what is a hallucination?

(ha-lu-sih-na-shun): A false perception of something that is not really there. Hallucinations may be seen, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled by the ill individual. In schizophrenia, auditory hallucinations are most common.

SSS The perception of something that is not there, such as seeing pink elephants or hearing voices that other people cannot hear; also the nonperception of objects or events that are perceived by others (negative hallucination). Hallucinations can be symptoms of physical or mental illness, or the result of taking some kinds of psychoactive drugs.

these are some of the definitions sciene gives but to me seems like something that hasnt been much elaborated on since the early 1800's.

someone who hallucinates is experienceing something thats not there, but maby it is there gravity was unknown for quite some time and yes you say gravity effects othher things as well in the physical but possibly maby these "entities" are actually manipulateing things in an unseen way. hence things like synchronicities and many other odd phenominon.

my basic question is why has this been settled on as the absolute definition and not looked into further, many hallucinations so to speak are shared by a mass abundance of people but they also say hallucinations are based upon personal experience. can someone help clear this up?

So basically, you're asking what if halluinations are actually real, and that things that induce them are allowing you to view into an unseen plane of existence or something similar?

Its possible, but I really don't think that is the case. Because if it was, there would be more common things seen by many people instead of a such random number of things.

I from time to time work extremly long hours, self employment + passion. I could work in excess of 24hours, hitting once close 40hours without sleep. Believe me hallucinations from lack of sleep seem very real, audible and visual. I once saw a mono-rail on mag-levs that looked like it was from way in the future go past my house, there were also very weird looking people on it lol. Which is impossible as I live in a very small town. Also clothes hanging on doors, sometimes you'll see as people if extremly tired. I think the brain converts things. Hallucinations shared by a mass abundance of people sounds like it really happened..?

Vorta

There always exists a standard of 'normal' both for behavior and for what can be preceived. These standards do change over time, for example there was a long period in which being gay was considered a mental illness. Now only a handful of overly religious people hold to that view.

We are indeed investigating what can be sensed in all sorts of ways and have been for sometime. But no matter what we learn that will not change the fact that sometimes we get so out-of-wack that we see things that are not real. The example of lack of sleep above is one I can relate to since I too have experienced it a few times. Because of this the official idea is never going to go away because in many cases it is indeed correct.

It takes a very long time for any sort of new research to be accepted. Others must view any indivdual work as worthy first, and then someone must take it upon themselves to attempt to duplicate it. Only after this has been accomplished does the majority of the scientific community really begin to accept. And sometimes the work is not easily duplicated, this is especially true when anything that is currently labeled 'paranormal' is involved.

Any sort of research into any psy abilities is greatly hampered by people who insist on treating them like any other topic such as gravity. The rules are different and unless that is understood and taken into account even the simplest experiment can fail. The thoughts and attitudes of the investigators have an effect on the outcome. The reason that we have made what little progress we have to date comes not from paranormal investigations but rather from physics.

It was discovered about 25 years ago or so that certain particle tests could be influenced by the very minds of the experimenters. This was radical at the time but has been proven to be true. So from that we have begun to investigate things like Remote Viewing and Telepathy properly.

The good thing is that scientific knowledge grows in a geometric pattern. Each new fact or bit of knowledge leads to many more. So I am quite confident that as we go forward we will learn more and more about all sorts of what is now called paranormal.


A.T
(-)

Vorta, that's awesome ... you will like this link then:

www.bwmaglev.com...


Well a hallucination is sort of like reading a science fiction story, only that you "see" it with your eyes or some combination of your five senses. It's sort of like watching a spooky movie only it seems "real" the same way that UFO ologists think UFO's are real, and ghost story fans believe in ghosts.

Part of it is the strange aspect of human behavior that allows us to get so freaked out by stories and situations that we actually start to believe it. I remember one time I was a kid and gullible that some evil adult scared me with stories of vampires so seriously that I refused to leave the room and wore a thing of garlic around my neck to ward them off, until my parents came to pick me up ... . I've gotten over that by now (I think).

But then there are other sorts of hallucinations that are induced by "mind altering" drugs. The Native Americans have the peyote ceremony (I knew a gal in college who had done one of these, having been raised in a tribe that still does this ceremony). You have visions ... there are great stories like Black Elk and so on, of "seeing" the future of the white man coming over and taking over the country, which is what happened ... if these sorts of stories are true, it adds to the fascinations that people have with the paranormal.

Lack of sleep and other factors can definately alter your brain chemistry in similar ways that the drugs can.

****mod edit: removed references to illegal drug usage****

Speaking of which people have hallucinated in the past without any sorts of drugs, way more than anyone nowadays does. A talking goat (mohammed)?! And a burning bush leading them to God?



[edit on 4-8-2005 by DontTreadOnMe]

Well how does one know that so-call reality is actually real?

We only rely on the 5 sense that our body use to help define or interprete what's being perceived...yet, that's only a small percentage of what's out there...

