"Over the past 20 years, fMRI and EEG studies of Tibetan monks, Carmelite nuns, psychics and the..."

“Over the past 20 years, fMRI and EEG studies of Tibetan monks, Carmelite nuns, psychics and the hyper-religious have revealed the neurological manifestations of mystical experiences. Researchers have found that stimulation of the brain’s left anterior insula is linked to the feeling of a “sensed presence.” The neuroscientist Shahar Arzy and his colleagues found that repeated electrical stimulation of an area of the left temporo-parietal junction resulted in the subject’s perceiving a shadowy figure. And those who suffer from temporal lobe epilepsy have reported experiences comparable to supernatural encounters, including feelings of heightened spirituality, a “sensed presence,” and euphoria collectively known as Gastaut-Geschwind syndrome.”

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Margee Kerr, My Philadelphia Ghost Story

from Stowe Boyd http://stoweboyd.com/post/132264999382