Sensory Manipulation?

Long time lurker on ATS here, many fascinating people float around these places, some excellent minds dwell here. I've only recently registered though, for the purpose of the post, actually. I am sorry that I don't contribute more, but I'm an immensely shy and rather withdrawn person in nearly all cases, preferring to watch, study, and make note, over actually being a part of a system or a group.

First and foremost, I apologize if this is in the wrong forum-- it's a somewhat strange topic that I'm not sure how to categorize. I know that posts that start with that apology generally go downhill quickly, but I genuinely was a bit confused about where to place this, and found that the topics here may relate the most to what I'm talking about. Forgive me.

Onward, to the meat of the post.
This is a question to anyone who reads it-- I'm genuinely curious if it is possible to gain enough control over ones mind or perceptions to be able to shape your own realizations; self-induced hallucinations, if you will. This is something I've wondered about for some time now.

Back-story that doesn't matter as much to the post but still is relevant:
I enjoy making 'worlds' in my mind, where I think and create natural environments and areas that might be rare or non-existent in this world and on this planet. It's a fun little hobby for when I'm idle, sitting on the bus, waiting for a call, et cetera. Simply to close ones eyes and build or continue building a 'real' (in that it follows all the rules of this world) world in your mind is extremely rewarding for someone like myself who has a vivid imagination. Maybe sometimes I'll prefer a solitary mountain-scape that I can sit on the top of and look at the interesting rock formations below that was carved out by a sea over years... or maybe I'll prefer to sit and look at bustling jungles of life, where each item is unique and powerful in it's purpose. My worlds rarely have any human element in them except for myself... it makes them seem much more special.
I commonly will draw or write about the places I make, because it allows me to remember them more easily, having a terrible memory as I do, and it allows me to share them with other people. But as I'm sure you'll realize, this form of communication doesn't at all share the 'meat' of the content with the person, and I started considering about somehow sharing a reality with another person... before I realized that I cannot even fully experience my own worlds myself!
So I started getting curious about self-induced hallucinations, or manipulating ones senses powerfully to completely blot out or change perceptions of the world, so that when I am on the bus, I can not only close my eyes and think about such a world, but actually -be- there in my senses, much more than I could be in my imagination.
Is such a thing possible? Can I ever consider obtaining such an ability? Granted, it would likely take a great deal of mental conditioning, but I'm honestly curious if anyone here would think that such a thing is possible, as I know many of you have toyed with many mental and/or spiritual experiments and may be a very wise and large wealth of information on related topics.

Hope all is well with the ATSers--
--Anatam

I to tend to be a very withdrawn person as well and spend a lot of time in my own mind, so I've thought about being able to do this as well. First off to answer your direct question, I think it may be possible. But probably not in the way you describe it (mainly because I've never heard of anyone being able to do it) and if they could it would probably take the bulk of ones life to learn that kind of mental control.

What you might want to try is some lucid dreaming work, the ability to take control of your dreams. Most people have experienced this in there lives but there are many people who claim that with practice you can do it all the time and fully retain the memories of your dreams.

Another option might be meditation, for along time I've been interested in astral projection (never actually projected successfully) but in some of my attempts when I've been in a deeply relaxed near sleep state I have experienced what I guess you could call hallucinations, both auditory and visual. Hearing strange sounds or voices and seeing flashes of strange images all of which are incredibly vivid. One time I was just sort of letting my mind wander and I was hit with this weird image of a house on a hill of that white garden rock, I was at the bottom of a stair case that led up to the house in every other direction was just white rock. This memory is from years ago but has stayed with me because it seemed so real for a couple seconds I could have sworn I was really there, and I was awake at the time.

I don't no if this was any help but it may give you some options to explore.

Your senses are electrical impulses interpreted by your brain. As long as you have the mental capacity to change the amounts and speed of electricity going into an object, you will be able to alter your senses.

Sounds nice, but we don't have the available technology to do it easily.

YOU ASKED: is possible to gain enough control over ones mind or perceptions to be able to shape your own realizations; self-induced hallucinations, if you will.

*** I know I'm at risk of getting tomatoes thrown at me from many that are very serious about meditaion, but in simplest terms, if your looking to achieve these things, 'd start with meditation and self hypnosis (light stage)... which is basicaly the same thing as 'active' meditation. Now, scince I actualy answered that question with a 'how to' suggestion, I'll have to say that yes, it is possible IF you can control your mind to that extent. And sensatory deprivation would be my number 2 choice of ways to go about trying. (I would LOVE to experience a sensatory deprivation chamber... but being closterphobic, unless they've come up with something with no locks, I doubt I'll ever get the chance. (I don't like areas that I can be locked in and someone else is in control of letting me out).

You said you have a vivid imagination. Do you know how much of a tool that can be for you? A question for you. Can you vividly imagine something, and 'hold' that image for a long period of time? If so, you are a very lucky person, and using your mind in a positive way can take you to the top in almost any situation. Career, home, relationship - you name it. Go looking around at studies about people who are very sucessful - what is the 1 difference in the people who are in all other ways statisticaly equall? The sucessful ones have the ability to vividaly imaging (and hold that image) of the sucess they are working toward. (Look in the area of hypnosis and NLP and things of this nature for more info.)

