Genesis 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

The Creation of Reality 

R C Henry, a renowned professor of physics and astronomy, in a 2005 essay concludes, "A fundamental conclusion of the new physics also acknowledges that the observer creates the reality. As observers, we are personally involved with the creation of our own reality. Physicists are being forced to admit that the universe is a “mental” construction."

Eugene Wigner, a theoretical physicist and mathematician, stated unequivocally stated that “It was not possible to formulate the laws of quantum mechanics in a fully consistent way without reference to consciousness.”

In a sense, since the most essential characteristic of human consciousness would be “intelligence” - so it would stand to reason that viewing the universe and the world as embodying intelligence would only be natural (and healthy).

 As Pauli describes the Scylla and Charybdis monsters – these monsters are real threats in the human mind – sterile rationalism and the blue fog (confusion) of mysticism. Wolfgang Pauli rather brilliantly observed “It is only a narrow passage of truth (no matter whether scientific or other truth) that passes between the Scylla of a blue fog of mysticism and the Charybdis of a sterile rationalism. This will always be full of pitfalls and one can fall down on both sides.” That illustrates the inherent dilemma of human consciousness in the polarity between spirituality and mysticism versus extreme rationalism-quantification

Immortalized in Homers epic, the Odyssey, the terrifying monsters, Scylla and Charybdis from Greek Mythology are symbols of dangers between which men seem too often caught. To be “between Scylla and Charybdis” is to be trapped between two frightening and dangerous choices or decisions.

“Scylla was a supernatural female creature, with 12 feet and six heads on long snaky necks, each head having a triple row of sharklike teeth, while her loins were girdled by the heads of baying dogs. From her lair in a cave she devoured whatever ventured within reach, including six of Odysseus’s companions.

Charybdis, who lurked under a fig tree a bowshot away on the opposite shore, drank down and belched forth the waters thrice a day and was fatal to shipping. Her character was most likely the personification of a whirlpool. The shipwrecked Odysseus barely escaped her clutches by clinging to a tree until the improvised raft that she swallowed floated to the surface again after many hours. Scylla was often rationalized in antiquity as a rock or reef. (Britannica - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Scylla-and-Charybdis)

The materialist Maxim “All spirituality is unreal” - a Charybdis monster who “drinks down” thoughts and “belches forth” fallacies and delusioons. The sterile rationalism from the materialist fixation with quantification would be an excellent illustration of sterile rationalism. The psychologists, William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, state “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” Wikipedia states that the Definist Fallacy is a fallacy because it uses “loaded terms!” That is about as sterile as one can get. In the “real world there are a lot of different types of spirituality. An excellent type of spirituality would be musical spirituality. A consensus of neuroscience studies of music is that music was pivotal in the development of society and a “social self – as well as being instrumental in the spirituality of music – which is very creative

The Maladaptive Stereotype “All spirituality is unreal” is a “Charybdis” mental monster: Spiritual Poison - Giant Cosmic Parrots & Academic Hate Speech 

As I posted on FB groups, I began to document their responses. Here are some of the comments I heard on FB “science” groups: "mental illness," "Santa Claus", "fairies," and so on. In one instance I checked and questioned a member of a FB psychology group who referred to spirituality as "Santa Claus" – after asking questions it became clear that he didn't even read the essay.

Religious Drivel, Giant Cosmic Parrots – a real Charybdis Monster

The most obnoxious comment was by a neuroscientist who stated on my which was a fairly generic post about spirituality in which I didn't even mention spiritual-psychic experiences - “please keep the religious drivel to religious channels, this is science and science by its very nature only deals with the material - what can be observed and measured. It serves no practical use of time to hypothesize whether giant cosmic parrots travelling from higher dimensions are responsible for anything because unless one flies into our view there’s no way to prove it.”

Spirituality Entangled in Abstractions: Blue Fog

From research and experience, it is readily apparent that “Spirituality has become entangled in abstractions: powers, perfection, supernatural, unreal, limitless knowledge, crystal ball perceptions, etc.” Brain Josephson emphasizes that materialists are fixated on the “supernatural reality” – which is no more than a meaningless abstraction – and ignore the “fruitfulness” of spiritual and religious beliefs. Richard Dawkins stated that “The very idea of supernatural magic - including miracles - is incoherent, devoid of sensible meaning.”

Supernatural magic is an academic abstraction – with no definition. I talk to a lot of people who have spiritual experiences and not one of the people I personally have talked with has said anything remotely similar to “supernatural magic”. Most of the people I talk with talk about how their experiences and spirituality help them make sense of the world and are a way of looking at the world and often say their spirituality is a way of life. That is in line with the synthesis consensus of William James, Viktor Frankl, and Carl Jung that spiritual experiences create meaning and a sense of reality.

___________________________________________________________________

What Spiritual People Say about Spirit and Spirituality! + the Synthesis-consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung and William James  

Linda: "Spirit" covers a wide range of beliefs and experiences that are personal! I don't think it's possible to pin it down to just one 'thing'.....for myself, it was a gradual awakening as to who, I AM. It was always there waiting, my first direct experience was at a meditation retreat in Montana... 30 days, no talking, nothing but meditation, food, sleep. One morning, while watching the snow come down outside through a big picture window, I heard the phrase: "this", is all there is"! Later Linda added that "My spiritual practices GOT ME TO HERE! There are many paths, many teachings and many teachers.... seek and you will find the right One For You...

Angel (old counselor of mine): “Spirit, to me, is literally; everything. It is the universe beyond our very small, limited existence as human in a physical world. This encompasses your view too, of Spirit being a creative force. It is THE creative force since it is everything. So, when we as humans, create or connect or dream or heal...we tap into Spirit.”

Gerlinde (Italian poet and writer from Italy: My poems are mostly emotional and strongly philosophic and spiritual! Spirituality is a limitless dimension of human experience and has a special approach to life, where research and inner growth counts, extending our life to a deeper level of existence that brings balance to body, mind and soul. I have written the poem "The path..my path" during a walk in nature...walking is like let flowing my feelings and thoughts about life inside and outside me. The path is a writing about our choices for the future

Annie, a psychology student in a master’s program: “I went through a major 'dark night of the soul' for a few years that led me to question and dig deep deeper into my false beliefs and what is really going on in the world. In a separate comment she told me that "Spirit is definitely primordial - existing prior to, within and after material. Everything is energy. Like a fish in water, many are just unaware. It's also largely a highly personal experience so the experience may come sooner for others or not at all if they choose to look at a superficial level.”

Marwa, a passionate - and sometimes fiery - Muslim woman who has had some spiritual experiences of her own said spiritual experiences are a "Gift by Allah, giving to those who love believing in him, and give them this spiritual gift" - a "gift and will commit leading to creativity and geniuses." Marwa, went on to list the different types of spirituality: wisdom (Loguman); clemency and patience (Ashajj ibn Qays; intense faith of Abu Bakr;`Uthman’s modesty; Ali’s bravery; Abu al-Darda’s wisdom; Amr’s resourcefulness; Mu`awiyah’s leadership skills; discernment, inspiration, and memory (Al-Bukhari and Ahmad ibn Hanbal); poetic gifts (Sibuwayh, al-Khalil)

The Christian view of spiritual gifts in Corinthians 1 is remarkably similar to Marwa’s view. I would add that my guiding lights are “spirit and truth” from John 4:23-24 and I found people of other religions have not objected to that (so long as I stay away from religious issues which tend to engage the powerful emotions connected with the ingroup-outgroup syndrome). I thought it was amazing that Marwa could reel off so many Muslim examples of spirituality. Corinthians 1: 12: 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”

Musical Spirituality

I find it interesting that Corinthians distinguish between wisdom and knowledge. The best illustration of spirituality would be “music” – in my view. In Indian literature, music is viewed as divinely inspired and one Indian school of thought views the universe as an expression of vibrations and music.

Jay Schulkin and Greta B. Raglan observe: “Music is a core human experience and generative processes reflect cognitive capabilities. Music is often functional because it is something that can promote human well-being by facilitating human contact, human meaning, and human imagination of possibilities, tying it to our social instincts….. Music cuts across diverse cognitive capabilities and resources, including numeracy, language, and space perception. In the same way, music intersects with cultural boundaries, facilitating our “social self” by linking our shared experiences and intentions.” Music is a universal reality in humanity and most would agree music can display creativity.

Catherine Hall in her analysis of Harry Potter fandom observes: “Wizard rock, often stylized in written form as ‘wrock’, creatively engages with and augments the content world of Harry Potter through musically and lyrically diverse performances. Fan studies centred on Harry Potter have often discussed the application of fictional heroism to real-world issues, and wizard rock musicians are frequently cited as fandom activists.

Similar to their heroes in the books, these musicians imbue their music and their self-images with the series’ morals, historical tropes and archetypes. I argue that the wizard rock community’s application of fictional heroism through music, lyrics and performance encourages fellow Harry Potter fans to embrace heroic qualities in the real world.” (CATHERINE HALL ‘Reading and [w]rocking’: Morality and musical creativity in the Harry Potter fandom)

Mirabai, a Malaysian, is a very independent hybrid Christian-Hindu, states that "In our Vedas teachings, we each have a Dharma...a sort of duty... There is the Dharma of an educator...there is the Dharma of an intellectual person...who will always be in the pursuit of gaining knowledge...& enlightening others about it... There is also the warrior Dharma...The merchant Dharma... The labourer Dharma... The other is the outsider Dharma... These are the people who change things... None is superior or inferior. All the above is needed for us to function in this world, relying on each other's Dharma."

Nancy Poiteau, a counselor who has worked with people on their spirituality and spiritual-psychic experiences did emphatically state that - these people do tend to be very independent - something I have found to be true as well.

It would seem an inescapable conclusion that to limit spirituality to “supernatural magic” is a very tunnel vision and myopic view of spirituality – far from a “realistic map” of the real world. In the case of Dawkins who is anti-religion it would seem apparent that his attempts to undermine spirituality are deliberate and intentional. Dawkins and many others fail to distinguish between spirituality and religiosity and end up attacking and undermining prosocial norms associated with spirituality. I am a vigorous critic of the Politicization of Christ (like many Americans) and recognize that religion has a number of problems. Everything has weaknesses and strengths – political ideologies, Academic ideologies, ethnic ideologies, and so on. Dr Neal (JHU)stated that she has no education or training in people who have spiritual experiences – and clinical psychologists are worse in a way since they all tend to talk about “anomalies”  

In all truth I would say I belong to the “fool on the hill” philosophy. I wrote a number of essays on racism (2018 I believe) in America in which a disproportionate number of unarmed blacks get killed by police than whites. I stated that the situation won’t improve until police got additional training – common sense really. A 2022 poll of blacks showed they don’t believe their situation has improved any. Some police request additional training.

___________________________________________________________________

In William James’ classic 1902 work, The Variety of Religious Experience, William James states that spiritual and religious experiences create a “sense of reality!” It is a self-evident fact and truth. When you look at the experiences that William James cites, then it is easy to see that spiritual experiences do indeed shape and influence spiritual and religious beliefs – a fact the modern materialist philosophy with its quantification bias has buried. Carl Jung similarly said "Spirt gives meaning to [his] life!"

The synthesis consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, and William James simply put is that "spirit, spiritual processes, and religious beliefs create meaning, a sense of reality - and ultimately Reality, and Truth. In the anthology, Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology (2014), Paul Wong, observes: “Frankl considers meaning seeking as stemming from one’s spiritual nature.”

Three characteristics

1.         "spirit, spiritual processes, and religious beliefs create meaning, a sense of reality - and ultimately Reality, and Truth.

2.         Tolerance: That different experiences create different worldviews and understandings

3.         Spiritual symbolism generates emotional energy

The Supernatural Scylla Monster

A Critique of Christian Smith, in Religion: What it is, how it works, and why it matters (2017), takes an important next step for the teleological critical realist person.

“Religion, I will argue, is best defined as a complex of culturally prescribed practices that are based on premises about the existence and nature of superhuman powers. … Religious people engage in complexes of practices in order to gain access to and communicate or align themselves with these superhuman powers.”

Fruitfulness vs Supernatural: Way too many people equate spirituality with the "supernatural" to be blunt - or enlightenment, rather than "fruitfulness" as Brian Josephson points out. Brian D Josephson, a Nobel-prize winning quantum physicist in his article, Religion in Genes (Nature, Vol 362, April 15, 1993) stated unequivocally that “With religion, focusing on the factuality or otherwise of religious belief similarly misses the point: the significant questions in this context relate to the functions and fruitfulness of religious beliefs.”

“It is not true if the major premise is not true” – Justice Rehnquist - p.765 Logical Fallacies and the Supreme Court….

Wrong Thinking (Justice Rehnquist’s term) – The Definist Fallacy = defining terms in a biased manner Definist fallacy – defining a term used in an argument in a biased manner (e.g., using "loaded terms"). The person making the argument expects that the listener will accept the provided definition, making the argument difficult to refute. (Wikipedia) So, the term, “supernatural” is quite evidently a “loaded term” and this a fallacy. Furthermore, as Justice Rehnquist concludes, “It is not true if the major premise is not true”

So, what has the supernatural fallacy done? The “supernatural” argument successfully labeled spiritual beliefs as “supernatural” – which conveys spiritual beliefs as entirely otherworldly and “superstitious beliefs” – disconnected from any “real-world context” – making the term worthless and meaningless. So, let’s take a look at the “supernatural” belief in animal spirits for a moment. Yet, millions of people accept the argument that Spirituality is about the “supernatural!” It appears readily apparent that the materialist ideology marginalized and sidelined spirituality – resulting in the social sciences overlooking the critical psychological function of spiritual beliefs in animal spirits as being a form of an evolutionary adaptive trait of “selective attention” and “emotional prioritizing!”

selective attention as the psychological function

Especially in light of the fact that neuroscience consensus that “selectivity emerged through evolution as a design feature to enable efficient goal-directed action. This means that selectivity is an emerging property arising from myriad underlying processes” - It would seem an inescapable conclusion then that – from a functional and biological perspective - - then, that the beliefs in animal spirits were an evolutionary adaptive trait of selective attention which served-functioned to focus human attention and energy on animals and thus hunter-gatherer survival. Furthermore, as Erica Hill emphasizes that the relevance and importance of the spiritual beliefs in animal spirits are “human relationships with the natural world!” Essentially, Erica Hill defines spiritual beliefs in this context of human relationships with the environment. The emphasis is on the “human relationships” – in sharp contrast to the materialist focus on the “supernatural.”

