The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain | Free Book
If Buddha had been in an MRI machine and not under the Bodhi tree when he attained enlightenment, what would we have seen on the monitor?
Dr. Kevin Nelson offers an answer to that question that is beyond what any scientist has previously encountered on the borderlands of consciousness. In his cutting-edge research, Nelson has discovered that spiritual experiences take place in one of the most primitive areas of the brain. In this eloquent, inspired, and reverent book, he relates the moving stories of patients and research subjects, brain scan analysis, evolutionary biology, and beautiful examples of transcendence from literature to reveal the machinery in our heads that enables us to perceive miracles-whether you are an atheist, Buddhist, or the most devout Catholic. The patients and people Nelson discuss have had an extremely diverse set of spiritual experiences, from arguing with the devil sitting at the foot of their hospital bed to seeing the universe synchronize around the bouncing of the ball in a pinball machine. However, the bizarre experiences don't make the people seem like freaks; they seem strangely very much like us, in surprising ways. Ultimately Nelson makes clear that spiritual experiences are not the exception in human life, but rather an inescapable and precious part of every one of us.
In The Press
"Nelson (Neurology/Univ. of Kentucky) has spent decades exploring what
underlies spiritual experiences, so there is more to this book than
physiological probing. In particular, the author is sensitive to the
intensity of a transcendent moment, how it 'deeply moves us or
transports us and connects us in one way or another with something
larger than ourselves.' As a neurologist, however, he seeks an
explanation based on well-established brain mechanisms. Nelson is
humble and balanced, wary of our perception of consciousness and
infectiously fascinated by how the brain shapes it."
-Kirkus
"This book is a bold, provocative and highly readable account of the
author's journey into the world of religious experience and its
possible biological basis."
-V.S. Ramachandran, author of Phantoms in the Brain and
A Brief History of Human Consciousness
- Title: The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain | Free Book
- Author: Steven
- Created at : 2024-10-21 21:32:17
- Updated at : 2024-10-26 20:15:42
- Link: https://novels-ebooks.techidaily.com/581285-9781101446102-the-spiritual-doorway-in-the-brain/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.