Feeling a pull towards deeper understanding and greater connection with the Universe? This could be signs of an impending spiritual awakening, a profound shift that changes our understanding of self and reality.
This post may help in understanding everything we need to know about this transformative experience – from recognizing the early signs to navigating challenges and enjoying its benefits.
Ready for an [Eastern, more Hindu than Buddhist] enlightening journey? Let’s dive in, beginning with this guided meditation.
Key points
A spiritual awakening is a transformative experience where we become aware of our "true selves" and connect to a higher power.
Signs of spiritual awakenings can include feeling disconnected, reevaluating beliefs, having vivid or lucid dreams, experiencing shifting relationships, and increased intuition.
Each person’s spiritual awakening journey is unique and personal, guided by one's own beliefs, experiences, and inner wisdom.
During a spiritual awakening, individuals may also experience a strong connection to nature and have physical symptoms. More
Why our inner state matters more than our goals | Eckhart Tolle
(Eckhart Tolle) Oct. 17, 2024: Ever wonder why achieving your goals doesn't always bring the happiness you expected? Eckhart Tolle dives into the difference between external success and inner fulfillment in this video. He reveals how a deeper understanding of faith can transform your daily life and explains why feeling whole now is the key to effortless manifestation. If you're tired of the endless pursuit of more, Eckhart's wisdom offers a refreshing alternative. Discover more insights from Eckhart Tolle: Subscribe to his channel today!
How to stop pretending and start living | Eckhart Tolle
(Eckhart Tolle) Oct. 22, 2024: Eckhart Tolle shares practical wisdom on how to be your authentic self in every situation. He explains why playing roles can hold us back and offers simple tips for staying present, even in high-pressure moments. Whether we're dealing with work stress or social anxiety, Eckhart's insights can help us find more ease and authenticity in our daily interactions.
ABOUT:
Eckhart Tolle is widely recognized as one of the most inspiring and visionary spiritual teachers in the world today. With his international bestsellers, The Power of Now and A New Earth —translated into more than 50 languages — he has introduced millions to the joy and freedom of living life in the present moment. The New York Times has described him as “the most popular spiritual author in the United States,” and in 2011, Watkins Review (now Watkins Mind Body Spirit) named him “the most spiritually influential person in the world.”
Eckhart’s profound yet simple teachings have helped countless people around the globe experience a state of vibrantly alive inner peace in their daily lives. His teachings focus on the significance and power of Presence, the awakened state of consciousness, which transcends ego and discursive thinking. Eckhart sees this awakening as the essential next step in human evolution.
Find this video helpful? Want more peace of mind or to bring more Presence into days, work, and other areas of life? Join Eckhart Tolle Now, Eckhart’s online community, and get access to his new in-depth teachings every month, practical Q&A sessions with Eckhart, and member-only discounts on Eckhart’s online programs. Enroll in The School of Awakening - A 5-Month Online Advanced Training Program to teach, lead, and live your highest purpose: https://bit.ly/School-of-Awakening-YT... Get FREE access Eckhart Tolle’s new miniseries - The world needs you as a teacher of Presence: https://bit.ly/become-a-teacher-2024 Enjoy a FREE 10-DAY TRIAL to Eckhart Tolle Now: https://members.eckharttolle.com/10-d...
Ross Andersen (The Atlantic, 9/30/23); Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Does the EYE know-and-see, or is it the brain, the heart, the hologram, the neuron, the network? Let's ask Alex Grey, maker of sacred art that must have more DMT in his brain than others.
For years now, Dr. Hakwan Lau has suffered from an inner torment. Dr. Lau is a neuroscientist who studies the sense of awareness that all of us experience during our every waking moment.
How this awareness arises from ordinary matter is an ancient mystery. Several scientific theories purport to explain it, and Dr. Lau feels that one of them, called "integrated information theory" (IIT), has received a disproportionate amount of media attention.
He’s annoyed that its proponents tout it as the dominant theory in the press. He’s disturbed by their apparent affinity with New Age figures, such as Dr. Deepak Chopra. Worst of all, he complains, the theory doesn’t even rise to the level of “science.”
I'm aware of you, Princess. - I know, Robot. I can feel your awareness meter (Star Wars).
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IIT was first formulated by Dr. Giulio Tononi in 2004. It’s meant to quantify the consciousness that exists in any system, based on the total information that is brought together by its constituent parts.
