
Physorg is reporting that the sense of “oneness with everything” that underlies so much new-age mumbo-jumbo has been correlated by experiments with damage to the right posterior parietal region of the brain.
My mother Elizabeth Clare Prophet was a world-famous “spiritual” performer who claimed to speak for a pantheon of disembodied spirits, and who was also diagnosed with lifelong epilepsy. She died last year of Alzheimer’s disease, so this article is incredibly relevant and explanatory for me. Her mystical career was almost certainly the result of brain damage, and there was nothing whatsoever she could do about it. Her “spiritual” feelings and communication were real to her–and linked to neurological damage she sustained from repeated seizures. Auditory hallucinations that she described as a part of her “taking dictations” from spirits, are a known symptom of her disease. So is hypergraphia (excessive writing), and sure enough, she published well in excess of 50 “spiritual” books during her life.
It’s profoundly interesting to me to understand this linkage between brain abnormality and mysticism, since the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, and many other supposedly “holy men” were also observed by their contemporaries to have experienced symptoms of epilepsy.
Selective brain damage modulates human spirituality
Although it is well established that all behaviors and experiences, spiritual or otherwise, must originate in the brain, true empirical exploration of the neural underpinnings of spirituality has been challenging. However, recent advances in neuroscience have started to make the complex mental processes associated with religion and spirituality more accessible.“Neuroimaging studies have 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, Dr. Cosimo Urgesi from the University of Udine in Italy.
Dr. Urgesi and colleagues were interested in making a direct link between brain activity and spirituality. They focused specifically on the personality trait called self-transcendence (ST), which is thought to be a measure of spiritual feeling, thinking, and behaviors in humans. ST 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 combined analysis of ST scores obtained from brain tumor patients before and after they had surgery to remove their tumor, with advanced techniques for mapping the exact location of the brain lesions after surgery. “This approach allowed us to explore the possible changes of ST induced by specific brain lesions and the causative role played by frontal, temporal, and parietal structures in supporting interindividual differences in ST,” says researcher Dr. Franco Fabbro from the University of Udine.
The group found that selective damage to the left and right posterior parietal regions induced a specific increase in ST. “Our symptom-lesion mapping study is the first demonstration of a causative link between brain functioning and ST,” offers Dr. Urgesi. “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.”
These results may even 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,” suggests 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.”
Fabbro et al.: “The Spiritual Brain: Selective Cortical Lesions Modulate Human Self-Transcendence.” Publishing in Neuron 65, 309-319, February 11, 2010. DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2010.01.026
I’ve maintained that religion and spirituality are inversely correlated with high-functioning intelligence. (previous article, Religion Rots Your Brain, And We Must Say So) There are plenty of notable exceptions such as Francis Collins, current director of the National Institute of Health (NIH). My answer to this is that such individuals must be truly extraordinary. They have to work even harder to keep the critical thinking part of their brain separated from the part that holds scientifically untenable beliefs. Collins believes he has a personal relationship with the mythical character of Jesus Christ, and that God had a hand in guiding every stage of evolution. I think it’s pretty strange to have someone with those strongly held beliefs managing a $30 billion/year science budget, and I’m not the only one.
Yesterday I also became aware of scientist Robert Lanza, MD, a high achiever–even a genius–by any standard. Lanza is currently Chief Scientific Officer of Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) and Adjunct at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine. For some inexplicable reason, Lanza has decided to break scientific protocol and engage in wild speculation (previous article) about the spiritual and philosophical implications of quantum theory. His book on the subject is called Biocentrism. His beliefs are so far outside the mainstream, he’s managed to earn both the praise of charlatan Deepak Chopra and the scorn of Daniel Dennett and other “real” brain scientists. Lanza is also promoting a kind of new-age fundamentalism and “just-world fallacy” in the garb of (pseudo) science:
Judgment Day is Coming: Science Suggests Judgment is Inescapable
Will kind people be rewarded for their good deeds? Will the wicked be punished? Yes, according to a new interpretation of recent experiments. Although our science is too primitive for us to fully comprehend, there is a direct and proportional price to pay for any act of cruelty or injustice.