Furthermore, In the light of the historical-genetic reality of the ancient – and often primal – spiritual idea-symbols or archetypes, what the psychologist Donald Kalsched observations about archetypes makes more sense: "Archetypal energy is rooted deep in the unconscious and it is ‘archaic’, primitive, and also ‘typical’. Archetypal energies and affects are not easily assimilated by the conscious mind. They can be luminous or dark, angelic or demonic, but because they exist in raw, unmediated form they tend to be over-powering." Nancy Furlotti echoes that statement when she says, "Affect emerges from archetypes, which are the a priori ordering principles of nature, the world, and the psyche. When an archetype is activated, energy is put in motion that does not adhere to the laws of causality, or time and space." (Tracing a Red Thread: Synchronicity and Jung’s Red Book:(2010), Psychological Perspectives, 53:4, 455-478) Beliefs and ideas are very real and incredibly powerful. The idea of "spirit" as energy and force is very real, especially in light of a collective consciousness. It would seem an inescapable conclusion that life as energy is objectively a very solid and scientific model-paradigm

The reality of the spiritual beliefs in animal spirits rests in the creation of a social consciousness or meaning structure not only in the activity of hunting but also, as Erica Hill emphasizes, the social “media” or social structure as well. Erica Hill observes that the “Relations with these persons involved sets of rules and expectations and were predicated upon mutual respect, just as one’s relations with human kin were. Breaches of conduct, misunderstandings and bad manners had negative social implications, just as they did in interactions with one’s affines, cousins or trading partners.” Erica Hill states, “First, prey animals, including bear, walrus and whale, were perceived as agential beings who interacted with humans as persons; they were sentient social equals capable of deciding whether to favour humans by allowing themselves to be taken. Human hunters engaged with prey animals on a regular, perhaps daily, basis. Hunting ritual and observance of taboos were the responsibility of the individual hunter and his family members, whose duty it was to properly approach, take, butcher and dispose of the animal and its remains” So, it is crystal clear that the spiritual beliefs in animal spirts played a role in hunter gatherer society and performed a function. (Erica Hill, Animals as Agents: Hunting Ritual and Relational Ontologies in Prehistoric Alaska and Chukotka)

Entangled in Abstractions

Dr Farra stated “Good short paper - thoughtful and to the point: A lack of belief in "free will" (volitional life direction) routinely leads to a sense of meaninglessness. despair, and unethical personal behavior.  We are told we are all forced to this conclusion by "science" -- but this is junk science that does not understand the process of model creation and validation. Our paradigms are our way of addressing Reality, but they are Not Reality.  As Charles Peck, Jr. suggests, we are getting lost in our own abstractions!” So, a realistic model of spirituality is important – I believe the prism paradigm is such a model  I have yet to meet an undergraduate who has an training or education in psiritual processes and expericnes. It wpoudl stand to reason that an underlying cause of academic prejudices and soemtimes outright ignorance is that a proper categorization – map-model - of types of spirituality has not been done. Categorization is an essential part of scientific methodology – as outlined by Aristotle two thousand years ago.   

Steppenwolf (Hermann Hesse)

"Ah, but it is hard to find this track of the divine in the midst of this life that we lead, in this besotted humdrum age of spiritual blindness, its politics, its men! .... And in fact, if the world is right, if this music of cafes, these mass enjoyments and these Americanised men who are pleased with so little are right, then I am wrong. I am crazy. I am in truth the Steppenwolf that I often call myself; that beast astray who finds neither home nor joy nor nourishment in a world that is strange and incomprehensible to him." (p. 48-49)

Preview of Categorization of Creative Spirituality with Practical Use (William James) - Counterpoint to the academic-materialism maxim "All spirituality is unreal"

1. Spirituality of Compassion: “Compassion for others and social support have survival value and health benefits…. (The Oxford Handbook on Compassion: p. 171) "Our findings argue that spirituality—above and beyond religiosity—is uniquely associated with greater compassion and enhanced altruism toward strangers." (The Social Significance of Spirituality Laura R. Saslow et al), "religiosity and spirituality were associated positively with compassionate love both for close others (friends, family) and for humanity (strangers)." (Compassionate love......, S. Sprecher

2. Musical Spirituality Shulkin and Raglan "Our evolution is tightly bound to music and to the body as an instrument (e.g., clapping). Music, amongst other things, helps to facilitate social cooperative and coordinated behaviors." "Music is a fundamental part of our evolution – and functional because it facilitates “human contact” and out “social self”" Cross-culturally, at a first approximation, 'musical' behaviours involve not just patterned sound, but also overt action; 'musicality' is a property of communities rather than of individuals; and music is mutable in its specific significances or meanings (p.1) (Ian Cross)

3. Spiritual Healing in Grieving Healing Easterling, et al observe “Conversely, experience has shown pastoral caregivers that individuals do seem to cope better if they can "actualize" their spiritual experiences in times of crisis. J Parker's study "support the assertion that spiritual and/or religious belief systems are associated with adaptive outcomes of grief."

4. Kapwa-loob pro-social norms/spirituality Kapwa & Relational Spirituality: K Lagdameo-Santillan “Kapwa is a recognition of a shared identity, an inner self, shared with others (i.e. Reynaldo Ileto, Jeremiah Reyes, Mercado, etc) + Ubuntu (African - Anglican Tutu) Anam Cara - soul friend (Celtic - soul friend, O'Donohue - Irish theologian)

5. Children’s Spirituality Donna Thomas: “anomalous experiences can catalyze self- healing for children and young people.”

6. Artistic Spirituality: Robert K. Johnston - 20 percent of Americans turn to “media, arts and culture” as their primary means of spiritual experience and expression...."

7. Poetic Spirituality & Prophecy-Creativity & Transcendence: "The prophet is a poet. His experience is one known to poets. What poets know as poetic inspiration; the prophets call divine revelation" - Heschel

8. Dream Weaving/ T'boli-T’nalak – Dreams as a source of divine inspiration and diving grace – the T'boli artist, "Be Lang Dulay, a national artist, popularized T’nalak weaving with her over 100 different T’nalak designs."

9. Arctic Hunter Gatherer beliefs in animal spirits as "Human relationships with the natural world..." in context of William James Practical Use Principle

10. Dr. Ingela Visuri: Spirituality and "The Case of High functioning Autism"

11. Divine Inspiration as spirituality. The immortal scientist Isaac Newton was very spiritual and wrote about religious beliefs also. He found a profound motivation in his perception of the divine order inherent in the universe. Michael Faraday was another scientist who found a similar inspiration and motivation in his perception of divine order.

12. Right and wrong as a form of spiritual – religious beliefs as Durkheim pointed out in the early 1900’s. – an Issue the social sciences – and anthropology in particular - never properly addressed. 

Part I.  Methodology and Historical context

 The way you look at things is the most powerful force in shaping your life! John O’Donohue, Irish poet-theologian

 Models are critical in understanding and knowledge!

1. Ways of Looking at things are – reality - models 

2. “To understand something, whether we are aware of it or not, depends on choosing a model.” Iain McGilchrist

3. "Proper knowledge maps or mirrors the actualities of the real world." Kenneth Gergen

4. “Models are our realities, but models are not reality” – Dr Stephen Farra

The bottom line is that “models” - and how we envision the world - are not just pivotal and important questions-issues – but vital.

Historical Context: Kant, Jung, Nietzsche, Ortega Gasset, Heidegger: symbols are vital for both understanding and knowledge

 In philosophy, there exists dilemma between Kant’s symbolic knowledge which emphasizes the role of symbolism in human consciousness vs the materialist fixation with quantifiable data – with knowledge as quantifiable data. The Irony of the situation is that Kant, Jung, Nietzsche, Ortega Gasset, Heidegger, Kierkegaard and the bulk of western philosophy state that symbols, as well as metaphors, are vital for both understanding and knowledge - but that symbolism - human consciousness - is to a very large extent outside the realm of cognitive processes and rational analysis. In effect, symbolism and quantification are mutually exclusive principles. Kenneth Gergen has a hybrid solution in his maxim: "Proper knowledge maps or mirrors the actualities of the real world." 

Modern Science and Materialism: Iain McGilChrist properly identifies materialist ideology as a mode of thought:

Iain McGilChrist states: “An increasingly mechanistic, fragmented, decontextualised world… has come about, reflecting, I believe, the unopposed action of a dysfunctional left hemisphere.” McGilChrist’s view of the “materialist mode of thought” dovetails into Christina Maimone’s assessment of Mannheim’s Paradox that social sciences are a mode of thought - ideology which excludes evidence and facts that don’t fit that mindset. The fact of the matter is that “materialism” is a “model” – not a detached objective science – particularly when it comes to spiritual and religious beliefs - as well as social consciousness.

It stands to reason that the “Quantification principle of science” – the principle that science equates to quantifiable evidence - is a “norm/stereotype” which is self-evidently widely held and that people would readily and easily accept like any other group norm. Ion social psychology the fact that people readily and easily accept, assimilate, and internalize group norms is well-proved reality. Unfortunately, while there is some recognition of the problem, the social sciences have not widely recognized that “social knowledge” as Gergen and Maimone emphasize is different from physics or chemistry or even biology.

Part II.  Genetics & a Primer of Spirituality

 A.      The Genetics of Spirituality

Tim Spector, in the article, What Twins Reveal About The Science Of Faith (Popular Science, August 8, 2013) states, “They [the researchers] estimated the heritability of spirituality to be around 40 to 50 percent, which is quite high………..These studies demonstrate our variable but innate inherited sense of spirituality, which affects how we perceive the world, ourselves and the universe.

B. Spirituality is a natural human predisposition! It is more primal than institutional religion and concerns a person’s sense of connectedness with self, others, and world!” (K. Bishop Grosseteste U, B Hyde Australian Catholic University) And yes, spirituality is more primal, Anton Killin: "The oldest known musical instruments [date] from 40,000 years ago (40 Kya)….” Killin argues that music likely originated in hominins as long as 275,000 years ago.

Jay Schulkin and Greta B. Raglan observe "Music is a core human experience and generative processes reflect cognitive capabilities. Music is often functional because it is something that can promote human well-being by facilitating human contact, human meaning, and human imagination of possibilities, tying it to our social instincts. Cognitive systems also underlie musical performance and sensibilities. Music is one of those things that we do spontaneously, reflecting brain machinery linked to communicative functions, enlarged and diversified across a broad array of human activities. Music cuts across diverse cognitive capabilities and resources, including numeracy, language, and space perception. In the same way, music intersects with cultural boundaries, facilitating our “social self” by linking our shared experiences and intentions." (The evolution of music and human social capability Jay Schulkin, medical researcher, Greta B. Raglan Front Neurosci. 2014; 8: 292).

C. For perspective – a minimal study of spiritual psychic experiences – here is an excerpt from J E Kennedy – It is a minimal study but as J E Kennedy observes, “very little research” has been done on ‘people’ who have spiritual psychic experiences. 

“Data from a convenience sample of 120 people actively interested in parapsychology who reported having had at least one paranormal and/or transcendent experience showed that these experiences increased their interest and beliefs in spiritual matters and increased their sense of well-being. More specifically, the majority of respondents indicated that the experiences resulted in increased belief in life after death, belief that their lives are guided or watched over by a higher force or being, interest in spiritual or religious matters, sense of connection to others, happiness, well-being, confidence, optimism about the future, and meaning in life. They also indicated decreases in fear of death, depression or anxiety, isolation and loneliness, and worry and fears about the future.

A large majority of respondents indicated that these effects resulted from a combination of more than one paranormal and/or transcendent experience. The magnitude of changes in well-being and spirituality were positively associated with the number of anomalous experiences. Measures of current well-being and current importance of spirituality were positively associated with reported changes in well-being and spirituality resulting from anomalous experiences.”

(An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Paranormal and Spiritual Experiences on Peoples' Lives and Well-Being J.E. Kennedy and H. Kanthamani (Original publication and copyright: The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1995, Volume 89, pp.249-265.)

D.       Sociological Evidence of Unconscious spiritual symbolism: Massive Popularity of Star Wars & Harry Potter Fandom - Sociological Evidence of Unconscious Spiritual Symbolism –

Rhiannon Grant in The Sacred in Fantastic Fandom, Grant observes in 2001, the British government ran a regular census, but they included a new question about religion. In response, almost 0.8 percent of the total population said they were a “Jedi” or Jedi knight!” (p. 38) Those results were repeated in Australia and New Zealand.” The contemporary-modern social popularity of Star Wars and Harry Potter, and the numerous other imaginative fandoms, that provides massive data and evidence of the existence of unconscious spiritual symbolism.

As Carole Cusack correctly observes “the imaginative exercise of realizing that world [of spirituality and supernatural force in Harry Potter and Star Wars] is extremely attractive..(p.27) – which is to say the unconscious symbolism associated with spirituality is a viable force in human consciousness.

