Science And Spirituality Dictionary

What is the brain’s unique role in connecting a human being to what many call God? New scientific information about the human heart identifies it as the very first connection point between the physical body and its Creator source. Amazing recent evidence indicates that the heart begins to beat in the unborn fetus even before the brain is formed so it appears that the heart truly holds primary status as the initiator of human life.

Read more here: » Science and Spirituality: How are your Heart and Brain connected to God?

This very, very exciting article actually gives a scientific theory behind many spiritual viewpoints and spiritual experiences, including enlightenment and the perception of oneness encountered by many people that have had strong spiritual experiences.

It all started 1982 at the University of Paris. A research team led by physicist Alain Aspect performed what may turn out to be one of the most important experiments of the 20th century. Aspect and his team discovered that under certain circumstances subatomic particles such as electrons are able to instantaneously communicate with each other regardless of the distance separating them. After this, it didn’t take long before the idea of a holographic universe was created. But the implications of this are truly mind boggling…

Read more here: » Spirituality and Science: The Holographic Universe

Unarius Academy of Science/Unarius Education Foundation

A UFO/Space Brothers organization formed by Ruth and Ernest Norman in El Cajon, CA

(See also: Unarius Academy of Science , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

Principal scripture of Christian Science.

(See also: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Swedenborg, Emmanuel ( 1688-1772)

A Swedish scientist, theosophist, and mystic, a pioneer in both scientific, religious and spiritual thought.

For most of his life Swedenborg pursued a conventional, albeit brilliant, career. Educated at Uppsala University he first became a natural scientist and official with the Swedish Royal College of mines (1710-45), concentrating on research and theory. His foremost scientific writing is 'Opera Philosophica et Mineralia' (Philosophical and Mineralogical Works, three volumes, 1734), a unique combination of metaphysics, cosmology, and science.

A first-rate scientific theorist and inventor, Swedenborg, in some of his insights, anticipated scientific progress by more than a century. Visited by a mystic illumination in 1745, Swedenborg claimed a direct vision of a spiritual world underlying the natural sphere. He began having dreams, ecstatic visions, trances and mystical illusions in which he communicated with Jesus Christ and God and was granted a view of the order of the universe that was radically different from the teachings of the Christian church.

He resigned his job to concentrate full-time on his ecstatic visions and transcribing the knowledge imparted to him from the spiritual world. His voluminous works from this period are presented as divinely revealed biblical interpretations. In his system, best reflected in 'Divine Love and Wisdom' (1763), Swedenborg conceived of three spheres: divine mind, spiritual world, and natural world. Each corresponds to a degree of being in God and in humankind: love, wisdom, and use (end, cause, and effect). Through devotion to each degree, unification with it takes place and a person obtains his or her destiny, which is union with creator and creation.

Unlike many mystics, Swedenborg proposed an approach to spiritual reality and God through, rather than in rejection of, material nature. His 12-volume compendium 'The Heavenly Arcana' (1747-56) represents a unique synthesis between modern science and religion.

In response to a vision of the 'last judgment' and the 'return of Christ', Swedenborg proclaimed the advent of the New Church, an idea that found social expression in the Swedenborgian societies and in the foundation of the Church Of The New Jerusalem in England in 1778, and in the United States in 1792. Many of his views were adopted by 19th century spiritualism and many of his ideas were also disseminated in the works of writers and poets such as William Blake , Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Henry James .

(See also: Emmanuel Swedenborg , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Christian Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism is a Protestant view that affirms the absolute and unerring authority of the Bible, rules out a scientific or critical study of the scriptures, denies the theory of evolution, and holds that alternate religious views within Christianity or outside are false.

A Bible conference of conservative Protestants at Niagara, New York, in 1895 affirmed five doctrinal points that were later named the "five fundamentals":

• the verbal inerrancy of scripture,
• the divinity of Jesus,
• the virgin birth,
• the substitutionary atonement, and
• Jesus' bodily resurrection and physical return.

Although these points do not include all the elements of Protestant fundamentalism, they are regularly present in fundamentalist views.

A series of volumes entitled The Fundamentals by American, Canadian, and British writers (1910-15) carried the discussion further by attacking Catholic doctrine, Christian Science, Mormon teachings, Darwin's theory of evolution, and liberal theology's critical study of the Bible and denial of miracles. In 1920 C. L. Laws used the term fundamentalist in the Baptist Watchman-Examiner to identify these views. In the North during the 1920s and following, Presbyterians and Baptists, among others, were torn by controversies over fundamentalism. From this struggle came institutions like Westminster Theological Seminary (1929) and new denominations such as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Conservative Baptist Association of America (1947).

