The bizzare world of Breatharianism

dogbite666 · 16th January 2006, 01:57 AM

Hi,

I've recently been talking to a group known as breatharians. They claim to be able to survive without consuming food. If you thought homeopaths or christians were strange, just check out some of their twisted beliefs in this interview with one of the leaders called Wiley Brookes. Has anyone heard of this guy before?

http://www.breatharian.com/breatharianism2.htm

enjoy!

dog.

Deetee · 16th January 2006, 02:10 AM

I still remember the furore in Scotland after one devotee took these ridiculous claims literally, and starved to death in a tent.
I recall she won a Darwin award for her efforts.

CFLarsen · 16th January 2006, 02:20 AM

Randi's take on it.

Lothian · 16th January 2006, 02:24 AM

Rick Ross has quite a bit about them here.

Almo · 16th January 2006, 07:42 AM

A friend of mine mentioned the Breatharians to me about 10 years ago... I didn't quite believe him. He DID say that their skin seemed almost translucent, and so must have been nearly starving themselves.

The_Fire · 16th January 2006, 07:47 AM

I bet the garbage can could shed a little light on these dude(tte)s eating habits...Wanna bet it contains more than air and light?

dogbite666 · 16th January 2006, 08:24 AM

this line has me in stiches!

"Wiley was first introduced to the world back in 1981 when he appeared on the national TV show "THAT'S INCREDIBLE" demonstrating his strength by lifting 1100 lbs of weights, nearly 10 times his body weight. When in a non-polluted environment, (Air or Electro) he sleeps 1 to 7 hours a week. Although Wiley is now 66 years of age he is still able to lift 600 to 900 lbs of weight without ever working out."

I guess that would sure qualify for the JREF $million.

Ripley Twenty-Nine · 16th January 2006, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by dogbite666

this line has me in stiches!

"Wiley was first introduced to the world back in 1981 when he appeared on the national TV show "THAT'S INCREDIBLE" demonstrating his strength by lifting 1100 lbs of weights, nearly 10 times his body weight. When in a non-polluted environment, (Air or Electro) he sleeps 1 to 7 hours a week. Although Wiley is now 66 years of age he is still able to lift 600 to 900 lbs of weight without ever working out."

I guess that would sure qualify for the JREF $million.

This was my favourite quote from Wiley:

Quote:

From Bretharian.com
Wiley: When we begin to look at air as a food, it becomes self evident that this food is by far more essential for sustaining life than anything else we might take. Science has proven that the average person can live 30 days or more on just air and water alone. But only a few minutes without air.

I'm sorry, what was your claim again?

Azrael 5 · 16th January 2006, 02:14 PM

I remember seeing a woman Breatharian on UK daytime TV a few years ago,can't remember her name;but the presenters were sucked in.Not difficult,when you recall they were also sucked in about EVP,re-incarnation..and Mia Dolan!!

CACTUSJACKmankin · 16th January 2006, 05:17 PM

I know people like to challenge established beliefs but somethings your parents tell you when you are three are true. Eating is not the oppression of the food industry, it is a physiologic requirement.

Interesting that this Jasmuheen's response to followers starving to death is that they weren't focused enough. Does the same thing hold true for people in Africa? I got it, don't send food, send prana!!! How heartless can you be?

Does this woman have no shame? What's in it for this whore? money? attention? This isn't a cute "what's the harm in it?" skepticism, people have died following the advice of this <v^+. She needs to be prosecuted!!!

TimmyBerry · 16th January 2006, 06:13 PM

My faith in human kind is dropping proportionately to the amount of time spent on this board.

Leaving her in a tent in the middle of nowhere might be more fitting, though.

AnotherSillyAlias · 16th January 2006, 06:26 PM

There was another mob of crazies I heard about a while ago. They claimed you could get all the energy you needed by staring at the sun!

I don't know if they were connected with this mob of crazies.

Dogdoctor · 16th January 2006, 07:02 PM

I met a guy who was trying to be a breatharian and who was not eating anything and laying in the sun for energy. He was of the belief that if he could go 7 months without food he would be spiritually pure. I met him around 5 months along. He looked like pictures I had seen of prisoners in concentration camps in Germany, basically skin draped over bones. I told his friend who introduced us to get him to a doctor and he said that they had discussed it and that there was no way he was going to go. He died 2 days later.

