I have a friend who keeps insisting that people with APs and OBEs are "Indigo Children." I had heard of this, but didn't know what it was. So, I did an investigation.
A thumbnail sketch of the theory: the "Indigo Warrior" children were sent here in the 70's, this first wave is supposed to tear down old corrupt systems, clearing the path for the second wave, the "Crystals" who are being born now, they are described as blissful and even-tempered.
So, I go to this web site she wanted to see, and it says:
QuoteHumans are becoming aware of who they truly are: that they are Spirits in Human bodies, and that they are, in other words, Angels in human form...there was always a "gap" between the material manifestation of the human body and consciousness and the spiritual reality...As the consciousness ascends higher, the spiritual world comes closer, until there is no longer a "gap" but a continuum that is termed "Multi-Dimensional Consciousness". In this state, the human being is able to access both the material and spiritual realms with ease.
That is quite clearly describing OBEs.
I want to test the theory:
Who here has been photographed with a Purple or Indigo Aura?
Indigo children do not actually have an indigo/purple aura. Also, aura colors are not a constant, so the color from an aura photo is only one aspect of the aura.
Quote from: kiwibongaIndigo children do not actually have an indigo/purple aura. Also, aura colors are not a constant, so the color from an aura photo is only one aspect of the aura.
arent indigo childrean defined as people who (normally (not when enraged etc.)) have an indigo aura? if not why then are they
indigo children?
Hehe that would be cool because that might include me (born in 87 :smile: )
I'm just curious to know... where exactly did this theory come from? It sounds kind of stupid in my opinion as humans throughout existance have always have had APs and OBEs.
And how to I get an aura photograph?
jalef:
from www.indigochild.com:
Quoteand... just in case you heard otherwise from other "indigo" sources, the designated word "Indigo" has nothing to do with the color of an aura! It is the result of scientific observations by a woman who has the brain disorder called synesthesia.
As for the idea that AP and OBEs are exclusive to indigo children... That's wrong... All humans can leave the body. Even animals can, actually.
Quote from: kiwibongajalef:
from www.indigochild.com:
Quoteand... just in case you heard otherwise from other "indigo" sources, the designated word "Indigo" has nothing to do with the color of an aura! It is the result of scientific observations by a woman who has the brain disorder called synesthesia.
As for the idea that AP and OBEs are exclusive to indigo children... That's wrong... All humans can leave the body. Even animals can, actually.
It's been found that everyone has 'synesthesia', people who are deemed to suffer from it medically usually have more pronounced symptoms of it (so it infringes on sensory perception) whereas the majority of us utilise its effects in an subconscious manner.
Out of curiosity, what would synesthesia have to do with stating people are indigo?
Plus the idea that to have OBEs you have to be indigo seems silly to me, for one, they are supposed to be more 'enlightened' and a lot of us that project aren't (trust me on that :lol: ), and people have been projecting for ages (lots of books about obes have been written in the past about the phenomenon) and the indigo phenomenon is supposed to be a contemporary one. Now I realize that the indigo idea stemmed from a reaction to the modern pathologizing of children, and I applaud that, but there has to be a better way of enpowering them than to make them feel like they're members of an 'elite' club, which is the impression I get from the websites I've visited and not to mention a whole sales franchise.
There is a form of "aura photography" which is often used at "Festival of Mind Body & Spirit" type events.
The so-called aura photography equipment consists of five thimble-type cups into which you push your figer tips. These measure the electrical resistance in your fingertips, and then a computer program converts the resistance measurements into a bunch of colours which are then superposed over a photograph taken of you with a normal camera.
Trust me this doesn't work!!!!
I can't imagine why the electrical resistance of your fingertips (governed by the amount you SWEAT) should have any bearing on the colours in your aura.
So if you had an aura photograph taken by this machine just throw it away.
On the other hand, Kirlian photography uses a different principle and actually measures some sort of emanation or field surrounding your fingertips. Kirlian photography therefore possibly captures a form of auric emanation. The cameras cost $700 or so.
I have a friend who is able to see auras (in fact I know two people who can see auras). My friend gives me a detailed description of my aura including bright colours etc. I think what he sees is something different again from the images captured by the fake aura camera, and the genuine Kirlian camera. What my friend sees is probably not a physical emanation, rather an "astral" emanation.
So take aura photographs with a pinch of salt!
I'm quite happy (delighted) to be proven wrong, if anybody has any information on a real physical device which can capture full-body aura images showing real colours, and achieves this without measuring the amount you sweat!
I think the "indigo children" idea is just some sort of cult fad (sorry). After all, astral projection has been practiced for thousands of years, by all cultures!
