Science, Psychology and Spirituality

In the twentieth century as the frontiers of science and human psychology expanded, many scientists and psychologists began studying the spiritual dimension of human personality. They brought to our awareness that spirituality did not belong only in churches, mosques and monasteries, it could be part of our day to day life. They highlighted that spiritual experiences were not restricted only to mystics, rather, they could be experienced by anyone in special circumstances. Psychologists like Abraham Maslow have been collecting observations, findings and conclusions that “can be accepted as real by clergymen and atheists alike.” (Ref 1 p 54) Maslow was of the opinion that the segregation of sacred and profane, saint and sinner, mystic and pragmatist is artificial and unnatural. In trying to reclaim spirituality as part of humanity, he wrote, “ I want to demonstrate that spiritual values have naturistic meaning, that they are not the exclusive possession of organized churches, that they do not need supernatural concepts to validate them, that they are within the jurisdiction of a suitably enlarged science, and that, therefore, they are the general responsibility of all mankind.” (Ref 1 p 4)
Maslow believed that ordinary men and women can have extra-ordinary experiences, and unusual things can happen in usual circumstances. He named those special experiences ‘peak experiences’ and described a number of characteristics of these experiences that can occur spontaneously in the life of any layperson, poet, intellectual, scientist, artist or religious person. Peak experience, Maslow believed, can occur while watching a sunset, playing with one’s grandchild, making love, composing a poem or contemplating the mysteries of the universe, although certain types of practices and disciplines, like meditation, might make the likelihood of those experiences more probable and more frequent. He explained that those human experiences are labeled as spiritual/religious/mystic because of the belief system of that individual, community and culture. By calling them peak experiences and highlighting that a religious belief was not a prerequisite to having them, Maslow tried to secularize the spiritual and religious world. He shared one of the features of peak experiences in these words, “ …in a peak experience such emotions as wonder, awe, reverence, humility, surrender and even worship before the greatness of the experience are often reported.” (Ref 1 p 650)
Maslow also studied the changes in people’s personalities after they had those special peak experiences. He observed that in some people those experiences had a profound impact on people’s lifestyles. He wrote, “…the peak experiencer becomes more loving and more accepting and he becomes more spontaneous and honest and innocent.” (Ref 1 p 76)

While humanist psychologists were focusing on the personalities of mystics as well as ordinary people who were having peak experiences, neurologists were studying their brains. Dr. Robert Buckman in his book CAN WE BE GOOD WITHOUT GOD? presents an enlightening review of the literature and research done by a number of neurologists. He brings to our attention that the temporal lobes play a significant role in the perceptions and experiences that we associate with creative and mystic encounters. He describes that the left lobe deals with “language and motor skills” while the right lobe deals with ‘the person’s perception of reality and of himself and herself …’ (Ref 2 p 115) Many of these changes have been proven by the EEG [electroencephalograph] invented in the 1940s and since used in studying epileptic patients and sleep problems in normal people.

Based on EEG studies, Buckman highlights that human beings can be divided into three groups depending upon the sensitivity of the temporal lobes.

1. People who have highly sensitive temporal lobes suffer from temporal lobe epilepsy as they have spontaneous firing of the neurons of the temporal lobe. Dr. Hughlings Jackson studied those epileptics and discovered that their auras, hallucinations and out of body experiences were not much different that what was reported by saints in their mystic encounters. Prior to epileptic seizures the auras …” include some very particular sensations and experiences. These may include any (or several) of the following: auditory hallucinations (hearing voices), dejavu
( the feeling of seeing something before), visual hallucinations, experiencing funny smells, a feeling of particular peace, a sensation of deep understanding or of profound and significant knowledge and a feeling of being outside one’s body.” (Ref 2 p 119) One such example was the famous Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyesky who suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy and shared his experiences in his writings, stating “…all of the forces of life gathered convulsively all at once to the highest attainable consciousness…and then a scene suddenly as if something were opening up in the soul: an indescribable, an unknown light radiated, by which the ultimate essence of things was made visible and recognizable. (Ref 2 p 120). Based on the experiences of temporal lobe epileptics some neurologists wonder if we had had EEG we might have discovered that some mystics in history like Joan of Arc might have suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy.

Dr. Wilder Penfield did extensive studies of the brain. When he stimulated the left side of the brain he saw involuntary movements of different parts of the body. “But when he stimulated the temporal lobe on the right side, there was no movement of any part of the body. Instead the patients reported a wide variety of significant experiences, perceptions and/or feelings. The phenomena reported were basically the same as the auras accompanying temporal lobe seizures…feelings of great peace, of deep understanding, of consciousness of another being…” (Ref 2 p 122)

2. People who have temporal lobes more sensitive than average but less sensitive than those of epileptics have creative encounters and become poets and artists and actors as it is easy for them to enter imaginary worlds and create characters or play roles of other people by getting involved in “...drama, poetry and other creative acts: activities that require the person to ‘go into’ another world or another mode are associated with high temporal lobe scores.” (Ref 2 p 133)

3. In people who have average temporal lobes and do not suffer from temporal lobe epilepsy and are not poets or actors, stimulation of their temporal lobes by electrodes in the laboratory, produces similar experiences. Rather than having epileptic seizures, they have perceptual and sensory experiences similar to the ones shared my mystics. When M.A. Persinger did experiments on volunteers by stimulating their temporal lobes he noticed they experienced…” a feeling of peace, of serenity, of being one with nature and often of being in the presence of another consciousness (another being). Some people felt that they were near the presence of aliens. Others experienced deeply spiritual or religious feelings. Some reported that they were in the presence of god, and some heard his voice.” (Ref 2 p 125)

How do we understand all those similarities from a scientific point of view? Julian Jynes tried to explain those encounters based on his theory of Right/Left Brain functioning. He believes that the temporal lobe of the Left Brain deals with language while the temporal lobe of the Right Brain deals with sensory, perceptual and aesthetic experiences. He explains that creative and mystic experiences originate in the Right Brain and when those messages are sent to the left Brain, the Left Brain does not own them and feels as if those messages came from the outside and depending upon the personality and culture is interpreted as coming from angels, spirits or God rather than their unconscious mind. (Ref 3)
Dr. Robert Buckman concludes his discussion by stating his opinion that ‘If the limbic system is activated by means of the temporal lobe, a person will have an experience of the spiritual or divine type. God is…literally…a state of mind.” (Ref 2 p 144)

After reviewing the literature it seems to me as if there are a number of creative and mystic encounters that different human beings from different cultures experience but the interpretation of those experiences depends upon the beliefs of those who experience them. The more the secular traditions are becoming more established the more we are able to see spirituality as part of humanity and not part of divinity. I am hopeful that as the frontiers of human knowledge and experience expand, the questions that have been answered over the centuries by the religious traditions will be answered in a secular way by the disciplines of science and human psychology.






REFERENCES
1. Maslow Abraham …Religions, Values and peak Experiences…Penguin Books England 1970
2. Buckman Robert…CAN WE BE GOOD WITHOUT GOD? Viking Books Canada 2000
3. Jaynes Julian…The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind..Mariner Books…1990