Reply #6: I find a "Vedantist" theme in the message of the Dalai Lama, among

[Jackpine Radical]

others.

As a psychologist and, specifically a brain geek (I do a lot of work, both diagnostic and biofeedback, with EEG), I'm fascinated by D'Aquili's work on the psychophysiology of religious/mystical experience.

Various researchers have found a brain area that, when quiescent, permits the subject to have "oceanic" mystical experiences, such as are often attained in meditation. Western scientists tend to describe this area as having the function of giving us a sense of location in space, so the oceanic feeling results when the spatial locator is turned off. I think it's just as logical to think of that brain area as an "illusion generator," a sort of holograph projector that generates the Maya illusion and, when we turn it down, we get a glimmering of the underlying oceanic reality. As a matter of fact, I'm planning to start doing some exploratory work on teaching people to exercise voluntary control over this area as a rapid way to access altered mystical states.