is a form of motor automatism, or unconscious muscular activity."[36] Neurologist Terence Hines has written "automatic writing is an example of a milder form of dissociative state".[37] In 1900, Swiss psychologist Theodore Flournoy studied the case of the French medium Helene Smith, particularly her handwriting during seances.[10] He concluded that the automatic writing phenomenon was an effect of autosuggestion produced by autohypnotization, leading to the emergence of a secondary self.[38]
Paranormal researcher Ben Radford writes in his 2017 book Investigating Ghosts that there is no real way to know if the writing is coming from "outside their bodies," you "must take their word for it. Because the source of the information is at issue and the medium cannot be validated, we must turn to the content of the material." Various psychic mediums have claimed to channel famous dead people like Susan Lander who claimed that Betsy Ross contacted her to say, "I am gay and I fly the flag of pride and liberty for all of us." Radford states that historians say that there is "no credible historical evidence that Ross ... either made or had a hand in designing the American flag." Without some kind of validation, "anyone can claim to communicate with the spirit of anyone." Radford states that it would seem to be easier for the ghost to communicate by voice than by controlling a pen, considering spelling and grammar are more difficult. "Automatic writing should logically hinder, not help spirit communication."[39]
Scientific studies
In an 1890 paper on hypnotism Morton Prince claims, "automatic writing is not a purely unconscious reflex act, but, the product of conscious individuality," and further claims that the hand that is writing is under the control of a separate hypnotic personality during trances.[40][41] Physician Charles Arthur Mercier in the British Medical Journal (1894) criticized the spiritualist interpretation of automatic writing, concluding, "there is no need nor room for the agency of spirits, and the invocation of such agency is the sign of a mind not merely unscientific, but uninformed."[42]
Psychology professor Théodore Flournoy investigated the claim by nineteenth-century medium Hélène Smith (Catherine Müller) she did automatic writing to convey messages from Mars in Martian language. Flournoy concluded her "Martian" language had a strong resemblance to Ms. Smith's native language of French and her automatic writing was "romances of the subliminal imagination, derived largely from forgotten sources (for example, books read as a child)." He invented the term cryptomnesia to describe this phenomenon.[43]
In 1927, psychiatrist Harold Dearden wrote that automatic writing is a psychological method of "tapping" the unconscious mind and there is nothing mysterious about it.[44]
In 1986, A. B. Joseph investigated two female patients who were found to exhibit ictal hypergraphia.[45]
Automatic writing behavior was discovered by Dilek Evyapan and Emre Kumral in three patients with right hemisphericdamage.[46]
A 2012 study of ten psychographers using single photon emission computed tomography showed differences in brain activity and writing complexity during alleged trance states vs. normal state writing.[47]
Selected and edited from - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_writing
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Below is a follow up science-oriented article related to the above article.
Science News
from research organizations
Brazilian mediums shed light on brain activity during a trance state
Date:
November 17, 2012
Source:
Thomas Jefferson University
Summary:
Researchers analyzed the cerebral blood flow (CBF) of Brazilian mediums during the practice of psychography, described as a form of writing whereby a deceased person or spirit is believed to write through the medium’s hand. The new research revealed intriguing findings of decreased brain activity during mediumistic dissociative state which generated complex written content
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Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil analyzed the cerebral blood flow (CBF) of Brazilian mediums during the practice of psychography, described as a form of writing whereby a deceased person or spirit is believed to write through the medium's hand. The new research revealed intriguing findings of decreased brain activity during the mediums' dissociative state which generated complex written content. Their findings will appear in the November 16th edition of the online journal PLOS ONE.
The 10 mediums -- five less expert and five experienced -- were injected with a radioactive tracer to capture their brain activity during normal writing and during the practice of psychography which involves the subject entering a trance-like state. The subjects were scanned using SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) to highlight the areas of the brain that are active and inactive during the practice.
"Spiritual experiences affect cerebral activity, this is known. But, the cerebral response to mediumship, the practice of supposedly being in communication with, or under the control of the spirit of a deceased person, has received little scientific attention, and from now on new studies should be conducted," says Andrew Newberg, MD, director of Research at the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine and a nationally-known expert on spirituality and the brain, who collaborated with Julio F. P. Peres, Clinical Psychologist, PhD in Neuroscience and Behavior, Institute of Psychology at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, and colleagues on the research.
The mediums ranged from 15 to 47 years of automatic writing experience, performing up to 18 psychographies per month. All were right-handed, in good mental health, and not currently using any psychiatric drugs. All reported that during the study, they were able to reach their usual trance-like state during the psychography task and were in their regular state of consciousness during the control task.
The researchers found that the experienced psychographers showed lower levels of activity in the left hippocampus (limbic system), right superior temporal gyrus, and the frontal lobe regions of the left anterior cingulate and right precentral gyrus during psychography compared to their normal (non-trance) writing. The frontal lobe areas are associated with reasoning, planning, generating language, movement, and problem solving, perhaps reflecting an absence of focus, self-awareness and consciousness during psychography, the researchers hypothesize.
Less expert psychographers showed just the opposite -- increased levels of CBF in the same frontal areas during psychography compared to normal writing. The difference was significant compared to the experienced mediums. This finding may be related to their more purposeful attempt at performing the psychography. The absence of current mental disorders in the groups is in line with current evidence that dissociative experiences are common in the general population and not necessarily related to mental disorders, especially in religious/spiritual groups. Further research should address criteria for distinguishing between healthy and pathological dissociative expressions in the scope of mediumship.
The writing samples produced were also analyzed and it was found that the complexity scores for the psychographed content were higher than those for the control writing across the board. In particular, the more experienced mediums showed higher complexity scores, which typically would require more activity in the frontal and temporal lobes, but this was not the case. Content produced during psychographies involved ethical principles, the importance of spirituality, and bringing together science and spirituality.
Several possible hypotheses for these many differences have been considered. One speculation is that as frontal lobe activity decreases, the areas of the brain that support mediumistic writing are further disinhibited (similar to alcohol or drug use) so that the overall complexity can increase. In a similar manner, improvisational music performance is associated with lower levels of frontal lobe activity which allows for more creative activity. However, improvisational music performance and alcohol/drug consumption states are quite peculiar and distinct from psychography. "While the exact reason is at this point elusive, our study suggests there are neurophysiological correlates of this state," says Newberg.
"This first-ever neuroscientific evaluation of mediumistic trance states reveals some exciting data to improve our understanding of the mind and its relationship with the brain. These findings deserve further investigation both in terms of replication and explanatory hypotheses," states Newberg.
Selected and edited from -https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121117184543.htm
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1350 hours. I do not consider myself a 'medium' or a 'spiritualist' -- never have. I am an existential transcendentalist. I developed the technique from using the target machinery Dr. Payne suggested I tried in the 1980's. All of my books and such writings (blogs) since then have used the technique. I have all my early notes on the work in common spiral bound tablets written in pencil or ink in our basement. Basically, I am a curious person who finds what works to allow me to write honestly, which is a passion of mine. - rho
Bedtime. Earlier you had a very late lunch at the Korean fast food place, BiBiBop, before running errands. You drove to a nearby Toyota dealer to look at the Avalon Limited hybrids, you found a non-hybrid you both liked color-wise. You have an appointment at one tomorrow to test drive a Camry Hybrid instead. You assume it is the same system. Once home you and Carol mowed and trimmed the yard then watched NBC News, "Blue Bloods" and "Bosch". - Amorella
2302 hours. How was your day, Miss Havisham?
I was rather detached. You were busy. mh
2307 hours. I sense a bit of witty word play with "detached".
Post. - Amorella
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