head-first
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Re: Music of the mad.
Aug 19, 2011, 11:11
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That's right. And with Old Testament prophets, if we believe Julian Jaynes in 'The origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral mind'!
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The Sea Cat
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Re: Music of the mad.
Aug 19, 2011, 11:41
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head-first wrote: That's right. And with Old Testament prophets, if we believe Julian Jaynes in 'The origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral mind'!
That's an interesting angle. The Indian mystic Ramakrishna, who is even mentioned in Colin Wilson's The Outsider, had ecstatic visions, and behaved in a way that shocked many even in 19th Century India, which was well used to it's holy visionaries bizarre beahviour. Here in the West it would be deemed a mental health issue. The problem is, Ramakrishna's life and teachings contained much profound wisdom beyond everyday thought. The Holy Fool concept is rightly repected in the East.
Buddha wouldn't last five minutes in 21st Century Britain before and outeach team had him banged up and dosed to the gills. Mind you, the cuts might give him a head start....
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handofdave
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Re: Music of the mad.
Aug 19, 2011, 13:01
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There's so many ways to interpret why our brains come in two hemispheres. I think it definitely fits in with qualities of consciousness I've experienced... on a very simple level things like stereoscopic vision and hearing, for example (symmetry) but also a layering of consciousness as well; Being aware that we're being aware. Self-consiousness. We're watching ourselves with this 'watcher' brain of ours, which is really an illusion created by the ping-pong game going on between our two half-brains.
Apparently, if the hemispheres become disconnected in some way, the two halves will try to reestablish 'self' and you end up with two minds in the same body (sometimes? I'm only going on what I've read long ago). I guess in some cases of people 'hearing voices' this is the explanation... that a bit of consciousness (seated in the brain) has become detached and is only somewhat aware of itself, like a dreamer in a dream is often unaware of the un-reality of their experience.
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The Sea Cat
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Edited Aug 19, 2011, 13:21
Re: Music of the mad.
Aug 19, 2011, 13:20
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handofdave wrote: There's so many ways to interpret why our brains come in two hemispheres. I think it definitely fits in with qualities of consciousness I've experienced... on a very simple level things like stereoscopic vision and hearing, for example (symmetry) but also a layering of consciousness as well; Being aware that we're being aware. Self-consiousness. We're watching ourselves with this 'watcher' brain of ours, which is really an illusion created by the ping-pong game going on between our two half-brains.
Apparently, if the hemispheres become disconnected in some way, the two halves will try to reestablish 'self' and you end up with two minds in the same body (sometimes? I'm only going on what I've read long ago). I guess in some cases of people 'hearing voices' this is the explanation... that a bit of consciousness (seated in the brain) has become detached and is only somewhat aware of itself, like a dreamer in a dream is often unaware of the un-reality of their experience.
Absolutely Dave. Months ago on The Pump I did a thread about lucid dreaming/astral travel (?). I have regular periods of lucid dreaming where all my tactile senses are 'REAl'. I've done a lot of research into this, ie. Robert Monroe and others, and I'd noticed that I was always in an alternate dream setting, rather rhan a classic OBE.
A few weeks ago was very different though. I was in a waking sleep when I felt myself roll out of my body. I was standing beside my bed and I could see myself lying there asleep, and I could hear the usual outside noise of a dairy truck that goes past, and read the alarm clock, 6.32 am. I awoke in a flash, the truck was going up the hill outside and it was 6.33 am.
I can't quite explain the amazement at this. I'm still getting my head around it.
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Daminxa
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Re: Music of the mad.
Aug 19, 2011, 18:25
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Now that I know there IS going to be some Copey action in Brighton in October (guess who's been losing thread of what's going on...) then yeah, I guess I will be!
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Daminxa
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Re: Music of the mad.
Aug 19, 2011, 18:40
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It's certainly true that much of the psychiatric medication out there dulls any kind of creativity or human desire of any kind! However, I believe medications have improved over the years. Now, if the psychiatrists can be arsed to do their jobs properly and think very carefully about the medication and dosage prescribed, and be prepared for a bit of trial and error, medication doesn't always have to have such adverse affects.
Of course, in the days of Van Gough and Isaac Newton, and even as recently as Syd Barret, such medications weren't in existence. Even now, many mental health disorders go completely undiagnosed and therefore untreated. Also it'd be unrealistic of me to assume that every single mental health patient is capable of the genius of Syd Barret or Captain Beefheart or any of the other luminaries that have suffered in the same way.
Gone completely off-topic but there we are!
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Daminxa
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Re: Music of the mad.
Aug 19, 2011, 18:43
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That's true!
I wonder if we'll witness a mass outburst of eccentric creativity as a result of the recent cuts?
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Daminxa
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Re: Music of the mad.
Aug 19, 2011, 18:45
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Lucid dreaming is certainly a wierd experience and I'm astounded by the number of people who have had such experiences - the near death experience is a similar one.
Loving the idea of shortening that to OBE by the way - does that give people freedom of the cities they live in or invites to garden parties at Buckingham Palace? ;-p
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Popel Vooje
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Re: Music of the mad.
Aug 19, 2011, 19:20
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Daminxa wrote: That's true!
I wonder if we'll witness a mass outburst of eccentric creativity as a result of the recent cuts?
I was talking about this with a couple of friends in the pub last night - we were cautiously hoping that increasing levels of unemployment coupled with affordability of CDrs and home recording set-ups would lead to another creative explosion like the advent of post-punk in the late 70s and rave in the late 80s. As much as I'd like to believe that'll happen though, I'm not holding my breath.
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Robot Emperor
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Edited Aug 19, 2011, 21:02
Re: Music of the mad.
Aug 19, 2011, 20:59
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Popel Vooje wrote: Daminxa wrote: That's true!
I wonder if we'll witness a mass outburst of eccentric creativity as a result of the recent cuts?
I was talking about this with a couple of friends in the pub last night - we were cautiously hoping that increasing levels of unemployment coupled with affordability of CDrs and home recording set-ups would lead to another creative explosion like the advent of post-punk in the late 70s and rave in the late 80s. As much as I'd like to believe that'll happen though, I'm not holding my breath.
Personally I'm willing to put up with shit music if we can get rid of the increasing levels of unemployment.
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