Religous debates and questions [2]

Here you go:
"Brookite Rare Black Metallic Crystals on Smoky Quartz Crystal Magnet Cove"



Not so beautiful.

Yes but can it cure warts?  

If you get it really cold with liquid nitrogen, then yes.

 

do they absorb energy though?  or transmit it. can I contact the planet Zargon-Bleep with them?

Contacting Zargon-Bleep with magnetic crystals has not yet been tested empirically, to the best of my knowledge.  Usually this has been attempted using Calvin & Hobbes decoder rings by improperly trained 8 year olds, with what I can only imagine must be described as limited success.

I actually wear a Crystal  I was told it did stuff and I believed them, the fairies. But they are tricksy those fairies.

If it feels good to you why knock it?

Western medical science is WAY behind on the mind-body connections.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing or believing in something that has no 'scientific' basis, so long as it's otherwise harmless.  Such things should be encouraged rather than discouraged so long the practicianer feels a boost and it doesn't interfere with the adoption of things which have proven universal value.

There's a whole world out there inside our heads.  Science should not be feeling smug about any of it.

There's a whole world out there inside our heads.- Halfwise

Beautifully put Halfy.

I have often wondered given medicine has long used placebos why science has never seemed to seriously try to find out how that works. If we are capable of curing ourselves on belief that would seem like a rather intriguing premise, real world tangible results from nothing more than belief in a thing working.

maybe thats what faith is, a placebo effect, you believe it and it comes true. really true.

There's lots of work on placebos, but it's too complicated to work out right now. I'd hazard a guess it'll largely be in the bag within 50 years though.

There are a whole lot of things that get labeled as placebo effect. It can to some extent be translated as, "We can show that it works statistically, but we don't know why."

I was just reading an article about epigenetics where it's been demonstrated that genetics aren't the only mechanism for conditions fto be inherited from one generation to another, for even up to 4 or 5 generations later. That would have been heresy only a few years ago.

There's a lot of folk wisdom, especially related to health, weather, and growing things that represents the collective wisdom of tens of thousands of years. It just seems silly to dismiss it all.  I'd put such things as intuition in that category.  And picking up cool rocks. Our ancestors have been doing that for over a million years, Mrs Figg.  If a crystal seems to work for you, don't let anybody tell you differently. It's definitely NOT a modern fad.

And although the whole 'crystal energy healing power' stuff may be laughed at in certain quarters, doesn't mean that it doesn't have a real effect on the people using it, i.e. the placebo.

Most serious diseases are that because the body doesn't know how to fight them.... or maybe believes that it cannot. I wouldn't be surprised if the sub-conscious change in belief triggers the body to actually do more about what is going on instead of succumbing. Eventually, that may mean it finds a way or ultimately can't... but it probably tries harder, focuses.

Figg I have a piece of rock I found many, many years ago under circumstances that seemed to apply to synchronicity, I have kept hold of it ever since.There is absolutely no logical reason for believing that I noticed it for a particular reason, or that I was meant to and take it- yet I still act as if these things were true.
Thats being human I guess.

As others have said above Figg, if you believed in it it probably had some positive effect on you. The placebo effect having it's basis in science.

So I wouldn't have any regrets if I were you. If it did you any good then that's all positive, as long as it wasn't too expensive.

maybe thats what faith is, a placebo effect, you believe it and it comes true. really true.- Mrs Figg

Thats the conceit Pratchett uses in the Discworld novels- the Gods exist because people believe in them. And if people stop believing in them they fade away into Small Gods, whispers on the wind.

There is a scene I always find moving in the novel Small Gods- out in the desert the main character Brutha and his God Om (reduced to a tortoise as the only person left still believing in him is Brutha) stumble upon the ruins of some ancient city.
During the night a Small God tries to entice Brutha from Om, but its too weak.
But it was once the God of the ancient city, a Great God, it remembers huge palaces built in its name, thousands worshipping his name, but it cannot remember any more what its name was. And now it blows on the wind through the dust and ruins of its Temple.

I always find that bit rather moving.
Maybe somewhere out there Osiris and Isis and Odin and all the rest are blowing on the wind for lack of human belief.

thanks guys, I find that I am a person that Tunes into atmospheres in sometimes an extreme reaction. When I am in a place I feel, can't think of a better word than Atmosphere, and sometimes I cant stay in certain places if they feel wrong. It kind of dominates my view of the world, even down to little things like paintings or films, I soak up the atmosphere of the thing.

I get vibes just like you do Figgy ! you explained beautifully how I often feel, I get vibes from places, solid "mass" rather than from people actually, Im fooking USELESS at working people out ! thats how come Ive been taken for a mug that many times ! Yet a friend of mine can work people out in an instant & is very often correct. Can this be a woman thing ? or do men get vibes like this also ?

I don't get vibes but I can generally read people quite well. Sometimes I really can't, but usually I can.

I wish I could understand people better ! be more helpful.

I don't know. Some people come across wrong, especially on first impressions. What I mean by that is a lot of people will put up a front and although you can normally see that it isn't the real them, you don't get to see the real them. Problem there is first impressions, unfortunately, count for a lot and when you just don't know you tend to default to 'they are hiding something.'

So it can be good and bad.

Thats something I dont get ! why pretend to be someone your not ? why make the pretense so severe its border line lying ? I will like & respect you better for being who you really are, not because you say your a head chef at Buckinham palace or whatever, I dont need or want to be impressed. Low self esteem I guess ?

Well... in the world in which I work, what people think of you seems to be very important. I am very laid back and am not one to make idle chit chat or offer and opinion for opinions sake. As far as me progressing goes, I like to let my work do the talking, however at some point you get beyond actually doing work and get in to the world of coordinating which entails lots of politics.

It is the thing I hate most about my work environment. If I sit in a meeting and don't say anything because there is nothing to say, people tend to think that I have nothing of value to add to the whole process. If, however, I put my opinion across that I agree with everything that has just been said then people think I have a valid opinion.

So... as much as it isn't me, that is what I do in meetings to make sure my presence is known. Obviously if they are all talking shit then I will tell them so. It is all the other times that I do things that I normally wouldn't (nothing immoral of course) because of the audience I am with.

Mmmmmm, I see your point now, sometimes certain situations call for different modes, can make you act out of character also,
Ok, Mr Freud, you can get up now!

I'm lazy remember.... i'll take the sofa!