curious about mysticism

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Is not just the case as some research suggest (e.g. http://www.livescience.com/health/08122 ... pirit.html ) that spirituality and therefore also mystic experiences have a clear bases with the brain (something which is also supported by mystical experience under the influence of some drugs, namely Ketamine, LSD, MDA, Mushrooms)?

If this is case, and a lot of evidence does support this, it does not surprise that the same experience is reported from different religious and cultrual background, do they share the same kind of brains.

Last edited by Dussel on 23 Jan 2009, 5:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Last edited by odd on 25 Jan 2009, 10:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

I dunno, is it?

Kafka was/is awesome Averick!

Mystics and Shamans do have a different kind of brain that allows them to experience DMT in higher dosages. About 2% of the population are able to tap into this consciousness and experience hallucinations and vivid dreams. The prophets probably were part of this group seeing how they experienced angels and visions. For those who are unable to have these spiritual experiences, you can always take a psychedelic to expand your mind.

It's not delusional. It's a higher form of consciousness. Dreams and visions are rich in metaphor and hidden truths. What seperates a normal person from a crazy person is that the crazy person who experiences visions and such does not know how to interpret them and believes they are a part of the same reality. A mystic knows the difference and can operate in both worlds.

Being awake is not as easy as being brainwashed by the materialist philosophy. If you are operating on a spiritual level you are held more accountable for your actions and inactions.
It's easier to follow rules and do what you are told and get rewarded with pay checks and social acceptance.

To be a mystic you basically have to release your ego. Are you ok with renouncing all material possessions and letting go of emotional attachments? It sounds great to be free but the process is the hero's jouney that is filled with growing pains that caused even the most intelligent and self reliant people like Nietzsche to lose faith.

The heck with social acceptance. I will take the pay check.

ruveyn

Did Nietzsche really progress toward this consciously?? I thought he had other problems; misogyny, self-defeating depression, syphilis -- he then later in life moved in with his mom and sister, a debilitating hell, IMO. He seems choice suspect of someone whom had two different worlds in which to make settled a gross rationalization between the two. I hope I don't end up like this, but I do like the part of renouncing all material possessions and letting go of emotional attachments, I could do that I think.

Sounds like Nietzsche was a loser.

You know, a lot of losers worship losers like Nietzsche.

I wonder if they realize what a loser he was.

Have you ever read any Nietzsche?

I've tried to read Nietzsche, but I find him to a very tough read. I find his prose style impenetrable.

Rational-Empiricist-Atheist here. Math and Science are my gods.

I find Unified Field Theory to make perfect sense. However, as humans our brains are constantly seeking to put something we have no frame of reference for into a familiar frame of reference. In other words, when meditating and trying to connect with that Unified Field, I have trouble 'picturing' atomic energy. I have no trouble picturing, say, Halle Berry in the first "X-Men" and using that image as something to focus on.

Looking at it in a smaller setting, many years ago I learned auto-hypnosis to overcome a phobia. Lots of visual imagery involved which is purely a product of my imagination, but designed to tap into deeper parts of my brain to get it to control pain and anxiety. Why not then bypass the imaginary visuals and just tell my brain to turn this sensation on and that one off? Because our brains respond so much better to that visualization, to ceremony, to ritual.

That is where there are lots of spiritual/mystical paths, practices and imagery that I myself find very useful as conduits to tap into that very science-based collective consciousness. Me personally; Wicca, Neo-Paganism, lots of Native American imagery.

Every person is different. Do explore and try different paths to see what works best for you!


- Jo

JoJerome, it sounds like you know how to meditate. I agree that with your analogy of our consciousness as being a conduit.

Nietzsche did have some brain disease that caused some problems so who knows what his deal was. I always thought of him as a sort of wanna be William Blake. Although, in my opinion he was a better writer than Blake, he didn't have his genius vision. I think "loser" worship Nietzche because they identify with the inablility to follow through and achieve their ideals.
It's nice to see that we are not alone in this journey.

Interesting point: Apparently, a certain proportion of the population has a kind of brain glitch called 'eidetic memory'. This is popularly known as photographic memory, and often described as the ability to 'see' remembered objects as if they were still in front of you - 'as if projected on a screen' is a typical description. (There is some debate as to whether this may be an autistic savant trait - if so, it's likely as rare among spectrum folks as other such traits.)

But, this can apply not just to memory but to imagination; some people see imagined objects, places, people etc. as if they were outside their heads. So if you imagined, say, the prophet Elijah, you would 'see' him not in your head, but as if he were standing in the room in front of you. Some scholars believe Blake had this ability, and indeed he freely admitted that he saw his visions by the power of the imagination - but that that made them no less valid. (Shaw, in his play St Joan, has Joan - in response to the accusation that she's 'just imagining' her angels - tell the inquisitors 'How else does God speak to us?') Bearing in mind that Jung and other users of guided imagination have found that such images have real psychological power, this may not be such an out-there idea.

I'm glad you understand.^

There is also a savant who can see numbers as if the numbers have a sort of feeling to them.
For example, he described the number nine as being very big and powerful. When he was given numbers to add he did so only by feeling the numbers. He is as accurate as a calculator. They said he was probably autistic as a child and grew out of those traits by the time he reached adulthood.

You can find the documentary on youtube by searching for "autistic savant brain damage"
He had bad seizures as a child and grew out of those as well.