The Relationship between Spirituality and the Limbic System
Spirituality, although it has always been surrounded by mysticism and uncertainty, has been an integral part of the human psyche since the emergence of the modern man (Buckman 31). There is evidence that even Homo sapiens from the Paleolithic era (ca. 120,000 BC – 8,000BC) believed in a spiritual world. These archaic human beings engaged in mortuary practices similar to modern ones, burying their dead in sleeping positions and surrounding them with ritual artifacts. Intricately fashioned jewelry and symbolic paintings suggest their belief in an afterlife, while precautions such as ritual decapitation (to prevent the deceased’s return from the afterlife) attest to their fear of the spiritual world (Clark 54).Although the cognitive capabilities of early humans were still far more primitive than their modern counterparts, there is a similarity in the region of the brain that is responsible for these emotions (Joseph 106-107).This region consists of the limbic system and inferior temporal lobe. Different stimuli activate these nuclei can produce feelings of spiritual significance. Furthermore, evidence of connections between these stimuli and religious fervor is apparent throughout history. Spiritual and religious feelings and b
God’s messenger Muhammad exhibited several of these irregularities. He would typically “lose consciousness and enter into trance states in order to receive the word of God,” and undergo violent episodes when experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations of the archangel Gabriel (Joseph 126). Moreover, evidence of Muhammad’s hypersexuality was reported on several occasions. Lastly, he was also known to fly into extreme rages although he was generally regarded as a kind and considerate man. These erratic behaviors provide strong evidence of limbic system and inferior temporal lobe hyperactivation. The limbic system not only explains how certain emotions and stimuli are connected to feelings of spirituality and religious fervor, but it is also capable of outlining the sensations associated with near-death and out-of-body experiences. Feelings of extreme fear commonly produce “perceptual and hallucinogenic experiences, including dissociation, depersonalization, and the splitting off of ego functions” (Joseph 114). eliefs that human beings have been experiencing can be explained as responses to environmental and emotional stimuli in the limbic system and inferior temporal lobe. Limbic control over violence, sexuality and eating, can also explain the many mystical and religious practices involving the ritual control over sex and food (which have come to be known as limbic taboos). Fortunately, most limbic taboos promote survival, whether by prohibiting the eating of poisonous plants or “unclean” animals or forbidding indiscriminate sex, which spreads venereal diseases or viruses. In addition, as sex and food are among the most powerful of all limbic emotions and motivators, many religions have been highly concerned with fertility and food (Joseph 122).
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Israelites Yahweh,
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Approximate Word count = 2354
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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