Conversations Beyond Science and Religion - Philip Comella

Conventional medical science treats the body — including the mind — as a machine.  If parts of the machine fail or become diseased, the standard approach is to treat the malady with chemicals, operate on damaged parts, or destroy unwanted cells with intense radiation.  At times, in the instance of acute trauma, stabilization of bodily functions, or medical emergencies, conventional medical approaches are essential and work.  But for many chronic conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, or auto-immune conditions, these methods fail.  The failure of conventional treatment methods is no more evident than in the area of mental health.  In her new book, Sacred Psychiatry, Dr. Judy Tsafrir, a member of  the faculty at Harvard Medical School, argues that in the place of total reliance upon conventional allopathic treatment methods, psychiatry should focus on a multi-modal (or holistic) approach to improving mental health.  These methods encompass those based on Eastern medicine, archetypal psychology, energy healing, homeopathy, and even astrology. Despite the widespread rejection of these methods by orthodox medical science, Dr. Tsafrir has seen them work on her patients and has altered her  practice accordingly.  Listen in as Philip and Dr. Tsafrir discuss this slow-developing (if not inevitable) paradigm shift in psychiatric care and what it means for the future of mental health.

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We are all familiar with the concept of tuning, particularly in regard to musical instruments. We know that to “stay in tune” means to play with the right pitch and to harmonize with other instruments. Even the untutored ear knows when a piano is out-of-tune: something sounds out-of-balance and disjointed. Sounds that only roughly track a melody. It turns out that when scientists started studying the universe at large they discovered a tuning on a completely different level. Indeed, the deeper scientists look, the more fine-tuned our particular universe looks. Fine-tuned, that is, to allow for the possibility of life. At this point, scientific observation crosses over into philosophical speculation and even theism. How is it possible for the big bang to have produced a universe so precisely balanced? The fine-tuning of the universe has become one of the most written-about topics in science, forming the theme of a number of best-sellers, such as The Accidental Universe by Paul Davies and the intimidating, but highly readable, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle by John Barrows and Frank Tipler. This show’s guest, Luke Barnes, is co-author of new book, A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos, that provides an open-ended and entertaining perspective on the great fine-tuning mystery. Listen in as Luke Barnes, Professor of Physics at Western Sydney University, joins Philip Comella in a no-holds barred conversation on a topic that continues to challenge many of science’s basic assumptions.

Luke Barnes: Profiles

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With the recent attack on Israel by Hamas and the horrors of war spread throughout the media, it might help to remember that Islam and Judaism pray to the same God. Judaism traditionally teaches that one connects with God through following the commandments, or the mitzvot. 
In his new book, Transcendental Judaism: Enlivening the Eternal Within to Uplift Ourselves and Our World, David Lieberman writes that we can also experience the oneness of God through an inward journey, and hear that “still small voice.”  The goal, David says, is to internalize this sense of the divine and to live our lives connected to the one God.  Yes, this is idealistic, and goes beyond traditional views of Judaism.  But given the current state of affairs, it seems like a message worth repeating.
Philip and David discuss what it means to transcend Judaism.

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In our current mechanical worldview, we view the brain as a biochemical machine consisting of intricate particles known as neurons. As an engineer’s design and technology limit the function of a machine, so the DNA molecule limits the function of the brain. Simply put, machines do not have visions, out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, spiritual awakenings, or exceed the capabilities of their in-built programming. But real-world events reported throughout history show everyone from scientists to mystics breaking through the limits of the brain to experience higher forms of consciousness, gain other-worldly inspiration, and perform super-human feats. In this show, Philip talks with Joseph Selbie, the author of the new book, Break Through the Limits of the Brain, about these historical anecdotes and how everyone has the ability to break through on their own.

Check out our video chat here:

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In his groundbreaking 1993 book, The Self-Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World, Amit Goswami used the findings of quantum theory to argue that consciousness creates what we perceive to be the material world. 

This conclusion is in direct opposition to scientific materialism, which holds that consciousness — if it even exists — arises from the gray matter of the brain.  Since this book, Amit has continued to expand his thinking to cover evolution, health, and even “quantum activism.” 