CFLarsen · 17th January 2006, 01:52 AM

It's very easy to prove - yes, prove - that Breatharians can't live without food.

Take their temperature.

If they have a temperature above absolute zero, then they radiate heat. Ergo, they use more energy than they get. Ergo, they need to take in more energy than they get.

You can't beat the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics.

vbloke · 17th January 2006, 02:42 AM

Originally Posted by CFLarsen

You can't beat the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics.

...you could write it down, pin it up and hit it with a stick.

These Breatharians are an odd bunch. Here's my proposal - beautiful in it's simplicity:
since the leaders of the movement are clearly, by all rational though, inciting people to essentially kill themselves through starvation, arrest them for attempted manslaughter, lock them up and deny them food. Once they've almost starved to death themselves, parade them in front of the Breatharian adherants to show what a lying bunch of weasels they really are.

The Don · 17th January 2006, 02:52 AM

Originally Posted by vbloke

...you could write it down, pin it up and hit it with a stick.

These Breatharians are an odd bunch. Here's my proposal - beautiful in it's simplicity:
since the leaders of the movement are clearly, by all rational though, inciting people to essentially kill themselves through starvation, arrest them for attempted manslaughter, lock them up and deny them food. Once they've almost starved to death themselves, parade them in front of the Breatharian adherants to show what a lying bunch of weasels they really are.

They'd claim that the air inside prison was polluted and so didn't allow them to absorb the energy they needed.

They'd have a get-out and the farce would continue

Bone_Vulture · 17th January 2006, 02:58 AM

Originally Posted by CFLarsen

It's very easy to prove - yes, prove - that Breatharians can't live without food.

Take their temperature.

If they have a temperature above absolute zero, then they radiate heat. Ergo, they use more energy than they get. Ergo, they need to take in more energy than they get.

You can't beat the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics.

But.. but.. that's exactly why they can find sustenance from sunlight. They soak up more solar heat than their body loses!

CFLarsen · 17th January 2006, 03:10 AM

Originally Posted by vbloke

...you could write it down, pin it up and hit it with a stick.

These Breatharians are an odd bunch. Here's my proposal - beautiful in it's simplicity:
since the leaders of the movement are clearly, by all rational though, inciting people to essentially kill themselves through starvation, arrest them for attempted manslaughter, lock them up and deny them food. Once they've almost starved to death themselves, parade them in front of the Breatharian adherants to show what a lying bunch of weasels they really are.

And the followers will say: "See? They're still alive!"

Originally Posted by The Don

They'd claim that the air inside prison was polluted and so didn't allow them to absorb the energy they needed.

Yeah, Jasmuheen tried that one, when she was tested. She wasn't in jail, though...

Originally Posted by Bone_Vulture

But.. but.. that's exactly why they can find sustenance from sunlight. They soak up more solar heat than their body loses!

In which case people in Central Africa can't die of hunger. Yet, they do.

Bone_Vulture · 17th January 2006, 03:15 AM

Originally Posted by CFLarsen

In which case people in Central Africa can't die of hunger. Yet, they do.

That's because they have those stupid huts and trees that produce shadow, blocking sun's beneficial effects.

Rolfe · 17th January 2006, 03:19 AM

Originally Posted by Bone_Vulture

That's because they have those stupid huts and trees that produce shadow, blocking sun's beneficial effects.

No no, it's because they're not focussed enough, and they don't have the benefit of Jasmuheen's teachings.

Rolfe.

Jekyll · 17th January 2006, 03:19 AM

Originally Posted by CFLarsen

In which case people in Central Africa can't die of hunger. Yet, they do.

They haven't spiritually evolved new DNA yet.

I always thought Breatharianism was a very English thing.
"Yes, I only need air to survive."
"No, I won't give up my tea and biscuits. What do you think I am some kind of savage?"

CFLarsen · 17th January 2006, 03:24 AM

Originally Posted by Rolfe

No no, it's because they're not focussed enough, and they don't have the benefit of Jasmuheen's teachings.

