Life Sciences > Physiology & Medicine
Is it common or useful to be able to control goosebumps, and pulse, at will?
spardanto:
So im doing my yearly check in and seeing how this thread as progressed.For any scientists or those interested my research since last posting it has led me to some unsetteling places with regards to this ability and dreams.But before that i thought i'd post a summary of this ability and what we know so far collated from this thread and others around the net:
The ability usually coincides with puberty or after
The ability is usually first brought on by a powerful event/expereience and this is often due to music
The ability is usually voluntary once a certain amount of the ability is experienced
The ability tends to differ slightly between individuals but is on the whole explained and experienced the same way.
People describing the ability also tend to use the same/similar words as others.
ESP or some other power/s is often attributed to the developement of the ability (only with Anecdotal evidence,for now at least)
Pregognition and abilities relating to deja vu are experienced by some people with this ability
This ability has been tested within one scientific survey relating to it being induced via music,so far they seem to only be entertaining the idea of testing people based on the premise that it's the music inducing it and are not entertaining the idea that people can go on to do it voluntariliy or as of yet have no plan to test those who can VIG.
VIG is also known as AMSR and suggests essentially that we are tapping into what is normally an autonomic response though lack any explanation as to why and is often seen as a party trick much the same way wiggling ones ears is,sadly is discounts VIG literally as just inducing goosebumps whilst not explaining it's other effects (feel good factor etc)
In a certain percentage of posts people have posted having nerve disorders,being related to someone with a nerve disorder or brain based disorders (whether or nots it's related to over use of the ability or just linked to the ability in general is speculation at this point but i feel the need to mention it)
Those are the facts as i know them,i've left out any mentions of god,super powers and the like etc since it's not a universally experienced thing, as some believe in gods,powers etc whilst others just think it's a cool trick they can do nothing more.
I'll now be posting my own personal experiences with this ability and it's application to dreams,please feel free to disregard what i say but please note the above mentioned points are devoid of bias etc so you may trust them at the very least.
I am not a religious man,in fact if i were to say what religion i follow i would say "science".But science doesn't claim to know all the answers,it's constantly asking the question why? How? Is it a fact? etc and i consider myself an academic studying ancient texts and books in the hopes of finding information the ancient peoples of the earth mistook for other things
So when i explain the next 2 dreams i hope you understand where i'm coming from.
(In these 2 instances the ability was triggered at a constant level peaking at moments of revelation)
The first i dreamt i was in a place called Shangri La (some of you no doubt know of this place)
An ancient city of stone bathed in twilight,i started walking forward and looked up and only then did i realise the piece of land i was on was infact falling as i saw clouds rush past above.But it was literally falling forever,it would never hit anything below it (this is what i knew in my mind)
As i continued forward i came across a Bengal Tiger,it slowly,cautiously approached me and i to it.For a moment we stared into each others eyes and then i sat down and he came closer and we nuzzled each other as one tiger might another in greeting and it was then i realised i was the Tiger,it was me,my soul (so i thought in the dream).The ability intensified and stared at each other again and i awoke.
Dream 2.
There's no good way of putting this so i'll just come out and say it
I dreamt i met god.Big guy,white beard (the silly impression most people have of what he looks like)
He said "You know me don't you?"
Skeptically i said "I know who you your meant to be"
"Who is that" he smiled
"God right?"
He smiled again
Then his expression changed and more seriously said
"You know where we are?"
"Yes" (i knew without being told and it wasn't heaven or anything like that but a different place,it felt like a space in which nothing had yet formed but anything could be created)
"Be careful here your thoughts....." and i interupted him and finished the sentence
"Can shape and change this place right?"
He turned to face me properly and approvingly made a "Hmph" noise
I felt at that moment that thoughts and feelings literally shaped and changed reality and then i awoke
Now as i said im not religious,im open to the idea of the possability of things beyond us,higher planes and unexplained things but i trust in science.Yet i can't help but question the dreams.Do i take them at face value or do i accept that it was in a sense lucid dreaming enforced by the ability.
Im not sure if any of you have had the ability accidentally trigger during sleep but its far far more intense and i can both voluntariliy and unvoluntarily acitivate it whilst asleep and when it happens the wierder wacky dreams happen.
I've been encouraging this type of dreaming more as if nothing else im seemingly exploring my psyche.As stated i could likely explain these grand dreams as nothing more than lucid dreams based on historical and mythological things ive read about.Yet a tiny part of me can't help wonder "what if there is more to all of this?"
Gizem:
Have you guys heard about the Frisson? It's the goosebumps effect people get from musics, movies etc. Similar to ASMR but ASMR omes from a sense of security i think.
