
Links to Spirituality Found in the Brain - epi0Bauqu
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100212/sc_livescience/linkstospiritualityfoundinthebrain
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EAMiller
Deciding that spirituality is a defect from this is the wrong conclusion.

The experience of spirituality itself is natural and desirable. As described
in the article, it's "self-transcendence." I experience self-transcendence
when I listen to good music, look at good art, or otherwise get wrapped up in
ideas that are bigger than (transcend) my day-to-day life in an inspiring way.

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allenp
I think this has also been recorded as happening to astronauts when they look
down on the earth. It really depends on the definition of spirituality though
and unfortunately in the US a lot of people carry a lot of baggage when it
comes to just what that looks like to them.

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diego_moita
Translating to english it says that one possible cause of religion is brain
damage.

I don't know how good their science is but no wonder they had to hide the
conclusions behind convoluted language.

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eru
They may distinguish between religion and spirituality.

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lucraft
As opposed to.... where?

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eru
As opposed to not found.

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lucraft
Gotcha.

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timdellinger
"Self-transcendence 'reflects a decreased sense of self and an ability to
identify one's self as an integral part of the universe as a whole,' the
researchers explain."

To me this sounds like an imbalance that would turn a person in to a
doormat/easy mark/sucker since it overwhelms the counterbalancing selfishness
that protects the individual. In a healthy individual, this part of the brain
would help motivate what Tony Hseih calls "relatedness" and "connection to a
larger vision". It would be interesting to know how the patients' oxytocin
levels were effected, since there might be a bonding/safe-and-warm-feelings
response happening in response to the world at large. It would also be
interesting to see similar studies of LSD takers who report "a cosmic
connection".

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powrtoch
Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but is this article suggesting that brain
damage is causally linked to increased spirituality?

If so... lmao?

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gjm11
Well, kinda. The researchers supposedly found that one particular sort of
brain damage sometimes makes people more "spiritual" in some sense. Brain
damage can be causally linked to all sorts of things, including some things
that occur naturally and are generally reckoned good things -- e.g., I think
sometimes someone whose brain is damaged will develop musical talents they
didn't have before -- so I think it would be premature to conclude that
"spirituality" in general is the result of a malfunctioning brain.

(The idea of a link between "spirituality" and brain failure is quite old. For
instance, it's been known for a long time that temporal lobe epilepsy is
associated with some sorts of religious experience.)

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kowen
There was a pretty fascinating talk at TED by Jill Bolte Taylor, a
neuroscientist who experienced a massive stroke ("my stroke of insight"). On
the one hand she observed her own neurological functions shut down with
clinical curiosity, and on the other she had a very strong impression of
losing her sense of self and being completely connected with the world.

[http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke...](http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html)

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stcredzero
Presaged in the book _Vacuum Flowers_ <http://amzn.com/0441858767>