Rolfe.

This is the more likely explanation. Thereby, of course, indicating that they are mere savages...

The Don · 17th January 2006, 05:07 AM

Of course The Hollies are to blame

".... All I need is the air that I breathe....."

Ririon · 17th January 2006, 05:36 AM

Originally Posted by The Don

Of course The Hollies are to blame

".... All I need is the air that I breathe....."

And love. Don't forget love. As he says: "The Human Body is simply a love machine."

Ed · 17th January 2006, 06:10 AM

Originally Posted by CFLarsen

It's very easy to prove - yes, prove - that Breatharians can't live without food.

Take their temperature.

If they have a temperature above absolute zero, then they radiate heat. Ergo, they use more energy than they get. Ergo, they need to take in more energy than they get.

You can't beat the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics.

Not exactly. If their temperature is above the ambient temperature there is some physiologic process going on. I thought though that they claim that air provides sustenence so there would be a physiologic process. You can't attain absolute zero.

The problem, as usual, is thet the claim is non-falsifiable. If one of these idiots dies he simply was not doing it correctly. But isn't this particular group a lot like the Shakers who eshewed sex? Predictably the sect died out. Why are there any of these guys?

CFLarsen · 17th January 2006, 06:19 AM

Originally Posted by Ed

Not exactly. If their temperature is above the ambient temperature there is some physiologic process going on. I thought though that they claim that air provides sustenence so there would be a physiologic process.

Decay! Of course! That would explain a lot, actually...

Originally Posted by Ed

You can't attain absolute zero.

Sure, we can. Inside Sylvia Browne's heart.

Originally Posted by Ed

The problem, as usual, is thet the claim is non-falsifiable. If one of these idiots dies he simply was not doing it correctly. But isn't this particular group a lot like the Shakers who eshewed sex? Predictably the sect died out. Why are there any of these guys?

No, I heard recently that there were four left. Three men and a woman, I think. Strange, they haven't caught up with the idea that they would anihilate themselves without children....

Lisa Simpson · 17th January 2006, 06:35 AM

On a related note, I found Oxycise, a weight-loss method that only requires a specific method of breathing. No exercise, no changing one's diet--just breathing. It's amazing that anyone is fat.

CurtC · 17th January 2006, 08:01 AM

I haven't done any research into this, so would someone explain it to me? My impression is that the followers of Breatharianism are pretty short in the critical thinking department, and believe that when they eat they are simply failing to attain their ideals, like Christianity and sinning. It's only the few who successfully avoid food who eventually die. The others get along for some time by "sinning." Is that right?

And what about the "leaders"? Are they deluded believers too, or do they really know that the reason they're still alive is that they actually do eat occasionally?

steenkh · 17th January 2006, 08:21 AM

The leaders have reached a higher plane where it is not sinful to eat. They can gorge while their supporters starve.

The Don · 17th January 2006, 08:43 AM

There's a long history of starvation and self-mortification. If I reacall correctly, there was certainly some Italian nun in the 14th century who hardly ate at all and was subsequently considered very pious.

Breatharianism presumably is just an extension of the sam basic concept

The_Fire · 17th January 2006, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by CFLarsen

[snip]
Sure, we can. Inside Sylvia Browne's heart.
[/snip]

SPEW!
Dude, you almost cost me a new keyboard and monitor......ROFLOL

Originally Posted by Ririon

And love. Don't forget love. As he says: "The Human Body is simply a love machine."

Which in itself have some promise...............

I rather like Wileys reasons to why he is still eating though:

from the Breathian site:

Quote:

He has found four major deterrents to being able to live totally without food. They Are:

People pollution.
Food pollution
Air pollution
Electro pollution

In other words:
In order to live on air alone one would have to:
Anihilate the world population
Anihilate food
anihilate modern industry
Anihilate electronic equipment.

So how come that people have been dying from starvation frequently since the dawn of ANYTHING resembling a humanoid even BEFORE any of these problems arose?
And where are the bodies or living sample of these supposedly several thousand years old people who have actually done it?
I also find it interesting that due to the 4 reasons listed, Twit1 are still eating while, as other people in this thread have pointed out, have literally starved themselves to death.

