Meditation Neuroscientific Approaches And Philosophical Implications

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Meditation – Neuroscientific Approaches and Philosophical Implications

Author : Stefan Schmidt
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3319016342
Total Pages : 409 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (19 download)

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Book Synopsis Meditation – Neuroscientific Approaches and Philosophical Implications by : Stefan Schmidt

Download or read book Meditation – Neuroscientific Approaches and Philosophical Implications written by Stefan Schmidt and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-19 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume features a collection of essays on consciousness, which has become one of the hot topics at the crossroads between neuroscience, philosophy, and religious studies. Is consciousness something the brain produces? How can we study it? Is there just one type of consciousness or are there different states that can be discriminated? Are so called “higher states of consciousness” that some people report during meditation pointing towards a new understanding of consciousness? Meditation research is a new discipline that shows new inroads into the study of consciousness. If a meditative practice changes brain structure itself this is direct proof of the causal influence of consciousness onto its substrate. If different states of consciousness can be linked with properties and states of the brain this can be used to study consciousness more directly. If the sense of self is modifiable through meditative techniques and this can be objectively shown through neuro-imaging, this has profound implications for our understanding of who we are. Can consciousness, in deep states of meditative absorption, actually access some aspect of reality which we normally don't? Meditation research can potentially foster us with a new access to the phenomenological method in general. This has even been branded with a new catch-phrase: Contemplative Science. It brings together the most modern neuroscientific approach and the most advanced phenomenological methodology of studying the mind from within, through highly skilled self-observation that has gone through many thousand hours of honing the capacity to look carefully, without distraction. This book addresses these issues by bringing together some of the leading researchers and thinkers in the field. The scope of the volume reaches from first person neuroscience to Indian philosophy, from pedagogic applications to epistemological aspects and from compassion meditation to the study of brain activity.

Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality

Author : Harald Walach
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9789400720794
Total Pages : 300 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (27 download)

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Book Synopsis Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality by : Harald Walach

Download or read book Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality written by Harald Walach and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-08-31 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality presents a variety of perspectives by leading thinkers on contemporary research into the brain, the mind and the spirit. This volumes aims at combining knowledge from neuroscience with approaches from the experiential perspective of the first person singular in order to arrive at an integrated understanding of consciousness. Individual chapters discuss new areas of research, such as near death studies and neuroscience research into spiritual experiences, and report on significant new theoretical advances. From Harald Walach’s introductory essay, “Neuroscience, Consciousness, Spirituality – Questions, Problems and Potential Solutions,” to the concluding chapter by Robert K. C. Foreman entitled “An Emerging New Model for Consciousness: The Consciousness Field Model,” this book represents a milestone in the progress towards an integrated understanding of spirituality, neuroscience and consciousness. It is the first in a series of books that are dedicated to this topic.

Hypnosis and meditation

Author : Amir Raz
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191076902
Total Pages : 464 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Hypnosis and meditation by : Amir Raz

Download or read book Hypnosis and meditation written by Amir Raz and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-04-07 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Research over the past decade has helped to demystify hypnosis and meditation, bringing these practices into the scientific and clinical mainstream. Yet, while hypnosis and meditation overlap on many levels, few scientific accounts have explored their complementary rapprochement. Despite cultural and historical differences, hypnosis and meditation share common phenomenology, cognitive processes, and potential therapeutic merits. This book provides a synthesis of knowledge concerning the bridging of hypnosis and meditation. The authors adopt a trans-disciplinary approach considering cultural, historical, and philosophical perspectives to elucidate contemporary questions in cognitive, neurobiological, and clinical science. The book explores the relationship between hypnosis and meditation in five progressive sections: Part 1 investigates historical, cultural, and philosophical issues to contextualize the scientific study of contemplative practices. Part 2 presents a range of views concerning the similarities and differences between hypnosis and meditation. Part 3 explores the psychological and cognitive mechanisms at work. Part 4 integrates recent brain imaging findings to unravel the neural underpinnings. Finally, part 5 examines how juxtaposing hypnosis and meditation can enhance clinical applications. Hypnosis and Meditation is a valuable resource to both specialists as well as interested lay readers, and paves the road to a more unified science of how attention influences states of brain, body, and consciousness.

