Since this topic has been raised previously, I thought some here might be interested. The first chapter is on-line at ABC's GMA site, and here is a bit:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/Books/god_gene_book_excerpt_040922-1.html ...Until the age of twenty-four, Tenkai led an ordinary life as a high school teacher. Following a breakup with his girlfriend, however....he quit his job, got on his bicycle, and started pedaling east. He didn't stop until he reached the shores of the East China Sea. Along the way, Tenkai experimented with every spiritual system and mystical tradition he encountered. In Austria, he studied the principles of anthroposophy....In an Indian ashram, he practiced a type of meditation in which bouts of exuberant dancing and singing were alternated with periods of complete motionlessness. He prayed for twelve hours a day at a monastery in Nepal, and in China he practiced the graceful motions of Tai Chi. At times he fasted and abstained from sex, while at other times he mixed alcohol, drugs, and women with abandon. There were times when he sat quietly for hours; at other times he jumped about and grunted like a gorilla. But no matter what he tried, no matter which spiritual leader he followed, Tenkai felt that something was missing. It wasn't until he abandoned his bicycle and flew to Japan that he found what he was looking for: Zen Buddhism. Zen is based on the premise that every human being is capable of enlightenment. All that is needed is to see through to one's true nature through meditation. The emphasis is on living in the present with no regret for the past or fear of the future. The motto on the Hosenji Zen Center's brochure, for example, is "Your future is here now..." ...Although Tenkai may be unusual compared to the average person in the strength and tenacity of his metaphysical yearnings, he is by no means unique. Most people, psychologists and theologians would argue, have some capacity for spirituality. It is among the most ubiquitous and powerful forces in human life. It has been evident throughout recorded history in every civilization and culture, in every nook and cranny of the globe... ...Our spiritual beliefs are not necessarily reflected in terms of church attendance, however. In fact, church attendance has been declining in the United States ever since the 1950s. More and more people feel that churches place too much emphasis on organization and not enough on spirituality. As noted in one Gallup poll, "believing is becoming increasingly divorced from belonging..." ...The discrepancy between flagging attendance in formal religious settings and the high percentage of people who believe in God can be explained in large measure by the fact that spirituality is distinct from the precepts of any particular religion. More than three-quarters of people surveyed feel that God can reveal himself through many different paths. There is a growing sentiment that it doesn't matter what church you go to because "one is as good as the other." Despite formal religious adherence or attendance, a survey taken in the 1990s found that 53 percent of Americans have had a "moment of sudden religious awakening or insight." In our own research at the National Institutes of Health, more than one-third of the essentially random collection of people we surveyed reported personal experiences in which they felt in contact with "a divine and wonderful spiritual power." A similar percentage of people said that they have, at least once or twice, felt "very close to a powerful, spiritual force that seemed to lift you out of yourself." Although such experiences were once regarded as signs of incipient psychopathology, recent research shows that they actually are associated with better adjustment and psychological health in most people... ...Why is spirituality such a powerful and universal force?... ...I argue that the answer is, at least in part, hardwired into our genes. Spirituality is one of our basic human inheritances. It is, in fact, an instinct....I do not contend that spirituality is a simple instinct like blinking or nursing. But I do argue that it is a complex amalgamation in which certain genetically hardwired, biological patterns of response and states of consciousness are interwoven with social, cultural, and historical threads. It is this interdigitation of biology and experience that makes spirituality such a durable part of the fabric of life � a rich tapestry in which nature is the warp and nurture is the woof. ...The idea of complex characteristics that are influenced by both genes and environment is not unique to spirituality. There are many well-known examples of the interplay between nature and nurture, even among animals. Consider the song of the white-crowned sparrow....The reason a sparrow sings the song of a sparrow, and not of a robin or a lark, is that it has the genes and brain of a sparrow, not that it was raised by sparrows. But experiments show that the song is also partly learned. Sparrows from different areas sing slightly different varieties of the song, or "dialects," that differ in the exact number and placement of the trill notes... ...In The God Gene, I propose that spirituality has a biological mechanism akin to birdsong, albeit a far more complex and nuanced one: that we have a genetic predisposition for spiritual belief that is expressed in response to, and shaped by, personal experience and the cultural environment. These genes, I argue, act by influencing the brain's capability for various types and forms of consciousness, which become the basis for spiritual experiences. The term "God gene" is, in fact, a gross oversimplification of the theory. There are probably many different genes involved, rather than just one. And environmental influences are just as important as genetics. Finally, spirituality, in its broader meaning, is about much more than belief in a particular God. Some of the most spiritual people I've interviewed and discuss, such as Tenkai, don't believe in a deity at all... --Human geneticist Dean Hamer searches for answers in his new book The God Gene. Behavior can be influenced by both genes and environment; research certainly backs that up for many 'lower' animals. Personality is likewise influenced by both nature and nurture (or lack thereof). Health is without question influenced by both. Why should the capacity of the human brain be an exception to this? Debbi _______________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today! http://vote.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
