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METAPHYSICS: SCIENCE
and SPIRIT
All
Entries Compiled or Written By Renee Prince
08/18/06 - Article by RCP
Copyright 2006 Renee Prince
All Rights Reserved.
NEUROCHEMICALS, OR THOUGHTS ON THOUGHT
A Four Part Series on Science and Spirituality
Part 1
If It's Only A Movie, Can It Be Real?
Spirituality, Neurochemicals, and the Big Screen
During a PBS program based on his book The Power of Intention
first broadcast in 2004, self-help advocate Dr. Wayne Dyer
mentions a study where 'they' (researchers---scientists we are
hoping, and we will look that up in his book's reference section
when time permits to get the source of the study) were able to
measure the levels of serotonin being released following exposure
to particular stimuli in humans. The stimulus in this study
was "an act of kindness"---giving a dollar to a homeless man,
according to Dyer. The results are intriguing.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter accompanying feelings of content,
well-being, and satisfaction. This is the neurotransmitter
targeted for increase by many antidepressants. Serotonin
levels increased in the homeless man who received the dollar, and
also in the giver. Apparently it really does feel good to
give. But surprisingly, serotonin levels also increased in
people who simply watched the transaction, both at the time of
the transaction and later, on video.
At the time I saw this program, I had just finished a feature film
called Indigo working as the art director. It was the
second film I had crewed on in the past year that was spiritual in
nature (the first was What the Bleep Do We Know). The
director, Stephen Simon, who was a long-time Hollywood producer (What
Dreams May Come, Somewhere in Time, among many others) would
become one of my most cherished friends, in good part because of
his commitment to creating a new genre in film (or at least
recognizing that there was a genre like this) called "Spiritual
Cinema". Stephen's book about the historical tradition of
spiritual films called The Force is With You made me aware
that most of the films that have affected me most deeply over the
years, as both a filmmaker and a member of the audience, have been
spiritual in nature.
Among the films cited in Stephen's book---which were all over the
map "genre"-wise from Science Fiction to Mystery to Romance and
beyond---many were long-time favorites of mine, such as A
Beautiful Mind, Mulholland Drive, Raiders of the Lost Ark,
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The China Syndrome, The Sixth
Sense, Dr. Strangelove, Dogma, Close Encounters, Contact, Altered
States, Being There, Cast Away, and even Forrest
Gump. Until I met Stephen, it would not have occurred to
me to recognize the common thread among all these films.
However, I had felt the same way after seeing them all---a feeling
of having touched some great mystery, and a sense of possibility,
even inspiration, and often a new way of perceiving something
followed. I felt that these movies enriched my life in some
way, rather than simply entertaining me.
Notice that these are NOT religious films. Spiritual does
not mean religious, although, if you "swing that way", a religious
movie can function as a spiritual film. Rather, the
definition of "spiritual cinema", to borrow from Stephen's book,
is:
"I believe that spirituality is in and of itself a genre of
film that has been around for decades but has never been
recognized as such. ... What do all these films have in
common?
They contain illuminating aspects of the single most
important question that we ask ourselves:
Why are we here?"
The serotonin study provided a clue as to what might be happening
during the watching of a spiritual film. In a way, a
spiritual film is a "good deed". We recognize that something
of intrinsic value has been given to us or shown us, and this
literally lifts our spirits through the corresponding release in
serotonin. Lest we spiral on toward a strictly chemical view
of this exchange and its interaction with us, it would be wise to
look more closely at the alliance between our thoughts, moods,
even states of awareness and spiritual joy, and the chemical
cascades associated with them. This is not a linear cause
and effect process, but rather a complex, multidirectional system
that in one way or another, we can affect (to our detriment or our
betterment) by the thoughts we think. By our perception or
our bias in perception of the world around us, we change the very
structure of our cells and our capacity for joy and openness to
something greater than ourselves. Something we would call
"spiritual" in nature.
By the way, if you would like to know more about Spiritual Cinema via the
Spiritual Cinema Circle (a distributor and venue for spiritual
films and documentaries) or the articles and interviews about this
kind of film, try Stephen's site
here.
