The Etheric Body

I think bluemason3 makes a valid point, as this really feels reminiscent of hypnosis—the kind of stuff you see stage hypnotists or circus performers pulling off on stage

It goes without saying how wrong this is on every possible level, whether you're looking at it from an ethical or a moral standpoint.

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casualtiger2 said:Theoretically, there isn't just one aura—there are several (etheric, astral, mental, etc.).
At every level, we have a corresponding body that allows us to interact within that realm. Some parts overlap with the physical, while others extend outward—which is why that stuff extending beyond the physical, the part that’s easier to notice, is usually called the aura. Think of it like the corona around the Sun.
As for the etheric body, they say it extends anywhere from a few centimeters up to about a foot (while the astral and mental auras have an even larger "reach"), depending on the person and their psycho-physical state. Apparently, your ET state is huge for your overall health.

It would be pretty interesting if everyone interested gave a simple experiment a shot.
Put your hands together like you're praying, but don't actually let your palms or fingers touch. Keep the fingers slightly curved and a few inches apart (on each hand individually, and away from the fingers of the other hand). Roughly like this (+ spread your fingers out), but without contact (PS: imagine you're holding something, like a vase).

Try to focus on the flow of energy through your fingertips and the center of your palms.
Does anything happen? (Try it a few times, for at least a few minutes, staying completely physically relaxed but mentally focused).

I've actually done that a few times during meditation or prayer when I'm totally locked in. Usually, the longer I hold my hands like that, the more I feel a literal magnetic pull in both palms—and like some kind of energy right in the center. Then again, I think if you hold them like that too long, your hands might just go numb or something, leaving you with that weird sensation. I definitely need to test that out.

So, basically saying Judo (and there’s plenty of other "ki" or "chi" based stuff out there too) is nothing more than just technique?

..that's my take—even if it's just a suggestion—as long as it fuels you up energetically, that's what matters. That's really the whole point of any spiritual experience, whether it's a specific skill or even medicine.

bluemason3 said:Not right now, but I’ve definitely dabbled in plenty of similar stuff over the years. I’ve messed around with bioenergy nonsense, Reiki, Chi Gong, those little energy balls, and all that. I honestly thought I was feeling some kind of force. That was before I got a better handle on psychology and gave hypnosis a shot.

Looking back with everything I know now, the whole energy hypothesis feels significantly weaker than this other theory.🙂

Whether you buy into it or not, at the core of the Universe sits a creative life force—intelligence, prana, chi, God, consciousness, energy. Call it whatever you want, or don't call it anything at all; its existence isn't contingent on your belief. You can't influence that creative factor within the Universe just by thinking about it. You exist as a living being within that Universe. What exists can never truly cease to be; it only shifts form, moving from one state to another. If you had even a fraction of the experience I've had with this creative life force, it would shake you to your very core. All your beliefs and disbeliefs would simply scatter, finally allowing you to sink into your own depths and reach the essence of who you are.

casualtiger2 said:Has anyone actually given what I suggested a shot?

I’ve actually messed around with this before. I used to play with it all the time right after meditating. It felt like there was this legit, heavy energy field forming between my hands—it was so intense I couldn't even close them together.
Then I just kind of stopped because, honestly, besides being a fun little experiment, I didn't see the point.
Is there an actual purpose to this, or am I just chasing ghosts?

I can't even remember when I first tried this—or why, really. Either way, there was zero hypnosis involved, and nobody was feeding me suggestions about what I should be feeling
(which is why I didn't claim any massive sensations were possible in the first place).
But, looking at how things work in spiritual circles, you’ve got people who haven't even tried it yet but already have an opinion—some cling to theories, while others see nothing but demons (or just assume it's all hypnosis/suggestion).
The practice doesn't need to be long; we aren't talking about exhaustion or hand cramping, nor is this some attempt to "clench hands" (?).
Anyway, here’s my take—after about 10 to 30 seconds, I start feeling these "ants" crawling through my fingertips and the center of my palms, along with a distinct flow of "energy."
In the middle of my palms, there's also this extra heat (if you've ever done Yoga Nidra involving conscious awareness shifting, or maybe some Autogenic Training, then you know the drill—wherever you focus your attention, that part of the body gets warmer, more relaxed, or "heavier").
After a few minutes, an "energy" flow establishes itself between my palms; when I slowly pull my hands apart, it feels like they're connected by some kind of elastic band.
That connection usually snaps and vanishes at around 15 or 20 inches.
PS
Elizabeth Castillo87, we're talking about etheric "energies" here. Does our discussion actually serve a purpose?
Thomas Nelson25
Do you practice Judo? I experienced some "incredible" things regarding ki flow back then.

