Posted: Oct 09, 2018 12:22 pm
Wheelspawn wrote:I've had multiple mystical experiences regarding the Ground of all Being. I am an atheist and naturalist, and make no supernatural or paranormal interpretations of it. Ask me anything.
Do you relate to what these neuroscientists refer to as a "complete" mystical experience?
You see, it's a flat-out mistake on behalf of the atheists I encounter to necessarily define God as something "supernatural" or "metaphysical" in the particular sense that is bandied about these forums. That is to say, to define the divine with the requirement that its description should be something that defies physics or is synonymous with magic, etc. Einstein rightly referred to this as the "childish analogy of religion," and ironically it's the one notion most atheists I meet have as for their very reason for their rejection of theism. You see, the atheist essentially conjures his/her own conception of God, makes it supernatural, omniscient, omnibenevolent, etc. from the influence of their, shall I say, eisegesis of what they understand about religion, then proceeds to reject the very thing which they themselves conjured. Seems quite silly, but this is, in fact, the case.
The science is saying something quite different and has implications towards the very origins of the major religions, the nascency of each of the world's great faiths residing in individuals engaging what they're referring to as a "mystical experience," and have found it is, indeed, a biologically normal phenomenon. I get the impression no one is clicking these links. These aren't simply "YouTube links," these are lectures given by actual professionals who perform actual science relative to these topics. These studies have been peer-reviewed and published in The Scientific Journal of Psychopharmacology.
Biologically normal phenomenon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bu3q3GMHfE#t=51m18s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AifzF2BJxEE#t=22m25s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY0oGjYqhhw#t=6m26s
"Complete" Mystical Experience - Dr. Robert Jesse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuwkDgyIuao#t=23m04s
Dr. Alex Belsar - "Complete" Mystical Experience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUYDjV8lQxo#t=5m36s
Dr. Roland Griffiths on "Complete" Mystical Experience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxWvIp9XtUc#t=9m