Simon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Stephanie
>
> I don't think anyone is questioning any of that in
> any way. The issue is specifically that walking
> on coals is not some kind of magical "mind over
> matter" thing. The ability of controlling pain
> via hypnosis, focusing the mind, and even placebo
> type effects is a different phenomena from walking
> over coals quickly even if those are used first.
That's right. It has nothing to do with the mind. The situation, as I explained earlier has to do with the heatconductance of charcoal which is low. This is the same reason why you can touch a cake that is baking in an oven without pain , but you had better not touch the metal cake pan (high heat conductivity).
Stephanie-- pain is a multifactorial condition, which, apart from the various biochemical and electrical nerve conducting mechanisms, has a large mental component. This, as we saw before, is the reason why you can produce placebo pair relief. There is also a component that has to do with a person's previous lifetime experience of pain and the behaviour learned by this. Chronic pain is one of the most complicated medical problems and most doctors are not really up-to-date on it.
I have a paper on the cultural influence of Mesoamerican ideology on pain-- PAIN: A MESOAMERICAN VIEW. *Advances in Nursing Science*, 15 (#1), 21-32 1992. (with T. Villaruel).
Bernard
>
>
> The challenge should be to stand still on the
> coals for half an hour. That would seperate the
> yogis from the boys
>
> Simon
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2005 03:10PM by bernard.