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NOTES ON THE JOURNEY

DELIBERATELY CAUSED BODILY DAMAGE


Larry Dossey, MD

My feast of joy is but a dish of pain.… and connected to whether we are experiencing pain or pleasure.
—Chidiock Tichborne (note 1) But pleasure and pain, like time, also are relative. For example, if
Einstein’s subject is freezing, or if he is extremely shy around
women, he might find the hot stove to be a more pleasant experi-

W
hen my wife Barbara and I moved to north- ence than the girl.
ern New Mexico almost 10 years ago, I dis- Whether we find an experience painful or pleasant depends
c ov e red that the chiles used in the local largely on what it means to us. And meaning is shaped by 3
restaurants were so hot they were actually major factors: (1) the entire previous life experience we bring to a
painful, and I ate many a meal with a tear- particular moment, (2) our expectations about what lies ahead,
ful grimace. Then, after a few months of masochistic culinary and (3) the particular context in which an event takes place.
experiences, things began to change. I noticed that my aversion For example, in the lore of hypnosis, it is well known that
to hot chiles was diminishing and that I was actually beginning when a hypnotized subject thinks he is being touched by a burning
to enjoy the piquant tastes. My pain was gradually being trans- match, a blister will often erupt, even though he is being touched
formed into pleasure. Barbara and I boldly began to seek out with an ice cube. The subject is responding to his past experiences
restaurants with the hottest salsas and seasonings, arrogantly with matches and fire as well as to his expectation of being burned,
disdaining establishments that served milder concoctions. We all filtered through the context of the hypnotic state.
became confirmed “chile heads,” as chile aficionados are called To see how meaning and pain intersect, let’s look at several
in these parts. To this day, when on extended travels, we talk different scenarios.
fondly of the fiery food we are missing back home and the chile
w i t h d rawal symptoms we imagine we are experiencing. On MEANINGLESS PAIN: TORTURE
returning we waste no time seeking out our favorite restaurant
for a “chile fix.” The wish to hurt, the momentary intoxication with pain, is
the loophole through which the pervert climbs into the minds of
PAIN AND MEANING ordinary men.
—Jacob Bronowski2
There was a faith-healer of Deal
Who said, ‘Although pain isn’t real, I confess that I have a perverse fascination with torture. I
If I sit on a pin am simply astonished at how, throughout recorded history,
And it punctures my skin, there have always been humans who have devoted their intelli-
I dislike what I fancy I feel.’ gence, energy, and creativity to the single-minded task of how to
—Anonymous1 make others feel pain. I have toured torture chambers in Europe
and England and have explored at length the extensive literature
My experience with the punishing chiles of New Mexico on this subject. But I can tolerate exposure to the lore of torture
shows not only that “one man’s pain is another man’s pleasure,” only in small doses. After an hour of reading Sw a i n ’s T h e
but also that the same person can respond to the same experi- Pleasures of the Torture Chamber,3 Plaidy’s The Spanish Inquisition,4
ence differently on different occasions. Ru t h v e n ’s To r t u re: The Grand Conspira cy, 5 or Mannix’s T h e
When we try to make pain an absolute—when we say that a History of Torture,6 I invariably recoil as I consider how torture
particular experience is always painful, or that another is invari- has so often been applied in the name of God, with professed
ably pleasant—we run into problems. In an attempt to explain love, for the victim’s “own good.” When I reflect on the fact that
his ideas to the public, Einstein once said, “Put your hand on a it is humans who elevated torture to an art form and that torture
hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pret- is rare in the nonhuman world, I begin to feel the stain of shame
ty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity” that torture has left on our collective psyche. However, in spite of
(note 2). Einstein’s point was that our sense of time is relative the revulsion I feel, I invariably return for another look, because

Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 11
I sense that in this despicable behavior there are lessons I need to Then my teeth were set asunder with a pair of iron cadges.
learn about myself and others. Soon my belly began waxing like a great drum, a suffocating
Of particular interest to me is how anyone survives such pain as my head was hanging downwards and the water
horrendous ordeals. I do not believe survival of torture is pri- reingorging itself in my throat, it strangled and swallowed
marily due to physical hardiness, but to something more subtle. up my breath.
Some say that hatred or the desire for vengeance toward one’s I was six hours upon this rack and between each set of
tormentors carries the victim through—the attitude ascribed to tortures I was questioned for half and hour, each half-hour a
Ben Hur when he was condemned as a Roman galley slave in the hell. By ten o’clock that night, they had inflicted sixty sever-
novel by General Lew Wallace.7 But the sense of meaning and al torments but still continued for another half-h o u r
purpose—the certainty that I must survive for some good rea- although my body was begored with blood, cut through
son—seems to explain survival better than any other factor. every part, my bones crushed or bruised and I was roaring,
During the Spanish Inquisition, William Lithgow, a Scot, howling, foaming, bellowing, and gnashing my teeth. True
found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time: Málaga in it is, it passeth the capacity of man to conceive the pain I
1620. He came to do business in Spain but was arrested as a experienced or my anxiety of mind.
Protestant spy and subjected to torture. He somehow survived When they took me from the rack, the water gushed from
his ordeal and gave the following account6(pp64-65): my mouth. They put irons on my broken legs and I was car-
ried back to my dungeon. Every day I was threatened with
I was stripped to the skin and mounted on the rack (this fresh tortures if I did not confess and the Governor ordered
was a vertical rack upright against the wall) where I was that all the vermin in the cell be swept up and piled on my
hung with two small cords. Thus being hoisted to the naked body and tormented me almost to death but the
appointed height, my tormentor drew my legs through the turnkey (a converted Moor) used to come secretely, remove
two sides of the three-planked rack, tied a cord about each of the vermin and burn them in heaps with oil or doubtless I
my ankles and then drew the cords upwards, bending for- had been miserably eaten up and devoured by them.
ward my two knees against the two planks until the sinews
of my hams burst asunder. So I hung for a large hour. Miraculously, Lithgow did not die. Reading between the
Then the tormentor laying my right arm above the left, lines, I suspect his religious faith and devotion sustained him. It
wrapped a cord over both arms seven times and then lying helped him wear his Inquisitors down, and they let him go.
down on his back and bracing his feet in my belly, pulled The Inquisitors understood that the power of religious faith
until the seven several cords combined in one place on my kept their victims alive, so they tried to shatter it. One way of
arm cutting the sinews and flesh to the bare bones which doing this was to create confusion in the victim’s mind about the
has lamed me so still and will be forever. distinctions between the divine and the demonic. The
Now my eyes began to start, my mouth to foam and Dominicans, who supervised the Inquisition, were called the
froth, and my teeth to chatter like a drummer’s sticks. But “Hounds of God”—the hellish in league with the heavenly. A par-
notwithstanding my shivering lips, my groaning, the ticularly terrifying tactic of the Inquisitors was to dress in dark
blood springing from my arms, broken sinews, hams and hoods and drag their victims from their beds in the middle of the
knees, still they struck me in the face with cudgels to stop night—satanic, nocturnal terrorists calling in the name of God.
my screams. The strappado was one of their favorite tortures. This tech-
This their incessant imploration: ‘Confess, confess, con- nique involved tying the victim’s arms behind the back, then
fess in time for thine inevitable torments ensue.’ But all I hoisting him to the ceiling with a rope tied to the wrists and then
could say was ‘I am innocent, O Jesus, have mercy on me!’ passed through a pulley. If this did not elicit a confession, the
Then my trembling body was laid upon the face of a flat victim was dropped from the ceiling and stopped suddenly,
rack with my head downward, inclosed within a circled which usually dislocated the arms from the shoulder joints.
hole, my belly upmost, my arms and feet pinioned, for I was Another method was to strap 30-pound weights to the victim’s
to receive my main torments. Now ropes were passed over legs as he was suspended. The weights were round and often
the calf of my leg, the middle of my thigh, and the great of carved to represent the face of an angel 6(p78)—again, the deliberate
my arm, and these ropes fastened to pins. I received seven blurring of boundaries between the demonic and the divine.
tortures, each torture consisting of three complete windings The Inquisitors concocted lurid descriptions of the eternal,
of the pins. hellish punishment that awaited the victims unless they con-
Then the tormentor got a pot full of water in the bottom fessed, of which the earthly tortures were only a mild foretaste.
of which was a small hole through which he poured the “ S a l vation can come only through pain,” ranted Conrad of
water into my mouth. At first I gladly received it, such was Marburg, Germany’s most terrible torturer, whose reign of ter-
the scorching drought of my tormenting pain and likewise I ror from 1227 until 1233 was unequalled until Hitler’s.6(p47)
had drunk nothing for three days before. But when I saw he The Inquisitors were equal- o p p o rtunity tort u rers who
was trying to force the water down me, I closed my lips. did not discriminate based on gender. A woman accused of

