Monday, June 16, 2008

Emotional Resonance

God Helmets OBEs Illusions and a Cosmic Presence. - Beliefnet Forums: "There is credible evidence for me of some sort of emotional resonance between humans. Between lovers I don't think there is any question of the resonance although the transmission medium(s) can generate lovely arguments between skeptics arguing the normal 5 senses, and those arguing for some sort of ESP.

If that emotional resonance can be demonstrated in larger groups that have no (5) sensual connections, it is a small step to a large group including all people, or even all sentient entities which might be called a cosmic presence. As you know, I weigh in on the small group resonance scale with the village or parish being about the limit for strong resonance. Although I have experienced a general panic in a large city."

2 comments:

Exploringinside said...

Collective effervescence (CE) is a perceived energy formed by a gathering of people as might be experienced at a sporting event, a carnival, a rave, or a riot. This energy can cause people to act differently than in their everyday life. Collective effervescence is the basis for Émile Durkheim's theory of religion as laid out in his 1912 volume Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. This book is largely based on studies of the Australian aborigines.

Durkheim argues that the universal religious dichotomy of profane and sacred results from the lives of these tribe members: most of their life is spent performing menial tasks such as hunting and gathering. These tasks are profane. The rare occasions on which the entire tribe gathers together becomes sacred, and the high energy level associated with these events gets directed onto physical objects or people which then become sacred. [Wikipedia] I am looking for similar studies that yielded comparable results. Perhaps a form of CE is the dynamic encountered in things such as mass hysteria.

J'Carlin said...

Thanks EI, I wasn't aware of this type of research. Interesting date. I find it amusing that this is labeled mass hysteria, as if this explains something.