Back to your post. You were talking about self-induced hallucinations.
A very high percentage of people that walk around 'doing life' are what we call delutional... most are not diagnosed as SP, because most tend to 'fit in' to the world around them. An example. One man believes he is a CIA spy and that there are people after him. He is in a mental institution because his delusion don't 'fit' the rest of the world. Another man believes he is very smart, believes he is 'top notch' and born to be 'in charge'. Do you know what happens to this very errogent man? He runs the big corporation down the street. Why? Because his delution fit in with something society has in place and his vivid imagination took him strait to the place he imagined himself and believed himself to be. (That is the basis behind "The Secret" by the way). Remember TAB. Think it, Act it, Be it.
Does this make sence? I haven't time to proof read :-(

having a vivid imagination when you are in that state you are actually changing your brainwaves in a direction that can allow you to more fully be there with more perception if you just relax more and focus more at the same time. So basically keep doing what you are doing but put more focus into it by having regular imagination sessions preferably when you are lying down at first when you can relax. hold yourself visually in that place you imagine and continue to be there while relaxing more and more and continuing to be there while further relaxing and basically at the point where you relax enough you will suddenly find that what you were imagining becomes brighter and clearer REAL! now in this right state of focus you can also use this projection to journey somewhere else by simply intending it or calling for it you can actually journey dimensionally or even elsewhere on the planet because you have brought yourself into an almost locked in state of projection where things are much easier. you can also practice simply lying in bed with eyes open a night its easier when the room is dark and stare ahead or up at the ceiling and relax your eyes and mind as much as you can and the more you relax you will start to see a different space instead of your room it will begin to change. remember the feeling in your head and mind of what it's like to imagine a world so clearly and use that same feeling or perception but with your eyes open and totally relax. eyes open is better training of this ability to shift dimensionally but it is obviously a steeper hill to climb at the beginning. With everything I have experienced and learned about multidimensional perception it basically all comes down to this: Relaxation and Intention.

Wow, thank you all for responding!

@AngelaLadyS:

A very high percentage of people that walk around 'doing life' are what we call delutional... most are not diagnosed as SP, because most tend to 'fit in' to the world around them. An example. One man believes he is a CIA spy and that there are people after him. He is in a mental institution because his delusion don't 'fit' the rest of the world. Another man believes he is very smart, believes he is 'top notch' and born to be 'in charge'. Do you know what happens to this very errogent man? He runs the big corporation down the street. Why? Because his delution fit in with something society has in place and his vivid imagination took him strait to the place he imagined himself and believed himself to be.

Ah, yes, I was thinking about this, actually. I was considering that each person uses their perceptions and builds their world out of them-- everyone sees things differently, but to construct the same world. Similar to an online game such as World of Warcraft, where world data is stored on the server, then read by the client and rendered to the client's screen-- each copy of the world is technically different but is perceived as the same. I quickly became curious about if I could change this perception of my world.

Can you vividly imagine something, and 'hold' that image for a long period of time?

I can, but I do not know to what extent I should hold it to, and to what level of detail. I can hold, for example, the thought of a building such as a home I have not seen before (thought it up) in moderate-to-full detail in my mind for as long as I please or until I get distracted from 'real world' things, but the more complex it gets, the harder it is to do and maintain the same 'level of detail'-- things start meshing together a bit, the hill and house might become one thing, as odd as that sounds, or I might lose details like the garage door opener or balcony railing. If I wish, I can 're-focus' on that part of what I'm imagining to see the detail at the cost of the detail elsewhere. It's very hard to explain, I hope you understand.

I would LOVE to experience a sensatory deprivation chamber

Curiosity has driven me to wish the same, although I share your concerns about being locked in.

@azhAa: I think I may have tried what you suggested a number of times, as I get curious how strong, in a completely relaxed state and where the 'real world' could not interfere, my 'worlds' can get. I may always be partially distracted however, as I've never been able to break the obvious feeling, almost of sadness, that I cannot physically see what I think of.

@Hexidecimal: I have considered the scientific side of it, that in order to logically control perceptions and senses, I could control the actual inputs to my mind. As scientists have previously restored vision to a blind man by translating information retrieved from a camera to a person's brain and having them 'see' it, I hold hope that sometime, it may be possible. I'm talking more mentally induced over technologically induced (VR).

@Nightmare0:

But probably not in the way you describe it (mainly because I've never heard of anyone being able to do it) and if they could it would probably take the bulk of ones life to learn that kind of mental control.

Exactly what I have been worried about-- if this was possible, I figure it might be more known. But that is not always true, so I hold hope.

Regarding lucid dreaming, I have heard of this and thought it is fascinating. It could serve as a point of research for what I look to do.

I like your story regarding what you saw in your experience. It gives me hope, thank you. I guess I need to experiment with my mind more

---

Hope all is well still with everyone, and thank you again for responding--
--Anatam

Hi anatam,

This was intended as a private message, but the board says I need 20 posts to send them, so I am posting it here instead:

It was intruiging to read about your skills, I am also naturally inclined to build virtual mental worlds. Sadly, it seems few people can do this naturally. It does not take that long to develop what you're trying to do (keeping in mind your already natural ability). If you seriously want to do it I highly recommend "Initiation Into Hermetics" by Franz Bardon -- one of the best books I've ever read, it has techniques and information you just can't get anywhere else - that will serve your purpose well. But just to start with, start duplicating 'sound' 'touch' and 'smell' in your mind, instead of just images. Try to play music or sound effects using just your mind, for example. Then try to use all the senses in your created world, you will easily become saturated in them with little effort after a few tries. Finally, I recently started doing tutorials on youtube and this one may appeal to your question too:
uk.youtube.com...

Let me know if any of this was helpful.


All the best.