iPod Shaman

There I was, lying in bed wearing obnoxiously hip white headphones attached to an iPod, humming a wavy binaural tone over pink noise. I made the mp3 the previous night using a computer program that generates tones that tune your brain to desired frequencies. I was aiming for the theta state, 4.5 Hz. In the theta state, the brain is more receptive to the subconscious and the spiritual realm. The iPod glitched as the one hour "song" ended, jarring me awake. Crap, what a wasted session.

I tried to go back to sleep when it occurred. I started feeling the rising surges of electricity waving through my body. It felt like the tingles you get when your foot is asleep except not painful. It ebbed as I paid attention to it, and returned as I let it be, concentrating on the sensation of falling asleep instead. Then the electricity consumed my whole body, and the familiar roaring sounds filled my ears. I became sleep paralyzed. Yes, it worked!

Strangely though, I was breathing heavily. I opened my eyes, but discovered that my physical eyes opened, not my astral eyes like I had hoped. I couldn't move anything besides my eyes, eyelids, and lungs. I closed my eyes and concentrated on projecting myself out of my body. It didn't work. I jumped and did somersaults, but it was all in my imagination. There is a very noticeable difference between astral movement and imaginary movement.

I wanted to see my astral arms, but my pillow was blocking my view, so I tried to wake up my body temporarily to move it. I wiggled my fingers, and soon my hand was able to move. I felt the pillow with my hand and moved it. But when my eyes opened, it was still there! Great, my astral arm was moving, and I couldn't see it. I finally was able to move the physical pillow out of the way and tried to go back to paralysis. Couldn't do it. Listened to the theta entrainment mp3 again. Didn't work. Oh, well. I was in the altered-state between one and two minutes, the longest I've ever been there. That's an accomplishment.

Quick Comments on Feminism

Here are my answers to a survey about a man's view on feminism. Sorry about the lack of flow; it's a largely unedited list of responses to disparate questions.

I have several definitions of feminism, but the one I adopt is particular. My feminism is the consciousness and questioning of gender roles society enforces. Not all roles and rules are destructive, just as not all hierarchies are repressive, but unconsciously adhering to most of them is dangerous. In my brand of feminism, equal access to happiness is the priority, not exactly equal everything. I know this is vague, but I believe it's better than falling into the trap of literalism. My feminism is the exploration and promotion of the traditionally feminine aspects of humanity, e.g. the culture of care, humility, and compassion. Action should probably mainly be focused on educating the very young.

I'm not sure how studying the body is relevant. My guess is that it might reveal that there are more similarities between the sexes than once thought and also that there is a spectrum of differences among people that go against the clear-cut distinction between male and female. The black or white attitude is holding feminist consciousness back a lot. But I also feel that research into this area can be sketchy as our bodies and minds have been so conditioned by society that the line between socialization and genetics is blurry.

The unoppressed usually have a hard time understanding the things the oppressed go through. However, even the oppressed argue about the significant points of their experience, so I believe any one's input on feminism can be useful, male or female. After all, patriarchy threatens not only women but also men with its dangerous inclinations toward war.