Understanding higher consciousness in scientific terms

SCIENCE AND SPIRIT: CAN THEY BE UNIFIED? HomePage of Andrew P. Smith

It goes by many names: Oneness...Peace...Ecstasy...Suchness...The Light...The Now...The Void...Pure Being...Higher Consciousness...God...

Whatever you want to call it, many people claim to have experienced it. This experience is, arguably, the basis of all genuine religion.

• But how does this experience fit into our ordinary understanding of existence, based largely on science?
• For example, is higher consciousness correlated with activity in a particular part of the brain, an activity we can actually measure and quantitate?
• Or is it associated with some larger form of organization than a single individual, such as humanity itself, or the entire earth?
• Did consciousness emerge from matter, or does it create matter?
• Is higher consciousness the next inevitable step in the evolution of life on earth, or a vision restricted to a few?

Having followed a meditative practice for thirty years, I appreciate that the insights and experiences of higher consciousness are mostly beyond words. But as a scientist with a background in molecular biology, pharmacology and neuroscience, I'm reluctant to ignore the implications another level of existence has for my profession.

• How far can we go in understanding higher consciousness in scientific terms?
• Or should we turn the question around, and ask, to what extent are the insights of higher consciousness relevant to our understanding of ordinary existence?

This site is devoted to this dialogue between science and spirit. It features links to my own writing on this subject, as well as discussions with and links to others exploring this area. My Books My Articles Dialogue/Feedback Related Links