Reunions; Visionary encounters with departed loved ones by Raymond Moody

Author:Raymond Moody [Moody, Raymond]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: spiritualism, death, visions
Publisher: New York : Villard Books
Published: 1993-06-15T07:00:00+00:00

IV - The Theater of the Mind

Explore what you are scoffed at for wanting to explore.

—Source unknown

In the spring of 1990, having realized that I needed a special space in which to conduct further investigations into mirror gazing, I decided, as I mentioned before, to convert my old millhouse into an appropriate facility. I called it the Theater of the Mind. At the theater a variety of elements—art, music, play, relaxation, creative activity, physical exercise, nature, hypnagogic states, perceptual illusions, intellectual stimulation, and humor—have been combined to create an atmosphere that is naturally conducive to the creation of altered states of consciousness.

The theater is so multifaceted that it is at once a temple, a fortune-teller's parlor, a spiritual retreat center, an art museum, a school, a library, and a fun house. In addition, it resurrects some of the long-forgotten institutions of the ancient world, such as the Greek oracles of the dead; the dream-incubation temples of Asklepios; and the Museion, the forerunner to our own museums, where people went to seek inspiration from the Muses. All of this was combined in such a way as to create an environment in which visionary encounters could occur.

FACTORS THAT ENABLE ALTERED STATES

My strategy has been to incorporate as many of the factors that are known to ease one's transition into altered states of reality as possible. The overall purposes of the Theater of the Mind are education, entertainment, spiritual growth, and grief therapy through altered states of awareness. The following factors contribute to attaining these altered states of consciousness:

THE BEAUTY OF NATURE

The wonders of nature can cause mystical and other spiritual experiences. Something deep within human beings is very powerfully moved by natural beauty.

To provide a potent burst of contact with nature, the Theater of the Mind is housed in a former gristmill beside a creek in a secluded rural area of Alabama. Numerous wild creatures roam the creek banks outside the living-room windows, and the thick green forest provides seclusion from civilization and enables clients to take walks and commune with nature during their stay.

ALTERATIONS IN THE SENSE OF TIME

People who experience altered states of consciousness often report that their sense of time is distorted during these episodes. To help subjects become lost in time, I ask them not to wear watches. I am also careful to make sure that no clocks are in sight. Sometimes I set up a sundial in the yard as a subtle reminder of a more primitive method of reckoning time.

Not only are the timepieces anachronistic, but so is the decor. Antique furniture is used throughout, and an extensive library of nineteenth-century stereoscopic cards provides a kind of window into a time long past.

All of this combined with the mill itself, which was built in 1839, have the effect of disorienting the conscious and subconscious minds and of propelling one back to an earlier era.

Subjects report a feeling of living in the past. Some say that it is as though they have been lifted out of the age of technology by a time machine that sent them back a hundred years.

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