Part 3 (1/2)

This response guides prophets, seers, and healers.

The sacred response is completely free of all limitations. It is experienced as pure bliss, pure intelligence, pure being. At this stage, G.o.d is universal and so is the person. This response marks the fully enlightened of every age.

Each of these is a natural response of the human nervous system, and we were all born with the ability to experience the entire range. In the face of danger, a burst of adrenaline creates the overwhelming urge to flee or to stay and fight. When this response is triggered, all kinds of changes take place in the physiology, including increased heart rate, ragged breathing, elevated blood pressure, etc. But if we sit down to meditate, this isn't the state of the nervous system-far from it. The same indicators that were elevated in fight or flight are now decreased, and the subjective feeling is that of peace and calm.

These are well-doc.u.mented facts medically, but I wish to take a step further, and it is a startling step. I contend that the brain responds uniquely in every phase of spiritual life. Scientific research is incomplete at the higher stages of inner growth, but we know that, where the spirit leads, the body follows. Faith healers do exist who transcend medical explanation. Only a few miles from where I was in the Himalayas, yogis sit in trances for days at a time; others can be buried for a week in an almost airless box or bring their breathing and heart rates down to nearly zero. Saints in every religion have been observed to live on little or no food (many of them declaring that they survive solely on the light of G.o.d). Visions of G.o.d have been so credible that their wisdom moved and guided the lives of millions; extraordinary acts of selflessness and compa.s.sion prove that the mind is not ruled by self-interest alone.

We select a deity based on our interpretation of reality, and that interpretation is rooted in biology. The ancient Vedic seers put it quite bluntly: ”The world is as we are.” To someone living in a world of threat, the need for fight or flight is absolute. This pertains to a Neanderthal facing a saber-tooth tiger, a soldier in the trenches in World War I, or a driver frustrated with road rage on the L.A. freeways. We can match each biological response, in fact, with a specific self-image: RESPONSEIDENt.i.tY IS BASED ON...

Fight-or-flight responsePhysical body/physical environment Reactive responseEgo and personality Restful awareness responseSilent witness Intuitive responseThe knower within Creative responseCo-creator with G.o.d Visionary responseEnlightenment Sacred responseThe source of all Looking at the right-hand column, you have a clear outline of the stages of human growth. The fact that we are born with the potential to go from simple survival to G.o.d-consciousness is the remarkable trait that sets our nervous systems apart from all other creatures. It is undeniable that complete inner growth is a tremendous challenge. If you are trapped in traffic, blood boiling with frustration, higher thoughts are blocked out.

At that moment, under the influence of adrenaline, you identify with being confined and unable to do anything.

In a different situation, when you are competing for a promotion at work, you see things from the ego's point of view. Now your anxiety isn't over survival (which is the root of the fight-or-flight response in animals) but getting ahead. Once again higher responses are blocked; you would be ruining your chances if you stopped competing and felt only love for the other candidates for the job.

Change the response once more, and this viewpoint will also fade away.

When you see a news report about dying children in Africa or a needless war somewhere far away, you may find yourself wanting to find a creative solution to the problem or you may just reflect internally on the pointlessness of suffering. These higher responses are subtler and more delicate. We also call them more spiritual, but in any situation the brain is responding from the highest level it can. The deeper mystery, which we will explore in this part of the book, centers on our ability to rise from an animal instinct to sainthood. Is this possible for everyone, or is the potential there only for the tiniest fraction of humanity? We will only find out by examining what each stage means and how a person rises up the ladder of inner growth.

Despite the enormous flexibility of the nervous system, we fall into habits and repeated patterns because of our reliance on old imprints. This is never more true than with our beliefs. I was once walking down a side street in the old section of Cairo when a man jumped out of the shadows and began ranting at some pa.s.sersby. Not knowing Arabic, I had no idea what he was preaching, but it was obvious from the vexation and rage in his face that his sermon had to do with fear of G.o.d. In every religion there is the same streak of fear whenever a person is certain that the world is dominated by threat, danger, and sin. Yet every religion also contains the strain of love whenever the world is perceived as abundant, loving, and nouris.h.i.+ng. It is all projection. I am not finding fault here.

We have the right to wors.h.i.+p love, mercy, compa.s.sion, truth, and justice on the transcendent level, just as we have the right to fear judgment and divine rebuke. If you accept that the world is as we are, it is only logical to accept that G.o.d is as we are.