Ritual, Performance and the Senses

Author : Michael Bull
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000189597
Total Pages : 206 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (1 download)

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Book Synopsis Ritual, Performance and the Senses by : Michael Bull

Download or read book Ritual, Performance and the Senses written by Michael Bull and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-05-18 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ritual has long been a central concept in anthropological theories of religious transmission. Ritual, Performance and the Senses offers a new understanding of how ritual enables religious representations – ideas, beliefs, values – to be shared among participants. Focusing on the body and the experiential nature of ritual, the book brings together insights from three distinct areas of study: cognitive/neuroanthropology, performance studies and the anthropology of the senses. Eight chapters by scholars from each of these sub-disciplines investigate different aspects of embodied religious practice, ranging from philosophical discussions of belief to explorations of the biological processes taking place in the brain itself. Case studies range from miracles and visionary activity in Catholic Malta to meditative practices in theatrical performance and include three pilgrimage sites: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the festival of Ramlila in Ramnagar, India and the mountain shrine of the Lord of the Shiny Snow in Andean Peru.Understanding ritual allows us to understand processes at the very centre of human social life and humanity itself, making this an invaluable text for students and scholars in anthropology, cognitive science, performance studies and religious studies.

Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation

Author : Rick Repetti
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000575748
Total Pages : 439 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation by : Rick Repetti

Download or read book Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation written by Rick Repetti and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-05-16 with total page 439 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Handbook provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of the state of the field of the philosophy of meditation and engages primarily in the philosophical assessment of the merits of meditation practices. This Handbook unites novel and original scholarship from 28 leading Asian and Western philosophers, scientists, theologians, and other scholars on the philosophical assessment of meditation. It critically assesses the conceptual and empirical validity of meditation, its philosophical implications, its legitimacy as a phenomenological research tool, its potential value as an aid to neuroscience research, its many practical benefits, and, among other considerations, its possibly misleading interpretations, applications, and consequences. Following the introduction by the editor, the Handbook’s chapters are organized in six parts: • Meditation and philosophy • Meditation and epistemology • Meditation and metaphysics • Meditation and values • Meditation and phenomenology • Meditation in Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian traditions A distinctive, timely, and invaluable reference work, it marks the emergence of a new discipline therein, the philosophy of meditation. The book will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience in the fields of philosophy, meditation, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, theology, and Asian and Western philosophy. It will serve as the textbook in any philosophy course on meditation, and as secondary reading in courses in philosophy of mind, consciousness, selfhood/personhood, metaphysics, or phenomenology, thereby helping to restore philosophy as a way of life.

The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness

Author : Philip David Zelazo
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 113946406X
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (394 download)

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Book Synopsis The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness by : Philip David Zelazo

Download or read book The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness written by Philip David Zelazo and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-05-14 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness is the first of its kind in the field, and its appearance marks a unique time in the history of intellectual inquiry on the topic. After decades during which consciousness was considered beyond the scope of legitimate scientific investigation, consciousness re-emerged as a popular focus of research towards the end of the last century, and it has remained so for nearly 20 years. There are now so many different lines of investigation on consciousness that the time has come when the field may finally benefit from a book that pulls them together and, by juxtaposing them, provides a comprehensive survey of this exciting field. An authoritative desk reference, which will also be suitable as an advanced textbook.

Psychoanalytical neuroscience: Exploring psychoanalytic concepts with neuroscientific methods

Author : Nikolai Axmacher
Publisher : Frontiers E-books
ISBN 13 : 2889193772
Total Pages : 179 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (891 download)

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Book Synopsis Psychoanalytical neuroscience: Exploring psychoanalytic concepts with neuroscientific methods by : Nikolai Axmacher