Interdenominational organizations were also formed, e. g. , the American Council of Christian Churches (1941, to offset the National Council of Churches) and the National Association of Evangelicals (1942). By the 1950s, Neo-Orthodox theology with its emphasis on biblical revelation had changed the theological situation from a standoff between fundamentalists and liberals by developing a middle ground between them. Since the more militant fundamentalist leaders had settled into their own organizations by then, the basis for intragroup fights lessened, and the controversy waned. With the political swing to the Right in the 1980s fundamentalist voices found new support. Attacks on evolution and liberal scholarship fell into the background as some fundamentalists emphasized more positive themes such as conversion, personal and social morality, and a right-wing political agenda. In other groups, however, attacks on nonfundamentalist scholarship came with new vigor. Fundamentalism is characteristically evangelistic. Some ministries combine evangelism with healing.

Premillennialism, the view that Jesus will return to earth in visible form and establish a thousand-year kingdom, has frequently been an aspect of the fundamentalist movement. Finally, since the Scopes trial (1925) fundamentalism has waged a war against contemporary science, particularly the theory of evolution. Scientific creationism is one form of the attack. In an attempt to harmonize Genesis 1 and certain scientific arguments, this school holds, for example, that the geologic layers of the earth cannot be used to support the vast time sequences of standard earth science because the catastrophic flood of Noah's day was the source of much of the layering. Core beliefs of the movement are virtually identical with evangelical Christianity.

Some fundamentalists, however, later distinguished themselves from evangelicals (or neo-evangelicals) whom they saw as too compromising and ecumenical. The term ÒfundamentalistÓ is a synonym for one who is narrow-minded, bigoted, antiintellectual or divisive.

(See also: Christian Fundamentalism , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Science and Spirituality: New Physics Points To Cosmic Spirit

'God is dead' proclaimed a cover story in Time magazine in the 1960s, and held science responsible for it. Case closed? Far from it. By the 1990s, people were talking about things like 'can spirituality promote health?' The pendulum is now swinging in the other direction. Ironically enough, it is the same science that once killed off the notion of God that is now strengthening humankind's belief in a 'supreme power'. Latest revelations in cosmology and quantum physics are fostering this paradigm shift.

Read more here: » Science and Spirituality: New Physics Points To Cosmic Spirit

Science and Spirituality: An Islamic View of Creation & Life

According to Islamic tradition, life is God's creation - regardless of whether life was specially created or resulted from evolution. Evolution itself is a process of creation as admitted by Darwin in The Origin of Species.

Creation falls into four categories - inanimate matter, plants, animals and human beings. According to Islam, all four are separate creations. Among living things, a number of species co-exist, all having been created separately. There is doubtless some similarity in physical attributes; yet, each has a permanent, separate existence. There is no concept of a missing link in Islam.

Read more here: » Science and Spirituality: An Islamic View of Creation Life

Theosophy

A school of philosophy founded by Helena P. Blavatsky. that promotes the ideas of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Annie Besant and others. Objectives are to form a universal brotherhood, investigate man's latent psychic and spiritual powers, and study philosophy, comparative religion and science. The term literally means "divine wisdom. "

The goals of Theosophy are to (

1)    form a universal brother-hood;

2)    do comparative study of world religions, science, and philosophy; and,

3)    investigate the psychic and spir- itual powers latent in man. Theosophy is the forerunner of much New Age thought.

(See also: Theosophy , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Church of All Worlds

An eclectic Neo-Pagan organization begun in 1967 by Tim Zell (also known as Otter G'Zell) and inspired by the science-fictional church in Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. Celebrating nature and worshiping the Earth Mother and her consort, the Horned God, members seek advancement of personal spiritual awareness through ritual practice, individualistic philosophy, and intense study. Their are centers or "nests" throughout the U. S. Headquartered today in Berkely, Cal, the idea for. it all began on April 7, 1962. Publish a popular New Age/Pagan magazine, Green Egg.

(See also: Church of All Worlds , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

What is the difference between Science and Spirituality?

Kalki, or Sri Kalki Bhagavan, the founder of Golden Age Foundation, is considered to be the Kalki Avatar capable of bringing enlightenment and to introduce the Golden Age. Here he is commenting on the Difference between Science and Spirituality.

Read more here: » Kalki on the Difference between Science and Spirituality

Church of Scientology

Founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard after his organization, Dianetics, found itself faced tax problems. Through "auditing", a process whereby past programming, and other barriers to higher development are removed, abilities are regained, and greater awareness achieved. Auditing can last for years and may cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The writings and recorded spoken words of L. Ron Hubbard (contained in over 500,000 pages of writings and over 2,000 tape-recorded public lectures) constitute the scripture of the religion, his book Dianetics, the Modern Science of Mental Health being foundational.

