contents l intro l brain l sensation l revolution l epi l biblio
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Neurophilosophical Inquiries
© Wim van den Dungen Imagining the Brain
3.1
The "God-spot" and the cortico-limbic circuit. 3.1 The "God-spot" and the cortico-limbic circuit.
Hunger, violence and impersonal sex are computed by the reptilian brain and
controlled by its hypothalamus. Resources like food, water and land are also
typically reptilian.
The
shaman realized a voluntary
control (neocortex) over his trance and so could "enter" the
spirit-world (the diffuse spiritual presences around the limbic
"God-spot") at will. In touch with this emotional pole of human
spirituality, processing extraordinary feelings and experiences, the shaman got
"possessed" with these "spirits" which spoke through him. The
shaman also realized a feedback between these emotional, volatile but persistent
"spirits" and language (neocortex).
From the Cro-Magnon onward, the "old" limbic spirituality got constructively integrated in to the senior steering activities of the prefrontal cortex, with its conceptual and visuospatial bi-modality.
The cerebral gap between Australopithecus
and Homo erectus is slightly greater than between Homo
erectus and Homo sapiens. Nevertheless,
Howells (1997, p.102) suspects rudimentary
language in Homo habilis ! Some scholars interprete this large
jump of Homo erectus away from the early hominids like the Australopithecus,
as indicative of the fact they must have been the first humans able to
perceive a spiritual reality, but not express it. If the cortex of Homo
erectus would have been adequate, his ability to process the perception of a
spiritual reality (limbic) would have terminated in the expression of this
spirituality, mostly in enduring, lasting, continuous forms (for these
contrasted well with the changing tides of omnipresent nature). Of this, nothing
has as yet been found. The brain did not "invent" illusions to allow us to cope with death, but the experience of death forced us to become sensitive enough to witness the difference between "this world" and the "other side" (visible versus invisible). The direct experience of this distinction (the birth of human spiritual expression) happened because the emotional brain got constantly overstressed by emotionally unsolvable issues. The limbic "God-spot" is indeed a "paraclete" or comforter. The "antenna" became active and was calibrated by the mystery of death and the strong powers of the limbic system. At some point, Homo sapiens was able to "capture" and "receive" the wave-length of the spirits and convince himself of their continuous existence, albeit in another "world". So thanks to a deep existential crisis, the Neanderthals became "religious" in a barbaric, savage and primitive kind of way. Shamanism is the closest to this primordial stratum of human spirituality. Successful conversions mostly happen after periods of intense crisis. Turbulent and hectic times overstress the ANS as well as the limbic system (peak-stress does not harm the CNS, but high stress over long periods of time is unwholesome and a major cause of psychosomatic disorders). The spiritual function is pre-wired in the human brain, and was destined by evolutionary forces to first emerge in the Neanderthal brain as soon as they faced the painful emotional reality of losing the ability to share icons with their loved ones. They found solace in the profound experience of radical otherness (imageless icon), computed by the emotional control center (the amygdala) with new functions such as visions, illusion, the sense of the holy and the label "spiritual significant". The experience of deceased spirits assured them life is worth living and emotional turbulence may be tempered by "spirituality". This "opening" made the Neanderthals develop their mortuary rituals, by adding tools or food-items in their tombs. Indeed, the "imaginal gate" provided by the amygdala (able to produce complex visual visions and hallucinatory illusions), made them envision what would happen after death. They experienced the "other side", contacted the "invisible" and probably exchanged special icons with close family. Maybe the association of the objective cycle of day and night with birth, death and rebirth was taken up at the same time. This highly emotional brain was able to execute complex hallucinations and could easily swing to extreme emotional extremes. The specialization of the spiritual function The Cro-Magnon took the next step, again a considerable upgrade. With them, we see individual identity, voluntary control and speech attaining the level of the archaic mythical constructs (cf. artistic notions, compositional patterns, meaningful sequences, etc.). Other constructs, such as pre-concept & concept were not yet operational, for thought operated exclusively in a mythical mode (cf. Clearings, 2006). But the change in perspective may be called a symbolic & technological explosion. The prefrontal cortex played an essential part in this. Moreover, the Neanderthals were of a completely different race, physically but also genetically (Ovchinnikov, 2000). The complex, original, artistic and symbolic accomplishments of the Cro-Magnon and the other peoples of the Upper Paleolithic outstripped those of the Neanderthals. Central stood the great mother goddess, who ruled fertility, birth (and rebirth). Cro-Magnons relied on shamans and later on priests. Their art suggested magic & sorcery as well as notions of hell, heaven, god & goddess (Joseph, 2002). Here prefrontal organization is at work. In this context, the finality of death was deemed relative, for physical death was viewed as a passage to the "other side". Once there, one might return and communicate with one's