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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 11/08/2009 : 18:11:47
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Now and then even CNN has an interesting article. This is one of them. When Sevigny awakened, he could barely stand. His back was broken in two places, his knees were busted, and he had internal bleeding. He gave up hope of surviving and curled up in the snow to die. But then he felt an odd sensation. He felt someone behind him and heard a voice: "No, you can't give up. You have to live." Read all about cheating death
"It was right over my right shoulder," Sevigny said. "It was like if I would sneak up to you and put my nose a quarter of an inch from your neck. It was that kind of physical sensation."
What happened next was so profound that Sevigny, a scientist who disdains organized religion, says he couldn't talk about it for years afterward without crying. Sevigny still doesn't know who that voice belonged to, but another man does. He calls it "The Third Man." |
The phenomenon of the unseen presence of "The Third Man" seems to be an experience that, though relatively rare, is widespread.
It just may be one of the sources of religious belief.
This has never been an experience I've had, but it does seem one doesn't have to be a woo-woo to feel such a presence during a crisis. Woo seems often to come into the interpretation of the experience, however.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
Edited by - HalfMooner on 11/08/2009 18:18:54
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AnthroGeek
New Member
USA
38 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2009 : 21:41:07 [Permalink]
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I find this is interesting. It does seem that at a quick read of the link that many of the people who are experiencing this type phenomena are those with rigorous training. At just a shoot from the hip type of explanation, I would say that this is similar to near death experiences.
We have people who train themselves to endure extreme trials and oft have coaches and mentors that drill in certain fundamentals to the point that when parts of the body and mind are shutting down this underlying training kicks in to overcome the task at hand.
I would have no doubt that viewing this from a multi-cultural standpoint that one would get much the same results but with far greater interpretation of what was the "third man" is - anything from ancestral spirits, gods, angels or loved ones who are alive but half way around the world.
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A series of fun one-liners about various pseudoscientific claims and, even better, a concise description of the scientific method - Ken Feder on Skeptic Friends Network from "Frauds, Myths and Mysteries" |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2009 : 22:18:02 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by HalfMooner
"It was right over my right shoulder," Sevigny said. "It was like if I would sneak up to you and put my nose a quarter of an inch from your neck. It was that kind of physical sensation." |
Now that's a curious detail. While I have never experienced this "third man" phenomenon, I have experience night terrors, a form of sleep paralysis. I felt awake, but was still dreaming. In my dream, a voice that can only be described as demonic whispered in my ear. I also felt pressure on my shoulder, as if something was perched there. However, because I felt immobilized, I couldn't turn my head to see what was sending shivers up my spine. This happened perhaps half a dozen times on separate occasions. I've talked to other people who have had similar nightmares, especially with the detail of something malevolent being just beyond one's periphery vision and speaking directly into their ear.
Dreams can be convincing. I can honestly say I've never been more scared than during one of these nightmares. It's more than fear, though. More like sheer undiluted terror or horror unlike anything I've felt during waking life. You feel the emotion without the filter of your rational mind to quell it. I imagine that joy would be experienced in the same manner, pure and overwhelming.
Whether these two phenomena are separate sides of the same coin remains to be seen, but my hunch would be that there is definitely a connection.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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Chippewa
SFN Regular
USA
1496 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2009 : 00:49:30 [Permalink]
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Reminds me of examples recounted in the book "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind"
by Princeton University psychologist Julian Jaynes (1920-1997).
Though some of the central aspects of Jaynes' theories have been debated, the auditory hallucinations and the relationships between mind and body under hypnotic states, which he describes with bibliographic sources are fascinating. He investigates these phenomenon in ancient accounts as well as how they have evolved to relate to modern experiences. People often experience bicameralism - the presence of another, under moments of extreme stress and this may account in part for the origin of religion. Stylistically the book is beautifully written too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Jaynes |
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"The Third Man" phenomenon
