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SHAMANS, SWEDENBORG, and the BRAIN

Welcome to today's worship service by the on-line Swedenborgian community.  

                     
 Light a candle                                                                             
                                                                    
Open the Word            
 

 

OPENING SONG

Here I Am, Lord



READINGS

From the Bible
NIV
Matthew 4
Jesus Heals the Sick
23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,[f] Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
 
 
From  Swedenborg
 
By the human mind are meant its two faculties, which are called the understanding and the will. The understanding is the receptacle of the light of heaven, which in its essence is wisdom, and the will is the receptacle of the heat of heaven, which in its essence is love, as was shown above. These two, wisdom and love, proceed from the Lord, as a sun, and flow into heaven universally and particularly, whence the angels have wisdom and love; and they also flow into this world universally and particularly, whence men have wisdom and love. [Soul-Body, 14, XII]
 
 


MESSAGE


SHAMANS, SWEDENBORG, and the BRAIN
A Stroke and the Spiritual
Jill Bolte Taylor is a brain scientist who experienced a stroke in 1996 at age of 37.

For her, it was an incredibly ecstatic experience.    She wrote --  Making the decision to recover was a complicated, and cognitive choice for me. On the one hand, I loved the bliss of drifting in the current of the eternal flow. Who wouldn’t? It was beautiful there. My spirit beamed free, enormous, and peaceful. In the rapture of an engulfing bliss, I had to question what recovery really meant…
Honestly, there were certain aspects of my new existence that I preferred over the way I had been before. I was not willing to compromise my new insights in the name of recovery. I liked knowing I was a fluid. I loved knowing my spirit was at ONE with the universe and in the flow with everything around me. I found it fascinating to be so tuned to energy dynamics and body language. But most of all, I loved the feeling of deep inner peace that flooded the core of my very being. [p. 82]                                                                     
If I hadn’t known about her experience with stroke, I would have thought that this was an ecstatic mystical experience written by some famous saint of long ago. 
The fact that this stroke awakened in her feelings I would describe as mystical, raises for me many questions about our human brain.

The God Machine
Dr. Persinger, professor of neurosciences as Laurentic University, Canada, claims that people can experience a sense of timelessness, paranormal visions and even come ‘face to face’ with God by wearing his unique ‘God Machine’ (Ford 2002). The ‘God Machine’, a specially designed helmet, gently stimulates and causes a temporary influx of neuronal firing in the limbic system, such as during temporal lobe epilepsy. Stimulation to the temporal lobe can cause a sense of spiritual well-being, paranormal experience and feelings of `religious ecstasy. 80% of subjects recorded experiencing a feeling that they were ‘not alone’ and sensed a ‘spiritual presence’ when their temporal lobe was stimulated. (BBC 2003).
Does this mean that our brains are wired to be receptive to God? Or does it mean that God only exists in the neurons of our brains?    Let’s look at more information.

 Your Brain in Church
Bob Sitze, author of Taking your Brain to church writes that when the brain interprets information as an opportunity, it shifts into “social” mode; encouraging us to relate to others – and to experience pleasurable feelings.
However, if the brain interprets data as danger, it becomes frightened. It recedes into individualism in an attempt to survive.
We want our brain to warn us of danger when we are about to be hit by a truck. But do we want our brain signalling a “fear reaction” when someone disagrees with us in a church meeting? Or when we meet someone new at coffee hour?
So our brains can allow us to experience God, peace, oneness – however you want to interpret that.   But far less open to interpretation is that we can experience the Divine through our relationships with each other as long as we can relate out of love rather than fear. 

Your Brain in Relationship
Dr. Louis Cozolino, a psychologist who studies the brain,  says that our brains are designed to be social; not isolated.
So the way to stay mentally healthy and to improve mental illness is to be in loving relationships. That is what church community is all about: being in loving relationship with each other.   We just haven’t known quite how powerful that is in each of our lives.

Shamans and the Brain

None of this is new to shamans:
While the term neurotheology is new, the basic ideas have been around for thousands of years, says Dr. Michael Winkelman, Department of Anthropology at Arizona State University.  
Universals of shaninism are related to basic brain functions, says Dr. Winkelman. He suggests that these universals reflect functions of altered states of consciousness.  Shamanism: The Neural Ecology of Consciousness and Healing explains basic aspects of brain operation that provide the foundations for shamanic practices and experiences.  The shamans' experiences and practices have fundamental similarities around the world because they reflect innate brain processes and experiences, says Winkelman.
 
