Читать книгу The Science of Religion - Howard Barry Schatz - Страница 6

Discovering the Wisdom Practice

It is well known that early man survived the Ice Age by finding shelter in the numerous Middle Eastern caves. It is also safe to assume that the logistics of cave life would have imposed a new set of biological constraints that may have had a significant impact on the natural selection process across tens of thousands of years. For example, by living in darkened caves EMH appear to have evolved with eye sockets that were 15% larger than those of modern humans.17 That observation might help explain the discovery of ancient carved figures at different key archeological sites across the Middle East that exhibit greatly exaggerated eyes (see Figure 1b). It is also reasonable to speculate that life in a darkened cave implied staying isolated and quiet, especially when we consider that EMH tribes might be cohabiting in close proximity to their Neanderthal enemies. My hypothesis suggests that the natural constraints of day-to-day life in an Ice Age cave effectively imposed a meditative posture of isolation and quiet on the cave’s inhabitants. Himalayan monks still meditate within the seclusion of caves.

Perhaps these constraints had the unexpected result of enriching man’s “inner life.” Just as any bored student might resort to daydreaming, early meditators might have come to appreciate the “visions” of lucid dreaming. Or, perhaps, the first meditators may have needed to stay vigilant during sleep and found the happy medium in a hypnagogic state. Somewhere along the way, EMH learned that quieting their mind was an effective way of detaching from the harsh realities of their perpetual winter while still remaining “in the moment.” Meditation detaches the practitioner from stimuli that continually bombard the senses. Hindu yoga calls this Pratyahara, or sense-withdrawal. Thus, the limbic system’s pattern-matching algorithm is put on hold, preventing the release of hormones that cause stress and emotion. This allows brain waves to slow down to the hypnagogic state somewhere between waking and sleeping. In his efforts to explain meditation in more scientific terms, Zen practitioner and medical doctor, Dr. James Austin describes speculation that “... regular meditation was a kind of practice in developing a certain skill. The skill lay in freezing the hypnagogic process at later and later stages (first in the predominantly alpha wave stage, later in the predominantly theta wave stages).”18 This hypnagogic state can be characterized by a “loosening of ego boundaries ... openness, sensitivity...19 Modern-day studies of yogis and lamas who have entered this state have demonstrated that the hypnagogic state has given them a level of control over their autonomic nervous system and endocrine system.

The hypnagogic state has been the subject of much study, and is even discussed in the writings of Aristotle and the Neo-Platonist, Iamblichus.20 Around the time of the First Ecumenical Council, the Church did its best to dispense with the works of Iamblichus. However, the writings of Proclus and Stobaeus helped preserve his work.21 These writings, and other works of the Greek Stoics, shed an important light on our understanding of the ancient Greek meditation practice.

During the First Ecumenical Council, in 325 CE, the Church’s Orthodox position refutes the beliefs of the deacon Arius as heresy, linking him to Greek pantheistic thinking. The Arian heresy suggests that any man could become deified like Christ through the ascetic practices of the ancient Stoics. Plato called that practice theoria22 (contemplation). For the Greek Stoics, theoria brought sophia (wisdom). For the religious prophets of Scripture, it brought revelation. Arius maintained that Christ, like any man, could be “deified” by liberating his soul. Many modern Christians equate Christ with God, and Orthodox Christianity rejects any suggestion that Christ was just a man who became deified through meditation.

On-going MRI research into brain activity suggests that meditation creates additional electrical circuits within the nervous system. If new circuits channel additional electrical energy up the spine to “wake up” and expand brain capacity, then it logically follows that cranium size may have also increased over thousands of years. Archeological evidence exists to support this idea, including the discovery of enlarged skulls at sites closely associated with the origins of science and religion.

Physical anthropologists and archeologists have discovered a number of skulls that are considered well outside the range of a normal size Cro-Magnon skull. These have been categorized into types, including “conehead” skulls ranging from 2200 cm3 to 2500 cm3, and “J” type skulls with enormous capacities ranging from 2600 cm3 to 3200 cm3. 23 A study by Dudley Buxton and Talbot Rice of ancient Sumerian skulls (Figure 1d) from the earliest known historical civilization, has found “that of 26 Sumerian crania 17 were Australoid, five Austrics and four Armenoid. According to Penniman who studied skulls from Kish and other Sumerian sites, these three: the Australoid (Eurafrican), Austric and Armenoid were the “racial” types associated with the Sumerians.”24 A dolichocephalic, or enlarged skull, was found to be a common trait of all three. “Sir Arthur Keith says that the people who spoke Sumerian were dolichocephalic, with large brain capacity, like a section of the pre-dynastic Egyptians.”25 Dolichocephalic skulls have also been discovered in Egypt and South America (Figures 1f & g) and appear to reflect derivative cultures.