D.       Energized unconscious symbolism

In light of the " sociological reality Fandoms", spiritual symbols might best be understood in terms of Nancy Furlotti’s argument which states, " Affect emerges from archetypes, which are the a priori ordering principles of nature, the world, and the psyche. When an archetype is activated, energy is put in motion that does not adhere to the laws of causality, or time and space." (Tracing a Red Thread: Synchronicity and Jung’s Red Book:(2010), Psychological Perspectives, 53:4, 455-478)

Beliefs and ideas are very real and incredibly powerful. From that perspective, the idea of "spirit" as energy and force is very real, especially in light of a social-collective consciousness.

E. Synthesis-Consensus of William James, Viktor Frankl, & Carl Jung

1), spirituality - particularly spiritual experiences - shape peoples’ "sense of reality” - that spirituality helps [people "make sense of the world"

2) different experiences (+ culture, upbringing) create diverse worldviews - particularly in spiritual experiences.

“We become what we think” Buddha

There is a nearly universal consensus among greats – and scholars – that as Buddha stressed millennia ago, “We become what we think” And symbols and models are pivotal in what we think. A fundamental categorization changes the materialist picture of “spirituality as unreal” dramatically.

F.        Prism Paradigm: The Energy-Filter Model

Energy [light in this metaphor] “originating” from unconscious (spiritual – and nonspiritual) symbolism [mental categories in Bargh’s framework of unconscious processes] is processed and filtered by a [consciousness] prism with different colors [worldviews] which then emerge.

Physiology-Filters

1.       autistic spirituality & unexplainable sensory experiences

As Dr Visuri emphasizes that out autistic spirituality tends to be expressed as unexplainable sensory experiences as well as invisible touch. It is readily apparent that unexplainable sensory experiences, which is unique to autistics, would be a result of their unique physiology - and perhaps compensatory for their well-known weakness in social skills and deficit in the “theory of mind” process or Default Mode Network which process social signals.

2.       NF Personality types and visions/dreams of the deceased

“Intuitive-feeling types are the most-rare. That’s why they often have trouble connecting with other people because they often feel judged, misunderstood, and left out…. NF’s are usually empathetic individuals who strongly dislike conflict and injustices. They typically enjoy volunteering for social justice causes and seek careers that allow them to express their values and mission to help others. Although enjoying the arts is not exclusive to NF’s, they most often take music, artwork, writing, and drama to a different level.” 

J. E. Kennedy observes: “Research studies have found that belief in paranormal phenomena is associated with the N and F personality factors (Gow, et. al., 2001; Lester, Thinschmidt, & Trautman, 1987; Murphy & Lester, 1976). In a study of a technique attempting to induce a sense of contact with someone who had died, 96% of the participants with NF personality types reported after-death contact experiences, whereas 100% of the participants with ST (sensing, thinking) personality types did not have these experiences (Arcangel, 1997).” (Personality and Motivations to Believe, Misbelieve, And Disbelieve In Paranormal Phenomena by J. E. KENNEDY (Original publication and copyright Journal of Parapsychology, 2005, Volume 69, pp.263-292))

Modern neuroscience supports William James’ observation about “attention”

The neuroscientists, Hommel (et al) state, “How is this related to attention? A few sentences after that famous phrase we quoted above, James wrote that attention “implies a withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.” interact with another stimulus is indeed accomplished, quite literally, within the approach circuit of the rostral tectum.” Hommel goes on to say, “And while these simple circuits for governing interactive behavior may seem far removed from the higher cognition of humans, they are indeed the precursors to the mechanisms that control what has been called “selective attention.” (No one knows what attention is: Bernhard Hommel et al)

John Bargh, a researcher and psychologist of the unconscious, observes that when he made a recording of stories told by his grandmother at a crowded family gathering. They were captivated by the stories and had no problems hearing them – but when he listened to the recording – “What a disappointment! Just noise, noise, noise, a million people talking at once and no way to pick out her voice from the other people talking, even though we heard her so clearly at the time. We quickly figured out that we hadn’t noticed the background noise because we had been so captivated by our grandmother’s stories. We’d filtered out what everyone else was saying. (p. 111 Before you know it)

G. Funk and Gazzanigna observe that: “Moral neuroscience is an intricate and expanding field. This review summarizes the main scientific findings obtained to date. Morality is a set of complex emotional and cognitive processes that is reflected across many brain domains. Some of them are recurrently found to be indispensable in order to emit a moral judgment, but none of them is uniquely related to morality…………Some of the emotions processed are more central to morality than others, but all emotions contribute to moral judgment given specific contextual situations. (Brain Architecture of human morality, Funk and Gazzaniga) ……. The neural circuits of brain regions implicated in morality overlap with those that regulate other behavioral processes, suggesting that there is probably no undiscovered neural substrate that uniquely supports moral cognition.” Brain Architecture of human morality, Funk and Gazzanigna Current opinion in Neurobiology 2009 19:678-681)

Carl Jung emphasized that “spirit” [spiritual processes] are autonomous unconscious processes with a capability to over-ride the ego parallel (and perhaps integrated to the ways in which conscience can over-ride the ego. The importance and role of "autonomous processes in Jung's theory was a remarkable insight reinforced by modern research.

The synthesis-integration function in processing and analyzing information is important and needs reinforcement. I should add the Funk - Gazzanigna approach is remarkably similar to the approach in analyzing musical ability and processes.

The way you look at things is the most powerful force in shaping your life. - Irish poet theologian John O’Donohue

Aristotelian Scientific Method Applied to Spirituality – Counterpoint to the materialist maxim that "All spirituality is unreal"

Aristotle’s Scientific Method

1.Gather the Facts   

2.Categorize the Data   

3. Analyze the Information   

4.Draw Conclusions   

A proper categorization of types of spirituality has not been done – here is a preliminary sketch – in context of William James Principle of “Practical Use!” That is the focus is “real world” spirituality counterpoint to the materialist maxim that "All spirituality is unreal" -

I. Spirituality of Compassion: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Perspective: 1) 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

2) “Even bacteria are more reproductively successful in the presence of others of their own species.”

Spirituality of Compassion

For perspective: 1) 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

2) “Even bacteria are more reproductively successful in the presence of others of their own species.”

1) The Oxford Handbook on Compassion observes, “Compassion for others and social support have survival value and health benefits….(p. 171) The powerful consequences of the presence or absence of others are seen as shaping forces in the evolution.

2) Estimates of volunteer [compassionate] caregivers vary from 30 tom 70 million Americans: “Approximately 43.5 million caregivers have provided unpaid care to an adult or child in the last 12 months. [National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. (2015). Caregiving in the U.S.] Of course, historically, of course, there is Mother Teresa and Dr Sweitzer

3) Sprecher and Fehr study showed a correlation between spirituality and compassion: “Those who were more religious or spiritual experienced more compassionate love than those who were less religious or spiritual.”

4) Empathy Studies indicate that empathy is genetically inherited in some circumstances: The genetic and environmental origins of emotional and cognitive empathy: Review and meta-analyses of twin studies Lior Abramsona Florina Uzefovskyb Virgilia Toccacelic Ariel Knafo-Noama

II. Musical Spirituality: “And those seen dancing were thought insane by those who could not hear the music!” - Nietzsche

“Awe is always a mixture of emotions, encompassing reverence, fear and a sublime sense of marvel and amazement. Let’s begin with music, the invisible bridge to Heaven. After George Frederic Handel) had completed the "Hallelujah Chorus", he exclaimed to his servant with tears in his eyes: "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself!" Music had opened his inner eyes for God’s glory in spite of his blindness. Since 1742, whenever Handel's Messiah is performed, the audiences automatically rise to their feet as they hear the majestic, awe-inspiring “Hallelujah Chorus”. – Dr Paul Wong

It is remarkable just how many studies of music as spirituality and as an evolutionary adaptive trait pivotal in the development of human society. Archaeologists have discovered flutes among Neanderthals – the prehuman species that was a forerunner to homo sapiens. Recent excavations in southwestern Germany uncovered flutes dating back 40,000 years – roughly the same tiem as the cave drawings in Franc and Spain.

Shulkin and Raglan observe: “The evolutionary record suggests that musical instruments were perhaps well expressed over 50,000 years ago in simple flutes and pipes (Cross, 1999; Morley, 2003) and were depicted in our art (e.g., on bison horn). What began as an extension of communication in a social context became something greater, which was enjoyed in itself. Our evolution is tightly bound to music and to the body as an instrument (e.g., clapping). Music, amongst other things, helps to facilitate social cooperative and coordinated behaviors (Brown, 2006).

“Music is a core human experience and generative processes reflect cognitive capabilities. Music is often functional because it is something that can promote human well-being by facilitating human contact, human meaning, and human imagination of possibilities, tying it to our social instincts. Music is a fundamental part of our evolution; we probably sang before we spoke in syntactically guided sentences. (The evolution of music and human social capability Jay Schulkin, Greta B. Raglan Front Neurosci. 2014; 8: 292)

III. Artistic Spirituality: I paint because the spirits whisper madly inside my head.” - El Greco

A picture is worthy a thousand words. Besides El Greco, there are hundreds and hundreds of spiritually inspired painters especially during the Renaissance: List of 10 Remarkable Religious Renaissance Paintings (https://historylists.org/art/list-of-10-remarkable-religious-renaissance-paintings.html)

Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese

The School of Athens by Raphael

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

Madonna del Prato (also known as Madonna of the Meadow) by Raphael

Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist by Bernardino Luini

Saint Zaccaria Altarpiece by Giovanni Bellini

Pesaro Madonna by Titian

The Last Judgment by Hieronymus Bosch

The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Johnston states that "A poll by George Barna at the turn of the millennium not only revealed that 20 percent of Americans turn to “media, arts and culture” as their primary means of spiritual experience and expression....." In his chapter, Art and the Spiritual in an anthology of 'Religio-Cultural Discourses,' Robert K. Johnston observed that "Surely, the expression of the human spirit through art seems to be as old as humankind itself. The complex drawings in Europe’s caves suggest a fascination with creating beauty that goes back to our prehistory.1" Perhaps because the wonder and awe of the "ideal of Beauty" has enchanted human beings for tens of thousands of years and it would seem likely that "Beauty" in the human unconscious is closely interconnected with the intrinsic symbols for the divine and the transcendent within the collective unconscious.

 Johnston goes on to talk about the experience of the 'transcendent,' which, in this sense would appear remarkably parallel to "Yugen": "Is such spirituality simply a human longing, a projection, or can it also be the occasion for an encounter with Transcendence, a numinous experience that comes from beyond us?" (p. 85) Susanne K. Langer, in her article, The Cultural Importance of the Arts, observes, "Every culture develops some kind of art as surely as it develops language. Some primitive cultures have no real mythology or religion, but all have some art - dance, song, design (sometimes only on tools or on the human body). Dance, above all, seems to be the oldest elaborated art..... Art is, indeed, the spearhead of human development, social and individual. What sort of thing is art, that it should play such a leading role in human development? It is not an intellectual pursuit, but is necessary to intellectual life; it is not religion, but grows up with religion, serves it, and in large measure determines it." 

IV. Prophecy & Poetry

Abraham Heschel (1907 – 1972), a “leading” Jewish philosopher and theologian, observed that “raptis mentis” [divine rapture] is common both to poets and prophets. 

“The prophet is like a poet who is frequently overcome by a raptus mentis [raptus conveys seized, captured, trance-like state, and ecstasy and mentis convey standing outside oneself or departure of the mind]. At times the poet is overcome unexpectantly, at other times he prepares himself for the creative moment with a pen in hand and an inkstand on his desk. With his attention concentrated on a specific content, a certain excitement enters his soul, with his thoughts and images flowing upon him.

…. The prophet is a poet. His experience is one known to poets. What poets know as poetic inspiration, the prophets call divine revelation Psychologically considered, prophetic inspiration is not materially different from furor poeticus [ the divine frenzy or poetic madness] of the master-poet or artist. The inspiration of the artist is what is meant by the hand of the Lord which rests upon the prophet.”

Half my FB friends are poets. I personally have found a high correlation between poets and spirituality of one sort or another. Gerlinde Staffler, an award-winning poetess: brief bio and views Take Gerlinde Staffler for instance, who explains,

"I'm Gerlinde Staffler, a writer from Italy, I started to write in September 2020. My poems are mostly emotional and strongly philosophic and spiritual! These aspects in me are the motivations to live the life in fullest way! Spirituality is a limitless dimension of human experience and has a special approach to life, where research and inner growth counts, extending our life to a deeper level of existence that brings balance to body, mind and soul."

Mirabai: Hindu spiritual poet-saint- The Spiritual Fire - 

I am mad with love

And no one understands my plight

Only the wounded understand

The agonies of the wounded

When the fire rages in the heart

The world has undergone thousands of technological-scientific revolutions as well as social and religious upheavals and changes, but when it comes to the passion and purpose of spiritual poets, artists, and leaders, it is still much the same as it has always been. Mirabai (c.1498–c.1546) is venerated as Saint Mirabai. Mirabai, a famous Bhakti saint, was a Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna!

There are some remarkable similarities in spiritual views and beliefs between the various different cultures throughout the world. Spiritual leaders throughout the world and widely scattered in human history have relied on poetic expression: St. Teresa of Avila, the monk Thomas Merton, St. John the Cross, Zen Masters such as Dogen, Ryoken, Huang Po, Thich Nhat Hanh, and also Chinese spiritual leaders such as Chuang Tzu, Wu Men, Wang Wei. Rumi is probably the best-known Sufi poet but other Sufi poet-seers include Ibn Arabi, and Al Hallaj. And yes, among spiritual leaders who use the creativity of poetic expression include even Pope John Paul II, and Buddha, as well as Confucius and Lao Tzu. In fact, in the Old Testament, many of the Biblical passages dealing with the works of Moses are in verse and poetic form. Since the poetic verses in the Bible are often overlooked, I felt I should Moses song for perspective:

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

1 “I will sing to the Lord,

for he is highly exalted.