Having said that, my aura is in fact indigo around the back of my head at the moment (according to my friend)..... :shock:
Quoteaura colors are not a constant...
To a degree, yes they are. You may go through life changes, but you will still be "you."
Quotejust in case you heard otherwise from other "indigo" sources, the designated word "Indigo" has nothing to do with the color of an aura!
This one person going up against many other sources, probably because her child does not have an Indigo Aura.
Quotehumans throughout existance have always have had APs and OBEs.
No kidding. :roll: They are claiming that there are
more people coming in with these abilities. That there has been a marked increase.
One would only hope, that after thousands of years of re-incarnations humans would finally have an upgrade. You'd think we'd have learned something by now.
It's about time, don't you think? If not, then we're a hoplessly stupid race and should just give up.
catmeow - I am aware there are a couple of different types of machines, and one of them just overlays random colors over your picture. So you have to be careful.
I have had two of them done, almost ten years apart, by different people, on different (newer, updated) equipment. I was amazed at how the photos were nearly exactly the same.
I do think the Aura has something to tell us about ourselves. I do not think it is "meaningless."
If we go by the system the Chakras lay out it has to do with the age of the soul. We all start off as "red" and after a period of time progress through to the other colors.
Any eliteism would be like a Fifth grader picking on a First grader. How you do know the First grader isn't smarter? You never know what brand new "red" soul might catch up quicky, grow up, and out-perform you.
Then it would remember how you picked on it when it was little, and kick your butt. :lol:
the "disorder" synesthesia, "suffer" from synesthesia? since when is synesthesia some kind of disease that people suffer from? its just when senses kind of "leak" into other areas of the brain, for example hearing a color from someones voice, or seeing colors in letters and numbers...etc etc......cant believe you people used the words disorder and suffer to describe it. having synesthesia is not suffering at all, its actually interesting to have it....sheesh people, learn the facts?
Quote from: nwbthe "disorder" synesthesia, "suffer" from synesthesia? since when is synesthesia some kind of disease that people suffer from? its just when senses kind of "leak" into other areas of the brain, for example hearing a color from someones voice, or seeing colors in letters and numbers...etc etc......cant believe you people used the words disorder and suffer to describe it. having synesthesia is not suffering at all, its actually interesting to have it....sheesh people, learn the facts?
I sort of made this point above, including it seems all our brains are wired to cross senses (which anyone taking a high dose of psychedelics would experience for themselves :wink:). But people said to 'suffer' from 'synesthesia ' are just more aware of it than others.
Theres been some very interesting research into synesthesias role in language, mathematics, spatial and temporal understanding and construction, and even its role in creativity and our internal interpretation of sound.
Ive had synesthesia as far as i remember, just learned what it was called last year after telling a person i could hear colors of peoples voices, she was like hmm Ive heard that was called synesthesia i was like really? so i researched it on the net and found out about it....the only things i can really do is see colors on people, not auras, but on the actual people, feel when I'm certain colors for example ill feel blue or red, like if i eat a cookie or some small thing it will turn me a different color for about 30 minutes (don't ask my why, cause I'm not sure).....hear colors in voices, and a lot of times songs i hear have certain colors.....your right tho it is a subconscious thing because when i hear a color in a voice, "red" or whatever wont pop up in my head, ill subconsciously know the persons voice is red without thinking about it
The point is that synesthesia does not always mean clairvoyance, or at least, not in the terms that we know.
As it was said earlier in this thread, nobody can have an aura that is only indigo.. All humans have a multicolored aura, no matter what...
Quotekiwibonga - nobody can have an aura that is only indigo
Apparently you've never had anyone explain this to you. The inner core of your Aura is "you." This will probably change very little over the course of your lifetime.
The colors on the outside reflect your current experiences. On the left side are the influences on their way in, on the right side are the influences on their way out.
I notice that so far, no one has been able to answer my question, as no one here knows what their aura looks like. You'd think that would be something we'd all know on a board like this.
You seem to be describing the etheric body, which sticks out of the skin by about 5 cm all around.
Mine is translucent glow-in-the-dark blue. Or at least, that's what I keep seeing when I manage to detach my etheric hands from my physical body during sleep paralysis...
I've never seen an aura though...
Okay, so that's one indigo...
On the rare occasions I see myself I'm usually moving energy, and too distracted by the electricity bolts flashing across my body, and flashing inside my eyes, to notice the color... :sad: The bolts were white. But of course they would be. And they were covering me so that I couldn't see my core aura color.
