Kevin Nelson, Marc Bekoff: Animals Are Capable Of Spiritual Experiences

Discovery News:

Animals (not just people) likely have spiritual experiences, according to a prominent neurologist who has analyzed the processes of spiritual sensation for over three decades.

Read the whole story: Discovery News

Comments

[thecoffeegod]

02:30 PM on 10/11/2010

Ever see a Chihuahua basking in a sunny spot on a Spring afternoon?

Yeah, animals can have spiritual experiences.

[janie@atthelake]

06:14 PM on 10/13/2010

Ever since a yellow lab under a ceiling fan? Or taking a nap on the bathroom floor? Or just wagging a tale at the breeze..sitting on you when you are sad, tired?

Agree with ya!

[doctorkosan]

01:39 PM on 10/11/2010

So when will they start killing each other because of competing beliefs?

[ProfessorBrooks]

11:29 AM on 10/11/2010

I have wondered about this myself for a long time. In my Humanities classes I begin the semester with a discussion of what makes us human--most of what people assume (tool making, emotions, thumbs, language...) is done by other animals even if not to the degree of complexity that humans exhibit. But it is always a big MAYBE when it comes to religion. Since we don't comprehend animal language, we have no way of knowing whether or not whales are singing hymns to their whale gods for hours on end in the depths of the ocean--but something rather complex is going on based on analysis of the sound waves and comparisons to human language patterns (their language evolves over time, different languages in different oceans, etc.). The one thing that keeps me from rejecting this idea that many of you find ridiculous is the Elephant Graveyard: elephants really do go to special places to die, and visit the elephant graveyard during their lives, stopping to pick up the bone of someone they were related to and carrying it around for hours before returning it and going on their way. Reverence and ritual for the dead is the earliest evidence of a human religious impulse, so maybe other higher animals are possessed of the same. Elephants and whales are mammals with big brains--who knows what is going on in them? Just because they don't build technology and pollute their environment doesn't mean they are stupid.

[Edward Standley]

02:48 PM on 10/09/2010

It's true! I saw Spike and Ace Ventura floatin' around the Ashram.

[arabianway]

12:16 PM on 10/09/2010

I hate to be a downer, but this sunny conclusion about animals was reached after 30 years of experimentation on animals by a neurosurgeon.
That means brain surgery folks, not observation in idyllic environments.
The story behind the story rarely if ever gets told.

[tjconkster]

11:50 AM on 10/09/2010

What I want to know is...how did they get Sam out there for that picture....and how they got him so sit still!

[Ann-Pittsburgh]

12:12 PM on 10/10/2010

Hi, tj -- And you were wondering how to put Sam on your avatar. This is way better!

[tjconkster]

12:16 PM on 10/10/2010

Hey Ann...How goes it...yeah that dog in the photo looks just like Sam....you'd think that after moving in...he'd share his royalties....instead of taking them in dog biscuits.....

Hope things are well with you and yours...

[rainkitty]

05:30 AM on 10/09/2010

"Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened."

[I3edlam]

04:51 AM on 10/09/2010

LOL this is hilarious. However, an animal's neuroprocessing isn't mediated by language. They can't believe in qualities that inhabit an intangible being because they can't abstract from the concrete through symbols. Just because some areas of the brain light up in the same ways, doesn't mean it holds relation to prior experiences in the same way.(Though it's possible)

Language=words(or gestures)that point out reality. Well if animals can't form language, then they certainly can't form the idea of an invisible deity that watches over them. Hate to say it, but this article and it's author are really jumping the gun.

[DaMojo]

03:12 PM on 10/09/2010

Animals cannot form a SPOKEN language that we can understand. All of them have their own language. Language is not limited to words. There is body language, for example. Language is a form of communication specific to a particular being.

[Vickster]

12:11 AM on 10/11/2010

While all language is a form of communication, all communication is not language.

[Genders]

10:46 PM on 10/10/2010

"They can't believe in qualities that inhabit an intangible being because they can't abstract from the concrete through symbols. " My cats believed I controlled the weather and got annoyed with me when it was bad. They abstracted from my ability to control the home environment to the whole world.

[hippie4ever]

03:37 AM on 10/09/2010

A few people are also capable of spiritual experiences.

[StephenJK]

02:10 AM on 10/09/2010

Indigenous Peoples all over the world have known this forever, it seems. Basically, I believe all life is derived from a greater spirit manifesting itself in the physical Universe. We all return to that spirit when we die and a cycle is completed.

I'll share a little story about the cat me and my family grew up with. Her name was Daisy. A gray long-haired cat. She was around 21 years old when her final day arrived. She just didn't have any more energy. My mother, sister and I were with her all day. My dad was at work until around 6pm. When he got home we told him Daisy was very sick. He went in to see her and we followed behind. He went over to her and she looked up at him and gave a weak meow. And closed her eyes again for the final time. I am convinced that she waited to see everyone before she left. We are all spiritually connected. It is abstract and meta-physical.

[BlackYowe]

02:02 AM on 10/09/2010

In my heart I expect animals are far more like us than we can possibly know. I live with allot of animals around me and they inspire me and move me deeply.

[getsit]

05:06 PM on 10/08/2010

Ever wonder what a cat is visualizing when staring at a wall forever? Is he just thinking, day dreaming, see "visions", or sleeping with his eyes closed.

I love cats. Creatures of mystery and creatures of comfort. Theirs and mine.

[Tommygun264]

12:23 AM on 10/09/2010

Paula Poundstone used to have a routine about how cats will sometimes late at night suddenly sit up on the bed, turn to face the bedroom door and stare at it intently for several minutes. The punchline was that she had no way of knowing whether the cats were reacting to a moth fluttering it's wings in the hallway outside the bedroom door, or the approach of a serial killer.

[situationcritical]

03:06 PM on 10/08/2010

Animals themselves ARE a spiritual experience.

[getsit]

05:04 PM on 10/08/2010

You got it right!

[denbeath]

08:17 PM on 10/08/2010

So true, so true. F&F

[hollywoody5000]

03:00 PM on 10/08/2010

I have always believed this - or known this - It is true

[onceler]

02:52 PM on 10/08/2010

what a bunch of projection! I can't believe an article like this could even make it onto Discovery - much as they already peddle junk science, this really takes the lowbrow BS award for them!

there is absolutely no way to scientifically quantify whether a human being is having a 'spiritual' experience, let alone a dog! I can't believe this even needs to be spoken out loud...

[getsit]

05:09 PM on 10/08/2010

Try having a sense of humor. I thought the same thing. People get doctorates for coming up with this kind of doodoo.

But animals do help humans all the time. They can complete our lives giving us companionship without questioning.

[Tommygun264]

12:03 AM on 10/09/2010

While you are free to have your own opinion, the fact is that recent breakthroughs in brain chemistry research have produced quantifiable, provable evidence that the feeling of a spiritual presence associated with what people characterize as a religious or spiritual existence can be linked to a chemical reaction in a specific area of the brain. The proof comes from the fact that the researchers have succeeded in not only witnessing these chemical reactions, but in triggering them, in effect creating religious experiences in their test subjects. This research has also helped in the study of schizophrenics (people who hear voices). Here's a link to an interesting story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104240746