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I found out about this just recently, from an old new york times op-ed by anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann (https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/opinion/luhrmann-con

I found out about this just recently, from an old new york times op-ed by anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann (https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/opinion/luhrmann-conjuring-up-our-own-gods.html https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/opinion/luhrmann-conjurin...). Basically it's a non-superstitious variant of the prayer meditation practice well-established in Christianity (she talks about modern evangelical Christians, but there's also medieval mysticism). It seems to use the same mechanism that makes us feel a nasty presence when going to bed right after watching a horror movie. I think that it might help cope with life better, sort of a mental refuge like Buddhist meditation (which only makes sense if you believe in reincarnation), but I've been procrastinating trying it, because I'm quite sceptical that it works and that it's worth the massive effort. One thing is if you actually think it's a supernatural Being watching over you, another if you know it's just an illusion.

krageon 6y ago
> One thing is if you actually think it's a supernatural Being watching over you, another if you know it's just an illusion. If it's anything like building a "mind palace" it's a little bit of both. I started trying to do that 18 years ago and have a very good positional memory now, but it definitely started out as me pretending to see houses in my head.
- mangorabbit 6y ago
  that's a different practice though, just uses the same tool (visualization). The goal is not happiness/serenity/inner strength but powering up your memory.
  - krageon 6y ago
    It's fundamentally the same thing, at first I was pretending. Now when I have to access positional memory I see it in my mind and it doesn't feel artificial at all. I can walk through places I've been and remember small environmental details if I focus on them, which is very convenient when I get lost (I have no sense of direction). It's real in a way that it never was before, which is not dissimilar to what we're talking about.

krageon 6y ago

> One thing is if you actually think it's a supernatural Being watching over you, another if you know it's just an illusion. If it's anything like building a "mind palace" it's a little bit of both. I started trying to do that 18 years ago and have a very good positional memory now, but it definitely started out as me pretending to see houses in my head.

mangorabbit 6y ago
that's a different practice though, just uses the same tool (visualization). The goal is not happiness/serenity/inner strength but powering up your memory.
- krageon 6y ago
  It's fundamentally the same thing, at first I was pretending. Now when I have to access positional memory I see it in my mind and it doesn't feel artificial at all. I can walk through places I've been and remember small environmental details if I focus on them, which is very convenient when I get lost (I have no sense of direction). It's real in a way that it never was before, which is not dissimilar to what we're talking about.