James Doherty and Kath Gourlay of the Scotsman go into some of the details of why exactly an orgasm really is all in the mind. Human sexual response is really rather interesting in that it is so simple at the same time as being very complex.

It’s a scientific fact: human brains are programmed for orgasms – with or without the actual sex act.

While this may seem like a strange thing to conclude to many folks, but when you start thinking about it . . . and how your body reacts to stimuli . . . you can see this. Now, first, distinguish between the orgasm and the climax, they are related but not the same thing. Many folks use the words interchangably but they really are two different beasties. However, both the orgasm and the climax can be achieved without touch and without sexual act.

Dr Robert Lomas – a solid-state physicist and an internationally known author on religious symbolism – says that evolution has allowed humans to develop the sex-free orgasm. "It’s the same reward mechanism that encourages us to share our DNA," said Dr Lomas. "But it can be achieved without the physical act of copulation."

It’s really a nifty trick . . . close your eyes for a moment and breathe deeply, relaxing with each deep breath out . . . say five or six really deep breaths out . . . and then begin imagining how your body feels when you are sexually aroused, really feel the sensations in your body as you imagine yourself becoming more and more aroused . . . with your eyes closed for a few moments. Then when you feel yourself aroused, open your eyes.

Notice any changes in your breathing? In your physical state? Just by thinking about being sexually aroused, we become so. No physical stimulation necessary. Heck, by pulling in memories of particularly powerful sexual experiences or fantasies, we can make the sensations even more powerful . . . without physical contact. The nifty neat part of this is that through mental stimulation alone we can accellarate the state changes until there is both orgasm and climax. No hands, not touches, no tongues, just thought.

You can do something similar . . . . albeit less overt . . . with the Engergizer process.

Only humans have this power to induce mental ecstasy, and it’s a complex set of responses that can be achieved by learned behavioural patterns or triggered by hyper-arousal during peak experiences, he says. "At times of hyper-arousal, our brains are designed to freeload on the behavioural reward that encourages us to reproduce," he said. "And that is another name for orgasm."

While the definition of orgasm is not the same as one typically used by folks who discuss orgasm and the brain . . . see Rick Brown’s Continuous Orgasm for a good introduction . . . the concepts are certainly there. A game you play with learned behavioral patterns and sexual response is one whereby you close your eyes and imagine the last time you had a great sexual feeling, something really hot and warm and sensual . . . really get into it . . . feel the feelings and intensify them as much as possible . . . then tell yourself to connect those feelings to the touch of the tip of your forefinger and the tip of your thumb on your left hand . . . so that when you press the fingers together, the feelings become even stronger. Then, break state by releasing your touch and opening you eyes. Close your eyes and do it again with another, a different, erotic encounter, really intensifying the feelings as you press the fingers. Repeat this process five or sex er six times . . . each time feeling the process more intensely. Now, once you’ve set the learned response, take a look at my photo at the top of this page and press the fingers together and notice what happens. Neat, eh?

You’ve basically just played Pavlov with yourself and just as Pavlov conditined his dogs to respond to a bell to salivate, you have conditioned yourself to have an erotic response to a finger press . . . not really a very useful response . . . neither is salivating to a bell . . . but it demonstrates the response conditioning is in your head, a conditioned response. Of course, humans do that without the eye closure just through repetition and states and contexts . . . we all know shortcuts to arousing our partners and learned sexual responses. By looking into your lovers eyes, and holding her in just that special way as you begin to kiss and her body melts . . . a lot of that that’s conditioned and learned responses. Long before I became a "hypnotist" or learned formally what anchored responses were, I knew that if I kissed a girlfriend in a certain way . . . left arm draped around the upper back, right arm draped around the lower back, eyes locked, neck bending her backward for a swoon position, mouths locked, tounge extended for the "deep kiss" similar to the Gorean Deep Thrust which is also pretty damned good for certain responses . . . that she would immediately and completely go loose limp relaxed and just plain melt with a few seconds of this leading directly into sexual response, none of that light stuff either, full on must-do-it-now sexual response. Learning some basic psychology, neurolinguistic programming, and gaining a ton of hypnosis experience just made it easier to put terms to it and to hone it all down for accuracy and effectiveness . . . albeit, not just for erotic response but as that’s our topic of the day . . . see more here and her . . . anyone who has read Life of Brian for more than a day knows I’ve written a ton on this subject already, just go to the appropriate category.

