• IP addresses are NOT logged in this forum so there's no point asking. Please note that this forum is full of homophobes, racists, lunatics, schizophrenics & absolute nut jobs with a smattering of geniuses, Chinese chauvinists, Moderate Muslims and last but not least a couple of "know-it-alls" constantly sprouting their dubious wisdom. If you believe that content generated by unsavory characters might cause you offense PLEASE LEAVE NOW! Sammyboy Admin and Staff are not responsible for your hurt feelings should you choose to read any of the content here.

    The OTHER forum is HERE so please stop asking.

Buddhism has a lifespan of 5000 years

The beauty of Buddhism is that you need not be pure as to desire the ultimate or to desire to be the last itself is a desire. So to each his own. There is no single teaching and no single state of achievement you must follow. You stop where it pleases you. To covet something too much can only lead to pain and suffering.

Very nice. Fook Seng can dump the 4 noble truth and 8 fold path as it is deemed irrelevent for he has crossed over to the ultimate.
 
Hahahaman said:
Very nice. Fook Seng can dump the 4 noble truth and 8 fold path as it is deemed irrelevent for he has crossed over to the ultimate.

Exactly. When you have gone through the path, all those teachings that you have been adhering to it does not matter anymore. But I believe you will look at things in a different light even though you do not have attachment.
 
Exactly. When you have gone through the path, all those teachings that you have been adhering to it does not matter anymore. But I believe you will look at things in a different light even though you do not have attachment.

But then do remember that the Buddha did announced that he taught suffering to end suffering. so the 4 noble truth and the 8 fold path is still relevant for those that hasn't crossed over.;)
 
Hahahaman said:
But then do remember that the Buddha did announced that he taught suffering to end suffering. so the 4 noble truth and the 8 fold path is still relevant for those that hasn't crossed over.;)

Don't enquire too much. Omm.
 
Mesopotamian ?

Mesopotamian prototype buddha, probably a common household idol since many have been found, from Al Ubaid, Ur, British Museum, c.3000 to 2000 BC. 2. Buddha, from Sarnath, India, Archaeological Museum of India, c.400 AD.


images
 
Kalama Sutta: The Buddha's Charter of Free Inquiry
Translated from the Pali by Ven. Soma Thera


The Instruction to the Kalamas

The Kalamas of Kesaputta go to see the Buddha

1. I heard thus. Once the Blessed One, while wandering in the Kosala country with a large community of bhikkhus, entered a town of the Kalama people called Kesaputta. The Kalamas who were inhabitants of Kesaputta: "Reverend Gotama, the monk, the son of the Sakiyans, has, while wandering in the Kosala country, entered Kesaputta. The good repute of the Reverend Gotama has been spread in this way: Indeed, the Blessed One is thus consummate, fully enlightened, endowed with knowledge and practice, sublime, knower of the worlds, peerless, guide of tamable men, teacher of divine and human beings, which he by himself has through direct knowledge understood clearly. He set forth the Dhamma, good in the beginning, good in the middle, good in the end, possessed of meaning and the letter, and complete in everything; and he proclaims the holy life that is perfectly pure. Seeing such consummate ones is good indeed."

2. Then the Kalamas who were inhabitants of Kesaputta went to where the Blessed One was. On arriving there some paid homage to him and sat down on one side; some exchanged greetings with him and after the ending of cordial memorable talk, sat down on one side; some saluted him raising their joined palms and sat down on one side; some announced their name and family and sat down on one side; some without speaking, sat down on one side.

The Kalamas of Kesaputta ask for guidance from the Buddha

3. The Kalamas who were inhabitants of Kesaputta sitting on one side said to the Blessed One: "There are some monks and brahmins, venerable sir, who visit Kesaputta. They expound and explain only their own doctrines; the doctrines of others they despise, revile, and pull to pieces. Some other monks and brahmins too, venerable sir, come to Kesaputta. They also expound and explain only their own doctrines; the doctrines of others they despise, revile, and pull to pieces. Venerable sir, there is doubt, there is uncertainty in us concerning them. Which of these reverend monks and brahmins spoke the truth and which falsehood?"

