Page 34 - Eternity Has Already Begun

ETERNITY HAS ALREADY BEGUN

Science writer, Rita Carter, states in her book, Mapping the Mind,
that "there's no need for eyes to see" and describes at length an ex-

periment carried out by scientists. In the experiment, blind patients
were fitted with a device that transformed video pictures into vi-
brating pulses. A camera mounted next to the subjects' eyes spread
the pulses over their backs so they had continuous sensory input
from the visual world. The patients started to behave as if they could
really see, after a while. For example, there was a zoom lens in one
of the devices so as to move closer the image. When the zoom is op-
erated without informing the patient beforehand, the patient had an
urge to protect himself with two arms because the image on the sub-
ject's back expanded suddenly as though the world was looming in. 4
As it is seen from this experiment, we can form sensations even
when they are not caused by material equivalents in the outside
world. All stimuli can be created artificially.

"The world of senses" that we experience in dreams

A person can experience all senses vividly without the presence
of the outside world. The most obvious example of this is dreams. A
person lies on his bed with closed eyes while dreaming. However,
in spite of this, that person senses many things which he or she ex-
periences in real life, and experiences them so realistically that the
dreams are indistinguishable from the real life experience. Everyone
who reads this book will often bear witness to this truth in their own
dreams. For example, a person lying down alone on a bed in a calm
and quiet atmosphere at night might, in his dream, see himself in
danger in a very crowded place. He could experience the event as if
it were real, fleeing from danger in desperation and hiding behind a
wall. Moreover, the images in his dreams are so realistic that he feels

fear and panic as if he really was in danger. He has his heart in his
mouth with every noise, is shaken with fear, his heart beats fast, he

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