Also, the site for What the Bleep Do We Know provides much
fodder for spiritual and scientific (and other) thought. You
can find it and links to many of the people interviewed in the
film here.
After the PBS show, I excitedly emailed Stephen with the serotonin
idea, and later found out that a particular researcher who, in fact
had been one of the scientists interviewed for What the Bleep
Do We Know, had long been involved in the study of how our
neurochemistry may affect our spirituality, even our creation of
reality. WARNING: Now we are treading water in an area where
many of you are not comfortable. The "Here There Be
Monsters" area---possibly infested with Fluff-head, New Age, Ding
Bat, or Aging Hippy monsters. I, too, fear these creatures and
will say here and now, in the first part of this series of ongoing
metaphysical explorations, that I am a scientist by training, by
disposition and by very conscious choice.
DETOUR FROM MAIN ARTICLE FOLLOWS:
In fact, let's leave the neurochemistry article aside for a
moment, because now is a good time to explain the attitude and
mission of these pages. Rather than reporting factoids as
truth, I am putting out theories and their provided experimental
support. Also, while anecdotal evidence is not my first
choice of evidence as a scientist, with large numbers of like
anecdotes under like conditions, this form of data cannot be
ignored. In some parts of these pages, anecdote is what we
have to work with at this point. But in time, and with
technical advances in quantifying things that are too small, or
too subtle, or too fast, what was anecdotal becomes hard data.
My personal belief is that science, eventually, will provide
methods whereby spiritual questions may be answered. Science
itself may change in its approach to some of these questions, but
the basic quests of science---to find truth and to understand that
truth---will remain inviolate.
But that's just me. You, dear unknown reader, may believe that
everything you need to know about spirit, matter and the nature of
truth is written down in one of the perennial best sellers
presumably authored by the Head Honcho of All That Is, word for
word. To you those words speak the
truth and the only truth, no questions asked, problem solved,
let's get something to eat and watch Survivor, or
conversely, let's get
together and not watch TV because it is full of evil... Or some
such line of thinking. If that is you, then you might want
to flee this area of discussion, because, just like me when
I am exposed to stock market figures or the words of George Bush, if you remain
here, you will feel intense boredom, depression and possibly disgust
and anger. Don't waste any more of your valuable time.
Goodnight and drive home safely.
If, however, you have certain questions,
ideas, or complaints about the
nature of things, these pages might be worth your time, depending
on how fast you read. I will do my best to separate
speculation (and there will be some, maybe more than some,
sometimes) from theory, from empirical evidence, from genuine
experimental results. I will do that. What I just
said. Maybe we should have a signal whenever there is going
to be speculation. Like three calls of a well-known bird---a
robin, maybe. No, I can't do a robin; I'm not even sure what
they sound like. I need to get out to more Audubon field
trips this year. Okay. No signal. You will just
have to go by your instincts on this. I will try to be
clear, though, on the evolution of my thoughts and assumptions on
any particular subject, including, whenever possible: REFERENCES.
Thus, you can verify or refute what you read here at your leisure.
And now back to the end of this first article.
RETURN FROM DETOUR TO MAIN ARTICLE FOLLOWS:
As I was saying, we are seemingly on our way to the soft and
shapeless outer edges of rational thinking. Not so. In
fact, we are about to enter a realm of very hard, very replicable
science. Dr. Candace Pert, best known for her discovery of
the opiate receptor, has looked long and deep into the tangle of
neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones, peptides, cell function and
structure, and us---you and I---and all that we think, feel and
believe. In her book, The Molecules of Emotion, (New
York: Scribner, 1997) Pert reveals the connections of mind, body,
and perhaps spirit through the intricacies of chemicals and
cellular functioning. If you are interested in learning more
about Dr. Pert and her work, take a look
here. In Part 2 of this series we will
examine Dr. Pert's and others' findings with an emphasis on the
possible spiritual implications of the most recent discoveries.
Don't worry, there's no math involved.
Coming in October - Part 2 of
NEUROCHEMICALS, OR THOUGHTS ON THOUGHT
A Four Part Series on Science and Spirituality
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