Reality interrupted

Recently I went on a two-day trip to Seattle. It was pretty beautiful, and I especially loved the Chihuli Glass and Garden installation. But then came the ride to the top of the Space Needle.

I don't normally get vertigo. I've been to the top of some of the tallest buildings in San Francisco, and could look out without incident. But on the way up in the elevator, You can't really see anything holding you on to the structure (the elevator is well windowed). And for some strange reason on some strange level, I felt a touch of fear.

I think a lot of vertigo is a placebo effect. You stare up at that tall thingy and think how scary it's going to be when you get in that elevator. And when you DO get in the elevator, it feels just like you thought it would. Heads up, folks! The human brain cannot effectively imagine being in a situation or feeling a sensation that it has never before experienced. So when the sensation occurs, it projects what it thought it would feel like rather than be wrong. So if you feel scared, just force yourself to believe that it will feel like eating a bar of chocolate.

But I digress. When I got to the top of the Needle, all vertigo vanished. This may be a.) because we had stopped moving, b.) because the area was open and the fear I was feeling was actually claustrophobia, or maybe c.) that the observation deck was clearly attached to the ground. Then I went outside. Still no fear. I later remarked that this could possibly be possible because I wasn't interpreting it as real. My brain having never experienced this, managed to project this situation in a placebo-ish way. I was seeing it as though it wasn't real, even though I was consciously aware that it was. 

So, in a way, my reality was interrupted for 20 minutes last Tuesday. That may sound weird, but it wasn't that bad. If I could train myself to placebo any new situation, I could eat nutritious dirt and survive by forcing myself to believe that it will taste like, again, chocolate. (What? It's good!)

as a closing challenge, post your "reality interruptions" in the comments. I will say whose is the best, who is second, and who is third with a gold/silver/bronze notation, a la Olympics.

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