Comments on: Multimodal Ganzfeld Gives Mild Hallucinations

By: mind

mind — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:31:19 +0000

Natha, the Ganzfeld effect makes similar but more pronounced effects than the blackout you mention. Kind of like when daydreaming one might get a very clear visual picture of whatever imagery the mind produces.

The “blackout” as in scrying can be done with a mirror, but also by staring at any stationary object such that there is a high contrast between the object and background: a tall house against a clear summer sky, a lecturer standing at a lighted speaker-box, an object against a bright wall, etc.

In Ganzfeld you can get short glimpses of visual things which appear much more realistic. I don’t think they are blackouts as in scrying, as in Ganzfeld you won’t see anything in the first place so there’s not much to black out.

Also, in Ganzfeld it can be multimodal: you can experience motion at the corner of your eye, see pictures, hear sounds, and so on.

I think the mechanisms behind the blackout in scrying and the ones at play with Ganzfeld have the same neurophysiological basis.

By: mind

mind — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:29:58 +0000

Francisco, you can quite easily return. In fact, it’s quite easy to “drop out” of that state. So don’t worry about it.

By: Natha

Natha — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:51:33 +0000

if this effect as same as the “total black out effect” in scrying, which happen just before the vision appears, then this is totally real. when using black mirror for scrying, the same thing happen (i think so). gaze in to the mirror, everything you see vanishes and all you start to see is black, then vision appears. Any idea on this?

By: Francisco

Francisco — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:12:59 +0000

This experiment can be done without supervision. I mean, can I “return” voluntarily if the experience is not pleasant? (Please, pardon my English)

By: Pantera

Pantera — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:17:28 +0000

I’ve done this twice, using white halved ping pong balls, loud white noise, and a sitting in a chair with a red lightbulb right in front of me. The first time it was like dreaming without sleeping and I was able to remember everything. I saw things like I was watching a movie, not actually participating.
The second time the effect was less pronounced, I noticed that half of my images were of things I had seen or heard throughout my life. I did however, have the most peculiar sensation that I was floating through space and that my hands were 20 feet away from my face. Very hard to describe.
I think the true worth of the Ganzfeld effect is that it allows your mind to wander, coming up with the most incredible and terrifying images. I find it useful for writing, because it allows you to be far more creative. I’ve never meditated, but I imagine it’s a lot like that.
I’m also pretty sure that your organs will not shut off.

By: Alec

Alec — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:40:51 +0000

i did this with a couple of friends of mine. i saw some weird stuff… not like a full blown hallucinogenic trip, more like random images, feelings, and sounds that last for no more than a couple of seconds. to put it bluntly and simply, they were creepy.

By: Mad Mage

Mad Mage — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:36:17 +0000

Has this been tried using binaural beats instead of white noise? Or some kinds of drugs legal or not?

By: mind

mind — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:10:25 +0000

Marietta, this post might also interest you.

By: mind

mind — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:51:19 +0000

Marietta, as for research into remote viewing: I'm not sure if you knew this already, but during the Cold War (around 1972 to 1995) the CIA ran a program called "STAR GATE". They researched into remote viewing for military intelligence purposes, but did not find conclusive evidence. Some of the material is available, released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in the USA. A nice summary is at Federation of American Scientists' page. Wikipedia has also an article about STAR GATE. By googling "CIA STAR GATE FOIA" you'll find places which have some of the FOIA documents. Although some people agree with Jessica Utts and interpret the STAR GATE program results as positive proof, the consensus is the opposite. Human beings are very good at matching patterns, and confirmation bias is sometimes easy to overlook (accepting/seeing things which match expectations). These facts can distort the results and analysis of the sessions, leading to "seeing things" (pardon the pun). I'd agree with the memories-interpretation (repressed or not). My personal feeling is that the hallucinatory imagery seen during sensory deprivation is the same/similar thing as in meditation and dreams - something springing forth from our experiences, with the imagery triggered by an association of a memory with something currently in the unconscious, or a synthesis of an old memory and imagination to create something new.

By: Marietta

Marietta — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:04:42 +0000

This is a quite fascinating topic. I wonder if the lack of input to the brain through sensory deprivation may not activate other latent brain activity.Here I’m referring to both psychological and psychic phenomena. Could repressed memories surface as so called hallucinations? Could the visual dream-like images be actual remote viewing? Could it induce astral travel? I mean, has anyone done research regarding these possibilities? Just curious….