Download or read book Psychoanalytical neuroscience: Exploring psychoanalytic concepts with neuroscientific methods written by Nikolai Axmacher and published by Frontiers E-books. This book was released on 2015-01-09 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sigmund Freud was a trained neuroanatomist and wrote his first psychoanalytical theory in neuroscientific terms. Throughout his life, he maintained the belief that at some distant day in the future, all psychoanalytic processes could be tied to a neural basis: “We must recollect that all of our provisional ideas in psychology will presumably one day be based on an organic substructure” (Freud 1914, On Narcissism: An Introduction). Fundamental Freudian concepts reveal their foundation in the physiological science of his time, most importantly among them the concept of libidinous energy and the homeostatic “principle of constancy”. However, the subsequent history of psychoanalysis and neuroscience was mainly characterized by mutual ignorance or even opposition; many scientists accused psychoanalytic viewpoints not to be scientifically testable, and many psychoanalysts claimed that their theories did not need empirical support outside of the therapeutic situation. On this historical background, it may appear surprising that the recent years have seen an increasing interest in re-connecting psychoanalysis and neuroscience in various ways: By studying psychodynamic consequences of brain lesions in neurological patients, by investigating how psychoanalytic therapy affects brain structure and function, or even by operationalizing psychoanalytic concepts in well-controlled experiments and exploring their neural correlates. These empirical studies are accompanied by theoretical work on the philosophical status of the “neuropsychoanalytic” endeavour. In this volume, we attempt to provide a state-of-the-art overview of this new exciting field. All types of submissions are welcome, including research in patient populations, healthy human participants and animals, review articles on some empirical or theoretical aspect, and of course also critical accounts of the new field. Despite this welcome variability, we would like to suggest that all contributions attempt to address one (or both) of two main questions, which should motivate the connection between psychoanalysis and neuroscience and that in our opinion still remain exigent: First, from the neuroscientific side, why should researchers in the neurosciences address psychoanalytic ideas, and what is (or will be) the impact of this connection on current neuroscientific theories? Second, from the psychoanalytic side, why should psychoanalysts care about neuroscientific studies, ...

Altered States of Consciousness

Author : Marc Wittmann
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262546086
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (625 download)

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Book Synopsis Altered States of Consciousness by : Marc Wittmann

Download or read book Altered States of Consciousness written by Marc Wittmann and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2023-11-07 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What altered states of consciousness—the dissolution of feelings of time and self—can tell us about the mystery of consciousness. During extraordinary moments of consciousness—shock, meditative states and sudden mystical revelations, out-of-body experiences, or drug intoxication—our senses of time and self are altered; we may even feel time and self dissolving. These experiences have long been ignored by mainstream science, or considered crazy fantasies. Recent research, however, has located the neural underpinnings of these altered states of mind. In this book, neuropsychologist Marc Wittmann shows how experiences that disturb or widen our everyday understanding of the self can help solve the mystery of consciousness. Wittmann explains that the relationship between consciousness of time and consciousness of self is close; in extreme circumstances, the experiences of space and self intensify and weaken together. He considers the emergence of the self in waking life and dreams; how our sense of time is distorted by extreme situations ranging from terror to mystical enlightenment; the experience of the moment; and the loss of time and self in such disorders as depression, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. Dostoyevsky reported godly bliss during epileptic seizures; neurologists are now investigating the phenomenon of the epileptic aura. Wittmann describes new studies of psychedelics that show how the brain builds consciousness of self and time, and discusses pilot programs that use hallucinogens to treat severe depression, anxiety, and addiction. If we want to understand our consciousness, our subjectivity, Wittmann argues, we must not be afraid to break new ground. Studying altered states of consciousness leads us directly to the heart of the matter: time and self, the foundations of consciousness.

Wellbeing and the Worshipper

Author : Mohamed Safiullah Munsoor
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030661318
Total Pages : 362 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (36 download)

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Book Synopsis Wellbeing and the Worshipper by : Mohamed Safiullah Munsoor

Download or read book Wellbeing and the Worshipper written by Mohamed Safiullah Munsoor and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-05-04 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a rare piece of empirical research, which reveals the workings of a spiritual order, its leadership, as well as their approaches, methods and tools. It demonstrates how the seekers, who were partly drug addicts and HIV patients, and the general segment of this Order, have been able to positively transform themselves. A multidisciplinary approach enlightens the analysis and discussion by bringing together spirituality, psychology, neuroscience as well as organisational development, to produce a rich tapestry of first hand insights. This book provides an integrated approach to understanding the landscape of a spiritual order primarily using a mixed method and a holistic approach with a particular focus on Islam. Qualitative examples include interpretivistic phenomenological approaches and neuro-linguistic programming. The book highlights the positive impact of worship by providing practical guidance and suggestions on how to spiritually improve oneself. This dualistic approach generated a working model for spiritual leadership and self-development. The unsuspecting but important link of spirituality to the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) is highlighted and discussed, which needs to be factored into the global development narrative. The text is primarily for researchers, yet has a secondary use for students and general readership given the comprehensive review establishing a conceptual framework for worship and morality.