Science suggests that there are consequences to our actions that transcend our ordinary, classical way of thinking. Emerson, it turns out, was right: “Every crime is punished, every virtue rewarded, every wrong redressed, in silence and certainty.”
I remember fishing on a warm summer night. Now and then I could feel the vibrations along the line linking me with the life prowling about the bottom. At length I pulled some bass, squeaking and gasping into the air. It was a puzzle to feel a tug, and to be conscious in that precise moment of a part of me, which, as it were, was not a part of me, but scale and fin, circling the hook, slow to strike.
Surely this is what Spinoza, the great philosopher, meant when he contended that consciousness cannot exist simply in space and time, and at the same time is aware of the interrelations of all parts of space and time. In order to have knowledge of a pout or a pickerel, I must have somehow been identical with them.
[…]
This may not unsettle you, except perhaps on a warm moonlit night with a fish gasping for life at the end of your rod. I knew then, at that moment, that Pagel’s conclusion was right. Only it wasn’t my consciousness that was the only one, it was ours. According to biocentrism, our individual separateness is an illusion. Remember the words of Omar, who “never called the One two,” and of the old Hindu poem: “Know in thyself and All one self-same soul; banish the dream that sunders part from whole.”
There was no doubt; that consciousness which was behind the youth I once was, was also behind the mind of every animal and person existing in space and time. “There are,” wrote Loren Eiseley, noted anthropologist, “very few youths today who will pause, coming from a biology class, to finger a yellow flower or poke in friendly fashion at a sunning turtle on the edge of the campus pond, and who are capable of saying to themselves, ‘We are all one − all melted together.'”
Yes, I thought, we are all one. I let the fish go. With a thrash of the tail, I disappeared into the pond. [emphasis added]
Robert Lanza, M.D.
Though Lanza is an incredibly high functioning person, he just might have similar brain damage. It doesn’t reflect a healthy identity to believe that you are one with a fish. There has to be some explanation, unless he’s just putting us on–also a distinct possibility.
Because the very essence of metabolic life is individuality. The very goal of life is self-actualization. We are not all one with everything. And our self-awareness is not transferable to other living organisms–at least not with current technology. Of course it is good to feel empathetic. Humans are an incredibly social species. The recognition that we are all made of the same basic particles, and that our human experiences are all similar, leads to social cohesion and strong feelings of empathy. A common sense of membership in the human condition, is a very positive thing.
But I am not you, you are not a fish, a bicycle is not the same thing as a multi-barrel machine gun, a piano, or a Monet painting. It is making such distinctions, and keeping categories and identity straight that is one of the main goals of human knowledge. And I would add, sanity.
Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. And then there’s form, state (solid/liquid/gas), charge, potential energy, and a host of other physical and chemical characteristics. There’s race, nationality, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, class, social standing. Taxonomy and categorization are endless.
The relationship between self-other-world, is vital to our outlook and mental health. It’s also vital that we neither promote false hopes, nor fail to apprehend our limitations. Now we see the capacity to make the distinctions necessary for a rational outlook, is also dependent on having a healthy physical brain.
I despair sometimes, at the sheer hubris of “mystics” and those who try to erase category and identity in favor of an amorphous “oneness.” Now maybe I have to just accept that some people lack the brain capacity to hold a fully disciplined, scientific outlook. Or to process the abstraction of how consciousness arises from living matter.
Lanza thinks he is onto a new “theory of everything” that will throw out the standard model of physics and render space-time putty in our hands, make us all one, and make death obsolete. If he wants to be taken seriously, he should be willing to subject his hypothesis to the same scrutiny and incremental discipline as every other scientist who came before him. Otherwise, he’s neither promoting self-awareness nor science. His public work so far has shown a reckless disregard for his intellectual debt to others. And he’s abdicated his responsibility to uphold the integrity of the scientific method in public discourse.
