Stroke of Insight

After confirming with the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault, recently that the two identical suggestions, one as a 6/20 comment on this 6/5 blog original entry, that Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's experience after a stroke, parallels some of the items in this Russell book, I wanted to give the website that seems to be a popular introduction to her. She has had NPR, TIME, and Oprah coverage of her book, Stroke of Insight.
www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

For those not familiar with the CWC, Cynthia has been one of the community's two main teachers. Cynthia was explaining a passage from Raimon Panikkar's Christophany. Perechoresis as exhibited by the Trinity is also similar to the sharing among the parts of our being. Panikkar described consciousness as flowing across boundaries. Taylor's book immediately came to mind.

6_5 entry

Outline of

From Science to God

By Peter Russell

I find that I have an interest in this book due to my first years of working in science and my current interest in spiritual formation. I also favor books that offer concepts around similarities of God and science rather than showing differences. Given that background, the comments, below, derive from those interests. My notes below are a combination of quotes and thoughts prompted by the chapter, based on my background, listed above. Several of the notes are based on shared experience of the Contemplative Wisdom Community (CWC), such as centering prayer and the Gospel of Phillip.

Chapter 1 talks about Russell’s background of combining a degree in physics, mathematics, and experimental psychology. His studies of consciousness with the experimental psychology faculty lead him to formulate his concept of God. He felt comfortable holding more atheistic scientific leanings while exploring the field of consciousness.

Chapter 2 states science needs a shift in world view to account for consciousness. Such a paradigm shift, such as when scientific data indicated a solar system, rather than a heliocentric system, might lay in scientists using non-materialistic explanations of consciousness. Russell suggests starting with the notion that consciousness is a fundamental component of reality. He includes the Buddhist quote that, “all descriptions of reality are temporary hypotheses.

Chapter 3 includes the definition of panpsychism where there is no line between conscious and non-conscious entities. However, the richness and intensity of human experience changes as you go down the evolutionary tree.

Chapter 4 gives the Vedantic philosophers' definition of maya, as the confusion between experienced reality with physical reality, which approximates a delusion or false belief about the world. While we see based on reflected light of a certain wavelength, dolphins “see” based on a sonar wavelength, such that internal organs can be sensed. Russell suggests a new Copernican revolution, where according to Swami Muktananda, “You are the entire universe. You are in all, and all is in you. Sun, moon, and stars revolve within you.

Chapter 5 states whatever light is, it seems to exist in a realm where there is no before and no after. There is only now. Sri Aurobindo said, “All matter is just a mass of stable light.” Einstein supported Kant's view that physical reality transcends space and time. Einstein also stated that space and time are two different appearances of a deeper reality, the space-time continuum (stc). Light is similar to stc in that we never know it directly.

Light gives us a good metaphor for comprehending God. Both have unknowable qualities, but the mind has made sense of the energy they release.

Chapter 6 posits that knowledge of subtler levels of consciousness does not come from reading or studying others' experiences, but rather one's own direct experience. Russell also distinguishes samadhi or still mind, from the normal three states of consciousness we experience—waking, dreaming, and deep sleep.

When the mind is silent, we have an “amness” or pure being. In that state we are consciousness, not a being who is conscious. We have no location in space. Space is within us.

Chapter 7 draws a more mystical meaning from the Psalm 46 fragment, “be still and know that I am God.” Russell states this means we can directly realize our “amness.” Earthly mindsets are at odds with God as the essence of consciousness. Normally our mindset is that consciousness emerges from space, time, and matter.

For our mind to be at peace, we need to stop doing. Forgiveness can be seen as recognizing another's unfortunate acts as due to their search for peace of mind based on their illusions about the world and themselves. Prayer, especially with our Gospel of Phillip studies, sees a continuum between good and evil. A prayer becomes an openness to God granting us a new mindset to allow a different perception of the world. Buddhist right speech is being silent unless you speak in a way that the other feels good upon hearing.

Chapter 8 describes the worldviews of consciousness as the possible converging paradigms for science and religion. Science needs to see it to be a fundamental quality of reality. Religion could then take God to be the light of consciousness shining within us all.

Chapter 9 has a vision for the CWC. A community with mutual feedback that not only results in greater accessibility to information and guidance on inner development; it also leads to a honing of our understanding of essential wisdom. We discover teachings that resonate with our inner knowing, clarify our understanding of the mind, add helpful elements to our inner practice, and see how to integrate it into our own thinking. Teachings are reflected in the ideas and insights we share with others, which may resonate with their thoughts and clarify their understanding. We fine tune each others' comprehension of the essential spiritual wisdom, drawing each other closer to a common appreciation of our inner worlds.