greytowhite
Green Belt
I see the five phases theory and their respective associations as tools for achieving synesthesia during practice. If I believe while I am doing beng quan, that I am crushing, wood growing outward, using the body as drawing a bow, shooting my fist like an arrow, the color green, moving from the area of of my torso near the liver, I am dissolving anger, cultivating determination, sour taste, rancid smell, stretching the tendons etc. then I am programming my mind to associate these things to engage all of my senses simultaneously while focusing on certain qualities. Later on all of these associations are supposed to be dropped as one embodies them without having to invoke these things for synesthetic experience whilst practicing.
Why would one want to do this? What is going on in the brain? The senses are linked and the various functioning parts of the brain become more unified like a child's experience. The areas of the brain responsible for self and ego downregulate and sensory experience becomes fuller and learning is expedited. There is increased brain connectivity in white matter for self regulation and increased grey matter formation thanks to meditation. These are just tools that can be combined with breathing techniques or plant medicines to deepen one's mental and spiritual side of the practice - the body follows along. There's shamanic stuff right in front of us in so many of these arts if you just have an idea as to what you're looking at. Also neuroscience is just now getting an idea as to what some of these experiences actually do in the brain and have only recently (last 20 years) done studies on things like long-term effects of meditations and entheogens and such on people. It takes a lot of reading in different subjects and correlation but there's exciting stuff going on all around us.
Why would one want to do this? What is going on in the brain? The senses are linked and the various functioning parts of the brain become more unified like a child's experience. The areas of the brain responsible for self and ego downregulate and sensory experience becomes fuller and learning is expedited. There is increased brain connectivity in white matter for self regulation and increased grey matter formation thanks to meditation. These are just tools that can be combined with breathing techniques or plant medicines to deepen one's mental and spiritual side of the practice - the body follows along. There's shamanic stuff right in front of us in so many of these arts if you just have an idea as to what you're looking at. Also neuroscience is just now getting an idea as to what some of these experiences actually do in the brain and have only recently (last 20 years) done studies on things like long-term effects of meditations and entheogens and such on people. It takes a lot of reading in different subjects and correlation but there's exciting stuff going on all around us.