The criterion for rejection

4. "It is proper for you, Kalamas, to doubt, to be uncertain;uncertainty has arisen in you about what is doubtful. Come, Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, 'The monk is our teacher.' Kalamas, when you yourselves know: 'These things are bad; these things are blamable; these things are censured by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill,' abandon them.

Greed, hate, and delusion

5. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does greed appear in a man for his benefit or harm?" - "For his harm, venerable sir." - "Kalamas, being given to greed, and being overwhelmed and vanquished mentally by greed, this man takes life, steals, commits adultery, and tells lies; he prompts another too, to do likewise. Will that be long for his harm and ill?" - "Yes, venerable sir."

6. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does hate appear in a man for his benefit or harm?" - "For his harm, venerable sir." - "Kalamas, being given to hate, and being overwhelmed and vanquished mentally by hate, this man takes life, steals, commits adultery, and tells lies; he prompts another too, to do likewise. Will that be long for his harm and ill?" - "Yes, venerable sir."

7. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does delusion appear in a man for his benefit or harm?" - "For his harm, venerable sir." - "Kalamas, being given to delusion, and being overwhelmed and vanquished mentally by delusion, this man takes life, steals, commits adultery, and tells lies; he prompts another too, to do likewise. Will that be long for his harm and ill?" - "Yes, venerable sir."

8. "What do you think, Kalamas? Are these things good or bad?" - "Bad, venerable sir" - "Blamable or not blamable?" - "Blamable, venerable sir." - "Censured or praised by the wise?" - "Censured, venerable sir." - "Undertaken and observed, do these things lead to harm and ill, or not? Or how does it strike you?" - "Undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill. Thus it strikes us here."

9. "Therefore, did we say, Kalamas, what was said thus, 'Come Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, "The monk is our teacher." Kalamas, when you yourselves know: "These things are bad; these things are blamable; these things are censured by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill," abandon them.'


The criterion for acceptance


10. "Come, Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, 'The monk is our teacher.' Kalamas, when you yourselves know: 'These things are good; these things are not blamable; these things are praised by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness,' enter on and abide in them.

Absence of greed, hate, and delusion

11, "What do you think, Kalamas? Does absence of greed appear in a man for his benefit or harm?" - "For his benefit, venerable sir." - "Kalamas, being not given to greed, and being not overwhelmed and not vanquished mentally by greed, this man does not take life, does not steal, does not commitadultery, and does not tell lies; he prompts another too, to do likewise. Will that be long for his benefit and happiness?" - "Yes, venerable sir."

12. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does absence of hate appear in a man for his benefit or harm?" - "For his benefit, venerable sir." - "Kalamas, being not given to hate, and being not overwhelmed and not vanquished mentally by hate, this man does not take life, does not steal, does not commit adultery, and does not tell lies; he prompts another too, to do likewise. Will that be long for his benefit and happiness?" - "Yes, venerable sir."

13. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does absence of delusion appear in a man for his benefit or harm?" - "For his benefit, venerable sir." - "Kalamas, being not given to delusion, and being not overwhelmed and not vanquished mentally by delusion, this man does not take life, does not steal, does not commit adultery, and does not tell lies; he prompts another too, to do likewise. Will that be long for his benefit and happiness?" - "Yes, venerable sir."

14. "What do you think, Kalamas? Are these things good or bad?" - "Good, venerable sir." - "Blamable or not blamable?" - "Not blamable, venerable sir." - "Censured or praised by the wise?" - "Praised, venerable sir." - "Undertaken and observed, do these things lead to benefit and happiness, or not? Or how does it strike you?" - "Undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness. Thus it strikes us here."

15. "Therefore, did we say, Kalamas, what was said thus, 'Come Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, "The monk is our teacher." Kalamas, when you yourselves know: "These things are bad; these things are blamable; these things are censured by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill," abandon them.'

The Four Exalted Dwellings

16. "The disciple of the Noble Ones, Kalamas, who in this way is devoid of coveting, devoid of ill will, undeluded, clearly comprehending and mindful, dwells, having pervaded, with the thought of amity, one quarter; likewise the second; likewise the third; likewise the fourth; so above, below, and across; he dwells, having pervaded because of the existence in it of all living beings, everywhere, the entire world, with the great, exalted, boundless thought of amity that is free of hate or malice.