Other theories of consciousness tell more of a general story about how the brain generates consciousness; IIT gives it a mathematical expression.
I think; therefore, I beep. (Smoke detected!)
Controversially, IIT also suggests that there is consciousness in systems that we wouldn’t usually think of as being "aware," including [smoke detectors?] photodiodes and thermostats.
Dr. Anil Seth, a neuroscientist who is not himself opposed to IIT, nonetheless described it to me as “kind of a bonkers theory.”
Einstein Questions, Buddha Answers
Dr. Lau has expressed his many concerns to colleagues at conferences, in the hallways between sessions and afterward over drinks at the bar.
Many of them have been sympathetic, he told me, and share his fear that their whole field would be a laughingstock if a theory that deems smoke alarms conscious [Yes!] were to be taken as its public face.
Dr. Lau also worries that naive students could be deluded into thinking that the theory is stronger — or perhaps less bonkers — than it really is.
This summer, Dr. Lau set about convincing his colleagues that they should express their contempt for IIT as a group, in print. He succeeded: On Sept. 16, more than 100 of them released an open letter. [Stupid kids, children, catty teens.]
Within 24 hours, a full-blown BRAWL had broken out on social media. [Then Tau grabbed the device the group was using and announced, "Screw you guys, I'm going home," so they couldn't play anymore without him. Or was that Cartman?] More
(Functional Spirituality) Oct. 2, 2022. Let's gift ourselves a few minutes to be present, to be conscious, to be here now. Breathe in the moment, and connect to the life that is right here, right now.
Let's let our body, emotions, and thoughts become grounded and melt into the Now. Notice the powerful shift that occurs.
To join free weekly group meditations, message or visit @functionalspirituality
🔔 Subscribe for more guided meditation and spiritual teachings. Connect:
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(Eckhart Tolle) Aug. 30, 2022. According to Eckhart Tolle, there are a lot of people who believe they need to do a lot in order to enter the Fourth State. But this higher level of consciousness (turiya) is already within us and ready for us to use when we are ready.
What is it that brought you to this video? What are you seeking? Did you find it — or perhaps just a piece of it — here with Eckhart Tolle? No? Well, go ask the Buddha.
For more than 20 years, Eckhart Tolle has taught about the workings of the egoic mind, the dynamics of interpersonal conflicts, how to touch into the Presence beyond consciousness, and much more. No matter what anyone is seeking — whether it's a little stress relief or advice on how to handle a significant life challenge — that person will find dozens of practices and other resources at Eckhart Tolle Now. Sign up today and you'll gain access to almost two decades' worth of archival recordings and new monthly sessions from the cutting edge of his teachings.
Enjoy a FREE 10-DAY TRIAL with Eckhart Tolle Now: members.eckharttolle.com.
(Eckhart Tolle) April 19, 2022. Eckhart Tolle provides guidance in meeting impulses in awareness, whether they are related to sexual activities or any other things that we can identify as addictions.
(Eckhart Tolle, May 31, 2022) Eckhart Tolle points out that being in the company of unconscious people will (at least for now) be more common than it is not. He offers methods for both maintaining and intensifying Presence when disturbed by others, whether it’s a beloved family member or a complete stranger.
To find greater fulfillment in life, subscribe at bit.ly/EckhartYT.
Want to watch and hear more of Eckhart Tolle's teachings? Become a member today and join a growing YouTube community at bit.ly/ETmembership.
Find this short preview video helpful? Want more peace of mind or bring more Presence into daily life, work, and other areas of life? Join Eckhart Tolle now, an online community, and get access to his new in-depth teachings every month, practical Q&A sessions, and member-only discounts on online programs.
Enjoy a FREE 10-DAY TRIAL to Eckhart Tolle Now: members.eckharttolle.com/10-d...
Podcast 86 – Samvega and pasada are two Buddhist emotions indispensable for practice.
"Sense of urgency" (samvega) and "calm" (pasada) keep our practice alive and on course. The first is a spiritual sense of urgency arising with regard to three things:
a sense of disillusionment and dispassion about life as it was usually lived,
our own complacency and complicity,
and a determination to find a more meaningful way to live.
