Science & Spirituality - Why You Need Both in Your Life

What is Science?

Science is the systematic study of anything that can be examined, tested, and verified; an ever evolving wealth of objective information. Science is everywhere in our daily lives; healthcare, building materials, education, and transport for example. There is not much of the material and tangible world that has not been created and advanced upon by science.

Life would be harsh without science. Can you imagine living in a cave or a makeshift shelter made from branches with no electricity, natural gas, or water on tap? How about no phone, PC, or internet connection? Would you really want to live in a world devoid of scientific research and advancement?

What is Spirituality?

Spirituality is the realm of the individual relationship to a higher power. It is the personal inner experience of connecting to the source of creation. For many people this brings a sense of comfort and connection to life purpose.

Our modern day religious beliefs can be labeled spirituality. You can be a Muslim, Jew, or Christian and be spiritual; however, you do not have to subscribe to organized religion to be a spiritual person. You can follow none of the aforementioned religious beliefs and still be spiritual individual and God loving person.

Why you need to have both Science and Spirituality in your life

Can science alone explain everything in the universe without spirituality? While we are gaining more technical and biological knowledge of the cosmos and life on earth, science alone cannot provide clear answers on all subject matters of the universe; emotions, dreams, and psychic clairvoyance for example. Science generally speaking cannot explain the remarkable abilities of a true psychic clairvoyant who can describe past events that have transpired in your lifetime with remarkable accuracy. Another example is the subject of meditation and the overall benefit of well being is seems to provide for those who practice it. Medical science has no definitive answers what actually transpires within your mind and body to bring you at a generally positive and better feeling state-of-mind. Spirituality provides us with perspective based answers to these fascinating questions.

Can past and present spiritual beliefs explain everything in the universe without science? Spiritual and Religious teachings provide ambiguous answers for technical and biological questions on the cosmos. They do not provide a detailed explanation of evolution life on earth. Science has proved many geological facts of life on Earth, e.g. the planet is an estimated 400 billion years old. Mankind was not present from the beginning of life on earth, but evolved as a species. I do not recall reading about the T-Rex and the dinosaurs in Sunday School.

Spiritual and Religious teachings also do not seem to account for the billions of other star systems in the Milky Way galaxy; the frozen water on Jupiter's moon Europa, the water that once flowed on Mars, not to mention the billions of other galaxies in this dimension. Science tackles the composition of the earth and the cosmos from a technical and biological perspective. Science is a complex ever-evolving knowledge base that is constantly discovering the amazing and then revising such discoveries as it progress and evolves further, absolutely fascinating! Science has advanced health care to an unparalleled level and gave us evidence of the existence of other stars and planets in the Milky Way galaxy and beyond. It is wise to acknowledge and appreciate science and spirituality simultaneously in your lifetime on Earth.

Science advances our knowledge of this universal dimension and gives us opportunities to experience and learn and grow as individuals.

Spirituality helps us individually with; who we eternally are, understand our purpose in life, and appreciate our chosen path to fulfillment here on planet Earth.

Author and radio show host of the Universal Learning Series, Sandy Andrew was born in the Scottish town of Paisley. Sandy has lived, worked, and studied globally in Scotland, England, South Africa, and the USA. From his diverse studies and drawing on his own life experiences, Sandy formed the Universal Learning Series. Sandy currently resides in Kansas City, USA. For more information visit http://www.universallearningseries.com

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Spirituality And Science - Opposites?

Do spirituality and science have to be opposed to each other? Unfortunately, just defining either concept seems almost hopeless at times. On the other hand, describing them is much easier, so let's start there.

Science isn't system, but an approach to knowledge, a method. Scientists will argue forever about the definition of science, but still agree it is the most useful or productive method of understanding the world. What are its essential characteristics? They are objective observation, the deriving of principles and "laws", and predictions based on these. (When it produces things, it is also technology.)

Science can be easily differentiated from religion by the fact that all of the knowledge it produces might be proven wrong. Religious "knowledge" is typically sacred, and untouchable, while scientific knowledge is always being overthrown or refined by further application of science. While faith is the cornerstone of religion, evidence is for science.

This explains why "creationist" science is not actually science. A creationist "scientist" will not allow his religiously based beliefs to be challenged by new evidence. He will openly tell you that his "faith" is more important to him than the evidence. He only uses the pretense of science to support his preconceived notions. Many scientists, on the other hand, have overturned even their own theories, because the essence of science is to go where the evidence leads you.

Spirituality And Science Combined

It seems that spirituality and science contradict one another, but this would only be true if all spirituality was based on religious beliefs. Spirituality, though, can be seeking higher levels of experience, asking the deepest questions, and seeking the true "self," which in no way makes it contrary to science. In fact, since science is such a productive method of discovering new truths, it can be used for spiritual exploration and discovery.

I a belief in God contrary to science? Not so long as it is based on experience rather than faith, and it is open to change. Spiritual systems of beliefs can be a convenient way of organizing and using our knowledge and experience, like many other scientific theories or paradigms. To be scientific, though, they must be open to change.

If prayer brings you peace of mind, why not pray? When the evidence shows it to be a phenomenon involving brain chemicals, why not accept that too? It is scientific spirituality, by the way, that has lead to the technology of brain wave entrainment. Now you can buy CDs that give you the same spiritual experiences as religious meditators.

