Are Atheists Mostly Left Brained?

Originally posted by The Killah29
I am an atheist to every religion. I am also a humanitarian. I'm not Leftist, or a Conservative. Politics are a joke. Religion is a scam.

The "God Spot" you are talking about, MatrixProphet, is the pineal gland right in the center of the brain. It releases a neruo-chemical called 'Melatonin', which can also be found in (note this scientifically proven and I'm not one to push drugs or advertise them) 'magic mushrooms.

It is also is believed to be the Third Eye or 'Soul Seat'.

The Pineal gland also produces Serotonin and '___' naturally, along with Melatonin. In addition to this, it is lined all along the inside with rods and cones just like the eye's retina. It is in the exact geometric center of the brain and is supplied with more blood per cubic centimeter than any other part of the body. Search mythological artwork and old sculptures. There is an abundance of pine cone imagery. There's a massive pine cone statue at the Vatican, as a small example.

The pineal gland appears to be activated by darkness. Serotonin is produced during the day, which basically makes us sane and present in reality. Melatonin is produced in response to darkness and once the mental frequency has been lowered sufficiently, the gland releases '___' which activates the sleep cycle. It is what is responsible for any natural or meditative "hallucinations."

[edit on 25-5-2009 by Syrus Magistus]

Originally posted by Watcher-In-The-Shadows
reply to post by Welfhard

 

No, merely commenting on the actions I see as opposed to blindly accepting assurances to the contrary I have yet to see materialize. And further more I am not disagreeing to be disagreeable, I am disagreeing because I disagree. Don't flatter yourself into thinking I mark you up for any special treatment please.

"Merely" indeed.

reply to post by Welfhard


I fail to see how I can do anything but comment regardless of the content of said comment considering the limitations of the medium in which we are communicating. So, yes, I am "merely" commenting. Unless your allegations go deeper in which case I call upon you to speak *err type* them. There is no agenda or conspiracy on my part to attack you or whatever, I have no problem with you personally as I do not even know you personally. We happen to come across each other and when you post something with which I disagree and can prove my reasons for disagreement I respond. I find even the idea that is the case to be more than a little self centered and silly on your part, if that is what you are thinking. No, I do not follow you around with some silly agenda to mess with you, in so many words.

Main Entry: 3mere
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): superlative mer·est
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin merus; akin to Old English āmerian to purify and perhaps to Greek marmairein to sparkle — more at morn
Date: 15th century
1: having no admixture : pure
2obsolete : being nothing less than : absolute

3: being nothing more than

SOURCE:www.merriam-webster.com...


[edit on 26-5-2009 by Watcher-In-The-Shadows]

Originally posted by MatrixProphet
reply to post by Dark Ghost

 

PS: OP, I do not mean to attack you personally, I just think you do not understand what you mean when you use the term "Left Brained"

No, I know you don't. I completely understand how both work. But you must separate behavioral science from neurological or chemical/biological psychology. You are only talking the medical end and not the behavioral end.

Ahh ok I see. Thanks for clearing that up. You are right, I have mainly addressed the biological/physiological side and have not looked at the issue from a behavioural and psychological perspective.

reply to post by Dark Ghost

Ahh ok I see. Thanks for clearing that up. You are right, I have mainly addressed the biological/physiological side and have not looked at the issue from a behavioural and psychological perspective.

Thank you!

reply to post by MatrixProphet


So you reckon that if a person is, shall we say, emotionally challenged, that they may be unable to or have difficulty with knowing God (on the obvious assumption that god exists in the first place).

And is that also to say that a person cannot know this god purely in a logical and rational capacity?

Also you should drop this right-brain/left-brain "analogy" because it's misleading.

reply to post by Welfhard

So you reckon that if a person is, shall we say, emotionally challenged, that they may be unable to or have difficulty with knowing God (on the obvious assumption that god exists in the first place).

And is that also to say that a person cannot know this god purely in a logical and rational capacity?

How far does information get us? Does it make for a good bedside partner?

A lot about God is "feeling" or experiencing his energy, or presence. Knowledge cannot do that for us.

How would someone KNOW God in a logical or rational sense? You cannot place rational assumptions on God. It is based on mostly experience and experience is not provable but then again, nor is matter, unless seen.

Also you should drop this right-brain/left-brain "analogy" because it's misleading.

I use the analogy because it IS very applicable. People who delve into behavioral/recovery information understand this analogy. Use whatever makes sense to you. Don't let it be an obstacle stopping you from learning. It is all semantics, after all.

Please put aside your understanding for a moment. In behavioral science the left brain is our computer chip = information and logic, the right brain = emotions/imagination, possibilities, etc. It is like saying the heart breaks or feels, but does it actually? More metaphorical.