casualtiger2 said:I can't even remember when I first tried this—or why, really. Either way, there was zero hypnosis involved, and nobody was feeding me suggestions about what I should be feeling
(which is why I didn't claim any massive sensations were possible in the first place).
But, looking at how things work in spiritual circles, you’ve got people who haven't even tried it yet but already have an opinion—some cling to theories, while others see nothing but demons (or just assume it's all hypnosis/suggestion).
The practice doesn't need to be long; we aren't talking about exhaustion or hand cramping, nor is this some attempt to "clench hands" (?).
Anyway, here’s my take—after about 10 to 30 seconds, I start feeling these "ants" crawling through my fingertips and the center of my palms, along with a distinct flow of "energy."
In the middle of my palms, there's also this extra heat (if you've ever done Yoga Nidra involving conscious awareness shifting, or maybe some Autogenic Training, then you know the drill—wherever you focus your attention, that part of the body gets warmer, more relaxed, or "heavier").
After a few minutes, an "energy" flow establishes itself between my palms; when I slowly pull my hands apart, it feels like they're connected by some kind of elastic band.
That connection usually snaps and vanishes at around 15 or 20 inches.
PS
Elizabeth Castillo87, we're talking about etheric "energies" here. Does our discussion actually serve a purpose?
Thomas Nelson25
Do you practice Judo? I experienced some "incredible" things regarding ki flow back then.

Look, sorry if I sounded snarky before. I guess I really am just wondering—does this stuff serve a purpose? My brain totally blanked on it. I stick to Yoga Nidra pretty regularly, and every once in a while I’ll dive into a chakra mantra and actually feel those energy flows moving through me. I know it’s useful, though; I was lucky enough to have a solid teacher back in the day. Sometimes I’ll even try out some mudras I managed to memorize from my instructor.
As for that palm thing you mentioned? Honestly, I can't remember if there's any actual goal behind it.

I don't believe we're actually dealing with any kind of "energies" here. At least, not in the specific sense that bluemason3 was getting at. It seems far more likely that what people are experiencing are just various psychosomatic sensations—physical feelings that they later choose to interpret through the lens of their own religious beliefs or personal value systems. When you look back, ancient anatomy was incredibly primitive compared to the sophisticated science we have today. In my view, there's really no longer a need to rely on these energetic explanations because vitalism is essentially a dead concept. No serious branch of modern science supports vitalism or magnetism; those ideas were pretty much debunked way back in the 1800s.

I've had all sorts of experiences, both in esoteric circles and in more mainstream settings, but I have never encountered anything that truly confirms the supernatural properties of reality. If anything, even with the strongest faith and direct experience, I can't shake the feeling that most people are simply imagining things or indulging in fantasy quite often. As humans, our cognitive capacities are so incredibly limited; we tend to speak in terms of factual knowledge, which somewhat compromises the process of objectivity in all these kinds of speculative arrangements.

casualtiger2 said:I can't even remember when I first tried this—or why, really. Either way, there was zero hypnosis involved, and nobody was feeding me suggestions about what I should be feeling
(which is why I didn't claim any massive sensations were possible in the first place).
But, looking at how things work in spiritual circles, you’ve got people who haven't even tried it yet but already have an opinion—some cling to theories, while others see nothing but demons (or just assume it's all hypnosis/suggestion).
The practice doesn't need to be long; we aren't talking about exhaustion or hand cramping, nor is this some attempt to "clench hands" (?).
Anyway, here’s my take—after about 10 to 30 seconds, I start feeling these "ants" crawling through my fingertips and the center of my palms, along with a distinct flow of "energy."
In the middle of my palms, there's also this extra heat (if you've ever done Yoga Nidra involving conscious awareness shifting, or maybe some Autogenic Training, then you know the drill—wherever you focus your attention, that part of the body gets warmer, more relaxed, or "heavier").
After a few minutes, an "energy" flow establishes itself between my palms; when I slowly pull my hands apart, it feels like they're connected by some kind of elastic band.
That connection usually snaps and vanishes at around 15 or 20 inches.
PS
Elizabeth Castillo87, we're talking about etheric "energies" here. Does our discussion actually serve a purpose?
Thomas Nelson25
Do you practice Judo? I experienced some "incredible" things regarding ki flow back then.

Suggestion doesn't work in such a banal way. Nobody has to tell you "do this and that" directly; in fact, that can often be undesirable. A huge part of the process, especially in modern hypnosis, is indirect.

