Because just like the Holtzman field is the do-it-all for Dune technology, prana-bindu is your go-to if you need to explain any (super)human ability.
Whether you want to calm your nerves, decide your kid’s sex, or counteract some chaumurky or chaumas, you need some prana-bindu training in your life.
Two quick announcements before we get going with today’s topic.
First, if you want more lore, I’ve now started a YouTube channel - my first project there is a lore-focused playthrough of Dune: Awakening.
The first episode is already out:
Never really done anything like this, so I’d welcome any and all advice on how to make it better.
Secondly, and I hope this will only improve your experience of the content without any major interruptions, I will be moving away from Substack and switching to a different mail delivery network. If this is a dealbreaker for anyone, I do apologize.
And now back to your regularly scheduled Dune nerding.
Jessica uses the weirding way to overpower Stilgar in the 1984 Dune
Imagine the suffocating feeling of being engulfed by sand. You’re caught in a sandslide, no escape from reality. You gasp for air, want to open your eyes and see, but the dune swallowed you whole. What do you do?
Well, if you’re properly trained like the Lady Jessica was, you can calmly wait for someone to dig you out - and the reason you have time to wait is that you can slow your metabolism down to almost nothing.
She’s been caught in the sandslide, he thought. Buried in it. I must be calm and work this out carefully. She won’t smother immediately. She’ll compose herself in bindu suspension to reduce her oxygen needs. She knows I’ll dig for her.
What makes prana-bindu the arguably coolest and most powerful discipline is the sheer scope of control it grants over every aspect of human existence - from individual muscle fibers and nerve endings to the perception of time itself.
SPOILER WARNING: CONTENT FROM ALL DUNE BOOKS
While the expanded universe books limit themselves to people doing generic prana-bindu exercises or calming themselves down with prana-bindu breathing, or the occasional display of prana-bindu control of their bodies, the original six books (and the Dune Encyclopedia) go into quite a bit of detail about the spectrum of mastery.
Paul Muad’Dib uses his prana-bindu training to evade Feyd-Rautha in the 2000 Syfy mini-series
Prana vs Bindu
While most of the time you would hear them as a pair, it’s made clear that they are two separate disciplines, and while yes, adept practitioners use them in tandem, they are still two separate skill trees.
“Today you panicked,” she said. “You know your mind and bindu-nervature perhaps better than I do, but you’ve much yet to learn about your body’s prana-musculature.
And that’s pretty much how the Terminology of the Imperium explains them, too.
BINDU: relating to the human nervous system, especially to nerve training. Often expressed as Bindu-nervature. (See Prana.)
PRANA (Prana-musculature): the body’s muscles when considered as units for ultimate training. (See Bindu.)
TRAINING: when applied to Bene Gesserit, this otherwise common term assumes special meaning, referring to that conditioning of nerve and muscle (see Bindu and Prana) which is carried to the last possible notch permitted by natural function.
As mentioned in the "Languages of Dune" summary, prana-bindu is derived from Sanskrit. Prana, meaning life force, and bindu, meaning point, so together they’d mean focusing the life force.
They’re very much interconnected, so you’ll almost always see them used together, but some abilities would obviously rely on one over the other.
Jessica’s aforementioned suspension, manipulating one’s time perception, detailed perception of others, and analytical and memory systems would mostly fall under bindu.
While the Voice, the combat applications like weirding way, and other physical feats would require more prana training.
🔒 In the full article: (1539 words | ~6.5 mins to read)
Where prana-bindu comes from
How you become an adept
The word that can instantly paralyze
A skincare routine better than any face cream
The full range of mastery - from breathing techniques to becoming a God Emperor
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