Curly grass ferns: Neuroscience and Spirituality, Transcendental Meditation to Relaxation Response, Primates and Nontheist Quakers

Nontheist Friends,

Thanks for this article on neuroscience and spirituality (http://www.physorg.com/news185027522.html)!

I think the Harvard cardiologist Herbert Benson MD attempted to study, rigorously, Transcendental Meditation in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and wrote, from this research, "The Relaxation Response" (1972), coming up with the relaxationresponse.org/steps as practice, vis-a-vis neurophysiology. See, for example, his 1971 paper "A wakeful hypometabolic physiologic state," mentioned at the bottom of the above web page.

I wonder, too, what related and comparative studies on the primates closest to us - the 2 species of chimps, 2 species of gorillas, and 2 species of orangutans (and which are also the most intelligent primates, as I understand it), who learn language in the lab, might show. I'm particularly interested in these species, especially vis-a-vis all of our abilities to symbolize. Can they cultivate the 'relaxation response'? How is this translated, by researchers? What do they say about words like 'spiritual.'

Language in the context of an historically and predominantly Catholic country (this is an Italian study above), as well as self-reporting surveys, after disparate brain injuries, seem really difficult to translate to universal findings ("Thus, dysfunctional parietal neural activity may underpin altered spiritual and religious attitudes and behaviors" - I'm also skeptical of the 'thus' word, here, too), especially operationally in the lab, given our very old bodyminds, due to evolution by natural selection. (Self-transcendence may be a curious notion for Pan troglodytes - common chimps, and Pan paniscus - Bonobo chimps - as I think about it). To operationalize 'spiritual' as self-transcendence, vis-a-vis the Dalai Lama's definition mentioned in a previous Nontheist Friend's email {e.g. "I believe there is an important distinction to be made between religion and spirituality. Religion I take to be concerned with belief in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition or another--an aspect of which is acceptance of some form of metaphysical or philosophical reality, including perhaps an idea of heaven or hell. Connected with this are religious teachings or dogma, ritual, prayers and so on. Spirituality I take to be concerned with those qualities of the human spirit--such as love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, which bring happiness to both self and others. While ritual and prayer, along with questions of nirvana and salvation are directly connected with religious faith, these inner qualities need not be, however. There is thus no reason why the individual should not develop them, even to a high degree, without recourse to any religious or metaphysical belief system. This is why I sometimes say religion is something we can perhaps do without. What we cannot do without are these basic spiritual qualities"}, for example, perhaps illustrates the complexities of operationalizing words as variables (words like 'spiritual,' 'self,' and 'transcendence' have many meanings and are very imprecise) scientifically, vis-a-vis spirituality.

I also see great parallels with the relaxation response and what may have happened - de facto - for Friends (Quakers) sitting in silence in Silent Meeting, over the past 350 years - and in relation to Friends' discourse/culture in anthropological senses - e.g. the peace testimony, meeting for business (which interest I've also mentioned in previous nontheist Friends' emails).

Here's an invitation to teach and learn about nontheistically Friendly themes at the open, free "edit this page" World University and School's "Nontheist Friends' subject: worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Nontheist_Friends_%28atheist_Quakers%3F%29, as well as about Quakers, here: worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Quakers_-_Religious_Society_of_Friends. 'What canst thou say?" to quote George Fox ... or teach?

As human primates / monkeys, I'm particularly interested in eliciting the neurophysiology of loving bliss, naturally, and when and as we want it, like music {and in the context of Quaker silent meeting's improvisational troopbonding, where people share their ideas}, - and, especially on Valentine's Day.

Into the relaxation response in silent meetings ...

Friendly regards and happy Valentine's Day,
Scott

scottmacleod.com
worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Relaxation_Response




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Schizaea pusilla Pursh

hfarm1.static.flickr.com/68/196806512_797ebf3b47.jpg?v=0

Curly-grass fern





(http://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2010/02/curly-grass-ferns-neuroscience-and.html - February 14, 2010)