For instance, the mere context you provided creates an expectation for a certain category of results. Because of its openness and non-authoritarian nature, this is often a more effective suggestion than direct commands, which can trigger resistance in people who dislike authority, leading to a counter-effect. If I wanted to induce one specific way of experiencing "energy," I wouldn't use an authoritative command; instead, I’d use indirect methods, like preparing the ground with an introductory lecture that mentions someone else's experience. You aren't imposing anything on the person in front of you; you're just creating a specific expectation. But since everyone is different, it's more profitable to work with a group—if you want as many people as possible to experience something, you keep the possibilities wide open.

You don't even have to try. Just relax completely in that position and your fingers will naturally curl inward; it's just how tissue structure and gravity work. Keeping them straight essentially creates tension against the natural direction of movement.

Speaking of Autogenic Training producing similar effects—that is pure suggestion, derived from hypnosis. Even Yoga Nidra, in the form we know today, is a modern invention, likely developed within Western yoga schools. While theoretically linked to ancient Upanishadic claims, it was probably adapted from Western practices like progressive relaxation, AT, hypnosis, and similar techniques.

@Daniel Castillo11
Did I actually say anything about the "supernatural properties of reality"?
Or a "serious branch of science"?

Look, I just suggested a simple experiment. Here’s my take:
1. Nobody notices anything happening—end of story.
2. Certain phenomena *are* noticed—which opens up various interpretations and explanations, much like how bluemason3 and Daniel Castillo11 have already laid out their views.

Here’s the "problem"—I’ve done this exercise a few times in New York City with people I barely knew at the time.
Once everyone felt that "energy" moving between their own hands, we tried to establish that same flow between pairs, and it worked just the same.
To check if we were all just imagining things, we’d blindfold one person. Once they established contact between their palms—about 20-30cm apart, feeling like there was some kind of rubber band stretched between them—the person who could see would start moving their hand slightly in a certain direction. The blindfolded person's job was to follow that hand based solely on that "energy" connection.
In 9 out of 11 cases, the blindfolded person’s hand followed the other person's movement perfectly.
Most of those folks were trying this for the very first time—hardly seasoned meditators or anything like that...
I had the exact same experience, with the same results, in San Francisco, Dallas, and Chicago with friends and family.

One way to do this exercise is to have one person hold their palm facing up, while the other holds their hand vertically, fingers down, trying to "shake energy" through their fingers toward the palm.

@Elizabeth Castillo87
For me, the goal back then (it had been a while since I’d done it that way) was simply to see if this "energy" even existed.
The fact that I felt these misty clouds drifting from me to others (and vice versa) gave me some pretty strong indications that there are actual phenomena behind the concept of etheric energies.
It’s hard to find a single tradition where this energy isn't mentioned—even if the terminology varies.
The Theosophical term "etheric body" is a relatively recent addition—here is a Wikipedia short description - Etheric Body some Wikipedia short description - Etheric Body some
Other names include prana, ki, bioenergy, vital force, orgone energy, and plenty of others.
And along those lines, you have all the attempts to control this "energy"—pranayama, acupuncture, acupressure, probably Reiki (which I don't know much about), and laying on of hands...
Like I said, it seems this part of our physical body is especially vital to our health, so any benefit from being able to control it would be obvious.

1 - Did you maintain a barrier between your palms to block heat transfer and air movement? Also, was the blindfold tight enough to ensure that light and shadow patterns couldn't interfere, even if shapes weren't visible?

If you didn't start this for nothing, then:

2 - Was this exercise performed on a statistically significant sample size? Did you conduct an independent analysis to prove the success rate is actually higher than mere chance?

If you didn't start this for nothing, then:

3 - Have you allowed other groups to replicate the experiment using identical or even stricter criteria? Have you let people trained in rigorous scientific methodology test your process (I'm just wondering what else might be skewing the data here)?

If you didn't start this for nothing, the results are still just indicative and inconclusive;

4 - Have you run other experiments to rule out alternative explanations? You need to establish that an energy model is truly what best describes and predicts these events, rather than something like telepathy, field effects, quantum non-locality, or just some kid presenting his own symbolism through the guise of "energy."