Shamanism and Swedenborg
So, it seems that the scientific community is catching up with what Shamans have known all along:   our health and our healing are based on our interactions and relationships. The physical and spiritual co-exist. 
This reality was obvious to Swedenborg. He was a scientist first, and tried to find the seat of the soul through science. He couldn’t do it, and used his mystical experiences to find and explain God. However, he insisted that religion and science had to co-exist and needed each other. The physical and spiritual could not be separated.
We now know from science that love is essential to the health of our brains. That’s what Swedenborg said to us.
He believed that all of heaven was like a Grand Person, with each part of the body playing a special role. The brain is particularly important:
He saw the brain as existing to help us be of use in the world, and to love others:
4054. The brain, like heaven, belongs to the realm of ends which are uses, for whatever flows in from the Lord is an end looking towards the salvation of the human race. This is the end which reigns in heaven, and also which as a result reigns in the brain, for the brain, where man's mind is seated, looks to ends in the body, that is to say, so that the body may serve the soul and that the soul may be eternally happy.                         

How Does This Help Us Relate to Each Other?
So how can we best integrate this ancient spiritual wisdom and recent scientific research about our brains and God?
  • Strive to develop love reactions over fear reactions in our ordinary interactions: especially in our faith community. If our first reaction to a comment is fear, let’s take a moment to let this primitive brain reaction settle down, as our more mature neurons recognize that there really is no reason for fear. So often we go first to fear when we encounter a new person or a new idea. We can train our brains to slow down these reactions and allow us to respond in love.
  • Remember that when we encounter each other’s wounds that simply offering love can heal the brain. In times of depression and anxiety, in the face of mental illness we often want to offer suggestions or find a solution. Instead, if we simply are present in a state of non-judgmental love, then we are sending powerful messages to the other person’s brain that actually help wounds to heal.
  • Wow! If we can help each other heal through love, think what we can do on a global scale with using our social brains more often than our fearful brains!   Yeah, well, Swedenborg said all that – as have shamans and mystics.   But the neurologists are joining the conversation and we have our own field: neurotheology which gives us the words and concepts to share with the scientific world.
  • So …. Are our brains wired to receive God? Or are we proving the non-existence of God by showing that we can have a mystical experience when certain parts of our brain are stimulated? Well, I think science has more work to do on that one to provide the proof that some need. However, I’m happy to take Swedenborg’s word on that: it is the Divine that is the ultimate ground of reality in every cell of every neuron in our brains! Thank goodness for the many mystics and shamans who have clarified that one for us since the beginning of time!
How Can We Help Eric?
What does all this mean in a real situation our community is facing today? One of our community members, Rev. Eric Allison, is struggling to recover after a massive stroke on the right side of his body, which has impacted the left hemisphere of the brain.  All that we know from neurologists, shamans, and Swedenborg suggest that deeply loving Eric from the bottom of our hearts – and brains – gives his brain real energy on its healing journey.  Lisa, Eric’s wife, has been by his side  since the stroke, bathing him with love.  She is sharing her journey through an on-line journal, The Caring Bridge. [note, you might need to put in 'ericallison" to get to Eric and Lisa's page.]
Some portions of her latest entry, from yesterday, are below;
The light in Eric's darkness~ The biggest change I am seeing in Eric these last couple of days is his apparent understanding of everything being said. During the 1st 2 weeks, he didn't seem to get many questions and blankly stared during conversation. Now, he responds as if EVERYTHING is understood. I did alittle test....out of the blue I said "Eric your glasses are really dirty...shall I clean them for you?" And I didn't do any gestures or motion (maybe I did look at his glasses/eyes). He immediately nodded his head and handed me his glasses. Just a small example but it seems to ring true in every moment. THIS IS THRILLING! …
Some progress updates - Every day Eric adds words to his list...they are small words, more like responses but still the list is getting longer. Prayers are powerful rejuvinators of body and spirit. Please keep them coming! Please send light to his right side....His right shoulder has lifted (YES!) and muscle tone in his right leg and arm is getting better. Eric is learning to steer his wheelchair and propel it himself. The challenge is HE GOES TOO FAST (go figure)!
Again, thanks to all who have posted and who continue to post to the guestbook. Yesterday I printed the entire list of entries and put them in a book which is in Eric's room now. I went through it with him and he seemed to read them....and he kept saying WOW! Your love is SO important...especially on an energy level. Eric and I both feel your love and support. It helps in those dark moments...perhaps it's the only thing that really does help.
Tomorrow is Sunday, a day of rest. For Eric, no therapies. Just time with healers, friends, and loved ones. Have a blessed day....Angels surround you wherever you are! Lisa
 
Lisa’s daily entries give proof of Eric’s response to the incredible love that surrounds him.
 
Now that you know why and how your healing love is so vital in Eric’s recovery, you’re invited to use the following meditation as an opportunity to send healing love from your brain to his.
 
 
HEALING MEDITATION




Now extinguish your candle [s]                        




And close the Bible.            






AFTER-CHURCH SPECIAL
"How It Feels to Have a Stroke" by Jill Bolte Taylor [about 20 mins.]









        

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Title Date
Shamans & the brain
07/20/2008
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