[Buddha-l] Neurophysiology (was: Different criticisms...)

[jkirk]

Michael,

 

Thanks for the Borders coupon link. Checked this book on amazon, read many
comments about what a good science reporter Sharon Begley is. Recently,
somewhere I came across a tout for a book titled _The Biology of Belief_ by
Bruce H Lipton. The book is very much for the general reader, and is written
in an ecstatic, personal manner. Like many similar writers, he’s on about
how mind influences matter,  but the book never gets around to telling the
reader what to do to cause mind to influence the subconscious, which he says
really rules more than we think it does (subconscious means to him our
habitual mindsets, mostly negative according to him). He is a former
molecular scientist and developed a theory –that he says he backs up with
experimental evidence and discusses it some—that the cell membrane really
controls the cell, not its nucleus, and the membrane responds to positives
and negatives in its environment. Thus, the cell membrane is its “mind,”
humans are composed of myriad of cells, and so mind controls matter.  

Then we rapidly move on to humans. After going on and on about the
subconscious and its power, he never gets around to saying how one can
change the subconscious or limit its power over what we do and how we feel,
except for a few homilies about parents properly relating to children so as
not to instill negatives in their subconscious.  He refers both to Jesus,
Buddha, and meditation, but says very little about them. The book was
extremely disappointing because it’s superficial and doesn’t deliver on its
promise to indicate how humans can dump subconscious negativities, anywhere
as effectively as vipassana does, and live ”ecstatically happy” lives, (like
his life). Have to admit that I was pretty skeptical of the book from the
start but tried to give it its due.

Have to say I am getting more skeptical by the week with this sort of
reading material. But will check out the two you cited over at Borders.

Joanna

 

 

 


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