Book resources
Merpati Putih and extraocular vision
Excerpt from the book
Getaran, or Merpati Putih, is another way of opening up extraocular vision or Intuitive Vision.
Getaran and extraocular vision
This martial art from Indonesia proposes that, after a long period in a meditative state and without having the vision properly “activated”, the trainee walks through an obstacle course and avoids the obstacles through the vibrations they begin to perceive. They perceive them mainly with their hands, but also with the rest of the body.
What do Merpati Putih and Getaran involve?
Generally, these obstacles consist of a labyrinth of sticks 1.60 m high arranged vertically, sometimes with horizontal ones added to make the task even harder. The trainees must move among them without touching or knocking them down. Sometimes a decoy is hidden in the labyrinth, which the trainee must find: a brightly colored scarf or, for the more advanced students, a pot that they must break with their hands, using other techniques of Merpati Putih or Getaran.
The link with extraocular vision and Intuitive Vision
Once they reach this point, they keep training until they establish a vision without eyes that allows them to take part in other activities of the martial art: they play or practice with knives or sabers, cutting vegetables, organize soccer matches, and much more.
Even so, some Javanese experts admit that this vision sometimes takes effort, that it is physically exhausting and that they cannot always activate it straight away.
Also with blind people
D. S. Farrer and John Whalen-Bridge state that, since 1991, Getaran techniques have been taught to men and women with total visual impairment.
After an experimental period of twelve years in Yogyakarta, other training centers have been set up in Java (Jakarta and Semarang) and in Bali (Denpasar).
Visually impaired people who train regularly are able to perceive their immediate environment within a few months, and can then move around almost like sighted people.
In fact, some of these activities are the very ones we offer in our workshops for young people.
The institute’s Visual Research Commission
Beyond this ability that we share with Getaran or Merpati Putih, we also share the commitment to developing it in as many people as possible, without limits or obstacles. It is an ability we all have, and limits do not exist in this new paradigm. Intuitive Vision lets us discover a world far richer than the one we know.
Our Visual Research Commission, made up of coaches from the institute, organizes free workshops for people who are blind or have low vision and offers a free 10-session program for developing Intuitive Vision.
If you know someone who might be interested, write to us.
Do you feel this is going to become part of your life?
Not as something to achieve or to teach, but as a way of living.