Photo of identically-dressed people in apparent trance-like state at the beach terrifies locals

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By Asiya Ali

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A picture of identically dressed people who are looking out towards the ocean across Balmoral Beach has left locals terrified.

According to The New York Post, a confused onlooker took to the Facebook page, Mosman Living, to share an image of a group of people appearing to be looking at, or waiting for, something that can't be seen.

"Does anyone know why people stand individually on Balmoral Beach on Sunday mornings? I would love to know," the bystander asked, per The Post.

Check out the picture below:

The unnamed poster's picture quickly garnered attention on different social media apps such as the platform X - formerly known as Twitter.

Upon seeing the image, one perplexed user wrote: "Nahh.. strange times are already here but this. This ain’t right," and another said: "Is the simulation glitching??"

A third commented: "Hell naaaaaw, I saw how this movie ended," while a fourth quipped: "I feel like we're gonna look back on this as the start to the horrors."

There's a simple explanation behind the bizarre shot as an admin took to the Facebook group to explain that the beachgoers "were doing a walking meditation (walking, standing still & lying down)" according to the teachings of Dr. Joe Dispenza - a chiropractic doctor who has written multiple self-help books.

The 61-year-old explained in his book that "the purpose of a walking meditation is to train the mind to be present while the body is in motion."

"Each step is in freedom, peace, health, joy, and self-liberation. You will start each affirmation by standing still and becoming heart-centered," he concluded.

The Facebook admin added that the group "JD Walking Meditations" meets most Sundays at 6:45AM to practice their meditation and that everyone is welcome to join.

Richard Shuster - clinical psychologist and host of The Daily Helping podcast - explained to NBC News that the beach might help one's meditation experience.

"The color blue has been found by an overwhelming amount of people to be associated with feelings of calm and peace, " he explained. "Staring at the ocean actually changes our brain waves' frequency and puts us into a mild meditative state."

Shuster shared that the smell of sea air and the sound of the waves also soothe the mind to be more engaged, as well as the simple act of your feet touching the sand. "The physical sensation of putting your feet in warm sand causes people to relax," he added.

Dr. Zac - News.com.au's in-house medical expert - also shared his expertise on the subject, explaining that it "rewires your brain, building new roads and destroying others".

"It decreases the neurological connections to the media prefrontal cortex – which is the part of the brain responsible for fear, stress, and anxiety," the expert added.

Featured image credit: Fairfax Media / Getty