(See also: Church of Scientology , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Recent scientific discoveries seem to validate the concept of Brahman . Physicists and cosmologists are close to proving that there is one source behind the physical universe, and they call this source the unified field. In a profound sense, Brahman , the Vedantic concept and the unified field of physics appear to be synonymous.

All the physical objects and phenomena around us are not illusory or maya, but are quite real. However, what we see is only the tip of the iceberg. Underneath it is the interplay of an abstract substance called energy, which in turn is controlled by something even more abstract:

(See also: Science and Spirituality , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Science and Spirituality: Physics And Vedanta -  So much in common  

Transpersonal Psychology / Transpersonal Counseling

A school of psychology that aims at integrating Western science and Eastern thought by moving beyond Humanistic Psychology and its focus on the self or ego. Its orientation is a holistic one that focuses on the integration of mind, body and spirit and has ultimate psychological growth and well-being as its goals.

(See also: Transpersonal Psychology/Counseling , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Rudolf Steiner

(1861 - 1925 ) Austrian philosopher, scientist, artist and educator who was the originator of the social philosophy called Anthroposophy. Steiner founded the Anthroposophical Society in 1924, and it now has branches throughout the world, and is especially popular in Britain.

He traveled extensively in Europe lecturing on spiritual science, the arts, social sciences, religion, education, agriculture and health. His published works amount to over 350 titles, including collections of lectures, books, articles, reviews and dramas. His occult philosophy is outlined in key titles such as Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment (1904-05), and An Outline of Occult Science (1909).

His teachings inspired the development of the Waldorf School movement and of schools for handicapped or maladjusted children; his agricultural methods for preparing soil inspired chemical-free organic farming and gardening; he created eurythmy, a form of expressive movement to music and speech; and his guidelines on holistic medicine and pharmacology are still widely respected.

(See also: Rudolf Steiner , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Science [from Latin scientia from scire to know]

In its widest sense formulated knowledge, a knowledge of structure, laws, and operations. The unity of human knowledge may be artificially divided into religion, philosophy, and science. Science and philosophy, as presently understood, have in common the quality of being speculative, as opposed to religion, which in the West is supposed to be founded merely on faith and moral sentiments.

The present distinction between science and philosophy lies largely in their respective fields of speculation. What is known as modern science investigates the phenomena of physical nature and by inferential reasoning formulates general laws therefrom. Its method is called inductive and its data are so-called facts -- i.e., sensory observations; whereas deductive philosophy starts from axioms. Yet a scientist, in order to reason from his data at all, must necessarily use both induction and deduction.

Modern science has limited its field of study to the laws of physical nature; but in the 20th century the illusive and entirely phenomenal nature of matter and energy, formerly assumed to be eternal and indestructible, is better realized by scientists who have traced the chain of physical causation to a point beyond physical limits altogether and admit that the physical world consists of phenomena occurring in an ultraphysical substance.

In modern sciences dealing with biology, evolution, and anthropology, legitimate inference from facts has been much interfered with by preconceived ideas. Modern science suffers from its failure to see the necessity of postulating an astral or formative world behind the physical, this astral world being in itself but one stage in a rising scale or ladder of invisible worlds. To ascertain the facts upon which to build a true inductive system, we must admit the existence in man of means of direct perception other than those afforded by the physical senses.

(See also: Science , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Neo-Paganism

The modern revival of paganism, emphasizing witchcraft (see Wicca), goddess worship, and nature worship.

(See also: Neo-Paganism , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Ascetics, Asceticism

(Greek = exercise training) The science of self knowledge through discipline of mind and body

(See also: Ascetics and Asceticism , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Anthroposophy

An esoteric spiritual science founded by German mystic Rudolf Steiner. The term literally means "wisdom of man. " It teaches that we possess the truth within ourselves.

(See also: Anthroposophy , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Biblical Inerrancy

The Christian belief that the Bible is free from error. In its most extreme form inerrancy insists that although the Bible is not primarily a book of history, geography, or science, when it speaks of these matters it is free from error of any sort.

The contention is that if error is admitted at any point a similar claim could be made at every point.

Total inerrancy is usually limited, in theory, to the original manuscripts (autographs), but in practice it is often applied to the particular translation used by a community committed to inerrancy, for example, the Vulgate for Roman Catholics until recently, and the King James Version for fundamentalist Protestants.

A more moderate form of inerrancy maintains that freedom of error is limited to matters of faith and practice, allowing for human conditioning with respect to historical, geographical, and scientific details that do not pertain to salvation. Proponents of this position sometimes adopt the term infallibility rather than inerrancy. This distinction is not used consistently.

The notions of inerrancy or infallibility have direct import not only on theological issues but on the authority of the biblical texts for contemporary ethical and moral issues.

(See also: Biblical Inerrancy , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)