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About Me
- Reuben
- Director of the Samara Center for Practical Spirituality, Saco, Maine, USA; Osteopathic physician; ordained minister, Church of the New Jerusalem; Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Director of Medical Humanities, University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine
8 comments:
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chris
This area of study that you propose is fascinating, especially in regards to the brain-mind paradigm. Certainly, the threshold that is crossed bears evidence of a higher spiritual creator. If man differs from every other form of life on Earth as possesing this threshold that allows the brain to cross over into a "mind", it is a unique gift. Certainly not an element of creation that was left up to the randomness of evolution. Maybe man has the intelligence capability of discovering thi threshold, allowing us to understand our spiritual creator better. Thanks for proposing the question Dr. Bell.
This possibly relates to another question, the one about the soul and how it operates in the body. I have always veiwed the soul as relating to one's conscience, if they were not one and the same. If someone has healthy soul, or conscience, that allows them not only to be spiritually strong but empathetic, then they are perceived as "good" human beings. They are persons that are upright, have strong moral fiber, and a strong set of principles that they employ in thier relations with family and others. This "good" soul will go to heaven.(or whatever eternal bliss one's spiritual values view) Someone who is inherently evil may have a damaged soul, thus possessing a damaged conscience, which allows them to be non-empathetic and harmful towards others. This would help explain such events as brutal dictators and mass murders. This damaged concience may be similar to a broken radio antenna, which would not allow the person to channel proper and meaningful spiritual actions and thoughts. Maybe by discovering where the brain ends and the mind begins, we can understand damaged souls (consciences) which would allow God to enter into them and allow for good things. And also, to improve the spiritual health of others.
Excellent point Erlon. Your discussion bears directly into another of Dr. Bell's questions, about how healing works in the body. When most people discuss healing, especially in a spiritual sense, they often think of Christian Scientists or pentecostal faith healers. Healing could very well be faith driven, but mostly because of untapped spiritual energy that exists. It leads into your paradigm of the "radio antenna." If we can be so much more spiritually in tune with our beliefs, then we can get a "full reception" that allows some form of spirituality to enter in and heal our bodies. If we are getting a "low reception" then our spirituality is not being used in our full capacity. By finding out how brain and mind differentiate, then we can look at that as an aspect of faith healing. This would be a deliberate attempt, and not a "by chance" occourance that someone might have, as when they pray for healing or seek out a spiritual healer for illness.
Thanks for the comment Brian. I hesitated to integrate too much into my comments on the "mind, body, and spirit" aspect of the discussion for two reasons. First, I have not studied that much into perspective spirituality to make a reasonable sounding comment or discussion. Second, the "mind, body, and spirit" paradigm in regards to healing may be possibly moot at this point. This has always been a traditional concept to study, but may be deemed as an "unworkable concept" as we progress in our knowledge and insight into our spirituality. Simply speaking, as we discover another concept that is more workable intuitively, we will drop the old "mind, body, and spirit" concept. (Liken it to the "flat Earth" theory being dropped after it was discovered Earth was round)These three terms could all meld into one theory, or two of them could form, and discarding one. For instance, the mind and spirit could turn out to be all one in the same. Since this blog is based on Swedenborg, maybe he will have some ideas on this.
Erlon, your thoughts on the mind and brain made me think of your interest in Dr. Keith Buzzell's writings on Gurdjieff. Gurdjieff put forth the theory on the triune, or three part brain. The first two developed part of the brain are standard for any mammal. But the third part of the brain is exclusive to humans. This is the part of the brain that gives human beings the gifts of intellect, reason, compassion, etc. These are seen as higher power functions. This third "brain" can possibly hold the clues to where the brain ends and mind begins.
Excellent point. People like Gurdjieff, Swedenborg, and others offer us a different perspective on spirituality, which only serves to enhance previously held beliefs. Although I hold basic Christian beliefs based on the Holy Bible, my spiritual beliefs and convictions are augmented by other viewpoints. This is not necessarily being disloyal to God and Jesus Christ, but allowing me to learn more about them. Look at it this way, what we know about God would compare to the size of the Moon. What God actually consists of would take up the entire universe. Our spirituality should be able to expand and amalgate enough to allow for this. By studying other people that share similar belief systems, we can learn so much together. That is the great thing about Dr. Bell's discussion thread, we can learn from each other.
I just received my book, Swedenborg's "Heaven and Hell." Let's read the first couple of chapters, and discuss it.
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