Integrative interpretation of QI and Body sensations

Abstract

Body sensations have subjectivity. One of their components is tied to the specific place where the feeling develops. Their other component is related to the functioning of the nervous system and the brain, which amplify, weaken, or transform the sensation. If we feel pain somewhere in our body, the interesting way is not the local influences that are definitely present, in fact, not even the activity of the sensory nerve coming from there, but the perceptual function of our brain. For example, phantom pain cannot be a local factor, as the pain occurs in a non-existent (e.g., amputated) part of the body. And if, during hypnosis, we tell the patient to burn his skin but touch it with just a pen, the brain colors this stimulus into burning pain. The most direct stimulus can be triggered during wakeful brain surgeries simply by stimulating the appropriate areas of the brain, bodily pain can be caused. But even in a modified state of consciousness, we may be able to generate a sense of physical pain through our purely conscious activity.