Sublime

The theory was that one could manipulate the subject’s state of consciousness with these fields, opening the ‘gates of transcendence,’ so to speak.

One common observation is that psychedelics destabilize longrange cortical communication patterns and reduce activity in the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus in the posterior regions of the neocortex. This is the compatible with our knowledge of the brains of people trained in mindfulness. It appears that the less these midline structures

Scan your body with your mind and notice in what area you feel that emotion.

Newberg discovered biology beneath these experiences. Ecstatic meditation creates a profound shift in brain function. It comes down to extreme focus, which ecstatic meditation requires, which, in turn, requires a ton of energy. But the brain has a fixed energy budget, which means it’s always trying to conserve. During ecstatic meditation, to

Christian Keysers, The Empathic Brain

When people are compassionate they activate areas of the brain that reduce pain.

Today, with the help of brain-scanning technology, we may be getting closer to the answer. In 2005 an Emory University neuroscientist named Gregory Berns decided to conduct an updated version of Asch’s experiments. Berns and his team recruited thirty-two volunteers, men and women between the

One area of PNI that is particularly relevant to spirituality is the focus on those hormones and neurotransmitters that are responsible for the ‘spiritual’ feelings of relaxation, pleasure and even bliss, such as serotonin, oxytocin and – my own field of expertise3 – endorphins.