46 comments
Oh thaaaanks! I was just arguing with my "spiritual" flat mate about that :D
Is that to say that anyone who has ever reported a 'spiritual experience' (notably ST) has got some sort of damage to our brain? I don't know the statistics but… that's a high number of people.
What would have caused this common denominator? Let me help… head injury, genetic disposition, alcoholism in the family (violence, physical and emotional)? The list could be long. How could all theses causalities link to an ST? Yet not all who have belong to those groups report ST's.
Thinking out loud.
This kind of brain damage may be desireable, when I believed in an afterlife and an all caring being, I was blissfully happy. I have to admit a certain longing for the old days and a certain envy of the ignorant masses. After listening to Dr. Michael Shermer and the logical explantions to so many things, that mysterious romantic part of life is now cold and dead. I have to say I'm more cynical than ever. Too many non belivers are quick to tell little Susie and Johanny that there is no Santa Claus, I liked believeing in Santa Claus, and not everyone needs necessarily to grow up, brain damage oh how I sometimes miss thee.
Ah yes, the old truth vs. comfort debate. I don't know why things have to be mysterious to be wonderful. Just don't get that. If you were blissfully happy, it was out of ignorance, like a baby who's never known lack or want in its parents arms. And it was a lie. No one would want to stay in their parents' arms or home forever. As an adult, you have to face the world that is. If you find it "cold and dead," you just haven't opened your mind to its wonders. It's an impulse to crawl back into the safety of the womb. You can be cynical alright, it's a logical response. But there is a place beyond cynicism, where you "get" how the world is, you get that we're mammals and we die, and you make peace with it.
I find *more* appreciation of nature the universe and everything, the more I understand it. Can you please explain how demystifying *anything* makes it less exciting? I understand love chemistry, and yet I still find love to be profound, deep, terrifying, beautiful and challenging. Would you pretend the mystery makes it better? How about a rose? Are you going to tell me knowing the genetic makeup or biochemistry of a rose makes it less beautiful? This argument doesn't even make sense.
No. The idea that logic or knowledge "ruins" what is good about life is as close to an evil concept as I think there is. It's the Garden of Eden myth, where knowledge the province of the devil. And I hate using the word "evil," but I'm not the only one. As Arthur C. Clarke said, religion has been a "necessary evil" from the childhood of our species.
I agree with everything you said, my thinking and reasoning mind see's it and knows it. However it would seem that evolution has allowed "brain damage" to be a sort of fantasy escape from reality, like using drugs to escape. And yes I do miss my drug days at times as well, but I'm one of those without an addictive personality and it's probably why I have broken my addiction to most things including religion. Yet that does not change how I feel at times, which is also part of the human condition. Always enjoy your comments, have a good one.
Hey Tom, well it's certainly not easy to give up. But you'd be amazed at some of the things I've seen people do as a result. It is part of the human condition, to be sure. It is hard sometimes to admit this world and this life is probably all there is for us, yet it seems that is our fate. So that makes every day of life all the more important, and every person as well. Cheers back at you.
dude i hear ya but in the end you have to take what you know, "the truth" so to speak, and basically view it as enlightenment, every religious, spiritual, or ignorant person views Faith or Stupidity as their enlightenment so in reality knowing what really happens, and also admitting that sometimes you just can't explain something really truly is enlightenment in itself … rather than shutting your thoughts down By Claiming GOD did it , it really is more rewarding to actually ponder on what else could be the explanation for mysterious questions… and for the record when i have a kid im not even mentioning santa to it, and im celebrating Festivus instead of the rest of that crap
add some comment moderation to your BLOG OF BLASPHEMY
nostraamerica.atspace.com/
bye atheists!
