placebo: god the ego

so I’m sure everyone's already discussed this, but I’ve been doing a lot of research on the subconscious. I used to be Mormon because I read the book of Mormon and prayed about it and had a burning in the bosom yada yada... self fulfilling prophecy. But to what extent? actually, one author described the subconscious with a word for word likeness of the Mormon definition for the Holy Ghost. the subconscious is a very powerful thing... people use the subconscious for self hypnosis, involving repetition (I am assertive, i am assertive) and the like. Why does self hypnosis, psycho healing, psychosomatic, and everything that is legitimately characterized as a product of the subconscious, work? Because your brain works your body! Without a brain, your body doesn't function; however, you don't tell your heart to pump, you subconscious does it for you. You can, however, tell your subconscious to what degree to perform. Women have had the symptoms of pregnancy just by believing they were pregnant. Their subconscious knows how to assimilate swelling stomachs and morning sickness, so it does. The point is, if you believe that one day you're going to see a god with a white beard, your subconscious, which regulates your eyes, will perform just that for you. If I believe I’m going to have a burning in the bosom if the book of Mormon is true, my sub. Will assimilate it for me.
This explains away any personal supernaturalism. Any answer to your prayers is perfectly explained by a faith put into the regulative ego, which will then perform any task it is capable of (depending on the amount of faith). For example, you loose your keys. Well, consciously you don't remember where you put them, but your subconscious has an infinite memory bank of sensory input (that's why you can repress certain bad memories from your conscious, while they remain in your sub). So you have no conscious control over the situation, until you give your sub. The task of finding the keys for you. You believe it will, and it will because it knows where you last put them.
Meditation... this is lucid dreaming! Those who meditate relax the body and induce super conscious awareness for hours eventually the body will sleep, the subconscious will now kick in since you can't depend on real sensory input (no more touch in sleep paralysis, you're closing your eyes... etc) so you will have realistic experiences that represent spirituality--other worlds created by your subconscious. Does this make sense? Self fulfilling prophecies have no limit! Not even with god.
Now I’m no Christian, but i will say this on their defense... Jesus isn't dependent on personal spirituality he is only dependent on history (which is controversial). so while your prayers to become the president of a company and the fulfillment thereof is explainable by the dividends of increased effort and motivation by your subconscious is explainable as placebo, that doesn't effect Jesus.

And I guess this is also a good answer as to why people always have visions of someone from their own religion, Catholics have visions of the Virgin Mary or angels, Hindus have visions of Vishnu or Krishna etc.Something I've wondered about... Can 'receiving' the stigmata (wounds of Christ, St. Francis of Assissi received them) be explained by this theory? Can the subconscious influence the body to such an extent? And when someone does receive the stigmata, in what place are the wounds of the hand/arm? Since it has been established that the nails must be driven through the wrist and not through the hand (as is the traditional depiction), because the body would then fall, it would be good proof of the abovementioned theory if those who received the stigmata received them in their hands and not in their wrists. If they received them in their hands, it's wrong, if they received them in their wrists, this may well be proof that there is a real miracle at hand.[This message has been edited by Sarde, 03-04-2004]

The stigmata signs themselves weren't a product of the subconscious; however, apparently these hypochondriachs had similar profiles in that they were all a little looney! I mention hypochondria as it partains to their health, which was a factor of their decisions in fraudulence, which is at least my opinion. Back when the claims were easily accepted, when folklore was reality, they were also easily exaggerated. Modern stigmatas have been prooven silly, and have been gradually fitting the scholarly mold. At least according to http://www.findarticles.com/..._24/63693003/p1/article.jhtml
the mark has evolved from hand to wrist, from circle to rectangle (on finding out the shape of roman nails), etc.
also to be taken into consideration are the apparent frauds. From the same source (what do you call that.. sic?)
"That many stigmatics were fakes is well established. For example, Magdalena de la Cruz, having become ill in 1543 and fearful of dying a sinner, confessed that her stigmata, inedia, and other phenomena were deliberate deceptions. Another, Maria. de la Visitacion, known as the "holy nun of Lisbon," was accused by a sister nun who saw her painting a fake wound onto her hand. Although initially defended by doctors in 1587, she was brought before the Inquisition, whereupon her wounds were scrubbed and the coloration washed off, revealing "unblemished flesh" beneath (Wilson 1988, 26).Another fake was Palma Maria Matarelli who not only exhibited the stigmata but also "miraculously" produced Communion wafers on her tongue. Pope Pius IX privately branded her a fraud, stating that he had the proof in his desk drawer and adding, "She has befooled a whole crowd of pious and credulous souls" (quoted in Wilson 1988, 42). A more public condemnation awaited Gigliola Giorgini (b. 1933): Discredited by church authorities, in 1984 she was convicted of fraud by an Italian court (Wilson 1988, 42, 147)."and of course that dude before st. francis assissi, who really set the standard with the trend.

Thanks for the information, Frankypoo. Your link doesn't work unfortunately.Have any of the 'stigmatics' been recognized by the Catholic Church? Are there any unexplained cases?[This message has been edited by Sarde, 03-05-2004]

Catholic stamp of approval None of this has been verified by me, just passing on the info.[This message has been edited by 1.61803, 03-05-2004]

Stink... sorry about the article. I'll see if I can find a better link by my next post. Thanks for the catholic approval link also! I just thougt of something, I once went to a seminar where the instructor said that belief systems were a round-about way of fitting into one's environment. As part of evolution, a religion could be viewed as an adaptation, though other methods could have produced the same adaptation. For example... if someone saw a tiger and said, "it will eat me, i'd better run away," then evolution would favor eventual faster legs, quicker reflexes, and vision, etc. However, if the man thought, "that tiger is my spiritual master and i must not be in his presence or I'll turn to stone," then he might adapt in the same way, as long as his belief yeilds the same action.
So... imagine that personal supernaturalism is exercising the subconscious to conscious connection. Your subconscious is much a more powerful and capable problem solver and memory bank than is your conscious, so learning to depend on it might have come in the form of learning to depend on God.. the Holy Ghost... astral projection, ect. and exercising the frontal lobe, mastering your brain wave patterns, and ultimately bridging the gap of our conscious and subconscious mind.(http://www.collegian.psu.edu/...dc/12-02-03dscihealth-03.asp c'mon baby, work!)
once again, i'll bet everyone's discussed this already, but might this be the evolutionary reason for religion?

Interesting link. Even if God does not exist, at least having an imaginary relationship with him will prove beneficial to your health.

oh there she is.. that wiley stigmata article
http://www.findarticles.com/..._24/63693003/p1/article.jhtml
I added too much at the end.
Truly beneficial to your health! I wonder if any atheists meditate for the sake of maintaining health...

quote:

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Without a brain, your body doesn't function; however, you don't tell your heart to pump, you subconscious does it for you.

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To be picky, it's actually your autonomic nervous system which "tells" your heart to pump.The subconscious is generally considered to be more frontal lobe related