Both horse and driver

he has hurled into the sea

....7 “In the greatness of your majesty

  you threw down those who opposed you.

You unleashed your burning anger;

  it consumed them like stubble.

8 By the blast of your nostrils

  the waters piled up.

The surging waters stood up like a wall;

the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.

……11 Who among the gods

  is like you, Lord?

Who is like you—

  majestic in holiness,

awesome in glory,

 working wonders?

V. Healing Spiritual-Psychic Experiences in Grieving

Easterling, et al, observe: “Conversely, experience has shown pastoral caregivers that individuals do seem to cope better if they can "actualize" their spiritual experiences in times of crisis. (Spiritual Experience, Church Attendance, and Bereavement,” Larry W. Easterling (et al),

Kate Adams, Brendan Hyde “Dreams of the deceased… are thus not uncommon during childhood …. Qualitative studies have shown that some children reflect on their dreams and find meaning in them!” (“Children’s Grief Dreams and the Theory of Spiritual Intelligence” Kate Adams, Brendan Hyde) 

Julie Parker concludes: "The findings of this study support the emerging model of grief that posits that maintaining continuing bonds with the deceased can be adaptive."

VI. T’boli Dream Weaving/T’nalak – Dreams as divine grace and guidance as well as a source of divine inspiration

"The observer creates the reality!"

"not possible" to understand quantum physics "without reference to consciousness.”

R C Henry, a renowned professor of physics and astronomy, in a 2005 essay concludes, "A fundamental conclusion of the new physics also acknowledges that the observer creates the reality. As observers, we are personally involved with the creation of our own reality. Physicists are being forced to admit that the universe is a “mental” construction."

Eugene Wigner, a theoretical physicist and mathematician, stated unequivocally stated that “It was not possible to formulate the laws of quantum mechanics in a fully consistent way without reference to consciousness.” In a sense, since the most essential characteristic of human consciousness would be “intelligence” it would stand to reason that viewing the universe and the world as embodying intelligence would only be natural (and healthy).

Or as Hildegard of Bingen (c. 1098 – 17 September 1179) known as the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess observed long ago, "We cannot live in a world that is not our own, in a world that is interpreted for us by others. An interpreted world is not a home. Part of the terror is to take back our own listening, to use our own voice, to see our own light."

That is a brilliant insight. Modern psychologists echo that in saying people tend to "personalize" meaning. Put another way, as William James observed (1902), spiritual experiences create a "sense of reality" - which is parallel to what R C Henry says "As observers, we are personally involved with the creation of our own reality!" Through art, music, and spirituality - as well as cognitive analysis people create reality. That is what spiritual processes did for tens of thousands of years - for better or worse - reality creation.

T’boli - Bla'an Dream Weaving/T’nalak – Dreams as divine grace and guidance as well as a source of divine inspiration

“The craft of weaving among the T’boli is a sacred spiritual tradition. Designs are believed to arrive from Fu Dalu, the spirit of the Abaca [material for cloth] (p.214). T’boli people are known to be one of the most creative and artistic ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines (Cudera et al., 2020). Among the different T’boli art forms, T’nalak is one of the most popular and admired around the globe.

T’nalak is a traditional hand-woven cloth indigenous to the T’boli people from the Cotabato region. It is woven in order to celebrate and pay tribute to major life events such as birth, life, marriage, or death within the community. The cloth is woven from abaca fibers and is naturally dyed from bark, roots, and certain plants. The fabric undergoes a unique tie-dye process where it is tied in specific knots measured by finger or knuckle length, and dipped in dyes in order to create ornate patterns that indicate precision in craftsmanship. This is denoted by a distinctive tri-color scheme; the background is painted black while the pattern is white, which is then tinted predominantly with shades of red. However, it is not unusual to see creative variations in such a traditional pattern......

The T’nalak reflects core themes that can be used to understand Filipino American studies, including bayanihan and damay, which are examples of strong community partnership as participant or recipient. The whole process of T’nalak weaving, from dyeing to weaving, is descended from generation to generation of maternal relatives that necessitated a community of woven fabrics and traditional plant based-dying in order to sustain the tradition of T’nalak weaving. By creating specific coloration and subsets of T’nalak, it also provides signs of Filipino cultural identity, rank, and status.......Additionally, T’nalak weaving often became a substitute for income, as bartering with it increased over the years. Local and overseas work made those who stayed at home rely on cultural ingenuity in order to sustain their family.

(The Land of the Dreamweavers - Amanda David Shiela Everett https://en.

T’nalak, a woven textile made of abaca or Manila hemp, has many traditional uses for the T’boli. The textile can be used as a dowry, as an instrument of sacrifice to cure an illness, as currency for bartering livestock and most of all the emblem of the tribe’s inspiration. The level of skill involved in creating t’nalak determines a weaver’s status and position in the village (Paterno & Oshima, 2001). Be Lang Dulay, a national artist, popularized T’nalak weaving with her over 100 different T’nalak designs. The national and international recognition and the appreciation of her art has left a legacy. Her valuable craft carries with it the T’boli identity. (p.208)

An expert at the museum in Cagayan de Oro explained that many indigenous tribes in the Philippines engage in dream weaving as well – though not all use Abaca. He also emphasized that dreams as a source of divine inspiration was not only used for dream weaving – but dream music as well I connected with some Bla’an students. Their mother observed Bla’an weaving designs are unique - and distinct from the T’boli designs. The Blaan and T'boli, at one time were one tribe that later split away. 

Conclusions: intricate and interactive interconnections of the numerous and diverse brain regions is a consistent theme in all neuroscience articles I have read.

For instance, Schulkin and Raglan observe, “Music is a core human experience and generative processes reflect cognitive capabilities. Music is often functional because it is something that can promote human well-being by facilitating human contact, human meaning, and human imagination of possibilities, tying it to our social instincts.

Cognitive systems also underlie musical performance and sensibilities. Music is one of those things that we do spontaneously, reflecting brain machinery linked to communicative functions, enlarged and diversified across a broad array of human activities. Music cuts across diverse cognitive capabilities and resources, including numeracy, language, and space perception.

In the same way, music intersects with cultural boundaries, facilitating our “social self” by linking our shared experiences and intentions. This paper focuses on the intersection between the neuroscience of music, and human social functioning to illustrate the importance of music to human behaviors. (The evolution of music and human social capability Jay Schulkin, Greta B. Raglan Front Neurosci. 2014; 8: 292. Published online 2014 Sep 17. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00292)

On a personal note I would add that having a view that dreams can be a source of [divine] inspiration gives the Bla'an and T’boli students I encountered a similar mindset to mine. I have several documented “precognitive” dreams. In my view it is very similar to dream weaving – I have a dream – and a “divine inspiration or insight” as it were. The dream weavers work with designs (integrated into a complex society) and I work with words and ideas, ideologies, stereotypes and unconscious processes. For perspective, I have been writing about the relevance and importance social consciousness since 2018, which makes the Filipino prosocial ideals and norms of kapwa-loob also similar to my way of looking at the world.

Intricate Interconnectivity

The immortal quantum physicist, Max Planck states, “All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force... We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter.”

Ruach Hakodesh

All the Prophets spoke "in the Holy Spirit"; and the most characteristic sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is the gift of prophecy, in the sense that the person upon whom it rests beholds the past and the future.

In Judaism, the Holy Spirit (Hebrew: רוח הקודש, ruach ha-kodesh) refers to the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the universe or over God's creatures, in given contexts.

Photo below: Tinalak/T'nalak Fiesta Street Parade and Street Dancing taken on South Cotabato SMRAA, Koronadal City during T'nalak Festival on July 18, 2009.The Colors of T'nalak by Louie D. Photography - 3763039917.jpg – Wikimedia

VII. Arctic Hunter Gatherers: “Human relationships with the natural world”

In many different ways spiritual and religious beliefs has become entangled in modern academic abstractions – number one being the stereotype that “All spirituality is unreal” – primarily because western academics are fixated with the “supernatural” according to Welsh Nobel prize winning scientist Brain Josephson – as opposed to fruitfulness. I might briefly mention the beliefs in nature as force of hunter-gatherers is consist with Mannheim’s “law” that the economic-political reality shaped social views.

Erica Hill highlights the relatively detailed procedures and protocols that structured the “human relationships with the natural world!” and details some of precise ways and protocols which specifically determined some relationships. Erica Hill observes that the “Relations with these persons involved sets of rules and expectations and were predicated upon mutual respect, just as one’s relations with human kin were. Breaches of conduct, misunderstandings and bad manners had negative social implications, just as they did in interactions with one’s affines, cousins or trading partners.”

As Erica Hill observed in her article, "Animals as Agents: Hunting Ritual and Relational Ontologies in Prehistoric Alaska and Chukotka", the spiritual beliefs in animals permeated everyday behavior of ordinary people as well as pretty much the entire social structure of society. Erica Hill details numerous rituals and particular ways of thinking of animals as "agents" by ordinary people in everyday life as well as by shamans. The spiritual beliefs in animal spirts provided an extensive structure and support for the hunting activity vital to the survival of hunter-gatherers. So, it is crystal clear that the spiritual beliefs in animal spirts played a role in hunter gatherer society and performed a function (in contrast to the Academic Materialist Doctrine that all spirituality is "superstitious nonsense”)

The T’boli had similar views. “Fu, the spirit of the land, has a dual character. At times benevolent, that Fu would help people especially farmers by blessing them with bountiful harvests or healing the sick member of a family, malevolent, in other times, that Fu causes illness and destroys crops. Understanding on the duality of the spirit’s characteristics gives each T’boli reverence to the environment that extends to the different elements that communes with it. In fact, trees, animals, and water are not considered as mere elements but other spiritual [living] entities.

This belief system guides them to commune with nature and all entities that co-exist from it. From this belief, they anchor their respect and regard to all things that exist. They conserve, protect, and manage their natural resources like how they treat their relationship to each other. They build and strengthens their relationship with the spirits by taking care of its manifestations, the things that exists, the physical world” [p.202 - Dancing With the Dreamweavers: A Narrative Discourse of the T'bolis of the Southern Philippines January 2021 Emmanuel Villoria Hernani, Ma Rosita Ampoyas Hernani, Delmo Amfan Dulay)

Among Native American cultures, there appears to have been a nearly universal acceptance of the concept of “spirit-life-force” intrinsic to the world, nature and people, pervasive in the Native American culture. For instance, the Sioux embraced the concept of wakd or mahopa; the Algonquin, the idea of manitowi; the Mahopa Shoshone used the word pukunt. Across the Iroquois tribes, the concept was referred to variously as orenna or karenna by the Mohawk, Cayuga, and Oneida, urente by the Tuscarora, and iarenda or orenda by the Huron. Orenda (or orenna) is an Iroquois name for a spiritual power intrinsic to people and the world. The world and nature were viewed as an eternal struggle of one orenda against others. The role of orenda was viewed in ways similar to the Judeo-Christian tradition (as well as Islamic) in which the Holy spirit was the source and force for prophecy, divination, miracles, blessing, prayer, and worship.

VIII. Dr. Ingela Visuri: Spirituality and "The Case of High functioning Autism"

In Ingela Visuri's study of autistic spiritual experiences (Visuri, I. (2019). Sensory supernatural experiences in autism. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 10(2): 151-165.), what struck me is the very distinct character of the autistics' experiences. In Ingela Visuri's words, autistic experiences tend to be characteristically "unexplainable sensory experiences" - invisible touch, invisible presence (i.e., bodies), and even imaginary friends. It would stand to reason that since this peculiar type of spirituality appears peculiar to autistics it would seem to be generated or stimulated in turn by the peculiar way "autistic brains" process information which are well known to have a deficit in Theory of Mind processing {ability to make inferences and judge others' intentions) and so would likely be an influence or cause of this peculiar type of spiritual experiences. The question – in light of William James “practical use” principle would be – are these experiences and phenomena an expression of a physiological compensatory effect. 

Visuri, I. (2019). Sensory supernatural experiences in autism. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 10(2): 151-165.

Up close and personal: The Fear Factor

Up Close and Personal

There is more chaff than wheat when it comes spirituality - more [maladaptive] stereotypes than facts or evidence. Many seem to have a stereotype of spiritual enlightenment in terms of people running off to the airport singing, dancing, and chanting Hari Krishna (which today isn't all that bad of an idea). J. E. Kennedy points out that “45% of people in one particular study reported an initial reaction of fear to their spiritual-psychic experiences.” Fear of the unknown is a well-known factor in the human mind. 

History also testifies to the trauma involved in transcendental spiritual experiences

Karen Armstrong: Isaiah’s vision and “Otherness”

It is strange how the original meanings - perhaps what some might consider the “true” meanings - of words often gets lost or transformed-evolved. The original meaning of Kadosh means “otherness” – involving a radical separation.

Isaiah intense vision of Yahweh in a visit to the Temples is legendary. Isaiah saw Yahweh sitting on the throne in heaven which was positioned directly above the Temple. Karen Armstrong explains that in Isaiah Yahweh was “attended by two seraphs, who covered their faces with their wigs lest they look upon his face. They cried out to one another antiphonally: “Holy! Holy! Holy is Yahweh Sabaoth. His glory fills the earth.” At the sound of their voices, the whole Temple seemed to shake and was filled with smoke, enveloping Yahweh in an impenetrable cloud similar to the cloud and smoke that had hidden him from Moses on Mount Sinai.” Karen Armstrong A History of God chapter One God p. 40-41

“An encounter with the holiness of God is always a traumatic experience. The Scriptures record events when men were allowed to see something of the holiness of God…… In the early chapters of the Institutes of the Christian Religion, written by John Calvin, he makes a statement that goes something like this: “Hence that dread and terror by which holy men of old trembled before God, as Scripture uniformly relates.” What Calvin was saying is that there is a pattern to human responses to the presence of God in the Scripture. And it seems that the more righteous the person is described, the more he trembles when he enters the immediate presence of God.”

