That is my viewpoint, that it is all the power of Suggestion and Belief.
Obviously, this is a massive subject, and people have different points of view.
But to me, if i BELIEVE that Sai Baba can read my thoughts, and control my chakras, then i am going to feel those effects, just like if i BELIEVE that a Voodoo Hex is going to harm me.
The world is full of charlatans, claiming they can talk to your dead relatives, or heal your chakras, or cure your cancer...for a fee.
After 20 years of constant research, it is my position that there is ZERO actual evidence for the "paranormal". There is even a $1 Million award to anyone who can prove ANY paranormal act!
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www.randi.org]
The "effects" people experience are in my view, "just" the effects of their own Beliefs.
Our Beliefs are incredibly powerful.
A person can believe that Jesus is their Savior, or that Sai Baba is the risen GodmanChrist, or that they must kill themselves as the spaceship is coming for them, or anything else. If they REALLY BELIEVE it, they will experience certain "effects", emotional, and even physical psychosomatic effects.
A friend of mine BELIEVES homeopathy cured some cuts on his face.
What if he is wrong and his face simply healed itself by natural means?
(I see no proper scientific evidence for homeopathy, and in my book it is a pseudoscience).
For me, the answer is Critical Thinking, and the Will To Doubt.
Put me in front of these Golden Gurus, and they will have NO EFFECT on me. Why? Because i do not believe their claims they are Godmen. To me they are just men, some deluded, but mostly con-men.
Our Beliefs/Schemas are the master controls of how our brain constructs reality. It is necessary to be VERY careful what we choose to believe.
I use Carl Sagans methods outlined in his excellent book, "The Demon Haunted World".
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www1.tpgi.com.au]
We do live in a Demon Haunted World, of humans with superstitious Palaeolithic brains, crying out for Gods. Perhaps education in critical thinking will move us out of this morass.
Carl Sagan called "Science, a candle in the dark".
The darkness of medieval superstition is running rampant in the world today, from fanaticism, to cultists, to fundamentalists, to new-agers, to occultists. Who knows, humanity could be slipping into a New Dark Age. Certainly, that's how the "leaders" seem to want it to be. A terrified God-fearing superstitious populace who follows orders.
We are literally living in a "bread and circus" society. The LAST thing the Powers That Be want is for the "rabble" to think carefully and reasonably.
This contributes to the rise in Cults and fundamentalism. People are even trying to get Evolution out of the textbooks, for Gods sake!
Its all part of the same problem to me.
The solution is for people to learn how to THINK critically.
Coz
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Wordgirl
that the kundalini, chakras, naddis, etc is nothing more than a myth?
Could it be that no one actually has the power to control energy centers in other human beings, because exergy centers are nonexistant?
I understand that these are ancient beliefs we are talking about, but has anything actually been proven (under scientific conditions)?
Needless to say not one single Sahaja Yogi will submit to this test. Some might even quote the Bible--don't put God to the test...
Maybe we believe what we want to believe and that's that.