Ways to Go Beyond
This talk launches Rupert Sheldrake’s new book, Ways to Go Beyond in which he looks at seven spiritual practices that are personally transformative and have scientifically measurable effects. All provide ways of going beyond our everyday states of mind into a sense of a greater conscious presence, bliss, fuller understanding, or deep connectedness.
In this sequel to Science and Spiritual Practices, Sheldrake writes as both a scientist and a spiritual explorer, and assesses practices that are not normally thought of as spiritual, such as participation in sports, learning from animals and psychedelic experiences, as well as more traditional practices like fasting, praying, observing holy days and being kind. He asks why these practices work. Are their effects ‘all inside the brain’ and essentially illusory? Or can we really make contact with forms of consciousness greater than our own? Sheldrake suggests that we can.