"He lives, having pervaded, with the thought of compassion, one quarter; likewise the second; likewise the third; likewise the fourth; so above, below, and across; he dwells, having pervaded because of the existence in it of all living beings, everywhere, the entire world, with the great, exalted, boundless thought of compassion that is free of hate or malice.

"He lives, having pervaded, with the thought of gladness, one quarter; likewise the second; likewise the third; likewise the fourth; so above, below, and across; he dwells, having pervaded because of the existence in it of all living beings, everywhere, the entire world, with the great, exalted, boundless thought of gladness that is free of hate or malice.

"He lives, having pervaded, with the thought of equanimity, one quarter; likewise the second; likewise the third; likewise the fourth; so above, below, and across; he dwells, having pervaded because of the existence in it of all living beings, everywhere, the entire world, with the great, exalted, boundless thought of equanimity that is free of hate or malice.

The Four Solaces

17. "The disciple of the Noble Ones, Kalamas, who has such a hate-free mind, such a malice-free mind, such an undefiled mind, and such a purified mind, is one by whom four solaces are found here and now.

"'Suppose there is a hereafter and there is a fruit, result, of deeds done well or ill. Then it is possible that at the dissolution of the body after death, I shall arise in the heavenly world, which is possessed of the state of bliss.' This is the first solace found by him.

"'Suppose there is no hereafter and there is no fruit, no result, of deeds done well or ill. Yet in this world, here and now, free from hatred, free from malice, safe and sound, and happy, I keep myself.' This is the second solace found by him.

"'Suppose evil (results) befall an evil-doer. I, however, think of doing evil to no one. Then, how can ill (results) affect me who do no evil deed?' This is the third solace found by him.

"'Suppose evil (results) do not befall an evil-doer. Then I see myself purified in any case.' This is the fourth solace found by him.

"The disciple of the Noble Ones, Kalamas, who has such a hate-free mind, such a malice-free mind, such an undefiled mind, and such a purified mind, is one by whom, here and now, these four solaces are found."

"So it is, Blessed One. So it is, Sublime one. The disciple of the Noble Ones, venerable sir, who has such a hate-free mind, such a malice-free mind, such an undefiled mind, and such a purified mind, is one by whom, here and now, four solaces are found.

"'Suppose there is no hereafter and there is no fruit, no result, of deeds done well or ill. Yet in this world, here and now, free from hatred, free from malice, safe and sound, and happy, I keep myself.' This is the second solace found by him.

"'Suppose evil (results) befall an evil-doer. I, however, think of doing evil to no one. Then, how can ill (results) affect me who do no evil deed?' This is the third solace found by him.

"'Suppose evil (results) do not befall an evil-doer. Then I see myself purified in any case.' This is the fourth solace found by him.

"The disciple of the Noble Ones, venerable sir, who has such a hate-free mind, such a malice-free mind, such an undefiled mind, and such a purified mind, is one by whom, here and now, these four solaces are found."

"Marvelous, venerable sir! Marvelous, venerable sir! As if, venerable sir, a person were to turn face upwards what is upside down, or to uncover the concealed, or to point the way to one who is lost or to carry a lamp in the darkness, thinking, 'Those who have eyes will see visible objects,' so has the Dhamma been set forth in many ways by the Blessed One. We, venerable sir, go to the Blessed One for refuge, to the Dhamma for refuge, and to the Community of Bhikkhus for refuge. Venerable sir, may the Blessed One regard us as lay followers who have gone for refuge for life, from today."

Anguttara Nikaya, Tika Nipata
Mahavagga, Sutta No. 65

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/kalama1.htm

Namaste.gif

 
Peer-reviewed Scientific Investigation into Reincarnation

Children Who Remember Previous Lives: A Question of Reincarnation, Revised Edition
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 41, Issue 8, August 2002, Pages 1022-1023
William Bernet, Christopher R. Thomas

Children's Reports of Past-Life Memories: A Review
The Journal of Science and Healing, Volume 4, Issue 4, July 2008, Pages 244-248
Jim B. Tucker

Recollections of Professor Oatley's Reincarnation as a Research Student
Advances in Imaging and Electron Physics, Volume 133, 2004, Pages 445-448