relatives, through shamans, magicians and priest. Family returned to the grave to mourn, pay respect or perform sacrifices. The concept of "eternal death" does not seem at work. In fact, a brain able to process pre-rational and proto-rational thought is necessary to do so. In Ancient Egypt, the first, truly skeptical sounds were recorded in the Middle Kingdom (Harpers' songs - ca.1900 BCE) : "None comes from there, to tell of their state, to tell of their needs, to calm our hearts, before we go where they have gone !" (Tomb of Intef). The specialization of spirituality, from the hunter communities (shamans) to the rural groups (magicians, priests), illustrates the first steps in the organization of society according to the schemes of the prefrontal cortex. Specialization dispensed the emerging individual sense of "I", processed in the new prefrontal cortex, of directly dealing with limbic spiritual experiences & traditions, which consumed time and contained risks (like insanity or sudden death). Brokers were installed. The emergence of "spiritual traditions" betrays a frontal organization of things. Step-by-step this leads to the narrowing of the channel between the increasingly self-centered frontal lobe and the slowly subjugated, repressed & shielded limbic "God-spot". It is largely because of this "trade-off", people become cynical about death and the afterlife. "There can be no doubt that as a matter of fact a religious life, exclusively persued, does tend to make the person exceptional and eccentric. I speak not now of your ordinary religious believer, who follows the conventional observances of his country, whether it be Buddhist, Christian, or Mohammedan. (...) Invariably they have been creatures of exalted emotional sensibility. Often they have led a discordant inner life, and had melancholy during a part of their career. They have known no measure, been liable to obsessions and fixed ideas ; and frequently they have fallen into trances, heard voices, seen visions, and presented all sorts of pecularities which are ordinarily classed as pathological. Often, moreover, these pathological features in their career have helped to give them their religious authority and influence." James, 1902, lecture 1. A last remark : the amygdala also controls extreme emotional states, such as rage, violence, perverse & aggressive sexuality, as well as its memorization (in individual terms). Frontal spiritual traditions (from Shamanism to the contemporary world religions), always introduced Divine moral precepts (superstructures) to reduce the emotional extremes caused by violence and aggressive (and/or "unnatural") sexual expressions. A material breach of these, mostly entailed violent reactions, either by "God" (cf. Sodom & Gomorrah) or by "His representatives" justified by "Divine decree" (cf. the lesser "jihad"). The consistent interrelationship between religious moral systems, bridled sexuality and crusading violence is a historical fact. There has been more blood spilled for the cause of spirituality than for anything else. The neurobiological proximity of spiritual experiences, sex and extreme (bizar) emotions may explain the executant causes of this phenomenon (Joseph, 2002). The way traditional spirituality has dealt with the reptilian brain has to be criticized. Notwithstanding a few exceptions, the dangerous nature of the reptile is stressed. It is demonized. When spirituality and demonization walk hand in hand, one is bound to go astray. The sheer force of duality will limit one's perspective and cause the fossilization of the "evil one" outside. Although it is possible to tame a lion and learn him some tricks (play), it is very difficult, if not impossible, to make a crocodile consistently throw a ball. The notion of "taming" a reptile is contra-intuitive. These "wild beasts" can not be tamed. The best one can do is somehow educate them within their limitations, to incorporate "new" fieldmarks (signals) as a function of territory & bait. Probably within the parameters of dominance/submission, reptiles have the capacity to display elementary belongingness and "cool" affectivity. 3.2 Ritual, recitation, prayer, mantra, meditation and the brain. The history of prefrontal spirituality (the rise of religions systems of thought), may be broadly sketched as a symbolical mediation of an individual's direct experience of Divine Presence processed in the limbic "God-spot". As the sense of "I" is computed in the prefrontal cortex, as well as in the spatial association area of the neocortex, it is interconnected with the overall mentality and artistic excellence computed by these particular cortical areas. The ego is the empirical sense of individual identity, the most basic level of the conjectured fourfold of identity : empirical ego, transcendental Self, own-Self & nondual awareness (cf. Intelligent Wisdom, 2007). Empirical ego has voluntary control and makes use of the prefrontal cortex to execute its decisions. As already apparent in Shamanism, the ego seeking spiritual comfort decides to "enter" the "spiritual realm", separated from the ego by direction (inner instead of outer), function (emotional instead of cogito-visuospatial) & capacity (visionary & sacred instead of operational & profane). Atran (2002, p.185) is right when he concludes mystical episodes may inspire the formation of religions but don't make religion. Although about 25% to one-third of American and British subjects say they had a "religious experience" in their lives, only 2 to 3% claimed to have had mystical experiences, i.e. extreme emotional states implying trance, visions, voices and possibly hallucinations (Hay, 1990, Spilka, 1992). The record of parapsychological events associated with mystical episodes is also consistent.
