Seizures of the Spiritual.

[Guest guest]

Is it possible that the clear of voices of wisdom heard by the great

religious profits on lonely mountain tops were produced inside their

own heads?

 

Could the conversations that Jesus had with God have been caused by a

quietening of a frontal lobe in his brain?

 

Were Buddha's flashes of wisdom produced by something similar to an

epileptic seizure?

 

Once these were whispered theological matters. Now, they are fodder

for scientific research.

 

Do the people who believe in God have a different brain-wiring to

those who do not believe?

 

This tracing of the spiritual synapses has taken some odd turns.

 

One Canadian scientist is trying to develop a magnetised helmet that

emits electrical signals which he believes will inspire "spiritual

feelings". He is hoping to market the helmet to a previously

deprived secular market.

 

An American group of researchers has used special dyes to take

photographs of the brain action of Tibetan Buddhist monks and

Catholic nuns during deep meditation. They found that parts of their

brains were activated and other parts dampened during the experience.

 

According to the altered states theory, the part of the brain that

gives our clearly defined sense of self is repressed. Therefore,

meditation subjects experience a "fuzzy universal" feeling.

 

What the study indicated was that these deep states are not the

result of emotional fabrication, or what Freud would call "and

illusory infantile wish", but are associated with observable

neurological events.

 

Another research group claims that intense mystical religious

experiences are often similar to the experiences felt by those

undergoing epileptic seizures and during the taking of some drugs.

 

Yet another scientific group claims our genetic make-up is

responsible for everything from whether we like chocolate cake to

what religion we follow and whether we agree on the death penalty.

 

This neurotheology has run foul of some church leaders who claim that

it is just another attempt by science to destroy religion.

 

Others claim we have neurological responses to spirituality because

the supreme being caused it to be so.

 

The argument is never ending.

 

Andrew Newberg, an American professor of nuclear medicine, claims in

his book "Why God won't go away" that most of us are "hard wired" to

the believe in a supreme being because it makes us healthier.

 

Quoting several studies, he claims the religious have fewer strokes,

better psychological health and live longer than the population at

large.

 

"Unless our brains somehow alter, religion is going to be around for

a long, long time" he says. His research matches other findings that

meditation, prayer and other intense spiritual experiences are

generally accompanied by a quietening down of the parietal lobe in

the brain.

 

This allows information entering the brain to slow down, usually

causing the less precise definition of the boundaries of self and an

uplifting feeling the union with the universe.

 

This science-produces-God theory is not accepted by most people who

claim to have had the intense spiritual experiences.

 

Accepting spirituality was always about making creative choices

rather than a biological imperative caused by evolutionary fluke.

 

Albert Schweitzer described how he studied science in the quest of

knowledge of all things.He discovered "the knowledge of facts" was

not as valuable as the instinctive knowledge of mystical things.

 

Somewhere, within this matrix of Cause and Effect, lies the truth.

 

 

 

 

-- Christopher Wynter,

lifestreams

http://www.anunda.com

 

The material presented in this post is also archived for reference

on the open archive lifestreams

[Guest guest]

, Christopher Wynter <lifestreams@b...>

wrote:

> Is it possible that the clear of voices of wisdom heard by the

> great religious profits on lonely mountain tops were produced

> inside their own heads?

 

*sigh*. Anything's possible.

> The argument is never ending.

 

You noticed that too, huh? :-)

> Somewhere, within this matrix of Cause and Effect, lies the truth.

 

Yes, but "the truth" is not cognizable -- and thus, not discussable.

 

Namaste,

 

Omkara

[Guest guest]

-----Mensagem original-----De: Omkara <coresite (AT) home (DOT) com>Para:

<>Data:

Sábado, 7 de Julho de 2001 23:40Assunto: Re:

Seizures of the Spiritual., Christopher

Wynter <lifestreams@b...> wrote:> Is it possible that the clear of

voices of wisdom heard by the > great religious profits on lonely

mountain tops were produced > inside their own heads?*sigh*.

Anything's possible.> The argument is never ending.You noticed that

too, huh? :-) > Somewhere, within this matrix of Cause and Effect,

lies the truth.Yes, but "the truth" is not cognizable -- and thus,

not discussable.Namaste,Omkara

I`d rather say that this matrix of Cause and Effect is also an aspect

of what is - truth. It is not psoosible to label it, but conversing

and knowing the limitations of words or symbols in general, it is

possible to perhaps touch the same

ground./join

All paths go

somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights, perceptions,

and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and subside back

into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not different than

the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the nature of

Awareness. Awareness does not come and go but is always Present. It

is Home. Home is where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to be the

Finality of Eternal Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of

Self-Knowledge, spontaneously arising from within into It Self.

Welcome all to a.Your use of is subject

to the