This article is named after a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1899. The hero of this book, who has slept for about 200 years, wakes up in a completely changed, completely unfamiliar world …
However, the topic was not new then. Suffice it to recall the short story by the American writer Washington Irving "Rip van Winkle" (the year of the first edition - 1819), where the character falls asleep for 20 years.
In general, the motive of long sleep (or hibernation, or suspended animation - call it whatever you like) is very popular in science fiction literature to this day. But that is fantastic … But what about the real world? And to what extent is a person, in principle, able to “learn to rule himself”, to what extent and in what ways?
Do you believe me now?
In 1904, the book "Hypnosis and Suggestion in the Psychology of Nations" by the Swiss ethnographer Oskar Stoll was published. In particular, it tells how in 1837 the inhabitants of the Sikh city of Lahore and the surrounding area came to see an extraordinary event. It was about waking a yogi named Harida from a six-week sleep. This experiment was made at the suggestion of an English officer, Major Claude Wyde, and a local Maharaja, Runjit Singh. Both of these skeptics flatly refused to believe in the possibility of such phenomena and demanded an experiment.
Harida, using some known to him "psychotechnics", plunged into a state of deep sleep, reminiscent of lethargy. He slept in a small room, specially equipped and guarded by a special guard, which changed every two hours. As you can see, the experiment was arranged very solidly, and the possibility of a charlatan deception here seemed unlikely.
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Before starting the awakening procedure, Wide and Singh personally verified the integrity of the seal on the door. When the seal was removed and the door was opened (recall, in the presence of many witnesses!), A vertically standing wooden box appeared to the gaze of the audience.
It was about six English feet (1 meter 83 centimeters) high and three (91 centimeters) wide, and was locked and sealed with the Maharajah's own seal. They also removed this seal and opened the box. There was a man in a tightly sewn linen sack. At the signal of the Maharaja, a cannon volley was fired in the city, alerting the population of an attempt to awaken the sleeping man.
The sack was ripped open, and a motionless and seemingly lifeless yogi was taken out (it was noted that the entire sack was covered with mold from nowhere). The yogi's arms were wrinkled and numb to the touch, his head rested powerlessly on his shoulder. The military doctor who examined him did not notice any signs of breathing. The pulse was also not palpable.
The servants began pouring warm water on Harida, rubbing his hands. After a very long recovery procedure, Harida took a deep breath. Very slowly, with a visible effort, he opened one eye, then the other. Life returned to him. His first words after six weeks of sleep, addressed to the Maharaja, were: "Well, now do you believe me?"
Spirit and body
Scientists have tried to analyze these phenomena, to understand them. For example, the Russian physiologist Ivan Romanovich Tarkhanov (1846-1908) in his monograph “Spirit and Body” reported that some Europeans also managed to evoke a semblance of sleep for yogis (but to a lesser extent). However, a significant difference was that their exercises did not consist of stopping breathing, but in holding the heartbeat by an effort of will.
As an example, Tarkhanov refers to the English physiologist James Bell, who was able to slow down his heart rate. The story of the experiences of the English Colonel John Townsend, apparently inspired by the example of yogis, also became famous. This Townsend could stop his heart altogether. Let's quote Tarkhanov briefly.
“Colonel Townsend voluntarily caused cardiac arrest so prolonged that he fainted from it; during such an experiment his body grew cold, as if it were numb, his eyes became motionless, and his consciousness in the end completely disappeared; after several hours of this state, he gradually regained consciousness again. For a long time, such sessions went well for Townsend, but one day, making an experience of this kind in front of many witnesses, he died in the evening of the same day.
Lemon effect
So, we can assume that a person (of course, not everyone) is able, under certain conditions, to seriously regulate the activity of his body. But these are just individual individuals with rare willpower, and besides, who have devoted many years, if not their entire lives, to mastering this ability, as happens with yogis. But what about ordinary people who are not keen on anything so special? It turns out that mental regulation of physical manifestations is not only possible for each of us, but also occurs almost constantly!
Let's do this simple experiment. Try telling yourself to salivate. It will not work - the activity of the salivary glands will not change from your order, no matter how many times you repeat it. But change the conditions of the experience a little. Imagine vividly that you put a fresh, dripping lemon slice on your tongue … Yeah, see?
This is because the activity of our internal organs depends on the autonomic nervous system, which is independent to a certain extent. Therefore, a strong-willed order directed to her will not be effective. Using the appropriate views is another matter.
Shakespeare and the astronauts
In one of the experiments on long-term isolation within the framework of the cosmonaut training program, the candidate was asked twice a day, without getting up from the chair, to “play” in memory a set of physical exercises that was familiar to him.
He had to imagine not only the classes themselves, but also their entire setting, and the associated emotions. And what? It was noted that from time to time the body's reactions are more and more close to those that arose at the time of real loads!
The situation of "cross", for example, caused an acceleration of the heart rate at the finish line to 100 against 66 beats in a calm state. And after half an hour of such "exercises" the subject lost from 100 to 150 grams in weight! On the seventh day, the candidate asked to stop the experiment. He explained this by fear for the state of his psyche.
“The physical sensations and the brightness of the performances,” he said, “began to reach such an extent that I began to fear for my mental health.
Another astronaut candidate failed in his centrifuge tests. The reason was his heightened emotionality. This is what happened in the repeated studies. The candidate was placed in a centrifuge cabin, seated in a chair. The centrifuge itself did not turn on, but the instrument in the cockpit showed an increase in overloads. And right there, the candidate's pulse rate and respiration rate increased, changes in the encephalogram characteristic of overloads were noted … This is the power of inner conviction! As Shakespeare wrote:
When will the hurricane of war come
You must imitate the behavior of a tiger.
Kindle the blood, tighten the muscles
Cover your temper with a mask!
Give your eyes a furious sparkle …
Clasp your teeth and flare your nostrils
Hold your breath like a bow
Tighten the spirit. - Knights, go ahead!
The connection between experiences and their manifestation is so great that even at the end of the 19th century, the founders of the doctrine of emotions, American philosopher and psychologist William James and Danish physiologist Karl Lange, put forward a theory according to which “we laugh not because we are funny, but because we are funny because laughing … "They wrote in one of their works:" Clench your fists, grit your teeth, wrinkle your forehead, portray anger - and you will begin to experience this feeling. " Straight after Shakespeare, isn't it?
Learn to rule yourself …
“There is a blessed power in the consonance of the words of the living,” wrote Lermontov. However, is it always grace-filled? You can heal with the word, or you can kill. In the special literature, a case in Copenhagen is repeatedly described, when a criminal sentenced to death was blindfolded and verbally suggested that he was bleeding. Believing this, the culprit died. In reality, only small, safe cuts were made on his skin.
Well, what about yoga itself? In 1893, the German researcher Heinrich Walter included in his dissertation a translation from Sanskrit of an ancient Indian manuscript. There were described methods by which yogis immerse themselves in the deepest long sleep.
These methods consist mainly in the fact that a person gradually increases the period of holding his breath, takes a special posture, with his head lowered, with his eyes half-closed, "directs his mental gaze to the place between the eyebrows." This leads, according to the manuscript, to a temporary cessation of the activity of consciousness. Although, of course, in full, the "secret of the sleeping" is not so simple …
Not each of us can achieve results equal to those achieved by the yogi Harida, however, and not everyone needs it. But an undeniable inner strength is hidden in every person. You just need to learn how to manage it.
Andrey BYSTROV