Point of order.

“There is nothing cavalier or casual about the response of Habakkuk when he meets the holy God. Do you remember Habakkuk’s complaint, where he saw all of the degradation and injustices that were sweeping across the landscape in his homeland? He was so offended by this that he went up into his watchtower, and he complained against God and said: “God, you are so holy that you can’t even behold iniquity. How can you stand by and let all of these things come to pass?” (cf. Hab. 1:13). He said, “I’m going to sit up here, and I’m going to wait until God answers my question.” And you remember what happened. When God appeared to Habakkuk, he said, “My lips quivered, my body trembled, and rottenness entered into my bones” (Hab. 3:16). For comparison Jeremiah used the word “watching” when speaking about God.” To my knowledge Jeremiah never stated that God actually intervened.

The Fear Factor: Although 45% of the respondents indicated that a paranormal experience had made them very afraid, this fear appeared to be temporary or mixed with positive feeling because only 9% indicated that their experiences have been scary with no positive value. Further research should investigate the extent to which the findings for this selected sample apply to other populations and the extent to which motivations relating to spirituality direct or underlie the occurrence of paranormal phenomena, including in experimental settings.

Up Close and Personal Rebecca: "fractured by this weighted sight" – Rebecca, who was very private about her experiences, as many are, spoke about the essence of spiritual-experiences in a poem about her personal experiences and how she views them.

Point of order: “Very little research has been aimed at investigating the overall effects of paranormal experiences”

Preface: A recent review of "numerous" studies of people who have spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences by Park and Paloutzian reveal that somewhere between one third to one half of people have spiritual-psychic experiences - of every type and variety imaginable - though hardly any talk about them. Study after study clearly indicate that – in this open-minded society based on Judeo-Christian beliefs which “value” spirituality – people who have spiritual experiences literally fear retaliation if they speak openly about their spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences [for good reason I must add]. Park and Paloutzian go on to say that the studies definitely "establish the normalcy of such reports and that social scientists have until recently ignored a common-phenomena." (p. 67)

Rebecca: "fractured by this weighted sight"

Rebecca, who was very private about her experiences, as many are, spoke about the essence of spiritual-experiences in a poem about her personal experiences and how she views them.Rebecca’s poem is truly eloquent and very succinct. The pivotal issue is as Rebecca explains - her experiences put her in a position in which she is forced to choose: "I must believe or not believe" Yes, spiritual experiences ask Hamlet's soliloquy expresses the ultimate dilemma of life: "To Be or Not To Be; That is The Question!" Rebecca’s poem also reflects Viktor Frankl’s insight that “It is life itself that asks questions of man…It is not up to man to question; rather, he should recognize that he is questioned, questioned by life; he has only to respond by being responsible; and he can answer to life only by answering for his life.” (p. 62)

Rebecca's Poem: "I must believe or not believe"

The gift and curse of this sight

Colors my world in shades of blue

I must believe or not believe

Stay blind or walk the path to you

And while I surrender to the mystery

All the feelings come along too

I get fractured by this weighted sight

This is a common theme of several spiritual people I have spoken with who have been confronted by an intense experience - I must believe or not believe! The experiences are questions that demand answers. Spiritual people with intense experiences often have some common shared characteristics.

Point of order: An evolutionary adaptive trait?

One of the observations from my own experiences as well as others is that as in Nora’s words: “The significance this had on my life after I remembered this experience has made me a seeker of higher consciousness.” It is nearly a universal among people who have spiritual experiences is that spirituality is a motivation for them. Furthermore, a common thread would also seem to be that experiences make people question – to seek. Since a number of my own personal experiences – such as 9/11 involve horrific political events and death, my view of God would be parallel to Jeremiah’s view, so I am a bit cynical. When people talk about how wonderful transcendental information is - that makes me shudder. So, from a certain perspective spiritual experiences could possibly have the aspect of being God’s way of kicking people in the butt.

The Fear Factor: Flynn’s Story 

As J.E. Kennedy observes, large numbers of people have an initial fear reaction. The more intense the experiences are the more the experiences seem to activate anxieties and fear. Flynn's story: “I am 55 years old with 5 children 8 grand daughters and have been through an immense amount of pain and trauma in my life more than most yet I still love all. I found it difficult to handle my main experience and struggled for a long time, but finally once I got a 'structure' worked out I keep my balance pretty well.”

My mother was murdered when I was 9 so I believe that has a significant bearing on things yet she also taught me how to strengthen my mind using cards and guessing what they were from a very early age and she was an extreme humanist feminist kind person……. I have had several instances in my life of it [spiritual-psychic experiences] - from my mother’s murder to girlfriend leaving me to accidents going to happen to asking god creator for direction and sign and getting it immediately; none of it make too much sense to me and I don’t understand why it happens to me so frequently!”

Part  : Personal Perspective:“I believe that we can 'sense' the future. We just haven't yet established the mechanism allowing it to happen!”  - Welsh Nobel Prize Winner Brian Josephson

As Jean MacPhail, author and scholar, states, my personal spiritual-psychic experiences are unique – in part because they are correlated with external political events, in part because they have consistent and reasonable interpretations as “perceptions of threats to the group,” similar to the alarm calls of animals  – which dovetails into Daryl Bem’s repeated successful experiments (involving over 10,000 subjects) which demonstrate instincts are a significant factor in precognition. Dr Paul Wong, an author, researcher, and well-known psychologist did tell me that my spiritual psychic experiences after an initial difficult time, would play in my favor. I am not holding my breath. Dr Stephen Farra, a psychologist Emeritus, recommends several of my essays – one of which was my essay on Childhood spirituality.

My experiences as “alarm calls” are also consistent with Daryl Bem’s successful repeated experiments on precognition. In 2016, an article about a meta-analysis of Daryl Bem (et al) very successful precognitive experiments states that "When Bem’s own experiments are included, the complete database comprises 90 experiments from 33 different laboratories located in 14 different countries. A total of 12,406 individuals participated in these experiments." The article goes on to say that the results showed that the experimental design focused on sex [instinctual] was by far outperformed the other designs. (A Summary of “Feeling the Future: A Meta-analysis of 90 Experiments on the Anomalous Anticipation of Random Future Events by Bem, Tressoldi, Rabeyron & Dugga)

“The tragic events of 9/11 brought a flurry of cases to the attention of parapsychology labs. The cases ranged from dramatic dreams of airplanes crashing or exploding to the more frequent examples of unusual departures from normal routines that ended up saving someone’s life.” Encounters at the Frontiers of Time: Questions Raised by Anomalous Human Experiences Richard S. Broughton

Abbreviated summation of forty years of personal spiritual-psychic experiences - as expressions and manifestations of the Holy Spirit 

In 40 years there might be as many as two dozen striking experiences or dreams. Let me start with dreams. Here are six dream, most documented by emails - all with consistent and reasonable interpretations:

(1) a dream centered on Pakistan and nuclear war – a month later India launched an attack against Islamic Jihadists in 

(2) A Hybrid Dream-Perception: Precognitive "Tag" (a central action with one or two details) of the "incel" terrorist in Canada in late April, 2018.

(3) Dream about Libya (2-26-2019), A month later the U.S. forces left Libya

(4) Synchronicity with Muslim lone terrorist attack in Strasburg, France attack - dream (9-19-20)

(5) Dudayev (Chechen leader) Dream – dream had several details matching the death of Dudayev the Chechen leader

(6) Fredericksburg bomb (civilian) Several details of a dream matched the death of a woman by a bomb

An illustration to help present a “picture” of a dream-perception. Dream “foretelling” the 'Pakistan-India International conflict after an Indian air raid on an Islamic Jihad group in Pakistan 

The Dream of 'Pakistan and 'Nuclear War' from 1-18-2019 deserves some special attention, and there is some new “news” about that situation in an article by former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. The email (of 1-22-2019) said “In the past few months for some reason, I have had several dreams about foreign countries which seemed a bit precognitive. In a rather strange dream from the night of 1-18-2019 to 1-20-2019 (which I emailed to k.... on 1-22) I had a somewhat vivid dream about Pakistan in which 'nuclear war was an aspect.

Of course, one can’t take dreams literally. On top of that spiritual experiences and particularly dreams do have symbolic aspect to them. That particular dream was different and a bit strange because it "dualistic" or "split world" characteristic. In the dream, I was in the U.S. with my son, yet – in the dream - simultaneously in Pakistan at the same time. That in itself is interesting since I have two spiritual “Indian friends” and I have no salient connections in Pakistan – but in the dream I was viewing from the Pakistan side so to speak   

Recently I came across this update posted “Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed that he was awakened to speak to his then Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj who told him that Pakistan was preparing for a nuclear attack in the wake of the Balakot surgical strike in February 2019 [Indian airstrike on a Pakistani target was in retaliation for a Islamic Jihad attack on Hindus in India] and India is preparing its own escalatory response. "How Close...": Ex US Secretary Of State On India-Pak Nuke Threat After Balakot. In his book "Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love", Mike Pompeo says the incident took place when he was in Hanoi for the US-North Korea Summit on February 27-28, 2019 NDTV 1-24-23

Reflections and Commentary

Of course, dreams cannot be taken literally and it needs to be emphasized that and I can state categorically that in forty years I have never perceived the “absolute truth” as it were. In fact, the experiences I have had seem clearly to reflect the “visibility” factor as it were. 9/11 was the most striking event as far as perception goes – and there were a large number of people who had documented premonitions. My most detailed perceptions were the most “politically” perceptible as well.

Reflections and Important Questions: Creating Reality:

“As observers, we are personally involved with the creation of our own reality. The hypothetical question would be does “telepathy” create a consciousness-observer effect as it were? – A wild but intriguing question – does “spirit” just by being and connecting affect reality.”

R C Henry, a renowned professor of physics and astronomy, in a 2005 essay concludes, "A fundamental conclusion of the new physics also acknowledges that the observer creates the reality. As observers, we are personally involved with the creation of our own reality. Physicists are being forced to admit that the universe is a “mental” construction."

Eugene Wigner, a theoretical physicist and mathematician, stated unequivocally stated that “It was not possible to formulate the laws of quantum mechanics in a fully consistent way without reference to consciousness.” In a sense, since the most essential characteristic of human consciousness would be “intelligence” it would stand to reason that viewing the universe and the world as embodying intelligence would only be natural (and healthy).

From a historical perspective – especially in light of Mannheim, Nietzsche, and Gasset – viewing reality as a static entity that is – and can be analyzed as a static “reality” – without even considering quantum physics, would appear rather unrealistic. “Reality” – at least up to the contemporary rigid inflexibility of materialist fixation with quantification - is a human creation that adopts and adjust over time. 

In spite of the fact that historically, my experiences are “unique” as Jean MacPhail observed – as from my research comparatively very detail and very consistent, in 40 years not one said a single word when I presented my experiences – which I always did. It is well known that ostracism causes psychological and even physiological damage. In 40 years, I did not have an intelligent conversation with any of my “therapists” – “Ignoring” is a well-known technique in conditioning. My view is that the “professionals” I personally encountered were deliberately and intentionally conditioning and gaslighting.

Actually, “Cyberball” experiments demonstrate that social perception and perception of social exclusion operate independently of “intentionality” as it were. A study of a video Cyberball game in which na human subject “played” ball with tow cyber players showed that when the human subject was excluded from playing ball they got upset – in spite of the fact that that the subjects knew the other two players were computer generated.     

Dreams can be a source of divine insight and inspiration.

My dreams are really not all that different from the dreams of dream weavers in indigenous Filipino culture, - whose dreams give them insights and innovative creative designs for weaving t’nalak. An expert at the museum at Cagayan de Oro explained that dream weaving – the belief that dreams can be a source of divine insight – inspiration is pervasive in indigenous tribes throughout the Philippines. “The craft of weaving among the T’boli is a sacred spiritual tradition. Designs are believed to arrive from Fu Dalu, the spirit of the Abaca [material for cloth] (p.214), Be Lang Dulay, is a world-famous dream-weaver - artist. She “popularized T’nalak weaving with her over 100 different T’nalak designs.” (p. 208) As William James and modern neuroscientists explain, people “filter” information and focus their attention differently. As Corinthians emphasizes - different people have different spiritual gifts. (T’Nalak: The Land of the Dreamweavers - Amanda David Shiela Everett https://uw.pressbooks.pub/.../tnalak-the-land-of-the.../) Even the briefest glance at the T’nalak festival photo reveals that dream weaving is not about cloth or clothing, dream weaving is about community and spiritual identity. 

A t’nalak festival by Louie D Photography - wikimedia

Many spiritual leaders emphasize that – in its most basic sense – spirituality is an awareness, an orientation, and a mindset. Having a similar mindset likely helps me in connecting with my Bla’an, T’boli-Ubo, and Ilongga connections-friends. A woman whose mother is Ilongga mentioned her mother at times interprets her dreams as foretelling the future.

