Posted inAwareness Science

Awareness is a process, not a thing

I'm aware of typing on my laptop right now. And after writing those words, I'm also aware that I'm aware of typing on my laptop. This second type of awareness is called meta-awareness, a term I came across in a book I'm reading, "Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body." The authors, Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson, write: When we did our first vipassana courses in India, we found ourselves immersed hour after hour in noting the comings and goings of our mind, cultivating stability by simply noticing rather than following where those thoughts, impulses,…
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Posted inReligions Science

All statements about the material world are subject to science

"Spirituality" is a word that's difficult to pin down. In my current atheist frame of mind, I consider that the term refers to an attempt to find meaning in life -- this material life, this physical life, this life here on Earth.  Such is how Daniele Bolelli speaks of the need to rekindle our appreciation of what the senses bring to us. In his book, "On the Warrior's Path," he writes: Our bodies are the kingdom of lost continents and unknown lands. Columbus, Livingstone, Stanley, Marco Polo, and Neil Armstrong are just Boy Scouts compared to the explorers of the…
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Posted inChristianity/Jesus

Story of an intriguing LSD experience where Jesus appears

Can LSD reveal the nature of God? Here's the story of someone who took LSD and had an amazing experience of both the "beast" (Satan?) and Jesus. This person didn't want their name to be known, so I've left that out. Otherwise I've shared what was sent to me unaltered. Our correspondence started with this message from the person. Brian, I've read Return to the One, am working through God's Whisper and have ordered Life is Fair.  I read most of the Sant Mat books also.   I thought you might be interested in a mystical experience I had in 1968. …
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Posted inPersonal/Stories

Taking a risk, like sky diving, can be a shortcut to mindfulness

There's nothing like doing something that could kill you to concentrate one's mind. Many years ago I remember reading an article in Parade magazine that contained a quote from an Iraq war veteran that said something similar: "Everybody needs something in their life that can kill them."  For three years, 2009 to 2012, I rode a maxi-scooter -- a Burgman 650 Executive. I loved it. (My wife, not so much, as noted in a blog post, "USA Today story about older motorcycle riders mentions...ME!") Riding the Burgman 650, as is the case with all motorcycles/scooters, focused my attention on the…
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Posted inBooks Science

A quest for spiritual liberation can lead to new illusions

Some scientific findings contained in an article in the April 2 issue of The New Yorker, "Are We Already Living In Virtual Reality?" bear on the question of what meditation is all about, and the extent to which meditation liberates us from anything. The article is about Thomas Metzinger, a philosophically-minded neuroscientist. As you can read in the excerpt below, Metzinger speaks about our inability to recognize the unconscious mental models that determine how we experience reality. In his book, The Ego Tunnel, which I've read and enjoyed, Metzinger speaks of the walls of the tunnel as being transparent to…
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Posted inChristianity/Jesus

Here’s what this atheist has written about Easter

It's the day after Easter, and I didn't write a irreligious blog post yesterday. But, hey, Monday is another day! So here goes.  The best pithy comment I saw yesterday was on Twitter: Nicely said. This sums up my attitude toward Easter, which celebrates the supposed resurrection of Jesus. For further delving into how I view Easter, here's links to my previous blog posts about this religious holiday, with an excerpt from each. Before Easter, I escape death. I feel sort of Jesus'y. If I believed in reincarnation (I don't), then it would be easy for me to imagine that…
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