These emotional and other epiphenomena of mystical
experiences, caused the specialization of the limbic "God-spot". Shamans, magicians, priests, spiritual teachers and the like emerged. They were supposed to have received the proper
"traditional" training, so as to be able to "open the inner gates"
or "doors of perception" (Huxley,
1957) leading to the limbic domain. Only they had privileged access to the
"domain of the god" and returned with news (divination), rules
(religious legislation) & visions (prophetic declarations).
In the past, "frontal"
spirituality meant the consolidation of a dogmatic network of
axiomatic relationships,
mental structures, affects & behaviours (neocortex). Not to mix traditions was rule.
Traditional religions still invest lots of energy in this
"religious" organization of the neocortex. Each religion is based on
a "holy tale", a "grand story" about how the religion
started. In doing so, they standardize the approach of the Divine. These different "grand
tales" invite a "grand war of stories". The self-defeating circle
of this "one-eyed" frontal spirituality (cf.
one-dimensional reason) is also at work in traditional Western metaphysics (as
Kant noticed). As late as the Renaissance, the end of the monopoly of "religious reality" (read : fossilized religion) on the organization of the neocortex began. In Europe, the Age of Enlightenment brought the freedom to fill in the "empty space" of the neocortex as one liked. More and more, the abstract and logical neocortex firmly banished the phlogiston phantoms out of its domain, and drove them back to the "unconscious" out of which they would reemerge in the XXth century in psychology (Freudianism), art (expressionism) and unjust political systems (like dictatorial communism, fascism and so-called blind, "liberal" capitalism), to name but a few. Meanwhile, scientific theory and technology could progress, and the neocortex could excell in its strongholds : abstract thought, speech, visuospatial representation and toolmaking. Finally, this "new man" indeed killed the concept of "God" (cf. Nietzsche). In the West, it was removed from all serious, deep, sustained, higher order logical & scientific language-games. In calculations, "He" played no role (cf. Laplace). In philosophy, "God" became a relic cherished in Christian thought, and materialism won the day. Traditional "frontal" spirituality creates mental structures meant to invoke awe and Divine Presence more or less independently from the "God-spot", i.e. as part of neocortical computations. It standardizes certain approved approaches in order to "prove" its followers their cortical superstructure were and are ordained by "God Himself". Indeed, the unique salvic "standard" contain neurotheological "nuggets of gold" like ritual, recitation, prayer, mantra & meditation. To guarantee the yield of their "approved ways", no believer is allowed to move outside the trodden paths (contamination by other spiritual symbols is untolerable). Mystics were and are not allowed to "correct" the cortical "principles of faith", for "revelation" is deemed "complete". In the religions "of the book" (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), the limbic system is problematic (cf. sexual liberty, the role of woman, ownership, punishment). Direct spiritual experiences are deemed available only to a very small number. These religions have not been open to constantly revolutionalize their religious language-game on the basis of the evidence left by their most profound, authentic and holy mystics. On the contrary, they invoke "heresy", i.e. the demonizing strategy of an overstressed neocortex, lateralizing its field of action in "we" and "they", forgetting non-believers are also human beings with a "God-spot". Different neocortical computations execute different models of the Divine, i.e. cognitive maps indicative of how each religion envisages the Divine. From a philosophical point of view, each "map" contains constructive elements of importance to characterize the spiritual function, both in its "localized" (spot) as "dynamical" (circuit) approach. Isolate these, and the following list of positive characteristics ensue : HINDUISM
BUDDHISM
JUDAISM
CHRISTIANITY
ISLAM
Let us investigate the approved ways of the religions and trace -using
neuroscience as a hermeneutical tool- the "nugget of gold" in each.
Neurotheologically, all paths to salvation involve outer as well as inner
trajectories of approach.
To do all this under voluntary control, a solid and stable cortico-limbic spiritual
connection has to be forged. In the
majority of cases, a long training is indispensable (20 or more years). This
explains why the mystical pole of the spiritual function remained
"esoterical", "exceptional", "hidden",
"occult" & "secret". Whether this is a biological
necessity or the result of the dominance of the neocortex over the mammal brain
will be discussed later, when some of the more important pedagogic consequences of
neurotheological thought are put forward. The question being : is this difficult
training unavoidable ? In Buddhism, distinction is made between three types of
students (low, middle, high) and three different paths (lower, greater and
diamond). Students of high capacity who practice Vajrayana may attain liberation
in six months !