Part. A Spirituality Primer: Spirituality as Social-Relational Self and Spiritual Intelligence

Throughout the history of humanity SPIRITUALTIY HAS BEEN PIVOTAL IN HUMAN SOCIETY AND HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS. There is no real reason to expect anything different in modern times - though seemingly primarily unconscious. In spite of the modern academic materialist ideology which is horribly repressive of spirituality especially transcendental spirituality, studies consistently demonstrate that somewhere between 1/3 to half of people have spiritual or spiritual-psychic experiences of one kind of another – though totally ignored by mainstream psychology. Furthermore, as Carole Cusack observes -through fandom studies – there has been a “democratization” of spirituality and spiritual beliefs.

“Spirituality is a natural human predisposition!”….It is more primal than institutional religion and concerns a person’s sense of connectedness with self, others, and the world (or cosmos)!” - (Children’s Grief Dreams and the Theory of Spiritual Intelligence, by Kate Adams Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln Brendan Hyde Australian Catholic University) As Karen Armstrong noted in The Case for God, the first evidence for human ideologies can be found in the prehistoric cave paintings of “shamans” in the French and Spanish caves dating as far back as twenty or thirty thousand years.

‘Spirituality’ “is more primal than institutional religion”

“It [spirituality] is more primal than institutional religion” – that is Fact. Nicholas J Conrad, et all state that “Here we report the discovery of bone and ivory flutes from the early Aurignacian period of southwestern Germany. These finds demonstrate the presence of a well-established musical tradition at the time when modern humans colonized Europe, more than 35,000 calendar years ago. Other than the caves of the Swabian Jura, the earliest secure archaeological evidence for music comes from sites in France and Austria and post-date 30,000 years ago6–8 (New flutes document the earliest musical tradition in southwestern Germany Nicholas J Conard , Maria Malina, Susanne C Münzel) That is - very roughly - about the same time cave paintings appeared in France and Spain. Cave paintings in Indonesia appeared a decade or so before the cave paintings in France and Spain.

The Social & Spiritual Self: Relational Spirituality

David Hay, researcher and theologian observed: “‘Relational consciousness’ caught us by surprise, because we had some notion of spirituality as a solitary affair, something very private. What impressed us very strongly was how ‘relational consciousness’ not only seems to be closely related to, if not identical to spiritual awareness; it also underlies the ethical impulse. In our research we always ask people to tell us in what way their spiritual experience has affected their lives. By far the commonest of all answers is that they say they want to behave better. One way of putting this is to say that the ‘psychological distance’ between themselves and other people, the environment and (if they are religious believers) God, becomes much shorter. If someone else, or the environment, is harmed they feel that they too are damaged in some way.

That great Scottish philosopher John Macmurray (1961), had already enunciated something similar in his Gifford Lectures in Glasgow University in 1954: ……the unit of personal existence is not the individual, but two persons in personal relation; and that we are persons not by individual right, but in virtue of our relation to one another….. The unit of the personal is not the ‘I’ but the ‘You and I’.” I.     (THE SPIRITUALITY OF ADULTS IN BRITAIN – RECENT RESEARCH David Hay)

The “Social Self” and Spiritual Intelligence

Music is a fundamental part of our evolution – and functional because it facilitates “human contact” and out “social self”

“Modern humans can be differentiated in the archaeological record from our predecessors and our sibling species (such as Neanderthals) by an immense leap in cognitive flexibility and by a capacity to enter into and sustain a wide range of social relationships and interactions (Mithen, 1996). It seems likely that proto-musical capacities and their cultural particularisations as musics were crucial factors in precipitating and sustaining the social and cognitive versatility that mark modern humans (Cross, 1999). In effect, musicality can be interpreted as complementing language in human evolution, filling in the 'gaps' in language function through its combination of embodiment, entrainment, and transposability of intentionality. (p. 5 – 6) (Music and evolution Ian Cross)

Music is a core human experience and generative processes reflect cognitive capabilities. Music is often functional because it is something that can promote human well-being by facilitating human contact, human meaning, and human imagination of possibilities, tying it to our social instincts. Music is a fundamental part of our evolution – and functional because it facilitates “human contact” and out “social self” (The evolution of music and human social capability Jay Schulkin, Greta B. Raglan Front Neurosci. 2014; 8: 292. Published online 2014 Sep 17. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00292)

Spiritual Idealism: Social and Moral Order

1.        In The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, first published in 1912

Emile Durkheim, a founding father of sociology, stated that "A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, i.e., things set apart and forbidden—beliefs and practices which unite in one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them.

2.        In sum, one social and moral order encompasses the living, the dead, the deities and the spirits , and the total environment.

Indeed, the whole Ifugao social order, including practical ways of life, social institutions and rules, morality and everything else, constitutes a unitary system; and it is looked upon as a religious phenomenon of supernatural origin. Describing an example of this primitive Filipino world-view, an anthropologist says,. . . They see in the environment countless deities and potentially malign spirits, and interact with them daily. When a huge tree crashes on a person who is making a clearing, it is seen as the act of an angry spirit. In treating the environment as social, the people are provided with an ordered explanation of 'natural' phenomena. In sum, one social and moral order encompasses the living, the dead, the deities and the spirits , and the total environment.) Religious Experience in the Philippines: From Mythos Through Logos to Kairos RAMON C. REYES)

Commentary: Durkheim argued that religion was the most fundamental social institution of humankind, and further, that religion gave birth to social-religious beliefs that later became integrated into the social structure. Durkheim felt that social interaction was the pivotal factor of forming society and that religious beliefs are a major influence on social interactions - and thus essential to the formation of 'society.' The fact that religions have consistently advocated ideals such as compassion, justice, righteousness, as well as truth (being cynical, I should add - at least among their own members), would seem to lend strong support to Durkheim's arguments. That is, the synergies between social factors and religious influences, which emerged simultaneously in primitive societies, produced a collective consciousness - a social-religious community as it were.

Modern Sociological Evidence that Unconscious Spiritual Symbolism may, in fact, may be a significant influence to the social and moral foundation of society.

Catherine Hall in her study and analysis of Harry Potter fans and fandom observes: Wizard rock, often stylized in written form as ‘wrock’, creatively engages with and augments the content world of Harry Potter through musically and lyrically diverse performances. Fan studies centred on Harry Potter have often discussed the application of fictional heroism to real-world issues, and wizard rock musicians are frequently cited as fandom activists.

Similar to their heroes in the books, these musicians imbue their music and their self images with the series’ morals, historical tropes and archetypes. They make this morality tangible by donating proceeds of compilation albums or music subscription series sales to nonprofit organizations, and by weaving these messages into their music. I argue that the wizard rock community’s application of fictional heroism through music, lyrics and performance encourages fellow Harry Potter fans to embrace heroic qualities in the real world. (CATHERINE HALL ‘Reading and [w]rocking’: Morality and musical creativity in the Harry Potter fandom)

Conclusion: Unconscious Spiritual Symbolism is connected with ideals and prosocial values

Part V. Critique of Materialism: The Importance of Categorization in Scientific Method & Questions about Scientific Methodology: While fundamentals can be boring, fundamentals are also important. Categorization is critical in scientific method   

Science without meaning:

Albert Einstein "It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure.

I believe what Tolstoy was referring to Hume and Einstein’s observation that right and wrong – the Ought vs the is (Hume) is outside the scope of scientific inquiry!                             

A. Aristotle’s Scientific Method: Categorization of Spiritual Types

1. Gather the Facts

2. Categorize the Data

3. Analyze the Information

4. Draw Conclusions

B. Real World Context

Muzafer Sherif, a founding father of social psychology, critiques the methods of social psychology. “Sherif promotes the idea of attitude and attitude change due to its importance in a quickly changing world. He emphasizes that real world contexts are important, even if regarded as "messy" compared to controlled lab experiments.” (Wikipedia)

1, An illustration of the problem of real world context

Kay Deaux, a prominent social psychologist, highlights the significance and importance of emotions especially in understanding many social, political or group related behaviors. However, Kay Deaux, in her analysis of group related studies and theories, observed that social psychologists’ fixation with laboratory experiments “precluded” “affective displays.” Kay Deux goes on to emphasize that “In contrast, natural groups, whether family, fraternity, or nation, are often the arena for intense displays of emotion and strong affective ties.” (p. 794 Social Psychology Handbook of Basic Principles edited by E. Tory Higgins and Arie W. Kruglanski)

RUPERT BROWN - real world context 2008

“Finally, let me end on a cautious note. Earlier I noted that one of the major challenges for SIT remains to provide a better understanding of the affective aspects of intergroup behaviour particularly when these assume hostile or destructive forms. It would be idle to pretend that we are much closer to making that link than we were in 1984 when, in his last "posthumous# contribution, Tajfel made exactly the same plea: Tajfel made exactly the same plea:

"The point of departure in the study of collective behaviour must be an adequate theoretical approach to the social psychological issues of intergroup relations." [Tajfel goes on to say] None of this can be properly understood without considering another set of complex interactions – the interplay between the creation or dissemination of social myths and the processes of social influence as they operate in the setting` of intergroup relations and group affiliations " (Tajfel, 1984, p. 713) (RUPERT BROWN - Department of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, U Social Identity Theory: past achievements, current problems and future challenges)

2. Muzafer Sherif: “A psychological construct—if it is to prove valid and adequate—must be as valid and adequate in handling the stuff of ordinary human affairs as in... [a] laboratory experiment.” (Vol. 52, No. 6 November, 1945 The Psychological Review, M Sherif & H Cantril}.

3. An illustration would be Allport's Fallacy "There is no psychology of groups" w/ no real world context. An obvious refutation is patriotism - nationalism - clearly a "psychology of groups"

4. The only "real world context" for spirituality is "people". It is shocking as Kennedy reports “Very little research has been aimed at investigating the overall effects of paranormal experiences.” - J. E. Kennedy (An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Paranormal and Spiritual Experiences.... J.E. Kennedy & H. Kanthamani: The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1995,)

5. Peopleless "categorization" in chapter "Mystical, Spiritual, and Religious Experiences” in R F. Paloutzian & C L. Park’s Handbook of The Psychology Of Religion And Spirituality. A synopsis is a short list of APA “anomalous experiences" – "hallucinations, near death, past life, mystical, and paranormal experiences!" But, here is nothing about “people” who have experiences.

“When logic and proportion Have fallen sloppy dead And the White Knight is talking backwards” (Jefferson Airplane 1960’s White rabbit song),

The Materialist Maxim: All spirituality is unreal!

The psychologists, William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, state “A philosophical basis for this perspective is materialism, the belief that there is nothing to study because spirituality is intangible and beyond the senses.” Wikipedia states that the Definist Fallacy is a fallacy because it uses “loaded terms!” One source cited an example of a Definist fallacy would be the statement that the contenders’ arguments are proclaimed to be “crackpot theories” – leaving no room for intelligent discussion. A version of the materialist maxim that “All spirituality is unreal!” that I encounter often is that one need to “Prove God” before one can have valid spiritual beliefs. When I first encountered that argument (and it appears not uncommon), I was like – “Prove God???Are you crazy?” (William R. Miller and Carl E. Thoresen, “Spirituality, religion and health: an emerging field of research”)

Death is Figment of Your Imagination: Wrong Thinking

Not long ago, I happened to be talking to a Filipina college graduate at a street restaurant in General Santos. I went over the materialist argument as explained by Miller & Thompson in the NIH article – that spirituality is unreal and nonexistent because you can’t measure it. I was a bit surprised when she emphatically agreed with the argument that spirituality is unreal - and nonexistent - because you can’t measure it.

I asked her to consider - briefly - “one question” - relative to the specific quantification issue - and think over the concept of “death” for a minute. Death, of course, is far beyond measurement or quantification. So then, if you follow the reasoning and logic of the materialist argument that inability to measure equates to nonexistence and unreal - then “Death would then be a figment of her imagination and “superstitious nonsense.”

I felt good that the Filipina college student did concede that the materialist argument – which is a fallacy - had indeed skewed her thinking. That was a major success for me, in a way. John Bargh observes that most people resist admitting that any unconscious factors could influence their thinking - without their knowledge - though as Bargh demonstrates, happens all the time.

What is disconcerting is that this apparently “trivial” mistake in thinking – in the general population has generated a widespread confusion that “All spirituality is unreal.”

What is disturbing is that I have yet to meet an undergraduate college graduate who has any education or training in “people” who have spiritual experiences. Yet they often will make some incredibly stupid remarks such as “All spiritual experiences” are “mental illness” or from one dirtbag academic “All spirituality is about Giant Cosmic Parrots” – which, is what – through unconscious maladaptive stereotypes is what universities are teaching. And that psychiatric norm is blatantly false.

The Maladaptive Stereotype “All Spirituality is Unreal is wrong on several levels. Besides being a sick fallacy-maladaptive stereotype that generates “wrong thinking” to use Justice Rehnquist’s terminology, another level would be that there are a large number of studies demonstrating “real world context-evidence”

Two studies demonstrating real world spirituality and the correlation of spirituality with compassion.

1. “The Social Significance of Spirituality: we established the link between spirituality & higher compassion. Spirituality was especially associated with having a spiritual identity, having had transcendent experiences, and tending to pray……. more spiritual participants were more likely to tend to feel compassion, p.208) … to have had transcendent experiences…, and religious individuals are more likely to read religious holy books and to believe in a more fundamentalist form of religion (p.214)

2. “Compassionate love for close others and humanity. Sprecher and Fehr: “Those who were more religious or spiritual experienced more compassionate love than those who were less religious or spiritual.”

