Although it's a rum thought, I must admit I wouldn't (any longer) share most of my out-there experiences.

It's just so intensely personal and I think of little interest to anyone. True, the doors of perception are so many and so small, I'm sure there are tales that cross-over and likewise sure that all is part of the picture and no one answer because we can't agree on the question.

What I will repeat though, is an overheard conversation in a chipshop last night. All true:

A cockneyed man who was one of those with a wry glint in his eye seemed to me to be the shop owner. He was conversing with another man on my side of the counter (in truth he was conversing with the entire shop, or whomever would catch his glinting eye which he cast about like a fishing net).

It went something like this:

"Nah, reelly, ah've bin finkin'...samfin' I read...(blah blah)

...all life IS, is 'questions', innit? All wot we do is from questions. Wot we arsk arselves...yew know..."do I want to get up" in the mornin'? It's a question innit? All our life is just us arsking ahrselves questions to make decisions like. In our 'eads we are always arsking "do I want to stay in bed this morning?" "do I want to go out?" "Do I want this job" "what do I want to eat"?, ok? You wiv me?"

He then wound this one up with:

"Well, the thing is this; all you haveta do to change life for the betta is arsk y'self betta questions innit?"

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Funny thing was the shop was called ... wait for it...

Cods Kitchen! So I'm made up. Mini-philosophy and large chips please :-)

HuzzzaaAH!

And Littlestone, that was a special branch intervention! Phew :-)

You have heard about the brain scans done on meditating monks? Seems there's a pretty specific area of the brain that sorts somatic sensory perceptions (received from the body) and external ones (received from eyes, ears, etc.) Meditation supresses the activity in this area (among other somatic changes.) It's theorized this accounts for the "oneness" experience: your brain stops distinguishing between "me and them."

A moment of extreme stress could possibly have a similar effect.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1847442.stm (and google monks meditate brain scan)

Apart from the debatable idea that some places have inherent weirdness (be that deriving from electromagnetics, pressure changes, leylines, 'sacredness', whatever) -

would you think that the physical process of getting to many tma-ish places is the kind of thing that might induce a meditative state of brain/mind? All that physical exertion to get up the hill. Rhythmical movement of your arms and legs. (In my case) heaving lungs and lack of oxygen to the brain. Plus the fact you often get enveloped in the noise of the wind (not really white noise? something like it anyway) which is kind of sensory deprivation.

Thus your state of mind might be particularly primed to experience things that would normally be too far off the edges of your perception??

I remember visiting Carn Kenidjack a few years back, and I swear the rocks were making a "buzzing" sound at me!!