Near-death experiences and alien abductions

[Bug-Eyed Earl]

What physical and mental conditions cause these visions? I saw on TV once an experiment that stimulated a subject's brain(or something similar) and made them feel like there was something in the room with them.

What are the statistics for visions of heaven and hell regarding believers and non-believers? Has an atheist ever had one of those light at the end of the tunnel visions or one of the fires of hell?

[Keevan_Colton]

What physical and mental conditions cause these visions? I saw on TV once an experiment that stimulated a subject's brain(or something similar) and made them feel like there was something in the room with them.

What are the statistics for visions of heaven and hell regarding believers and non-believers? Has an atheist ever had one of those light at the end of the tunnel visions or one of the fires of hell?

"I saw a bright light at the end of a tunnel...."

"That was the lights on the hosptial cieling..."

"Oh well...nevermind..."

[neoolong]

What physical and mental conditions cause these visions? I saw on TV once an experiment that stimulated a subject's brain(or something similar) and made them feel like there was something in the room with them.

What are the statistics for visions of heaven and hell regarding believers and non-believers? Has an atheist ever had one of those light at the end of the tunnel visions or one of the fires of hell?

There was a thread about this type of thing before. There was an answer about how the brain works which causes such visions. I don't remember where it was exactly, you'll have to do a search.

[Stormbringer]

Try to keep this thing remotely on topic people and no spam.

[jaeger115]

That could provide an answer to the fundies wackos who keep claiming that they saw Jesus at the end of a tunnel of light. Of course, they'd just claim that the latest research has been faked by Satan.

[beyond hope]

Alien abductions seem to be most common around trailer parks: I'd therefore guess that inbreeding and low IQ are prerequisites.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

What physical and mental conditions cause these visions? I saw on TV once an experiment that stimulated a subject's brain(or something similar) and made them feel like there was something in the room with them.

What are the statistics for visions of heaven and hell regarding believers and non-believers? Has an atheist ever had one of those light at the end of the tunnel visions or one of the fires of hell?

Alien abductions -- hypnagogic hallucinations. (Also, so-called waking dreams.)

NDE -- Hallucinations induced by a brain suffering from the trauma of oxygen deprivation. More of a random firing of neurons really. If you survive being near death, then your brain attempts to sort it all out later.

[Peregrin Toker]

Alien abductions seem to be most common around trailer parks: I'd therefore guess that inbreeding and low IQ are prerequisites.

Alien abductions have happened elsewhere. For example, a British cop was once abducted while on patrol - he saw something big on the road, which looked like a classic UFO with black, shiny panelling and suddenly saw the UFO disappearing and himself in his police car, on the other side of the road. He later recalled some "supressed memories" of being investigated by several aliens - a tall humanoid resembling some sort of wizard... and a bunch of SGAs.

Of course, I should note that it is very easy for psychiatrists to manipulate supressed memories and make the person in question remember events that never happened.

[Johonebesus]

Another probable source for alien abduction memories is sleep paralysis. Basically, your'e half awake, but the paralysis mechanism is still activated. You feel like you are completely awake yet you cannot move. You will likely have an overwhelming terror, and you may heave a strong sense of a presence nearby. You might also feel like you are floating. Ususally, you go back to sleep after such an event, and so it is not surprising if in your dreams you create an elaborate story to interpret the experience. In olden times people believed in demons possessing them or witches sitting on their chests at night, now people believe in aliens stealing them away.

[PainRack]

Another real explaination of Alien abductions is the fairy tale aspect.While most alien abductions stories in the press focuses on the "I been abducted by aliens,raped,anally probed and had my babies raised by aliens" bit,they and the alien literature tends to ignore the subsequent stories the abductees put.

For example,Barney and Betty Hill,the first alien abductess both continued to experience UFO experiences and alien contacts.Betty Hill eventually started saying that they had made contact with aliens,and that several more UFO visitations occured,and that a UFO landed on Barney grave as a form of respect.

Stories about alien abductions also sound familar to ghost stories.In fact,in my reading on both ghost and alien stories,I have found cross-linked stories,used to support both sides.

To put it simply,other than the natural pheomena and I want to believe pyschological aspects,there is also a cultural aspect in the alien abduction.We both know the physical explainations.How the mind can alter time perception,how monotonous journeys and deja vu can alter distances and landmarks,the stories of how intense electromagnetic fields and other forms of sensory illusions can attribute UFO visitations and confabulation by hypnosis and last but not least,the power of the mind.After all,humans insisted that a war by Martians had been decleared on Earth despite being told it was a story.Many even said they felt the heat from the heat rays and showed spots where the heat rays had attacked.