12 ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage
witchcraft was delivered to a hangman in 1631. Her punish- and a surgeon from London, when at length they pro-
ments were recorded as follows6(pp78-79): nounced it necessary to amputate her leg else she would
[lose] her life. Lady [S] would not bear the thought of her
(1) The hangman binds the woman, who was pregnant, child suffering such and preferred to lose her; however after
and places her on the rack. Then he racks her till her heart some days she made up her mind to consent to it and two
would fain break. (2) When she did not confess, he poured more surgeons from London were sent for. She said the day
oil over her head and burned it. (3) He placed sulphur in before they were to arrive Laura was to be told of it. Mr
her armpits and burned it. (4) Her hands were tied behind Baynton told Lady S he could not break it to the dear child.
her and she was hauled up to the ceiling and suddenly Lady S said she would take it upon herself to do that and
dropped. (5) The hangman and his helpers went to lunch. accordingly went into Laura’s room; and after speaking to
(6) On returning, the master hangman placed a spiked her most affectionately for some time, broke it to her. The
board on her back, pulled her up to the ceiling again, then sweet child showed no agitation nor alarm when her moth-
dropped her on the floor. (7) Her toes were put in a thumb- er said, ‘My love, do you think me cruel to take this resolu-
screw and the screw tightened until blood squirted out of tion?’ ‘No, Mamma, you could not help it.’ ‘Would you
her toes. (8) She was pinched with red-hot irons. (9) As she prefer dying, my love?’ ‘Yes, Mama, for then I should be
would not confess, the hangman proceeded to an advanced happy,’ but pausing added, ‘that would be taking my fate
grade of torture. She was whipped and then put in a vise into my own hands and I could not expect that God would
which gradually closed on her for the next six hours. (1) She support me in dying; God demands my leg, not my life.’
was hung up by her thumbs and flogged. This was all that This happy composure was not transitory—it lasted all that
was done on the first day. day & night. She told her mother, ‘Mamma, do you remember
the day you stayed at home from church with me and talked
PAIN AND POSITIVE MEANING: with me about God; from that day I have thought much about
SURGERY WITHOUT ANESTHESIA Him, and loved Him, & it is [He] that now supports me, and
will support me during the operation—pray for me. I will not
Sweet is pleasure after pain. ask you to stay in the room; it would not be good for you, but
—John Dryden8 perhaps Rose (the housekeeper) will be so good.’ The next day,
Thursday in Passion week, the four surgeons arrived. Lady S
Surgery during primitive times resembled torture. In both went into Laura’s room to acquaint her. The child shed some
instances an individual was tied down, flesh was torn and hacked, tears upon hearing it was so near, but soon recovering her
bones were broken, limbs were severed, and people were bled. wonted composure said, ‘Mamma, pray for me that I may glo-
Before the discovery of general anesthetics, surgery was rify God by patience and that it may do good to Mr Baynton
“nasty, brutish, and—if you were lucky—short,” says Professor to see what God can do.’ Laura was taken out of bed and
L. R. C. Agnew of the University of California–Los Angeles placed upon a table; when they went to cover her eyes, she
School of Medicine. He writes: “Patients were held down or said ‘you need not do that. I will keep them shut but if you like
strapped to the table; nowadays such grim proceedings seem to it, do.’ They bound on the handkerchief and began the opera-
be the stuff of nightmares rather than reality. And if our adult tion which the dear child bore without a word until the end
forbears suffered grievously under the knife, for children the ter- when she gave one cry of Oh! when the great artery was taken
rors must have been staggering.”9 up. To show how much she was supported even in body, a few
Although tort u re and primitive surgery resembled one f l owers which she held between her fingers re m a i n e d
another, the meaning attributed to them by the victim or patient unmoved during the operation.
was radically different. The purpose of torture was to inflict suf- After it was over, Mr Baynton was expressing his aston-
fering; the purpose of surgery was to relieve it. As a result, the ishment at her composure and calmness. She said ‘There
agony associated with primitive surgery was attenuated. On rare should not have been one Oh! Good God supported me;
occasions it was hardly felt at all, as in the following account of two texts comforted me during the operation—‘through
an 18th-century amputation 9(pp1074-1075): much tribulation you must enter into the Kingdom of
Heaven’ and ‘if we suffer with Him we shall reign with Him.’
I have lately heard of such a pretty anecdote of a sweet lit- Emily B saw her five days after the operation eating an
tle girl of 9 years old that I must give it you as I think it may orange in bed as if nothing had happened. Laura said she
interest your little ones. would not change her situation or have back her leg. She
Lady S’s second daughter Laura had been for months expressed great delight to think it took place in Passion
confined at Clifton with a white swelling in her knee. Mr week, by suffering thus to be made like her Saviour.
B aynton [probably the noted Bristol surgeon Thomas
Baynton (1761-1820), who wrote Descriptive Account of a How did this 9-year-old girl sustain the amputation of a leg
New Method of Treating Old Ulcers of the Legs] attended her, on a kitchen table without apparent pain, with only a fresh

Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 13
bouquet to hold onto? The absence of postoperative infection is PAIN AND RELIGIOUS MEANING:
particularly amazing. During this period surgeons operated DELIBERATELY CAUSED BODILY DAMAGE
bare-handed. Sterile technique and antibiotics were unknown.
No one had ever seen a bacterium, and a theory of infectious dis- After great pain, a formal feeling comes—
ease did not exist. The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs—
The religious and spiritual meaning Laura found in her suffer- The stiff Heart questions was it He, that bore,
ing might have been a major factor explaining her clinical And Yesterday, or Centuries before?
course. It’s an old theme, really: the power of faith to help one —Emily Dickinson13
endure pain and recover from illness. Religious faith throughout
the ages has been associated consistently with immunity to dis- The belief that there is a connection between bodily damage,
ease, as in the case of Blessed Angela of Foligno (c 1248-1309), pain, and spirituality is ancient. Shamanism, whose roots extend
who, in an attempt to come closer to God, would drink with through 50,000 years of human history, placed great importance
impunity the putrid water with which she had just washed the on suffering for the initiate. This often included horrific dreams,
s o res of a leper. 10 But from a scientific perspective, these during which, as Eliade14 says, “his own body [is] dismembered by
instances are unconvincing. Maybe the individual was just lucky. demons; he watches them, for example, cutting off his head and
In any case, we hear mostly about those who survived after plac- tearing out his tongue.” After the initiate’s body is dismembered
ing their faith in a higher power—not those who died. and stripped down to the bare bones, it is reconstructed so that
But the power of religious commitment is not mere l y he emerges wiser and more powerful than before, able now to
anecdotal. When examined in modern hospitals, religious faith heal himself and others. These experiences are exc e e d i n g l y
continues to help the sick survive and recover, as it did 9-year- vivid—so real that the initiate does not always survive them.
old Laura.
Thomas Oxman and his colleagues11 at Dartmouth Medical AN HISTORICAL SNAPSHOT
School followed 232 elective heart surgery patients and analyzed If one believes that there is spiritual value in bodily damage,
the factors contributing to their survival and recovery. The most perhaps it is a short step from seeing one’s body mutilated in ini-
consistent indicator of survival was the amount of strength or tiatory dreams to causing deliberate physical damage to one’s
comfort patients said they derived from their religious faith. The self. Indeed, history abounds with practices in which humans
researchers concluded: “Those without any strength or comfort have harmed their own bodies to curry favor with gods or spirits
from religion had almost three times the risk of death as those or to achieve special states of ecstasy, holiness, or insight. 15
with at least some strength and comfort.” In another study by Priests devoted to Cybele, the gre at nat u re goddess of Asia
Pressman and colleagues12 of elderly women recovering from hip Minor, castrated themselves to demonstrate their identification
fractures, “those who regarded God as a source of strength and with Attis, who, having castrated himself, died and was resur-
comfort and who attended religious services frequently experi- rected. In the New Testament (Matthew 19:12, KJV), we read
enced lower amounts of depression from their illness and were about eunuchs who castrated themselves “for the kingdom of
thus able to walk a greater distance … upon discharge.” heaven’s sake.” The desert fathers of Christianity punished their
How does it work? For the faithful, the answer is obvious: bodies to gain redemption, and for centuries the Cat h o l i c
we are witnessing divine intervention. But science has no way of Church canonized as saints individuals who repeatedly mortified
metering the divine, so scientists search for more concrete expla - their flesh. Some Hindus pierce their bodies to render them-
nations, the most popular of which is the power of belief, self- selves pleasing to the god Murugon. In ancient Mexico, the
suggestion, and expectation: the placebo response. According to Olmecs, Aztecs, and Mayans anointed sacred idols with blood
this line of thinking, nothing mysterious is happening; we are from their penises as signs of devotion and penitence.15
witnessing the flux of neurotransmitters, immune cells, and
neural discharges within the body, all kicked off by positive THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST
thinking, which somehow elicit a heightened healing response. In the 13th century, self-flagellation was popular as a means
Placebo-based explanations no doubt can help us to unravel of atonement throughout European religious orders. The custom
some of these clinical events. But we should hang on to our hats, also was taken up by the Spanish royalty. The emperor Charles V
because there is a neglected body of clinical phenomena—delib- passed his personal flail to his son Philip II, who bequeathed it to
erately caused bodily damage (DCBD), in which individuals his heir. The sound of self-flagellation echoed for centuries not
actually harm themselves with impunity—that cannot be only throughout Spain, but in its colonies as well—including
explained by known placebo mechanisms. These events dramati- northern New Mexico, where I live.
cally illustrate the power of religious and spiritual meaning to This year is the 400th anniversary of the settlement of
influence our bodies. Although DCBD has been stra n g e l y northern New Mexico, and celebrations are planned. One piece
neglected by Western science, no analysis of the relationship of history that probably will not be formally remembered is the
between pain, suffering, and healing can be complete without role played by self-mutilation and self-inflicted pain since the
taking these bizarre phenomena into consideration. earliest days of colonization.

