Originally Posted by MentalAvenger

On another thread I mentioned a few abilities I have developed over the years. On that thread it really wasn’t completely on topic, so I’ll make this thread for anyone who wishes to discuss it. I’d like to hear from anyone else who has learned to do any of these “mind over body” controls.

At will, I can dramatically increase or decease my heart rate and blood pressure.. I can stop bleeding in any area of my body, and I can nullify virtually any pain in any part of my body by mental concentration. Some of these things I can almost explain, some I just do. IMO, any person should be able to do all those things. The fact that so many “Eastern” devotees can do it, and the fact that I can do it, indicates to me that it is not only something everyone could probably do (with the proper training and/or incentive) but that it is a natural product of our (relatively) highly developed mentality as a species.

Some of these are sort of “tricks”. Some are a little more direct mental control. All are possible.

Originally Posted by MentalAvenger

Ok, I’ll explain one of the things I have taught myself. This is one of the easiest to explain, but not necessarily the easiest to perform. It goes like this.

Lesson 1
I have a driveway covered in gravel of varying size from pea size to over an inch. That makes the surface very uneven for walking on. Much of the gravel consists of crushed rock, and therefore has a lot of sharp edges. Sometimes I don’t want to bother putting on my shoes, so the trick is to walk the length of the driveway barefoot without getting my feet bruised or cut.

The method is very simple, the execution is not so easy. Normally, the muscles in your feet are tensed up, especially if you are walking barefoot on uneven ground or sharp rocks. That makes the contact area of the bottom of your feet limited to the highest points of the surface below. What you have to do is totally relax all the muscles in both feet, and I mean totally. That allows your feet to conform to the shapes of the rocks you are walking on, thereby spreading out the pressure across the entire bottom of the foot.

There are two main requirements. First, you must concentrate totally on relaxing those muscles. You can’t let your body’s natural reactions tense them up. Without active control of relaxation, the muscles will tense up. You must concentrate on remaining calm and relaxed. Second, you must have complete faith that it will work. You have to trust yourself, and you have to trust that the procedure will actually work. If you lose faith, you will lose concentration, and it will probably hurt.