Waking, Dreaming, Being

Author : Evan Thompson
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231538316
Total Pages : 497 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis Waking, Dreaming, Being by : Evan Thompson

Download or read book Waking, Dreaming, Being written by Evan Thompson and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2014-11-18 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A renowned philosopher of the mind, also known for his groundbreaking work on Buddhism and cognitive science, Evan Thompson combines the latest neuroscience research on sleep, dreaming, and meditation with Indian and Western philosophy of mind, casting new light on the self and its relation to the brain. Thompson shows how the self is a changing process, not a static thing. When we are awake we identify with our body, but if we let our mind wander or daydream, we project a mentally imagined self into the remembered past or anticipated future. As we fall asleep, the impression of being a bounded self distinct from the world dissolves, but the self reappears in the dream state. If we have a lucid dream, we no longer identify only with the self within the dream. Our sense of self now includes our dreaming self, the "I" as dreamer. Finally, as we meditate—either in the waking state or in a lucid dream—we can observe whatever images or thoughts arise and how we tend to identify with them as "me." We can also experience sheer awareness itself, distinct from the changing contents that make up our image of the self. Contemplative traditions say that we can learn to let go of the self, so that when we die we can witness its dissolution with equanimity. Thompson weaves together neuroscience, philosophy, and personal narrative to depict these transformations, adding uncommon depth to life's profound questions. Contemplative experience comes to illuminate scientific findings, and scientific evidence enriches the vast knowledge acquired by contemplatives.

Jung's Philosophy

Author : Lionel Corbett
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1003811779
Total Pages : 199 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis Jung's Philosophy by : Lionel Corbett

Download or read book Jung's Philosophy written by Lionel Corbett and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-12-14 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘Jung’s Philosophy’ explores some of the controversial philosophical ideas that are both explicit and implicit within Jung’s psychology, comparing the philosophical assumptions between this and other psychotherapeutic traditions. Within this book, Corbett provides a useful introduction to the philosophical issues relevant to the practice of analytical psychology, and how these are viewed by different psychotherapeutic traditions. Most of the disagreement between schools of psychotherapy, and much of the comparative literature, centres around differences in theory and technique. This book takes a different, more fundamental approach by comparing schools of thought based on their underlying philosophical commitments. The author discusses the philosophical basis of various worldviews such as idealism and realism, beliefs about the nature of the psyche and the unconscious, and the mind-brain relationship, and focuses on the way in which Jung’s psychology addresses these and related issues, including the possible relevance of quantum mechanics to depth psychology. This text will be of value to practising psychotherapists and Jungian analysts, individuals undertaking the relevant training, and students in depth psychology.

Meditation

Author :
Publisher : Academic Press
ISBN 13 : 0444642285
Total Pages : 437 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (446 download)

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Book Synopsis Meditation by :

Download or read book Meditation written by and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2019-02-05 with total page 437 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meditation, Volume 244, the latest release in the Progress in Brain Research series, highlights new advances in the field with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on The effect of meditation on attentional processes, State-trait influences of Vipassana meditation practice on P3 EEG dynamics, What could teachers learn from the neuroscience of self-experience?, Training Attention for Conscious Non-REM Sleep: The Yogic Technique of Yoga Nidrā and Its Implications for Neuroscience Research, CNV and P3 modulations following sensorimotor training, Analytical meditation: a characterization of a reasoning-based meditation training, Buddhist meditation and the regulation of brain networks, Mindfulness-based Emotional Balance Training in Military Spouse, and more. Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors Presents the latest release in the Progress in Brain Research series Updated release includes the latest information on Meditation

Spiritual Sensations

Author : Sarah K. Balstrup
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1350130192
Total Pages : 231 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (51 download)

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Book Synopsis Spiritual Sensations by : Sarah K. Balstrup