Understanding and even KNOWING God involves both, but cannot be accessed unless a person places importance on their emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is in many ways more important. We process information through our right brain feelers, so to speak. We make judgments based on it. We KNOW what is truth even though we cannot prove it. Intuition comes from the right side.

Let's use an example:

Some people intuitively KNEW to not go to work at the towers on 9/11. There was no logic or information to support their gut instincts. Yet, their instincts were correct, and they lived!

Someone who was not as connected with this right brain phenomena were either using filters and so could not "feel" that something was wrong, and went to work, or were individuals who are rarely in touch with their sensors. This is all right brain or right hemisphere reactions.

Now if you dull your senses with booze or weed this will assist us in becoming victims of circumstances. For they "block" your senses. They will also block higher levels of consciousness or awareness, which blocks God out.

Any of this making sense to you? It is challenging, I realize, but totally accurate.

First off, New here. This is a great site. Many threads I have seen have great views and arguments. Just reading them has helped me to question and understand my own beliefs better. This thread in particular, has been both enlightening and entertaining. I wish to thank the OP and everyone else who has contributed, even if I personally thought you were way off wrong.
While reading I tried to come to up with some profound and enlightened discourse for my first post, but realized that others have done so better. If not all that they said I agreed with, then in the general, in different posts, may have covered almost all of my perception of the universe.

reply to post by Amagnon

Much of what you say sums up my opinion. Thank you for a well spoken and thought out post.

I believe that 'absolute faith' in what you 'believe' to be an 'absolute truth' only hinders the expansion and growth of technological knowledge and advancement, as well as the growth, maturation and transcending of petty, intolerant and destructive impulses of then species.

Belief, Religion and Spirituality are all different things, and are found in different magnitudes in every persons perception of "reality".
Belief - When you know, or assume that specific data is valid and correct on an almost automatic level. This is were Amagnon's Left-Brained/Right-Brained Filtering affect what data you accept as true facts, and what you see as misguided or propaganda.
Religion - A congregation of people who share common belief. Usually under the 'guidance' of an authority closer to the 'Spiritual Center', thus with the absolute right to tell you what you can actually believe and expects total and unwavering obedience.
N.B. This is in no way confined to the organizations that proclaim a GOD/GODDESS/BEING OF HIGHER POWER/AWARENESS/TRANS-DIMENSIONAL PLANE TO BE ATTAINED. All 'atheist' Sciences, all Philosophical and any collection of people, mundane to theological, suffer from a hardening of the traditional and accepted, making them hidebound and intolerant of any data that deviates one iota. (Look up the meaning of that saying, "One Iota's difference").
Spirituality - The feeling of harmony, connection with all around you. An inner welling of peace, power and/or clarity of thinking. This may be false and self-misguiding, but, having experienced it myself many times, and looking at ALL the data, not just parts that back-up my theory, I have to admit, I have NO idea at all what it really is, but am convinced that there IS something there.
Again this is not connected with any kind of strict belief in a GOD/etc. Though because of the nature of the experience, it does leave one feeling something higher, more valid, more deeper.

I did the whole Christian thing when I was a child. I was classed as disruptive, argumentative and a trouble maker. Really my behavior was disgusting. I tried to understand. I truly was interested in finding out how and why. when I questioned what I thought of as complete nonsense, my querys were intended to help enlighten me, not attack the Sunday School teachers or the Faith. But I was always told that my trying to understand the bible in any rational way was wrong, EVIL. That one had to just accept that it is true, because "we are telling you it is".
As a baby I would cry when in a Church. At 5, I was Christened. I fought, got loose, made a destructive mess trying to escape, was caught wriggling out a window. Screamed blue murder as they wetted my head. Felt like it was burning. I still know the difference between normal and Holy water in a blind test.
I am not an atheist. I tried it, But the belief system was as rigid and illogical as my experience with Christianity. I operated day to day with automatic reactions based on my Beliefs, but all data is examined, retained and integrated into a sometimes contradictory whole.

[edit on 30-5-2009 by ThunderStone]

I would just like to add that I hold many fundamental beliefs that I know to be false or misleading. I also operate in a world that does not conform with my or anyone else's idea of reality. The universe works to complicated and precise rules that, by their nature, are the root basis of EVERYTHING. Even if to us it seems mysterious or unexplained,a out-landish or far-fetched the theory.

Nothing is wrong or insignificant, all data and information, all ideas and ravings are in some way connected, even to something that seems totally irrelevant.
I believe in opposite, conflicting beliefs. I believe things that are not true, as far as I can without living in an imaginary world. I know and use truths that I don't want or do not except.
Nothing that anyone thinks/feels/believes/knows/intuits is wrong if taken as the whole, the absolute, the only way to interpret things. I believe that we must use all of our brain to interact with the universe in more then a Newtonian style action and reaction of matter. You don't have to left or right brain oriented to be fundamentally and fanatically dogmatic. Nor to be one or the other to be open minded, thoughtful and curious, holistically and logically unfolding the universe of understanding.

