Photo by Gui Vergouwen from Pexels
Ever heard of the saying, “I just got lost in your eyes…”
Well, it turns out it is not just a cheesy pickup line. It’s really true!
According to science, if you stare into someone’s eyes for 10 minutes you can get lost and sent into an altered state of consciousness. A psychologist in Italy was conducting experiments to try and figure out if it was possible to enter different levels of consciousness without the influence of drugs. The testing took place at a university and involved 20 young adults. He had each person sit facing a partner in a dark room. There was enough light in the room to see each other’s eyes. After ten minutes of intense staring into the eyes of each other, the volunteers began to experience an ‘out of body’ experience. Some even reported to see weird illusions that looked like creatures. Others in the study said they saw dead relatives. Yes, you heard correctly, ghosts. The volunteers all reported a feeling that “someone or something” was in the room and the feeling of not being alone. The test subjects all experienced symptoms that are usually associated with drug use.
So why did this happen? And why doesn’t it happen every time we focus on something for a long period of time. Well, researchers think it could a number of things. The subjects entered a relaxed meditative state. Some could have slipped into a hypnotized state, similar to a waking dream. Others could have childhood trauma that affects what imagines appear. Researchers report that the volunteers most likely were experiencing something called neural adaptation. This means a person’s neurons can slow down and stop responding when the environment is unchanged.
So, the last time you were home alone, staring off into space and you thought you saw the boogie man, maybe it really was a figment of your imagination. You were staring off into nothingness for so long, you entered a state of consciousness that made a monster appear. Or remember back in grade school, at slumber parties, some kids thought it was funny to stare into a mirror in the dark just so bloody mary would appear? That was a creepy game. The brain is a weird organ. It can switch between different realities.
Could a study such as this one, explain why people see monsters and dead people? This definitely gives more meaning to the whole saying, “Your mind is playing tricks on you.”