The
Physiology of the Spirit
by
Senior Rabbi, Alan Green (00-Present)
Published in the Shaarey Zedek Shofar in September
2008
Has another year already
passed? As the years fly by, not only do we grow older; hopefully,
we also grow wiser. Certainly, we can hope that this is true for us
as individuals, as well as for civilization as a whole.
Lately, there have been
signs of a dawning, deep wisdom on the civilizational level. One
glimmer of hope can be found at
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229
- an amazing 18-minute video of a talk by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a
neurophysiologist at Harvard University. I urge you to view this
material, as it deals with the nexus between brain physiology and
spirituality in a totally fascinating and accessible way.
The story of Western
Civilization for most of the past three centuries has been that of a
powerful bifurcation between science and religion. Moreover,
scientific progress during this time has gone from strength to
strength, while the approach of religion has been to struggle to
adapt in the face of huge waves of cultural and technological
change.
The sad result has been
that for most non-fundamentalists, religion has lost all
credibility. These days, most people only attend church or synagogue
for cultural, sentimental, or familial reasons. For most of us the
Divine Presence, and the possibility for deep spiritual experiences
disappeared from our spiritual institutions generations ago.
However, at the other end of the religious spectrum, fundamentalist
movements of all stripes—Jewish, Christian, and Muslim—are growing
by leaps and bounds.
Fundamentalists look at
the chaos of the modern world, with its nearly complete separation
of Church and State, and what they see scares the daylights out of
them. How is it possible to raise children in a society where
religion, ethics, and morality no longer play any significant role?
The fundamentalist remedy is to circle the wagons; to provide
environments of varying degrees of insularity so that children may
be raised, and adults live, with values that transcend morality as
taught by the mass media. Perhaps not coincidentally,
fundamentalists mostly experience that God is alive and well in
their institutions of worship.
There can be no doubt that
the triumph of science has brought great blessings to our world:
blessings of better health, longer life, and the highest standard of
living in recorded history. But while climate-controlled homes and
automobiles may be necessary for a fulfilled life in our modern
world, mere material possessions can not, and will never be
sufficient to live a fulfilled life.
Most of us are aware of
this truth on some level. Sooner or later, we awaken to this
reality. And when we do, where do we go? Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s
talk provides one possible answer. As you will see, this brain
scientist had a stroke which temporarily disabled the left
hemisphere of her brain. Dedicated to the study of other people’s
brains, remarkably, Dr. Taylor was given an opportunity to study her
own brain from the inside out.
Thus, with the left-brain
and its rational blocking function knocked out of commission by the
stroke, Dr. Taylor received a good strong dose of unmediated,
supra-rational right-brain experience. What was it like? Besides the
intense disorientation, Dr. Taylor describes a state in which there
was no time, no space, and fluid boundaries between objects which
are normally distinct. She was aware of a deep sense of peace, and a
profound silence.
Occasionally the left
brain intervened, allowing her to be aware that in fact, she was in
grave danger, and that if she wanted to live, she had better do
something about it. So, Dr. Taylor then describes the difficulty of
walking across the room and making an emergency call when there were
no clear boundaries between body, room, or telephone. Eventually she
was able to dial the phone, but unable to translate her thoughts
into speech. However, emergency services were able to trace the
call, and her life was saved.
What is most remarkable is
the extent to which much of Dr. Taylor’s experience accords with
descriptions of higher states of consciousness that have been
recorded and transmitted in religious traditions throughout the
world—including Judaism. But the conclusion here isn’t that we all
need to have left hemispheric strokes in order to attain higher
states of awareness.
Rather, Dr. Taylor’s
message is that the potential for the direct experience of Divinity
is already hardwired into the human nervous system. Our problem is
that we spend entirely too much time and energy living on the left
side of the brain—the side of intellect, rationality,
materialism—the intense boundaries of time and space—to the
detriment of the right hemisphere—which houses our creative,
artistic, and spiritual potentials.
Here then, is where true
science and true spirituality meet: in the brain and nervous system.
Perhaps the key to the locked door of the synagogue is contained in
a better balance between the functions of the left and right
hemispheres of the human brain.
Here is wishing everyone a
New Year of great fulfillment, and true and perfect balance.
Shana Tova U-m’tukah. |