Download or read book Spiritual Sensations written by Sarah K. Balstrup and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-09-17 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The secular, pluralist culture of the West encourages a subjective approach to spiritual truth where stimulating emotional experiences, such as those provided by film, can contribute to personal conceptions of the sacred. Examining Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) as the principal case-study and Gaspar Noé's Enter the Void (2009) and Lars von Trier's Melancholia (2011) as comparative examples, Sarah Balstrup argues that these directors harness the affective properties of film to generate altered states of perception in a manner analogous to religious practice. Powerful feelings of dissociation and indescribable significance typical of mystical testimony appear in viewer responses to these films, demonstrating the continued sacralisation of such states of mind. In their own way, each film confronts the viewer with an apocalyptic revelation of the impersonal forces of the universe, moving away from personhood and the human narrative, into pure sensation. They present a non-deterministic spiritual truth that can be intuited but not explained, mirroring developments in the religious sphere. Investigating the relationship between cinematic technique and religious experience, Spiritual Sensations offers an alternative approach to the study of religion and film that has been principally focused on narrative symbolism and the dramatisation of values. Spiritual Sensations makes a further contribution to the field by analysing films contextually, considering viewers' subjective responses in light of religious and cultural change.

The varieties of contemplative experiences and practices

Author : Sucharit Katyal
Publisher : Frontiers Media SA
ISBN 13 : 2832529003
Total Pages : 226 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (325 download)

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Book Synopsis The varieties of contemplative experiences and practices by : Sucharit Katyal

Download or read book The varieties of contemplative experiences and practices written by Sucharit Katyal and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2023-07-05 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Positive Neuroscience: the Neuroscience of Human Flourishing

Author : Feng Kong
Publisher : Frontiers Media SA
ISBN 13 : 2889636429
Total Pages : 188 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (896 download)

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Book Synopsis Positive Neuroscience: the Neuroscience of Human Flourishing by : Feng Kong

Download or read book Positive Neuroscience: the Neuroscience of Human Flourishing written by Feng Kong and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2020-04-13 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Oxford Handbook of Spontaneous Thought

Author : Kieran C. R. Fox
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190464747
Total Pages : 657 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (94 download)

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Book Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of Spontaneous Thought by : Kieran C. R. Fox

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Spontaneous Thought written by Kieran C. R. Fox and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 657 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "All physicians are involved in the management of pain at some level or the other, but of the various specialties and health professions, surgeons are at the frontline of delivering perioperative pain care. Perioperative Pain Management for General and Plastic Surgery offers a concise yet comprehensive overview of the surgical pain management field to help practitioners effectively plan and enhance perioperative pain control. Chapters provide guidance on solving common dilemmas facing surgeons who are managing patients with pain related problems and clinical decision-making, and explore essential topics required for the trainee and practitioner to quickly assess the patient with pain, to diagnose pain and painful conditions, determine the feasibility and safety of surgical procedure needed, and arrange for advanced pain management consults and care if needed. This text also explores the latest evolving techniques and appropriate utilization of modern equipment and technology to safely provide care. Highly accessible and written by experts in the field, Perioperative Pain Management for General and Plastic Surgery is an ideal resource for practicing surgeons, anesthesiologists, critical care personnel, residents, medical students"--Provided by publisher.

Secular Spirituality

Author : Harald Walach
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319093452
Total Pages : 222 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (19 download)

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Book Synopsis Secular Spirituality by : Harald Walach

Download or read book Secular Spirituality written by Harald Walach and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-09-18 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses spirituality as an emerging scientific topic from a historical perspective, with extensive discussion of the mind-body problem and of scientific concepts of consciousness. While the book focuses on the Western tradition of ‘Enlightenment’, it also implicitly addresses the double meaning of the term, with the Eastern tradition describing it as ‘a state of true knowledge, which is an important goal on an individual’s spiritual path’ and the Western tradition seeing it as ‘the collective process of getting rid of narrow-minded dogmas and concepts’. The book is based on a simple yet challenging premise: Science has not gone far enough in the scientific process of going from a collective mind tied up in dogmatic teachings to a truly free mind that, seemingly, freed itself from bondage and restrictions. The book shows that science, and with it our whole Western culture, has to incorporate spirituality if it is to realize this goal of enlightenment. If that is done, and it can only be done by many individuals actually practicing spirituality, this will also lead to the individual type of enlightenment.