However,in Europe at least,the stories about aliens have taken on a fairy tale aspect that has replaced the ghosts,elves and fairies of centuries past.They have aliens passing through the walls and looking at them sleeping{ghost},aliens taking them to a far-away place where miracles occurs{fairies},magical aspects in which time and space is altered and despite them being in a busy place,either no one notices their situation or everyone has disappeared.The last bit has even achieved an official"magical" labelling by UFO buffs in Britain.

In other words,given a stimulas,it is possible that the resulting alien stories fulfill a deep pyschological and cultural impetetus for the magical world that the industrialised world have left behind.

[Mr Bean]

Somthing I picked up in my Psychology Studies

Take a small electrical current, roughly 1.5 times what is normaly going through the brain, This is how much rougly occures when somthing completly unexpted hits you, IE going home to find you mother and father naked on the couch, Winning a Million Dollers, Falling out of a car, Basicly any sort of oh-shit moment when you get unexpectely suprised


Well Gerogetown did a two year study with this and some Voluntieers (Roughly 80) and they basicly zaped your brain with the "oh shit" amount of electricity(IE the amount that courses through your head when somthing completly unexpted occures) and they found that they could cause people to do everything from See God and Jesus to cause out of body experances at will

[beyond hope]

Another probable source for alien abduction memories is sleep paralysis. Basically, your'e half awake, but the paralysis mechanism is still activated. You feel like you are completely awake yet you cannot move. You will likely have an overwhelming terror, and you may heave a strong sense of a presence nearby. You might also feel like you are floating. Ususally, you go back to sleep after such an event, and so it is not surprising if in your dreams you create an elaborate story to interpret the experience. In olden times people believed in demons possessing them or witches sitting on their chests at night, now people believe in aliens stealing them away.

I've had dreams like that: I have the sense of being awake, even able to see my bedroom, and something shadowy is standing over the side of the bed. I can feel the malevolence of the thing... sometimes I feel claws scraping across my skin.

One more reason I still sleep with a night light at the ripe old age of 28.

[PainRack]

I've had dreams like that: I have the sense of being awake, even able to see my bedroom, and something shadowy is standing over the side of the bed. I can feel the malevolence of the thing... sometimes I feel claws scraping across my skin.

One more reason I still sleep with a night light at the ripe old age of 28.

The funniest bit is how you can believe that by just closing your eyes and burying deeper into your blanket,you won't be hurt and the thing will just go away.

Although I admit its seriously disconcerting when you open your eyes and there's nothing there at all.I did it once.I don't recommend doing it at all.

[kojikun]

I'd like to have a waking dream where theres a cute boy in my room..

[Wicked Pilot]

Has an atheist ever had one of those light at the end of the tunnel visions

Yes, I have. I was also pulling 7 Gs at the time.

[Iceberg]

Nah, that's just tunnel vision.

[Sea Skimmer]

Has an atheist ever had one of those light at the end of the tunnel visions

Yes, I have. I was also pulling 7 Gs at the time.

You didn't happen to lose your color vision just before that did you?

[beyond hope]

I've had dreams like that: I have the sense of being awake, even able to see my bedroom, and something shadowy is standing over the side of the bed. I can feel the malevolence of the thing... sometimes I feel claws scraping across my skin.

One more reason I still sleep with a night light at the ripe old age of 28.

The funniest bit is how you can believe that by just closing your eyes and burying deeper into your blanket,you won't be hurt and the thing will just go away.

Although I admit its seriously disconcerting when you open your eyes and there's nothing there at all.I did it once.I don't recommend doing it at all.

Imagine having the first dream, then waking up, then realizing that whatever the thing is it's still there, then waking up, then seeing it again, then finally waking up for real...

I barely slept the next couple of days afterwards. My mind treats me to some vividly nasty nightmares.

[UltraViolence83]

For the past few months I've been having VERY vivid and wierd dreams. I wonder what's causing them? I've also been told that I'm one of the few people who can engage in lucid dreaming. Say I need something, I'll wish it to be. I can control my dreams sometimes.