The two photos I've had taken (many years apart) were almost exactly the same, and both showed me as purple. They have people who can see auras who help them develop the equipment, to let them know if they have the colors right or not.
A recentish reading saw my aura as:
Quote
i see aura around you as pink, orange, golden, white, indigo, tray red, ethereal green, topaz
:lol: Thats a lot of colours there :grin:
When I project the few times I've seen my melty hands I think they're bluish, but not dark blue.
BTW, what is tray red?
Quote from: CFTravelerWhen I project the few times I've seen my melty hands I think they're bluish, but not dark blue.
BTW, what is tray red?
I've no idea! I've been googling about regarding this and other parts of the reading, but with little luck so far.
Only time I've looked at my arms was my first one, and it looked normal, like how my physical forearms would look :confused:
I really need to remember to check again next time.
I used to play with my arms and hands and I've never seen anything other than a slight out line with, what I would call stars, or galaxies. I'm all twinkly. Never have I've seen me any other color. Interesting.
MisterJingo - There are always a lot of colors, the differance is where exactly those colors are.
In my photo, my core energy was purple, (the color direcly over my person.)
To one side I had a murky brown, this was a negagtive influence on it's way out (I had just broken up with a bad b/f.)
To the other side was a bright pink color on it's way in (a New Love on the way.) Also there was some green healing energy on the way in.
Dirctly over my heart was gold, and I had a couple of "orbs" over my head.
It's the core color, the one in the middle of all the "outside influences" that is you...the other colors are just what's going on around you.
I've always thought those aura photos were a bit, iffy.
I'd really like to know what my aura is like - but where I live, I think we can't even get fake photos of auras! :D
:lol: You can come to one of the Expos here and get your fake photo, not to mention some bogus readings. :grin:
hey blade5x what is an ethereal projection? is that just a fancy way of saying obe?
Yeah, Nay, I really think I will! :lol:
I did my research beforehand and knew what kind of camera I was looking for.
There's a couple different types so you have to be careful. There is a kind of "aura" camera on the market that just splashes colors over you at random.
I've had two photos, ten years apart, and they came out nearly exactly the same.
Actually, I'd rather find a person who is gifted when it comes to seeing auras and ask nicely to him/her to tell me what my aura looks like. :smile:
Quote from: VilkateActually, I'd rather find a person who is gifted when it comes to seeing auras and ask nicely to him/her to tell me what my aura looks like
Well that's what I did. My aura apparently is blue and purple mainly with some yellow and lots of other less vivid colours.
I don't trust any "aura camera" which takes measurements from your fingertips or hands, and translates these into colours which it then displays around a picture of your face - imho these are just taking heat and electrical resistance measurements and these measurements have absolutely nothing to do with your aura! I just don't believe it... it's a money-making scheme.. the equipment costs, say £1000 and then you charge £25 a go at psychic festivals. You can easily make your £1000 back in one or two days.
Leyla - I'm not being funny, but did you put your hand into a contraption to get your aura photographed - cos I don't believe this is photographing your aura? Sorry.... :cry:
Just for clarification, the colours I posted were from a person - not a camera. They also told me a lot of other stuff they saw too like "snake heads of kundalini" above my head. A lot of symbolic stuff which i'm still researching.
MisterJingo- Interesting, because I would trust the scientific meathod before I would trust some stranger telling me what it looked like. How do I know they're right? They could make anything up.
But if you really trust these aura readers, then you'll be happy to know that they helped design the camera. Apparently they brought a group of them in to confirm they had the colors right.
MisterJingo: Are you saying the aura readers are wrong? Or just that the camera is wrong? And how can the camera be wrong, if the aura readers confirmed it was right and helped to design the camera?
Is the aura reader who read you "better" that the aura readers who helped design the camera? And if so, how do you know? How can you automatically discount the word of a group of aura readers, and then believe whole-heartedly what another one says?
As for those kundilini snakes, I would run and see if I could get it photographed. I knew of a woman who had Egyptian hieroglyphs show up over her head. They told her to go research what it was, but she never did, and after several months, the hieroglyphs simply disappeared from the photo.
catmeow - Now, of course a lot of people don't believe there is an "energy" field around the body. But it is a medical fact, that the body gives off electromagnetic emanations...so for heavens sake, why wouldn't it be able to be picked up on and measured by instruments?
They have scientific instruments that can pick up on radiation levels, and on where earthquakes might happen. They can measure every other sort of electrical impulse on the face of the earth, but you think it's impossible to measure the aura? Sorry, :cry: but that doesn't make sense.
Hell, I've caught weird stuff going by even on a regular camera.