RITUAL
The symbolism used in rituals is processed by the neocortex. Animal ritual is without symbolism and verbal, discursive language. In human rituals, the three different building blocks of language are at work :
Religious rituals simulate the
shamanistic trajectory. If effective, they are more than a mere surrogate, but
constitute a collective's shared "straight" path to and from the
"abode of God".
Liturgy, or prayer in action, moulds the ideas of theology in material forms or
symbols (cf.
Dionysian mysticism), and
manipulates these in a meaningful way, so as to enact the "shamanistic
trajectory" as a function of revelation (i.e. the language-game of the
religion in question). Insofar as liturgies approximate the neurotheological
scheme, they give measurable frontal-limbic balance and thus genuine spiritual
comfort, insight and even enlightenment. Grand examples are the Christian Mass
and Tibetan Buddism's Kalachacra, in which the double bi-polarity (hemispheral
and frontal-limbic) is addressed.
The sympathetic branch has a
fight or flight-response. When the reptilian brain spots danger or feels
treatened, the hypothalamus activates the sympathetic branch. This mobilizes the
body systems for immediate danger. The parasympathetic branch restores balance
when the panic state is no longer of any use. Continuous panic (hyperarousal)
blocks the ability to deal with the danger at a higher level. Basic skin
resistance measures the four "basic" arousal levels of the PNS :
panic, tense, normal, relaxed, underaroused (the neurophysical types).
Spill-over
Active spill-over or arousal
breakthrough is the result of deep relaxation. In general, deafferentiation means incoming data are unable to enter a brain structure. "A particularly interesting aspect of deafferentiation is what happens when a certain structure is totally deafferented. Normally, all parts of the brain are affected by numerous other parts. Therefore, the function of any structure is determined not only by itself but also by its interaction with many other areas of the brain. If deafferentiation of a structure occurs to a significant degree, the neurons within that structure are no longer under the influence of any other parts of the brain and they begin to fire on their own. These deafferented neurons either fire randomly, or, more likely, function according to their own 'internal logic'. This internal logic derives from the function for which a given structure evolved." d'Aquili & Newberg, 1999, pp.41-42. The practice of sensory deprivation is an example of deafferentiation caused by relaxing spiritual exercises. The yogi eliminates all impulses from the outside. As a result, the spatial association area, receiving input from the sensory areas, is deafferented but continues to work by its own "internal logic", generating a sense of "infinite" space & time (no space & no time). The experience of timelessness (the "eternal now") is indeed part of the universal characteristics of mystical experiences. 3.4 The "God-spot" and the amygdala-hippocampal complex. "The various 'other worlds', with which human beings erratically make contact are so many elements in the totality of the awareness belonging to Mind at Large. Most people, most of the time, know only what comes through the reducing valve and is consecrated as genuinly real by the local language. Certain persons, however, seem to be born with a kind of by-pass that circumvents the reducing valve. In other, temporary by-passes may be acquired either spontaneouly, or as the result of deliberate 'spiritual exercises' or through hypnosis, or by means of drugs." Huxley, 1957, p.17. Persinger (1987, 2002) reports how the application of weak, complex magnetic fields through the cerebral hemispheres, in particular the right temporal lobe, elicits experiences of a "sensed presence" or "Sentient Being", i.e. Divine Presence. For him, the amygdala are associated with cosmic meaning and the hippocampus with memory. Direct electrical stimulation of the amygdala-hippocampal area results in recollection of important, personal images, but also in the formation of complete visual and auditory hallucinations and hyperlucid visions. Moreover, in females, the amygdala have a tendency to become more easily hyperactivated than in males. Indeed, female amygdala neurons are more numerous and packed more closely together. The anterior commissure (the robe of axonal fibers interconnecting the right and left amygdala) is also sexually differentiated : in females it is 18% larger than in males, so in the former case, both amygdala can more easily communicate and excite one another (Allen & Gorski, 1992). Hence, structural and functional differences in the organization of the limbic system of both sexes is evident. Females have a tendency to become easily frightened and be more spiritual inclined than males (Joseph, 2002, p.519). In male homosexuals, the limbic system demonstrates the female pattern of development and the anterior commissure is hyper-feminine (Allen & Gorski, 1992). However, this "female" limbic system, unlike that of women, bathes in high levels of testosteron. This may lead to disorders in the limbic system, seizure activity within the temporal lobe, leading up to emotional problems and bizar and/or extreme sexual behavior of a violent nature (Joseph, 2002, pp.521-522). The "God-spot" emerged in an area of the brain which also computes sexuality and violence, as well as a whole range of emotional functions like emotional arousal, pleasure, joy, socio-emotional recognition & reward, personal emotional reactions, emotional memory, learned fear, terror, rage, aggression, anxiety, illusion, fiction, hallucination, apparitions, deam