*thump*

That was the sound of my respect for the average human beings ability to reason and logical thinking hitting new depths.........

CFLarsen · 17th January 2006, 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by The_Fire

SPEW!
Dude, you almost cost me a new keyboard and monitor......ROFLOL

Sadly, I'm right.

Originally Posted by The_Fire

That was the sound of my respect for the average human beings ability to reason and logical thinking hitting new depths.........

Some human beings. You can't call Breatharians "average human beings". If they were, mankind would be extinct by now.

ChristineR · 17th January 2006, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by Lisa Simpson

On a related note, I found Oxycise, a weight-loss method that only requires a specific method of breathing. No exercise, no changing one's diet--just breathing. It's amazing that anyone is fat.

I checked Oxycise out of the library just to see what it was. It's actually a series of moderately tough yoga poses which you hold while wheezing. So it's not shocking that some people lose a little weight with this. But the theory behind the breathing is hilarious.

The_Fire · 17th January 2006, 09:29 AM

Originally Posted by CFLarsen

Some human beings. You can't call Breatharians "average human beings". If they were, mankind would be extinct by now.

True. I agree after rereading my post. However I reserve the right to add several groups to this list of "special cases" as I go.

chipmunk stew · 17th January 2006, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by The Don

There's a long history of starvation and self-mortification. If I reacall correctly, there was certainly some Italian nun in the 14th century who hardly ate at all and was subsequently considered very pious.

Breatharianism presumably is just an extension of the sam basic concept

I always got the feeling (and I think current research bears this out) that anorexics and bulemics avoided food out of misplaced righteousness rather than a desire to lose weight. And many cultures and religions have fasting rituals. This seems to me the same desire to transcend the bonds of mortality and express pious self-discipline, taken to a cultish level.

ungoliant · 17th January 2006, 11:19 AM

as i understand it, breatharianism is big in china. i once stayed at a dude ranch that had previously been a breatharian ranch. upstate new york. now it is a yoga retreat. very beautiful place.

Jorghnassen · 17th January 2006, 12:36 PM

After seeing those crazy raw food vegans on P&T BS, I wonder how scary an actual practicing breatharian looks.

CFLarsen · 17th January 2006, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by Jorghnassen

After seeing those crazy raw food vegans on P&T BS, I wonder how scary an actual practicing breatharian looks.

Look for increasingly thinner people.

Lisa Simpson · 17th January 2006, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by chipmunk stew

I always got the feeling (and I think current research bears this out) that anorexics and bulemics avoided food out of misplaced righteousness rather than a desire to lose weight. And many cultures and religions have fasting rituals. This seems to me the same desire to transcend the bonds of mortality and express pious self-discipline, taken to a cultish level.

Can you point me towards that current research?

chipmunk stew · 17th January 2006, 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by Lisa Simpson

Can you point me towards that current research?

Erm...no...

I've read on several occasions things like "recent studies are showing that anorexics get a euphoric feeling from hunger" and stuff like that, but I've never actually seen any sources reporting anything like what I thought I was innocently paraphrasing. I retract the statement.

16th January 2006, 01:57 AM	#1
dogbite666 Thinker Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 199	The bizzare world of Breatharianism Hi, I've recently been talking to a group known as breatharians. They claim to be able to survive without consuming food. If you thought homeopaths or christians were strange, just check out some of their twisted beliefs in this interview with one of the leaders called Wiley Brookes. Has anyone heard of this guy before? http://www.breatharian.com/breatharianism2.htm enjoy! dog.
dogbite666 Thinker Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 199

16th January 2006, 02:10 AM	#2
Deetee Illuminator Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 3,790	I still remember the furore in Scotland after one devotee took these ridiculous claims literally, and starved to death in a tent. I recall she won a Darwin award for her efforts.
Deetee Illuminator Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 3,790	__________________ "Reci bobu bob a popu pop." - Tanja "Everything is physics. This does not mean that physics is everything." - Cuddles "The entire practice of homeopathy can be substituted with the advice to "take two aspirins and call me in the morning." - Linda "Homeopathy: I never knew there was so little in it." - BSM

