Science and Spiritual Practices - Dr Rupert Sheldrake

The Weekend University・2 minutes read

Interest in spiritual practices is rising as traditional religions decline, with studies highlighting the positive effects on happiness and health. Atheists like Sam Harris are acknowledging the benefits of spiritual practices, such as meditation, leading to a potential new phase of spiritual evolution.

Insights

  • A rise in interest in spiritual practices has accompanied a decline in traditional religion, leading to scientific studies highlighting the positive impact of these practices on happiness, health, and longevity.
  • Atheists like Alain de Botton and Sam Harris are recognizing the benefits of spiritual practices, with efforts to incorporate them into non-religious settings, emphasizing practices like meditation, gratitude, and communal gatherings.
  • Spiritual practices, such as meditation and gratitude, have scientifically proven benefits, including reducing depression risk, promoting relaxation, and establishing new brain connections, showcasing the potential for a new phase of spiritual evolution.

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Recent questions

  • What are some benefits of spiritual practices on well-being?

    The rise in interest in spiritual practices has coincided with a decline in traditional religion, leading to scientific studies on their positive effects. The Handbook of Religion and Health reviews over 2,000 papers, emphasizing benefits like happiness, health, and longevity. Traditional practices like singing together, fasting, and pilgrimage have declined as people move away from religion. Authors like Alain de Botton suggest atheists may miss out on these benefits and propose incorporating spiritual practices into non-religious settings. The new generation of atheists, like Sam Harris, recognize the importance of spiritual practices, offering meditation courses and communal gatherings. The author discusses various practices like meditation, gratitude, and rituals, highlighting their impact on individuals' well-being.

  • How does gratitude impact happiness and well-being?

    Gratitude plays a significant role in happiness, with studies showing that grateful individuals are happier and more popular. Positive psychology recommends gratitude exercises like keeping a gratitude journal or practicing gratitude before meals. Various traditions, including religious ones, have practices of giving thanks, with modern self-help books suggesting exercises to cultivate gratitude. Simple actions like giving thanks before meals, seen in traditional practices like saying grace, can enhance the overall atmosphere and promote a sense of gratitude. Incorporating gratitude practices into everyday life can lead to increased happiness and well-being.

  • What are the physiological effects of meditation on the body?

    Meditation, present in various religious traditions, has been extensively studied for its physiological benefits. It reduces sympathetic nervous system activity and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and better sleep. Chronic anxiety leads to health issues like elevated blood pressure, which meditation can help alleviate. Regular meditation reduces the risk of depression, with some parts of Britain prescribing it over antidepressant drugs due to its effectiveness and fewer side effects. Meditation induces changes in brain activity, reducing default mode network activity and establishing new connections in the brain.

  • How do near-death experiences impact individuals?

    Near-death experiences involve individuals feeling like they are floating above their bodies, entering a realm of bliss and light, and meeting deceased relatives or friends. These experiences lead to a profound transformation, reducing fear of death and making individuals more spiritual. They are not dependent on spiritual practices but can occur spontaneously during medical emergencies. The debate over near-death experiences exists between materialists viewing them as brain hallucinations and others believing consciousness can separate from the body. The transformative effects of near-death experiences are similar to those induced by psychedelic drugs, leading to a sense of rebirth and connection with a higher power.

  • What is the significance of rituals in spiritual practices?

    Rituals, including rites of passage, mark significant transitions like birth, marriage, and maturity, often involving themes of death and rebirth. Rituals of remembrance connect participants with their cultural heritage, reenacting significant events in history. They create conditions for morphic resonance by replicating past actions, connecting present participants with past practitioners. Holy places and rituals tap into morphic resonance, connecting individuals to past spiritual experiences and memories. Rituals are conservative and repetitive, using archaic languages to maintain a connection with the past and across generations.

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Summary

00:00

"Benefits of Spiritual Practices for Well-being"

  • A significant rise in interest in spiritual practices has occurred alongside a decline in traditional religion, leading to numerous scientific studies on the positive effects of these practices on individuals' happiness, health, and longevity.
  • The Handbook of Religion and Health's second edition, published in 2012, reviews over 2,000 papers from peer-reviewed journals, emphasizing the benefits of various spiritual and religious practices on individuals' well-being.
  • Traditional religious ceremonies and practices, including spiritual practices like singing together, fasting, and pilgrimage, were once widespread but have declined as people move away from religion.
  • Alain de Botton's book "Religion for Atheists" explores the idea of atheists missing out on the benefits of spiritual practices and suggests incorporating these practices into non-religious settings.
  • The new generation of atheists, like Sam Harris, acknowledges the importance of spiritual practices, with Harris offering online meditation courses and the Sunday Assembly in England providing a non-religious communal gathering for singing and storytelling.
  • The author discusses seven different spiritual practices in their book, including meditation, gratitude, connecting with nature, relating to plants, singing and chanting, rituals, and pilgrimage.
  • Positive psychology studies have shown that gratitude plays a significant role in people's happiness, with grateful individuals being happier and more popular, leading to the recommendation of gratitude exercises like keeping a gratitude journal or practicing gratitude before meals.
  • Various traditions, including religious ones, have practices of giving thanks, with modern self-help books suggesting exercises like counting blessings with beans or using gratitude journals to cultivate gratitude.
  • Gratitude practices can be incorporated into everyday life through simple actions like giving thanks before meals, as seen in traditional practices like saying grace or singing grace, which can enhance the overall atmosphere and promote a sense of gratitude.
  • Meditation, present in various religious traditions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Jainism, has been extensively studied for its physiological and psychological benefits, with practices ranging from mantra-based meditation to mindfulness meditation.