states, depersonalizations, déjà vu etc. The "God-spot" executes the experience of a "higher" profound, sentient, holy, spiritual Presence, generating tremendous religious awe, yet comforting and near in an inexplicable way, except in signals & icons. The root of spiritual experience is emotional. Neurotheology confirms the story of all love-mystics, who repeat that only through love the soul is able to experience the love of the Lover, making love the "via Regia" to the heart of spirituality. The "straight path" of peace is nothing else than the way of love, the Dantesk voyage from the "dark wood" of the prefrontal cortex to the spiritual domain of the limbic system, a "shamanistic" descent (hell, purgatory) carried to a good end because Vergil (synchronized neocortex) acts as a guide and Beatrice is one's leading star of love (or "higher", transcendent own-Self). It is she who introduces the heavenly experience of the Divine, computed when the amygdala-hippocampal complex is aroused to the point of producing hyperlucid visions, accompanied by hypothalamic states of exaltation. These profound personal experiences make powerful engrams and are stored in these basal centers of the temporal lobe. They may be evoked later, and potentialize the reverberations caused by adjacent sensoric inputs meant to trigger the necessary conditions for spiritual experiences and/or states in the brain. As Patañjali remarked : special types of spiritual experiences have a deep effect on memory and irreversibly alter the way new inputs are stored (the amygdala may remain stimulated even when the stimulus is gone). But because of its emotionality and psychological dangers, the root of spiritual experience is avoided and partly or completely deafferented. Religions offer a standardized version of the true "vision quest" in which operational elements are incorporated. By and large, conjecture religions partly deafferent the limbic system. Although during ritual & prayer cortico-limbic circuits are addressed, waking consciousness is largely deafferented from the spiritual function and its ongoing emotional valuation of experiences (this is even more so for men than for women). No so in spirituality. Mystics report prayer may "deepen" to the point of merging with everyday life and generating the experience Divine Presence is everywhere all the time (but we fail to notice this). Prayer is continuous and concentration total & solid. The opposite of deafferentiation is at work here : a strong circuit is used to relay cortex and limbic system (in particular, the neocortex with the amygdala-hippocampal centers of the basal telencephalon). Only recently, with the emergence of humanistic atheism, has the neocortex been made unsensitive to the emotional potential of spiritual experience and trained to specialize in its trade : conceptual thought and representational art. Atheism, or the total deafferentiation of the spiritual function, is realized by means of repression and denial. The neocortex invents the story "God" is a story invented by the neocortex. Spiritual experiences are "constructions" invented to "drug" the poor working classes, or to allow insignificant man his illusionary share of greatness etc. etc. Neurotheology does not confirm this. The "God-spot" is not cortical but subcortical. It was very likely at work in the Neanderthals but flourished in the Cro-Magnon, Neolithic and historical man. It developed in an area of the brain which is not verbal but highly sensoric, visuospatial and emotional. Hence, spirituality is not an "invention", for the mammalian brain does not invent. The Homo Sapiens sapiens is neurologically wired to have spiritual experiences. Just as a visual system was developed because there is something to see, a spiritual function emerged because there is some spiritual agent to experience. This "agent" is the holy, the Divine ... the radical other. That we have a retina, does not produce light. That the spiritual function is a fact, does not make "God" exist. But : would there have been a retina without light or a spiritual function without Divine Presence in the universe ? Is the mark of the Designer not present in the design and is the human brain not the "locus naturalis" to find this trace, namely as the spiritual function enabling the human being to experience its Designer ? Insofar as the adjacent features of the amygdala are concerned, we may conjecture this radical otherness is an "inner" agent, to be seen with the "inner eyes" of vision (cf. "visio spiritualis" of the "homo interior" - cf. Augustine, 354 - 430), hallucination & apparition. The same vincinity makes us also understand why the spiritual quest has always been deemed dangerous, leading to fanatical atheism (limbic deafferented withdrawal in the prefrontal cortex), insanity (loss of ability to taxate reality, i.e. distinguish the real -neocortex- from the illusions -amygdala-) or death (seizure). We are not wired to enter the domain of the holy with ease. Spiritual "initiation" involves a confrontation with darkness (Dante's "hell", alchemy's "negrido", Jung's "shadow"), requiring "purification" (putrefaction divides the gross from the subtle). The Cro-Magnon aspirant entered a tunnel leading underground. He had to crawl in the total darkness of narrow spaces for quite some time before he arrived, probably exhausted, in a gigantic rock-cathedral lit by fire with huge drawings of real and fantastic animals on its walls, flickering in the light. An initiatoric ritual happened which would "mark" the individual for life. Likewise, before the Catholic aspirant priest is consecrated by the bishop, he prostrates his body on the ground and a dark veil is pulled over him. This symbolizes