eBook - ePub
Rational Mysticism
Spirituality Meets Science in the Search for Enlightenment
- 304 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
The author of
The End of Science chronicles the most advanced research into such experiences as prayer, fasting, and trances in this "great read" (
The Washington Post).
How do trances, visions, prayer, satori, and other mystical experiences "work"? What induces and defines them? Is there a scientific explanation for religious mysteries and transcendent meditation? John Horgan investigates a wide range of fields—chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, theology, and more—to narrow the gap between reason and mystical phenomena. As both a seeker and an award-winning journalist, Horgan consulted a wide range of experts, including theologian Huston Smith, spiritual heir to Joseph Campbell; Andrew Newberg, the scientist whose quest for the "God module" was the focus of a Newsweek cover story; Ken Wilber, prominent transpersonal psychologist; Alexander Shulgin, legendary psychedelic drug chemist; and Susan Blackmore, Oxford-educated psychologist, parapsychology debunker, and Zen practitioner. Horgan explores the striking similarities between "mystical technologies" like sensory deprivation, prayer, fasting, trance, dancing, meditation, and drug trips. He participates in experiments that seek the neurological underpinnings of mystical experiences. And, finally, he recounts his own search for enlightenment—adventurous, poignant, and sometimes surprisingly comic. Horgan's conclusions resonate with the controversial climax of The End of Science, because, as he argues, the most enlightened mystics and the most enlightened scientists end up in the same place—confronting the imponderable depth of the universe.
How do trances, visions, prayer, satori, and other mystical experiences "work"? What induces and defines them? Is there a scientific explanation for religious mysteries and transcendent meditation? John Horgan investigates a wide range of fields—chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, theology, and more—to narrow the gap between reason and mystical phenomena. As both a seeker and an award-winning journalist, Horgan consulted a wide range of experts, including theologian Huston Smith, spiritual heir to Joseph Campbell; Andrew Newberg, the scientist whose quest for the "God module" was the focus of a Newsweek cover story; Ken Wilber, prominent transpersonal psychologist; Alexander Shulgin, legendary psychedelic drug chemist; and Susan Blackmore, Oxford-educated psychologist, parapsychology debunker, and Zen practitioner. Horgan explores the striking similarities between "mystical technologies" like sensory deprivation, prayer, fasting, trance, dancing, meditation, and drug trips. He participates in experiments that seek the neurological underpinnings of mystical experiences. And, finally, he recounts his own search for enlightenment—adventurous, poignant, and sometimes surprisingly comic. Horgan's conclusions resonate with the controversial climax of The End of Science, because, as he argues, the most enlightened mystics and the most enlightened scientists end up in the same place—confronting the imponderable depth of the universe.
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Yes, you can access Rational Mysticism by John Horgan in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Theology & Religion & Mysticism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Index
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
Abductions by aliens. See Aliens
Abraham, 49
Absorption, 7, 125, 128–29, 129 n
Abusive behavior of gurus, 53–54, 61–62, 16 n, 186, 229–30
Acetylcholine, 100
Aczel, Amir, 265
Addiction, See Substance abuse
AI. See Artificial intelligence (AI)
Alcohol use and alcoholism, 53, 62, 147, 149, 160, 172, 173
Alien movies, 145
Aliens, 92, 173–76, 17 n, 177, 180, 183–84, 220, 262–63
Ally McBeal, 120, 121
Alpert, Richard. See Ram Dass, Baba
Alstad, Diana, 228–29, 268
Altered states. See Mysticism; Psychedelics
Altered States, 173
Altered States of Consciousness (Tart), 4, 139
“Altered States of Consciousness” conference (2001), 226 n
Altered States of Consciousness Induction Device (ASCID), 226
Amanita muscaria, 179
Amaringo, Pablo, 148 n
Amnesis, 68, 174 n
Amygdala, 96
Anatta (“no self”), 114, 115 n
Andreson, Jensine, 84–85
Angel, Leonard, 167 n
Angela (nun), 39–40
Angels, 82 n, 92, 176, 223–24, 225, 230
Animal studies, 146, 153, 158, 178 n, 188 n, 248–49
Anorexia nervosa, 152
Anosognosia, 89
Anthropic principle, 219, 219 n
Anthropomorphism, 104–5, 154, 194, 213, 252
Antidepressants, 143 n, 200
Anti-mysticals, 217
Anti-Semitism, 46
Apache shaman, 46 n
Apocalypse, 181, 184, 187–88
Apophatic experiences, 23, 38
Apraxia, 125
Are We Alone? (Davies), 265
Aristotle, 48, 112, 162
Art, 145, 148 n, 178, 224, 224 n
Artificial intelligence (AI), 181, 182, 183, 189
Asahara, Shoko, 52
ASCID (Altered States of Consciousness Induction Device), 226
Ashbrook, James, 74 n
Aspartate, 126
Assisted hyperventilation, 122
Association for Transpersonal Psychology, 245, 260
Astral projection, 103, 107, 109, 110, 112, 167
Astrology, 167, 261
Astrophysics, 75, 194
Atheism, 47, 48, 86, 93, 99, 192 n, 221
Atkins, Peter, 221
Aum Shinrikyo sect, 52
Aurobindo, Sr...
Table of contents
- Title Page
- Contents
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Lena’s Feather
- Huston Smith’s Perennial Philosophy
- Attack of the Postmodernists
- The Weightlifting Bodhisattva
- Can Neurotheology Save Us?
- The God Machine
- The Sheep Who Became a Goat
- Zen and James Austin’s Brain
- In the Birthplace of LSD
- God’s Psychoanalyst
- The Man in the Purple Sparkly Suit
- Ayahuasca
- The Awe-ful Truth
- Winter Solstice
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Selected Bibliography
- Index
- About the Author
- Connect with HMH
- Footnotes