Flesh Hook Suspension

NukeD4

http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Suspension

What are everyones opinion to do with suspension regarding spirituality as oppoised to performance i am a firm believer in growth through pain,and i believe rituals such as suspension and piercing empower the body and allow the mind to grow? this just could be my opinion on the subject and my personel belief,but i wouldr really appreciate peoples opinions on this form of spirituality?

hiorta

I would question the sanity and balance of anyone inflicting pain on themselves or others. Try to rise above such base influences that fill your mind with such thoughts
Spiritual growth cannot be achieved by flaggelation, 'mortifying' the body or by any such practice.

Spiritual growth can be fostered by allowing Divine Love to express itself through the life of the individual, by kindness, understanding and giving practical help to those in need you may meet.

Praying (not saying prayers or perfoming religious rituals) might help in raising your mind and vibration.

Oryx

I have little knowledge and no experience of using pain to develop spirituality. I accept that it is your way, same as my way is meditation and someone elses' might be mind altering drugs. I would see it as the same journey using different roads. I think what we are all trying to do is focus our mind and reach out to the something else, and to search within us to our find our core. I would imagine pain is a way of doing it, in that it blocks all other sensation and brings focus and clarity, but for me, I stick to gentler ways.

Nevyn

The inflicting of pain on the flesh to free the mind and the soul is a very old practice.
A lot of people don't have the stomach for it and that is fair enough.
I don't think suspension something I would do personally, but I have experieced other practices.


Futher readng for those who wish to know more

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art827.asp
http://www.modifiedmind.com/profile/suspension.html
http://www.suspension.org/index.htm

Oryx

I dont mean to take this too far away from the suspension aspect, but it is clear that many religious orders have used pain and flagellation as a means to control the desires or expand the spirit. Perhaps the reason behind it was different (punishment) but it shows pain as a valid tool for many spiritual and religious types as part of spiritual development.

Found this article on flagellation which is interesting. http://www.revisef65.org/lawcomm2.html

amazingemmet

The modern day use of suspension is so far removed from the original native american use. Its no more a path to sprituality as drinking red wine and bread from tescos is having communion.

The use of pain in these types of rituals is mainly imo a way to seperate the mind from body due to extreme suffering. It works, its simple and effective but too much for most people.

Talliesin

Oryx wrote: »

I dont mean to take this too far away from the suspension aspect, but it is clear that many religious orders have used pain and flagellation as a means to control the desires or expand the spirit. Perhaps the reason behind it was different (punishment) but it shows pain as a valid tool for many spiritual and religious types as part of spiritual development.

Flagellation is a massive topic. It's best known here as a penitential act, now less often used than before, but that's not the only way in which it can be used.

Indeed, it doesn't even have to be painful at all. Light birching to bring the blood to the surface in the manner of the vihta of vasta of a Finnish sauna can help bring altered states without having to be done to an extent that would hurt.

I know of some people who combine BDSM with spiritual and/or magical practice. Personally while I've an interest in both, I prefer to keep the two separate, but I can certainly see quite a few ways that someone could combine them. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thewhipandthewand/ had some interesting stuff, but seems to have largely died out of late.

amazingemmet wrote: »

Its no more a path to sprituality as drinking red wine and bread from tescos is having communion.

For many Christian groups, drinking red wine and eating bread from Tescos is exactly the same as Communion, provided you do so in memory of the Last Supper.

That said. There's a good argument for keeping suspension deliberately very different to how it was done by some American tribes. For various reasons, not least how much it was persecuted by US and Canadian authorities, the Sun Dance is not something that many practitioners would be happy to see done outside of the strict traditional settings.

If one is going to use the technique of suspension outside of learning it properly within a tribal setting, then probably best to just take the technique as a technique that works, and not claim it as anything else.



Any use of pain or painful techniques requires a lot of self-monitoring. For every one using them well, there are many others using it as a self-justification to cover self-harming.

Shamanic

I'm an active Shamanic Practitioner but also very much into piercings and tattoos, up until this i have thought of the two as very separate.

But as i sat here contemplating the replies to the topic, ive become more aware that the times i do get piercings and tattoos i journey and dream a lot more vividly.

The body and mind are amazing things