the "end" of his "profane" life prior to consecration. The sacerdotal "mark" or "imprint", the result of the imposition of the hands of the bishop, is permanent and irreversible (although the Church may hinder its practical use). But once a priest, always a priest. The neophyte enters the masonic temple blindfolded and pronounces his oath with the point of a dagger touching his throat. After a series of ordeals, the blindfold is taken off. A new life begins ... Augustine defined conversion, or the return to "God" as an act of remembering. "Memoria" is a vast storeroom of experiences, the "venter animi", in which all is consumed. In his Confessions (X.12), he conjectures Divine light is the cause of the fact "memoria" is also a source of knowledge. The deepest layers of memory are also the "highest" (ontologically), so that the "imago Dei" is buried at the lowest, deepest layer ... Just as we adapted to "light" and developed a retina, so perhaps we adapted to spiritual experiences by generating the "God-spot" in the amygdala and the structure to memorize these details of this important, personal experiences (hippocampus). The religions and their approved ways made use of such devices to simulate the approach of the limbic without unforseen turbulences. They partly deafferented the spiritual function in space and time. In doing so, they remained within the boundaries of mass psychology and group dynamics and offered a collective object of worship. This "our Lord" is a function of history and the needs of circumstances. Insofar as religions are "living", their ways still generate a genuine spiritual experience, comforting enough for people to recognize Divine Presence. And this may be enough for the majority at large. But, to remain strong and inspiring, living religions need a mystical core influential enough to cause adjustments within or beyond the framework of their respective dogmatic theologies. And this is mostly not the case. 3.5 The peace of a balanced "God-circuit". The world religions make use of the approved ways to stimulate the "God-spot" and trigger a mediated, indirect religious experience. They develop fundamental teaching and condition their believers from early childhood onwards to accept their dogmata. These tenets are never questioned, but blindly accepted. Jews are told they are "God's chosen people", Buddhists are taught Buddhahood and emptiness ("shunyata"), Christians are saved by the cross of Christ, the "unique son of God" and Muslims are told to believe Allah is alone and Muhammad is the last messenger of "God" ... As history shows, these religions were antagonistic towards other religious systems and rejected (if not persecuted) unbelievers. Because spiritual experiences and violence are neurotheologically close, it is not surprising people satisfy their blood-lust for "their God" and think they will be martyrs when, crusading for this self-created, cortical "God", they fight for "the good cause" and destroy as many unbelieving lives as possible. These extreme reactions show that despite the approved ways, most -if not all- religious systems establish and maintain an unwholesome cortico-limbic imbalance. Although the spiritual abode is not completely deafferented, its output is channeled and processed by heavy cortical superstructures, keeping the controlling influence of the neocortex in place. Spontaneous spiritual experiences with conflicting contents are made impossible and if they do happen, mistrusted and marginalized. The violence associated with these religions further suggests such imbalance causes neurological decompressions, resulting in aggressive behavior justified by religious creed (in Islam this feature is very prominent, as it was in Catholicism a few centuries ago). Clearly, world religions, and their largely "cortical" spirituality, have had their time. But why were they so successful ? The "nuggets of gold" present in the approved ways were the only procedures that "worked", but nobody knew why and so their salvic effectiveness was "expained" in terms of "grace", i.e. "God's favor". Unaware of the biological executants of the spiritual function, theologians could do nothing more than (reinterpreting scripture), invent cortical explanations for the spiritual experiences that happened (or bluntly deny the experience and attribute them to an "anti-God" as the "devil"). "Holy books" were written down to superstructure the direct experience of Divine Presence. By "explaining" limbic spirituality, they encased it and once "in the box of letters", spiritual experience slowly dried up, at times rejuvenated by the narrow beams of light still able to penetrate the thick canon of exoteric rule. Indeed, in all world religions, mystics and profoundly religious people continued to be at work. They reestablished a more direct link with the limbic "God-spot", founding new orders and spiritual movements (cf. Nichiren in Buddhism, Francis of Assisi in Christianity, Ibn-'Arabî in Islam). But after their death, the same process happened : cortical structures emerged narrowing down the extent of the new spiritual momentum, utilizing dogma to redefine their heretical nature (recuperation) and/or to summon the devil into existence to attribute the novelty to the adversary of "God". The movement may also be institutionalized (cf. the Franciscan order), and the fossilizing process that happened at large is repeated in particulars (cf. the influence of Asoka on Buddhism, of Constantine on Christianity and of Mu'awiyah on Islam). When man tries to manipulate the "God-spot" by inventing a manmade religion ("our Lord" instead of "my Lord"), the result spells disaster. The history of the religions since the European