Being spiritual then, can mean forever seeking higher levels of experience, and looking for the answers to the deepest questions. Science help in this quest. Since every answer raises even deeper questions, there is no extinguishment of spirituality by way of science. If spirituality is the quest, then science may be the most effective means of continuing it.

Steve Gillman has been exploring new ideas for decades. Visit his site for invention ideas, business ideas, story ideas, political and economic theories, deep thoughts, and more. Get a free gift too: New Ideas (http://www.999ideas.com)

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Practical Spirituality On Reclaiming Real Science

There seems to be a gap between what leaders want and what the people want that is supported by false religion and pseudoscience (another form of religion that uses scientific jargon). This gap has existed for a long time, but has been growing since the Age of Enlightenment. During that time, and throughout history, religions began as counter cultural agents in the society created to better the life of the individual by getting him or her to realize they were more than a small group of people struggling to survive.

Religion supplied a bigger picture of humanity and what humanity could be. It recognized that we were all one people. Some of the original concepts in religions even said that loving each other was equal to loving God. They had a great deal of power to shape the memes (social genes) of society to make it more fair and just. Since this was the case, many of them were co-opted to support the culture they stood in opposition to and used by those in power to maintain their positions or gain position for their own small group.

Today we find ourselves inundated with religions that support the status-quo and promote things that their founders just wouldn't have tolerated. In order to bypass these anti-equality, anti-sex, anti-love, and anti-life religions that support the few chosen and curse everyone else, many people today have chosen the path of the mystic; even if that isn't something they realize. Seeking spirituality through Yoga, Tai-Chi, Meditation and other forms goes directly to the spiritual, bypassing the religious and the institutional. This is the path of the mystic.

The problem with this, however, is that many people taking this path are carrying the beliefs rooted in the latest philosophy/religion that has been co-opted to support hierarchy and empire-scientism. They can't even accept that mysticism and enlightenment are possible because they are outside of the narrow scope of modern science and have been demonized throughout history through said institution. This has not always been the case. The original form of science has been around for thousands of years all over the world. Great discoveries have been made throughout human history through science. At the time, however, there was no separation between science and religion. Scientific experiments were carried out and the findings passed on in mythic and religious terms.

Nonetheless, people were still doing science. It was only in the 16th Century, when there was a battle for power between the elite in the church and the elite in academia that science got separated from religion and art. The institution of science was created around that time. As time passed science slowly began to ascend and take the place of religion, and the basis of reality in most western countries became science instead of the will of God as reported by the clergy. The mystics of today, not surprisingly-in the US anyway, are not free of this underlying materialistic fundamentalism because it has been socialized into all of us. The truth is that science cannot explain everything and it was never meant to. We cannot get a full understanding of the universe or life just through science. We need more.

There is a deep misunderstanding about science, in the general population, that is not shared by most real scientists, that results in leaps of faith where people are blindly following the latest scientific understandings, jumping from one to the next and reducing science into a religion. Now there are even a few fundamentalist scientists who won't accept the existence of anything they can't measure. This is both frightening and a shame, mainly because it reduces science to the a belief system similar to the religious system from which it freed itself. I call this new belief scientism.

In order to live fuller lives and understand truth, however, it is necessary to reclaim real science. It is necessary to recombine science, the arts, and religion, because science, in actuality, is for everyone. Everyone doesn't know all of the scientific methodology or jargon. Everyone does not know all of the specifics, but everyone knows how to observe objects in the world, understand them, compare one thing to the other, and notice how changing one element in a person's life can change the person's life completely. If that element is changed in other people's lives and the other people's lives change completely in the same way one knows according to logic and observation, that it is most likely that the change in the element is bringing about a change in the person's life. That, my friends, is science. We don't need a double blind test to learn by doing and observing.

This is not what we have been told, however. Our new religion is pseudoscience. We are told that we cannot reason. We cannot understand the universe until we can find a scientist that agrees with us. In most cases that is not good enough. We have to have research done that only the ultra rich can afford to pay for that will prove the truth. Science has become the religion of the day. In order to break free from of it we must adopt spirituality and mysticism with our understanding of the experience coming from within and from people who have had the experiences before.

Science cannot do this; scientists cannot do this because the philosophy itself stops one from fully entering into the experience. Sometimes it is necessary to leave the scientific reason for things home and learn through experience so one can awaken the larger Self who is well beyond the understanding of science. In other words we must come to the point where we say, "Don't tell me how meditation works, just show me how to do it." When we reach this point those who use false science and religion to push forward political agendas will lose their power over us and we will be free until the next thing is co-opted.

Dr. John W. Gilmore (Om Prakash) Is a Writer, Massage Therapist and Body Worker and Wellness Consultant. He has a B.A. in Psychology, a M. Dive., and a D. Min. in Creation Spirituality from Wisdom University. For more writings like this one please visit our websites at: http://www.dswellness.com and http://www.philadelphiasatyoga.4t.com where you can sign up for our newsletter, listen to presentations an discussions, and deepen your spirituality. You can also explore our link for Maestro Conferencing, one of the greatest tools for doing teachings and workshops nationally and internationally, and get a free one month trial.

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