These are interesting and important areas to study as those historically having had such religious experiences have caused most of the death and destruction in the last 2000 years. So obviously a neurochemistry imbalance, you can even stimulate their occurrence using meditation practices or substances. Why do we have insufficient confidence in our actual abilities that we retain a desperate need to hang on to the notion that we must be of supernatural origins. We are the smartest animal, that should be enough.
I have had a few experiences with synchronicity. The following come to mind: When my grandmother passed, I went to the town to attend her funeral and right after the service, my family member parked behind a car with my (very uncommon) name on the license plate; a car beside us had a sticker with a heart on it honouring my field of work. Another time I had just written a journal entry and had made a reference to the book House of Leaves; I was enjoying adding visuals to the pages, and I had intended to go out and find a leaf, but I ended up finding a perfect one just sitting on my bag before I'd even left the house.
After the shooting at the Pulse nightclub here in Orlando years ago, at the memorial service, a flock of birds were seen flying over the crowd . The same number of birds were in the flock as the number of victims that were killed at the nightclub. Many people thought it was spiritually significant, a synchronicity.
So how would you describe this experience - one where your lizard brain kicks in in times of extreme stress. For example I was driving up to a small roundabout at speed and didn’t see there was a small bollard in the middle - I had made to drive straight across but before the realisation it was there or a split second after I had realised it was as if my lizard brain took over and controlled my actions - I was completely disassociated from the whole process and I just observed as my body went into lightning fast reaction speed and in a split second swiftly avoided a crash. It was as if I were an observer of my own actions - not involved in the process at all. Obviously some chemical reaction in the brain was triggered to use my learned motor systems in a highly efficient way but completely unconsciously on my part - it wasn’t ‘me’ or that conscious part of ‘me’ that avoided the crash. The whole thing was over in a split second. Now I could classify this as a spiritual experience if I were so inclined but I just think it was a chain of chemical reactions pump priming a set of loco motor responses. My mental state however was in awe of what just happened - it didn’t appear to have anything to do with me and I doubt that I was capable of such a fast reaction - and as I said I was completely disassociated from the whole process which was a fraction of a second. I had never experienced that before or since. It felt awesome but I presume it was merely a banal process. However if I were spiritually minded I might put it down to the hand of god or whatever. All in all it was a fascinating experience. So it was a change of perception/ awareness coupled with locomotor response times that appeared profound but it was simply a chemical reaction resulting in a unconscious physical action.
Good interview. Thank you. I don't think that Jaden's conception of synchronicity is in line with how Jung defined it; it does not have to be a grandiose life-changing experience. Jung's definition of synchronicity is far more modest, simply "meaningful coincidences."
Professor Paul Schmidt in a Philosophy of Religion course at Oberlin in 1961 said that you can tell drug experience from true religious experience only by the hangover, studies said.
@@edhoopman3723 He was saying that it wasn't that there was no difference, but a plainly observable one, that religious experience is not a drug experience. He said it as mockery, however. He was not a believer. Amusing lecturer. The principle of non-vacuous contrasts was in the air back then.
So there are dimensions not discussed here that are hot topics in neuroscience. I find it odd that these fields are ships passing in the night. 1. Growth. Autism is thought to be something interrupting the normal growth cycle causing the brain to dramatically cross wires ergo loud noises are painful, smelling colors and so on. What's interesting if one reads up on this topic is how hallucinatory much of what is experienced by autistic children appears. Also in the growth area is the brain is the only organ that never finishes. The brain just gives up around the age of 30. Think about how much our society has it wrong in the age of 18 being the age of consent when the brain is still growing. Environment is linked to growth and is suspect in autism because of the emergence in a specific time. Alcohol, drugs, second-hand smoke and all these things effect the growth of the brain. We don't know what causes autism yet but the smart money is on environmental. 2. Pain. Grief is pain and I was surprised that pain was not discussed when talking about hallucinating ghosts. When people are in extreme pain they hallucinate all kinds of things. Like most things pain is on a spectrum and how much one's mind is being influenced by pain is on a spectrum as well. Come on, how many people have had religious experiences having had a traumatic experience? 3. Sleep. Sleep and exhaustion kinda are the same influence. When the mind gets tired it is prone to making mistakes. Also since we sleep at night our mind doesn't process low lighting and is more apt to see things that are not there.
![“Secular” mindfulness as deeply Buddhist | Robert Wright & Jon Kabat-Zinn [The Wright Show]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HdBKI8cJ3d4/mqdefault.jpg)
These are interesting and important areas to study as those historically having had such religious experiences have caused most of the death and destruction in the last 2000 years. So obviously a neurochemistry imbalance, you can even stimulate their occurrence using meditation practices or substances. Why do we have insufficient confidence in our actual abilities that we retain a desperate need to hang on to the notion that we must be of supernatural origins. We are the smartest animal, that should be enough.
I have had a few experiences with synchronicity. The following come to mind: When my grandmother passed, I went to the town to attend her funeral and right after the service, my family member parked behind a car with my (very uncommon) name on the license plate; a car beside us had a sticker with a heart on it honouring my field of work.
Another time I had just written a journal entry and had made a reference to the book House of Leaves; I was enjoying adding visuals to the pages, and I had intended to go out and find a leaf, but I ended up finding a perfect one just sitting on my bag before I'd even left the house.
I love William James~ now want to go back and re-read.
After the shooting at the Pulse nightclub here in Orlando years ago, at the memorial service, a flock of birds were seen flying over the crowd . The same number of birds were in the flock as the number of victims that were killed at the nightclub. Many people thought it was spiritually significant, a synchronicity.
Why should altered states of consciousness and fleeting feelings be taken seriously other than as a phenomenon for scientific investigation?
You should explore that question.
So how would you describe this experience - one where your lizard brain kicks in in times of extreme stress. For example I was driving up to a small roundabout at speed and didn’t see there was a small bollard in the middle - I had made to drive straight across but before the realisation it was there or a split second after I had realised it was as if my lizard brain took over and controlled my actions - I was completely disassociated from the whole process and I just observed as my body went into lightning fast reaction speed and in a split second swiftly avoided a crash. It was as if I were an observer of my own actions - not involved in the process at all. Obviously some chemical reaction in the brain was triggered to use my learned motor systems in a highly efficient way but completely unconsciously on my part - it wasn’t ‘me’ or that conscious part of ‘me’ that avoided the crash. The whole thing was over in a split second. Now I could classify this as a spiritual experience if I were so inclined but I just think it was a chain of chemical reactions pump priming a set of loco motor responses. My mental state however was in awe of what just happened - it didn’t appear to have anything to do with me and I doubt that I was capable of such a fast reaction - and as I said I was completely disassociated from the whole process which was a fraction of a second. I had never experienced that before or since. It felt awesome but I presume it was merely a banal process. However if I were spiritually minded I might put it down to the hand of god or whatever. All in all it was a fascinating experience. So it was a change of perception/ awareness coupled with locomotor response times that appeared profound but it was simply a chemical reaction resulting in a unconscious physical action.
Nice to here a conversation about your other interests. I love your science and spirituality content
Good interview. Thank you.
I don't think that Jaden's conception of synchronicity is in line with how Jung defined it; it does not have to be a grandiose life-changing experience. Jung's definition of synchronicity is far more modest, simply "meaningful coincidences."
Professor Paul Schmidt in a Philosophy of Religion course at Oberlin in 1961 said that you can tell drug experience from true religious experience only by the hangover, studies said.
Hangover after psychodelics...? Hm...
I'd like to know the basis for that. People say a lot of things.
@@edhoopman3723 He was saying that it wasn't that there was no difference, but a plainly observable one, that religious experience is not a drug experience. He said it as mockery, however. He was not a believer. Amusing lecturer. The principle of non-vacuous contrasts was in the air back then.
The repeated references to 'humility' are priceless. Robert, you've got one-dry-sense-of-humor... but it's still humor... :-)
Too much host, not enough guest.
So there are dimensions not discussed here that are hot topics in neuroscience. I find it odd that these fields are ships passing in the night.
1. Growth. Autism is thought to be something interrupting the normal growth cycle causing the brain to dramatically cross wires ergo loud noises are painful, smelling colors and so on. What's interesting if one reads up on this topic is how hallucinatory much of what is experienced by autistic children appears. Also in the growth area is the brain is the only organ that never finishes. The brain just gives up around the age of 30. Think about how much our society has it wrong in the age of 18 being the age of consent when the brain is still growing. Environment is linked to growth and is suspect in autism because of the emergence in a specific time. Alcohol, drugs, second-hand smoke and all these things effect the growth of the brain. We don't know what causes autism yet but the smart money is on environmental.
2. Pain. Grief is pain and I was surprised that pain was not discussed when talking about hallucinating ghosts. When people are in extreme pain they hallucinate all kinds of things. Like most things pain is on a spectrum and how much one's mind is being influenced by pain is on a spectrum as well. Come on, how many people have had religious experiences having had a traumatic experience?
3. Sleep. Sleep and exhaustion kinda are the same influence. When the mind gets tired it is prone to making mistakes. Also since we sleep at night our mind doesn't process low lighting and is more apt to see things that are not there.