Renaissance, confirms a slow retreat of "God" from the neocortex. This was enforced upon the institutionalized religions by the new scientific approach, which indeed eventually killed the cortical "God" (cf. Nietzsche). "God" was subjected to the laws of the secular, humanist (neopagan ?) society in which everybody is allowed to worship the "god" of his or her free choice. In fact, religion became a separate language-game, tolerated and funded (as folklore and good examples), but eliminated as a public source of empirico-formal knowledge, i.e. as explicit truth-bearing insights influencing political decision-making. This emancipation of the neocortex has had its effects all over the planet. Democracy, freedom and a constructive, participative globalism are the children of this radical change of conscious perspective, namely the replacement of "God" and "His kings" by the free choice of communicating ego's (cf. the French Revolution, the Independence of the USA, the Russian Revolution, etc.). Is it not ironical, that religions intending to save people, in fact unknowingly shield their adherents from the hardcore of spirituality ? Today neurotheology puts into evidence that this "root" was developed in the course of the biological evolution of the hominids. So, what can neurotheology contribute ? The executant brain structures of the spiritual function (enabling us to experience the spiritual) are meant to work together (as are all various structures of a neurological network executing some task) . If they do, a special spiritual balance is achieved, computed by an ongoing "God-circuit". This is, ex hypothesi, a multiple relay of information between the sensing, receiving amygdala-hippocampal complex (and its hyperlucid visions) and the symbolizing, processing synchronized neocortex and its prefrontal voluntary association area. This cortico-limbic circuit implies a double integration :
The mystics exhalt the
"God-circuit" by their example. They manifest the glory of Divine
Presence in their actions. Although constantly in touch with the visionary, they
refrain from being possessed by anything else but themselves. They dare to enter
the "abode of God", but remain what they are (i.e. humble). Their
neocortex may be dogmatic or scientific, their spiritual experiences are
stronger and push them to symbolizations beyond what they have learned (theology,
science, art, etc.). "A nos yeux, l'aboutissement du mysticisme est une prise de contact, et par conséquent une coïncidence partielle, avec l'effort créateur que manifeste la vie. Cet effort est de Dieu, si ce n'est pas Dieu lui-même. Le grand mystique serait une individualité qui franchirait les limites assignées à l'espèce par sa matérialité, qui continuerait et prolongerait ainsi l'action divine." Bergson, 1984, p.233. As soon as the descriptive side of neurotheology is sufficiently bold, the usage of this knowlegde may become a matter of debate. Fear is the natural response of the amygdala, not hyperlucid visions. Extreme excitement may trigger rage and murderous attacks, but also a hallucination or an insightful vision. How to "hit the God-spot" ? Can a sequence of significant actions (a protocol) be found ? The biofeedback principle applied to the brain, or neurofeedback, is the most rewarding tool of practical neurotheology. In general, the biofeedback principle states one can become conscious of an internal physical event of which one is normally not aware and then can learn to steer some aspect of the event. For example, one can learn to recognize various brain waves and reproduce them at will. Biofeedback is an instrumented kind of yogic bodily control. By becoming aware of the brain waves produced by the brain in "real time", the distinction between non-spatial consciousness and the mirrored brain-waves is more easily realized. Where is the decision-maker ? What are the natural limitations of the brain ? Indeed, how is voluntary control of internal states of the brain achieved if the causal agent is deemed to be part of the brain (as materialism holds) ? Although one of the end result of neurobiofeedback is self-control, it is a control learnt in a relatively short time. In learning to control some aspect, one needs first to identify the item to be controlled. The feedback signal is just a label to identify the correct response once it has been elicited. We are not learning to produce Alpha-waves, but the calm, detached state of mind which happens to correlate an Alpha rhythm. If the feedback signal has been correctly identified, it is stopped by ending the causing activity. Training may be a "closed-loop" or involve "guided imagery". In the former, the subject watches the signal (meter, lightbulbs) continuously or listens to a variable tone while trying to relax. The reactions of the signal will be co-relative to the thoughts and feelings processed by the CNS. Once the correct mental "groove" is found, the wanted machine-response happens. If not, one continues to relax and find the "door" to reduce tensions and allow other states of consciousness to be processed. Although helpful, this instrumented yoga has one disadvantage : the machine has no ability to identify those fundamental, cortical patterns, habits and repetitive attitudes making our lives unspiritual. It may identify blocks (like the inability to arouse Alpha-waves), lateralizations (cortical asymmetry), fear and "hot" spots and help the trainee or trainer to adjust the parameters of the biofeedback session, but the machine on its own does not reveal the mental reasons for the observed excentricities. An EEG is a monitoring device allowing an external observer (or a computer) to register in real time the waves produced by the activity of the brain measured cortically. An EEG neurofeedback-session (with an EEG machine like the Mind Mirror) may indeed reduce stress, synchronize the neocortex and cause changes (which, if sufficiently repeated, may by themselves be beneficial, will be stored in memory and will thus have long-time effects on some behaviors), but, if an individual's overall lifestyle is not altered and atuned so as to facilitate one's "entry" into the "abode of God", then the emancipatoric impact will be superficial only (and thus miss its target). Hence, the living yoga teacher who experiences the "total" person of his pupil, is best place to alter the "general protocol" to accomodate a particular individual with specific unwholesome patterns. That is why all traditions stress the importance of a teacher. When such an individual utilizes biofeedback, the whole procedure will be upgraded, for the ability to monitor and regulate one's own brainstate has (also for the classical teacher) definite advantages. 3.7 Monitoring and regulation of the amygdala with the imaginal brainmind. It does not seem difficult to "monitor" the amygdala-hippocampal complex. The inner members of yoga will reveal the subtle "basal" state of the limbic system and push repressed information upwards to the neocortex. The "coarse" state of the mammalian brain can be assessed by "looking inside" and "feel" whether tensions, stress, negative thinking, negative feeling (fear, anxiety, anger) are present. Going over "soar" or "sensitive" spots, remembering negative issues and thinking about difficult, dangerous and unpredictable tasks ahead will indicate the level of ennervation and its contents. Everything demanding special alertness and watchdog vigilance triggers this area of the brain. If objective data are needed, a quick ESR reading will show the basal state of the ANS and the hypothalamus. But how to change the state of the amygdala to turn on the processing of creativity, joy and deep pleasure such as one may experience on "the best day of one's life" ? It is possible to "optimalize" each day of one's life ? The spiritual function is able to do so. When operational, a completely new functional state is introduced in the brain, allowing it to perform more tasks, solve more problems and experience more the move positive, constructive, joyous and beautiful sides of life. This is gigantic "reward", boosting a change in behavior, much more engaged in eliminating poverty & injustice, making the world a better place for all living beings (charity). How to trigger the transcendent qualities computed in this area, so it starts to process these extraordinary, life-altering spiritual experiences ? Is there a simple technique (in accord with the features of the executant) to switch on the "big light" in the brain ? Has neurotheology found a "way in" which does not imply 20 years of practice ? When the visual association area is deafferented, the production of Alpha-waves becomes easier, as well as the construction of imaginal objects or visualization. The importance of visualization (together with suggestion and the placebo-effect) can not be underestimated. By visualizing certain objects, the right hemisphere is triggered. If these objects relate to the person visualizing, a limbic response is also likely. Because the activity is voluntary, the prefrontal cortex enters into the picture. It is these frontal lobes, and their uncommitted cortex, which -over time- must commit the trigger of the "God-circuit". Can, by doing certain things, the "magic" of the brain be made operational ? How to stop "driving" our brains blindfolded ? When a person learns the basics about his or her brain, in particular some basic brain self-control and amygdala/frontal lobes control, then one begins to access radical and overwhelmingly positive changes in function, behavior and activity. Then we start to access more of the enormous untapped potential, as if we would give our brain wings (use the uncommitted cortex). Self-stimulation of the amygdala without electrodes can be performed by using the brain's capacity for guided imagery & visualizations, as evidenced by the importance of visualization in most if not all traditional spiritual exercises. Let us distinguish a between simple and a comprehensive visualization :
comprehensive : daily visualization of the complete brain and problem/solution projections on it, triggering a frontal regulation of complex brain states. A simple visualization :
The
more frequently you visualize, the more pronounced the
results.
When a person learns how to internally stimulate
the amygdala and voluntarily
increase frontal lobes processes at will, this likely results in an immediate
peak-experience.
The power of suggestion is
remarkable, and proves the point of the triune brain and the possibility of a
temporary, total deafferentiation of even a large brain structure. Hypnosis and
trance also reveal limitations beyond the paradigmatic view. Together with
telepathy, telekinesis and other parapsychological facts, these phenomena belong
to the periphery of the scientific language-game, and escape a clear description
and/or lack repetition (i.e. these events are relevant to those who experience
them but not significant to all the others). They too must have their
neurological executants. indoctrinations "Throughout life, even into old age, our mental activities and interactions can lead to the proliferation of axon-dendrite connections. The living brain is never static. It is always subject to ebb and flow, always seeking a balance but never settling on any one balance." Albright & Ashbrook, 2001, p.154. The executant structures | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||