14 ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage
In the spring of 15 9 8, when Don Juan de Oñate, New As the Christ’s body hung from the bindings, it became oxygen-
Mexico’s great colonizer, was journeying northward with his starved due to great difficulty in breathing in such a position.
small band of settlers through the deserts of northern Mexico in
search of the Rio Grande, they paused on Holy Thursday to seek He was watched to detect the moment when he could
atonement. One of Oñate’s soldiers, Captain Pérez de Villagrá, endure no more and must die. When they saw it his brothers
wrote later: lowered the cross and took him from it, bearing him away to
the morada to restore him if possible…. If the village Christ
[T]he night was one of prayer and penance for all. The died he was buried by his brotherhood in secrecy, and his
soldiers, with cruel scourges, beat their backs unmercifully shoes were put the next day on the doorstep of his house to
until the camp ran crimson with their blood. The humble notify his family that he was dead. Grieved, they yet rejoiced,
Franciscan friars, barefoot and clothed in cruel thorny gir- for they believed that in his ritual sacrifice he had gained for
dles, devoutly chanted their doleful hymns, praying forgive- himself and them direct entry into heaven. His cross was left
ness for their sins…. Don Juan, unknown to anyone except to stand all year on the summit of the hill….16(p382)
me, went to a secluded spot where he cruelly scourged him-
self, mingling bitter tears with the blood which flowed from The first published medical article on self-mutilation has a
his many wounds.16(pp376-377) strong religious tinge. Reported in 1846, it involved a 48-year-
old, manic-depressive widow who accused herself of being a
The custom of flagellation endured, even flourished. By great sinner. After she had walked through the streets imploring
1627, processions of flagellants were commonplace along the various men to marry her, including her minister, she was hospi-
river lands of the upper Rio Grande. In the 1690s, a brother- talized. While there she developed the belief that her eyes were
hood, The Third Order of Penitence, was established at Santa Fe sinful. After reading the instruction in Matthew’s gospel to pluck
and Santa Cruz. Men of the Spanish villages flocked to join the out one’s eye if it is offensive, she did just that, bilaterally enucle-
fraternity to do bodily penance for their sins and for Jesus’ death ating herself. Now totally blind, she asked her doctor to cut off
on the cross. They called themselves Penitent Brothers, or peni- her legs and feet. Christ had shed his blood, and to become
tentes. They would meet in a morada or chapter house, a 1-room, saintly she felt she must shed hers too.17
windowless, earthen structure that resembled an Indian kiva.
Within the morada there was only “the bare furniture of piety,” THE MIDDLE EAST AND BEYOND
says Pulitzer historian Paul Horgan.16(p377) Anecdotal accounts of DCBD have filtered from the East for
centuries, often through the reports of religious adventurers and
[A]n altar, a wooden cross gre at enough for a man, spiritual seekers. An example is George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff
lengths of chain, blood-spattered whips bearing thongs of (1870-1949), one of the most remarkable spiritual teachers of the
leather studded with cactus thorns, locally made images of 20th century. Born in the Caucasus near Mt Ararat, where Noah’s
saints painted flat or carved and colored, and various repre- ark is said to have come to rest after the Flood, Gurdjieff passed
sentations of Christ, and a life-sized figure of death in a cart. his youth in an atmosphere of fairy tales, legends, and esoteric
Here the chapter met for business, in secrecy, and, as the religious traditions. He spent many years exploring various sys-
calendar demanded, in pain spiritual or pain physical. tems and seeking hidden wisdom about the nature of reality and
the meaning of life. He was attracted by the inner lore of shaman-
It was important that the cross be man-sized, for men were ism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. He
crucified on it. On Good Friday, the Penitents sought to identify trekked through deserts and mountains to remote monasteries
with Christ and his suffering to the greatest extent possible. They and explored libraries and bazaars. He gathered fragments of wis-
elected one of their members for the role of Saviour. The chosen dom and pieced them together into a philosophy and method of
one, “like any man, … knew when his life was in danger, and it instruction, which had great influence on the lives of his followers
was in danger now. Yet he was honored, and to face what was and continue to fascinate thousands who read his writings and
coming he was empowered by a sense of glory in his identity the accounts of those who knew him (note 3).
with the Godhead.”16(p380) Late in the morning on Good Friday, a Much about Gurdjieff ’s life will forever remain murky. P. D.
procession was formed, led by a group of flagellants. The Christ Ouspensky,18 a Russian follower who wrote penetrating descrip-
followed, bent under the cross he carried from the morada. With tions of the man and his methods, states that in all the stories
village spectators kneeling and watching, the brothers pulled the Gurdjieff related about his life, “a great deal was contradictory
rough wooden cart carrying the carved image of Death. They and hardly credible.” There seems little doubt, however, that in
walked up a mount, whose rocks and thorns tore their bare feet his travels Gurdjieff did encounter events that many would con-
and flesh. At the summit, the Christ was tied onto the cross with sider mind-boggling.
bands of cotton cloth and raised against the horizon. At the Gurdjieff once lived in Istanbul in the Pera district (now
moment of crucifixion, everyone fell to their knees, beat their Beyoglu) near the famous Galata bridge, which spans the Golden
breasts, and cried out in unison, “I have sinned! I have sinned!” Horn. In their biogra p h y, Kathleen Riordan Speeth and Ira

Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 15
Friedlander19 describe how Gurdjieff spent time with what he out is that the dervish is in “a state of ecstasy”22(p272) or “becomes
called “dervish zealots” and visited the Rufai Order known as the … transported in his prayers or meditation.” 21(p209)
Howling Dervishes, a name given by Westerners upon hearing Although these events may seem hopelessly exotic or “ori-
their “heavy breath” repetitions. The Rufai sect was a deeply reli - ental” to the Western rationalist, they are not radically different
gious Islamic group founded by Ahmet Rufai, nephew of the from Laura’s case mentioned above. In both instances the sub-
g re at Sufi master Abdul Qadir Jilani. Speeth and Friedlander ject is so suffused with religious faith that the event pulsates with
write of Gurdjieff ’s experience: spiritual meaning. In this context pain and suffering fade, and
the known laws of physiology seem momentarily suspended.
In their dhikr circle he would have witnessed the shaikh Many ethnographers who have ob s e rved DCBD feat s
perform unbelievable feats of faith, such as licking a white- around the world have focused almost exclusively on the absence
hot poker, piercing his cheek with sharp skewers, opening of pain experienced by the participants. This focus has led to a
his abdomen with a sharp knife, taking out his intestines neglect of other equally remarkable features of DCBD: lack of
and resting them on a plate as he chanted and danced bleeding, immunity to infection, and rapid healing. Investigators
around the room while his dervishes cried out the name of have also been obsessed with the idea that some sort of trance or
God. At the conclusion of the ceremony he would replace autohypnotic spell accounts for DCBD. But, as we shall see, there
his intestines, push the skin of his stomach closed with his is little evidence that these strange phenomena can be explained
hands and show no marks on his body. by radically altered states of consciousness.

