Suppression
Swirling, whirling, spinning and twirling
Category: Actions
Type
Voluntary
Introduction and description
Swirling, twirling, spinning and whirling – are all names for going round and round and round using one leg as a pivot until your mind is stilled and your Reasoning process no longer functions.
Superficially swirling and whirling appear very close to Frenetic exercise in that the spinning must be constant for it to work. And indeed there is a contributory effect from the exercise and the activity. But as we shall see the principle mechanism of operation is Reverse REM with the added advantage that it also promotes fatigue, which serves to help the process.
I have given it a category on its own because it is a hybrid of the two. It does not work via overload which is why it is in this section.
Edward Dowden – from The Secret of the Universe

From the Captain Marvel comics
I spin, I spin, around, around
And close my eyes
And let the bile arise
From the sacred region of the Souls' Profound
Then gaze upon the world; how strange how new!
The earth and heaven are one
The horizon line is gone
The sky how green! The land how fair and blue
Perplexing items fade from my large view
And thought which vexed me with its false and true
Is swallowed up in Intuition; this
This is the sole true mode
Of reaching God
The addition of other techniques – rhythmic drumming see Listening to beating sounds, and the use of sound and music see Listening to music for example will also help the process.
Background
This technique is used worldwide, and as such I think we can conclude it is proven.
Sufis and many African people whirl and twirl. Siberians whirl and twirl. Although we tend to associate it with the Sufis, it is not by any means confined to them, as you will be able to see from the observations.
It is rare for any westerner to see the true process, for the obvious reason that this is spiritual not entertainment. For western consumption, the whirling is performed as though it was a dance and accompanied by, for example, the jolly tunes of a reed flute. But once the westerners have gone home, the true whirling and twirling that takes the Sufi or other practitioner to ecstasy is undertaken.
I have provided an observation of a true ceremony witnessed by William Seabrook to show what actually happens.
The Sufi act of whirling is known by the name of the ‘Sema’. It can be a group activity overseen by a helper, or it can be a lone activity. Shaykh Ahmad ibn Ajiba called the Sema “a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one’s inner self, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits”.
The Sufis that still use this technique are the Dervishes of the Mevlevi order, which was founded by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi, see Jalaladin Rumi and I have provided quite a large number of observations from him. It is from his poetry that we know about the effects and the practises of the so called ‘Whirling Dervishes’.
The sema is held in the semahane (ritual hall) with the dervishes whirling in a circle around their sheikh, who circles at the centre in ‘pole position’. There is quite a bit of symbolism employed in the dress used by the Sufis. According to Sufi literature “the semazen's camel's hair hat (sikke) represents the tombstone of the ego; his wide, white skirt represents the ego's shroud. By removing his black cloak, he is spiritually reborn to the truth”. Actually the symbolism is based on the crown, the cone, and darkness and light.
Twirling for an audience and photographers
Method
The purpose of the spinning is to affect your eyes. You are trying to simulate a sort of voluntary nystagmus, thus as you spin , you fix your eyes on a point then bring them back to the side let them follow an object then bring them back. The overall effect is for the eyes to move from side to side. Like REM sleep. The same effect can be obtained by fixing your eyes on a point and shaking your head from side to side, but the spinning has the added effect of making you tired and thus helping to invoke the parasympathetic nervous system – relaxing you and releasing tension.
How it works
Physically - Voluntary Nystagmus caused by ‘foveation’ of moving objects and sustained rotation! Physically it works via the vestibular system.
In effect, nystagmus mimics REM sleep, but the signal is reversed and the person then hallucinates or has a vision - a form of waking or lucid dream. Its principle mode of operation as a technique is thus Reverse REM.
Some contribution is made by the Frenetic exercise involved, but this is minor in comparison with its real mode of operation.
Functionally - It may be helpful if you have the Model of the Mind open and to have read the generic description of How spiritual experience works.
Any music tends to heighten Emotions, which helps to subdue the Reasoning function. Furthermore, the monotonous whirling motion also has the effect of suppressing Learning and Reasoning. The Will has nothing to do but let the Autonomic system keep you balanced, so after a while it gives in to the Emotions and the Composer takes over.
Advantages
- Cheap and voluntary, this technique offers the chance of immediate escape if anything becomes too extreme
- It works
- If you are alone, there is no risk of subliminal messages
- If you decide to ask for help, you must use a trusted helper. By using this technique, you will have temporarily abandoned reason and memory, so you are very open to suggestion. The person you choose to help you, must therefore be absolutely honest and genuine. This person must also make sure you don’t spin ‘out of control’ [this is not a joke].
Disadvantages
- Atonia can result, which is why there may be the symptoms of epilepsy. So be aware that there are elements of this technique that could look very alarming to an onlooker and may frighten you if you are not aware of this
- There is a risk of falling over and hurting yourself. Once the Reasoning function has opted out and the Composer taken over, there is every possibility that you will simply collapse as if you have fallen asleep. So you will either need someone to watch over you or you will need to do this on a very soft mattress on the floor – or similar.
- It is exhausting, which is what it is meant to be, you will need to be fairly fit to keep up this level of exercise, as it often takes some time before it works. Not for someone with a bad heart!
- You can be sick. You can vomit when you stop spinning. This is because, when the spinning stops, the fluid in your ear continues to move round, thus indicating to your mind that you are moving, but your eyes may be indicating you are still. As a result of the discordance, the brain will come to the conclusion that one of them is hallucinating and may further conclude that the hallucination is due to poison ingestion. The brain responds by inducing vomiting, to clear the supposed toxin. But, the risk of this is not as great as with the swaying technique, as once you have stopped spinning, the fluid in the ear quickly slows down. Thus if you can get over this short period of nausea you will be fine.