If you didn't start this for nothing, you haven't confirmed a theoretical model yet. You've potentially identified an occurrence that falls outside the materialist-reductionist framework, but you certainly haven't defined a new one.

casualtiger2 said:I can't even remember when I first tried this—or why, really. Either way, there was zero hypnosis involved, and nobody was feeding me suggestions about what I should be feeling
(which is why I didn't claim any massive sensations were possible in the first place).
But, looking at how things work in spiritual circles, you’ve got people who haven't even tried it yet but already have an opinion—some cling to theories, while others see nothing but demons (or just assume it's all hypnosis/suggestion).
The practice doesn't need to be long; we aren't talking about exhaustion or hand cramping, nor is this some attempt to "clench hands" (?).
Anyway, here’s my take—after about 10 to 30 seconds, I start feeling these "ants" crawling through my fingertips and the center of my palms, along with a distinct flow of "energy."
In the middle of my palms, there's also this extra heat (if you've ever done Yoga Nidra involving conscious awareness shifting, or maybe some Autogenic Training, then you know the drill—wherever you focus your attention, that part of the body gets warmer, more relaxed, or "heavier").
After a few minutes, an "energy" flow establishes itself between my palms; when I slowly pull my hands apart, it feels like they're connected by some kind of elastic band.
That connection usually snaps and vanishes at around 15 or 20 inches.
PS
Elizabeth Castillo87, we're talking about etheric "energies" here. Does our discussion actually serve a purpose?
Thomas Nelson25
Do you practice Judo? I experienced some "incredible" things regarding ki flow back then.

I'm definitely interested in those kinds of skills—though, fair warning, I’m a skeptic (even if I do feel a noticeable energy boost compared to just hitting the gym). On the flip side, part of me isn't skeptical because I've had my own weird parapsychological moments before. They just happened spontaneously for reasons I couldn't pin down—maybe triggered by internal tension, total confusion, frustration, or even just some ego realization... usually accompanied by this surge of willpower or energy. Honestly, that whole phase was basically my awakening, which is what pushed me toward the psychological and spiritual stuff in the first place.
I think that's the key point right there (even if we're both just starting out)—there are all these different ways to generate energy within the physical body or even the more subtle ones, essentially plugging back into the Universe to recharge. That's pretty much the definition of a mystical state, isn't it?

Judo is a perfect example of how too much daydreaming lacks any real-world footing. In about 90% of scenarios, it looks like a master is just going to get overpowered by some average linebacker from Ohio. When you look at actual police work, the only version that works is the most physical one—the kind with the least amount of energy-philosophical mumbo jumbo.

I mean, you gotta assume against an opponent like that, physical technique is gonna trump internal energy every single time—basically, mass and raw power take the lead. Of course, since their technique is rooted in that whole philosophy, they’ll just claim it’s a closed loop to justify it.
Just look at Seagal—the guy's built like a tank.

Back in the day, our Jiu-Jitsu crew used to share a gym with a group of Judo practitioners.
To be honest, Judo always looked kind of ridiculous to me. ☕ There’s a massive difference between throwing a partner who’s actually working with you and trying to move against some grumpy old man who’s just digging his heels in to resist you.

I remember one time, our instructor—who was rocking a purple belt at the time—sparred against a black belt from the Judo squad and absolutely tossed him around like he was nothing. 😁

@bluemason3
We were already on our way. 😬

Susan Price30 said:I think bluemason3 makes a valid point, as this really feels reminiscent of hypnosis—the kind of stuff you see stage hypnotists or circus performers pulling off on stage

It goes without saying how wrong this is on every possible level, whether you're looking at it from an ethical or a moral standpoint.

.

Since when did clapping your hands become an ethical violation? Seriously?

casualtiger2 said:@bluemason3
We were already on our way. 😬

You're giving up way too soon. If Fleming had actually stuck strictly to his lab protocols, who knows how much longer we would've been waiting for penicillin.

I'm messing around with a candle—energy from my hand is literally making the flame flicker—and there isn't even a draft in the room.

casualtiger2 said:@bluemason3
We were already on our way. 😬

He’s just being overly critical about spirituality right now. Buddhism seems to fit him best—that whole idea that everything is built on impermanence. 😁 I wonder what other path he'll pivot to once he gets tired of the "nothingness" phase. 🤦 Honestly, he should probably stick with Buddhism long enough to realize there might actually be something found within that void Buddha talked about.

bluemason3 said:Judo is a perfect example of how too much daydreaming lacks any real-world footing. In about 90% of scenarios, it looks like a master is just going to get overpowered by some average linebacker from Ohio. When you look at actual police work, the only version that works is the most physical one—the kind with the least amount of energy-philosophical mumbo jumbo.

Maybe Ban Mitzu would be more your speed. You probably felt some mystical energy flowing through your hands while practicing that. Just kidding. Don't take it personally.