Years later, one of Gurdjieff ’s most perceptive and scholarly fol- MODERN OBSERVATIONS ON DCBD
lowers, J. G. Bennett,2 0 wrote of viewing a similar event among
the Rufai in his autobiography, Witness. The abilities that are demonstrated in DCBD are far more
Respected scholars have taken these accounts seriously. important and impressive than those known to have been mas-
Annemarie Schimmel,21 professor of Indo-Muslim Culture at tered through meditation and other techniques.
Harvard University, reports that dervishes are notorious for per- —L. Fatoohi and J. Hussein23
forming “strange miracles, like eating live snakes, cutting them-
selves with swords and lances without being hurt, and taking out Dr Louay Fatoohi of the Physics Department of Durham
their eyes.” She continues: “The pious one becomes so transport- University, England, and Dr Jamal N. Hussein, of Paramann
ed in his prayers or meditation that he feels no pain when one of Programme Laboratories, Amman, Jordan, are currently investi-
his limbs is amputated, or he is so out of himself that he is oblivi- gating DCBD phenomena (note 4).2 3 Although these rituals are
ous to the bites of scorpions or serpents.”21(p209) best known among Muslims, they are universal, performed by
These feats are not limited to the Middle East, but occur in the Chinese, 24 Indians,25 Malaysians,26 Native North Americans, 27
other parts of the world where Islam has spread. In Malaysia a rit- Sri Lankans,2 8 and members of various other religious and
ual known as the dabbu–s ceremony is widespread. Dabbu–s in shamanistic communities. Although there is a spectrum of these
Arabic means an iron awl; the ceremony carries this name because feats, the most common involve the insertion of sharp objects
an iron awl, in addition to swords, knives, and sometimes fire, is such as skewers into the subject’s body in a way that would ordi-
the chief instrument used to inflict wounds upon the body during narily cause severe pain, bleeding, tissue damage, and infection.
the ritual.22 The dabbu–s performance must be held under the lead- However, pain and bleeding are virtually absent, and when the
ership of a true spiritual successor of the Founder of the Order. sharp object is removed, the wound closes almost immediately
This leader must have a license from his teacher authorizing him and extremely rapid healing ensues, without infection and often
to conduct these otherwise dangerous exercises. By turning their without scarring.
weapons upon themselves, these leaders give witness to the power These processes go beyond what we usually consider to be
of Allah and the excellence of the Master of their Order. The con- the normal capacities of the human body. Un raveling them
clusion of the ceremony is typically a prayer of thanksgiving to would be a great insight and could lead to extraordinary medical
Allah for bringing them safely through the exercise. Then a cloth is advances. It is therefore difficult to understand why these phe-
often spread on the ground on which the spectators are invited to nomena have been so thoroughly neglected by We s t e r n
throw any gifts or alms. researchers.
Not all Muslims applaud such rituals. Although the partici- The scientific community’s avoidance of DCBD, however,
pants believe the act of inflicting wounds upon the body demon- has not been total. Three groups of laborat o ry re s e a rc h e r s
strates the power of God and the holiness of the Master of the looked briefly at these events in the late ’70s and early ’80s.
Order, others consider them aberrations. Yet the public relations • In 1978 Elmer and Alyce Green and their colleagues at the
aspect of these feats can hardly be denied. “By giving public exhi- Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kan, studied a subject who
bitions of this mysterious ceremony, the order was able to attract had the ability to skewer his biceps with a knitting needle,
a considerable following, especially among the young.” 22(p272) apparently with impunity (unpublished data, 1972).
How do they do it? The common thread running through- Continued on page 103

16 ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage
NOTES ON THE JOURNEY
Continued from page 16
In an interesting aside to this demonstration, a skeptical
physician who witnessed the demonstration tried to drive the
same needle into the same region of his arm. He was unable to
do so because of the pain and stopped with the knitting needle
halfway through. At this point the gifted subject intervened,
took hold of the needle, and pushed it the remaining distance
through the physician’s arm.29
• Pelletier and Peper 30 investigated 2 subjects: one who was
able to insert bicycle spokes through his cheeks and the sides of
his body, and one who could do a similar feat through a fold in
the skin of his forearm. Pelletier31 also studied the subject who
had been investigated at the Menninger Foundation.
• Larbig and associat e s 3 2 , 3 3 of Tübingen Un i v e r s i t y,
Germany, studied a yogi who was able to insert unsterilized
spikes into his tongue, neck, and abdomen.
Although these 3 studies laid valuable groundwork, they
were limited because they involved only a total of 4 subjects.
Research took an immense stride due to the recent laboratory
investigation by Fatoohi and Hussein of 28 subjects.
Fatoohi and Hussein’s interest in this area escalated when
they encountered impressive performances of DCBD by
dervishes of a Sufi school known as Tariqa Casnazaniyyah, an
Arabic-Kurdish name that means “the way of the secret that is Photo courtesy of Paramann Programme Labs
known to no one.”3 4 This sect has followers in Iraq, Jordan,
Sudan, India, and a few other countries. The dervishes believe instruments because the former are usually hand-made
that their DCBD abilities are manifestations of spiritual powers with rather rough surfaces and irregular diameters.
of the Masters of Tariqa Casnazaniyya h — p owers that each Additionally, with the aid of hammers the dervishes drive
master transfers to his successor and that are now possessed by daggers into various sides of the skull bones as well as the
the present master, Shaikh Muhamm ad al- C a s n a z a n i . clavicle. The hammer is also used for inserting knives just
Fo rt u n ately for researchers, dervishes of this school believe below the eyes. They also chew and swallow glass and sharp
their DCBD feats need not be confined to religious settings. razor blades. Obviously, these feats involve organs and tis-
Shaikh Muhammad al-Casnazani therefore granted permission sues of the digestive tract.
to Fatoohi and Hussein to study 28 dervishes in their laborato-
ry. The researchers report the following23(p16): The dervishes also handle fire by wrapping cloth around one
end of a stick, dipping it in flammable fluid, and lighting it. The
Under laboratory controlled conditions, the dervishes flames from this torch are then applied to the face, arms, and legs
were able to demonstrate several impressive DCBD feats. for 5 to 15 seconds. The dervishes also hold red-hot iron plates
The dervishes insert skewers and spikes into various parts with their bare hands and even bite them.35-37 They handle snakes
of their bodies. They use these instruments without steril- and scorpions and usually receive bites and stings on their hands
ization, and may also contaminate the instruments by rub- while doing so. Sometimes they intentionally expose their tongues
bing them on the ground before using them. The parts of to the poisonous bites of snakes and the stings of scorpions,
the body that are involved in these feats include the cheeks, demonstrating immunity to the toxins; they may even eat these
tongue, lower part of the mouth, lobule of the ear, neck, creatures live.35 They also expose themselves continuously for sev-
arms, muscles of the chest, and abdomen. The instruments eral minutes to electrical shocks of 220 V, again with impunity.35
used in these activities are usually metallic and of different
diameters. However, with some parts of the body, such as IS HYPNOSIS THE KEY?
the cheeks and lower part of the mouth, where normal Larbig and associates suggested that their subject was using
manual pressure is adequate to force sharp-ended wooden autohypnosis to control his bodily responses while being pierced
sticks into the flesh without being broken, such instru- by skewers. In contrast, Fatoohi and Hussein, who have studied
ments may replace the metallic skewers. Obviously, the tis- 7 times more subjects than all other researchers combined, do
sue damage and pain that would normally be expected from not believe that any special altered state of consciousness is
wooden sticks are greater than those caused by metallic involved. They measured several physiological parameters of the

Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 103
dervishes before, during, and after their DCBD demonstrations. Some of the most impressive reports on the use of hypnosis
Such parameters include electroencephalographic (EEG) pat- during surgery originated in the 19th century. An example is the
terns, electrical conductance of the skin, skin temperature, and work by the Scottish surgeon James Esdaile, who mesmerized
arterial blood pressure. They found no discernible physiological patients for minor and major surgeries. Esdaile found that “in mes-
pattern that could characterize DCBD feats, thus contradicting meric operations hemorrhage was less, and the course of recovery
what other researchers (using far fewer subjects) have claimed. more favorable, than in operations with chloroform or operations
According to Fatoohi and Hussein23(pp17-18 ): with no anesthesia.”42 But even if one generously grants hypnosis
power over pain, total control of hemorrhage has not been estab-
The dervishes do not engage in any psychological or psy- lished, and hypnotic control over infection and extremely rapid
chophysiological practices that can be claimed to have been healing are practically unheard of in the hypnosis literature.
designed to give them the unusual immunities and instanta- Other forms of mind-body interaction—guided imagery,
neous healing…. [Those] whom we have studied showed no biofeedback, yoga, meditation—share the same limitations as
sign of departure from their ordinary state of consciousness hypnosis. Using these techniques, people have been able to mod-
either during their DCBD performances or before or after ify circulation to various regions of the body. But even in the
that. Normal physiological measurements, and in particular most skillful hands, these approaches yield nothing comparable
the normality of the EEG, support this observation. to the spectrum of accomplishments seen in DCBD. For exam-
ple, the ability to redirect blood to the extremities and warm
The dervishes have no experience or training in hypnosis, one’s hands, which is routinely learned in biofeedback training
either on themselves or others. In fact, hypnosis is not at all popu- and quite valuable in Raynaud’s disease, seems a minor accom-
lar in the society wherein the dervishes of Tariqa Casnazaniyyah plishment compared to the dervish’s ability to do the following:
live. Neither do they require any previous experience in meditation skewer his liver, skull, or clavicle; eat glass, razor blades, snakes,
or guided imagery, which might be related to self-hypnosis, to per- and scorpions without ill effects; handle 220 V; or bathe his face
form these feats. The dervishes appear in total control of their sens- in fire—all without tissue damage, pain, bleeding, or infection,
es before, during, and after engaging in DCBD. They show no and with rapid healing.
evidence of perceptual distortion, remain entirely alert, and are
able to respond properly to all external stimuli from their environ- WITHOUT PRACTICE AND ON CUE
ment. Therefore, Fatoohi and Hussein37(p25) strongly dismiss auto- These abilities are not confined to the spiritual elite. Any
hypnosis, stating, “To [this possibility] … there is no supporting person who wants to join the dervish order of Ta r i q a
evidence whatsoever.” Casnazaniyyah may declare his wish and
Even if hypnosis were involved, it then part i c i p ate in a ritual that takes
probably could not account for the DCBD about 2 or 3 minutes. Several individu-
f e ats of the dervishes. Although hyp- als may be initiated simultaneously. In
notherapists believe that approximately this session the initiate is asked to put
80% of individuals can be hypnotized to his right hand, handshake style, in the
some degree, perhaps only 4% to 26% of right hand of the califa (a deputy of the
the total population can achieve levels master) and recite a pledge of loyalty to
sufficient for anesthesia.38,39 And, among Tariqa Casnazaniyyah. The califa makes
these, probably only a few would be capa- a few comments about the beliefs and
ble of the stupendous feats seen in DCBD. practices of Tariqa Casnazaniyyah and
As Fatoohi and Hussein37(p26) note: “There e n c o u rages the dervishes to cultivat e
remains a very important question of their knowledge by reading relevant lit-
whether hypnosis can or cannot produce erature, which is meant to educate the
DCBD abilities at all.” dervishes about their religious duties.
Does the use of hypnosis during Fo l l owing an invo c ation, the new
major surgery contradict this view ? dervishes are verbally granted permis-
Although researchers have indeed used sion to perform DCBD feats after recit-
hypnosis on subjects during surgery, it is ing certain oaths of loyalty to the master
employed mostly as an adjunct to facilitate of Tariqa Casnazaniyyah. They are not
postoperative recovery. 4 0 And although required to be involved in any physical or
hypnosis has been used to “reduce” bleed- psychological training before perf o r m i n g
ing in minor and major surgeries and tooth DCBD feats. There appears, therefore, to
e x t ra c t i o n s ,41 these uses are indeed for be no cultivation of skills for the
“reduction” of bleeding and not for its total dervishes. If anything, the skills seem to
elimination, as is the case with DCBD. Photo courtesy of Paramann Programme Labs be “transferred” from the califa to the