G.o.d the protector fits a world of bare survival, full of physical threats and danger.

G.o.d the almighty fits a world of power struggles and ambition, where fierce compet.i.tion rules.

A G.o.d of peace fits a world of inner solitude where reflection and contemplation are possible.

G.o.d the redeemer fits a world where personal growth is encouraged and insights prove fruitful.

G.o.d the creator fits a world that is constantly renewing itself, where innovation and discovery are valued.

A G.o.d of miracles fits a world that contains prophets and seers, where spiritual vision is nurtured.

A G.o.d of pure being-”I Am”-fits a world that transcends all boundaries, a world of infinite possibilities.

The wonder is that the human nervous system can operate on so many planes.

We don't just navigate these dimensions, we explore them, meld them together, and create new worlds around ourselves. If you do not understand that you are multidimensional, then the whole notion of G.o.d runs off the rails.

I remember as a boy that my mother once prayed for a sign or message from G.o.d-I believe she had had a dream that affected her deeply. One day the kitchen door was left open, and a large cobra crawled in. When my mother encountered it, she didn't scream or cry out but fell to her knees in reverence. To her, this snake was s.h.i.+va, and her prayers had been answered.

Notice how much your response to this incident depends on interpretation.

If you don't believe that s.h.i.+va can appear as an animal, it would seem crazy to revere a cobra, not to mention superst.i.tious and primitive. But if all of nature expresses G.o.d, then we can choose which symbols express him best. I know one thing: I cannot share anyone else's consciousness. As much as I love my mother, her response is private and unique. What was a glorious symbol of G.o.d to her may frighten and repulse others. (I can remember many days sitting in school under the tutelage of Catholic brothers, wondering why anyone would kneel before the horrifying image of the crucifixion.) I was testing these key ideas with a group when a woman objected. ”I don't understand this word projection. Are you saying that we just make G.o.d up?”

she asked.

”Yes and no,” I replied. ”A projection is different from a hallucination, which has no reality at all. A projection originates inside you, the observer, and therefore it defines your perception of reality-it is your take on infinity.”

”Which would make G.o.d just a comment about me?” she asked.

”G.o.d cannot be just about you, but the portion of him that you perceive must be about you, because you are using your own brain and senses and memory. Since you are the observer, it is all right to see him through an image that is meaningful to you.”

I thought of St. Paul's most telling line about the role of the observer: ”Now we see as through a gla.s.s, darkly.” The pa.s.sage is easier to understand if we set aside the King James poetry in favor of modern English: When I was a child, I spoke and saw things like a child. When I grew up, I had finished with childish things. Right now, we all see puzzling reflections, as in a clouded mirror, but then (when we meet G.o.d), we shall see face to face. My knowledge now is partial; then it will be whole, the way G.o.d knows me already.

The standard interpretation is that when we are confined to a physical body, our perception is dim. Only on the day of judgment, when we meet G.o.d directly, will our perception be pure enough to see who he is and who we are. But that isn't the only way to interpret the pa.s.sage. Paul could be making the point that the observer who is attempting to see who G.o.d is winds up seeing his own reflection. Since there is no way around this limitation, we have to make the best use of it that we can. Like a child growing up, we have to evolve toward a more complete vision, until the day arrives when we can see the whole as G.o.d does. Our self-reflections tell our own story along the way, usually in symbolic form as dreams do-hence the clouded mirror.

Reality itself may be only a symbol for the workings of G.o.d's mind, and in that case the ”primitive” belief-found throughout the ancient and pagan world-that G.o.d exists in every blade of gra.s.s, every creature, and even the earth and sky, may contain the highest truth. Arriving at that truth is the purpose of spiritual life, and each stage of G.o.d takes us on a journey whose end point is total clarity, a sense of peace that nothing can disturb.

STAGE ONE:.

G.o.d THE PROTECTOR.

(Fight-or-Flight Response) Neurologists have long divided the brain into old and new. The new brain is an organ to be proud of. When you have a reasoned thought, it is this area of gray matter, primarily the cerebral cortex, that comes into play.

Shakespeare was referring to the new brain (and using it) when he had Hamlet utter, ”What a piece of work is a man, how n.o.ble in reason, how infinite in faculties.” But Hamlet was also wrapped up in a murder case that called for vengeance, and as he dug deeper into the sins of his family, he dug deeper into his own mind. The old brain wanted its due; this is the part of us that claws for survival and is willing to kill, if need be, to protect us.

