How God Changes Your Brain - Andrew Newberg, M. D_ [38]
During meditation, I have had the experience of feeling like a disembodied consciousness suspended in infinite space. I have also had the experience of unity with all that is. I experienced a spiritual presence, and I have come to know that the presence I experienced was not other than myself.
I felt a great, unconceivable exterior/interior energy full of power, love, and clarity. There is not anything superior to this in my entire life.
These descriptions are very similar to those recorded a century ago by the American psychologist William James,11 which reinforces the popular conception that spiritual experiences have remained relatively consistent throughout history. It also highlights my premise that for thousands of years the human brain has spontaneously generated spiritual and mystical experiences. The universality of this neurological phenomenon is critical for helping us understand the fundamental similarities and origins of religious and spiritual traditions. Yet within this universality, our inability to linguistically express these experiences with any degree of accuracy has led to the great diversity of religious ideas and theologies.
SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES CHANGE YOUR OLD BELIEFS
In our survey, many people reported that their spiritual experiences altered their beliefs, and as I mentioned above, “belief was the sixth most common word used. We also found evidence to support the notion that spiritual experiences alter one's traditional ideas about God. For many people, God lost its biblical sense of otherness and became a force that resided inside:
Since that moment [of mystical experience] I am sure God cannot get a name. God is something, not someone, and it is not something independent of me. But I use the word “God” simply to express an idea, not a specific character.
These experiences, when I have had them, do not seem to be “personal” insofar as I do not feel I am encountering a larger Person. I guess the idea of God simply as a person seems like an anthropomorphism to me; making God in our own image.
Such notions contradict many traditional doctrines, which may explain why people who see themselves as spiritual are often less willing to attend church or identify themselves with their religious past. Our data found that half of the people changed their religious orientation as a result of such experiences. They were more willing to marry outside of their religious belief system, yet changing religion did not make them more willing to accept the “correctness” of other religious beliefs.
A related study at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that the trend toward exploring alternative forms of spirituality is growing. In 1982 less than 20 percent of the student population indicated no religious preference. In 2004, 31 percent of the incoming freshman students claimed no religious affiliation, yet over three-quarters said that they were “on a spiritual quest.” One-third of the students also felt it was important to use college as a place to encourage their “personal expression of spirituality.”12 Other surveys on religion and spirituality reflect similar changes in beliefs. Ironically, as spiritual interests increase, church attendance declines.13
BECOMING ONE WITH GOD,
THE UNIVERSE, AND OURSELVES
The bottom line in understanding the phenomenology of subjective religious experience is this: Nearly every spiritual experience, in some small way, changes our sense of reality and the relationship we have with the world. Generally, it increases our sense of unity and wholeness, not just in a metaphoric sense, but in the way we conduct our lives. In fact, almost three-quarters of our respondents indicated that they felt a sense of oneness with the universe or a unity with all of life. These feelings are also associated with a greater sense of purpose and meaning in one's life.
Such experiences involve a degree of self-transcendence and a suspension of personal egotism. In