This same process occurs in another extraordinary phenomenon seen in exotic and magical locations of the Far East, that of “hook hanging”. Accounts of the phenomenon came from western scientists who visited Sri Lanka 30 years ago. Hook hanging is practiced by selected devotees of the God Skonda, as mentioned earlier in my article on fire walking. The devotees are trained from a very young age by having simple needles stuck through their flesh and progress to several hooks perforating their back. When this is done, they are suspended by the hooks on a scaffold, carried through villages and are cheered by the crowds as they are blessing the children and the crops.
Dr. Obeyeskere, an anthropologist at the University of California in San Diego has also extensively observed and studied the phenomenon and reported in scientific journals that the hook hanging ritual seemed to be characteristic of an “arena culture”, limited to special times and worship places and always performed in public. An additional remarkable observation beyond the fact these people do not seem to feel pain, is the lack of damage and serious bleeding from their wounds. While the protection against pain was achieved by switching brain waves, the scientific explanations for the lack of flesh damage are much more complex and somewhat debatable. I am not aware of the theories that might explain what possible explanations lie behind the modern hook hangers in our western world, who pierce their flesh with all kinds of hardware, hang themselves from hangers and even commercialize their (apparent) resistance to pain in reality shows. Is it an altered state of mind through change in brain waves; a high on endorphins, our natural pain killing chemicals; a high from ingested illicit substances and hallucinogens; or activation of certain brain centres that cause “pleasure from pain” (something that has only very recently been observed through studies of masochists’ brain by functional imaging. Although I’m unsure, it is quite likely that any of the aforementioned possibilities or combination of those could explain the phenomenon.
I am convinced that almost everything we do or feel has a scientific explanation, including what we call “unexplainable” cures. Over the last 10 years or so, scientists have been able to tap into the mysterious circuits of the brain in living and breathing humans. Functional imaging (a technology that that records the way brain cells use energy) is now shedding light on how our thoughts and emotions, our memories, beliefs and interpretations, affect the function of our neurological circuits. Our ability to harness and modify these thoughts and emotions within our cosmos (our own body, our families, our work place or the whole world for that matter) changes these circuits quickly or slowly leaving “pain memories” or to the contrary erasing or blocking pain.
In my next installment, we’ll explore the scientific basis of hypnosis, another way of altering pain perception.
Angela Mailis Gagnon, MD, MSc, FRCPC(PhysMed)
Director, Comprehensive Pain Program,
Senior Investigator, Krembil Neuroscience Centre
Toronto Western Hospital,
Chair ACTION Ontario http://www.actionontario.ca
