The Power of Trauma

This is the first part of two part set I am working on. The second part will be titled, "The Power of Prevarication". I should state some kind of warning as the subject matter for both are on the darker side of things.

Both deal with the concept that foci are needed to achieve Altered States of consciousness, which allow's one to enter a trance or threshold consciousness where the unconscious and the conscious interact in ways that are normally impossible.

There are a number of ways to enter altered states, most involve fasting, fatigue, meditation, yoga, and entheogens. Foci often assist in this. They can be audible like music, physical, visual, or any other sensory foci.

After a quite abit of research I have come to conclude that Trauma may be the most powerful focus right behind Prevarication(deception).

This has been seen in various traumatic accidents and events. These events can be triggers for all kind unnatural phenomena. They can effectively reprogram people's personalities and behaviors.

The most common form of trauma seen in religious rites is the sacrifice of animals. If one looks at it from the point of view as a focus. The sacrifice itself is meaningless, but produces psychological conditions that affect the state of consciousness.

From my point of view it is a method I don't promote. Its something I disagree with, even though it appears to be a very powerful psychological focus. I look at them as "left hand path" practices and "means to an end". I think sadomasochist ritual and worse also falls under the concept of the Power of Trauma. I mention the concept here as point of discussion not as practice.

The same goes for my future thread on the power of deception. Both play powerful psychological roles. It also raises some serious questions about the nature of reality, consciousness, and subjective "truth".

One of the things that seem to be apparent is that the practice is psychologically dangerous. It seems to scar the psyche. I would think one can only do this so much before it consumes them. Again I am an opponent of this practice and not an advocate. I present the concept here as a point of discussion. Thoughts, Questions?


[edit on 28/7/08 by MikeboydUS]

reply to post by MikeboydUS


Not really having ever studied it, I would have to question the consequences of the human nature of builing up a tolerance to trauma. Sacrificing one animal may be traumatic for a while, but eventually a person would become conditioned to it and would need something more to effectively traumatize themselves.

I would say that the same thing goes for physical trauma. I know that the body can only take so much trauma before triggering a defense mechanism. I would imagine that you would become conditioned to that as well, eventually leading to your own death.

Interesting. Not a path I would take though.

reply to post by Karlhungis


Thats why I say it scars the psyche. It would eventually consume someone. To overcome the scarring one would have to delve into deeper and darker traumatic foci. It feeds on itself.

Thats why I would avoid it like the plague, even if it seems very powerful its far worse than the most powerful entheogen(psychoactive substance) in its consequences.

I am surprised there has not been more of a response but again it does deal with a darker subject. I know most people prefer to stay away in a "safe" mental refuge away from the darker realities that fill our world.

This on the otherhand provides a good lead in to another thread I'll soon post titled "The Power of Prevarication". Its basically deals with the powerful influence of deception. This could be anything from an outright lie to the art of illusion. The disturbing aspect of this is that subjective "truth" is a very powerful focus. This raises a number of frightening questions about objective truth, faith, and consciousness that I will get into in that thread.

In the end its more about what one believe's to be true than what is actually true. Believed truth is what I would call faith and this faith is almost as powerful as psychological and physical trauma as a focus.

Personally I seek Objective Truth, but like the power of trauma I recognize and respect the power of deception even though I oppose it.

What really disturbs me is that I am almost positive I am not alone in reaching these conclusions, but unlike me there are others who have reached them and actively use both the power of trauma and prevarication.

I decided to analyze how such active users would be able to use trauma as a focus in a disciplined manner that would impede or prevent one from engaging on a path to self destruction. One such discipline would deal with when, how, and where. Certain restrictions would be imposed on when, where, and how such things would be conducted. One might call this restrictive structure rites or ritual.

In addition to that not all trauma must need be violent, but can be brought about by engagement in social and cultural Taboos, which have a broad and disturbing range of potential.

Who would use such foci as tools in affecting the state of consciousness is something I have been pondering. They are "means to an end". Persons or groups who applied their use could be Consequentialists or Utilitarians.

Consequentialism
en.wikipedia.org...

from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right action is one that produces a good outcome, or consequence.

A good example of a consequentialist would be Niccolo Machiavelli or Henry Kissinger.

Utilitarianism
en.wikipedia.org...

Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall utility, that is, its contribution to happiness or pleasure as summed among all persons.

Note this doesn't need to mean physical pleasure. This can be intellectual or spiritual pleasure and even the absence of physical pleasure.

I think at the core though these people would be Egoists, where acting in one's self interest is a moral virtue. Examples of this would be Machiavellianism and Ayn Rand's Objectivism.

Machiavellianism
en.wikipedia.org...

It could be understood that psychopaths and sociopaths have a similar disposition that could be identified with Machiavellianism, for sociopaths are known for manipulation and cunning. Psychopaths, however, generally have difficulty realizing or understanding the concepts of right and wrong, and tend not to have much regard for consequences

I think that ultimately practitioners utilize a form of Self Deification, where they believe they are gods or Divine. They would then act upon their divine self interests at the expense of everything around them. It is almost solipsist in thought or even a type pf solipsist pantheism. From my point of view I would label them Narcissistic Psychopaths and adepts of the Left Hand Path.


[edit on 29/7/08 by MikeboydUS]

reply to post by MikeboydUS


Thanks for the good posts man. I hope that more people contribute to this and your upcoming threads.

Just offering my support

reply to post by MikeboydUS


Hey there 'Mike',

I totally agree with your theory concerning trauma. Although I should add (as my username may create a misconception to some), the only thing I have ever sacrificed are candles and the odd herb or three. Like yourself I would never feel inclined to indulge in the sacrifice of any living creature.

However, viewing your idea from a different perspective I can confirm that (certainly from personal experience)

What really disturbs me is that I am almost positive I am not alone in reaching these conclusions

Who else agrees with your findings?

If so..if what you postulate is true then we may have a world of hurt coming our way as we undergo the blowback of some of our current policies in the Middle East.

This includes haveing a pissed off Baby Boomer Viet Nam generation kissing the Afghanistan/Iraq generation.

Remember we have sons and daughters who are deeply scarred by 911, Iraq, Afghanistan etc regardless of who, or what is to blame.

Once we arrive at the point in which damage is done to a individual as well as to a nation we may face some dangerous choices.

But then,..of course..."everything looks bad if you can remeber it" Homer Simpson

Mike Boyd...I came across something that gives support to your thread.

I will post it.

I have flashback memories of torture sessions as early as age two where I was subjected to shock treatments with needles inserted in my ears and genitalia. What they (the controllers/handlers) do is use extreme trauma to separate the mind from the body. They do this to split the mind into several parts that can later be programmed to do things-like superhuman feats. Basically, they disconnect all of the normal human brain impulses, emotions and whatever is normally present, then reprogram in new ones. They do this to remove all fear, so that when they program in new abilities, you will not have the instinctual, "but I can't, I'm afraid..." response. They program you to do, not think. In essence, they treat and program your mind as if it was a computer.

www.subversiveelement.com...

This was posted on a different thread buy BIGFATFURRYTEXAN.

He seems to have researched trauma and he worked in the area.

I am about to call my VA Psych in Oklahoma to speak to him concerning some of this stuff....just out of curiosity more then anything.

Peace
WR

[edit on 3-8-2008 by whiteraven]