youtube.com/watch?v=ojR-XRt4rrA
I'm a more recent entrant into the world of clearer thinking. I spent nearly 50 years as a person brainwashed by
various religious and then spiritual beliefs. I quit Catholicism and Christianity in general in my teens, made a long
foray into Eastern thought, and enjoyed the sense of being connected to everything. I read Madame Blavatsky's
stuff, which obviously inspired Mark Prophet what with all the Ascended Masters talk. But over time, I've seen how
religion is the opium of the people. People want to be sheeple, to believe in some unifying force, and to believe that
we need to surrender our critical thinking powers to some self-appointed authority. Is this brain damage, or a genetic
ally defective trait, or disease of some sort? I still love nature more than ever, and do not feel lost without religion.
Sean, nice touch putting spirituality in quotation marks. :-)
http://community.history.com/topic/2477/master/1/
have I said this before…
community.history.com/topic/2477/master/1/
have I said this before…
http://engforum.pravda.ru/showthread.php?t=280780
Einstein puts the final nail in the coffin of atheism…
*************************************
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7vpw4AH8QQ
*************************************
atheists deny their own life element…
add some comment moderation to your blog of blasphemy…idiot…
http://engforum.pravda.ru/showthread.php?t=280780
Einstein puts the final nail in the coffin of atheism…
*************************************
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7vpw4AH8QQ
*************************************
atheists deny their own life element…
add some comment moderation to your blog of blasphemy…idiot…
you little liars do nothing but antagonize…
and you try to eliminate all the dreams and hopes of humanity…
but you LOST…
THE DEATH OF ATH*ISM – SCIENTIFIC PROOF OF GOD
http://engforum.pravda.ru/showthread.php?t=280780
Einstein puts the final nail in the coffin of atheism…
*************************************
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7vpw4AH8QQ
*************************************
atheists deny their own life element…
LIGHT OR DEATH, ATHEISTS?
********************************
***************************LIGHT*********
************************************
Are people who believe in God/gods brain damaged? All the billions of them? Really?
Cassie, if you count being able to see things as they are, yes. Pattern recognition evolved to err on the side of seeing patterns where there might not be any. This provided a survival advantage. Religion also had tribal benefits.
Citing billions of believers is argument from popularity, same as was used to support ideas about the flat earth, etc. Not a good argument.
True, but they had to "experience and explore" to find out the earth wasn't flat, so maybe some that do believe in God/gods have "experience and explored" it's not like your not going to fall off the edge or anything right? Just say'n.
It appears to be.
But add into that a few other factors. Tribalism, as listed above. Absolute fear in regards to mortality. Culture, family.
People believe silly things, especially if they've been told all their life to do so.
i dont know a whole lot about Elizabeth Clare Prophet personally but ive been listening to several of her teachings and so far i find no fault in her or her teachings.____They are real and i live them and experience the supernatural and practical phenomenon that comes by way of them.Why dont you just wait and make your judgements and criticisms after youve spent a whole life time researching,collecting knowledge,travelling and have had some real experience under your belt and then you might have something to say.____Your not experienced enough yet and not very many are going to take you seriously! AND AGAIN….SHAME ON YOU!
If someone has a lesion on their temporal lobe, or temporal lobe epilepsy (a specific type of epilepsy that is localized to that region) that actually can cause a different type of seizure than the convulsions most people are familiar with. It causes hallucinations that can range from tastes or smells that are not there to euphoric religious experiences and is just about always associated with hyper-religiosity. That said, I think religion does good for some people. There are people that do not possess the ability to understand ethics without studying it, and perhaps that is why some hyper-religious people become obsessed with religion in the first place. Religion is linked to happiness and longevity and I agree that is possibly because ignorance truly is bliss, but that can also be attributed to the fact that prayer does the same positive thing for people as meditation. It is also a crutch for many at the end of their lives or those who are going through a difficult time. Organized religion in the heirarchy fashion that we see it today being abolished is inevitable eventually, in this age of information and increasing individualism, but I am not sure attacking it at the same time as exposing it for what it is is the right approach.