For all I know, this reality may as well be an illusion...

As a young man in the late 60s, in San Francisco ......

16.) Discussion of illegal activities such as drug use, drug paraphernalia, hacking, etc. are strictly forbidden.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 4-8-2005 by DontTreadOnMe]

and what of '___' the drug produced by the pineal gland upon death, dureing NDE's as well as UFO abductions, what sort of purpose would the most potent natural hallucinogen known to man play in the grand scheme i wonder

Basically, drugs are poison.

In concentrated doses like the ones you mentioned they are designed to end the life of the host.

However, small doses, that our bodies are capable of detoxifying (even alcohol is a poison) can lead to certain changes in our brain chemistry that our perceptions become altered.

I am not exactly sure why this relates to UFO abductions (which in my opinion are definately false, and I suppose hallucinotory) but certainly any state which causes our senses to deviate significantly from the norm will produce a certain amount of confusion.

Our brain is a rather complex organ, there are millions of nerve synapses all interconnected, and our experiences as a child have set alot of them. When we encounter any sort of different voltage level buildup in certain areas (such as the visual or the erotic sex centers) we become stimulated in a way that might be confusing to someone who is not expecting it.

Originally posted by Annacryst
and what of '___' the drug produced by the pineal gland upon death, dureing NDE's as well as UFO abductions, what sort of purpose would the most potent natural hallucinogen known to man play in the grand scheme i wonder

mod edit:

16.) Discussion of illegal activities such as drug use, drug paraphernalia, hacking, etc. are strictly forbidden.

www.abovetopsecret.com...


[edit on 4-8-2005 by whaaa]



[edit on 4-8-2005 by DontTreadOnMe]

ANY further discussion of drug use will result in this thread's being closed!!!

Thanks you for cooperating and abiding by the Terms and Conditions of ATS.

[edit on 4-8-2005 by DontTreadOnMe]

im not discussing drugs the 60's guy was lol, im talking about a chemicle in the brain that is produced at certain points of high stress on the mental and physical body. n, Dimethyl tryptamine even in the highest dose your body can create is non lethal. Dr. Rick Strassman a very well recognized psycologist recently did a study on this phenominon. lets focus less on the dmt and more on the pineal gland wich is the secreting organ. its shaped like a pine cone and is the only part of the brain not split into hemispheres. its also basicly batheing in a sea of neuotransmitters and in alot of eastern beliefs is called the third eye lizards have this as well but less evolved, its more near the front and has an opaque scale over it and it lets them know when to sleep. the curious thing as well is that 45 days after conception we develop our first 2 major things being a sexual organ and a pineal gland. its funny how this coincides with the buddist belief it takes 45 days for the soul to reincarnate. as well pineal is latin for shaped/looks like a pine cone. think on this as well, if you concentrate an electricle charge into a fractal pine cone it can sprout a seed without light, water, or earth. makes you wonder

A hallucination is seeing things that are actually not there. Which can also not be proven. You could say that if you see something that the majority of other people cannot see, this is a hallucination. but this definition would also not entirely be correct, but I like to use it. Basically... if there actually are pink elephants and nameless voices speaking to you, then you aren't hallucinating. If you are crazy and have made them up yourself, then it is a hallucination.

Really you can't define what is real and what isn't, so I will leave it at that and maybe it will help a little.

www.divinevirus.com
Jake Horsley
Carlos Castaneda
Phillip K. Dicks

Perception is reality...

"If we observe phenomena closely, it cannot be thought that anything between heaven and earth is really different. If we see differences, it is due to the narrowness of our vision."
--- Takuan Sōhō

Well the parts of our brain that are most important are usually the ones that have the strongest sets of emotion. But since we are not digital robots, there can be other effects that stimulate these sections, which can be interpreted as hallucinogentic effects.

It's interesting that while other threads that discuss invading top secret military bases and terrorism are freely uncensored, but any mention with the consumption of certain items that generate harmless alternate brain states are hotly censored. Not a complaint but an interesting note.

But anyways, we humans are really just starting to fully harness our systems. We've got some real complex circuitry up there.

Some people talk about having a 6th sense, or a shark sense. Sometimes things we perceive with our electro-chemical-magnetic brain might be considered hallucinations even though they are real only because no one else will believe you if you tell them. And that's to differentiate between those events that really didn't ever happen but you think they did (like UFO's).

Recently we've discovered that other animals like sharks have a far more evolved electromagnetic sense:

www.sharkshield.com...

Hallucinations are very interesting things. I've had my share of drug-induced ones, and the way they seem to draw from the subconscious mind is, at times, very reminiscent of dreaming.

The fact that all types of hallucinations are often (as far as the subject/victim is concerned) indistinguishable from reality is pretty interesting; it demonstrates just how much our perception of the world relies on our own very unique minds.

Humans are some messed-up creatures, if you ask me