On this show, Philip and Amit discuss the origins of his thinking and the future of the consciousness-first movement. It took the Catholic Church 359 years to admit it was wrong about Galileo’s theories.  How long will this revolution take? 

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In his new book, Radical Loving: One God, One World, One People, Rabbi Wayne Dosick, PhD, combines inspiration with revelation, adds a few words of wisdom, and then splices in a series of enlightening tales exemplifying the point at hand. 

He shines a light on the common ground to all religions, which are all rooted in one Source, and then compares the vision of religion to the deep problems of the current age. By laying one over the other the contrasts become vividly apparent, as evidenced by the multiple ailments of modern society, including crime, hatred, racism, and the battlefield we call politics. 

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Throughout history, humans have always had extraordinary experiences we often called miracles—events that fill us with wonder and bafflement.  The problem is that under our current scientific worldview, miracles are not supposed to occur because they constitute a violation of the laws of nature. 

But suppose that what we call miracles actually reveal the true nature of the physical world, which is not limited by what science now classifies as the “laws of nature.”  In his new book, The Smile of the Universe: Miracles in an Age of Disbelief, this week’s guest, Dr. Michael Grosso, concludes that miracles are facts of the natural world that point to something super-natural.  These accounts take us beyond conventional religion and science to explore the outer reaches of human potential. 

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As the case against materialism builds, the credentials of the opponents to this pessimistic view of the world continue to increase.  This show’s guest, Dr. Harald Walach, holds a double Ph.D in Clinical Psychology, and History and Theory of Science.  He is currently a professor with Poznan Medical University in Poznan, Poland, and author of more than 170 peer reviewed papers, 14 books, and 100 book chapters. He is also the main author of a special report issued by the Galileo Commission, entitled, Beyond a Materialistic Worldview: Towards an Expanded Science.  As Dr. Walach writes, the purpose of this enterprise is to “find ways to expand the scope of science so that it is no longer constrained by an outmoded view of matter and physical reality, and can explore and accommodate significant human experiences, especially evidence indicating that consciousness may go beyond the brain.”  Indeed.  As Philip and Dr. Walach discuss on this show, eventually the tipping point will be reached and materialism, the doctrine that the world consists only of impersonal particles and forces, with no purpose, meaning, or goal, will pass away into history. 

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The Source with a capital S is a neutral, “new age” term referring to the ground of Being. But it has a richer meaning than the Big Bang of modern cosmology or Darwin’s primordial swamp out of which life supposedly arose. This Source organizes life, gives it coherence, and injects it with meaning.   If all things came from the Source, then it would seem helpful if we “went home” and reconnected with it.  In fact, this might be the source of what we know as a religious experience.  In his forthcoming book, Reconnecting to the Source: The New Science of Spiritual Experience, How it Can Change You, and How it Can Transform the World, Ervin Laszlo, twice-nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, author of 90 books, and a pioneer of the “new age,” presents the case for why we must move to a new paradigm the goes beyond science’s current confining materialistic perspective.  In this show, Philip explores Dr. Laszlo’s half-century quest to understand the world and what we are doing here.

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Along with Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin is one of the two leading scientists in our modern era.  The topic of evolution dominates biology and has permeated our thinking far beyond Darwin’s original conception of the subject.  To believe in evolution is tantamount to being considered a civilized human being.  But a major problem presents itself:  how many people actually understand what Darwin said or what natural selection means?  How many people realize that according to modern Darwinians, such as Richard Dawkins, the entire living world arose through the mindless selection of random mutations?  Can a world with such obvious signs of design have arisen without a designer?  On today’s show, Philip interviews Professor Michael Behe, the author of the best-selling book, Darwin’s Black Box and the new book, Darwin Devolves:  The New Science About DNA That Challenges Evolution.  These science books raise a difficult question for the Darwinian model: random, directionless mutations are much more likely to destroy a living organism than create a new one. If so, then how did random mutations create the living world?  Listen in for the answer to this question.

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