"Fasting and meditation (for prolongued periods of time) are practices used to induce hallucinations."

That is not true at all.

The purpose of meditation is to control the mind. The nature of the mind (or manah) is chancala (flickering). This becomes most apparant when we remove our senses from their respective sense objects and enter a state of meditation. Only then are we confronted by the reality that our mind has a nature of its own and is not very obedient to its observer. Of course a philosophical framework where the nature of the mind is something seperate from the body is a necessary starting point. There are several results of (proper) meditation and hallucinations are most certainly not among them: sobriety, increased happiness, decrease of erratic behaviour and even improved health and mental functioning are among the material benefits. What to speak of higher things that are aimed for...

As I stated in the recent physics fiasco threads about the 'faster than light' neutrinos, a person should really not make such strong statements about things he knows little to nothing about.

"...The researchers found that the meditators showed a pronounced shift in activity to the left frontal lobe. In other words, they were calmer and happier than before. The study will be published in the next issue of Psychosomatic Medicine." http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200304/the-benefits-meditation

There are numerous studies that have shown the benefits of meditation (Phd studies included). Nowhere does the desire to experience hallucinations enter the picture whatsoever.

In fact  the practitioner would be of the opinion (see I can be diplomatic) that meditation is a means to see things as they are - i.e. NOT tinged with the illusiory perception of your limited sense.

As for fasting - it is a practical way of becoming less dependent on the pleasures the body gives its user. A regulated way to learn that you are seperate from the body. This is a type of discipline hardly understood by the common man.

I also feel compelled to add that these 'astral adventures' I referred to had nothing to do with my practice and these things are not recommended since they are also on the sensory platform. This never happened (in my case) during any of my practice - only when I took a quick nap from 6:45-7 am some days. I literally couldn't physically manage the practice every day, so some concessions were allowed - its hard, especially when its freezing winter and you've been awake since 3/3:30 with less than 5 hours sleep.

I never said I was a Mormon (?). I said I studied different philosophies and the basis of Mormonism shocked me when I learnt what is actually the purpose.

In any case, you don't really care - except to find some things to ridicule - so I'll leave it at that.

OT: @OP HOW can you say this is not a religious thread when you inherentlty assume the existence of the garden of Eden!? Makes no sense whatsoever.

Meditation and/or sensory deprivation. When the brain lacks external stimulation to form perceptions, it may compensate by referencing the memory and form hallucinatory perceptions.

http://neurology.health-cares.net/hallucination-causes.php

Fasting for longs periods of time is also known to cause hallucinations. I assume the purposes of your practices at that monsatery (or whatever it was) was to enter a trance, no? And by mind, don't you mean spirit?

"Meditation and/or sensory deprivation. When the brain lacks external stimulation to form perceptions, it may compensate by referencing the memory and form hallucinatory perceptions."

The link says "This condition is commonly found in blind and deaf individuals."

Did these 'experts' actually study any serious practitioners? I highly doubt that. I've met many monks from all over the world and no-one has ever discussed or mentioned anything that could be misconstrued as hallucinations. I lived on a farm in India with 40 monks - 20 were doctors, 5 had Phd's and the others were engineers. They were not practicing so seriously to fool themselfes. This is BS.

"Fasting for longs periods of time is also known to cause hallucinations"

Yeah I agree, but fasting for 1 day? I also never met anyone that deprived themselves for such an extended period that it would actually hurt them somehow. There's that whole thing in the Bible that the 'body is a temple' and all that you know...

" I assume the purposes of your practices at that monsatery (or whatever it was) was to enter a trance, no?"

No, the purpose is to see things as they are, starting with yourself.

"The body has a very bad reputation is Christianity."
?hein

Here's a book written on the subject.

http://books.google.ro/books?id=FNIZL5nMTAUC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=meditation+fasting+hallucinations&source=bl&ots=0ACW7itlAA&sig=f4rxx5f2bq-zgu7d6IqEvoEInSw&hl=ro&ei=akOMTuvoIMua-wbHi-2uBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CGIQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=meditation%20fasting%20hallucinations&f=false

I think you're giving a negative connotation to the word 'hallucination' (though, if you consider the hallucination world to be real, I can easily see why you'd think find this ideea insulting).

I'd also be careful when playing the whole 'your body is a temple' card. The body has a very bad reputation is Christianity.

To see things 'as they are'? You mean, because this world isn't real? Because it's illusory? And the state you're describing is called 'trance'.

Look man, 

People may see hippies meditating and doing drugs and playing on their drums and therefore always have this cheap connotation with meditation and yoga, but the fact that there is some negative sentiment towards these things in you is not my problem.

(EDIT) The book mentions fasting for a fortnight - OF COURSE you'll start hallucinating then. That's a weak, incomplete argument about a subject the author hasn't even bothered to properly research like with his stupid Hawking quotes. Just because there's a book written doesn't mean anything - I've seen (even in physics journals) some really poorly written published literature. There is a lot more literature glorifying the benefits of meditation than the opposite.

Do you really want me to answer your questions with philosophy? Somehow I doubt it so I don't know what the point would be of answering(?).

What I do understand is when people scoff at the idea of these things due to a 'scientific' or 'mechanistic' view of this world. If indeed consciousness is simply a product of the complexity of the neural networks in our brains and ultimately everything can be described by physics alone then yes - I guess in that world meditation and yoga and spiritual knowledge would be a joke. That does not make it a joke however, since we can hardly claim to live in such a world. Funny how the people still see the Newtonian picture of the world and have no idea just how insanely strange everything around us is.

OK, now you're really speaking like a junkie.

Well I cannot go to your profile to see if you have seen this again since class, so here you go. You are on right now so you will probably see this. What are you in college for?