Contrary to society at large, Buddhism goes against the stream as it encourages the cultivation of a sense of urgency -- as long as it is balanced with a serene confidence and calm that arises when we find a reliable way to address the sense of urgency to awaken and gain liberation from illusion. More + AUDIO
Eckhart Tolle seems to have spontaneously awakened to the transcendent truth of anatta, the impersonal (egoless) nature of existence. This realization, as taught by awakened teachers ("buddhas") leads to the first stage of enlightenment. Tolle's practice of sati ("mindfulness, vigilance, watchfulness, conscientiousness, remembrance, presence of mind") he calls "presence."
Visitors inspect the work "Spazio ad attivazione
cinetica" by Italian artist Marina Apollonio at the Schirn Kunsthalle
museum in Frankfurt. The museum shows large-format paintings, objects,
and environments by artists fascinated by the physical laws of light and
optics who dedicated their work to the study of visual phenomena and
principles of perception (Thomas Lohnes/AFP/Getty).
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Reality is nothing like what we think, says UCI neuroscientist
(The Richest) Illusions are real, in a sense. The mind often fills in blanks and really is fooled. There are two kinds of people in the world. One who extrapolates from incomplete information and. (lol)
In the 1999 dystopian
sci-fi film “The Matrix,” the character played by Keanu Reeves (Neo) is presented
with two pills.
The blue pill will keep things the way they are. The
red pill will usher in an entirely different universe. Crips vs. Bloods, Dems vs. Reps, water vs. fire...or there's purple, the blend of the two.
The idea that “reality” is actually nothing like what we perceive it
to be is not new, particularly in the realm of film, literature, or
conspiracy theory. As science shows, it turns out that trippy notion might really be true.
Instead of some larger evil force trying to pull the wool over our eyes, however, a neuroscientist at UC Irvine
(Orange County) who’s studied perception and artificial intelligence says (like the Buddha said long before him) that it is
our senses -- touch, smell, taste, and so on -- that are doing the cheating.
AirTalk guest host Patt Morrison speaks with him about his research. Professor of Cognitive Science at University of California, Irvine Donald Hoffman has some startling things to say. AUDIO
(The Richest) 10 mind blowing optical illusions prove that the camera lies, we can't trust our own eyes, and the label (interpretation) we place on incoming information (sense data) changes what we perceive to what we cognize. "Reality" is not real because it is being distorted and brought into being at the point of entry. As the Buddha said, "I declare within this body, with its perception and intellect, is the world" (AN 4.45). We aren't seeing what's out there but the distortions we cling to and take to be real.
A professor of cognitive science argues that the world is nothing like the one we experience through our senses.
As we go about our daily lives, we tend to assume that our
perceptions -- sights, sounds, smells, textures, tastes, thoughts -- are an accurate portrayal
of the real world.
When we stop and think about it -- or when we find
ourselves fooled by a perceptual illusion -- we realize with a jolt that
what we perceive is never the world directly, but rather our brain’s
best guess at what that world is like, a kind of internal simulation of
an external reality.
Still, we bank on the fact that our simulation is a
reasonably decent one. If it weren’t, wouldn’t evolution [or the nearest predator] have weeded us
out by now?
The true realitymight be forever beyond our reach.
[That is, if we fail to meditate, undistort the distortions, and find reality using systematic insight-exercises with mind-purifying-serenity, fourfold mindfulness, vipassana, and the analysis of the dependent origination of all things (with the sole exception of nirvana) which the Buddha made known. Buddhist practice leads out of ignorance and therefore frees us of all suffering].
But
surely our senses give us at least an inkling of what true reality is really like? Not so, says Donald D. Hoffman... More
Plants have senses that put humans to shame. Not only do they hear and smell, they can also sense the presence of water,
and even sense an object within their space. [This was suspected, scientifically verified, and largely ignored long ago from a series of botanical experiments published in The Secret Life of Plants.] Now new research suggests that plants
can actually learn and remember.
Even on the subordinate levels of the life scale, there is profound
consciousness -- an awareness that binds all sensitive things together. The Secret Life of Plants: A fascinating account of the physical, emotional, and spiritual relations between plants and man (Peter Tompkins and
Christopher Bird) was published in
1973.
The book forwards the idea that plants are
sentient, despite the absence of a physical nervous system and brain. This
sentience is testable through changes in a plant's
conductivity, as measured with a polygraph, a technique pioneered by Cleve Backster.
The book also summarizes Goethe's theory of plant
metamorphosis.
But the book is about much more than
plants. It delves deeply into such topics as the aura,
psychophysics, orgone, radionics, Kirlian photography,
magnetism/magnetotropism, bioelectrics, dowsing, and the history of
science. It served as the basis for the 1979 documentary of the same name,
with a soundtrack especially recorded by Stevie Wonder.
