NeuroTheology and Its Convergence with NeuroQuantology

Abstract

The principles of neuroscience assume and predict that all experiences are generated by brain activity as a consequence of structural patterns. A convergence of methodologies and measurements indicate that religious/mystical experiences and beliefs associated with them are predictable phenomena. The central roles of the right hemisphere, specifically the temporal lobe, and the chemistry, structure, and gene sequences that affect this region's electrical sensitivity and intercalation with the left hemisphere are reviewed. The precarious consequences of the enmeshment between the neuronal networks that mediate the survival of the self and moral judgments are considered. The neuroquantological bases to the cellular activity that mediates these experiences suggest an imminent change in paradigm that will alter the manner in which we perceive ourselves and our relationship to the universe.

The Intelligence of Spiritual Intelligence: Making the Case

“…Similarly various parts of the brain have been associated with transcendent experiences (e.g., Delio 2003;Joseph 2001;Newberg 2010Newberg , 2018Persinger et al 2010). Borg et al (2003), using positron emission tomography (PET) scans, found an inverse correlation between serotonin receptor density and experiences of self-transcendence.…”

Mystical experiences.

“…These momentary foci of electrical activity, or microseizures, are said to yield mystical and related experiences and in time to produce alterations in the synaptic organization of limbic regions. Contributing to the occurrence of these TLTs is a variety of culturally conditioned factors, including traditional ritual inductions of altered states; he also speculated that the earth's magnetic fields may play a role in anomalous experiences (Persinger et al, 2010). Persinger found indirect support for his main hypothesis in a series of studies, including one in which the number of EEG spikes in the temporal lobe in response to exotic rhythmic sounds and pulsating light correlated significantly with measures of religious belief, parapsychological or mystical experiences, and a sense of presence, whereas measures of spike activity in the occipital lobe did not (Makarec & Persinger, 1985).…”