Ways to Go Beyond

Rupert Sheldrake's pioneering work in expanding science and consciousness studies will be well known to readers of this journal, and here he follows up his recent book Science and Spiritual Practices with a further volume on the same theme. He covers the spiritual side of sports, learning from animals, fasting, psychedelics, prayer, festivals and the cultivation of good habits, before concluding with a chapter discussing why spiritual practices work. As he states in the introduction, he is a strong believer in the scientific method and empirical enquiry, extending his interests into areas where most scientists fear to tread. The book is a further valuable contribution to overcoming the separation between science and the spirituality. Rupert defines the term spiritual as 'a flow of consciousness that connects us to more inclusive, higher forms of consciousness, and even to the source of consciousness itself.' (p. 68) In each chapter, the practice is related to strands of scientific research and the wider cultural background where there has never been such widespread access to the spiritual wisdom of the world across many traditions. Then at the end of every chapter there are a couple of suggestions for practice.

Rupert elaborates on the spiritual side of sports elsewhere in this issue, providing some interesting evolutionary background and discussing the experience of flow, the thrill of speed and oriental martial arts, where he relates an interesting experience of his own when he confronted a celebrity beating up a woman simply by focusing his energy in his hara centre, in accordance with his Aikido training. The effect was dramatic. The chapter on learning from animals summarises Rupert's research in this area within the overall context of human-animal relationships. He sees psychic phenomena such as telepathy as part of our biological nature, providing evidence from his own work, also on human telepathy. He also draws out some spiritual lessons from animals in terms of humility, unconditional love and living in the present.

Fasting has been a common practice across many cultures and is making a health-related comeback in our time. Rupert covers physiological effects of fasting, including the impact of ketosis on the brain and its potential impact on rising levels of obesity and diabetes. In some cultures, there is a practice of fasting to death while elsewhere there is evidence that exceptional people have lived for long periods without eating. The chapter on psychedelics brings in the impact of Rupert's own experiences (also those of Aldous Huxley) and the revival of neurochemical research in the area - here he gives details on the exact processes involved, while also covering cross-cultural spiritual understandings and religious arguments against the use of psychedelics. His overall approach is imbued with the sacred as the title of the chapter suggests in incorporating spiritual openings.

While the first book covered meditation, this one addresses the powers of prayer as a relationship with more than human consciousness. Rupert himself practises both meditation and prayer, comparing the first to breathing in and the second to breathing out. An interesting consideration is that minds are transparent or porous to gods and spirits, enhancing the overall sense of connection. Some prayer is directed to healing, while research shows positive correlations between prayer and health and happiness. References to the relationship between prayer and positive thinking are connected with both positive psychology and New Thought; in this latter respect, there is a great deal more historical material than Rupert has the space to mention. He refers to Wallace Wattles as an influence on Rhonda Byrne, but in my view the work of Thomas Troward, Charles Haanel and even Earl Nightingale is much more profound.

The sacred theme continues with holy days and festivals, related to pilgrimage and holy places covered in the first book. These can give a rhythm to both the week and seasons of the year in our current era where 24/7 commercial activity predominates. Our ancestors used seasonal festivals to connect with the larger cycles of nature, as Rupert shows in his discussion of Christmas, Easter, May Day, Midsummer, the feast of Angels and St Michael, and finally the festivals of All Saints and All Souls in early November. As I mention in the work of William James, the cultivation of habits is related to the development of good character. Rupert discusses virtues as good habits, drawing on a number of traditions, but here he could also have highlighted the contribution of Aristotle and its current manifestation in the revival of virtue ethics. He discusses the evolutionary roots of human morality as well as selfishness and cooperation, including within insect societies, the relationship between morality and conscience, and vices as bad habits, concluding with an emphasis on the importance of practising kindness.

The final chapter asks why spiritual practices work. While many people take them up for health or happiness benefits, their deeper significance lies in 'making a connection to a greater consciousness, or presence, or being' (p. 246) as a result of which we may even experience bliss. Even if such practices make little sense within a mechanistic and unconscious universe, there are now atheist meditators and secular Buddhists, a phenomenon that moves the goalposts in an interesting way. In terms of metaphysical structure, Rupert compares various versions of the threefold nature of God, relating this to scientific thinking where 'the laws of nature play the role of the Logos, the principle of form and order, and energy is the Spirit principle.' (p. 256) Logos also operates in formative fields. He notes the emergence of a philosophy of panpsychism in many formerly materialist philosophers, adding the panentheistic perspective of his friend Matthew Fox. His overall message is that spiritual practices can lead us to a greater sense of connection with the whole while at the same time expanding our kinship with people, animals, plants and nature, and encouraging the practice of kindness. (p. 270) As such, they can contribute to our spiritual evolution. Taken together, Rupert's two books on science and spiritual practices provide an invaluable compendium of 'ways to go beyond' but can enhance our sense of connection and interconnectedness, which could not be more important in view of the planetary challenges we face.