16th January 2006, 02:20 AM	#3
CFLarsen Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 42,804	Randi's take on it.
	__________________ SkepticReport.com

16th January 2006, 07:42 AM	#5
Almo Masterblazer Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Montreal, Quebec Posts: 6,405	A friend of mine mentioned the Breatharians to me about 10 years ago... I didn't quite believe him. He DID say that their skin seemed almost translucent, and so must have been nearly starving themselves.
	__________________ Almo! My Blog "No society ever collapsed because the poor had too much." — LeftySergeant "It may be that there is no body really at rest, to which the places and motions of others may be referred." –Issac Newton in the Principia

16th January 2006, 08:24 AM	#7
dogbite666 Thinker Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 199	this line has me in stiches! "Wiley was first introduced to the world back in 1981 when he appeared on the national TV show "THAT'S INCREDIBLE" demonstrating his strength by lifting 1100 lbs of weights, nearly 10 times his body weight. When in a non-polluted environment, (Air or Electro) he sleeps 1 to 7 hours a week. Although Wiley is now 66 years of age he is still able to lift 600 to 900 lbs of weight without ever working out." I guess that would sure qualify for the JREF $million.
dogbite666 Thinker Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 199

16th January 2006, 02:24 AM	#4
Lothian Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: https://twitter.com/CV4UK Posts: 10,373	Rick Ross has quite a bit about them here.

16th January 2006, 07:47 AM	#6
The_Fire Unimpressed Female Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: 8th level of Hell - Maleborgia Posts: 3,037	I bet the garbage can could shed a little light on these dude(tte)s eating habits...Wanna bet it contains more than air and light?

16th January 2006, 09:30 AM	#8
Ripley Twenty-Nine Muse Join Date: May 2005 Location: London, Ontario Posts: 867	Originally Posted by dogbite666 this line has me in stiches! "Wiley was first introduced to the world back in 1981 when he appeared on the national TV show "THAT'S INCREDIBLE" demonstrating his strength by lifting 1100 lbs of weights, nearly 10 times his body weight. When in a non-polluted environment, (Air or Electro) he sleeps 1 to 7 hours a week. Although Wiley is now 66 years of age he is still able to lift 600 to 900 lbs of weight without ever working out." I guess that would sure qualify for the JREF $million. This was my favourite quote from Wiley: Quote: From Bretharian.com Wiley: When we begin to look at air as a food, it becomes self evident that this food is by far more essential for sustaining life than anything else we might take. Science has proven that the average person can live 30 days or more on just air and water alone. But only a few minutes without air. I'm sorry, what was your claim again?
	__________________ Ripley 29 "Professor, without knowing precisely what the danger is, would you say it's time for our viewers to crack each other's heads open and feast on the goo inside?" "Yes I would, Kent."

16th January 2006, 02:14 PM	#9
Azrael 5 Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Yorkshire,Uk Posts: 5,029	I remember seeing a woman Breatharian on UK daytime TV a few years ago,can't remember her name;but the presenters were sucked in.Not difficult,when you recall they were also sucked in about EVP,re-incarnation..and Mia Dolan!!
	__________________ "I achieve these results through a mixture of magic,misdirection,suggestion and showmanship"-Derren Brown

16th January 2006, 05:17 PM	#10
CACTUSJACKmankin Critical Thinker Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 279	I know people like to challenge established beliefs but somethings your parents tell you when you are three are true. Eating is not the oppression of the food industry, it is a physiologic requirement. Interesting that this Jasmuheen's response to followers starving to death is that they weren't focused enough. Does the same thing hold true for people in Africa? I got it, don't send food, send prana!!! How heartless can you be? Does this woman have no shame? What's in it for this whore? money? attention? This isn't a cute "what's the harm in it?" skepticism, people have died following the advice of this <v^+. She needs to be prosecuted!!!

16th January 2006, 06:13 PM	#11
TimmyBerry Critical Thinker Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The armpit of the tornado valley Posts: 255	Eh.. My faith in human kind is dropping proportionately to the amount of time spent on this board. Leaving her in a tent in the middle of nowhere might be more fitting, though.