(He is to Shia LeBeouf)Rosie Gray (BlackBookMag.com)
Shia LaBeouf: Justin Bieber is "like Buddha"
Barring more death threats to poor, sweet Selena Gomez, The Bieber has new accolades to anger haters of her kissing exploits.
(July 1, 2011) Shia LaBeouf appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night and had a lot to say about Justin Bieber. He's "the bomb! He's like a 16-year-old Frank Sinatra."
He even "has a presence like Buddha, like a young prince... I went up to him, I wanted to say hi. Security was ready to take me down. Bieber does this two-finger wave thing like, 'He's OK.' "
The topic came up because of that super-adorable video Selena Gomez posted on YouTube of her meeting LaBeouf and freaking out because he's "soooo cute!" Did Justin have a problem with that? Source
Eckhart Tolle explains being present in relationships that have a past, such as those with partners, parents, and people who trigger us. How will we be happy in spite of the content of forms appearing in the present moment (the now)? If we ourselves become the space for those things to appear in then the future or whatever comes into it is no longer threatening. Why? So long as we are not trying to find ourselves in the future, our identity is not in things, and nothing that matters can be added or taken away. Then we find peace here and now. Otherwise, our lives are full of effort, strain, and stress -- and we are not being ourselves. Being caught up in relationships, the same things happened to the Buddha before his renunciation and enlightenment. (That period is designated by referring to him as the Bodhisatta, the being bent on enlightenment, or as Siddhartha Gautama also spelled Gotama).
Siddhartha's Life Before Renouncing Buddhist Scriptures by E.J. Thomas (pp. 32-36) SIDDHARTHA GOTAMA, at the age of sixteen, was married to his cousin, Yasodhara, who in the sacred texts is usually called "the mother of Rahula." After his enlightenment Gotama returned to his native city, [wandering for] alms through the streets. His father came and was converted.
His wife remained in her room till Gotama should come to her, saying, "If I am virtuous enough to merit this honor, my husband will come himself to see me, and then I will salute him respectfully." This he did, and his father told how since she had heard that her husband was wearing yellow robes and eating one meal a day, she had done the same. His son Rahula entered the Order (Sangha).
AT that time, on hearing that the mother of Rahula had borne a son, [his father] King Suddhodana sent the message, "Announce the happy news to my son." The Bodhisatta, when he heard, said, "Rahula [an impediment] is born, a fetter is born." The king asked, "What did my son say?" and on hearing the words, said, "Henceforth let the name of my grandson be prince Rahula." But the Bodhisatta mounted a splendid chariot and entered the city with great honor and most delightful majestic glory.
At that time a girl of the warrior caste named Kisagotami had gone to the top of the palace and beheld the beauty and glory of the Bodhisatta, as he made a rightwise procession round the city; and, filled with joy and delight, she made this solemn utterance:
Happy indeed that mother is, Happy indeed that father is, Happy indeed that wife is, Whose husband is such as he.
The Bodhisatta, on hearing it, thought, "Thus she spoke; on her seeing such a form a mother's heart wins nirvana, a father's heart wins nirvana, a wife's heart wins nirvana. Now on what being extinguished* [nirvaner'ed, or quenched, slaked, cooled] does the heart attain nirvana?"
[*NOTE: The word is nibbuta. It is the same word that is translated "happy" in the utterance of Kisagotami. Gotama plays on the other meaning of the word and makes her saying an argument for renunciation. Buddhist Scriptures, by E.J. Thomas, [1913], at sacred-texts.com.]
And with aversion in his mind for the passions he thought, "When the fire of lust is extinguished nirvana is won; when the fire of hate, the fire of delusion are extinguished, nirvana is won; when pride, false views, and all the passions and pains are extinguished, nirvana is won. She has taught me a good lesson, for I am in search of nirvana; even today ought I to reject and leave a household life, and go forth from the world to seek nirvana. Let this be her teacher's fee."
And taking from his neck a pearl necklace worth 100,000 pieces, he sent it to Kisagotami. She was filled with delight, and thought, "Prince Siddhattha has fallen in love with me, and has sent me a present."
But the Bodhisatta with great majestic glory entered his palace and lay down on the royal bed. Now beautiful women, decked with all adornments, well trained in dancing, singing, and so on, like celestial girls [devas or asparvas], took various musical instruments, and came round him, diverting him with dancing, singing, and music.