Originally posted by badmedia

Originally posted by Amagnon
reply to post by badmedia

 

Well, looking for Bill Gates in your computer and looking for God in the universe seems to be a fair analogy, and if it then we can interpolate it.

Not many people claim that Bill Gates personally fixed their software, or that he spoke to them through their software and gave them secret messages that disappeared after writing, or that they simply thought about Bill Gates every day and they got a free software upgrade while they were sleeping, or that when they had a crash it rebooted with a brand new upgrade that had never been seen anywhere before, or that Bill Gates installed all software on all computers 6 days ago - and before that there was no software.

But just because it is not "out there" does not mean it is not to be found. It just means it's not "out there".

As for the rest, a claim is just a claim. No way to know if it's true or not. Thus you can not honestly say the claim is true or false based on the claim itself. I don't take peoples claims as true, but that doesn't mean they are false either. It's just that persons claim. I know there are plenty of things that happened in my life that were crazy etc that I couldn't prove. Doesn't mean they didn't happen.

I personally equate such thinking as not believing a person who seen something happen until it appears on the news.

Until you realize what is "you", then you will never understand. You think you are part of the physical and flesh. Therefore it is impossible for you to understand anything beyond that. These things are simply possessions.

But creation as science can prove is based on logic and laws. And consciousness does not follow these things because it is not of this creation. Your body and brain follow these laws, but your consciousness is that which allows you to "be" and to observe. Without it you would just be like this creation, unconscious and following the laws of action and reaction.

If you want to find god, then find out who/what you truly are, rather than finding physical attachments to define yourself.

I think I tried to explain this before. The concept looks simple, but is difficult to grasp because it is understated.

When I earlier said I had no beliefs, I meant it. Of course most usually take it to mean I have no religious beliefs, or possibly they will extend it to mean political beliefs, and so on.

I am being perfectly literal - no beliefs at all. The belief that I am a living breathing human being - don't believe it. That I live on a world called Earth - don't believe it. That I can sit or run or sleep - don't believe it. While I am aware of myself - I certainly would not describe myself as being locked into a physical world. My understanding of reality is vastly different to what is experienced by the senses.

People largely use a system of fact and fiction to create beliefs and interact with reality through those beliefs. However, reality does not appear to be composed of fact and fiction, it appears to be composed of information.

Without beliefs everything becomes knowledge. So rather than to artificially force force data into fact or fiction, it is simply accepted as possible.

While I do not say god exists or does not exist - I have not encountered anything that resembles the god that most religions expound. I am not looking for evidence of existence or non existence - I am impartial.

You make some claims regarding how you believe that I think, and I am not going to say much regarding that.

One thing I would say though - is that people may become locked into a physical state because they believe what their senses are telling them, it is not a state of being physically locked down - but rather it is a state of mind arising from inflexible belief. The belief that reality is defined by the senses.

Regardless of the source of an inflexible system of belief, the result will always be to prevent the acquisition of knowledge, this in turn prevents understanding from arising.

If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch.

You also said "But creation as science can prove is based on logic and laws." This is an interesting statement. In what way can science prove or disprove anything? The only thing we can do is subject things to various tests - and we collect the data, which is evidence. Then we organize the evidence and say - this has meaning. What we can't say is "This proves something." If we do - then we are sadly mistaken.

To be free, we must first break down the walls inside our own minds - walls that we ourselves have built, and try to rebuild everyday. Before they can be broken down - we must see and acknowledge that they are there.

reply to post by ThunderStone

First off, New here. This is a great site. Many threads I have seen have great views and arguments. Just reading them has helped me to question and understand my own beliefs better. This thread in particular, has been both enlightening and entertaining. I wish to thank the OP and everyone else who has contributed, even if I personally thought you were way off wrong.

Thank you. Yes, I do not expect most to agree with what I am saying and I don't expect others to have had the training and education in human behavior that I have had.

The point is, and you said it, is to question. We may not always agree with the answers, but if I have made someone think, this is a step forward.

Matrix, intuition is still knowing something, but not knowing the dots that connect everything.

I could know a math problem just by looking at it, but have no idea of how to explain it. All I did was analyze it and found out the answer.

Your assumption that people have a "natural" instinct is false. People know bits of information here and there, and unknowingly make a connection.

Another example is this. Years ago I could have seen a video about poisonous mushrooms. If 20 years later I am stuck in the forest, I could unknowingly bring back that memory to help save my life.

But to attribute such events to a greater being is just giving away your own credit of knowledge.

