Ever wondered how life would be like if you could control your mind and experience extraordinary mystical happenings? Researchers have created a device that can stimulate magical experiences in people.
Researchers from the University of Amsterdam created a placebo brain stimulation device that they call a ‘God Helmet’ and were able to induce ‘extraordinary experiences’ in people it was tested upon. Researchers tested 193 participants at a Dutch music festival to wear the sliver colored skateboard helmet that had fake wires attached to itself and was hooked up to sham medical equipment.
For 15 minutes, the participants were made to listen to white noise via earphones while being blindfolded. Their spiritual beliefs were also questioned and their blood samples were taken in order to determine the level of alcohol or other substances consumed.
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By the end of the experiment, almost 80% people experienced weak sensations and 30% experienced strong sensations. Weak sensations included sleepiness, increased heart rate and dizziness. Whereas, strong sensations included visual and auditory hallucinations, distortions in time and space, unconscious movements, and the feeling of floating, similar to experiences felt during psychedelics or spiritual experiences, reported International Business Times.
A participant illustrated, “I went into a dialogue with a dark circle, it sounded like my own voice yet also different. It was something ‘higher’. I have never had such an experience, it was truly amazing.” While another one described, “I came loose from the chair, the chair fell and I was floating. The desk started to shake heavily and I felt the presence of a dark figure next to me. It whispered something in my ear that I could not understand.”
Publishing their research in Religion, Brain & Behavior, lead researcher David Maij told PsyPost, “What we expect is going on is that when people undergo the placebo brain stimulation suggestion, some people get immersed/absorbed in this suggestion and come to experience more vividly what they are thinking.”
The purpose of God Helmet was to observe if alcohol plays a role in religious susceptibility. However, people with spiritual beliefs had stronger responses but, it was revealed that neither alcohol nor other substances had any effect on the mystical experiences felt, reported Science Alert.