Also i don't know if anyone tried this but, i get very strong goosebumps when i keep the hairdryer at the lower back of my head for a while(the same place i activate VIG) or during very hot showers. Just try it (Dont burn yourselves though :D )
I have this for at least 8 years now and no supernatural powers achieved until now :D I am not the sportive type and didn't get any improved healing :( . But I'm good at solving puzzles, people see me as a smart person usually. I don't meditate or do chi stuff. But i am usually silent, lazy not panicked easily, and stable in general. Also, I can't do slow-the-heartbeat thingy. I really want to try that lie machine thing though :D Share your opinions people! I visit this forum from time to time~
bugbuck:
Hey guys I'm a Hongkie so please dont tease me if my English sucks [xx(].
I can do the same thing as you guys mentioned-namely creating goosebumps without any external stimuli(I consider music and physical touch as external stimuli).
I'm not sure about the mechanism, but what I can describe is somehow similar to you guys-a kind of weird sensation spreading from the back of my skull to my whole body. I have to use some efforts to create such effect, by holding my breath and doing some tricks at the origin of the sensation(somehow like squeezing it). It seems that I'm using some of my muscles as I may get a bit fatigue after some attempts.
I guess this phenomenon is like moving your ears voluntarily like Mr Bean(In fact I can move my ear voluntarily too), just some silly tricks of no use. (Of course you can do it for fun or to amaze the others)
BTW, there is a journal I can share with you guys, proving that voluntary control of piloerection does exist-Objective and continuous measurement of piloerection(2010) by Mathias Benedek et al in Psychophysiology, volume 47 , 989–993(sorry for omitting other authors' names-they're just too long.).
DustinWoldt:
I have always been able to use this trick/ability as far back as I can remember. I've even gone so far as to try to move objects with my mind while doing it. I've followed this thread for years, checking back occasionally when the thought of it strikes my curiosity again. I figured I'd post here. I'd love to keep in contact with others who can do it or at least talk to someone else who can. It's hard not being able to talk openly about it and I just have a sense that there is more to it than simply inducing a chill/electrical surge down your body. My name is Dustin Woldt. Add me on Facebook, I'd like to talk to anybody who is able to do this.
JDoesScience:
Hello everyone - strap yourselves in, this is going to be a long one.
First of all, a few people have asked where the scientific interest is on this. Well, there isn't much in that vein, but what everyone's describing here has been described at least THREE times in published journal articles (at least, three times that I've found - there may be more). These references are:
Maxwell, 1902. newbielink:http://ajplegacy.physiology.org/content/7/4/369 [nonactive]
Lindsley and Sassman, 1938. newbielink:http://jn.physiology.org/content/1/4/342 [nonactive]
Benedek et.al., 2010. newbielink:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20233341 [nonactive]
Interestingly, this hasn't resulted in much formal research. I can't understand why, though, because I agree with everyone here - this is definitely worth looking into. The first thing which caught my attention was certain threads of similarity which extend through the descriptions given here over the last few years, descriptions which are quite consistent between people:
1) the focal point on the back of the head or neck
2) the 'spreading' sensation down the back to the arms
3) the relatively straightforward control of the goosebumps - you don't imagine scary things, you just 'do' it
You might be interested to know I've collected a few other descriptions of the same phenomenon elsewhere, and they match up fairly closely with what everyone's said here. Why have I done this? Because I'm a physiological psychologist, and I'm particularly interested in physical phenomena which seems to be provoked by (or in turn provoke themselves) emotions. Everyone's heard of the expressions where we express emotions in physical terms: 'he turns my stomach' or 'my stomach had butterflies' or 'i felt like a weight pressing down on me' or 'i felt my heart racing' - it's these sorts of things we use as windows in the the integration between the mind and body. As might be expected, the 'voluntary goosebump' phenomenon might be a fascinating window into strong, positive emotions like intense arousal, joy, or awe... which is where we generally see goosebumps occurring.
I'll speculate a little here: I think somehow what you've all stumbled over is to do with triggering an autonomic nervous system response, for two reasons: firstly, that's the actual 'conduit' between your brain and the little muscles at the bottom of your hairs, and secondly, because it's too fast to be anything else - a few people have described the ability to pop goosebumps up and down over the span of a few seconds. Well, I suspect this wouldn't be possible by a hormonal mechanism or anything like it, they don't work that fast.
What's really cool about this whole thing is this is the autonomic nervous system we're talking about - you're not supposed to be able to control it! Or if you can, you're not supposed to be able to turn it on and off at will. There's a big mystery at the center of how everyone's 'skill' works, and not one that I've readily found an answer to. And research into questions like this is my job.
So, here's what would be fantastic:
1. If you can do the conscious control of goosebumps thing, send me a private message through this site so we can talk about it... I have lots of questions, and you might be able to help. Don't worry about me missing your message, I WILL check them regularly.
2. If you're reading this because you figured out you could do this, but haven't signed up for this site yet, sign up! - it's quick, I promise - and leave your experiences here. We'd all be very curious to know your thoughts and experiences.
3. If you know of any other resources on this, any explanations, or anyone else that can do this, send them here.
Lots more to follow, but I want to see if anyone sees this first.
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