Frankl’s Disconnect & Sherif’s “Self-Contained Sand Castles”

The creator of logotherapy-psychoanalyst, Viktor Frankl (1905 – 1997) observed, “The pictures by which the individual sciences depict reality have become so disparate, so different from each other, that it has become more and more difficult to obtain a fusion of the different pictures.” (p. 7 will) Muzafer Sherif, considered a ‘father of social psychology’ was even more critical of that destructive problem in psychology and labeled the different schools of thought “self-contained sand castles.” Minimally there are 46 schools of thought in psychology

While there are schools of thought in the social sciences that address spiritual and religious beliefs such as existential-positive psychology, logotherapy (Frankl – taught outside mainstream universities, Jungian psychology (also taught in schools outside mainstream universities) as well as pastoral schools, and so on. “The main schools of psychology are structuralism, functionalism, Gestalt, behaviorism, psychoanalysis, humanism, and cognitivism.” While many “psychologists today have an eclectic background, “spirituality” in most of these schools of thought in psychology would likely be nonexistent or “marginalized” at best. (https://www.verywellmind.com/psychology-schools-of-thought-2795247)

X. Academic Materialism Methodology Problems, W. James Pragmatism, & Mannheim’s Paradox

Academic Materialism with “rigid adherence to quantification as sterile rationalism and a pervasive researcher bias

 “It is only a narrow passage of truth that passes between the Scylla of a blue fog of mysticism and the Charybdis of a sterile rationalism. This will always be full of pitfalls and one can fall down on both sides.” Wolfgang Pauli 

As Claudia Nielsen pointed out, the psychiatrist McGilChrist astutely observed that “The scope of inquiry and understanding of the Materialist Doctrine with its rigid adherence to the actually arbitrary principle of quantification and over-emphasis on physiological characteristics is severely restricted and limited in the analyses that can be performed.”

How a methodology centered on the “rigid adherence to quantification” – which is appropriate to physics, chemistry or biology - got applied to human consciousness is mindboggling. Half of human consciousness is not quantifiable: hope, art, creativity music, poetry, true love, awe-wonder, idealism and the ideals of freedom, fairness and justice. And, of course, death is beyond and outside quantification. If the materialist quantification principle were followed strictly, human beings would be left with the intelligence of a rat.

And it is true, as Buddha stated unequivocally, “We become what we think” – and modern science has proved that psychologies do have a self-fulfilling characteristic in many circumstances. An objective close review of social sciences reveals a minimal research bias – in my view. For instance, Allport’s “There is no psychology of groups – easily refuted by the historical reality of patriotism [a blatant psychology of groups]. A second example would be the absence of a proper categorization of types of “people” based spirituality – a clear result of bias and prejudice. Then there is the pervasive maladaptive stereotype “All spirituality is unreal” 

William James and pragmatism

In 1870, William James and Charles Sanders Pierce founded the school of American Pragmatism (Hookway, 2008).

Pragmatism is rooted in the idea that philosophical topics, such as knowledge, language, meaning, belief, and science, are best understood in terms of their practical use.

James classifies philosophers according to their temperaments, distinguishing between tough-minded – those who are empirical, materialistic, pessimistic, irreligious, and skeptical – and tender-minded – those who are rationalistic, intellectualistic, optimistic, religious, and assertive (Goodman, 2009; James, 1907).

The role of the pragmatist is to serve as a mediator between these two extremes.

“Pragmatism asks its usual question. “Grant an idea or belief to be true, it says, what concrete difference will its being true make in anyone’s actual life? How will the truth be realized? What experiences will be different from those which would obtain if the belief were false? What, in short, is the truth’s cash-value in experiential terms”? (James & Perry, 1943, p. 97).

(https://www.simplypsychology.org/william-james.html)

With the rise of materialism-and quantification - lol - pragmatism is no longer practical.

Mannheim’s Paradox

Psychology-Psychiatry are Ideologies, not Science

Arthur Mullins describes-defines the Mannheim paradox: "Nevertheless, with these few exceptions, Mannheim holds that historical and political thought is determined by the socio-historical position of the thinker and the political aspirations and material ambitions of the group or of the groups to which it belongs. Such thinking is intrinsically value-laden, one-sided, distorted and therefore false. In short, all systems of historical-social-political thought are ideologies. (p. 143 Truth and Ideology: Reflections on Mannheim's Paradox by Willard A. Mullins, History and Theory, Vol. 18, No. 2 (May, 1979), pp. 141-154)

Christina Maimone observes: “Ideology is, as Mannheim uses the term, a mode of thinking that obscures the real condition of society from the group that holds the thought, thereby stabilizing the shared social reality of the mode of thinking. Groups are simply incapable of seeing particular facts that would undermine their worldview, that would show that their collective perception of the social situation is a misapplication of thought to experience. Ideology is most strongly associated with groups that occupy a dominant position in society. Their ideology serves to secure their place in the social order, although the development of their way of thinking has not been consciously controlled in this direction.

As long as one is aware of the relationships that determine meaning and shape how knowledge is situated within the structure of social thought, social science can be a meaningful enterprise that manages to produce knowledge about the absolute world through non-absolute perceptions.

"No one denies the possibility of empirical research nor maintains that facts do not exist [but] .... They exist for the mind always in an intellectual and social context." [Book by Karl Mannheim Ideology and Utopia p.102] What differentiates social knowledge from knowledge about the physical world is that the meanings given to knowledge and the ways in which social facts are understood in relation to each other are part of the thinker's social reality. . Facts about the physical world are not inevitably incorporated into the social reality of the thinker. (13) Knowledge about the social world, however, becomes part of and is interpreted according to the existing structure of my social reality, my mode of thought.

Christina Maimone, Political Science PhD Stanford (PS 311 – Week 8 Ideology and Utopia https://web.stanford.edu › maimone_wk8_p3) What Maimones, a political science PhD, says echoes somewhat what St Gregory of Nyssa said a couple of millennium ago. 

XI Unconscious – Underlying Processes

The Unconscious Processes 11 million bits of data per second

The unconscious processing abilities of the human brain are estimated at roughly 11 million pieces of information per second. Compare that to the estimate for conscious processing: about 40 pieces per second. Our conscious processing capacity isn’t insignificant, but clearly, it’s just a retention pond compared to the ocean of the unconscious. And more and more research is uncovering abilities of the unconscious that defy reason. (From: Forbes: Your Brain Sees Even When You Don’t June 24, 2013)

I “The Lion’s Share” 

“Based on the accumulated evidence, the authors conclude that these various non-conscious mental systems shoulder the lion's share of the self-regulatory burden, thereby keeping the individual grounded in their current environment.”

“Bargh identified “Three main forms of automatic self-regulation” plus two more important principles

1. an automatic effect of perception on action,

2. the automatic pursuit of a goal and

3. a continuous automatic evaluation of one's experience.

4. Mental categories are absolutely essential for simplifying and understanding the information-rich environment,

5. The express link between perception [of the environment] and action likely exists for a good adaptive reason,

II. “Social perception is a largely automated psychological phenomenon....”

Our identities are multifaceted – mother, musician, teacher, yoga enthusiast, NASCAR fan. In each of these [identities] there is stored implicit and ingrained knowledge about appropriate values and behaviors, likes and dislikes, ways of being.”

Re-emphasizing the importance and role of the unconscious: The consensus of unconscious researchers is that the unconscious is the work horse of the human mind. As the unconscious researcher Bargh observes, “Based on the accumulated evidence, the authors conclude that these various non-conscious mental systems shoulder the lion's share of the self-regulatory burden, thereby keeping the individual grounded in their current environment.”

References: The Unconscious Mind John A. Bargh and Ezequiel Morsella Perspect Psychol Sci. 2008 Jan; 3(1): 73–79. –

Bargh, J. A., & Chartrand, T. L. (1999). The unbearable automaticity of being. American Psychologist, 54(7), 462–

Jung, Self, Spirit, and Automated Social Perception

Carl Jung whose term “psyche” would almost be interchangeable with “spirit” believed, along with Viktor Frankl and William James, that spiritual processes were largely autonomous processes in the unconscious which he viewed as the source and origin of emotionally charged symbols and symbolism. In Volume 8 of the Collected Works, paragraph 648 (1968 revised), Jung stated: “Life and spirit are two powers or necessities between which man is placed. Spirit gives meaning to his life, and the possibility of its greatest development. But life is essential to spirit, since its truth is nothing if it cannot live.”

In Paragraph 643, Jung states, “From the psychological point of view the phenomenon of spirit, like every autonomous complex, appears as an intention of the unconscious superior to, or at least on a par with, the intentions of the ego. If we are to do justice to the essence of the thing we call spirit, we should really speak of a “higher” consciousness rather than of the unconscious, because the concept of spirit is such that we are bound to connect it with the idea of superiority over the ego-consciousness.”

Why is this relevant? In a sense, I am living proof that Jung was correct – that the spiritual self (spirit) is an independent (largely unconscious) autonomous will or force with an ability to over-ride similar to the function of the conscience. In 1981, I did not consciously believe in spirit, prophecy, psychic, etc. In fact a few years later I threw the “What a nightmare” 1981 warning to the FBI away. Yet, though cognitively disconnected, I walked into the FBI with the most detailed and complex warning – historically – sat down and went over it with an FBI agent – briefly.

It is generally understood that people have the "standard model of physics" as a template in their minds. In retrospect it is clear that the experience was frightening because it was an unknown. I thought over my experience – which was a very detailed and (notarized) precognitive warning - very intensely. I tell you doubts and guilts can eat you alive if you let them. I looked at the experience from every possible angle you could consider – and some angles many people likely couldn’t imagine. It was a wild ride!

XII A Review of Methodology Flaws A People-less Spirituality:

A.       J. E Kennedy observes, psychology/psychiatry has done very little research into “People” who have had spiritual experiences. “Very little research has been aimed at investigating the overall effects of paranormal experiences.” - J. E. Kennedy: From my research and experience as well from talking with clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, I would have to agree with that statement 100%. In my research on “people” who have spiritual-psychic experiences, “people” are conspicuously absent. (An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Paranormal and Spiritual Experiences on Peoples' Lives and Well-Being J.E. Kennedy and H. Kanthamani [Original publication and copyright: The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1995, Volume 89, pp.249-265.])

B.     “Researchers [psychologists] have tended to study spirituality “from a distance,” relying on surveys that contain global distal measures,” - Kenneth J Pargament and Annette Mahoney “Researchers [psychologists] have tended to study spirituality “from a distance,” relying on surveys that contain global distal measures, (p.616) such as whether the individual believes in God, how often he or she goes to religious services, how often he or she prays, and his or her self-rated religiousness and spirituality……” (p. 616)

C.     Muzafer Sherif – Real World Context

 Muzafer Sherif was rather harsh (appropriately in my view) in his criticisms of academia. Sheriff’s most frequent critique is the necessity of “real world context” all too frequently absent in studies and articles. Sherif emphasized the “self-contained castles” that academics live in and condemns academics for writing textbooks, but exclude positions which disagree with their own - rather than educate students of a shared paradigm (such paradigms don’t exist, sheriff argues). “Sherif endorses the communication across discipline where it isn’t scientific vs historical to understand a problem, but scientific AND historical. This will help to create commonly shared paradigms, to remove those from their “castles” and disband “disorderly faction-infested tribes” for the greater good of science.

Muzafer Sherif observed, “A psychological construct—if it is to prove valid and adequate—must be as valid and adequate in handling the stuff of ordinary human affairs as in handling the controlled variables of the laboratory experiment.” (VOL. 52, No. 6 NOVEMBER, 1945 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW THE PSYCHOLOGY OF 'ATTITUDES'* PART I BY MUZAFER SHERIF AND HADLEY CANTRIL** Princeton University}. 

Rupert Sheldrake, author and scientists, observes “The atheist [materialist] ideology found a powerful ally in materialist science, which by the end of the nineteenth century, portrayed a purposeless, unconscious, mechanical universe where humans, like all life, had evolved without purpose or guidance. In this godless world [devoid of spirituality], humanity would take charge of its own evolution, bringing economic development, brotherhood, health, and prosperity to all mankind through progress.” (p.157)

D. Park and Paloutzian’s Handbook: “there is a difference between studying experiences vs those who have them.” - Dr. Visuri

I recently reviewed specifically the chapter "Mystical, Spiritual, and Religious Experiences” in Raymond F. Paloutzian & Crystal L. Park’s Handbook of The Psychology Of Religion And Spirituality (Guilford Press, 2013). A synopsis from the chapter of the phenomena covered is a short list of APA “anomalous experiences" – specifically "hallucinations, near death, past life, mystical, and paranormal experiences!" In that chapter there is nothing relevant about people who have experiences.

G. For comparison - Excerpt below from An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Paranormal and Spiritual Experiences on Peoples' Lives and Well-Being J.E. Kennedy and H. Kanthamani (Original publication and copyright: The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1995, Volume 89, pp.249-265.

Data from a convenience sample of 120 people actively interested in parapsychology who reported having had at least one paranormal and/or transcendent experience showed that these experiences increased their interest and beliefs in spiritual matters and increased their sense of well-being. More specifically, the majority of respondents indicated that the experiences resulted in increased belief in life after death, belief that their lives are guided or watched over by a higher force or being, interest in spiritual or religious matters, sense of connection to others, happiness, well-being, confidence, optimism about the future, and meaning in life. They also indicated decreases in fear of death, depression or anxiety, isolation and loneliness, and worry and fears about the future.

A large majority of respondents indicated that these effects resulted from a combination of more than one paranormal and/or transcendent experience. The magnitude of changes in well-being and spirituality were positively associated with the number of anomalous experiences. Measures of current well-being and current importance of spirituality were positively associated with reported changes in well-being and spirituality resulting from anomalous experiences.

Although 45% of the respondents indicated that a paranormal experience had made them very afraid, this fear appeared to be temporary or mixed with positive feeling because only 9% indicated that their experiences have been scary with no positive value. Further research should investigate the extent to which the findings for this selected sample apply to other populations and the extent to which motivations relating to spirituality direct or underlie the occurrence of paranormal phenomena, including in experimental settings.

