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Could you elaborate a little bit on the 'induce a simple binary signal from the unconscious'? That sounds fascinating.



Sure. (Thanks for asking.) It was one of the first things I learned when I started studying (self-)hypnosis. It's a simple way to have access to the unconsciousness without going into a trance.

There's really nothing to it. You induce a light trance and ask the unconscious mind to create a simple unambiguous yes-no signal. Finger motions are common. After that you can ask yourself questions and get y/n answers (or non-response, what I'm calling "mu", which indicates some issue with the phrasing or nature of the query.)

I should mention that you should be very careful about your self-model if you are experimenting with piercing the barrier between the conscious and unconscious minds. In computer terms, this signal corresponds to a kind of trans-mechanical oracle and having it available to your (metaphorical) Turing machine mind makes you into a fundamentally different kind of processor, operating by rules that may be unfamiliar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_machine

But see also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle because that's more accurate.




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