What I also do not understand is why some of you are contributing one "idea" to either side of the brain, acting like one is better for certain ideas.

The best way to answer a question is to use both of these tools; your imagination and your logic.

reply to post by FritosBBQTwist


I don't know if you had the opportunity to read all of my posts on this thread, but it might behoove you to do so, as I agree with most of what you said.

Your assumption that people have a "natural" instinct is false. People know bits of information here and there, and unknowingly make a connection.

I don't know what post you are referring to here? Please point it out and I will try to explain.

If you have never made a God connection using higher consciousness, I wouldn't expect you to understand what I am saying. It is like someone delving into deep physics with me, you cannot assume that I would understand everything you are saying. Some subjects will be like Greek to us, if we lack the personal knowledge or experience to comprehend it.

Some things are experienced within ourselves, while most of our knowledge comes from outside. You cannot put both on the same plane.

Originally posted by MatrixProphet

Thank you. Yes, I do not expect most to agree with what I am saying and I don't expect others to have had the training and education in human behavior that I have had.

The point is, and you said it, is to question. We may not always agree with the answers, but if I have made someone think, this is a step forward.

Questioning of any and all information is vital for complete understanding. Holistically, no information, no matter how erroneous or wrong it maybe, should be discarded.
On thing I learned from school, maybe to only thing of value, is that almost everything one was taught, is later revised and changed. The amount of things I was told to be TRUTH by teachers and scientists is different to what kids are taught now. No truth is absolute or contained in only a limited boundary of facts.
"There is more in the Heavens and on the Earth then the Mind of Man can Dream".
To qualify the comment I made "even if I personally thought you were way off wrong." I may not feel that a comment is complete (i.e. touches or includes or takes into account other factors). I may believe personally that the argument takes the wrong track, missing the point totally, or that it holds no value but is instead nothing more then emotional reactions. But none of this means that I disregard any of it. May facts I hold in my head I do not believe in, yet always hold them against my perceptions to see if they have anything in common or in some way can meld with what I believe to be.
My views have changed dramatically over the years. Many things I 'KNEW' to be wrong or true have changed positions. I know that most people hold many beliefs that are contradictary.
I myself live in a mental flux of equal but opposite views.
A = B
A = C
B does not equal C, either could be true, both are probably true, or neither may be true.
To deny either is to limit oneself to living in black and white, ignoring all the richness of colours.

Every body uses filters of their personal beliefs to decide what data they think is relevant. Emotion is a primal, instinctive reaction, one must train themselves not to react to their emotional impulses without thinking. if we didn't we would hit the guy in front of us at the shops for wasting out time farting around trying to pay with all his small coins. The same thing for information. I have rejected data totally as BS, only to later find that I have mulled it over sub-consciously, and finding that I now agree with all or part of it.

reply to post by ThunderStone


Yes, I understand what you are saying. Part of being spiritual is being willing to turn on a dime. What may work for a while no longer works. It is always a work in progress, and this is a good thing because it keeps it, and us alive.

I have had to let go of all of my beliefs in order to get to the space I am in now. It means walking not just the walk, but walking our talk, also.

Information always changes or at least alters. If we place all our hope and beliefs in our information, we will assuredly be disappointed, if we are not clone like individuals (admittedly, many if not most are).

This whole thread was doing just that. Challenging peoples perspectives on what they viewed as intelligent. Yet, are we intelligent, or are we just another type of follower?

reply to post by Amagnon


I actually didn't disagree with you too much there. The universe is all information. You are right that none of those things are you. You are aware, and that which is aware is what is "you".

However. What those things do in fact define is your experience. This experience is what is "reality". While you can say you do not believe in these things, you obviously do believe. If you did not believe then you would not be able to type to me that you didn't believe.

I am not my body, I do not breathe, and so forth. I agree with you there. But these things are my experience. They do define certain things which I can use and change/enhance the experience and so forth.

So if you get a geo metro, or if you get a ferrari. Neither of them actually define "you", but each of them do define your experience when driving. You can be a good or bad driver in either one, the ferrari more tempting of speed, the geo incapable of it. But they don't define the driver, just the experience.

Seems you have a pretty good idea of what you are not. But how much as for what you are?

reply to post by FritosBBQTwist


Too bad you can't truly "know" anything. You can of course strongly believe you know something and have faith in your ability to know anything concretely but in the end you don't truly know jack. And neither do I.

TheMythLives made this point that fits so well in this thread:

"Keep the mind open and ideas and knowledge flow in them like an open river allowing for understanding. Close them off and the dam builds with knowledge, but no understanding."

We have the study of physics, and then we have the study of theoretical physics. Quantum mechanics fits into the latter. The more we can use our powers of reasoning using our creative, intuitive minds - the more we WILL find the God Spot, not just in our brains but in the cosmos as well!!