too much information/truth?

[WanderingOak]

A few days ago, I posted a link to an article that discounted the affect of a certain auditory technology as the placebo effect in many cases. The science in the article was sound, so I even defended it. However, I am starting to wonder if that was the proper thing for me to do. After all, that article has the potential to create a limiting belief in people who use the Paraliminal CDs (which use that technology). I have always believed in telling the truth, even when it may not necessarily be what the other person wants to hear. However, the thing about placebos is that they do NOT work if you know that it is a placebo. They only work if you believe they ARE going to work, without a doubt.

The odd thing is, now that I know the 'truth', I still use the Paraliminals, and while I occasionally laugh internally at the 'sine wave foghorn', they do still work for me, even better than they did when I first started. I used Dream Play last night, and this morning, I had the most amazing dream that I was able to recall and write down afterwards. Something woke me up two minutes before the clock went off, and the dream was still very fresh in my mind. This was after I knew the 'secret' behind the guided meditations, so I can only guess that the meditations are good enough to stand on their own. Either that, or the information from the article hasn't penetrated into my subconscoius yet, so a part of me still 'believes' in the binaural beats on the recordings. Of course there is a third option, and that is that the article is wrong and the sound engineers at Learning Strategies have figured out how to correct the harmonics in their recordings (hence the patent for HoloSync). If I could ever get my hands on a frequency analizer with good enough display capabilities (ie one that can see harmonics), I will have to look into that one of these days (number 10,587,128 on my to-do list ).

Anyhow, was I wrong in planting the 'seed of doubt' about this technology? I have always thought it better to know the truth, than to go about with well-meaning but wrong delusions. That might be a good rule to live by for myself, but the problem is that some people 'can't handle the truth'. They need their delusions, their placebos. I'm not refering to anybody on this forum by any means, but rather to people who would probably never dream of coming here. I've heard lots of talk about 'eagles' and 'bears', with us 'enlightened' or 'more conscious' folk being 'eagles', while those of a lower consciousness are 'bears'. I think my purpose is to help the bears out there, if for no other reason than because we have to live with them. After all, if all the bears get from us eagles is a shower of eagle droppings, the bears aren't going to be happy, and eagles do have to land sometime. Anyhow, in most cases, it's the bears who 'can't handle the truth'.

So, do we keep feeding the bears more delusions and placebos, or do we just give them the truth in small enough doses for them to handle? I am more in favor of the later option, although of course, if the bears get angered, I run the risk of being the next Timothy Tredwell . So, how do we tell the bears the truth, without getting mauled or eaten? I mean, delusions and placebos, while limiting, allow a person feel good, and for many bears, feeling good is what is important. For me, it's the opposite. I would rather go through life with my eyes open, seeing things as they are, than to be deluded. But, bears aren't like that, and since telling the truth is better than adding more delusions to the collection that the bear is already carying about, I could wrap the truth in a bit of salmon.

In other words, make the truth more attractive to the bear, package it as something that a bear is already used to consuming. A bit like giving my cat a bitter pill. The problem with that tactic is that eventually, my cat figured out that there was something in the bits of fish that I was giving her that didn't taste so good, so she figured out how to eat the fish and spit out the pill. It didn't matter that she needed the pill, she didn't like the taste. Many spiritual bears are the same way. So, in my rambling, I seem to have come to an impasse. How do we feed the bears truth? Feed them something that looks like a delusion, but is actually the truth? That sounds a bit too much like my salmon/pill analogy. Anybody have any ideas?

[Cron]

Maybe it is time for science to start studying ways to make the placebo effect work on demand.....it is so powerful.

FWIW, debunking is a good thing. The truth shall set you free.

[Akashic_Librarian]

I have similar beliefs to the extent that I think very few people can handle very high-conscious information.

Which is why I don't tell people about the full extent of my spiritual practices, thetruth would drive some people insane. Most people can't cope with the falsity of life, they can hardly be expected to cope with the truth of life.

So what do we do about this, welll, nothing. Unfortunately people can't be told what we know, they can only discover it themselves.

Also I believe people have certian levels or capacity for knowledge.

I know myself to have a very high cpacity for spiritual wisdom because I know the dangers of acting on incomplete information. Some of you out there have only a limited capacity, but this is no better than my high capacity, it is BETTER because you have a more focussed reason, I don't. I have a very general desire to....well...Lets just say I am going to have a hard life.

[WanderingOak]

Originally Posted by Akashic_Librarian

. Unfortunately people can't be told what we know, they can only discover it themselves.

There is a saying I heard once: "Everything you are taught is false, everything you learn is true". Perhaps what I need to do is enable bears to learn, rather than attempting to teach them. That seems to be what Steve is doing with this site.

Originally Posted by Akashic_Librarian

I know myself to have a very high cpacity for spiritual wisdom because I know the dangers of acting on incomplete information. Some of you out there have only a limited capacity, but this is no better than my high capacity, it is BETTER because you have a more focussed reason, I don't.

I think ideally, it would be best to be both. I've heard tell that used to be the normal state of affairs before we became overly civilized.

[Brutha]

Originally Posted by WanderingOak

A few days ago, I posted a link to an article that discounted the affect of a certain auditory technology as the placebo effect in many cases. The science in the article was sound, so I even defended it. However, I am starting to wonder if that was the proper thing for me to do. After all, that article has the potential to create a limiting belief in people who use the Paraliminal CDs (which use that technology). I have always believed in telling the truth, even when it may not necessarily be what the other person wants to hear. However, the thing about placebos is that they do NOT work if you know that it is a placebo. They only work if you believe they ARE going to work, without a doubt.

But the Truth is, placebos work if something beliefs in them. Sure people can belief they don't work and be right.
It is still up to the person whether he beliefs in working or don't working placebos.

[stephencp]

"Most people can't cope with the falsity of life, they can hardly be expected to cope with the truth of life."

Please let us know the "truth of life"....

Stephen
Power-Book Library: Free personal development, success, inspiration and motivational classics

[Akashic_Librarian]

What is the Truth? Its the million Dollar Question isn't it.

As far as we know the Truth is what you make it.

But my personal idea of a world that lives in truth would live like this:

NO animal products eaten, all animals left to live wild.

No need for laws because people listen to their own moral guidance.

I could go outside and tell everyone I was gay (I am not) and no one would judge me.

I could be Black, white, yellow, green, purple and no one would judge me.


This is my idea of The Truth.