Attacking something so destructive is the only response. If religion's ever going to improve, it will only be because of external challenges. Social complacency and double standards for religion will only ensure more of the same bad behavior. People who are using religion as a crutch can only make progress by realizing it's a crutch. Once they understand that they have everything they need for happiness and inner peace inside of themselves, they won't give another dime to churches. They won't bother worshiping, instead they'll volunteer to help people with no strings or dogma attached.
Wow, powerful statement. Do you mind if I quote you in the future?
I disagree. While I fully support your cause, I don't know if anger (although I do understand an atheists anger entirely) is the best way to reach out to the blissfully ignorant. Using the very tactics religious people are taught to block out may not be as effective. Science and the spread of information (which includes blogs such as yours) will likely wipe out any respect for organized religion as we know it today. Religion is repeatedly being exposed for what it is, more and more as technology progresses. Look at how far we have come- people used to be insanely religious, and now there are a ridiculous amount of closet atheists, posing as agnostics or attending church out of habit. The biggest problem with religion is the fear it imposes, which prevails over independent thought process. Fighting fire with fire is not always the most logical approach in my opinion. Try water.
That's cool. But what you're saying comes under the rhetoric of the accommodationists. There are plenty out there. Here's a little more detailed explanation of my position:
https://blacksunjournal.com/current-affairs/19…
This is far beyond anger. It's just saying to the religious we won't take your shit any more, and we won't give in to demands for 'respect' if said 'respect' is not earned. Period. Worship if you want, but don't expect other people to accept your double standard.
Jackie, I'm committed to speaking truth to power without restraint. But there's at least 10 of you for every one of me. So don't worry.
;-)
If truly in touch with God/gods or not, it is love that is demanded not judgement, hypocrisy, or abuse of any sort, just pure good love for yourself and especially others. It is to lessen pain for others not to make them feel wrong or exiled.Example your conscience above all else is really the most powerful for yourself being and for others. So just listen and speak because everybody likes to be right nobody likes to be wrong but in this kind of situation it's whatever it takes to better yourself and others.
I'll meet you halfway on that.
Personally, I refer believers to the Christian made documentary "Lord, save us from your followers". This Christian man makes a passionate plea for American believers to get out of politics, to move away from hate and actually get involved in philanthropy.
While I still believe that religion is nonsense and that helping others requires no belief, this documentary is a baby step in the national discourse. Check it out.
Not speaking from a spiritual perspective here, but I think you may be overstating the implications of these findings. One thing is that we do not know how self transcendence was actually operationalized in this study (probably a questionnaire, and there is always room for multiple interpretations of item content). Second, it's safe to say that spirituality includes more than ST, and that both spirituality and ST are experienced in the absence of brain damage. Also, ST is probably better viewed as a state, rather than a trait. For instance, even the most practiced Tibetan monks probably aren't blissed out all the time. Finally, this only demonstrates that ST is tied to brain function (duh), and that there is variability in ST with brain changes. This does not imply that ST is maladaptive or associated with functional impairment.
"But I am not you, you are not a fish, a bicycle is not the same as a multi-barrel machine gun. It is making such distinctions, and keeping categories and identity straight that is one of the main goals of human knowledge."
Then why are you such a big supporter of gays who insist shit-bearing anus is equal to child-bearing female womb.
That's pretty funny, John. Last time I checked, women had anuses, too. And the fact that you and I are here means at least two men (our fathers) could tell the difference. And I don't know too many gay men who go around trying to impregnate each other. So what was your point, again?
