mindfulness

chatgpt’s conversation on self induced pause, detachment, and Parkinson’s disease

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Venkat’s text:
I assume self induced pause is the reason for Parkinson’s disease. I step out of pause by practising detachment from the body. For the detachment from the body, I view the self is different from the body. I am soul, and not the body. I, a soul, a point of energy is a guest in the body. As a guest, I leave the body.

Chagpt’s response:

Thank you for explaining your perspective. What you’ve described combines a personal hypothesis about Parkinson’s disease with a spiritual meditation practice.

From a scientific standpoint, it’s important to separate these two ideas:

  1. “Self-induced pause is the reason for Parkinson’s disease.”
    • At present, this is not supported by scientific evidence. The prevailing evidence indicates that Parkinson’s disease involves degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons and abnormal alpha-synuclein protein accumulation.
    • It remains possible that stress, autonomic state, and learned movement patterns influence how symptoms are expressed, but they have not been shown to be the root cause of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease.
  2. “Stepping out of pause by practising detachment from the body.”
    • This is a meditation practice that may have genuine benefits, even if the explanation for why it works differs from Hadlock’s theory.
    • Feeling like an observer rather than identifying completely with bodily sensations can reduce anxiety, muscle tension, and fear of symptoms. These changes can improve movement in some people and make Parkinson’s symptoms feel less intrusive.

Your description closely resembles a form of contemplative practice found in several spiritual traditions. You wrote:

“I am a soul, not the body. I am a point of energy. The body is my instrument. As a guest, I leave the body.”

This type of meditation shifts attention away from the body’s discomfort and toward a stable sense of awareness. There are several possible neuroscience-based explanations for why such a practice may help:

  • It may reduce activation of stress circuits involving the amygdala.
  • It may decrease sympathetic (“fight-or-flight”) nervous system activity.
  • It may increase parasympathetic activity associated with relaxation.
  • It may improve attention and reduce excessive self-monitoring of movement.
  • Over time, it may promote beneficial neuroplastic changes in brain networks involved in emotion and motor control.

These mechanisms are actively studied in meditation research, although they do not imply that the underlying neurodegeneration has been reversed.

Given what you’ve shared previously about your Parkinson’s disease and your long-standing interest in meditation, this practice could be a valuable complement to your medical treatment if it helps you feel calmer, move more freely, or cope better with symptoms.

One thought about your wording: rather than saying, “As a guest, I leave the body,” it may be clearer to say:

“As a soul, I gently detach my awareness from the body. I observe the body as my instrument while remaining peacefully aware.”

That expresses the meditative experience without implying a literal physical departure from the body. It also aligns better with what is studied in neuroscience: a change in attention and self-perception rather than an actual separation of consciousness from the body.

It would also be worthwhile to treat your experience as something you can observe rather than as proof of a particular theory. For example, you could keep a journal before and after meditation, noting changes in rigidity, tremor, voice, walking speed, mood, and stress. Over time, that can help you determine which aspects of the practice consistently improve your symptoms, regardless of the underlying explanation.

Alternate way to see things to relieve suffering

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Body consciousness (Deh abhiman) and soul consciousness  (Dehi abhiman) are two ways to see things. Soul consciousness  helps relieving fears, tensions, anxieties, sorrow  and suffering.

Deh(body) abhiman: Body consciousness

In the present times, we are naturally in body consciousness (Deh abhiman). Because of it, thoughts such as these arise: I am an Indian, I am a Hindu, I am a scientist, I am a male, I am a brother, I am a son, I am a rich man, I am sick, I am suffering from pain, I am hurt, etc. All these thoughts are based on association with the body.

Negative thoughts are also due to body consciousness. Some examples of negative thoughts are:

I envy my neighbour for his expensive car
I feel jealous for my friend’s success.I feel good for my friend’s failures
I am not talented. 
I am not good for anything.

Thoughts of anxiety, anger, frustration, hatred, lust, tension, fear, stress, and control are also due to body consciousness. Various phobias and depression are also due to body consciousness.

Getting attracted or averse to a person’s body, talents, and qualities is also due to body consciousness.

Body consciousness also works through drishti (vision), vritti (attitude), and smriti (self remembrance). How I see a person and behave  depend on drishti, vritti, and smriti. In body conscious drishti, vritti, and smriti, I see myself as a bodily being, and see and recall others as bodily beings. 

Because of body consciousness, I  make a statements such as “I have a chronic disease” and “I suffer from it”.

The notion of death is also due to body consciousness. Death of the body is understood as the death of the self.

In criticism and judgement of others, I am also in body consciousness. Also in questions pertaining to past situations,  such as why, what-if and what. Getting worried about future  is also due to body consciousness.

Dehi abhiman: soul consciousness 

In this awareness, I view my self as an eternal soul, a point of light/energy, sitting at the centre of the forehead as the master of the body. As a master of the body, I a soul command all the sense organs, and subtle organs: the mind, the intellect, and sanskaras. I also see the self/soul as a guest in the body. I also see the self/soul as a player of the instrument/body. I also see the self/soul as driver of the car/body.

Soul consciousness also works through drishti(vision), vritti(attitude) and smrithi(self remembrance). My drishti, vritti and smith are rooted in soul awareness. When I see others, I  view my self and them as eternal souls occupying their bodies at the centre of their foreheads, and acting their eternal parts through the bodies. I dont give sorrow and also take sorrow because of the awareness of the self and others as eternal souls playing their own eternal parts/roles in eternal and cyclic drama.

In soul consciousness, I make a statement such as, my body has a disease. I a soul don’t have the disease. I don’t identify the disease and its pains/discomforts with the self. Instead I identify these with the body. So I also don’t make the statement I am suffering from the disease. 

There is no notion of death of the self/soul as it is eternal. When the body dies, I the soul leave the body, and enter another  body. I understand  that I, a soul is eternal and go into rebirths in an eternal and cyclic drama. I have no fear of death.

A simple exercise 1:

Perform these three actions. Raise up your right hand. Hold it for 3 seconds. Raise down your right hand.

Check whether you had awareness of the self as a soul, and the soul giving the three commands to the hand. If you did not have the awareness, you were in body consciousness.

Repeat the above exercise in soul consciousness.

I a soul am sitting at the centre of the forehead. From there, I a soul give a command to the right hand to raise up. I have the awareness of the soul controlling the hand while it’s moving up. Next, I a soul give a command to the hand to hold up for 3 seconds. I have awareness of being a soul and it controlling the hand. Next, I a soul give a command to the right hand to raise down. I have the awareness of the soul controlling the hand while it’s moving down. 

Simple exercise-2:

Watch the flower shown below.

Watch the flower in soul conscious awareness. I a soul sitting at the centre of the  forehead is seeing through the eyes. I am aware of my being as a tiny point being and watching through the eyes.

Exercise 3:

Recall a person whom you hate. His image is visualised. And let your feelings emerge.

While seeing the person, get into soul consciousness. You see your self as a soul, a point being in the forehead, and also see the person as a soul a point being in the forehead of the person. Both souls are loving, and peaceful souls. Stay in this awareness.

Other applications

Soul conscious awareness can be also used to observe PD symptoms. For instance when tremors in your hand are there, you visualise your self to be a soul, a point of energy, different from the body. Just focus on the soul conscious awareness. Let your concentration intensify on the soul. Check the tremors reducing or stopping. 

Whatever we do in usual way in body consciousness , the corresponding can be done in soul consciousness. You will find the difference in feelings and quality of the mind.