Power of Suggestion

2004-03-26 @ 11:49 a.m.

I was late to work this morning.

I was so deeply intrigued in the History channels "Mysterious Marvels" special on the Stigmata.

Padre Pio from Italy and Teresa (I can�t remember the last name) from Bavaria all within the latter half of the 19th century experienced the Stigmata. Mysteriously, the pain of Christ would physically appear on these people. The holes in the hands and feet from the stakes used to pin Christ to the cross, the bleeding on the forehead from the crown of thorns, the lashes on the back and chest from the whippings, and the bleeding from the eyes, the grossly obvious indicator of the magnitude of the pain experienced.

For Theresa, whenever she would experience an ecstatical event she would bleed profusely from her eyes. They showed video of the chick and it was unbelievable. She could go without nourishment for days.

Padre Pio, had holes in his hands and feet that you could see right through with no sign of self-infliction. He had the gash in his chest that would seem to always stay fresh.

For years they would bear these physical manifestations of Christ's pain and for years it was unexplainable, there were the believers and the skeptics.

Recently, studies have delved into the realm of psychosomatic origins for the Stigmata. It blew my mind the shit they were saying.

Basically many neurologists and psychologists have shown evidence that people in a hypnotic state can produce the same physical manifestations of pain.

They had a man, who under deep hypnosis, was told that a cigarette was burning his hand. When the Dr. placed a cold pen onto the palm of his hand the man began to wince and a circular blister formed on his hand--A woman was told that she was wearing a crown of thorns, within seconds, dots of blood began to emerge from her forehead and within minutes began dripping down her face--A man who was bound in ropes in an Indian prison and released years prior to the study began to act out the anguish when the subject was breached and when told to relive that experience under hypnosis, rope marks began to surface on his arms.

It is proven fact that when we are embarrassed (a mental action) blood rushes to our cheeks and we blush (the physical reaction)...this is the same case they are making for the Stigmata but on a much deeper intense level. They say that when an image, be it Christ on the cross or whatever, is imprinted on your mind repetitively, after experiencing some sort of deep emotional trauma or ecstatical event your body manifests these images in the physical form.

Now that is some deep shit. Are our minds really that powerful? That we can translate our emotional anguish into physical pain?

The medical explanation makes for a strong argument. The only thing that causes doubt in my mind is how did Padre Pio retain those wounds for years and when he died they just disappeared with out a trace? Many say that the gift God gave him was used to his fullest and was no longer needed as he was crossing worlds. And was his gift from God the fact that while most priests would do a max of 2 hours of confession a day he would do 18hours a day for years and actually be able to know what the sin was prior to the sinner confessing it?

I was glued to my couch and had to tear myself away in order to make it to work at somewhat of a decent time. But, this is weighing on my mind making me look back.

I know for a fact that when I am stressed my thyroid begins to react and effect my physical well-being. Hmmm�.I have plenty of questions. I miss debate. I�m just thinking here at work�something I should do more often so that whatever power my mind may possess can get stronger rather than deteriorate with the mindless drone work that I do on a daily basis.

before | | after