Exploring how to reframe Eastern spiritual teachings in terms of Western neurology, science, & philosophy

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6. Self and Identity
March 17, 2024
McGilchrist says that while the self is needed for our development and individuation, we must eventually transcend the self. He points to a value that will lift us to a higher Gestalt. It is a remembrance – or is it…
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5. Opposing — But Not Equal — Forces
February 28, 2024
The hemispheres must work together, as opposites fulfilling each other, but they must not be considered equals. The right hemisphere is the only one that can produce wide and deeply resonating truths.
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4. Starting with the Biggest Questions
February 27, 2024
McGilchrist’s work takes on big questions, in fact, the biggest questions.  This is especially helpful when trying to bridge the divide between mind and matter. Chapter 25 of The Matter with Things is an 83-page exploration of matter and consciousness,…
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3. Jill Bolte Taylor and the Right Hemisphere
February 26, 2024
She points to a trinity -- a life force power, the right hemisphere consciousness and the left hemisphere consciousness. I have been surprised at how well this correlates with other trinities in Eastern spiritual traditions.
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2. A Little Background Info
February 26, 2024
The corpus collosum embodies the hemisphere hypothesis. Surprisingly, the majority of the neural fibers in the corpus collosum are involved in the inhibition of the other hemisphere.  This is needed for each hemisphere to specialize, work separately and more quickly.…
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Max Planck
“I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.”
Max Planck (1858-1947) – Winner of 1918 Nobel Prize for Physics
Friedrich Schleiermacher
“… the human soul….has its existence chiefly in two opposing impulses. One impulse is towards individuation of the self, the other towards surrender of the self to union with the whole.”
from The Matter with Things, pg. 826
Wolfgang Pauli
(Complementarity is the principle that objects have certain pairs of complementary properties which cannot be observed or measured simultaneously.)
“… it would be most satisfactory of all if physical nature and psyche could be seen as complementary aspects of the same reality.”
from The Matter with Things, pgs. 1050-1051
(Winner of Nobel Prize for Physics 1945)

Featured Posts

  • By embracing consciousness as fundamental, I believe McGilchrist has laid a foundation for building a bridge between the West and Eastern spiritual traditions. The Matter with Things makes extensive use of Western neurology, physics and nearly forgotten Western philosophy that support this deeper understanding of reality and mind....

    26 February, 2024

  • She points to a trinity -- a life force power, the right hemisphere consciousness and the left hemisphere consciousness. I have been surprised at how well this correlates with other trinities in Eastern spiritual traditions....

    26 February, 2024