Why do I feel like this thread has been hijacked by undisciplined fluffers? Well here is all I have to say...
Skipper
I found God Today (not fluff)
by Mindchild 28 Replies latest jw friends
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Mindchild
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Loris
http://www.the-shrink.info/QQueries_MindEnergy.htm One can ask, ?If the nonmaterial, inner mind or ?soul? governs the material universe (which would include the brain, of course), is there a foci related to its action in a sentient human?s brain? Is there a neural connection or ?gate? that opens to this nonmaterial energy?? This is a difficult question to answer, since much is yet to be done to establish where, or if, such a foci exists or can be located. There are opinions, though, and as you would expect different. This difference in opinion would be expected, however, since the issue of mind, intelligence/consciousness, and other non-materialistic concepts are just now getting more attention. Materialism, with its roots in the scientific approach, isn?t an easy door to break down. Those who think of consciousness (mind) as only a by-product of the brain tend to ignore quantum physics as non-relevant to understanding non-material ideas. Hard-core scientists (orthodox) believe that mental states are identical with brain states, and that all thoughts, feelings and our sense of identity (self) result from, or are generated from, electrochemical activity in the brain; yet, they have no real answer regarding what thoughts, feelings, and ideas of self are. I think of it as compulsive prattle. Often, one sees an old idea embellished in new window dressings, with the claim that the ?new? approach is a break through in understanding the mind. However, examination of the ?new? discloses the same blank walls that were (and have been for years) present before, stopping real answers to questions non-material issues present. I guess it is too difficult to shed the shroud of orthodox scientific objectivity in trying to understand concepts that don?t fit the rules set down by orthodox science. Carl G. Jung said that a synthesis of matter and spirit, conscious and unconscious, bright and dark, and so on will not happen in the realm of present science. He said it would come about in a different science or field, the nature of which is still to be determined. The late world renown neurologist, Dr. Wilder Penfield mapped the brain?s physiology during the numerous surgeries he performed on it. He reported that probing in the area of the right temporal lobe triggered a bevy of memories (more like actual ?being-there? engrams). Visions of earlier activities, of relatives and friends who died, even God were experienced by some of his patients resulting from his probing in the temporal lobe area. Of course, you?ll get an immediate response from hard-line scientists that, because probing this area brought such results, it is proof that spirituality, even the soul, is hardwired in the brain, that we are born with this, and that it has nothing to do with non-local energy. I don?t think so. Just a little something to ponder
Loris
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BeelzeDub
I find this facinating as it provides a scientific explination why some people feel more plugged into god than others. Sounds like you just need some fine tuning on finding the right spot. Also it has been proven by EEG equipment that this part of the brain becomes very active during meditation or spirtual experiences.
Neurotheology. Has anyone here read this book?
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imallgrowedup
Loris -
is there a foci related to its action in a sentient human?s brain?....nonmaterial energy....non-materialistic concepts....quantum physics as non-relevant to understanding non-material ideas....yadda yadda yadda!
I admire your intellect, but is there an english version (preferably about two sentences long) that would sum this up? I sense there is a good point in there somewhere!
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Mindchild
imallgrowedup asked...
is there an english version (preferably about two sentences long) that would sum this up?
Let's see if I can make this a little easier to understand. You might say there are different theories of what is responsible for consciousness. In the post above, the author makes reference to the theory that consciousness exists outside of the human brain (a nonmaterial consciousness) but makes use of the brain for expressing itself. It is difficult to find a mechansim by which such a nonmaterial conciousness would interact with the material brain except perhaps by means of some unknown process in quantum physics. When we look at the human brain while active (like in a MRI scan) we don't see any one area of the brain as a focal point giving orders to the rest of the brain to do different things. So, if this theory is true of how nonmaterial conciousness works it has yet to be explained how it interacts with the brain.
Most neuroscientists have a more materialistic view that basically says that consciousness emerges from the interaction of neurons in the brain. This is a well established view and right or wrong, the people who believe it are very reluctant to accept evidence that doesn't fit their model of how the brain works.
Hope that helps answer your question.
Skipper
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mouthy
Mindchild!!!!!
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gumby
I guess I wasn't cut out to be the religious type after all.
Skipper,
What blows me away is someone with your type of brain could have ever been a dub.......unless you were raised as such. Even then ...it seems you would see through it at an early age. Seems to me that someone who is bright enough to play Dr. Frankenstein would have never swallowed the bible stuff period.
(btw) you never commented on the book I mentioned.....have you heard of it?)
Gumby
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Mindchild
Country_Woman asked me:
Did you enjoy the experience ? I would be afraid to damage my brain....
I guess I was more curious than anything else and wasn?t really thinking about enjoying the experience. It really didn?t have much of an emotional impact one way or another on me. And yes, it is possible to do temporary damage to your brain by using rTMS but I was quite careful and knew exactly how much energy I was working with and I have also worked with this equipment before in a laboratory setting, as well as consulted medical texts about energy density and exposure times. Thus, it was quite safe.
Imallgrowedup asked me:
Have you ever considered that if you had bouncing colored lights and ringing ears, that you didn't find the "godspot" at all?
From what I read of Dr. Michael Persinger?s experiments, my failure to achieve any kind of religious or spiritual experience by this experimental process is not that unusual. I have even read that people who have had rTMS induced religious experiences on one occasion failed to repeat it at a later date. There are many factors in one?s current neurology that can contribute towards or subtract from the desired outcome. As far as looking for God in my heart, I?m an atheist. I was really looking to explore the emotional significance that some people experience in their personal religious experiences, rather than finding proof of God?s existence.
Gumby, I have not read the book you mentioned ?The God Part of the Brain? thank you for the reference.
Loris, you mentioned in your quotation the work of Dr. Wilder Penfield and his work with a process called ESB (electrical stimulation of the brain). I?ve read a great deal of his work and of the results of his experiments are fascinating. However the hypothesis that consciousness exists outside the body or brain is not proven one way or another with this experimentation.
BeelzeDub, I haven?t read the book you mentioned and it looks promising for an interesting read. I have read articles about Neurotheology and there is a wealth of information anyone can find by doing a web search.
Gumby, I was raised in a third generation dub family. I got terrible grades through my primary schooling because of constantly being persecuted for being a Witness. Quite honestly, I think there were two things that started waking me up as a teenager about the truth of the truth, one was that I loved to read?especially science fiction (which led into reading science books) and the other was my having a long term Bible study with a school teacher who helped me to think and reason enough to start asking questions. The only good thing my expulsion from the Borg managed to accomplish was that I became an assertive self-taught exploratory learner who practically lived in the local college library. I learned enough doing that to realize how ignorant I really was about everything and later decided to go to college and get my educational act into high gear.
The said part is that there are lots of brilliant people out there in both dub land and ex-dub land that have the potential to become much more than they are, given the chance to enjoy a more educational enhancing life change.
Skipper
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gumby
The said part is that there are lots of brilliant people out there in both dub land and ex-dub land that have the potential to become much more than they are
Amen!
How intellectual people can succumb to a sect they were not 'raised in', those not born into it........would have to join out of a non-sense emotion, that overides logical reason, as the reason they become involved. Women who marry men whom they know to be abusive is an example.
Are you planning to try your devise on anyone else? Try it on yourself again.....maybe a different response will happen.
Gumby