Transplants, Cellular Memory, and Reincarnation
The Journal of Science and Healing, Volume 4, Issue 5, September 2008, Pages 285-293
Larry Dossey

Perspectives on Death and an Afterlife in Relation to Quality of Life, Depression, and Hopelessness in Cancer Patients Without Evidence of Disease and Advanced Cancer Patients
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, Volume 41, Issue 6, June 2011, Pages 1048-1059
Hanneke W.M. van Laarhoven, Johannes Schilderman, Constans A.H.H.V.M. Verhagen, Kris C. Vissers, Judith Prins

Moment-of-Truth.gif
 
Miracle Detectives on Reincarnation

Miracle-Detectives.jpg

Miracle Detectives investigate Reincarnation

Transcript here: http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/Technology/story?id=894217&page=1

Video clip here:
<iframe src="http://xfinitytv.comcast.net/tv/Miracle-Detectives/141799/1797575624/Dreams-of-a-Past-Life/embed?skipTo=0" frameborder="0" height="476" scrolling="no" width="580"></iframe>
 
Last edited:
Re: Miracle Detectives on Reincarnation

miracle detective from Oprah Winfrey Network is always promoting delusion ...no doubts abt it ..you can check it on youtube .
 
Last edited:
[video=youtube;XoEsd5FCf14]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoEsd5FCf14&feature=relmfu[/video]

[video=youtube;VW644dUMvGs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW644dUMvGs&feature=relmfu[/video]

[video=youtube;mOu0pWMmWK4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOu0pWMmWK4&feature=relmfu[/video]
 
[video=youtube;vsR4tGqVQIg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsR4tGqVQIg&feature=relmfu[/video]

[video=youtube;BTmQtCUmFPU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTmQtCUmFPU&feature=relmfu[/video]

[video=youtube;iPU1vzLP5Ak]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPU1vzLP5Ak&feature=relmfu[/video]
 
[video=youtube;UV70YyiyXgk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV70YyiyXgk&feature=relmfu[/video]

[video=youtube;y8OZHYsWg6I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8OZHYsWg6I&feature=relmfu[/video]

[video=youtube;nK-hVJYcwko]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK-hVJYcwko&feature=relmfu[/video]
 
[video=youtube;YjFTHEOrw5o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjFTHEOrw5o&feature=relmfu[/video]

[video=youtube;0qQozllnXoQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qQozllnXoQ&feature=relmfu[/video]
 
[video=youtube;lT3elGnRCbQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT3elGnRCbQ[/video]
 
scientologists don't believe that they come back in the body of their genetic descendants, so even if genetic memory were what they say it is, it still would not provide a basis for their reincarnation argument.
 
[video=youtube;8T_jwq9ph8k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T_jwq9ph8k&feature=related[/video]
 
Michael Shermer columns published in Scientific American:

2001–04 Colorful Pebbles and Darwin's Dictum
2001–05 The Erotic–Fierce People
2001–06 Fox's Flapdoodle
2001–07 Starbucks in the Forbidden City
2001–08 Deconstructing the Dead
2001–09 Nano Nonsense and Cryonics
2001–10 I Was Wrong
2001–11 Baloney Detection
2001–12 More Baloney Detection
2002–01 Shermer’s Last Law
2002–02 The Gradual Illumination of the Mind
2002–03 Hermits and Cranks
2002–04 Skepticism as a Virtue
2002–05 The Exquisite Balance
2002–06 The Shamans of Scientism
2002–07 Vox Populi
2002–08 Why ET Hasn’t Called
2002–09 Smart People Believe Weird Things
2002–10 The Physicist and the Abalone Diver
2002–11 Mesmerized by Magnetism
2002–12 The Captain Kirk Principle
2003–01 Digits and Fidgets
2003–02 Psychic Drift
2003–03 Demon–Haunted Brain
2003–04 I, Clone
2003–05 Show Me the Body
2003–06 Codified Claptrap
2003–07 Bottled Twaddle
2003–08 The Ignoble Savage
2003–09 The Domesticated Savage
2003–10 Remember the Six Billion
2003–11 Candle in the Dark
2003–12 What’s the Harm
2004–01 Bunkum!
2004–02 A Bounty of Science
2004–03 None So Blind
2004–04 Magic Water and Mencken’s Maxim
2004–05 The Enchanted Glass
2004–06 Death by Theory
2004–07 God’s Number Is Up
2004–08 Miracle on Probability Street
2004–09 Mustangs, Monists and Meaning
2004–10 The Myth Is the Message
2004–11 Flying Carpets and Scientifi c Prayers
2004–12 Common Sense
2005–01 Quantum Quackery
2005–02 Abducted!
2005–03 The Fossil Fallacy
2005–04 The Feynman–Tufte Principle
2005–05 Turn Me On, Dead Man
2005–06 Fahrenheit 2777
2005–07 Hope Springs Eternal
2005–08 Full of Holes
2005–09 Rumsfeld’s Wisdom
2005–10 Unweaving the Heart
2005–11 Rupert’s Resonance
2005–12 Mr. Skeptic Goes to Esalen
2006–01 Murdercide
2006–02 It’s Dogged as Does It
2006–03 Cures and Cons
2006–04 As Luck Would Have It
2006–05 SHAM Scam
2006–06 The Flipping Point
2006–07 The Political Brain
2006–08 Folk Science
2006–09 Fake, Mistake, Replicate
2006–10 Darwin on the Right
2006–11 Wronger Than Wrong
2006–12 Bowling for God
2007–01 Airborne Baloney
2007–02 Eat, Drink and Be Merry
2007–03 (Can't Get No) Satisfaction
2007–04 Free to Choose
2007–05 Bush's Mistake and Kennedy's Error
2007–06 The (Other) Secret
2007–07 The Prospects for Homo economicus
2007–08 Bad Apples and Bad Barrels
2007–09 Rational Atheism
2007–10 The Really Hard Science
2007–11 Weirdonomics and Quirkology
2007–12 An Unauthorized Autobiography of Science
2008–01 Evonomics
2008–02 The Mind of the Market
2008–03 Adam's Maxim and Spinoza's Conjecture
2008–04 Wag the Dog
2008–05 A New Phrenology?
2008–06 Expelled Exposed
2008–07 Sacred Science
2008–08 Wheat Grass Juice and Folk Medicine
2008–09 Folk Numeracy and Middle Land
2008–10 A Random Walk Through Middle Land
2008–11 Stage Fright
2008–12 Patternicity
2009–01 Telephone to the Dead
2009–02 Darwin Misunderstood
2009–07 I Want to Believe
2009–08 Shakespeare, Interrupted
2009–09 Skeptic – Paranoia Strikes Deep
2009–10 Captain Hook Meets Adam Smith
2009–11 Will E.T. Look Like Us?
2009–12 Political Science: The Psychological Differences in the U.S.'s Red–Blue Divide
2010–01 Kool–Aid Psychology: Realism versus Optimism
2010–02 Cultivate Your Garden
2010–03 Surviving Death on Larry King Live
2010–04 The Sensed–Presence Effect
2010–05 Doing Science in the Past
2010–06 When Ideas Have Sex
2010–07 When Scientists Sin
2010–08 Our Neanderthal Brethren
2010–09 Democracy’s Laboratory
2010–10 Can You Hear Me Now
2010–11 The Skeptic’s Skeptic
2010–12 The Conspiracy Theory Detector
2011–01 The Science of Right and Wrong
2011-02 Houdini's Advice
2011-03 Wrong Again
2011-04 UFOs, UAPs, CRAPs
2011-05 Extra Sensory Pornception
2011-06 Gambling on ET

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michae...ptic_columns_published_in_Scientific_American

Scientific American (informally abbreviated SciAm) is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text and perhaps especially the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics. Einstein is among the many famous scientists who have contributed articles in the past 165 years. It is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in America.