19:25

Meditation's Impact on Nervous System and Spirituality

  • The nervous system consists of two sides: the sympathetic and parasympathetic.
  • The sympathetic nervous system is activated by fear, releasing adrenaline, increasing heart rate and blood pressure, preparing for fight or flight.
  • The parasympathetic nervous system allows for relaxation and activities like making love, eating, or using the restroom.
  • Chronic anxiety leads to prolonged activation of the sympathetic nervous system, causing health issues like elevated blood pressure and stress reactions.
  • Meditation reduces sympathetic nervous system activity and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and better sleep.
  • Regular meditation reduces depression risk, with some parts of Britain prescribing meditation over antidepressant drugs due to its effectiveness and fewer side effects.
  • Meditation induces changes in brain activity, reducing the default mode network's activity and establishing new connections in the brain.
  • Meditation aims to connect the mind with the ultimate source of consciousness, as perceived in Hindu and Christian philosophies.
  • Different spiritual practices connect individuals with various aspects of the ultimate reality, with meditation focusing on the ground of consciousness itself.
  • Rituals, including rites of passage, are present in all societies, marking significant transitions like birth, marriage, and maturity, often involving themes of death and rebirth.

38:41

Understanding Near-Death Experiences: Modern Medicine's Impact

  • Near-death experiences are more understood today due to modern medicine advancements, allowing many to survive medical emergencies that would have been fatal in the past.
  • Near-death experiences involve individuals feeling like they are floating above their bodies, going through a tunnel, and entering a realm of bliss and light where they feel welcomed and loved.
  • These experiences often involve meeting deceased relatives or friends and lead to a profound transformation in individuals, reducing their fear of death and making them more spiritual.
  • Near-death experiences are not dependent on spiritual practices but can occur spontaneously during medical emergencies.
  • The debate over near-death experiences exists between materialists who view them as brain hallucinations and others who believe consciousness can separate from the body.
  • John the Baptist's baptism practices, involving holding people under water, may have induced near-death experiences, leading to transformative effects.
  • Anabaptists, radical religious groups during the Reformation, continued the practice of baptism by total immersion, possibly inducing near-death experiences.
  • The transformative effects of near-death experiences are similar to those induced by psychedelic drugs like DMT and LSD, leading to a sense of rebirth and connection with a higher power.
  • Rituals of remembrance, like the Passover and Holy Communion, reenact significant events in history, connecting participants with their cultural heritage.
  • Rituals are conservative and repetitive, using archaic languages, to maintain a connection with the past and across generations, possibly influenced by the concept of morphic resonance.

57:12

"Revival of Pilgrimage: Science and Spirituality"

  • Resonance is the process where past patterns of activity connect with present patterns based on similarity.
  • Rituals create conditions for morphic resonance by replicating past actions, connecting present participants with past practitioners.
  • Hunter-gatherers, our ancestors, moved around the landscape, telling stories at significant places, like the American Aboriginal song lines.
  • Settlement led to the continuation of visiting holy places, like Stonehenge in England, for festivals, forming a pilgrimage tradition.
  • Pilgrimage is a universal practice in religions, such as Muslims going to Mecca and Buddhists to the birthplace of Buddha.
  • The Reformation in England abolished pilgrimage in 1538, wiping out the tradition and leading to the rise of tourism as a secularized form of pilgrimage.
  • Modern secular Europe is witnessing a revival of pilgrimage, with routes like Santiago de Compostela attracting increasing numbers of pilgrims.
  • The British Pilgrimage Trust is reopening ancient footpath pilgrimage routes to holy places in England, offering a spiritual experience.
  • Pilgrimage involves intentions, offerings, circumambulation, and sharing blessings, contrasting with tourism's focus on facts and history.
  • Science and spiritual practices can complement each other, with measurable effects that can be scientifically studied, leading to a potential new phase of spiritual evolution.

01:15:34

Exploring Cathedrals and Consciousness Through Conversations

  • Matthew Fox, known from the website, engages in conversations with Mark Andrews, the Anglican Bishop of California, discussing innovative uses of cathedrals.
  • Cathedrals are designed to induce experiences beyond oneself, potentially leading to a state of illuminated awareness.
  • Meditation can lead to a state of being in awareness beyond thoughts and mantras, connecting to a greater consciousness.
  • Religions often stem from experiences of conscious presence beyond oneself, like Buddha's enlightenment through meditation and Jesus' divine connection through mystical experiences.
  • Ultimate reality is seen as awareness or consciousness, a common theme across various traditions.
  • Materialists view consciousness as brain activity, but experiences like psychedelics may connect individuals to forms of consciousness beyond their own.
  • Holy places and rituals tap into morphic resonance, connecting individuals to past spiritual experiences and memories.
  • Near-death experiences, like nearly drowning, can lead to spontaneous baptism-like experiences, connecting individuals to greater consciousness.
  • Spiritual practices can help individuals deal with tragedies by connecting them to realms of greater consciousness and joy.
  • Tarot cards and divination practices tap into archetypal patterns, providing connections to greater realms of experience and wisdom.

01:36:43

Expanding Consciousness: Beyond Materialist Views

  • The feeling of being stared at is often dismissed in psychology courses and mainstream discussions due to its challenge to materialist views, but research suggests it's a valid phenomenon. The concept of the extended mind, where our consciousness extends beyond our brains through experiences like telepathy, is explored, with experiments supporting the idea that our minds are not confined to our brains.
  • The text argues that embracing experiences that go beyond materialism, such as spiritual connections and consciousness, is a more scientific approach than rigidly adhering to materialist views. It suggests that science should be open to subjective experiences and phenomena like the sense of being stared at, advocating for a broader understanding of consciousness that goes beyond traditional materialist perspectives.
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