For my projects, I choose to focus on this definition of Uncanny: "mysterious, arousing superstitious fear or dread; having or seeming to have a supernatural or inexplicable basis; beyond the ordinary or normal; extraordinary" My goal in creating Project One was to create a piece of visual art to represent the theory that the human mind is naturally inclined towards the supernatural. I intend to explore possible connections between this theory and the facts that are known about mental illness, specifically Manic Depression and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In a state of mania, the brain often manufactures uncanny and unusual thoughts. These thoughts tend to have a supernatural quality and can lead to bizarre convictions and behaviors. OCD is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive irrational thoughts, which are often violent and threatening, that have the uncanny ability to lead an individual to conduct rituals and routines. The thoughts (obsessions) trigger actions (compulsions) which can make even the simplest daily tasks very difficult. I found many interesting articles online which relate to the topic of uncanny brain activity: [The following is an excerpt from http://www.nwbotanicals.org/oak/magick/createsgod.htm] "Can we pinpoint what regions of the brain turn off and on during religious, visionary or extraordinary states of consciousness? "Yes, scientists are using dynamic brain imaging techniques such as SPECT and functional MRI to directly vie the activation of brain circuitry. We can watch both blood flow and electrical activity in real time. The roles of the amygdala, hippocampus, temporal lobes, parietal lobe, and pineal gland are fundamental to our sense of well-being, meaningfulness, expansion from personal identity. "Brain scans of a large sampling of people lost in prayer or deep in meditation reveal certain common neurological readings. These correlate with religious states ranging from transcendence, to visions, to enlightenment and feelings of awe. Attention or concentration in the frontal lobes is indicated by activation in this area of the brain during meditation."
From the same site, I found this question to be particularly thought-provoking: "Could altering brain chemistry by playing with some visual and pleasure circuits, while quieting those governing self-image, cognition, orientation, and time sequencing give rise to a transcendental bliss, a god-experience? "The god-experience is a process, a subjective perception, rather than an objectively provable reality. Distractions cease, replaced by the direct impact of oceanic expansion, sudden insight, childlike wonder, ecstatic exaltation above bodily and personal existence, dissolution in a timeless moment, fusion, gnosis." The description above, along with the following, is characteristic of mania in manic depressive individuals... It is direct perception coupled with high emotion and deep realization of what appears to be ultimate truth. It rips away the veil of illusion, revealing the pure ground state of our existence without any emotional, mental, or belief filters. Left with only pure awareness, the natural mind is finally free of earthly trappings. Bathed in emotions of joy, assurance and salvation, Cosmos becomes a living presence. Immortality is sensed, so fear of death vanishes. "We have a natural human capacity for spiritual experience, just as we have one for comprehension of language or mathematics." "Whether God exists as an overarching cosmic entity or not, there are certain mechanisms in the brain which humankind has harnessed over thousands of years to facilitate the process of non-ordinary experience. They all manipulate the body's nervous system either by over- or under-stimulation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems of arousal. They lead us toward seeing, hearing, touching and feeling the Lord in an experiential, rather than conceptual way that culminates in fusion." "Biologically, heavenly states are dependent on the limbic system or emotional part of the brain, and hormonal secretions. Mystical states are not fantasies, delusions or intangible events; they are the end result of complex chemical and neurological processes. They begin with instinctive awe and indefinable thrills, floating sensations, and perhaps spiritual hunger." Mark Henderson, Science Editor of The Times reports the following, according to a British psychologist: "The human brain is hard-wired to be susceptible to supernatural beliefs as a result of tens of thousands of years of evolution. Religion and other forms of magical thinking continue to thrive...because people are naturally biased to accept a role for the irrational in their daily lives." This all begs the question: Are we programmed for God? And furthermore, is mania just an extension or overdrive functioning of this God program? Why are religious preoccupations and uncanny supernatural experiences so common among manic depressive individuals?
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