Quote
MisterJingo- Interesting, because I would trust the scientific meathod before I would trust some stranger telling me what it looked like. How do I know they're right? They could make anything up.
But if you really trust these aura readers, then you'll be happy to know that they helped design the camera. Apparently they brought a group of them in to confirm they had the colors right.
I don't necessarily trust the aura readers (as in I have no reason to distrust them either), I just keep an open mind on what they say – but keep my skepticism about me :wink:. I don't really go into the whole aura reading thing, but if a reading is offered me, I take it to see what comes out.
Quote
MisterJingo: Are you saying the aura readers are wrong? Or just that the camera is wrong? And how can the camera be wrong, if the aura readers confirmed it was right and helped to design the camera?
My problem with the cameras is how they claim to view the aura. It's either imposing colours onto a picture of you, generated by some custom algorithm, or they use a very similar technique to what measures galvanic skin response i.e. they run a voltage across the skin, then use the readings gained to overlay colours (generated from a custom algorithm) on a picture of the person having their aura photographed.
I really cannot see how a persons skin conductivity, which changes due to muscle state (i.e. tensing up even minutely can increase resistance), perspiration, dirt etc, can give a picture of an aura.
Lots of claims have been made about these cameras, such as photographing a leaf with a piece removed shows the aura of that piece still there. But this only happens when the person cutting the leaf doesn't clean the plate before re-photographing the leaf. So the moisture/residue of the removed piece still conducts electricity, giving the outline of the missing piece.
I would be dubious that people can see the same colours as what the photographs show. It's something I would have to look into myself to believe such a claim.
Quote
Is the aura reader who read you "better" that the aura readers who helped design the camera? And if so, how do you know? How can you automatically discount the word of a group of aura readers, and then believe whole-heartedly what another one says?
I don't believe wholeheartedly :smile:. This is the only reading I have ever had, it was offered, so out of curiosity I took that offer up.
Quote
As for those kundilini snakes, I would run and see if I could get it photographed. I knew of a woman who had Egyptian hieroglyphs show up over her head. They told her to go research what it was, but she never did, and after several months, the hieroglyphs simply disappeared from the photo.
I find things like the above interesting. But the skeptic in me would want to see how the photograph was taken, software/hardware used etc. People, who have a belief in aura photography to the extent they offer it as a service, are pretty much biased in its favour (just like my skeptisism would make me perhaps biased against) and I have no idea what enhancements they would make to the photograph in their software, even if its with the best intentions at heart i.e. their psychics say they can see certain images, so they impose these images on. I'm not saying this happens, just that until I saw the process myself, pulled the software apart, I'd remain open to all possibilities.
Quote from: Leylacatmeow - Now, of course a lot of people don't believe there is an "energy" field around the body. But it is a medical fact, that the body gives off electromagnetic emanations...so for heavens sake, why wouldn't it be able to be picked up on and measured by instruments?
They have scientific instruments that can pick up on radiation levels, and on where earthquakes might happen. They can measure every other sort of electrical impulse on the face of the earth, but you think it's impossible to measure the aura? Sorry, but that doesn't make sense.
Correct, it doesn't make sense, but that isn't what I said. What I said was that I questioned whether we can correlate skin resistance to aura colours. MisterJingo summed up exactly the same point:
Quote from: MisterJingoMy problem with the cameras is how they claim to view the aura. It's either imposing colours onto a picture of you, generated by some custom algorithm, or they use a very similar technique to what measures galvanic skin response i.e. they run a voltage across the skin, then use the readings gained to overlay colours (generated from a custom algorithm) on a picture of the person having their aura photographed.
I really cannot see how a persons skin conductivity, which changes due to muscle state (i.e. tensing up even minutely can increase resistance), perspiration, dirt etc, can give a picture of an aura.
I am a scientist so I understand the scientific method extremely well. That is also why I have ZERO TRUST in the people who designed and built these aura cameras. Who are they? What are their scientific qualifications? Which "psychics" did they use? How many "psychics" did they use? Did all the "psychics" see the same colours? How did they correlate what the psychics saw with skin resistance measurements? Has their research ever been published? Have their methods been peer reviewed? Has anyone independently verified their results?
Only if their work has been conducted properly, with a large sample of "psychics", peer reviewed and independently verified, can it be considered reliable. Until then it's just speculation, and any claims the designers make can not be taken seriously.
