It’s
fascinating to consider just how many ancient teachings tell us that humans
have the capacity to gain extraordinary powers through various techniques. Some
of these techniques, known as siddhis in the yoga tradition (from the Sanskrit,
meaning “perfection”), include meditation, static dancing, drumming, praying,
fasting, psychedelics, and more.
In
Buddhism, for example, the existence of advanced powers is readily
acknowledged; in fact, Buddha expected his disciples to be able to attain these
abilities, but also to not become distracted by them.
A
Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan, Donald
Lopez Jr., describes the many abilities ascribed to Buddha:
With this enlightenment, he was believed to possess
all manner of supernormal powers, including full knowledge of each of his own
past lives and those of other beings, the ability to know others’ thoughts, the
ability to create doubles of himself, the ability to rise into the air and
simultaneously shoot fire and water from his body. . . . Although he passed
into nirvana at the age of eighty-one, he could have lived “for an aeon or
until the end of the aeon” if only he had been asked to do so. (source)
Again,
there are numerous historical anecdotes of people with, as the Institute of
Noetic Sciences calls them, ‘extended human capacities.” Since this article is
focused on Buddhist monks, here is another example from the lore as written by
Swami Rama in Living with the Himalayan Masters:
I had never before seen a man who could sit still
without blinking his eyelids for eight to ten hours, but this adept was very
unusual. He levitated two and a half feet during his meditations. We measured
this with a string, which was later measured by a foot rule. I would like to
make it clear, though, as I have already told you, that I don’t consider
levitation to be a spiritual practice. It is an advanced practice of pranayama
with application of bandeaus (locks). One who knows about the relationship
between mass and weight understands that it is possible to levitate, but only
after long practice. . .
He (also) had the power to transform matter into
different forms, like changing a rock into a sugar cube. One after another the
next morning he did many such things. He told me to touch the sand – and the
grains of sand turned into almonds and cashews. I had heard of this science
before and knew its basic principles, but I had hardly believed such stories. I
did not explore this field, but I am fully acquainted with the governing laws
of science. (source)
A
lot of these stories exist within the literature and lore, but they are just
stories, up to the readers to decide if they hold any actually credibility. Of
course, one who subscribes to various ancient teachings would be more inclined
to believe that these are more than just stories and tales. With science
shedding light on the possible truths of ancient mysticism, it’s not
implausible to think that, at one time, these abilities were more common
knowledge.
Today,
there have been a number of studies within the realms of parapsychology that
have yielded statistically significant results, especially when examining the
findings that’ve come from quantum physics. This is why Max Planck, the
theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory, stated that he “regards
consciousness as fundamental” and that he regarded “matter as derivative from
consciousness.” He also wrote that “we cannot get behind consciousness” and
that “everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing
postulates consciousness.” And the Dalai Lama has supported this viewpoint:
Broadly speaking, although there are some differences,
I think Buddhist philosophy and Quantum Mechanics can shake hands on their view
of the world. We can see in these great examples the fruits of human thinking.
Regardless of the admiration we feel for these great thinkers, we should not
lose sight of the fact that they were human beings just as we are. (source)
R.C.
Henry, Professor of Physics of Physics and Astronomy at John Hopkins
University, explains things further:
A fundamental conclusion of the new physics also
acknowledges that the observer creates the reality. As observers, we are
personally involved with the creation of our own reality. Physicists are being
forced to admit that the universe is a “mental” construction. Pioneering
physicist Sir James Jeans wrote: “The stream of knowledge is heading toward a
non-mechanical reality; the universe begins to look more like a great thought
than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder
into the realm of matter, we ought rather hail it as the creator and governor
of the realm of matter. Get over it, and accept the inarguable conclusion. The
universe is immaterial-mental and spiritual. (source)
For
a selected list of downloadable peer-reviewed journal articles reporting
studies of psychic phenomena, mostly published in the 21st century, you can
click HERE.
Harvard And The Himalayan Monks
During
a visit to remote monasteries in the 1980s, Harvard Professor of Medicine
Herbert Benson and his team of researchers studied monks living in the
Himalayan Mountains who could, by g Tum-mo (a yoga technique), raise the
temperatures of their fingers and toes by as much as 17 degrees. It is still
unknown how the monks are able to generate such heat. (source)
And
it doesn’t stop there — the researchers also studied advanced meditators in
Sikkim, India, where they were astonished to find that these monks could lower
their metabolism by 64 percent.(source)
In
1985, the Harvard research team made a video of monks drying cold, wet sheets
with body heat alone. Monks spending winter nights 15,000 feet high in the
Himalayas is also not uncommon.
These
are truly remarkable feats, and not the first time science has examined humans
who can do extraordinary things. We published an article a couple of months ago
showing that factors associated with consciousness can influence our autonomic
nervous system. You can read more about that in the article linked below, as it
is heavily sourced and provides links to several papers that clearly indicate
how factors associated with consciousness can influence our biology.
Source
:
Collective-Evolution