what you
regard as
you is
really a
transient
construct
created by
the brain
from multiple
sensory sources.
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran

"Don't believe everything you hear and only half of what you see." Those lyrics from a country song in another era ring true to the the out of body experiments reported yesterday.

Scientists successfully induced out of body experiences in which people responded to touch one part of the body as if it were applied to another area which they were seeing through 3D goggles. This induced state of consciousness mirrors reports of out of body experiences by people who have gone through traumatic episodes, according to the scientists conducting the experiments.

What intrigues me is the assessment of one scientist about reality and our perception of it. The experiences "call into question the axiom that everything you are is anchored in your body," said Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, of the U.C. San Diego Center for Brain and Cognition.

But if we are not anchored in our physical bodies and our perceptions can be altered to such a degree through relatively simple optical illusions, then our conscious ordering of "reality" is certainly open to considerable question. We can't believe everything we hear, only half of what we see, and who knows how much of what we feel. How many times have I heard, "perception is reality," to explain away a dubious act otherwise open to question. Well, maybe perception isn't reality. Or maybe reality isn't limited to what we can see, hear, feel or think. Or maybe the Matrix is all there is after all. But, how can we ever know...for sure?

I know some will draw deep theological meaning from these experiments and maybe that's important. But this morning it's not where I want to go with these reports. So, I'm refraining from heading down that path and just contemplating what might be, or not.