I would dearly like to see (as i said in my first post) a full-body aura camera which actually does detect bodily radiation, rather than just measuring skin resistance. Hell, I've got a multimeter which will read my skin resistance and give me a reading in kilohms, but that doesn't tell me anything about my aura! Also the
pressure of your fingers against the electrodes makes a massive difference in skin resistance readings (like a factor of x1000) so I can't see how these devices can even be remotely reliable (ask any electrical engineer).
I'm not questioning the possibility of detecting the aura. What I'm saying is that galvanic skin resistance measurements of the fingers do not measure the aura in any way whatsoever.
catmeow - What's all this about verification and proof? You do realize this is an OBE board, right? Everything we do is "just speculation" and "any claims we make" about having OBE's "cannot be taken seriously" by the scientific community.
Anyway, your electro conductivity would have a lot to do with your aura. Your nerves, your spine, your brain, all electrical impulses, and your bodies electric/energy system is the aura.
I suppose you could stress and strain and flex, to give off a false reading. But why would you want to? You could smear dirt on your hands to block the receptors to keep you from getting a clear reading, but why?
When I was a kid, they took me to get dental ex-ray. For kicks, I stuck my jaw waaaay out, so that when the ex ray came back the dentist told my mother I had an overbite, and of course I didn't.
There was nothing wrong with the dentists ex-ray equipment. It was working fine. I had deliberatly thrown off my reading.
All that being said, I'll tell why I believe the photographs.
I had been attracting a lot of astral "hangers on." Little energy drainers. I did not know how to get rid of them. So, when the photo came out, I was not surprised to see them there. Almost a dozen of them, lined up over my head.
The photo people were shocked by the sheer amount of orbs. And they'd never seen anybody purple before either. They looked at me reeeal funny, and asked "Do you meditate a lot, or something?" To which I replied "Yeah...or something."
Later, I had figured out how to block out unwanted hangers on. No more little energy drainers. Found a completly different set of people, and sat in front of their camera.
Took the photo, and guess what? Everything was exactly the same. Except that all those orbs, the "hangers on" were gone. I had got rid of them. I only had the couple of big orbs still that are my main guides.
This is pretty much what I expected to see. So, the camera does accurately reflect the presence or absence of "extra" astral beings.
If you really want to be a stickler about it, you cannot verify the camera, but you can't verify the presence of the astral beings either.
Only I can verify, that the camera accuratly depicted what I knew to be the situation.
I know you might be all "Why the f--- didn't you just say so??? :roll: "
Forgive me for not just coming out with it, but having astral parasites isn't exactly the kind of thing you want to talk about.
Do you have the photos? I would love to see them!! We need all the proof we can get and a photo would be grand to see!
Quote from: Leylacatmeow - What's all this about verification and proof? You do realize this is an OBE board, right? Everything we do is "just speculation" and "any claims we make" about having OBE's "cannot be taken seriously" by the scientific community.
Huh? This thread isn't about OBE's, and my comments are directed specifically towards aura cameras. Aura cameras are marketed as "scientific instruments" and as such we expect them to stand up to scientific rigour. They do not.
Quote from: LeylaAnyway, your electro conductivity would have a lot to do with your aura.
Not true. Skin resistance has nothing to do with nerves, spine, or electrical impulses. It is determined purely by the amount of moisture in your skin (sweat).
This is all these cameras measure. They do not measure electrical activity, nerve impulses, electromagnetic radiation etc. Now tell me do you believe the amount you sweat has anything to do with your aura? Because that is exactly what these cameras are displaying, in nice glowing colours.... sweat.
Like you, I too had a fairly colourful aura photograph taken using one of these cameras. Unfortunately it looked nothing like the aura described to me by my aura-sensitive friend, but that's another matter.
Nay - I will look into finding the pictures, and maybe scanning them in.
catmeow - I don't know about your friend. Only she knows if she can really see auras. But I can tell you that the aura camera did accuratly reflect what I knew for a fact to be the situation astrally. Are you calling me a liar? If not, then how do you explain it? Coincidence???
That is excellent Leyla! Thank you! :grin:
Leyla - nope I'm definitely not calling you a liar. Your photos came out as you said, I have no doubt about that, and I believe you simply saw what you wanted to see in them. If I was going through a bad patch and saw some blobs on my aura photograph I might say "ahhh some negs!" but really they're just blobs and can mean anything... You're a believer in these aura cameras so you see what you want to see. I'm not trying to diminish what you saw, and you should continue to believe what you believe, it makes you the person you are. But I just don't see the significance that you do in your photos, and I don't believe these cameras work, for the reasons I've given. Next time there's a psychic fayre in town (we get them every 6 months or so) I'll have another photo taken and get both my aura-seer friends to tell me what my aura looks like. I'll let you know what they say... I do look forward to seeing your photos if you scan them in... :wink:
I found this site about auric vision. Don't know how authentic it is but it makes an interesting read, explaining a little about the use of colours to stimulate auric sight, what the aura looks like normally, what it looks like in dying people etc. It's an interesting site, well written:
http://www.mastersinthemaking.com/articles/aura.shtml
I was told by a hippie on a full moon that I had a violet aura. Lol.