The old brain is reflected in a G.o.d who seems not to possess much in the way of higher functions. He is primordial and largely unforgiving. He knows who his enemies are; he doesn't come from the school of forgive and forget. If we list his attributes, which many would trace back to the Old Testament, the G.o.d of stage one is Vengeful Capricious Quick to anger Jealous Judgmental-meting out reward and punishment Unfathomable Sometimes merciful This description doesn't only fit Jehovah, who was also loving and benevolent. Among the Indian G.o.ds and on Mount Olympus one encounters the same willful, dangerous behavior. For G.o.d is very dangerous in stage one; he uses nature to punish even his most favored children through storms, floods, earthquakes, and disease. The test of the faithful is to see the good side of such a deity, and overwhelmingly the faithful have. Primitive man experienced untold threats from the environment; survival was in question every day. Yet we know that these threats were not destined to prevail. Overarching was a divine presence that protected human beings, and despite his frightening temper, G.o.d the protector was as necessary to life as a father is inside a family.

The old brain is stubborn, and so is the old G.o.d. No matter how civilized a person's behavior is, if you dig deep enough (Freud compared this to unearthing all the layers of an archaeological site) you'll find primitive responses. We know enough about this region, located at the bottom and back of the skull and rooted in the limbic system, to see that it acts much like our stereotype of Jehovah. The old brain isn't logical. It fires off impulses that destroy logic in favor of strong emotions, instant reflexes, and a suspicious sense that danger is always around the corner.

The favorite response of the old brain is to lash out in its own defense, which is why the fight-or-flight response serves as its main trigger.

”I don't care what you're telling us, there's something evil about this thing. It has a mind of its own. No one's going to stop it.” The young father had been trying to hide his tears, but now his voice was shaking.

”I know it can feel that way,” I replied sadly. ”But cancer is just a disease.” I looked at him and stopped trying to explain the radiation treatments for his child. The father was beside himself, talking from pure fear and anger. ”One day she has a headache, nothing to worry about. Now it has turned into this-whatever it is.”

”Astrocytoma-it's a kind of brain tumor. Your daughter's has advanced to Stage Four, which means it can't be operated on and is growing very fast.”

This conversation took place more than a decade ago. The parents were still in their early thirties, young blue-collar people who had no experience of this kind of catastrophe. Less than twenty-four hours had pa.s.sed since they brought their twelve-year-old girl in. She had been having dizzy spells with recurring pain behind her eyes. After running a battery of tests, the presence of a malignancy showed up. Because cancer grows rapidly in children, the prognosis was likely to be fatal.

”We aren't giving up,” I said. ”Medical decisions have to be made, and you both need to help.” The parents looked numbed. ”We're all praying for Christina,” I said. ”Sometimes it's just up to G.o.d.”

The father's face went dark again. ”G.o.d? He could have prevented this whole d.a.m.n thing. If he's going to let a senseless tragedy happen, why should we pretend he will make it go away?” I didn't respond, and the parents stood up to leave. ”You just tell them to start with those treatments. We'll make it through,” the father said. He gathered his wife and they returned to their child's bedside.

Hope failed in this moment of crisis, which means, if we are being totally honest, that G.o.d failed-the G.o.d of stage one, who should have protected his children. In crisis we are all thrown back on a deep sense of physical danger, and not just in the case of a cancer diagnosis. The loss of a job can feel like a matter of life and death. People wrangling over a bitter divorce at times act as if their former spouse has become a mortal enemy.

The fact that the old brain exerts its influence age after age accounts for the durability of G.o.d's role as protector. Our primitive reactions to danger exist for a reason that is not going to be easily outgrown; the very structure of the brain guarantees this. The brain triggers the endocrine system, which injects adrenaline into the bloodstream to force the body-whatever the higher brain may think-to do its bidding.

Put yourself in the position of an innocent defendant in a lawsuit. A stranger has brought charges against you, forcing you to appear before a judge. Despite your duty to act in accordance with the rule of law, certain primitive feelings will prove inescapable, and they are very Old Testament in nature: You will want to get back at your accuser. Jehovah is vengeful.

You will try to find anything that works to prove your case. Jehovah is capricious.

You will boil over whenever you think of the injustice being done to you. Jehovah is quick to anger.

You will want the court to pay attention to you as much as possible, seeing only your side of things. Jehovah is jealous.

You will want your accuser punished after you are found innocent. Jehovah is judgmental-he metes out reward and punishment.