Facts about Scientific American:
o Founded in 1845
o Oldest continuously published magazine in the U.S.
o Led by Editor-in-Chief Mariette DiChristina; appointed in 2009
o Eight Editors in Chiefs and four owners in its 165-year history
o U.S. edition is headquartered in New York City
o The leading source and authority for science, technology information and policy for a general audience
o Read in print by 3.5 million worldwide consumers
o On average, 2.7 million unique users visit ScientificAmerican.com every month
o 14 local language editions worldwide, including the U.S. edition of Scientific American?, read in more than 30 countries, with a worldwide audience of more than 5 million people
o A third of Scientific American readers hold postgraduate degrees
o 144 Nobel Prize Scientists have contributed 234 articles to Scientific American
o Part of Macmillan Publishers, owned by Holtzbrinck Group of companies; acquired by Holtzbrinck in 1986
o Scientific American founded the first branch of the U.S. patent agency in 1850; more than 100,000 patented inventions by 1900
o Three Scientific American features in the Federal Record
o Scientific American won the 2011 National Magazine Award for General Excellence.

web-logo.gif
 
how-god-changes-your-brain-breakthrough-findings-from-andrew-newberg-hardcover-cover-art.jpg


M.D, A.N. & Waldman, M.R., 2009. How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientist, Ballantine Books.

Ch 1: "Who Cares About God?" - We all do, argue the authors, who introduce basic concepts of neuroplasticity, the neurologal "war" between beliefs and disbeliefs, and why any religious concept generate both anger and compassion in virtually everyone's brain.

Ch 2: "Do You Need God When You Pray?" The authors describe a new study showing how a 12 minute chanting meditation practice improved memory in older people with mild cognitive impairment (a precursor to Alzheimer's disease)in less than 8 weeks. They also show you how to create your own "brain enhancement" exercise program.

Ch 3: "What Does God Do to Your Brain?" This chapter explores the neural varieties of meditation and prayer, and how different parts of the brain create different perceptions of God. They also discuss how different neurochemicals and drugs alter spiritual beliefs and realities.

Ch 4: "What Does God Feel Like?" The authors' data shows that, for most people, God is more of a feeling than an idea, that everyone's spiritual experiences are unique, and that mystical experiences often generate long-lasting states of unity, peacefulness, and love.

Ch 5: "What Does God Look Like?" The authors collected adult drawings of God and compared them with pictures drawn by children. It turns out that the most sophisticated drawings are made by liberal believers, atheists, and agnostic college students. However, many atheists maintain childhood images, which could explain why god doesn't make any rational sense to them. The authors suggest that everyone has "God" neuron or circuit in their brain, and they show you where it is.

Ch 6: "Does God Have a Heart?" They examine the Baylor University survey depicting four "personalities" of God, but they present their own survey evidence showing that a previously unrecognized and large segment of Americans maintain a mystical and loving vision of nature, God, and people.

Ch 7: "What Happens When God Gets Mad?" Surprisingly, the authors (one is agnostic, and the other describes himself as being personally guided by evidence-based natural science)both find value in all spiritual practices and traditions. They found little evidence to criticize religious fundamentalism, except when it involves angry rhetoric. They point out the neurological dangers of hostility, fear, authoritarianism, and idealism, and they suggest that we all have a fundamentalistic and an atheistic mentality hardwired in the brain.

Ch 8: "Exercising Your Brain" Included are eight ways to keep your brain physically and mentally tuned-up. Even yawning appears to be an amazing way to calm down a dysfunctional brain, and they have about 40 references to support this claim. In fact, they include over a 1000 endnotes and references to support what many might think are widely speculative claims. For me, as a professional, this is wonderful, because it shows that they didn't cherry-pick the research; indeed they admirably point out the weaknesses to their own conclusions and work.

Ch 9: "Finding Serenity" This chapter, and the next, are filled with simple, well-tested meditation techniques to help any reader, of any religious or nonreligious persuasion, to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression while enhancing cognition,memory, and greater sensitivity and empathy toward one's self and others. This well-documented research shows that nearly any meditation technique can be removed from its theological background to provide beneficial neurological and psychological changes. The authors also provide convincing evidence that only a few minutes of meditation, throughout the day, improves the functioning of the brain.

Ch 10: "Compassionate Communication" This is an original meditation exercise that can be used when dialoguing with others. It takes fifteen minutes to learn, and their research shows that it improves compassion social intimacy by 11%, even when done with with strangers. They then include nearly a dozen ways to quickly resolve interpersonal conflicts,all of which make sound psychological sense.
 
Back
Top