Anyway, back to the topic:
I remember reading about this helmet some researcher made that sends electricity to certain parts of your brain to simulate that nirvana feeling that monks can get after awhile. I was wonder if that helmet could cause brain damage since it does to you what years of practice and meditating do to someone ready for it.

I'm going to get ridiculed for this, but I think that causing these changes in brain electricity makes you percieve things you usually don't notice. Of course, it also causes your brain to run wild, and make shit up like in a dream.

*Runs off to burn my house down, as per orders from the Magical Dream Pixie*

[neoolong]

For the past few months I've been having VERY vivid and wierd dreams. I wonder what's causing them? I've also been told that I'm one of the few people who can engage in lucid dreaming. Say I need something, I'll wish it to be. I can control my dreams sometimes.

Do you know the percentage of people that can lucid dream? I know I've done it before, but it's hard to stay in it because when I'm aware of the dream, I tend to not be able to stay in the dream state without trying.

Anyway, back to the topic:
I remember reading about this helmet some researcher made that sends electricity to certain parts of your brain to simulate that nirvana feeling that monks can get after awhile. I was wonder if that helmet could cause brain damage since it does to you what years of practice and meditating do to someone ready for it.

It depends. I don't know how it works or even whether it does, but if the training the monks do is in order to gain access, and not to prepare the brain for that activity, it doesn't necessarily have to do any harm.

I'm going to get ridiculed for this, but I think that causing these changes in brain electricity makes you percieve things you usually don't notice. Of course, it also causes your brain to run wild, and make shit up like in a dream.

*Runs off to burn my house down, as per orders from the Magical Dream Pixie*

I would think it would depend on the kinds of changes in brain chemistry that goes on.

[UltraViolence83]

I've HEARD the percentage is 3% of the world's population that can do it without trying to, but I think it's higher.

Well, they don't practice for it, I just couldn't think of the right words to use. In my mind it's kinda like how a boxer trains to be a better boxer, while at the same time gets used to getting hit alot. That's a stupid analogy, but again I can't think of the right words.

Brain chemsitry...Yes...that's what I meant...Like how you can think/notice things differently whilst on an acid trip. Kinda like that. At least, that's what Tim Leary said, in a way.

[neoolong]

I've HEARD the percentage is 3% of the world's population that can do it without trying to, but I think it's higher.

Depends on how they tried to reach that number, probably.

Well, they don't practice for it, I just couldn't think of the right words to use. In my mind it's kinda like how a boxer trains to be a better boxer, while at the same time gets used to getting hit alot. That's a stupid analogy, but again I can't think of the right words.

I think I get what you mean. But that would seem to only hold if it's like a boxer training, if it isn't, then accessing those parts of the brain might not do harm.

Brain chemsitry...Yes...that's what I meant...Like how you can think/notice things differently whilst on an acid trip. Kinda like that. At least, that's what Tim Leary said, in a way.

Yep.

[UltraViolence83]

Dammit! My might word powers fail me! Ok, ok, here: Monk-type person begins his acension toward inner peace. He meditates like a fiend every day, for like 12 hours straight. Now, after a long time, he's able to find that nirvana place easily. With this "God"-helmet, you can get something like that very, very fast and easy. From what I hear, it is accompanied by a feeling of wholeness/togetherness, and therefore, since it is easy to do with the helmet, is possibly addictive. Doing this all the time, without taking out that long time to get used to it, and work towards it, may be too much for your brain to handle after awhile. If it won't damage you, it sure as hell would imbalance you. Phew.

[neoolong]

Dammit! My might word powers fail me! Ok, ok, here: Monk-type person begins his acension toward inner peace. He meditates like a fiend every day, for like 12 hours straight. Now, after a long time, he's able to find that nirvana place easily. With this "God"-helmet, you can get something like that very, very fast and easy. From what I hear, it is accompanied by a feeling of wholeness/togetherness, and therefore, since it is easy to do with the helmet, is possibly addictive. Doing this all the time, without taking out that long time to get used to it, and work towards it, may be too much for your brain to handle after awhile. If it won't damage you, it sure as hell would imbalance you. Phew.

I get what you're saying, I think. It looks like there are two areas. The first being psychological effects of the sensation. The other being from before, where it could be physical damage.

[UltraViolence83]

I think so. It's hard to explain from my point of view, but I think that could sum it up. I'm trying to say getting to nirvana would be safer for the expert who started small and gradually worked toward their goal, instead of the clueless newbie getting zapped in the head and getting to the goal without any prior experience of it.