Science and Spiritual Practices: Reconnecting through direct experience

Description

In this pioneering book Rupert Sheldrake shows how science helps validate seven practices on which all religions are built, and which are part of our common human heritage: Meditation Gratitude Connecting with nature Relating to plants Rituals Singing and chanting Pilgrimage and holy places. The effects of spiritual practices are now being investigated scientifically as never before, and many studies have shown that religious and spiritual practices generally make people happier and healthier. Rupert Sheldrake summarizes the latest scientific research on what happens when we take part in these practices, and suggests ways that readers can explore these fields for themselves. For those who are religious, Science and Spiritual Practices will illuminate the evolutionary origins of their own traditions and give a new appreciation of their power. For the non-religious, this book will show how the core practices of spirituality are accessible to all, even if they do not subscribe to a religious belief system. This is a book for anyone who suspects that in the drive towards radical secularism, something valuable has been left behind. Rupert Sheldrake believes that by opening ourselves to the spiritual dimension we may find the strength to live more wholesome and fulfilling lives.

Dr Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist and author of more than eighty technical papers and ten books, including A New Science of Life. He was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, where he was Director of Studies in cell biology, and was also a Research Fellow of the Royal Society. From 2005-2010 he was the Director of the Perrott-Warrick Project for research on unexplained human abilities, funded from Trinity College, Cambridge. He is currently a Fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences in California, and a Visiting Professor at the Graduate Institute in Connecticut. He is married, has two sons and lives in London. Follow Rupert on Twitter @RupertSheldrake. His web site is www.sheldrake.org

I thought I was undergoing a mild mid-life crisis, but after reading Rupert Sheldrake's book I realise that - despite being a lifelong non-believer - I was actually embracing various rituals employed by followers of all major world religions to bring themselves closer to their particular deity...it's fascinating to learn that the pursuits that I, and many of my peers, are embracing aren't simply badges of incipient middle-age, but proven mood-enhancers employed by all cultures throughout history. - Mail on Sunday I have personally adopted many of the practices Rupert describes in his book and experienced more love, joy, empathy, gratitude and equanimity as a result. We are all indebted to Rupert who has tirelessly brought us deep insights from both science and spirituality. - Deepak Chopra Urgent, vital, gently devastating, and an exhilarating read. Buy it, read it, and give it to all your friends and all acolytes of scientism. Sheldrake will help us stay alive and be more alive. We all need his help. - Charles Foster, Fellow of Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, and author of Being a Beast I love this book! Few living scientists have the courage and the verve to ask the questions Rupert does, research them, and deliver answers in language all can understand. Be prepared as you read this book for an exciting and free-ranging ride, a sort of scientific pilgrimage journeying into spiritual practices and how they have benefited and can benefit humanity. - Matthew Fox, spiritual theologian and author of Original Blessing, The Reinvention of Work, and Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our TImes Praise for the Science Delusion - : Sheldrake will be seen as a prophet. - The Sunday Times Rupert Sheldrake does science, humanity and the world at large a considerable favour. - The Independent Certainly we need to accept the limitations of much current dogma and keep our minds open as we reasonably can. Sheldrake may help us do so through this well-written, challenging and always interesting book. - Financial Times