But I'm not sure I believe this whole "indigo" thing. I think maybe the "symptoms" of indigo children are symptoms of spiritual awakening though.
And thanks for that article; it's very interesting. I really want to learn how to read auras. I have a friend who says he can. He actually confirmed I had a violet aura. But I don't know if he can really even see auras, or what a violet aura even means. I shall read more of that site and see.
I was running an "experiment" and here are the before and after photos.
Left: As a test, I INVITED stray spirits into my aura. I said I would let them attach to me in EXCHANGE for their help and assistance.
Right: I got rid of my "extra guests," by putting a wall of protection around myself, and actually witnessed them trying to get back in.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/LeylaLeFay/LeylaAuraphotobucket.jpg)
As you can see, the outer row has vanished, while the inner row remains totally unchanged.
As for the vanishing patch of orange, I found this on catmeow's link:
Quote"If a person, with a predominantly blue aura, is experiencing an emotional crisis, their aura will be flooded with large patches of orange. This is a temporary state only, and once the crisis is resolved, their aura will revert to its natural blue."
That sums up the situation perfectly. Very helpful site, thank you.
Leyla: that is an impressive experiment.
Sorry if I'm being naive, but how did you take those photos?
Leyla - nice job scanning in and posting your aura photos, and thanks for doing that. As I say when I get my aura photo done I'll let you know how it comes out. :wink:
Leyla, thanks for posting those. I have to say that I'm not convinced of the 'inner orb' things. I can't say what it is for sure.. it looks like the colors are just morphing into each other and a little brighter in those areas. But of course, you are witnessing it up close and personal. :grin:
Thanks again!
Quote from: catmeowI found this site about auric vision. Don't know how authentic it is but it makes an interesting read, explaining a little about the use of colours to stimulate auric sight, what the aura looks like normally, what it looks like in dying people etc. It's an interesting site, well written:
http://www.mastersinthemaking.com/articles/aura.shtml
The one problem I with this page is an argument I've heard a few times, including from Robert Bruce. While the author agrees the aura matches complementary colours of objects looked at, which implies retinal fatigue. They argue it cannot be retinal fatigue because the auras appear almost instantly rather than after a period of staring.
I suffer from something called HPPD and one of the symptoms of this is everything imprints on my eyes instantly, so I see retinal fatigue off every object (auras). I also see a lot of other trailing colours etc, but these seem independent of the retinal fatigue.
My experience of this, and that of other HPPD suffers seems to counter this argument. I have either gained the ability to see auras off all objects instantly, or there is something more at work. Interestingly, some prescription drugs have produced these effects permanently in people too.
This is an area I really need to look into more deeply, as my current theories as to how this occurs is more opinion right now. My own experience seems to suggest that natural filters in the brain (which disregard non-essential information) are either damaged or changed, so seeming retinal fatigue happens a lot quicker than it should.
Practicing meditation/energy work and other 'noticing' exercises created the same effect over time. i.e. You look for something, so overtime the filters realign to that. This produces a feedback mechanism, the more you look, the more you see, so you look more etc.
I got caught up in this for a few years and I really did live in an existence dominated by visual and perceptual hallucinations.
What this suggests for auras, I have no idea, I'm just saying a condition I suffer from directly counters a central argument as to why auras (or at least auras as explained by a lot of people) are not retinal fatigue.
Edit:
I'm not sure if this is going off topic slight, but it's an idea I've had regarding auras and their mechanics.
Something I've become increasingly interested in is synaesthesia, especially recent research and findings in this area. I'm going from memory here, but if people are truly interested I can find sources of these research projects.
Firstly, it seems everyone has synaesthesia. We utilise it for many tasks ranging from creativity, to interpreting sounds, language, math, distance and various mental constructs. In most of us, this processing happens below a conscious level, so we use the results of it whilst being unaware of the processing. People who are deemed to 'suffer' from synaesthesia are actually consciously aware of parts of or all of this processing.
It seems that there is a correlation between sound and colours in people deemed synaesthesiac. In experiments, such people were made to choose a colour which represented a played note. There was a staggering correlation between all experiments. Low notes were darker in colour, and high notes where increasingly light (i.e. high notes being white-ish colours).
