Thinking in Tongues

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Thinking in Tongues

What can we learn from a babbling brain?

by Daniel Engber

Nov. 17, 2006

Slate

I found this interesting. I have a hypothesis that one of the functions of religion is to provide techniques for altering mental states and tapping brain resources that are not disciplined yet.

Neuroscience is backing up this idea increasingly by measuring religious people during their experiences. Altered brain states from brain scans were observed on church members speaking in tongues.

Michael

[Rich Engle]

The mode of perception exists.

I think that one of the reasons some have a problem with it is because, in a sense, it has a certain feeling of "letting go." This often gets confused with "blank out" or reverting back to a purely pre-rational state. One does not exclude the other; it is a matter of developing it, if one chooses to.

Like all worthwhile things, developing it requires work. There's never any substitute for work.

There are different ways to approach it, but the most common one is through various types of meditational practice.

There are different kinds of meditation. Ultimately, it has to go beyond "contemplative" practice (valuable in itself). It takes time. In Buddhism, it typically takes years to hit the goal. But all along the path, improvement occurs.

Or, you can just not do it and that's fine too!

This should make for a good thread. Brave of you, Maestro...

rde

[mweiss]

Oh Lord, what would Miss Rand say about that?

I think that this is one of the downsides of Objectivism: it shuts down any propensity to believe in miracles, so one's life is completely shut out from experiencing the benefit of the Law of Attraction.

[Rich Engle]

Mark is pretty sure I'd be asked to stay after school and I think he's correct...

Oh Lord, what would Miss Rand say about that?

Well, as much as I love her writing, it's fortunate she's not everything there is out there...

Some people not only find the liberation in her work, but sometimes they also get comfortable with the structure. There's always going to be mystery in life, praise be. The thing is how you decide to be knowing that fact. To be secure in the not knowing part.

[mweiss]

Mark is pretty sure I'd be asked to stay after school and I think he's correct...

Oh Lord, what would Miss Rand say about that?

Well, as much as I love her writing, it's fortunate she's not everything there is out there...

Some people not only find the liberation in her work, but sometimes they also get comfortable with the structure. There's always going to be mystery in life, praise be. The thing is how you decide to be knowing that fact. To be secure in the not knowing part.

The thing is, dyed-in-the-wool Objectivists will make a very logical argument for the nonexistence of that which they have no evidence exists, and will tell you to check your premises or go read up on the Metaphysics portion of Rand's essays. I've heard some pretty complex arguments that essentially, between the lines, suggest that after you have read all there is on Objectivism, if you still believe in the unexplained, then you've not "gotten" Objectivism. I'm not so sure about that. Especially the older we get. I don't know how much time I have left, but I think that it would be nicer if there was some pleasant form of existence after I leave this mortal coil. The older I get (and the more relatives I've outlived) the more I contemplate the state of my being after death.