Comments on: The Effect http://qarrtsiluni.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/ online literary magazine Sun, 27 May 2012 00:49:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Natalie http://qarrtsiluni.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-970 Fri, 24 Nov 2006 13:38:09 +0000 http://qarrtsiluni.wordpress.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-970 dale, the Effect seemed to be an opening up and clearing out of whatever blocks interfered with perceiving the miraculous aspect of ordinary life. But the trance thing was more like my demanding to be taken over by something which would use my artist-self without my conscious participation. So maybe because I was in a very open and hyper-sensitive state, this sort of “channeling” could take place. I do believe that there is such a thing as “possession” and that trance states (whether achieved through repetitive rituals, drugs etc.) are dangerous to mental and physical health. The dark side of spiritual exploration.

]]> By: dale http://qarrtsiluni.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-969 Thu, 23 Nov 2006 15:25:25 +0000 http://qarrtsiluni.wordpress.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-969 Hmm, my comment here disappeared. I wanted to ask, do you think “the effect” made you vulnerable to the trance, or just capable of it? I mean, could you have turned the trance down, or did accepting the effect entail accepting the trance?

I’m very familiar with the effect — it’s half of what keeps me meditating. But I’ve never had any experience of voices wanting to speak through me. (Wanting to speak *to* me, yes, but that’s a much different thing.)

Beautiful piece, anyway –

]]> By: Natalie http://qarrtsiluni.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-968 Mon, 20 Nov 2006 15:33:14 +0000 http://qarrtsiluni.wordpress.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-968 LM, yes there is definitely a difference between the two “modes” and I’ve only told part of the tale. There was quite a lot of follow-up later on but that’s a long story and I’ll have to save it to add to the ongoing autobiography.

M-L, the odd thing is that while I remember clearly every aspect of the Effect, the “trance” bits, while quite dramatic, left no after-glow whatever.

Karl,no I wasn’t joking! Subsequent experiences of a strange sort did take up quite a lot of time subsequently but, as I said above, that’s a much longer story. I would definitely put David Lynch’s works on that dangerous side which, to my mind, is psychologically detrimental. But then that’s just my hypersensitive no-longer-eighteen-year-old view, frequently at odds with what is popular.

Jean, indeed it was about totally focused attention and that’s really hard to achieve now. I don’t think I have quite the same conviction I had then that anything was possible with enough undistracted attention.

]]> By: Jean http://qarrtsiluni.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-967 Mon, 20 Nov 2006 11:23:28 +0000 http://qarrtsiluni.wordpress.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-967 What a wonderfully vivid account – the surprising and seemingly supernatural much more powerful against the well-drawn backdrop of a specific place and time. I think these are just the kind of things that happen when we aren’t distracted – but it’s so very rare not to be distracted; most of life is about being distracted. To get there on your own must be rare, I think. Yes, perhaps just a ‘hypersensitive eighteen-year-old’, but sensitive and hypersensitive are much devalued terms.

]]> By: Karl Elder http://qarrtsiluni.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-966 Mon, 20 Nov 2006 00:26:26 +0000 http://qarrtsiluni.wordpress.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-966 In the event you’re not joking with your last couple of paragraphs (the lady or the tiger?), here’s one vote for “hypersensitive . . . .”

“The Effect” is certainly a smooth read, Natalie. It makes me want to know about your third and subsequent experiences, though I must admit I was drawn to it initially with thought that it might serve as a prelude to a book I plan to read around the first of the year, when it’s released, that is–David Lynch’s account of meditation as the incubator of his films and paintings. The book’s called something like “Catching the Big Fish.”

]]> By: marja-leena http://qarrtsiluni.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-965 Sat, 18 Nov 2006 20:44:36 +0000 http://qarrtsiluni.wordpress.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-965 Yes, as LM said, yet I’m almost envious that you’ve had the experience of the Effect and even the trance that helped produce this fascinating painting! A very interesting qarrtsiluni submission!

]]> By: L M http://qarrtsiluni.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-964 Sat, 18 Nov 2006 20:32:40 +0000 http://qarrtsiluni.wordpress.com/2006/11/19/the-effect/#comment-964 Fascinating, Natalie. Good that you were wise enough to notice the difference between the two; that takes a strong sense of self that some young sensitive and creative people don’t always have and they get lost.

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