Is There a God Spot in the Brain?

Is there a God Spot in the brain and will this cause you to get non-duality?

There are two stories about Jesus. One is from the Christian perspective where Jesus is the Son of God, performs miracles, gets crucified and then rises from the dead. The other version is the Muslim one where Jesus is a prophet amongst many prophets and is no greater than these other prophets.

What causes a Muslim to believe his version and a Christian to believe the other version? Is there some gene or ‘god spot’ in our bodies that causes us to believe? 

Some people believe in a religion because they were born into it and have been taught to believe from a very early age.

But there are those who have converted to a faith or been ‘born again’ into a faith that had lapsed. Most of these people claim that their belief is not the result of logically analysing or considering a religious doctrine. There was some tipping point that turned them from enquirers into believers. This could be in the form of God speaking to them. It could be phenomenon such as speaking in tongues, or just an absolute certainty that descends on them.

There has been neurological research that suggests a part of the brain called the ‘God spot’ exists and this could be the reason for religious experiences.  This theory has not been proved and there is a lot of controversy over this.  Here is a quote from a recent Daily Telegraph story:

“Does the biological structure of our brains program us to believe in God? Recent advances in “neurotheology” have even prompted some scientists to propose they can induce the kind of holy visions of prophets, even in those who have never experienced religious belief.

Dr Michael Persinger of Laurentian University, Canada, has devised a special helmet that uses electromagnetic fields to induce electrical changes in the brain’s temporal lobes, which are linked with religious belief.

The question that comes to mind is:

“If there is a God spot in the brain, could this be responsible for the non-duality experience?”

I don’t believe that the god spot, (if it exists), is responsible. I cannot prove this. My view is based on the nature of the experience. The seeing of non-duality for me was not what I expected. It wasn’t  a confirmation of an idea or a theory. It wasn’t a confirmation of a doctrine that had been taught to me. It was a fundamental shift in my relationship to life and consciousness.

Also, unlike the religious experience, there was no sense of an external force being involved. No voice of God or some ascended master.

From my non-dual perspective there is no need for a belief in God, no need for faith, no need for belief of any kind. There is no moral code to follow. There is no priest, guru, spiritual master or teacher for me. There are no scriptures of spiritual books to read any more.

Though I lack these things, my life is full.

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