16th January 2006, 06:26 PM	#12
AnotherSillyAlias Vortex of Despair Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Sheep country, Eastern Oz Posts: 1,585	There was another mob of crazies I heard about a while ago. They claimed you could get all the energy you needed by staring at the sun! I don't know if they were connected with this mob of crazies.
	__________________ "It's not that sicence doesn't agree so I ignore it, it's that I know what science knows, but also what is beyond science, so therefore, I also know when it is wrong" - Kilik -

16th January 2006, 07:02 PM	#13
Dogdoctor Canis Doctorius Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Pacific Ocean Posts: 14,276	I met a guy who was trying to be a breatharian and who was not eating anything and laying in the sun for energy. He was of the belief that if he could go 7 months without food he would be spiritually pure. I met him around 5 months along. He looked like pictures I had seen of prisoners in concentration camps in Germany, basically skin draped over bones. I told his friend who introduced us to get him to a doctor and he said that they had discussed it and that there was no way he was going to go. He died 2 days later.
	__________________

17th January 2006, 01:52 AM	#14
CFLarsen Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 42,804	It's very easy to prove - yes, prove - that Breatharians can't live without food. Take their temperature. If they have a temperature above absolute zero, then they radiate heat. Ergo, they use more energy than they get. Ergo, they need to take in more energy than they get. You can't beat the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics.
	__________________ SkepticReport.com

17th January 2006, 02:42 AM	#15
vbloke Disturbing shirts Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 722	Originally Posted by CFLarsen You can't beat the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. ...you could write it down, pin it up and hit it with a stick. These Breatharians are an odd bunch. Here's my proposal - beautiful in it's simplicity: since the leaders of the movement are clearly, by all rational though, inciting people to essentially kill themselves through starvation, arrest them for attempted manslaughter, lock them up and deny them food. Once they've almost starved to death themselves, parade them in front of the Breatharian adherants to show what a lying bunch of weasels they really are.
	__________________ http://intelligentdesignr.org.uk Who Is The intelligent designr? http://www.ukskeptics.com Skepticism in the UK

17th January 2006, 02:52 AM	#16
The Don Philosopher Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cymru Posts: 8,231	Originally Posted by vbloke ...you could write it down, pin it up and hit it with a stick. These Breatharians are an odd bunch. Here's my proposal - beautiful in it's simplicity: since the leaders of the movement are clearly, by all rational though, inciting people to essentially kill themselves through starvation, arrest them for attempted manslaughter, lock them up and deny them food. Once they've almost starved to death themselves, parade them in front of the Breatharian adherants to show what a lying bunch of weasels they really are. They'd claim that the air inside prison was polluted and so didn't allow them to absorb the energy they needed. They'd have a get-out and the farce would continue

17th January 2006, 02:58 AM	#17
Bone_Vulture Appealing and hollow Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Helsinki, Finland Posts: 491	Originally Posted by CFLarsen It's very easy to prove - yes, prove - that Breatharians can't live without food. Take their temperature. If they have a temperature above absolute zero, then they radiate heat. Ergo, they use more energy than they get. Ergo, they need to take in more energy than they get. You can't beat the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. But.. but.. that's exactly why they can find sustenance from sunlight. They soak up more solar heat than their body loses!

17th January 2006, 03:10 AM	#18
CFLarsen Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 42,804	Originally Posted by vbloke ...you could write it down, pin it up and hit it with a stick. These Breatharians are an odd bunch. Here's my proposal - beautiful in it's simplicity: since the leaders of the movement are clearly, by all rational though, inciting people to essentially kill themselves through starvation, arrest them for attempted manslaughter, lock them up and deny them food. Once they've almost starved to death themselves, parade them in front of the Breatharian adherants to show what a lying bunch of weasels they really are. And the followers will say: "See? They're still alive!" Originally Posted by The Don They'd claim that the air inside prison was polluted and so didn't allow them to absorb the energy they needed. Yeah, Jasmuheen tried that one, when she was tested. She wasn't in jail, though... Originally Posted by Bone_Vulture But.. but.. that's exactly why they can find sustenance from sunlight. They soak up more solar heat than their body loses! In which case people in Central Africa can't die of hunger. Yet, they do.
	__________________ SkepticReport.com

17th January 2006, 03:15 AM	#19
Bone_Vulture Appealing and hollow Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Helsinki, Finland Posts: 491	Originally Posted by CFLarsen In which case people in Central Africa can't die of hunger. Yet, they do. That's because they have those stupid huts and trees that produce shadow, blocking sun's beneficial effects.