That was very good John, I am going to be laughing in my sleep thinking about your post for a while I think; thanks. Shane
[…] as thankfully, science does that one for me. Selective brain damage modulates human spirituality Black Sun Journal ? Brain Damage Increases ‘Spirituality’ Selective brain damage modulates human spirituality, research reveals Beyond the fact that […]
Routine for the week end :
1. Ask the person who says "we are not at all one with everything" to stand one feet away from you.
2. Warm up for 2 minutes
3. Punch his nose
4. IF he is feeling it… than "he" or a part of "he" could be a part of "everything" and "HE " is not absolutely seperate to everything. Ponder over it.
5. Sponsor/Support/Lend Voice for tests just to confirm if brain damage also causes atheism and not just theism.
6. Ask yourself if there is absolutely no such thing as God in the first place why Am I stuck with believing and vouching that there is No -God and the necessity for it.
This post made me chuckle… That does explain many religious types simple-minded behaviors and sudden anger to anyone who questions pantheons of gods, their God, their Savior, etc. I do not consider myself atheist as, personally, I see that as being religious, but more of a free-minded person, like someone coming out of the Matrix (Though the whole Neo bullshit doesn't exist here, thank… Well… hmm…).
I remember when I was somewhat sucked into it. I was in a suicidal stage of my life, wanted to die, came close to doing it once or twice and then believing my all benevolent guide saved me and kept me from doing it. Then, about a week later, I'd always be right back where I was. Why? Well, I was sucked into the Mumbo-Jumbo that we're going to hell if we sinned and, guess what? I had "sinned". It's human nature to fuck up, to judge, to cause problems. Why is it all of those problems and judgements and fuck ups have to send us straight to Davy Jone's Locker?
Because, without that consequence, no one would listen. Without promising a way to eternal life, why the hell would we need to hear this stuff? Why would we need to listen to someone telling us stories of a man that could or could not have existed?
These ministers, preachers, spiritual guides, what ever you want to call them, are trained to take advantage of the part of the brain that sees these… illusions. That being the sub conscious mind. How they do it, I don't know, but why the do it is obvious. To feel empowered, just like any other human being wishes to feel.
As it seems by this article, it's pretty much proven that religion is linked to brain damage. I don't exactly believe that's true. I've got a mild form of dyslexia, I didn't learn to read until I was in the 5th grade, and I was in a religious household my entire life. I am now, proud to say, entirely free of any kind of religion. The fact that I am considered mentally impaired to the state I reside in somewhat shows that there are either flooks, or there's more to religion than just brain damaged individuals.
Now, I don't want to jump to the conclusion that there is no God, like many other people here would do. I'd rather say that I'm ignorant of the existence and uncaring of the presence. Why? Because if, by some crazy, insane chance, there is a God, I don't want to be on his bad side when he decides to obliterate his "Children" (Which, if he loved so much, why wouldn't he let them live their lives without fear, and why would he constantly be threatening with apocalypse? ) and purge the world of it's sin.
In the end, organized religion IS a plague. It is the retrovirus that's come to destroy the world, the plague come to wipe humanity off of the face of the earth, and the… well… Zombie attack that I am currently awaiting to happen.
On a side note, All hail Nurgle! God of pestilence, disease, destruction, decay and death! And hospitality.
(My God—>) http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/im…
~~Bryan
hello Bryan
thank you …did I really make you chuckle…? (kidding)
bryan> i do not consider myself as an atheist……
response>>> it doesnt matter what you consider yourself to be …not a bit.I am not talking about the world dear
brayan it is to you….for "you" as such it never matters what you consider yourself to be.
my post has nothing to do with "GOD". hey can I tell you something this concept of GOD is so crude and boring
for GODS sake update it or drop it…..i mean it for gods sake. See if I was GOD it is so boting that I wouldnt want to be one.
bryan>>>nore of a free minded person
response>> and dear sir thats all I wanted to say..be free… of all *&*&%* concepts including the concept of being free of a concept.
regards BRYAN.
bye and take care
hello all
if religion causes brain damage….if it is indeed proven to be so…then
1. we should also discuss if there is an alternative …for people who are into religion…can they be rehabilitated?
and where / into what?
when we have such a plan for say drug addicts etc so on and so forth why not for people into reigion ( if science does prove
that it causes brain damage!)
