"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Mathew tries--with moderate success. He has spent years studying blood flow in the working brain and helps run a drug-abuse treatment center. And as a native of India, he possesses firsthand knowledge of Eastern religious models that describe these transcendent states. He begins with Einsteinian relativity and its implications for what we call "reality." It is hardly new territory, having been explored in depth by New Age authors Fritjof Capra and Deepak Chopra. While newcomers to Eastern religion will appreciate Mathew's succinct accounts of Gautama Buddha's enlightenment and the Middle Way, casual students will find the material familiar, and serious students, redundant. Mathew also devotes considerable space to the neurological effects of LSD, peyote, marijuana, and even cocaine. He concludes, as did psychedelic pioneers Alan Watts and Ram Dass, that drugs are stepping stones to transcendental experiences and not a means of sustaining them.
Mathew steps out onto a professional limb in the last 50 pages, suggesting that transcendent states may be related to a release of norepinephrine, a pleasure-inducing chemical, into the right hemisphere of the brain. He does note, however, that this early hypothesis is still untested. Similarly intriguing are his observations of brain behavior in states of sleep, deep concentration, and enjoyment. Ultimately, though, Mathew comes up against the same difficulty other researchers of consciousness have encountered, namely reproducing ecstatic states in laboratory settings. --Demian McLean
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk0738206814xvz189zvxnew
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0738206814-new
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Buy for Great customer experience. Seller Inventory # GoldenDragon0738206814
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Feb2416190135669
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. This item is printed on demand. Seller Inventory # 9780738206813
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0738206814
Book Description Condition: new. Questo è un articolo print on demand. Seller Inventory # d2b4ef37f762465941c34d77e154bbbf
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0738206814
Book Description PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. THIS BOOK IS PRINTED ON DEMAND. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # L0-9780738206813
Book Description Trade Paperback. Condition: Brand New. reprint edition. 304 pages. 7.75x5.00x0.75 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __0738206814