Consciousness Studies
A great deal of work is being done at the moment on the study of con-
sciousness. Neuroscientists in particular are studying the brain, not just in
isolation, but incorporating a study of the mind. This is a fairly recent
phenomenon in the West, where study of the brain has long been estab-
lished, but that of the mind has been a separate field, the province of
psychology. Buddhists have been in the field of consciousness studies for
two and a half millennia, but have been less interested in the workings of
the brain. The two fields are now being looked at together by a wide
range of scientists, and the Dalai Lama too is keen to be involved in sci-
entific discussion. Spiritual experience has a place in such studies as it
looks at unusual human experiences and the relation between mind and
brain. Brain-imaging techniques enable researchers to observe the brains
of people in deep meditation and various physical triggers can result in
experiences which could be interpreted as spiritual. It is a field of study in
which the function of the brain is considered in relation to how humans
experience the transcendent.
Interesting work on the link between the mind and the brain has been
done by Rupert Sheldrake, with books such as
Seven Experiments that
Could Change the World
,
Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are
Coming Home
and
The Sense of Being Stared At
and Other Aspects of
the Extended Mind
. His thesis is that the mind is not confined to the
brain, but extends beyond it. Thus he is able to explain telepathy and
mind over matter effects as quite natural. He sees science as constantly
moving forward with new discoveries building on what is known, which
is what he is doing in his innovative work.
Spiritual Experience Research
239
As much evidence for religious experience is dismissed as ‘anecdotal’, it
is interesting to read Sheldrake’s appraisal.
The boundaries of scientific ‘normality’ are shifting again with a dawn-
ing recognition of the reality of consciousness. The powers of the mind,
hitherto ignored by physics, are the new scientific frontier.
. . .
. . . to brush aside what people have actually experienced is not to be
scientific, but unscientific. Science is founded on the empirical method,
that is to say on experience and observation. Experiences and observa-
tions are the starting point for science, and it is unscientific to disre-
gard or exclude them.
221
In the late 1970s, Rupert Sheldrake spent many months at Bede
Griffiths’ ashram, writing
A New Science of Life
there, discussing it with
Father Bede as he wrote it.
The Scientific and Medical Network brings science and spirituality
together, looking at the latest research into consciousness. Its aims as
stated on the website www.scimednet.org are:
To provide a safe forum for the critical and open minded discussion of
ideas that go beyond conventional paradigms in science, medicine and
philosophy
To integrate intuitive insights with rational analysis in our
investigations
To encourage a respect for Earth and community which emphasizes a
spiritual and holistic approach
To challenge the adequacy of ‘scientific materialism’ as an exclusive
basis for knowledge and values.
Spiritual experience, particularly of meditation, is of interest in this
field, as it can be monitored for research. As we become more aware of
how the mind works and are able to track changes in brain activity, we
are beginning to be able to understand the process of thought and the
relation between the mind and the brain. Experiences of being outside the
body in an OBE or NDE need to be considered in such research.
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