104 ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage
initiates, whose unquestioned loyalty to the sect seems to enable true regarding shamans, who, like the dervishes above, often
them to carry the spiritual powers of the master to others. engage in bizarre practices for spiritual reasons. The observa-
The lack of training is remarkable. In other religious tradi- tions of Mircea Eliade,43 the great ethnographer and historian of
tions, adepts struggle for years to develop skills in meditation religions, also might apply to the dervishes:
and mind-body control to accomplish feats far less impressive.
Even biofeedback training—in which sophisticated, solid-state No shaman is, in everyday life, an ‘abnormal’ individual,
electronic instruments speed up the learning processes involved a neurotic, or a paranoiac; if he were, he would be classed as
in controlling autonomic functions such as heart rate, skin con- a lunatic, not respected as a priest. Nor finally can shaman-
ductance, and dermal temperature—cannot compare to the ism be correlated with incipient or latent abnormality; I
rapidity of learning by the dervishes. recorded no case of a shaman whose professional hysteria
Pe rforming DCBD feats is optional and not among the deteriorated into serious mental disorders…. [M]edicine
dervishes’ obligations. In fact, the dervishes are urged not to men are expected to be, and usually are, perfectly healthy
engage in these feats for any purpose other than to provide peo- and normal…. [S]hamans … show proof of a more than nor-
ple living evidence of the spiritual power of Ta r i q a mal ner vous constitution; they achieve a degree of concen-
Casnazaniyyah. Most dervishes, however, proceed to make use tration beyond the capacity of the profane….
of DCBD powers for these purposes, though a few restrict them-
selves to verbal preaching. The initiation appears exceedingly THE CHUTZPAH FACTOR
democratic. The dervishes meet no criteria based on ethnic ori- Not all those who engage in DCBD belong to religious orders.
gin, race, social standing, or education, though as far as I can tell In May 1971, biofeedback researcher Erik Peper heard about a visit-
the privilege is limited to males, in accordance with Islamic prin- ing man from Ecuador who practiced unusual control over pain
ciples. After they have taken their vow of loyalty, all dervishes are and bleeding, walked on fire, had himself hoisted by hooks in the
considered equal. back, and punctured
I have often discussed DCBD phenomena with audiences in his flesh with sharp-
the United States. In pointing out that these rituals are “a man ened bicycle spokes
thing,” the women in the audience always respond with light- without causing dam-
hearted comments such as “Thank God!” or “Of course; we’re age.3 0 The young man
too smart!” I have yet to encounter Western women who feel agreed to spend a day
that their religious freedom is being compromised because they and a half demonstrat-
aren’t encouraged to skewer themselves like men. ing these abilities in a
The physical differences between the dervishes do not affect l a b o rat o ry at New
their ability to perform DCBD feats. The potential seems to York University.
reside in all of them; even dervishes who are in bad health are In an overcrowd-
granted the right to participate and do so successfully. ed EEG laborat o ry
The dervishes of Tariqa Casnazaniyyah assert that they can in the psyc h o l o g y
successfully perform DCBD feats anytime, anywhere. This d e p a rtment, while
includes both in the field and in the laboratory, immediately and bystanders gaw k e d
on cue, as Fatoohi and Hussein have established. These acts are and jockeyed for a
not restricted to temples, religious shrines, or special dates hav- good view, Pe p e r
ing religious significance. recorded the subject’s
b rain waves, heart
ARE THEY PSYCHOTIC? rate, and galva n i c
Some compare DCBD to the self-mutilation sometimes seen skin resistance as the Photo courtesy of Paramann Programme Labs
in psychosis, suggesting that DCBD is an expression of mental man performed the
derangement. But this is a misinterpretation. The purpose of following: chewed and swallowed pieces of an electric light bulb;
DCBD is not to damage the body, but to demonstrate its capaci- pushed unsterilized, sharpened bicycle spokes through 1 cheek,
ty for self-repair and attest to the spiritual power of the religious through the center of his mouth, and out the other cheek; and
order and its leaders. Moreover, self-mutilation injuries inflicted pushed these spokes through the sides of his body. Peper noted
by psychotics and other mentally unstable people show none of that, although the man had performed such punctures many
the characteristics of DCBD. Damage due to psychotic self-muti- times, he had few scars on his body, a phenomenon that has
lation is not painless, bloodless, or free of infection, and does not often been reported by DCBD observers around the world.
heal with extreme rapidity. The subject upon command rapidly entered a meditative
The charge of mental illness often has been leveled by state of unfocused relaxation. As he punctured himself, his occipi-
Western investigators against people who engage in rituals that tal alpha activity increased. This finding was opposite Peper’s pre-
these investigators consider exotic. This has been particularly diction that the subject’s EEG pattern would demonstrate a stress

Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 105
response. Peper, with his colleague Kenneth R. Pelletier, who is “These individuals do not adhere to the socially accepted
c u r rently at Stanford University and an editorial adviser to values and have a capacity to inspire and kindle enthusiasm for
Alternative Therapies, studied 2 additional subjects who could per- innovative views of social reality,” note Pelletier and Peper.30(p71)
form similar feats. They were struck with how these adepts used Jungians might call such individuals extroverted intuitives: peo-
DCBD to demonstrate not just self-initiated healing, but personal ple who respond well to innovative and challenging situations.
growth as well. Again Pelletier and Peper30(pp71-72):
Later in 1972, Peper studied a 31-year-old karate expert who
placed a sharpened spoke through a fold in the skin of his fore- Essentially, they are visionaries, and tend to express their
arm and suspended a 25-pound bucket of water from it. Rather vision in a convincing and charismatic manner. Since they
than detaching himself mentally from the experience of pain, as have little patience for social convention or restraint, they
the Ecuadoran did, this man focused totally on the sensation. As may be unjustly condemned as insensitive or sensationalis-
he put it, “The concentrated mind can be applied to anything it tic, but this is mainly due to the fact that they value their
does, and when it is applied, it no longer feels. The concentrated conviction and unique view of reality above all else…. [T]hey
mind is the activity itself; it does not exist in the world.”30(p66) do not convince themselves that something is impossible
Pelletier tested another middle-aged man in a week-long before they have tried the task themselves.
sojourn in the laboratory.30 Under the observation of an attend-
ing physician, this subject was able to push an unsterilized, It’s easy to see why these capacities are rare in Western cul-
sharpened knitting needle through his left bicep on 3 occasions tures. Pelletier and Peper30(p72) continue:
while being monitored physiologically. He was able to control
bleeding completely and his wounds healed within 24 hours The educational system and childhood upbringing inhib-
without infection. His psychological strategy seemed to be one of it and punish us for daring and chutzpah-inducing behav-
detachment and dissociation. As he explained: “It’s very simple. i o r. Thus, when a child has become an adult he or she
I do it by changing a single word. I don’t stick a needle in my usually has become afraid to try or afraid to ‘buck the sys-
arm, I stick a needle through an arm. I move outside my body tem.’ Yet is is precisely these qualities if maintained which
and look at the arm from a distance; with that detachment, it allow these adepts to achieve their self-mastery…. By daring
becomes an object. It is as though I am sticking the needle into to dream, imagine, and challenge these self-imposed limita-
the arm of a chair.”30(p67) tions, we can learn to fulfill our human potential.
These 3 subjects did not belong to religious organizations as
did the Sufi dervishes. They developed these capacities alone, on DELIBERATENESS
their own, without formal instruction. Often during childhood One factor that stands out in DCBD is deliberateness—ie, the
and early adolescence, these adepts would create challenging situ- dervish must want to wound himself. The impunity to pain, bleed-
ations before an audience in which they would demonstrate their ing, and infection, and the ability to heal rapidly, do not occur
“foolish deeds.” They gradually learned to master their fear of unless the dervish wounds himself voluntarily and purposefully. If
pain and failure and pushed their internal limits further and fur- he is wounded accidentally, as in a traffic accident, his body does
ther. This resulted in an increasing level of self-confidence and not demonstrate these abilities and he feels pain, bleeds, gets
daring—what Pelletier and Peper call the “chutzpah factor.” infected, and heals at the same rate as do ordinary people.23
In interviews, Pelletier and Peper found common personali- All healing traditions urge individuals to cultivate the
ty characteristics among their 3 subjects. The subjects were desire for healing. But in DCBD, the dervish turns this injunc-
rewarded in childhood for performing unusual feats, such as the tion upside down and develops a desire not for healing but for
Ecuadoran’s hypnosis of his friends followed by the painless injury, which paradoxically leads to accelerated healing. This
sewing of buttons on their arms, and another subject’s learning is one of the strangest facets of DCBD and is extremely worthy
to lie on a bed of nails with someone standing on his stomach. of investigation.
Pelletier and Peper interpret these events as evidence of a unique
state of self-awareness, rather than mere antisocial acts or rituals THE TRANSFERENCE OF ABILITY
of self-mutilation. An equally puzzling facet of DCBD is the dervishes’ asser-
An additional attribute of these 3 subjects was a willingness tion that they can perform these feats not only on their own bod-
to accept what appears to be an impossible task or challenge. ies, but also on the bodies of other people—who are not
They deliberately placed themselves in situations in which they dervishes—with similar results.4 4 Onlookers of these events
faced a demanding task they had never performed. Most of us appear to become convinced that they, too, can have their bodies
strive to avoid such situations; these men courted and actually pierced with impunity. The dervish may even use the bodies of
created them. For example, the Ecuadoran claimed he could walk children in his performance. These abilities do not become per-
through a wall of fire with flames 6 feet wide and 7 feet high, and manent features of the bodies of these people, however, and they
did so before a live audience of 100 people, which was shown on are not able to perform DCBD feats later without the interven-
Montreal TV on February 10, 1969.30 tion of a gifted dervish.23

106 ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage
Is this “transferability” due to the power of belief, suggestion, to a month in special programs of dietary restriction and sleep
and positive thinking on the part of the onlookers? According to deprivation, as well as abstention from many normal personal
Fatoohi and Hussein23(pp18-19): and social activities. In Sri Lanka, some DCBD practitioners
restrict their activities to special dates. 44
To invoke the role of belief when attempting to explain In fact, most DCBD practitioners around the world, such as
the derv i s h e s’ success in demonstrating the unusual Indian mediums who perform only during possession sessions,
immunities to pain, bleeding, and infection, as well as appear not to perform on cue like the Casnazaniyyah dervishes.
instant healing in others’ bodies, is hard to justify. First, And some DCBD practitioners limit their body piercing to certain
there is the problem of proving that belief can indeed be areas. This includes the Sun Dancers of the Plains tribes of North
responsible for DCBD unusual abilities. Second, for what- America, who insert skewers into the skin of the chest above the
ever definition is given of belief and whatever criteria are nipples, and the Sri Lankans, who skewer their cheeks and arms
adopted for differentiating the believers from the non- only and who practice hanging from hooks that pierce the skin.
believers, it would be highly speculative to suppose that From field reports around the world, it appears that piercing the
all those whose bodies were successfully pierced were real abdomen is extremely rare. The Casnazaniyyah dervish community
believers. In the case of children at least this assumption also differs from other DCBD-oriented communities worldwide in
does not apply. terms of the percentage of devotees who practice these feats. All the
dervishes of Tariqa Casnazaniyyah are granted permission to prac-
OTHERS-HEALING AND SELF-HEALING tice DCBD, and those who opt to engage in these feats outnumber
The transference of the DCBD ability from one individual those who don’t. This contrasts with the South Asian religious and
to another challenges the traditional assumption that all healing shamanic communities where, out of millions of adherents, there
is intrapersonal, controlled by the events taking place solely in are only a few hundred practitioners of DCBD.36
our individual minds and bodies. Fatoohi and Hussein23(p19) use
the term “others-healing” to designate “phenomena in which DCBD VARIANTS
someone’s mind exerts healing effects on another biological sys- There are several practices in contemporary society that
tem, which can be the body of another human….” When a may be related to DCBD—rituals whose original purpose has
dervish transfers to another person (sometimes a young child) largely been forgotten, the impulse for which still courses in the
the ability to speed up and suppress pain, bleeding, and infec- recesses of the unconscious mind.
tion, this begins to resemble what has been called distant inten-
tionality, or psychic, spiritual, nonlocal healing.45-53 Body Piercing
Body piercing emerged as a social phenomenon in the late
REPRODUCIBILITY 1980s, stimulated by the success of the pictorially graphic book
One of the advantages of studying DCBD is that it offers Modern Primitives by Vale and Juno.54 A particular genre called
re s e a rchers a re p e atable type of experiment. Fatoohi and “performance art” has emerged in which artists pierce, brand, or
Hussein23(pp20-21) state that cut themselves or other willing performers before an audience.55
When today’s teenagers (and adults) pierce their lips,
DCBD feats could offer what has long been sought for, i.e. tongues, noses, ears, nipples, abdomens, brows, and genitals
reproducible healing effects…. [They] are repeatable phe- with metallic objects, are they merely being stylish, or are they
nomena which beautifully lend themselves to controlled hearkening to an ancestral urge that erupts full-blown in the
experimentation…. In fact, DCBD phenomena cannot but dervishes? The practice of body piercing is ancient. It has been
be repeatable. If they were not a hundred per cent repro- used in cultures worldwide to indicate a permanent change in sta-
ducible then one would not find them in the first place, tus, such as emerging into sexual maturity, or to signal one’s
because, unlike the failure in ESP [extrasensory perception] membership in a clan or tribe. 56
and PK [psychokinesis or mind over matter] experiments, a Among the psychiatric community, however, there is a ten-
failure in any DCBD feat would mean a serious injury which dency to pathologize these activities. One of the foremost author-
can sometimes be fatal. In our experiments on the dervishes ities on self-mutilation, psychiatrist Armando R. Favazza55(p261) of
none of the subjects had an instance of failure, and we do the University of Missouri–Columbia, states:
not know of any case of failure that has happened in the
dervishes community. The overwhelming majority of persons who engage in [tat-
toos, branding, and piercing of various body parts] do so to
ENLARGING THE PICTURE appear attractive, to gain attention, and to be provocative.
There are variations in how the dervishes practice DCBD. In Although I have not made a formal study it is my impression
Malaysia, for example, Hindu devotees who intend to engage in that, as a group, persons who have elaborate tattoos and pierc-
piercing feats in the Thaipusam religious festival usually spend a ings (other than single earlobe) exhibit more psychopatholo-
week or so practicing self-discipline exercises, and may spend up gy than would a suitable control group. The determination of

Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 107
psychopathology in individuals, however, cannot be inferred Mingling of Blood
simply because they engage in these practices. Cutting or puncturing the flesh and then mixing blood with
another has always been a common way of becoming a “blood
Some contemporary practitioners regard body piercing as brother,” at least in the pre-AIDS era.
a spiritually transcendent and healing experience. In a case
reported in 1996, a woman who had been raped said, “I’m get- Stigmata and Flagellation
ting pierced to reclaim my body. I’ve been used and abused. S t i g m ata are bodily marks resembling the cru c i f i x i o n
My body was taken by another without my consent. Now, by wounds of Jesus. They are said to appear spontaneously on
this ritual of piercing, I claim my body back as my own. I heal devout persons who, in a state of intense religious fervor, are so
my wounds.” 5 7 completely identified with Jesus’ suffering that their bodies
begin to resemble his. Like the dervishes who deliberately injure
Tattooing themselves for a spiritual purpose, stigmatics often consider it a
Tattooing, like body piercing, is another type of DCBD that blessing to be marked by wounds resembling those of Jesus, such
is making a comeback (note 5). Sociologist Clinton R. Sanders,58 as bleeding holes in the hands, feet, or side.
of the University of Connecticut, has extensively examined this But here the resemblance to the DCBD phenomena we’ve
practice in his book Customizing the Body: The Art and Culture of examined ends. Stigmata bleed and often become raw, perma-
Tattooing. Tattoos may seem merely to reflect the whims of fash- nent lesions. In addition, the states of awareness associated with
ion, but they often are acquired ritually to express membership stigmata appear to differ drastically from those of DCBD partici-
in a group. Consider the famous yakuza, the Japanese equivalent pants. According to writer Ian Wilson61 in his book Stigmata,
of the Mafia. They frequently cover their bodies with tattoos that stigmatics often experience “trances, hysterical catalepsies, loss
are often outrageously artistic. The tattoos bind the yakuza to the of sensation in parts of the body, blindness, loss of hearing,
larger group and mark them as members of an inner circle to paralysis … seeing visions, hearing voices and receiving other
which they swear total allegiance, not unlike the purpose served hallucinatory impressions…. It cannot be emphasized enough
by DCBD among the dervishes. that these visions are not incidental to the stigmatic phenomena,
DCBD in the form of tattooing is believed by some histori- they are integral to it….”
ans to have had a place in early Christianity. Harvard theologian An example is Padre Pio, the famous Italian priest born in
and professor of history Morton Smith 5 9 s t ates that “Pa u l 1887, who first manifested stigmata while in deep, contemplative
claimed to be tattooed or branded with ‘the marks of Jesus,’ Gal. prayer before a statue of the crucifixion. He suddenly screamed
6:17—most likely, the same marks that Jesus had carried.” In and fell unconscious while blood poured from wounds in his
support of this interpretation, Smith59(p150) cites “the rabbinic hands, feet, and the left side of his chest. Padre Pio’s wounds never
report that in Egypt Jesus was tattooed with magic spells….” healed for the remaining 50 years of his life. They would scab over
When the Romans invaded Britain they encountered the and bleed repeatedly, in spite of every attempt to cure them.61
Picts, who were named for the iron implements they used to cre- Another religious practice related to DCBD is flagellation,
ate tattoos; indeed, the term “Briton” is derived from a term in which religious devotees deliberately whip, scourge, or beat
meaning “painted in various colors.” 60 Tattooing was adopted by themselves, sometimes producing grievous, bleeding wounds.
the occupying Roman soldiers and spread in the military until Again, although the motivation of the flagellant may be reli-
banned by the Christian emperor Constantine, who claimed that gious, as it is for the dervishes, flagellation wounds do not
the practice violated God’s handiwork.5 8 In spite of the ban, behave like those of the DCBD practitioners we’ve examined.
members of the Anglo-Saxon nobility continued to use tattoos
that had both religious and personal significance. Tattoos had Body Sculpting
practical value for soldiers. Following the Battle of Hastings in Body sculpting is the attempt to reshape the body to
10 6 6, King Haro l d ’s mutilated body was identifiable only achieve the criteria of beauty that predominate in a society.58
because he had “Edith” tattooed over his heart.58 These practices enjoy a long history. For centuries, the feet
From the 8th through the 10th centuries, how e v e r, the of Chinese girls were bound to create the “lotus foot,” the ideal of
Church again banned tattooing as demonic and because it disfig- which was 3 inches long, just the size to fit in a man’s palm. The
ured the body, which they believed was created in God’s image. feet were considered an erogenous zone and were fondled and
The prohibition was only partially successful. When the licked by the ardent lover. As Sanders58(p7) notes: “Connoisseurs
Crusaders tried to reclaim the Holy land from the Muslims, tat- were even sexually stimulated by the odor of putrefaction caused
tooing again became a frequent practice. The soldiers often had by restricted circulation in the properly bound foot.” Unbound,
themselves marked with a crucifix or other religious symbol to normal-sized feet meant ostracism and significantly reduced the
e n s u re a Christian burial should they die in a foreign land. chance for marriage.
Tattooists in Jerusalem enjoyed a booming business among pil- Body sculpting was popularized in the West in the mid- to
grims who wanted to commemorate their journey and indicate late 1800s in the form of corsets and the practice of tight-lacing,
their devotion to God, a practice that continues to this day.58 the goal of which was to create the famous “wasp waist.” In his

108 ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage
book Fashion and Fetishism, David Kunzle 62 asserts that this cus- front of the head, and brought the blade down diagonally in front
tom was a symbolic protest against the constraints and expecta- of the body by a movement of the wrist. In this way the student
tions inherent in the conventional female role. Tight-lacers were stood the best chance of acquiring a pleasing scar on his face.
v i ewed as deviant and were ridiculed in the popular media However, at the university in Jena, Germany, a different
because their altered physique was “unwomanly” and made practice was employed. Jena was where theology students came
them unfit for childbearing. to study in great numbers; and, because any theologian with a
Today, people are still willing to endure considerable dis- sword-cut on his face was not admitted to the ministry, the stu-
comfort, risk, and expense to set themselves apart aesthetically dent code at Jena was modified to permit students to settle their
from others. Plastic surgery is the dominant form of permanent disputes by running one another through the body. 63
body sculpting currently practiced in Western societies for aes- All these practices—tattooing, body piercing, body sculpt-
thetic purposes. Approximately 5% of the American population ing, and scarification—proclaim publicly one’s attachment to a
(some 200,000 individuals each year) have submitted to “cos- minority group and to an unconventional set of beliefs and
metic reconstructions of the body to erase signs of aging, remove behaviors. People engaging in these rituals want to stand out
unwanted fatty tissue, increase or decrease breast size, or other- from the prevailing norms. They want to proclaim their own
wise move the recipient into the currently approved range of uniqueness or uniqueness of the group to which they belong, like
physical beauty.”58(p7) the DCBD practitioners above.
Plastic surgery can be seen as a form of DCBD, whose pur-
pose is to set one’s self apart as one of the “beautiful people,” just RESPONSES FROM ‘SKEPTICS’ AND THE SPIRITUAL PH
as the dervishes engage in DCBD to cultivate a kind of inner spir- Not surprisingly, so-called skeptics have drawn a bead on
itual beauty and denote their membership in an elite group. claims of DCBD (note 6). One such gro u p, the Tampa Bay
Skeptics (TBS), received a letter from Dr Jamal N. Hussein, who,
Scarification as described above, is conducting re s e a rch on DCBD at
The deliberate production of dermal scars is practiced in England’s Durham University.6 4 In his letter, which was sent to
cultures worldwide as bodily decoration or as an indicator of many scientific groups throughout the United States, Hussein
one’s position in a social structure. This custom has been partic- states, “We hope that our Programme will be of interest to you so
ularly common among African tribal groups, perhaps because that we can conduct joint research in fields of mutual interest.”
on dark-skinned peoples tattooing would be less evident. Among Gary P. Posner, a physician and avowed foe of parapsychology
these people, the basic technique of scarification involves lifting and spiritual healing, writes:
and cutting the skin, followed by the application of an irritant
that inhibits healing and promotes the formation of a raised [A]fter sharing Dr. Hussein’s letter with the TBS mem-
keloid scar. Because this procedure is painful, it is commonly bers attending our meeting, I replied on behalf of TBS.
used in rituals associated with rites of passage, in which the dis- Noting our standing ‘$1,000 Challenge’ for ‘verifiable proof
play of courage and endurance is important. 58 of any paranormal phenomenon,’ I informed Hussein that
In 19th-century Germany, this form of DCBD—the acquisi- if he could demonstrate to us that the claims in his letter
tion of a scar that would indicate special status—erupted among were true, ‘that would suffice.’ I continued: ‘If you would
university students in the practice of dueling. This custom offers like to visit the United States, specifically sunny Florida, we
some insight into the value placed on bodily scars and the risks would love to test your claim, and would be agreeable to
people will take to acquire them. increase our award to $10,000 if you were to exhibit no
“The chief purpose of these [dueling] encounters was, and signs of pain or injury as we passed a knife through your
still is, to receive cuts on the face, these being left open to form body. Of course, we would have the police present to verify
duelling scars which were regarded as marks of courage and that we were doing this at your request. And, despite your
honor,” writes Robert Baldick63 in his fascinating work, The Duel: claimed ‘100% success’ rate, as a physician I would be able
A History. Because the combatants were so heavily swathed, “it to properly dress your wounds.
might reasonably be argued that these student combats were not
really duels at all, but elaborate ritualistic facial operations,” Dr Louay J. Fatoohi, Dr Hussein’s collaborator in the inves-
Baldick63(p149) reports. tigation of DCBD, responded for Dr Hussein, asking TBS how
Sometimes, however, a student would be killed, where- they could arrange the meeting. TBS responded, “[I]t is hard to
upon his adversary would be advised to leave the university. If believe that your colleague is pre p a red to be stabbed with
he killed a second time, he would be barred from all German knives…. Nevertheless, TBS is prepared to put him to the test….”
universities. Hussein and Fatoohi then sent TBS copies of papers detailing
A special weapon was developed “for the aesthetic purposes” their research, along with photographs of subjects undergoing
of German students’ dueling: the Schläger, a sword with a blade DCBD. However, the proposed test did not take place because
31⁄2 feet long and triangular like a bayonet. The students never Hussein’s visit to the United States was canceled due to “person-
thrust with this weapon, but raised it above waist level, well in al circumstances.”

Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 109
In another letter, TBS implied that Dr Hussein canceled the a context that is as irre v e rent and hostile as possible—for
meeting because he was afraid of being exposed as a fraud, con- example, demanding that the DCBD practitioner perform in
cluding: “Un f o rt u n at e l y, despite our best efforts, and our front of the police. Until these approaches change, the ham-
$10,000 offer, the Tampa Bay Skeptics [were] denied a unique fisted “skeptics” will forever interf e re with the outcome of
opportunity to test these techniques on Dr Hussein himself.” their “experiments.”
This is a typical response from such groups. “Skeptics” The silliest demand of the TBSers is that Dr Hussein submit
sanctimoniously lament that they have doggedly looked for data personally to being stabbed by them. Requiring Hussein, an
supporting the anomalous claims, bending over backward to investigative scientist, to prove these phenomena on himself is
give claimants the opportunity to prove their bizarre assertions like requiring the legendary heart surgeon Michael DeBakey
and even to pay them—but simply come up empty-handed every to submit personally to coronary artery bypass surgery by a
time. This assertion conceals the fact that skeptics are often clumsy, doubting surgeon to prove that the procedure really
poorly informed about the actual data in the field, are often not works. Would any sane individual allow himself to be stabbed
scientists at all, and—even when they are—almost never dirty by people who believe he is a fraud, and who therefore proba-
their hands doing original research in the field they condemn.65 bly have a hidden agenda of making him bleed and hurt? In
Dr Hussein displayed excellent judgment in declining to DCBD rituals the subjects are never stabbed by anyone hostile
“play ball” with TBS for several reasons. to them. Consider also the demand by TBS that the subject
“Skeptical” groups are fond of issuing blustery “challenges” “exhibit no signs of pain or injury as we pass a knife through
propped up with bucks to people they consider frauds. When the your body” [emphasis added]. Even if no injury resulted from
individual declines to accept, this is interpreted as evidence that the TBS stabbers, they could always claim that they saw signs
he or she is bogus. This is a peculiar way to do science. The of pain (it’s their call)—a bead of sweat, a wrinkling of the
staged demonstrations and challenges promoted by skeptical b row, a disturbed look—that, according to their criteria,
groups embody a circus atmosphere that most researchers find would indicate failure.
inimical or fatal to their work. Careful scientific investigations Such flamboyant challenges are irrational and a mockery of
are best done without ballyhoo, outside the public eye. the accepted standards of scientific investigation.
There is not the slightest hint that the TBSers are familiar with
prior research in this field. They appear completely ignorant of the SUMMARY
above experiments of Pelletier, Peper, the Larbig group, and the Meaning has the power to drastically modify our experience
Menninger researchers. Ignorant of earlier studies, they cloak of pain. It also can dramatically affect our health, both positively
themselves as trailblazers who are trying to lure data into the and negatively—a phenomenon I explored previously in this col-
open by waving their cash flag. umn.66 Spiritual meanings may be the most powerful forms of
Like many people obsessed with exposing frauds and quacks, meaning, because they can provoke healing responses that
the TBSers are appallingly insensitive to the role of context in cer- appear miraculous, such as in DCBD.
tain types of re s e a rc h . Context may not be important for DCBD bridges medicine, neuroscience, religion, and
machines, but it must always be taken into account in humans. anthropology. Consequently, it is regarded as too sprawling by
The failure to do so can distort experimental outcomes. scientists who prefer to work in a confined, limited area. DCBD
Consider research dealing with the human sexual response. also carries the stigma of being “weird” and “foreign.” So it isn’t
Most people prefer to make love in privacy; when this is invad- surprising that researchers have given it a wide berth over the
ed by spectators and bright lights (or if they are forced to make years. At long last, however, this attitude is changing, and a few
love in front of cynics who believe that all lovemaking is fraud- brave investigators are coming forward.
ulent), their performance will likely be inhibited. There are In my imagination I see DCBD as a territory marked by
surely laboratory situations that are equally hostile for practi- bold signs: ATTENTION PROSPECTIVE NOBEL PRIZE WIN-
tioners of DCBD—for example, labs that are so dedicated to NERS: LOOK HERE!
debunking these feats that the investigators don’t realize that Is anybody out there up to the challenge?
DCBD is an exercise in sacredness, reverence, and respect for
the ideals of a religious order.
This is not a subtle point. Even in “hard” science, context
is critical. Biochemists who work with enzymes realize that
the acidity or pH of the medium must be correct, otherwise
the enzymes won’t catalyze the organic reactions for which
they are intended. In the same way, the “spiritual pH” must be
correct if religious devotees are to give the best demonstra-
tions of their practice. Unfortunately, many skeptics are obliv-
ious to “spiritual pH” as a crucial factor affecting the outcome Larry Dossey, MD
of a religiously based experiment. They seem bent on creating Executive Editor

110 ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, SEPTEMBER 1998, VOL. 4, NO. 5 Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage
Notes 28. McClenon J. Firewalking in Sri Lanka. Psi Res. 1983;2:99-101.
1. Chidiock Tichborne was a young English Roman Catholic conspirator. The quo- 29. Green E, Green A. Beyond Biofeedback. New York, NY: Delta Books; 1978:234.
30. Pelletier KR, Peper E. The chutzpah factor in altered states of consciousness. J Hum
tation is from his “Elegy,” written in the Tower of London prior to his execution in Psychol. 1977;17(1):63-73.
1586 while in his late 20s. Cited in: Angela Partington, ed. The Oxford Dictionary of 31. Pelletier KR. Neurological, psychophysiological, and clinical differentiation of the
Quotations (New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 1996:698). alpha and theta altered states of consciousness. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
2. This seems to be the most common version. See also Jamie Sayen’s Einstein Cited in: Zimbardo PG, Ruch FL. Psychology and Life. Glenview, Ill: Scott, Foresman
in America (New York, NY: Crown; 1985:130), in which this version appears: & Co; 1975.
“An hour sitting with a pretty girl on a park bench passes like a minute, but a 32. Larbig W. Schmerz and Schmerzbehandlung. Stuttgart, Germany: Kohlhammer; 1982.
minute sitting on a hot stove seems like an hour.” This was Einstein’s explana- 33. Larbig W, Elbert T, Lutzenberger W, Rockstroh B, Schnerr G, Birbaumer N. EEG and
s l ow brain potentials during anticipation and control of painful stimulat i o n .
tion of relativity given to his secretary, Helen Dukas, to relay to reporters and
Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1982;53:298-309.
other laypersons. 34. Hussein JN, Fatoohi LJ, Hall H, Al-Dargazelli S. Deliberately caused bodily damage
3. For a fascinating look at Gurdjieff ’s “science of idiotism,” his unconventional phenomena. J Soc Psychical Res. 1997;62(849):97-113.
teaching methods, and the interesting individuals who gathered around him, see 35. Hussein JN, Fatoohi LJ, Al-Dargazelli S, Almuchtar N. The deliberately caused bodily
J. G. Bennett and Elizabeth Bennett, Idiots in Paris: Diaries of J. G. Bennett and damage phenomena: mind, body, energy or what? Part 1. Int J Altern Complement Med.
Elizabeth Bennett 1949 (Glos, England: Coombe Springs Press; 1980). 1994;12(9):9-11.
4. Dr Louay Fatoohi may be contacted at Durham University, Physics Department, 36. Hussein JN, Fatoohi LJ, Al-Dargazelli S, Almuchtar N. The deliberately caused bodily
Durham, England DHI 3IE, UK. Dr Jamal N. Hussein may be reached at Paramann damage phenomena: mind, body, energy or what? Part 2. Int J Altern Complement Med.
1994;12(10):21-23.
Programme Laboratories, POB 310087, Al-Mahatta, Amman 11131, Jordan.
37. Hussein JN, Fatoohi LJ, Al-Dargazelli S, Almuchtar N. The deliberately caused bodily
5. The term “tattoo,” from the Tahitian ta-tu or tatau, meaning to strike or to damage phenomena: mind, body, energy or what? Part 3. Int J Altern Complement Med.
mark, was introduced by Captain James Cook, who encountered the practice in 1994;12(11):25-28.
the South Pacific in July 1769. See Sanders, Customizing the Body: The Art and 38. Brown H, McInnes D. Hypnosis and its effect on pain control. Br Dent J. 1986;20:222-225.
Culture of Tattooing (Philadelphia, Pa: Temple University Press; 1989:14). 39. Barber TX. Changing ‘unchangeable’ bodily processes by suggestions: a new look at
6. True skepticism requires keeping an open mind until the facts are in. Many so- hypnosis, cognitions, imagining, and the mind-body problem. In: Sheikh AA, ed.
called skeptics do not do so; their minds appear to be made up in advance of the Imagination and Healing. New York, NY: Baywood; 1984:69-127.
facts. See my comments in “The Right Man Syndrome” (Altern Ther Health Med. 40. Blankfield RP. Suggestion, relaxation, and hypnosis as adjuncts in fine care of surgery
patients: a review of the literature. Am J Clin Hypn. 1991;33(3):172-186.
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42. Gauld A. A History of Hypnotism. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press;
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