Animals Said to Have Spiritual Experiences
Research suggests that spiritual experiences originate deep within primitive areas of the human brain — areas shared by other animals with brain structures like our own.
The trick, of course, lies in proving animals’ experiences.
“Since only humans are capable of language that can communicate the richness of spiritual experience, it is unlikely we will ever know with certainty what an animal subjectively experiences,” Kevin Nelson, a professor of neurology at the University of Kentucky, told Discovery News.
“Despite this limitation, it is still reasonable to conclude that since the most primitive areas of our brain happen to be the spiritual, then we can expect that animals are also capable of spiritual experiences,” added Nelson, author of the book “The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain,” which will be published in January 2011.
The finding is an extension of his research on humans, which has been published in many peer-reviewed journals. A Neurology journal study, for example, determined that out-of-body experiences in humans are likely caused by the brain’s arousal system, which regulates different states of consciousness.
“In humans, we know that if we disrupt the (brain) region where vision, sense of motion, orientation in the Earth’s gravitational field, and knowing the position of our body all come together, then out-of-body experiences can be caused literally by the flip of a switch,” he said. “There is absolutely no reason to believe it is any different for a dog, cat, or primate’s brain.”
Other mammals also probably have near-death experiences comparable to those reported by certain humans, he believes. Such people often say they saw a light and felt as though they were moving down a tunnel.
The tunnel phenomenon “is caused by the eye’s susceptibility to the low blood flow that occurs with fainting or cardiac arrest,” he said. “As blood flow diminishes, vision fails peripherally first. There is no reason to believe that other animals are any different from us.”
Nelson added, “What they make of the tunnel is another matter.”
The light aspect of near-death experiences can be explained by how the visual system defines REM (rapid eye movement) consciousness, he believes.
“In fact,” he said, “the link between REM and the physiological crises causing near-death experience are most strongly linked in animals, like cats and rats, which we can study in the laboratory.”
Mystical experiences — moments that inspire a sense of mystery and wonderment — arise within the limbic system, he said. When specific parts of this system are removed from animal brains, mind-altering drugs like LSD have no effect.
Since other animals, such as non-human primates, horses, cats and dogs, also possess similar brain structures, it is possible that they too experience mystical moments, and may even have a sense of spiritual oneness, according to Nelson.
Marc Bekoff, a professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, also believes animals have spiritual experiences, which he defines as experiences that are nonmaterial, intangible, introspective and comparable to what humans have.
Both he and primatologist Jane Goodall have observed chimpanzees dancing with total abandon at waterfalls that emerge after heavy rains. Some of the chimps even appear to dance themselves into a trance-like state, as some humans do during religious and cultural rituals.
Goodall wondered, “Is it not possible that these (chimpanzee) performances are stimulated by feelings akin to wonder and awe? After a waterfall display the performer may sit on a rock, his eyes following the falling water. What is it, this water?”
“Perhaps numerous animals engage in these rituals, but we haven’t been lucky enough to see them,” Bekoff wrote in a Psychology Today report.
“For now, let’s keep the door open to the idea that animals can be spiritual beings and let’s consider the evidence for such a claim,” he added.
“Meager as it is, available evidence says, ‘Yes, animals can have spiritual experiences,’ and we need to conduct further research and engage in interdisciplinary discussions before we say that animals cannot and do not experience spirituality.”
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Jason Offutt's New Book to be released October 28th
Jason Offutt, the Northwest Missouri State University journalism teacher who has made something of a second career writing about ghouls, ghosts, apparitions and the downright unexplainable, has a new book out.
Just in time for Halloween.
"Paranormal Missouri: Show Me Your Monsters," scheduled for release by Schiffer Books on Oct. 28, is a 160-page collection of spooky tales and eerie anecdotes first produced for "From the Shadows," Offutt's popular newspaper column.
It is his fifth book since 2005, and his fourth dedicated exclusively to allegedly supernatural goings-on around Offutt's home state. His first book about otherworldly events, "Haunted Missouri: A Ghostly Guide to the Show-Me State's Most Spirited Spots" has sold more than 5,000 copies.