Recent research suggests that a world view that is open to aspects of life beyond the physical materialistic realm can be conducive to health and well-being (Borysenko, 1993; Gartner, Larson, & Allen, 1991; Koenig, 1990; Larson, et al., 1992; Ornish, 1990). Interest in this research on mind body medicine and the link between spirituality and health is rapidly growing. [p. 249-250] Although one might expect that psychic experiences would promote this type of worldview, virtually no research has been done in parapsychology on the effects of psychic experiences on peoples' lives and worldviews. Several studies have found that near-death experiences induce positive changes or transformation in many people (Gallup with Proctor, 1982; Greyson & Stevenson, 1980; Ring, 1980; 1984), but this investigation generally has not been extended to other types of paranormal experiences

Life is partnership of God and man;

"There is only one way to define Jewish religion It is the awareness of God's interest in man, the awareness of a covenant, of a responsibility that lies on Him, as well as us. Our task is to concur with His interest, to carry out His vision of our task................Life is partnership of God and man; God is not detached from or indifferent to our joys and griefs. Authentic vital needs of man's body and soul are a divine concern. That is why human life is holy" - Abraham Joshua Heschel, theologian (Between God and man, edited by Fritz A Rothschild Free Press Paper backs published by Simon and Shuster  p.140)

So, in light of this, which is better - a Godless people, or a people-less God?? Theology - from my brief overview - is mostly abstractions. In a discussion I asked about people because their definition was solely and entirely abstractions - but got no answer.

Addendum – People Stories

A Genetic Predisposition for Seeing Ghosts.

I would briefly review people who see “ghosts” – which appears to be a genetic predisposition with some people. As Dr Visuri observes, autistics tend to have “unexplainable sensory experiences. It would appear readily apparent that this particular and peculiar phenomena of “unexplainable sensory experiences” would be a result of their physiology. Similarly, J.E Kennedy observes, “In a study of a technique attempting to induce a sense of contact with someone who had died, 96% of the participants with NF personality types reported after-death contact experiences, whereas 100% of the participants with ST (sensing, thinking) personality types did not have these experiences (Arcangel, 1997). So, an important point here is that as the personality studies show some peoples' minds filter information differently - and in this case NF personalities do appear to have a predisposition for sensing contact with the deceased.

Everyone in Gensan seems to know I like to talk – lol. But I also listen while I talk – and learn. I encountered a woman, M…. Who told me when she was very young that she had “ghost” experiences but grew out of them. However, she added her brother also had experiences – and her brother still has visions of ghosts to this day. I mentioned this study to her and added that with some people that is just the way their brains are wired – and that is not necessarily pathological in and of itself. 

As a point of information, I would add that an Icelandic study of psychic experiences which reports that "Having had some experience of a deceased person is also common, being reported by 45% of the women and 28% of the men (a notable sex difference). About half of these experiences had been visual in nature, with 60% of this group of respondents having encountered a deceased close relative, 39% a stranger, and 4% their deceased spouse. More than half had experienced more than one encounter with a deceased person." AS Muzafer Sherif pointed out real world circumstance and real-life situations are pivotal and the Icelandic study did not explain if grieving was part of the situation or distress – which as Jean MacPhail argues is relevant. ([Icelandic] Psychic experiences – third of a century apart. Two representative surveys in Iceland. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 75, 903, 76-90. January 2011 The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research 75(9ö3):76-90 Erlendur Haraldsson University of Iceland)

“R” visions of president JFK and Recognition

Real friendship or love is not manufactured or achieved by an act of will or intention. Friendship is always an act of recognition. – John O’Donohue

I would add that “recognition” is an important need for many people -something people all want. In researching schizophrenics, I came across two cases where western psychiatrists were unable to help two schizophrenics – while shamans were able to heal two people. Shamans view schizophrenics as a spiritual reality as shamans in the process of being born. One, as I recall was a young man in pretty bad shape that a shaman was able to almost completely heal. I can tell you from personal experience psychiatric “treatment” is horrifically dehumanizing – actually hateful in some cases. Julie Parker, Dr. Ingela Visuri, as well as Jung all highlighted the fact that people who have spiritual experiences are very sensitive about others’ views about spirituality. In my view is mainstream psychologists/psychiatrists literally lack the capability to distinguish hallucinations from reality. There are two women – Licia and Nunzi - who spoke about dreams of their fathers who had passed away. It shouldn’t be a surprise at all - but with psychiatry all dreams of the deceased are hallucinations and delusions (according to two psychiatric studies I overviewed). Lyssa, a Bla-an student connection friend observed that ancestors in dreams is often viewed as trying to help and communicate. My read of Licia and Nunzi’s dreams about their father’s is that the dreams were about processing meaning – not the supernatural. 

Sometimes in exceptional or extreme cases it is possible to discern different aspects of human consciousness. When you look at St Joan of Arc, and Reed, the contemporary American nemesis of ten commandments who simultaneous with the rise of the right wing Christian movement who backed Trump, a racist – took his car and knocked down ten commandment monuments in Arkansas and Oklahoma – saying he was the white rider in Revelations – they both heard voices – yet the political environment was political. So, the question si did those two translate perceptions of political threats into voices?

I am very nonjudgmental in assessing others experiences – in part because I know my understanding is limited – in part because spiritual people – in the end are people. When I first met “R” – a woman who had some pretty wild experiences. At first, she accused me of not believing her. I explained that while I have no idea what a ghost looks like or feels like, I know from my own experiences that her experiences are real. R explained that she had visions – and conversations with – president JFK. She told me how she saw JFK on TV and she had a “relationship” with JFK. I am sure there was a reason why she developed a “relationship” with JFK (she got mad at “Jack”, etc.) but I have no idea why. After her “grandma” dies she “heard” ghosts for a while. Also, she had a dream about JFK and his death – and death in general.

She told me about a dream she had in which she was in a car accident. She said the next day she was driving with her husband when an incident set of her husband’s road rage (for which he seems to have a predisposition). She said she yelled at her husband to stop – to no avail. Her husband did finally pull off the road. She said what was interesting is that when they pulled back on the road, the car in front of them had JFK on the license.

I told her about Mera’s story of seeing ghosts when she was young – but growing out of it. R told me – she wished she had been like Mera and grown out of it. Personally, I view R as a spiritual woman in very challenging circumstances. 

Speaking of People: Nora’s story, as told by Daniel Scott 

Daniel G. Scott observes, “Children’s experience will feel normal to them. It has its own logic but when shared may receive a reaction that alters their feelings about that experience. Those responses can alter their freedom to express, and even experience, what was normative for them, producing emotional conflict for the child.

First is Nora’s account of her ability to see auras as a younger child: “When I was four or five years old, I was playing dolls with two friends. One of them asked what my favorite color was. I replied ‘Pink.’ She asked what shade of pink? I said the shade of pink of the light around your head. Both little girls said ‘What light around the head?’ A fear like a knife went through my heart as I knew they were telling the truth; they didn’t see the light. I was seeing something they could not see. I never saw lights around people again until I was in my 30s. Nora considered seeing auras normal until she realized her friends could not. Suddenly there was something unacceptable about her ability to perceive light around people’s heads. It is not clear why her fear was so immediate but it seems to be based on a sense of appropriateness or safety. She shuts off her perception interrupting her capacity to see auras until, in adult life, she began a deliberate process of study:”

The significance this had on my life after I remembered this experience has made me a seeker of higher consciousness. A believer that my function on this planet is significant to every person on the earth. Although Nora’s account is from early childhood, she models the process of re-constructing her sense of self and life journey based on a recovered capacity.

In other accounts that I have of the ability to see auras, the loss of the perception in response to the reactions of others is common. I seem to hear stories from people who have recovered their capacity but wonder how many children have perceptual capacities lost while growing up. How many children have not regained their perceptions? What are the cultural implications of severed capacities in children’s lives?”

(Retrospective spiritual narratives: exploring recalled childhood and adolescent spiritual experiences, Daniel G. Scott International Journal of Children's Spirituality)

In my personal encounters with my connections Nunzi told me she also sees auras, as well. Of course, the documented psychic Edgar Cayce is well-known to have seen “auras.” There is the story of a woman he encountered who had no visible aura. The next day she was dead. 

Addendum II: Quantum Leap over the Outmoded-Outdated Billiard Ball Physics

It used to be true that professionals could exclude transcendental spirituality and paranormal experiences because of the standard billiard-balls physics model which did not allow them since they are physically impossible. Quantum physics and quantum entanglement has changed all that.

A. “Spooky action at a distance” – Albert Einstein

Quantum entanglement is an “entangled pair” of subatomic particles in whcih the spin of one subatomic particle will react directly and immediately (at speeds faster than the speed of light) to the spin of the other subatomic particle even though separated by arbitrarily large distances. A conclusion from experiments in quantum entanglement is that the reactions in a quantum entangled pair of particles occur at a speed faster than light – which to Einstein was impossible according to his own theory. In fact, Albert Einstein called quantum entanglement, "Spukhafte Fernwirkung" - which means, in German, "spooky action at a distance." To Einstein quantum entanglement was an impossibility.

Niels Bohr was a Danish quantum physicist stated unequivocally "If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet. Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real. "

B.       “The future caused the past” Professor Truscott

1. Professor Truscott concluded that his experiment showed that; “A future event causes the photon to decide its past.” Summary of Experiment: The bizarre nature of reality as laid out by quantum theory has survived another test, with scientists performing a famous experiment and proving that reality does not exist until it is measured.

2. Stephen Hawking: “Time travel used to be thought of as just science fiction, but Einstein's general theory of relativity allows for the possibility that we could warp space-time so much that you could go off in a rocket and return before you set out.” (Experiment confirms quantum theory weirdness Science Daily, May 27, 2015 Australian National University)

C         Reflections and commentary 

I should briefly add that the Schroeder’s Cat argument which says that quantum physics only applies to subatomic particles technically can’t be applied to human consciousness. Quantum entanglement has been shown to effect particles as large as molecules – and the electrons involved in the firing of neurons are much smaller than molecules.

Wolfgang Pauli, a Nobel prize-winning quantum physicist, was careful to recognize that “although [particle physics] allows for an acausal form of observation, it actually has no use for the concept of ‘meaning’!” That is, meaning is not a fundamental function of reality but an interpretation superimposed by the human observer.

a.    Daryl Bem’s Successful-Repeated Precognition Experiments!

The parapsychologist, Daryl Bem, through successfully repeated experiments demonstrated that precognition experiments do, in fact, produce consistently “successful” results. In 2016, an article about a meta-analysis of Daryl Bem (et al) very successful precognitive experiments states that "When Bem’s own experiments are included, the complete database comprises 90 experiments from 33 different laboratories located in 14 different countries. A total of 12,406 individuals participated in these experiments." The article goes on to say that the results showed that the experimental design focused on sex [instinctual] was by far outperformed the other designs. The meta-analysis of Bem’s replications convincingly demonstrated that, indeed, the results, though – in the grand scheme of things relatively small, were very consistently positive. (A Summary of “Feeling the Future: A Meta-analysis of 90 Experiments on the Anomalous Anticipation of Random Future Events by Bem, Tressoldi, Rabeyron & Duggan)

Perspective on Bem’s research: Richard S. Broughton observes that "The tragic events of 9/11 brought a flurry of cases to the attention of parapsychology labs. The cases ranged from dramatic dreams of airplanes crashing or exploding to the more frequent examples of unusual departures from normal routines that ended up saving someone’s life." (Encounters at the Frontiers of Time: Questions Raised by Anomalous Human Experiences Richard S. Broughton) It would be rather self-evident that visibility of the 9/11 event is a major factor. Historically - before 9/11 there were no historically documented instances of warnings or predictions of terrorism. Visibility - plus modern social media - would likely be salient factors.

40 yr background of historically unprecedented spiritual-psychic experiences

An important point of order would be that nearly all of my experiences would easily fit into a category parallel to the alarm calls of animals. As Jean MacPhail, a scholar, author of A Spiral Life and a former fellow in neuropathology at Harvard University, observed, ‘My experiences are very unique!’ – in part because they relate to events outside myself, as well as being consistent with reasonable interpretations, as well as being - relatively speaking - well documented.

My experiences as “alarm calls” are also consistent with Daryl Bem’s successful repeated experiments on precognition. In 2016, an article about a meta-analysis of Daryl Bem (et al) very successful precognitive experiments states that "When Bem’s own experiments are included, the complete database comprises 90 experiments from 33 different laboratories located in 14 different countries. A total of 12,406 individuals participated in these experiments." The article goes on to say that the results showed that the experimental design focused on sex [instinctual] was by far outperformed the other designs. (A Summary of “Feeling the Future: A Meta-analysis of 90 Experiments on the Anomalous Anticipation of Random Future Events by Bem, Tressoldi, Rabeyron & Dugga)

Mayo clinic guidelines on spiritual people

Studies have shown that addressing the spiritual needs of the patient may enhance recovery from illness. Discerning, acknowledging, and supporting the spiritual needs of patients can be done in a straightforward and noncontroversial manner. Furthermore, many sources of spiritual care (e.g., chaplains) are available to clinicians to address the spiritual needs of patients.

Mayo Clin Proc. 2001; 76:1225-1235

To be blunt – for the record - in my forty years I would describe the standard medical guidelines as a crock of s**t – window dressing for mainstream psychiatrists and clinical psychologists – in my experience - who are often sick, vicious, cruel, and hateful. Now the misinformation – or lack of information - that psychologist and psychiatrists have – has had a very negative and salient effect on my life.  I view mainstream psychology and psychiatry as a threat to my well-being.

link to my profile on academia.edu

https://independentscholar.academia.edu/CharlesPeckJr