Transcendental consciousness...pseudoscience?

[Ganj]

I am just curious as to how such groundbreaking discoveries in human consciousness, presented in the movie "What The Bleep Do We Know," could be criticized as pseudoscience? Anyone care to offer their opinions of the movie or the state of "wakefulness?"

[Dream of the iris]

Yes, I have first hand experience with altered states of consciousness due to meditation. I'll give you an example of something that happened to me recently as the result of meditation.

I was feeling content and peaceful at this point. After the shower I was drying myself off when all of a sudden the bathroom got brighter. It was as if I â??woke upâ?�, more like I was â??shockedâ?� awake. It just sort of happened. I felt no desire for anything. My mind was split in two. â??Iâ?� was witnessing my ego trying to make sense of what was happening. It was a loss of self. Pure bliss flooded my body. I was very joyful. Immediately I thought of the Buddha and of what happened to him when he reached Enlightenment. The demon of ego and desire sent his beautiful daughters to tempt the Buddha (in his mind), but he merely gazed upon them, feeling no desire for them, merely witnessing their presence. Thatâ??s how I felt that night. I was merely the witness. I felt no desire for sleep, for food, sex, anything like that. I was content with just being. Walking into my room, with a Buddha smile on my face, I remember this incredible energy radiating off of me and when I walked into my empty room, I felt this strong presence as I entered. I felt like the whole universe could feel me and I could feel the whole universe.

This really did happen to me. It was a glimpse into enlightenment I've found out. I just wish I could reach it again, but permenetly this time. I know one day I will since this happened to me after only a few months of practicing yoga and meditation. Ever since then I've been on a different plane of existence it seems, a higher state of consciousness. My thinking is better, I can visualize things to the point that I think I'm seeing it actually, I'm just overall a better person because of that experience. More things then that happened to me that night, that was just the most amazing thing.

[Ganj]

I believe you. And there is a way to maintain that higher sense of self. You claim that it was a "loss of self," however, scientists tend to think of that very same experience as attaining one's true self. I absolutely love what I heard this morning. "We tend to think of the universe as this superficially diverse thing, when it is really fundamental oneness."

And your testimony is one of many who have experienced a similar alteration of consciousness through meditation. Scientists believe if everyone practiced transcendental meditation, not as a religious act but more simply, a technique to ease stress, develop better thinking, and overall be more aware of your surroundings, then peace would permeate throughout our nation and we would all be better people because of it. Our creativity and our ability to solve problems would increase dramatically.

We all know our brains shrink as we grow older. Our elders become content with sharing their pearls of wisdom from many years of experience, but it doesn't have to end with pathetic advice. We could be more intelligent, creative, and happier by practicing transcendental meditation. Who wants to grow old without dreams or without the strength/confidence to achieve those dreams? It's possible through this technique, in my opinion because it stimulates regions in your brain to work coherently and simultaneously, when the data from an EEG would show you that your brain is responding and communicating less without that extra boost in consciousness.

[Dream of the iris]

I know now that it wasn't a loss of self. I was merely witnessing myself from a safe, comfortable distance. I still feel that way sometimes.

[Dream of the iris]

Transcendental meditation has it's limits, though. If you want to take it further, you have to search deep within yourself.