A prize-winning humor columnist and former editor at The Examiner, a large daily newspaper serving several suburbs on the eastern edge of Kansas City, Offutt discovered his niche as a reporter of the paranormal almost by accident.
Back in 2004, Missouri Life published an Offutt article titled "Ghost Stories." Later, someone at the magazine told him there was a publisher interested in bringing out a book describing supposedly haunted locations.
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1812 War: Was Napoleon Clairvoyant?
The topic is highly controversial, with many questioning Napoleon’s paranormal abilities. Others, in contrast, point to a sheaf of relevant documents, not least Napoleon’s private letters and diaries, which they say are indications of Bonaparte possessing the power of clairvoyance.
Some experts quote Napoleon as saying that since his childhood, he had always been in the know about his future, which Bonaparte attributed to what he called “something of an inner feeling.” Napoleon argued that he was allegedly able to always avoid potential political and private troubles thanks to his ability to foresee future events. The caveat, though, flies in the face of Napoleon’s move to start a war with Russia in 1812, which many maintain became the beginning of the end of Napoleon’s political career. Small doubt, given Russia’s brilliant victory over what was internationally known as the invincible Grand Army of France.
Napoleon’s clairvoyance, scholars say, seemed to let him down again during the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, when French troops were defeated by British, Dutch and Prussian forces. The defeat at Waterloo put an end to Napoleon's rule as the Emperor of France and marked the end of his Hundred Days’ return from exile. Napoleon abdicated, surrendered to the British, and was exiled to the island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.
As far as Napoleon' paranormal abilities are concerned, they were more than once cited by his aides, who were not surprised to see him scanning people’s thoughts. Then again, their allegations run counter to the fact that the Napoleon team included quite a few top military officials who subsequently did not think twice before betraying their overlord. Suffice it to mention Marshal Michel Ney, who was quick to pressure Napoleon to accept his first abdication and exile in 1814, when the Bourbons reclaimed the throne.
When hearing of Napoleon’s return to France, Ney, determined to keep France at peace and to show his loyalty to King Louis XVIII, organized a force to stop Napoleon’s march on Paris. Ney pointedly promised to bring Napoleon back alive in an iron cage, a surprise twist of mind given that it was Napoleon who previously promoted Ney to the rank of Marshal.
That Napoleon had the ability of clairvoyance is an open secret, some pundits persist, pointing to Bonaparte’s personal diary, where the island of Saint Helena was mysteriously mentioned years before Napoleon being exiled there.
Legend has it that Nostradamus, the 16-th century psychic seer, predicted Napoleon’s birth and all that it implies. The prediction surprisingly proved true right down to minutiae, which contemporaries said impressed Napoleon, who obtained Nostradamus manuscript at the beginning of the 19th century. Napoleon scrupulously studied the document before putting it to the back burner. Since then, speculation has been rife that Nostradamus prediction added significantly to Napoleon’s alleged see-through abilities…
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Lady Gaga's Ghost Obsession
The 24-year-old pop star – who has previously said she believes she is the reincarnated spirit of her dead aunt – has also allegedly splashed out £30,000 on state of the art Electro Magnetic Field meters to detect spectres.
A source said: “She believes in paranormal activity and won’t take any risks when she is on the road. It’s important to her to be safe from spirits.”
Ghost-hunting equipment is not Gaga’s only extravagant purchase.
The ‘Alejandro’ singer – who has reportedly lost $4 million on her sold out ‘Monster Ball Tour’ – spent £40,000 to hire a NASA trained chemist.
The flamboyant beauty – who is well known for her love of tea – splashed out the huge sum in order to discover a non–hot substance that would let steam out from a teacup-shaped dress.
Gaga has also spent £500,000 on private jets to transport her set equipment and wardrobe on the ‘Monster Ball Tour’, £15,000 on hand crafted lace from Eastern Europe and £52,000 on a bath tub for her performance on UK TV talent show 'The X Factor' last year.
She is reportedly eyeing up a British castle for her next purchase.
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