The Temporal Eye

September 15, 2019 Cognitive Insights, Open Religion No Comments

In memory of a personal experience.

Sitting at a bench

looking over a field of grass and a pond. Trees in the distance. Sunshine. Late afternoon. Very relaxed.

Becoming the trees.

You may see this as a mystical experience. I do, if ever there is one.

Being the trees.

No difference between them there and me here… in experience. Rationally, at the same time, I perfectly knew the difference. It’s not that I ‘lost myself in the trees’ or anything like that.

No scary stuff. Nothing to be afraid of. Still, the experience was ‘complete.’ Without any doubt, I was the trees. The trees were me.

My first advice to you, dear reader

when you ever have such an experience, is to not be frustrated for not having it again and again. You may yearn for it as much as you like. Enjoy the yearning. Don’t get frustrated.

It’s there all the time, waiting for you.

Don’t get frustrated.

This advice reminds me of Mother Theresa who, apparently, has had some visions of being close to God/Jesus. But then these experiences didn’t come back to her. Apparently, she suffered – at time immensely – for the rest of her life, doubting in frustration of ‘why?’

It was waiting for her. She never reached it again.

The temporal eye

Science is cute sometimes.

Studies reveal that when applying a strong magnetic field over the temporal brain lobe of subjects, they become prone to get experiences that can be called ‘mystical.’

They are.

This doesn’t mean you can rightfully reduce mystical experiences to some ‘neural phenomenon’, let alone ‘disease.’ At least, not more than you can reduce any visual experience to some ‘eye + visual brain phenomenon’, let alone ‘disease.’ It’s just looking. No need for any reduction.

Open your eyes and see the world as it appears to you. Then close your eyes and see what happens. Open them again and see what happens.

Open your temporal eye and see the world as it appears to you. Then close your eye and see what happens. Open it again and see what happens. Well… OK… It’s a bit more difficult… The principle is the same.

Do animals continuously look with temporal eyes?

Perhaps. It’s hard to say.

Maybe we really have been thrown out of Eden for eating too much apple.

Anyway. I think it’s interesting enough to be able to look both ways. No reduction needed. No exaltation needed, yet permitted… if it helps you lead a better life.