The Bodhisatta, through his mind being averse to the passions, took no pleasure in the dancing and music, and fell asleep for a short time. The women thought, "He for whose sake we are dancing and singing has fallen asleep; why do we now weary ourselves?" And taking their instruments they strewed them about and lay down. Lamps of perfumed oil were burning.
The Bodhisatta, on waking up, sat cross-legged upon the bed and saw the women sleeping with their instruments thrown about, some with [slobber] trickling and their bodies wet with spittle, some grinding their teeth, some snoring, some muttering, some with open mouths, some with their dress fallen apart and [normally covered] parts disclosed. On seeing their disgraceful appearance he was still more averse to pleasures.
The hall, though adorned and decorated like the palace of Sakka [king of the devas in the Heaven of the Thirty-three], seemed to him like a cemetery filled with all sorts of corpses strewn about, and the three modes of existence [in the sense sphere, the fine material sphere, and the immaterial sphere] appeared like a house on fire. His solemn utterance broke forth, "How oppressive it is, how afflicting it is!" and his thought turned mightily to abandoning the world.
Thinking, "Today I must make the great renunciation," he rose from his bed and went towards the door. "Who is there?" he [asked]. Channa, who had put his head on the threshold, said, "Noble sir, it is I, Channa."
The Bodhisatta said,] "Today I wish to [renounce and leave the palace]; saddle me a horse." Channa replied, "Yes, your Highness," and taking the horse-trappings he went to the stable, and by the light of scented oil-lamps he saw Kanthaka, [the Bodhisatta's horse] the king of horses, standing in a goodly stall beneath a jasmine-flowered canopy. "This is the one I must saddle today," he said, and he saddled Kanthaka.
The horse, as he was being saddled, thought, "This is very tight harness; it is not like harness used on other days in going for pleasure in the park. My noble master must today be wishing to make the great renunciation." So with delighted mind he gave a great neigh. The sound would have extended through the whole city, but the [devas] suppressed the sound and allowed no one to hear.
When the Bodhisatta had sent Channa [for the horse], he thought, "Now I will go and see my son," and rising from where he was sitting cross-legged When the Bodhisatta had sent Channa, he thought, "Now I will go and see my son," and rising from where he was sitting cross-legged he went to the room of [his wife] Rahula's mother and opened the door.
At that moment a scented oil-lamp was burning in the room. The mother of Rahula was sleeping on a bed strewn with jasmine and other flowers and with her hand on her son's head. The Bodhisatta put his foot on the threshold and stood looking. "If I move the queen's hand and take my son, the queen will awake. Thus there will be an obstacle to my going. When I have become [enlightened] I will come and see him." And he went down from the palace.
[With Channa riding behind him he passed through the city-gates, which were opened by divine beings (devas), and rode as far as the river Anoma. He there crossed the river, cut off his hair, and sent Channa back with the horse.]
But the horse Kanthaka, who stood listening to the voice of the Bodhisatta, as he deliberated with Channa, thought, "Now I shall never see my master again." And when he passed out of sight, he was unable to bear the grief, and his heart broke, and he died and was born again in the heaven of the Thirty-three [devas] as a son of the gods [a devaputra, which simply means reborn among celestial devas] named Kanthaka.
At first Channa had had one grief, but when Kanthaka died, he was overcome by a second grief and returned weeping and lamenting to the city. (Jatakas. Introduction I. 60 f.) More stories at scribd.com
All Things Considered, May 19, 2009 · According to polls, there's a 50-50 chance you have had at least one spiritual experience — an overpowering feeling that you've touched God, or another dimension of reality.
PHOTO: According to Orrin Devinsky, who directs the epilepsy center at New York University, neurologists suspect some of the religious giants — like Moses — were epileptics. When Moses saw the burning bush, it could have been God — or a seizure, he says. "Whatever happened back there in Sinai, Moses' experience was mediated by his temporal lobe," Devinsky says (iStockphoto.com).
So, have you ever wondered whether those encounters actually happened — or whether they were all in your head? Scientists say the answer might be both.
If you're looking for evidence that religion is in your head, you need look no further than Jeff Schimmel. The 49-year-old Los Angeles writer was raised in a Conservative Jewish home. But he never bought into God — until after he was touched by a being outside of himself.
