Mind Fuck Tuesday: The Soul and Anesthesia


It's that time again for me to give you a great big mind fuck concept. Today's concept is regarding the soul.

The soul, as most are in agreement with, is the spiritual content of you and not the physical content. When one dies, the soul leaves the body. Many people report NDEs (near death experiences) where their soul leaves the body and hovers to see the scene.

Here's the mind fuck--when you go under anesthesia, why is your soul not alert? If it isn't conscious, then it's mortal and susceptible to anesthesia like the brain. Does this mean there is no soul?

Comments

  1. Many people are aware during surgery, I have heard...but then I have heard lots of things and can prove nothing.

    Good thought provoker.

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  2. Anesthesia, eh? That's an interesting topic. I'd be curious to know why you picked it, but if you like, I think I am in a position to offer some thoughts on that.

    I happen to know a lot about it. Anesthesia was my father's job. As I've become an adult, I look back often and think how fitting it was that his job was, in essence, a living Sandman.

    You could make an argument that the soul is in fact in the forefront during anesthesia. Your spirit is the conscious mind being put to sleep, allowing the soul to take center stage. Your spirit does not always allow you to remember, and usually because surgery is the main event behind anesthesia, it's really important that you don't. But if you've ever seen an animal operated on, or heard stories from people who have, something seems to remain and linger in the patient -- their awakening can be violent, with crying, vomiting, and in the case of dogs, woeful howling. They know, without remembering the trauma itself. Note too, that the event of surgery takes on ritualistic tones -- fasting, cleanliness, all similar preparations from pagan communities and exorcisms, Catholic or otherwise.

    One more point to keep in mind, is that anesthesia is often administered as a gas, ether-based. Alcohol shares similar properties in the liquid form of ethanol. Too much of either can kill a person. And what do we call alcohol? Spirits. And indeed, well before anesthesia, backwoods doctors could only treat their patients with moonshine.

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  3. Since pain is sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage then when we sleep under anesthesia the sensory and emotional part of us, what is probably soul consists of, is disconnected from physical and heart cannot emote. I guess soul is what animates the physical, kind of between spirits and physical. Indeed it's mind fuck concept.

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  4. Im mind fucked every day. In fact its like being in room 1408. ok, maybe not that bad but the voices are telling me to say that. wait, what? that voice just told me its hungry. Ok, gotta go eat.

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  5. Gail; I actually awakened during two surgeries, one not so bad, the other horrifying. Yikes!

    Martin Rose;
    Very good case. I like to hear people support theories. You have some very good points. As well, in the process of anesthesia, there is an amnesic quality to the catalysts, so sure you may not recall the event, but then that would mean that the soul can be made amnesic, as well. At what point does soul content supersede any man-made interventions? Hmm...

    Grigori;
    Yes. It is a mind fuck concept. So, if the soul is the animator, then its departure from the body should define death. It does not leave the body unless it is dead in which case during surgery it remains. However, if this is true then the soul and mind are separate and the passing of loved ones who are claimed to haunt the earth would mean that these souls have no memories or connections to places or people. Giant mind fuck.

    The Phoenix Rising;
    1408--awesomely wicked. Reminds me of myself the first few months after my separation and living on my own for the first time in my entire life. I think the mind can be one's own worst enemy which means you either need to heed it (and find something to eat) or ignore it completely and do whatever the hell you want.

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  6. Will a "I don't know" be enough? Sorry :(

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  7. I'm going with blackout from excess of altering substances is the norm and exceptions are treated as various nonhappenings.

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