17th January 2006, 03:19 AM	#20
Rolfe Anti-homeopathy illuminati member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NT 150 511 Posts: 34,320	Originally Posted by Bone_Vulture That's because they have those stupid huts and trees that produce shadow, blocking sun's beneficial effects. No no, it's because they're not focussed enough, and they don't have the benefit of Jasmuheen's teachings. Rolfe.
	__________________ "The way we vote will depend, ultimately, on whether we are persuaded to hope or to fear." - Aonghas MacNeacail, June 2012.

17th January 2006, 03:19 AM	#21
Jekyll Graduate Poster Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: The other other place Posts: 1,589	Originally Posted by CFLarsen In which case people in Central Africa can't die of hunger. Yet, they do. They haven't spiritually evolved new DNA yet. I always thought Breatharianism was a very English thing. "Yes, I only need air to survive." "No, I won't give up my tea and biscuits. What do you think I am some kind of savage?"
	__________________ And I looked. And behold a green horse, and his name that sat on him was death. ~Tyndale New Testament

17th January 2006, 03:24 AM	#22
CFLarsen Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 42,804	Originally Posted by Rolfe No no, it's because they're not focussed enough, and they don't have the benefit of Jasmuheen's teachings. Rolfe. This is the more likely explanation. Thereby, of course, indicating that they are mere savages...
	__________________ SkepticReport.com

17th January 2006, 05:07 AM	#23
The Don Philosopher Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cymru Posts: 8,231	Of course The Hollies are to blame ".... All I need is the air that I breathe....."

17th January 2006, 05:36 AM	#24
Ririon Cool cat Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Trondheim, Norway Posts: 2,063	Originally Posted by The Don Of course The Hollies are to blame ".... All I need is the air that I breathe....." And love. Don't forget love. As he says: "The Human Body is simply a love machine."
	__________________ Engineer by day, scientist by night.

17th January 2006, 06:10 AM	#25
Ed god Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 8,691	Originally Posted by CFLarsen It's very easy to prove - yes, prove - that Breatharians can't live without food. Take their temperature. If they have a temperature above absolute zero, then they radiate heat. Ergo, they use more energy than they get. Ergo, they need to take in more energy than they get. You can't beat the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. Not exactly. If their temperature is above the ambient temperature there is some physiologic process going on. I thought though that they claim that air provides sustenence so there would be a physiologic process. You can't attain absolute zero. The problem, as usual, is thet the claim is non-falsifiable. If one of these idiots dies he simply was not doing it correctly. But isn't this particular group a lot like the Shakers who eshewed sex? Predictably the sect died out. Why are there any of these guys?
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17th January 2006, 06:19 AM	#26
CFLarsen Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 42,804	Originally Posted by Ed Not exactly. If their temperature is above the ambient temperature there is some physiologic process going on. I thought though that they claim that air provides sustenence so there would be a physiologic process. Decay! Of course! That would explain a lot, actually... Originally Posted by Ed You can't attain absolute zero. Sure, we can. Inside Sylvia Browne's heart. Originally Posted by Ed The problem, as usual, is thet the claim is non-falsifiable. If one of these idiots dies he simply was not doing it correctly. But isn't this particular group a lot like the Shakers who eshewed sex? Predictably the sect died out. Why are there any of these guys? No, I heard recently that there were four left. Three men and a woman, I think. Strange, they haven't caught up with the idea that they would anihilate themselves without children....
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17th January 2006, 06:35 AM	#27
Lisa Simpson THE Lisa Simpson Administrator Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: 123 Fake Street Posts: 20,053	On a related note, I found Oxycise, a weight-loss method that only requires a specific method of breathing. No exercise, no changing one's diet--just breathing. It's amazing that anyone is fat.
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17th January 2006, 08:01 AM	#28
CurtC Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 4,758	I haven't done any research into this, so would someone explain it to me? My impression is that the followers of Breatharianism are pretty short in the critical thinking department, and believe that when they eat they are simply failing to attain their ideals, like Christianity and sinning. It's only the few who successfully avoid food who eventually die. The others get along for some time by "sinning." Is that right? And what about the "leaders"? Are they deluded believers too, or do they really know that the reason they're still alive is that they actually do eat occasionally?

