Guest guest Posted February 13, 2010 Report Share Posted February 13, 2010 P: Ah, what light source you are! If I could only clone you, I could light up the world. Not that I didn't know that, but that is news we should broadcast, even if it sadden old idealists. Why are idealists sadden by that? In truth they should be glad, because that news proves the sense of being separate is an illusion created by the brain, and rewiring the brain by trauma, meditation and others practices restores the unitive view. They are saddened because, foolishly, they insist in denying a role to matter in manifestation. They want spirit to be all, as if they knew what spirit means, and how it could rank above matter. It simply is a rejection of change, but rejecting change, is rejecting existing; only that that doesn't exist, doesn't change. Pete Scientists have identified areas of the brain that, when damaged, lead to greater spirituality. The findings hint at the roots of spiritual and religious attitudes, the researchers say. The study, published in the Feb. 11 issue of the journal Neuron, involves a personality trait called self-transcendence, which is a somewhat vague measure of spiritual feeling, thinking, and behaviors. Self-transcendence " reflects a decreased sense of self and an ability to identify one's self as an integral part of the universe as a whole, " the researchers explain. Before and after surgery, the scientists surveyed patients who had brain tumors removed. The surveys generate self-transcendence scores. Selective damage to the left and right posterior parietal regions of the brain induced a specific increase in self-transcendence, or ST, the surveys showed. " Our symptom-lesion mapping study is the first demonstration of a causative link between brain functioning and ST, " said Dr. Cosimo Urgesi from the University of Udine in Italy. " Damage to posterior parietal areas induced unusually fast changes of a stable personality dimension related to transcendental self-referential awareness. Thus, dysfunctional parietal neural activity may underpin altered spiritual and religious attitudes and behaviors. " Previous neuroimaging studies had linked activity within a large network in the brain that connects the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortexes with spiritual experiences, " but information on the causative link between such a network and spirituality is lacking, " explains lead study author, Urgesi said. One study, reported in 2008, suggested that the brain's right parietal lobe defines " Me, " and people with less active Me-Definers are more likely to lead spiritual lives. The finding could lead to new strategies for treating some forms of mental illness. " If a stable personality trait like ST can undergo fast changes as a consequence of brain lesions, it would indicate that at least some personality dimensions may be modified by influencing neural activity in specific areas, " said Dr. Salvatore M. Aglioti from Sapienza University of Rome. " Perhaps novel approaches aimed at modulating neural activity might ultimately pave the way to new treatments of personality disorders. " http://news./s/livescience/20100212/sc_livescience/linkstospiritualityf\ oundinthebrain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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