- The frequency of spin does seem to be key, you do need to spin at the correct frequency in that the eye moves as if it were in REM sleep, if the correct frequency is not found nothing will happen.
Observations
Note also the observation from Edward Dowden in the introductory section
Related observations
Healing observations
Wisdom, Inspiration, Divine love & Bliss
- Dowden, Edward - The Secret of the Universe - I spin, I spin, around, around 000806
- Gosala, Makkali - The nature of Halla and the doctrine of Niyati 022529
- Kum-Hwa Kim – Riding the blades in New York and the USA, August 1982 027206
- Rumi - Divani Shamsi Tabriz - Every fair shape you have seen 003162
- Rumi - Divani Shamsi Tabriz - Every moment the voice of Love is coming 003160
- Rumi - Divani Shamsi Tabriz - O heart What a wondrous bird art thou 000329
- Rumi - Divani Shamsi Tabriz - Twere better that the spirit 007031
- Rumi - Love poems - Already, don't you rush toward the garden 001201
- Rumi - Love Poems - Bough and leaf set free from the earth 001826
- Rumi - Love poems - Silence lies in the ocean 008391
- Rumi - Love poems - There is a way from your heart to mine 013174
- Rumi - Mathnawi - We have all been parts of Adam 005840
- Rumi - Mathwani - Thou knowest not where is the Ocean of thought 001194
- Rumi - Misc - Come, come Do you hear the music 001199
- Rumi - Misc - Drink up 013176
- Rumi - Misc - Fire 001198
- Rumi - Misc - Garden of Love 013177
- Rumi - Misc - God has made existence magnificent 001196
- Rumi - Misc - I am a slave 006302
- Rumi - Misc - I died a mineral and became a plant 006299
- Rumi - Misc - Love is the Treasure 001402
- Rumi - Misc - Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing 005192
- Rumi - Misc - Tis said, the pipe and lute that charm our ears 003367
- Rumi - Quote - On adversity 006304
- Rumi - Quote - The devil 000972
- Rumi - Quote - various 005197
- Rumi - Rubaiyat - Are you searching for your soul 001193
- Rumi - Rubaiyat - Dreamy and distracted 000858
- Rumi - Rubaiyat - Heat is not brought by fire only 006303
- Rumi - Rubaiyat - Imitating others I failed to find myself 006301
- Rumi - Rubaiyat - The Beloved knows you under any cover 013179
- Rumi - Rubaiyat - The birds have flown to freedom 001195
- Rumi - Rubaiyat - There is no wine without You 003186
- Rumi - Rubaiyat - We are bound together 001211
- Rumi - Rubaiyat - You are so near That I cannot see You 006300
- Rumi - The Book of Love - Don’t put blankets over the drum 005894
- Rumi - The Book of Love - I don’t mind if my companions 001200
- Rumi - The Book of Love - Your deepest presence is in every small 001197
- Rumi - The Game of Love - I was nothing 001409
- Rumi - Whispers of the Beloved - If you can’t smell the fragrance 010983
- Rumi - Whispers of the beloved - You are the cure hidden in the pain 001212
- Rumi - Whispers of the Beloved - Your charm lured me 000848
- Sheikh el Melewi 001369
- Sheikh el Melewi and the mountain 001372
- The Means of achieving spiritual experience - Shaivism – 04 Music and dance 022492
- Zoroastrian - Means of achieving spiritual experience - 11 Dancing, whirling and twirling 022418
Out of time
- Rumi - Divani Shamsi Tabriz - This is Love: to fly heavenward 003161
- Rumi - The Book of Love - Don’t put blankets over the drum 005894
- Rumi - The Book of Love - Slide out the side, Die, and be quiet 001272
Enlightenment
- A description of whirling in action 001370
- Al-Ghazzali - The Alchemy of Happiness - 23 Sufi music, dancing and ecstatic states 018789
- Al-Ghazzali - The Alchemy of Happiness - 23 Sufi poetry and ecstatic states 018790
- Chanting Dervishes 010066
- Doris Green - The Takai of Ghana 011359
- Kum-Hwa Kim – Riding the blades in New York and the USA, August 1982 027206
- Nay and reed flute 003560
- Rumi - Mathwani - A voice came from God to Moses 003173
- Rumi - Rubaiyat - Beyond a hundred steps of wisdom 013173
- Rumi - Rubaiyat - I am happy tonight 013172
- Rumi - Rubaiyat - There is no wine without You 003186
- Rumi - Rubaiyat - Whisper to me intimately 013178
- Rumi - The Game of Love - In the early morning 000284
- Sheikh el Melewi 001369
- Sheikh el Melewi’s vision 001371
- The Means of achieving spiritual experience - Shaivism – 04 Music and dance – Zikr, Kirtana, Tarantella, Nestenarides and the Aissaoua ritual 022503
In time
- Mudang spiritual experiences – Prophecy and symbols 027113
- Sheikh el Melewi 001369
- Sheikh el Melewi’s vision 001371
- The Means of achieving spiritual experience - Shaivism – 04 Music and dance – Zikr, Kirtana, Tarantella, Nestenarides and the Aissaoua ritual 022503
- Youtube video - Korean Shaman (무당) - Possession by the Spirit of Changun and riding the chaktu 027028
Environmental Influence
- Jacques Romano on the Dervishes of Sudan 016476
- Kum-Hwa Kim – Her skill at 'riding knives' has been particularly popular 027208
- Kum-Hwa Kim – Riding the blades in New York and the USA, August 1982 027206
- Kum-Hwa Kim – Riding the blades in Sidney, Australia July 1994 027205
- Robert Farris Thompson - On Challenging gravity 003016
- Sheikh el Melewi 001369
- Youtube video - Korean Shaman (무당) - Possession by the Spirit of Changun and riding the chaktu 027028