Is This Your Brain On God?

[KichigaiNeko]

More than half of adult Americans report they have had a spiritual experience that changed their lives. Now, scientists from universities like Harvard, Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins are using new technologies to analyze the brains of people who claim they have touched the spiritual — from Christians who speak in tongues to Buddhist monks to people who claim to have had near-death experiences. Hear what they have discovered in this controversial field, as the science of spirituality continues to evolve.

[Taqiyya Mockingbird]

What sort of "spiritual experiences" are these buddhist monks, whose namesake refuted the idea of a "spirit", claiming to have had?

[NoraBrimstone]

Most "spiritual experiences" I have heard and read about are what normal people call "Dreams." The rest are either hallucinations or a misunderstanding of what actually happened (and of course some lies thrown in there too).

You will notice that the more religious a country is, the more claims there are of "spiritual experiences". Just like "alien abduction" stories all seem to happen in areas where the most people believe in them.

[Annik]

If this is true, then my psych of religion course will be much easier because I have taken substance abuse!

[VanBlane]

I'm pleased people are investigating this topic because it does seem to be the key area theists tend to fall back on when their pseudoscience fails in a conversation.

[Anomalocaris]

Do you still have a brain if you are on god?

[Minimalist]

Do you still have a brain if you are on god?

Yes, but it is re-set to "Stand-By" mode.

[Anomalocaris]

Do you still have a brain if you are on god?

Yes, but it is re-set to "Stand-By" mode.

It's a sort of "stand by mode" which more often than not never allow the brain to be re-activated again, It is more like embalming than suspended animation.