"Yeah," Schimmel says, "I was touched by a surgeon."
About a decade ago, Schimmel had a benign tumor removed from his left temporal lobe. The surgery was a snap. But soon after that — unknown to him — he began to suffer mini-seizures. He'd hear conversations in his head. Sometimes the people around him would look slightly unreal, as if they were animated.
Then came the visions. He remembers twice, lying in bed, he looked up at the ceiling and saw a swirl of blue and gold and green colors that gradually settled into a shape. He couldn't figure out what it was.
"And then, like a flash, it dawned on me: 'This is the Virgin Mary!' " he says. "And you know, it's funny. I laughed about it, because why would the Virgin Mary appear to me, a Jewish guy, lying in bed looking at the ceiling? She could do much better."...
GOD HELMET“For the next 30 minutes, I listen to magnetic fields shift over my skull. Occasionally, I report seeing images, or a dark forest.…At one point, Persinger predicts I am right on the verge of feeling the 'Sensed Presence.' But it never happens. There were several times when Persinger predicted I would see an image, or a face -- and I did. To Persinger, this is evidence that God and all spiritual experience are a product of your brain.”
Barbara Bradley Hagerty tried on Michael Persinger's "God helmet" at Laurentian University to see if he could manufacture a spiritual experience for her by manipulating her temporal lobes (Barbara Bradley Hagerty/NPR).
The Quest For The "Sensed Presence" This made me wonder: If God uses the temporal lobe, can neurologists make God come and go at will? Well, they can make ecstatic seizures go away with surgery or medication. But what about summoning God? Could a scientist manufacture a spiritual experience by manipulating my temporal lobes?
That question led me to Michael Persinger's laboratory in Sudbury, Ontario. It's 6:30 on a Saturday evening, and Persinger, a neuroscientist at Laurentian University, has pasted eight electrodes on my scalp. He eases a modified motorcycle helmet with its own sensors onto my head. He calls it the "God helmet."
The helmet is supposed to stimulate my right temporal lobe with weak magnetic fields, and create the illusion of God in my head. Well, not God exactly, but a sensed presence, a feeling that another being is in the room.
When the helmet is in place, Persinger covers my eyes with goggles stuffed with napkins. I sink deeper into the threadbare, overstuffed chair, feeling like a teenager hanging out in someone's basement. He leaves me in the chamber and returns to the control room, where I've placed a recorder.
For the next 30 minutes, I listen to magnetic fields shift over my skull. Occasionally, I report seeing images, or a dark forest. I've place a recorder in the control room, which is picking up both his comments and mine. At some point, I say, in an almost incomprehensibly muffled words, "There's kind of a roiling darkness, like a battle of darkness; it's off to my left."
Persinger observes, excited: "You've just reported the actions on your left. And now you are beginning to experience — and my compliments to you — what is called 'The black,' or 'The dark of the dark.' "
Of course, I couldn't hear him say that. He was talking into my recorder. At one point, Persinger predicts I am right on the verge of feeling the "Sensed Presence." But it never happens. There were several times when Persinger predicted I would see an image, or a face — and I did. To Persinger, this is evidence that God and all spiritual experience are a product of your brain.
"What is the last illusion that we must overcome as a species?" he asks theatrically. "That illusion is that God is an absolute that exists independent of the human brain — that somehow we are in his or her care."
"I'm A More Decent Human Being Because Of It" Believers are certainly going to take issue with that. And so do many scientists. I put the question to New York University's Devinsky. Does the fact that we can track spiritual feelings in our temporal lobe mean that there's nothing spiritual going on?
"No," he says simply.
Think about a man and woman who are in love, Devinsky says. They look at each other, and in all likelihood, something fires in their temporal lobes.
"However, does that negate the presence of true love between them?" he asks. "Of course not. When you get to spirituality, as a scientist I think it really becomes extremely difficult to say anything other than, 'It's possible.' "
As for Schimmel, the fellow with temporal lobe epilepsy, he finds it hard to believe that his new faith and love for his fellow man come merely from an electrical impulse that's gone awry.
"But I'll tell you what the real bottom line is for me," says Schimmel, who has taken up Buddhism to harness his spiritual life. "I don't care where it comes from. I'm just a happier person, and I'm a more decent human being because of it." More>>
The next part of this series looks at spiritual virtuosos — Buddhist monks and other long-term practitioners of meditation who are coming under the gaze of brain researchers.
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