Altered State

Meditation has been a part of my life for a long time. I was taught that meditation can be used to help us see the correct path we want to take and also as a way to relax and think about our wrong doing as well as our rewards. Besides mediation, I have heard of sensory deprive, which is getting rid of one or more of your senses to increase the other 5 five senses, but not permentally destroying those senses.

As a child who is Mayan, I've heard stories of shamans doing this as a way to connect with the spiritual world and the living things around us. Long ago, my ancestors believed that if you enter a cave and went deep into it, you will eventually lose all 5 of your senses to open your 6th. I've heard story about this and that when a person was through with this part of the training, they felt more connected to something and felt more sensative to the things around them. They all said that while in the cave, they could not tell up from down or right to left.

I'm not sure if I really believe in sensory deprivation, but I do know that if you want to become a shaman, it is something that has to be done, while meditation is a technique that is study in my religion and is required for every follower to practice constantly. I like the way of meditation, it makes me feel light and floating. I feel as if I am not where I am sitting or practicing my meditation. I like this way because I can control my thoughts and what I want to think about.