These experiments also tested people not consciously aware of their synaesthesia, and the results once again showed this pattern. We can assume from this that there is some internal mapping between sound and colour occurring which is common to all of us.
Next. It seems we pick up infinitely more information from minute body language changes than we consciously perceive. I guess this could be a product of social evolution (pre-speech language) which remains with us now, although as we tend to use language to the exclusion of all else, we miss a lot of information, or pick it up subconsciously and take it as intuitive knowledge i.e. we simply have forgotten how to interpret these things consciously.
If we look at experiments into synaesthesia which shows at a base level all sensory information interacts, is it too far outside the realms of possibility that people sensitive to synaesthesiac processing actually interpret the colours of this subconsciously gained information? I.e. whereas people subconsciously look at another person and gain certain feelings/ideas of that person – this helps us form opinions, or gives more sensitive people an emotional response. In a synaesthesiac, this subconscious processing could produce colours which are then seen/experienced as an aura.
This would give some grounding to what auras are/how they are seen.
If you wish to move things slightly out of the physical. One could suppose that certain information from the group consciousness is used by these mechanisms to produce the aura.
Due to awareness raising techniques, people who are usually unaware of the subconscious synaesthesiac processing could become more aware to it over time – hence seeing (increasingly defined) auras.
Nay - The "bright spots/orbs" aren't supposed to be there at all. It's an irregularity that isn't seen in most photos. I'm sure that's not what they really look like. It's just the best technology they can come up with at this time.
When I invited them in they all rushed me at once. It was a very creepy feeling. I can't describe it. Like an attack of leeches.
Another person who saw the Orbs/Negs was my regular psychic (who is really very good btw.) I went to see her about something completly different; when she asked why I had all the extra hangers-on in my aura.
When I explained to her what I'd done, she told me to get rid of them because they weren't doing me any good. So I did. She was right, they were useless energy drainers.
...kids don't try this at home. Let this be a cautionary tale.
MisterJingo
Like you, I'm suspicious about the way the author dismisses retinal fatigue in the article I linked to. But I just thought it was a well-written and interesting introduction to the subject.
Regarding your theory about aura-seers and synesthesia I think you're suggesting that aura-seers may be synesthetes, who actually experience body-language impressions as colours. This is an amazingly clever idea. Undoubtedly there are individuals who do see auras and this would be a perfect, simple, explanation for what they are experiencing. We all gain huge amounts of information by observing body language and we also know that synesthesia exists, so simply put the two together. Brilliant.
One way to test this of course would be to get an aura-seer to view someone standing behind a wall, and get the aura-seer to describe the aura as it projects over the top of the wall. If it's just body language then he won't see an aura, if it's real aura-vision then presumably he will see the aura although he is unable to see the actual physical person.
I saw a TV program about a mathematical prodigy who "sees" numbers as colours. he could multiply two LONG numbers together in seconds. The way it worked was that he saw each number as a "colour blob". He concentrated on the two "blobs" and his subconscious mind would then quickly present him with the result "blob". He was then able to transform the "result blob" back into a mult-digit number, which he then reported.
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MisterJingo
Like you, I'm suspicious about the way the author dismisses retinal fatigue in the article I linked to. But I just thought it was a well-written and interesting introduction to the subject.
I agree its well written :smile:, I just have a feeling retinal fatigue might play a part – but this is usually discounted by proponents of auras. Something which increases this suspicion is answers given on certain internet forums concerning developing auric sight. It's usually stated in the early stages one only sees transparent auras around objects, which eventually turns into colour auras.
Due to how the eyes work (actually moving around by minute amounts quickly), staring at any object causes retinal fatigue, and due to the eyes minute movements, the outline of the object seems to expand out (which is simply a fatigued areas background changing from the object to around it) which produces a clear looking aura.
To me, I can't see how one could differentiate between this natural action and supernatural action of auras. The argument is usually about the time it takes for retinal fatigue to develop – which counters my own experience.
Please note I'm more questioning certain opinions of developing aura/seeing auras then the whole validity of auras themselves :smile:.
Edit: This raises a point. I don't hold scepticism because I believe certain things are impossible. I hold scepticism because for a lot of things taken as paranormal, I see an equally convincing natural explanation (or the possibility of an explanation).
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Regarding your theory about aura-seers and synesthesia I think you're suggesting that aura-seers may be synesthetes, who actually experience body-language impressions as colours. This is an amazingly clever idea. Undoubtedly there are individuals who do see auras and this would be a perfect, simple, explanation for what they are experiencing. We all gain huge amounts of information by observing body language and we also know that synesthesia exists, so simply put the two together. Brilliant.
