Overview

The world's leading neurologist on out-of-body and near-death experiences shows that spirituality is as much a part of our basic biological makeup as our sex drive or survival instinct.
If Buddha had been in an MRI machine and not under the Bodhi tree when he attained enlightenment, what would we have seen on the monitor?
Dr. Kevin Nelson offers an answer to that question that is beyond what any scientist has previously encountered on the borderlands of consciousness. In his cutting-edge research, Nelson has discovered that spiritual experiences take place in one of the most primitive areas of the brain. In this eloquent, inspired, and reverent book, he relates the moving stories of patients and research subjects, brain scan analysis, evolutionary biology, and beautiful examples of transcendence from literature to reveal the machinery in our heads that enables us to perceive miracles-whether you are an atheist, Buddhist, or the most devout Catholic. The patients and people Nelson discuss have had an extremely diverse set of spiritual experiences, from arguing with the devil sitting at the foot of their hospital bed to seeing the universe synchronize around the bouncing of the ball in a pinball machine. However, the bizarre experiences don't make the people seem like freaks; they seem strangely very much like us, in surprising ways. Ultimately Nelson makes clear that spiritual experiences are not the exception in human life, but rather an inescapable and precious part of every one of us.

Full Product Details

9780525951889

Table of Contents

Reviews

Nelson (Neurology/Univ. of Kentucky) has spent decades exploring what underlies spiritual experiences, so there is more to this book than physiological probing. In particular, the author is sensitive to the intensity of a transcendent moment, how it 'deeply moves us or transports us and connects us in one way or another with something larger than ourselves.' As a neurologist, however, he seeks an explanation based on well-established brain mechanisms. Nelson is humble and balanced, wary of our perception of consciousness and infectiously fascinated by how the brain shapes it. <br> - Kirkus <br><br> This book is a bold, provocative and highly readable account of the author's journey into the world of religious experience and its possible biological basis. <br> -V.S. Ramachandran, author of Phantoms in the Brain and A Brief History of Human Consciousness

Nelson (Neurology/Univ. of Kentucky) has spent decades exploring what underlies spiritual experiences, so there is more to this book than physiological probing. In particular, the author is sensitive to the intensity of a transcendent moment, how it 'deeply moves us or transports us and connects us in one way or another with something larger than ourselves.' As a neurologist, however, he seeks an explanation based on well-established brain mechanisms. Nelson is humble and balanced, wary of our perception of consciousness and infectiously fascinated by how the brain shapes it. <br> - Kirkus <br><br> This book is a bold, provocative and highly readable account of the author's journey into the world of religious experience and its possible biological basis. <br> -V.S. Ramachandran, author of Phantoms in the Brain and A Brief History of Human Consciousness <br><br>

Author Information

<p>Kevin Nelson is the author of fifteen books, including The Golden Game, The Greatest Stories Ever Told (About Baseball), and Baseball's Greatest Quotes. He has also written articles for a variety of local and national publications such as Men's Fitness, Ski, Sport, Women's Sports and Fitness, San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Jose Mercury News.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available