17th January 2006, 08:21 AM	#29
steenkh Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Denmark Posts: 3,456	The leaders have reached a higher plane where it is not sinful to eat. They can gorge while their supporters starve.
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17th January 2006, 08:43 AM	#30
The Don Philosopher Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cymru Posts: 8,231	There's a long history of starvation and self-mortification. If I reacall correctly, there was certainly some Italian nun in the 14th century who hardly ate at all and was subsequently considered very pious. Breatharianism presumably is just an extension of the sam basic concept

17th January 2006, 09:04 AM	#31
The_Fire Unimpressed Female Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: 8th level of Hell - Maleborgia Posts: 3,037	Originally Posted by CFLarsen [snip] Sure, we can. Inside Sylvia Browne's heart. [/snip] SPEW! Dude, you almost cost me a new keyboard and monitor......ROFLOL Originally Posted by Ririon And love. Don't forget love. As he says: "The Human Body is simply a love machine." Which in itself have some promise............... I rather like Wileys reasons to why he is still eating though: from the Breathian site: Quote: He has found four major deterrents to being able to live totally without food. They Are: People pollution. Food pollution Air pollution Electro pollution In other words: In order to live on air alone one would have to: Anihilate the world population Anihilate food anihilate modern industry Anihilate electronic equipment. So how come that people have been dying from starvation frequently since the dawn of ANYTHING resembling a humanoid even BEFORE any of these problems arose? And where are the bodies or living sample of these supposedly several thousand years old people who have actually done it? I also find it interesting that due to the 4 reasons listed, Twit1 are still eating while, as other people in this thread have pointed out, have literally starved themselves to death. *thump* That was the sound of my respect for the average human beings ability to reason and logical thinking hitting new depths.........

17th January 2006, 09:13 AM	#32
CFLarsen Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 42,804	Originally Posted by The_Fire SPEW! Dude, you almost cost me a new keyboard and monitor......ROFLOL Sadly, I'm right. Originally Posted by The_Fire That was the sound of my respect for the average human beings ability to reason and logical thinking hitting new depths......... Some human beings. You can't call Breatharians "average human beings". If they were, mankind would be extinct by now.
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17th January 2006, 09:28 AM	#33
ChristineR Illuminator Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 3,189	Originally Posted by Lisa Simpson On a related note, I found Oxycise, a weight-loss method that only requires a specific method of breathing. No exercise, no changing one's diet--just breathing. It's amazing that anyone is fat. I checked Oxycise out of the library just to see what it was. It's actually a series of moderately tough yoga poses which you hold while wheezing. So it's not shocking that some people lose a little weight with this. But the theory behind the breathing is hilarious.
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17th January 2006, 09:29 AM	#34
The_Fire Unimpressed Female Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: 8th level of Hell - Maleborgia Posts: 3,037	Originally Posted by CFLarsen Some human beings. You can't call Breatharians "average human beings". If they were, mankind would be extinct by now. True. I agree after rereading my post. However I reserve the right to add several groups to this list of "special cases" as I go.

17th January 2006, 09:47 AM	#35
chipmunk stew The Spikey Mace of Love and Mercy Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: SE PA Posts: 7,465	Originally Posted by The Don There's a long history of starvation and self-mortification. If I reacall correctly, there was certainly some Italian nun in the 14th century who hardly ate at all and was subsequently considered very pious. Breatharianism presumably is just an extension of the sam basic concept I always got the feeling (and I think current research bears this out) that anorexics and bulemics avoided food out of misplaced righteousness rather than a desire to lose weight. And many cultures and religions have fasting rituals. This seems to me the same desire to transcend the bonds of mortality and express pious self-discipline, taken to a cultish level.
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