Cutting through my babble, that's exactly what I was suggesting :grin:. It just seems to fit for me.
I think people seriously underestimate the amount of information we can gain from body language alone. They seem to interpret body language as large movements such as folded arms, or moving from foot to foot etc. I think even minute movements, such as that of the eyes, or minute facial muscles etc give information. We might not interpret it consciously, but the information is there and can be accessed subconsciously. I also can't discount the possible information transferred by pheromones or other excretions. As small as these things are separately, taken all together, they could provide a rich tapestry of information.
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One way to test this of course would be to get an aura-seer to view someone standing behind a wall, and get the aura-seer to describe the aura as it projects over the top of the wall. If it's just body language then he won't see an aura, if it's real aura-vision then presumably he will see the aura although he is unable to see the actual physical person.
Exactly. If we find people who seem to consistently see auras, this theory could be tested. Although strangers should be used, perhaps the aura seer standing in another room and looking through a glass wall/window to discount the possibility of them picking up pheromones etc. And the aura reader should not see any of subjects before the test.
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I saw a TV program about a mathematical prodigy who "sees" numbers as colours. he could multiply two LONG numbers together in seconds. The way it worked was that he saw each number as a "colour blob". He concentrated on the two "blobs" and his subconscious mind would then quickly present him with the result "blob". He was then able to transform the "result blob" back into a mult-digit number, which he then reported.
I think I saw this too. Did he have a form of autism which didn't impair his social ability too much? And they created physical representations of these 'blobs'?
MisterJingo - I agree with all your points, if you focus long enough on anything you will experience visual disturbances due to well-understood retinal/neurological mechanisms. I actually think it might damage your sight. Regarding the TV program I also seem to remember in the back of my mind it may have been about savants, the most famous of which is Kim Peek, on whom the film "Rain Man" was based. I was thinking this as I wrote the post but wasn't sure. Was the program about a guy who learnt to speak Dutch in one week fluently enough to be interviewed on Dutch TV? He had a mild form of autism as you said... (and a major case of savantism)
Here you guys go. His name is Daniel, I've watched the program twice.. He is just incredible and adorable. :grin: The program was called, Brainman.
http://science.discovery.com/convergence/brainman/videogallery/videogallery.html
Quote from: NayHere you guys go. His name is Daniel, I've watched the program twice.. He is just incredible and adorable. :grin: The program was called, Brainman.
http://science.discovery.com/convergence/brainman/videogallery/videogallery.html
Thats the guy! Thanks Nay :grin:.
Ps Catmeow, I started to read that mentalism book and my eyes have already been opened :lol:. I'd never heard of swami gimmicks before now - very ingenious. It's amazing how simple some tricks really are. I haven't read much yet, but very enlightening so far.
You're welcome. :grin:
I wanted to mention but didn't have time earlier. They did a test where they gave him some colored clay and one day they had him mold the clay into the shape of whatever random number they said. I can remember some of the shapes but I can't remember the numbers that it went with.
The next day, they had him do the same thing and the shapes where pretty much identical.. the first day, Daniel was tired, so the difference betweent shapes was just the neatness..or definition of them. The reasoning behind that test was if he was making up the shapes he would not be able to be consistant in the colors and shapes for all of the numbers they gave. When all was said and done, they were convinced that Daniel was definitely seeing shapes and colors, instead of numbers. :smile:
He said that the number nine was very tall and the number six was the hardest one for him to get a hold of... it was like a black hole, nothingness. When he was in New York, I believe it was NY, he said it was little overwhelmed because the tall buildings made him feel like he had nines surrounding him. Wild, huh?
I would love to see the program again. OH.. and he did get to meet the real rainman.. that was cool to see. :grin:
Nice spot Nay! I googled "brainman" and "daniel" and lots of stuff comes up. Yes that was the program I saw, very interesting program. Daniel even made it into Wikipedia!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Tammet
MisterJingo - like you, I started to read the mentalism book intending to read from cover to cover, but the different chapters are so intriguing I couldn't help jumping around the book, dipping into different chapters. None of it is rocket science, just plain simple ingenuity. But once you see some of the simple techniques you realise how easy it is to pull the wool over people's eyes. It's a great book. One thing though, whilst 99% of the book is obvious tricks, the section on "muscle reading" is really intuition bordering on ESP. Enjoy!
The other thing is that since dipping into this book I find it much easier to spot how magician's like David Blaine do their tricks. I think the book changes your mindset and way of seeing things. Slow motion replay and freeze frame helps too! :wink: