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| Are Science & Spirituality Converging Now? |
IN THE 21st CENTURY A.D.
“Andrew Newberg and his colleagues have, in their seminal book “Why God Won’t Go Away,” brought together a vast amount of research on the brain substrates underlying a variety of different spiritual experiences. The application of this type of brain research to trauma transformation is a rich area of further research and exploration. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) gets its name from being a relatively autonomous branch of the nervous system. Its basic, yet highly integrated function has to do with the regulation of energy states and the maintenance of homeostasis.
The ANS is composed of two distinctly different branches. (Although the parasympathetic branch is dived into a primitive (nonmyelinated) and an evolutionarily recent (myelinated) branch.)” _Peter Levine, “In an Unspoken Voice.”
It is this myelinated branch of parasympathetic stimulation of the heart & therefore metabolic rate, ventral vagal complex (VVC), which is metaphorically eluded to in the mythology of the Christian Bible. “The Ark of The Covenant.” Put very simply, it’s the secret of your Smile, and those two hundred muscles of your head & face.
And of coarse you don’t want to know about this, inside your Cartesian “mind-set” awareness of being, because life truly flows in “unconscious” spontaneous, physiological reactions, like when you feel the pure joy of being alive here in heaven.
The ascension is not a rising to “above” it’s a Fall, just as its always been, when you seek awareness of the Universe within, & truly feel the presence of this Eternal Now. In Eastern mysticism, such experience is known as a Kundalini awakening, or in the “stillness” of the great Prince, Buddha being?
Is it time to re-address the tribal metaphors of life’s meaning, to a species understanding? In a Universe of 96% dark matter/energy. Life is “The Resurrection.” That great symbol of sacrifice we see in Christ on the Cross, as all the Light Matter Energy, sacrificed to create your life? How does the Universe become Eternal? By evolving into a form which can act upon itself, YOU & your children’s, children’s children, forever & ever, Amen! Or whatever metaphor of gratitude you use.
“Rather than describing the autonomic nervous system as a linear ‘arousal’ system focused on the sympathetic nervous system, or a balance system focused on the opposing influences of the sympathetic and parasympathetic pathways, the function of the autonomic nervous system is hierarchically organized. As emphasized above, the hierarchical organization is phylogenetically determined and can be summarized as the following three sequential functional subsystems:
1. The ventral vagal complex VVC: a mammalian signaling system for motion, emotion, and communication. 2. The sympathetic nervous system SNS: an adaptive mobilization system supporting fight or flight behaviors. 3. The dorsal vagal complex DVC: a vestigial immobilization system. Each of these three neural constructs is linked with a specific response strategy observable in humans.
Each strategy is manifested via differentiated motor output from the central nervous system to perform specific adaptive functions: to immobilize and conserve metabolic resources DVC, to mobilize in order to obtain metabolic resources SNS, or to signal with minimal energy Expense VVC.” _Stephen Porges, “The Polyvagal Theory.”
To paraphrase the late & truly great Harry Chapin;
“Something keeps calling our name.
Something keeps calling our name.
Or is it just the rustling of the wind.
Or is it just that we need our friends.
Something keeps calling our name, our name.
Sometimes we don't talk too much, or touch hardly at all.
How can we hope to share this life, divided by a subjective wall?
Is it time to taste the truth and toss it of our tongue?
You see the world has come a-calling, and it's bleeding at our door.
Are we supposed to turn away, or is this what we're here for?”
Is it time for realization? 1 Species, 1 World, 1 Universe, 1 Love.
Is it time to realize, that the Universe is a friendly place & FEAR is only the shadow "within" & not really "out there." With the realization of a “meant to be” eternal now, can we stop fighting ourselves & get on with building a new Jerusalem, here on Earth’s green & pleasant land?
Everything we really need is “inside” us, health, wealth & happiness are not “objects,” they are metaphors for the hidden reality of a holistic sense of well being. The very best medicine, is literally contained within our laughter & our heart felt smile.
Words are only metaphors, metaphors for a hidden reality within?
Science & Spirituality are converging in this 21st century A.D. Although to an Eternal Now, Time means nothing & everything? Perhaps this is why the existential metaphors always apply to “this” here & now.
Such is the silly stuff I go through during the height of “psychosis,” my brain dis-ease?
Be well:))
David Bates.
June, 2012.
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From this statement and a synchronicity of events some 10 days later a further integration of metaphor and meaning begins with: Mythology & Metaphors of Our Species Evolution, although the post shows the surge of excitement, from a perception of a synchronous event. Yet the energy involved also gives rise to further integration of a metamorphosis process, when the episode is viewed with understanding, and not a defensive negative judgment?
Having given myself the time in a secure non-judgmental environment to work through the natural trans-formative process of psychosis, Am I demonstrating through self-experimentation that this is NOT a diseased brain process?