Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-268) and index.
Contents:
The enlightenment of a troubled kid -- What is enlightenment? -- What enlightenment feels like -- Enlightenment without God -- The spectrum of human awareness -- Channeling supernatural entities -- Changing the consciousness of others -- Opening the heart to unity -- Believing in transformation -- Preparing for enlightenment -- Intensifying the experience -- Enlightenment for all -- Appendix: Tools and resources to foster enlightenment.
Summary:
Following 2010's How God Changes Your Brain, Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman turn their attention to the pinnacle of the human experience: enlightenment. Through his brain-scan studies on Brazilian psychic mediums, Sufi mystics, Buddhist meditators, Franciscan nuns, Pentecostals, and participants in secular spirituality rituals, Newberg has discovered the specific neurological mechanisms associated with the enlightenment experience -- and how we might activate those circuits in our own brains. In his survey of more than one thousand people who have experienced enlightenment, Newberg has also discovered that in the aftermath they have had profound, positive life changes. Enlightenment offers us the possibility to become permanently less stress-prone, to break bad habits, to improve our collaboration and creativity skills, and to lead happier, more satisfying lives. Relaying the story of his own transformational experience as well as including the stories of others who try to describe an event that is truly indescribable, Newberg brings us a new paradigm for deep and lasting change.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.