2. We live in an organised society…now will there be a legal framework then( if science proves RLGN causes brain damage)
to ban religion ? mmmmmm..? or will ther be a call for it…?
only when we factor in such issues this topic : does RLGN causes brain damage" can prove purposeful or meaning ful…with a direction
theres no point in going on citing personal experiences of onness or oneness bashing etc …
regards
bright sushine
Do the regions around the sites of particular brain surgeries relate to perceptions or emotions connected with past experiences?
According to your philosophy our thoughts, emotions, and personality are merely chemical reactions. You assume the uniformity of nature based on empirical evidence. The problem is that you assume (do you not?) that due to the uniformity of nature the chemical reactions in your brain are accurate reflections of reality rather than illusions generated by those reactions. This leads to skepticism in that one cannot truly KNOW anything. As to the uniformity of nature you believe that matter and/or energy will always respond in the same way under the same conditions at all times. This would require omniscience. Not only is our collective knowledge extremely narrow, under materialistic assumptions the universe came about by Chance. Again, one cannot KNOW anything since Chance and Old Night are at the base of all.
Cordially,
Michael Todd
Not one tenet of biocentrism is refuted here. We hate what we do not understand.
What is presented without proof can be dismissed without proof. It's time for the proponents of so-called Biocentrism step up and submit to peer review. Or concede it's no more than a sloppy unsupported hypothesis.
Ok let's throw out that word that now seems to be like the "F Word", religion. Call it religion, spirituality, Oneness, even atheism … why? Because NONE OF US KNOW ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!! This person thinks something, the next thinks something else, the next disproves that, then that person disproves that, and so on. I am sorry, but none of us know anything. All we need to do is believe what we believe and respect that we are all different and believe different things and just love, trust and respect each other. Brain damaged, healthy brains, no brains, lots of brains, whatever …. none of us know. All you can do is believe in the love and beauty of the world around you.
Claiming “nothing can be known” places a person in a permanent state of ignorance–with no way to improve the situation. We don't have to know everything to know *something.* Science organizes what can be proven and separates it from what cannot. And that state is always provisional and (when the method is conducted properly) it is self-correcting. Even while imperfect, it's the only system which allows for any measure of objectivity.
Belief, love, trust, respect and beauty remain in the personal subjective domain.
http://www.ivu.org/people/writers/lama.htm
~ this is a link saying the Dalai Lama eats animal flesh. Another form from Nature IT self of it's manifestations of deception and cruelty…
Nature in humans made religion. It's an old form of literature gone crazy by Natural design.
I always disliked the Dalai Lama and The Pope!
sorry I didn't know where else to put this…
goofed, could have done a search to find a better place.
Sorry again…
this Link should wk..
http://www.ivu.org/people/writers/lama.html
sorry the other one unexpectedly stopped wking, hmmm?
I like what a lot of people said here, but also realize that much of it is not really proven. In this day and age when every toxin and environment can cause so many thing in humans, how can we narrow it down to that silly little study. What we have well established in medical science can fly out the door in a matter of minutes when somebody else proves differently. How many times has that happened? Furthermore, did you know that recently they found out that when you pray before your meal, the water molecules in your glass of water change? I don't remember how they change, but they do. I think it was a very good change if I'm not mistaken. So, those of you who do not believe there is anything good in religion, think again. I'm not saying that everything is good about religion, but it serves its purpose. Also, have you ever heard of anybody saying that they had a spiritual experience and have seen Buddha, Pagan Gods, Allah, Krishna, etc.? I haven't, but I have heard of people seeing Jesus and our Creator or the angels all the time. I, for one, have seen. I hope it didn't give me any brain damage….hehehe.