Constructing a neurotheological model of contemplative consciousness through a symbiosis of neuroscience and contemplative psychology.

摘要

Whether in ancient texts intoxicated with the sweet wine of paganism as found in Plato's dialogues, or whether in medieval Christian treatises humbly written with a quill dipped in the inkwell of orthodoxy, as in John of the Cross's spiritual masterpieces, each hypothesized about an experience that transcends the shackles of time for love of the eternal. This experience appears to surface when extreme opposites, time and eternity, freely merge with the knowledge that their active principles will have to be sacrificed in order for dormant potentials to emerge in the form of a new creation. Though it has been given many names throughout history, the unitive quality of this experience is what continues to prompt persons to articulate it as a unitive experience. Some conclude that it is the greatest mystical experience that one can achieve within embodiment. Andrew Newberg and his colleagues present a neurotheological model of the structures of the brain and functions of the mind, which they argue supports their hypothesis of lesser and greater mystical states. They define the latter as a state of absolute unitary being (AUB), which in essence is a unitive experience and is likely caused by a total deafferentation of the orientation association area in the brain. Though they argue that their proposal taps a vast array of fields such as science, religion, and philosophy, one critical field is conspicuously absent---contemplative psychology. Since Newberg and his colleagues' hypothesis is supported by brain scans on contemplative Catholic nuns and Buddhist monks, it is peculiar that contemplative psychological hypotheses are not included in the authors' research. Consequently, there is a need to write a dissertation on constructing a model that incorporates these insights. Therefore, I argue that the contemplative psychospiritual developmental process illuminates the neuroscientific research conducted by Newberg and his colleagues. I utilize research from four "contemplative theorists:" Gerald May, Michael Washburn, Han de Wit, and David Granfield. I, like my contemplative interlocutors, argue that before one can achieve AUB, one must grapple with psychospiritual issues particular to what John of the Cross calls the dark night of the soul.