For those who laughed at the idea of the Barbarella-type "orgasmatron" – Jane Fonda popping pills, touching palms with her bemused boyfriend and staying three feet away from him – Dr Lomas says the film is closer to science fact than fiction. "If the orgasmic response in her brain was being triggered by a programmed release of chemically or electrically stimulated hormones, it could be done, if the programming was right," he said.

If you don’t know Barbarella, you should . . . or, maybe not . . . either way, it’s worth a looksee. Of course, Woody Allen’s Sleeper has a much more memorable orgasmatron.

However, the days of a drug being widely available on the NHS are still a long way off. "Artificially creating the right combination of neuropeptides is very complex," Dr Lomas explained. "Your tension and relaxation levels have to be in perfect balance before your arousal system is tripped. It’s like trying to balance a marble on the tip of a ballpoint pen." Dr Lomas said the trigger factors leading to that elusive brain state have to be induced through repetitive behavioural patterns using ritual and posture. "All these mystics haven’t really given up sex," said Dr Lomas. "It’s just a different form of orgasm."

Uh . . . not quite. It doesn’t have to be done chemically or by posture . . . there are companies that have worked on devices that stimulate pleasure centers right now. Some are legitimate while others are a bit off the wall.

Take a look at work by Dr Stuart Meloy or the less-reputable device sold by the likes of Comparini and company or even the rather peculiar orgasmatron device (also reviewed here).

This analysis forms the basis of the fifth book in the Hiram Key series, which has produced controversial theories on the mindset of man from pre- history to the present day. Turning the Hiram Key looks like keeping to that tradition, with detailed discussion on how masonic ritual contains the elements needed for inducing mental ecstasy.

Yep. Ecstasy and non-physical sexual response are very closely related and both can be achieved via chemical, physical, and/or mental states. Trance can be useful for achieving orgasm, same as any of the so-called more traditional routes. You can achieve orgasm by thinking about it just as well as through physical lovemaking . . . albeit, the best orgasms or sexual states occur when body, mind, and spirit are fully engaged . . . this implies an emotional component as well as physical and mental ones.

Dr Cynthia McVey, a psychologist from Glasgow Caledonian University, said that from puberty onwards, achieving orgasm without sexual contact happens in our dreams. "With nocturnal emissions, there is no sex act involved there," she said. "That shows the power of the brain over the body. In order to propagate the species, we need sex. "Pain provides a safety mechanism to preserve the body and, in the same way, we must be programmed to experience a sexual interlude as pleasurable – it helps to propagate the species."

Uh, partially. While dreams are certainly engaging and erotic components are real responses, these are not the only pathways available to adults. Also, much of the research into pain responses and mental or imaginative involvement carry over (imagining or anticipating pain increases the perception), it is not the only route.

My brother Kevin once told me about a party he attended in New York where one of the men bet a woman that he could "talk" her to an orgasm with no physical touching within five minutes . . . if she won and he couldn’t do it, she would win US$100 but she had to follow his instructions . . . he pulled it off and she was rather grateful . . . without attending, I described the process to my brother and was pretty much dead-on. It’s not an impossible or even a terribly difficult feat with a cooperative subject. It can also be a wonderful demonstration of the power of the mind.

Rick Brown, a dear friend who is sorely missed by those of us who loved and respected him, used to teach workshops on the instant orgasm . . . his ABC’s of Suggested Orgasm is a very easy and very powerful process which works wonderfully for this purpose.

Alex Akselrod had his own take on the mental orgasm and how to go about it via text chat online which he calls Orgasmotron which employs the use of post-hypnotic suggestion and time dilation to good effect.

There are literally hundreds of ways to achieve the mental orgasm . . . actually, I have written up a number of them which will eventually go into my book on the subject . . . watch this site for updates when they become available.

Thanks to Aaron for the heads-up on the article.