Figures 1a - Ubaid Period ca. 5400 BCE Figures 1b & c - Jarmo c. 6750 BCE

I am suggesting a history of gnosticism tied to the existence of an ancient shamanistic meditation practice that helped drive human evolution. This theory at least provides a plausible explanation for a dynamic growth in cranium size and IQ during the last Ice Age. Could meditation be the missing link between caveman and civilized man?

Figure 1d - The “Serpent-Headed People“ of Eridu

Figure 1e -Homage to Egyptian Nobility Figure 1f - Incan Skull

Figure 1g - Peruvian Skulls

Modern research has already established that meditation has many physiological benefits, and it is generally acknowledged as mankind’s most ancient and sacred vehicle for achieving spiritual Enlightenment. There is considerable evidence to suggest that Middle Eastern cave dwellers became the great catalyst in moving civilization forward. This implies that the revelations of early man played an important role in developing the axioms of the various mathematical disciplines. Perhaps meditation provides the means to integrate these disciplines into a holistic perspective that is greater than the sum of its parts. EMH “Enlightened” tribes thus became the stuff of legend. They were worshipped as gods by the many civilizations that followed. They have often been called Aryans (Sanskrit: Noblemen), and I believe them to be the Nephilim described within Hebrew Scripture. The word Nephilim can be most accurately translated from the Hebrew as “Men of Renown” or “Heros of Old.” Later cultures paid homage to the Sumerian “gods” by binding the heads of their infants during early skull formation. This was practiced in the Armenian Highlands, in Nubia, and in Egypt, as well as in South America. Armenian mothers still practice it to this day, albeit in a modified, more acceptable way.26 It appears unlikely, however, that the binding of infant skulls adequately accounts for the enormity of the largest dolichocephalic skull-types that have been discovered.

Ancient legend, traditions, and artifacts indicate — and the oldest examples of cuneiform writings, suggest — that a highly evolved people did exist. Perhaps due to their imposing physical appearance and special “gifts” they became both feared and worshipped as gods. Ancient sculpture and stelae depict elongated skulls as the trademark of divine blood (see Figure 1e).27 Historically, the headdress of kings, priests, pharaohs, wizards and witches should also be considered a significant cultural remnant of these so-called gods (see Figures 2a - e). Those who came into contact with the “serpent-headed ones” depicted them as “giants” in artwork scattered across the Neolithic sites of the Ancient Near East, including Jericho, Jarmo, Susa, Eridu, etc. (Figures 1a, b & c). The number and diversity of relevant archeological discoveries reflect the syncretistic notion that this unique spiritual community became the “gods on the mountain” for many ancient cultures. The mythology of these legendary shepherd-gods made its way into the art, architecture, science and literature of the entire ancient world, including: Sumer, Babylon, Egypt, India, Mitanni, Israel, Assyria, Media, Elam, Greece, Rome, etc..

Our hypothesis suggests that a bigger, more utilized brain evolved as a result of thousands of years of meditation. This might account for the dramatic transition between caveman and the sophisticated sexagesimal mathematics of the first historical civilization. In more recent historical memory, one can appreciate the prophet Mohammed’s Koranic revelations as a function of his well-known cave practice meditation. Similarly, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Jainism,... have all been founded on the bedrock of “Enlightenment” brought about by a life of meditation. What has been largely lost in the West is the awareness that the three main Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, are also rooted in the same priestly meditation practice.28 Within the Abrahamic religions, meditation has largely been relegated to the practices of fringe mystical groups, such as the Muslim Sufis, Christian Rosicrucians, and Jewish Kabbalists.

Figure 2a - Pharaoh’s conical Headdress 2b High Priest of Solomon’sTemple

Figures 2c, d & e - Pope’s Conical Hat; Dalai Lama’s Conical Hat; Arab Turban