Science and Spiritual Practices - Dr Rupert Sheldrake

The effects of spiritual practices are now being investigated scientifically as never before, and many studies have shown that religious and spiritual practices generally make people happier and healthier.

In this talk, Rupert Sheldrake will summarize the latest scientific research on what happens when we take part in these practices, and suggest ways you can explore some of these fields for yourself.

In particular, the talk will focus on how science helps validate seven practices which underpin all the major world religions, and discuss some of them in more detail:

- Meditation
- Gratitude
- Connecting with nature
- Relating to plants
- Rituals
- Singing and chanting
- Pilgrimage and holy places.

For those who are religious, you’ll learn about the evolutionary origins of your own traditions and gain a new appreciation of their power. For the non-religious, the talk will show how the core practices of spirituality are accessible to all, without the need to subscribe to a religious belief system.

Dr. Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist and author of more than 85 scientific papers and 13 books. He is a leading researcher into anomalous phenomena and was among the top 100 Global Thought Leaders for 2013, as ranked by the Duttweiler Institute, Zurich, Switzerland’s leading think tank.

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[crankk]

I could listen to Rupert every single day of my life

[AdventureswithAixe]

I wished the whole scientific establishment and the alternative researchers would share this clear, strictly scientific but totally open minded attitude. I am sure then we would be in a better world and probably would fly to the stars.

[roumyanapetrova]

A most remarkable contemporay thinker with an amazing sense of humour. I can listen to him for hours and never get bored. Thank

[colleenkaralee]

When I dedicate time to being thankful I find it raises me up to bliss.

[theonlymeaning]

I like to listen to him as I fall asleep when my mind won't relax, but only listen to talks I have heard several times, otherwise I get caught up in his subject matter...I adore his voice and manner of speaking the actually gorgeous language of English, when he says a sentence it is quite lovely..

[JhnCltrane]

The perspective of the moon being reflected in water is most useful. Dr. Sheldrake's talks are very helpful.

[polpapol]

04:58 1. Gratitude
15:49 2. Meditation
36:50 3. Rituals
3.1. Rites of passage
52:29 3.2. Rituals of remembrance
58:18 4. Pilgrimage and holy places
1:09:46 5. Closing remarks

1:12:38 Q&A
1. Gratitude to Dr. Rupert Sheldrake and Terence McKenna. He talks about their work.
1:14:40 2. More gratitude.
1:15:59 3. About other public conversations with Dr.Rupert Sheldrake.
1:16:07 4. Is it possible to be aware without having an object of awareness? Isn’t worshiping an entity simply worshiping of awareness?
1:18:56 5. Are nearly-dead experiences induced by psychedelics just chemicals in the brain or something more?
1:21:17 6. About morphic resonance and the remembering of practices that no longer exist.
1:22:14 7. I had a nearly-dead experience when I almost drowned as a child.
1:24:59 8. How can one feel bliss when meditating while there is so much tragedy in the world?
1:29:06 9. How about tarot cards?
1:31:13 10. What can you do to help materialist people understand the claims about the mind existing beyond our brains?

[pamgl]

What a beautiful soul. His energy is subtle, but like a whisper in the ear, keeps one leaning forward for more.

[jjharvathh]

This guy is so likable, I wish he was my friend and we could go on pilgrimages together. That would be great.

[donbakerseattle]

Esoteric teachings say that science will discover the etheric body in this century, which will lead to all kinds of positive developments related to health and healing. I believe Rupert's work with morphogenic fields is in that direction.

[Levandetag]

This is such a Great listening, Thank you for being Rupert Sheldrake!

Listen carefully at, what Rupert says, around 1:30:45 and forward til the end.
Incredibly wise and conscious man, who have felt seen experienced more, than most would ever dare to, let into their "perfectly normal lives", or ever dare to speak of.
We who have had such experiences, Just Know. Thats the difference with, sceptics, who never ever will challenge their own opinions, they too "just know" their smaller "known" piece of All there is ;)
Its very beautiful to listen to human beings being humane and wiser

[kerim.peardon]

His mentioning of morphic resonance in holy places reminded me of a trip my late husband and I took to a Shaker village in Kentucky. My husband had bad knees and couldn't walk too far without a break, so after touring a few buildings and the gift shop, we sat down on a bench outside and I was overcome by a sense of peace. It was so calm and relaxing--unlike any other place I have ever been. I have always wanted to go back there and shell out the money to stay in one of the original buildings on the site and explore that feeling further.

[ErikRothFfM]

Thank you very much Mr. Rupert Sheldrake, ❤🌿🔥🍀🌒🌕🌘🍀🔥🌿❤ Namasté and Blessed Be.

[lindaklase]

EXCELLENT PRESENTATION
EXCELLENT ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

[ejws]

I viewed myself in third person, aged 15 when I hospitalised myself on shrooms (they were semi legal in UK at the time) - as I understand it an OD raises body temp precipitating a psychotic episode. Reading about NDEs as a teenager provided the first best example of how it felt and the fact that my POV in space was distorted/depersonalised at the same time as time (moments throughout the night like snapshots, stills or fractions of video that had been shuffled so they were out of sequence), without being ego death exactly, at least not all the time, made me very receptive to some of these ideas.. mainly as they appear in Jung, Burroughs, Laing etc. Nice lecture.

[lmansur]

I so much appreciate his teaching - thorough, down-to-earth, open and comprehensive. I am learning a lot about many things I have sondered about.

[RSEFX]

I WONDER WHY Dr. Sheldrake hasn't included---in either of his recent books on the subject--- the ARTS AS ONE OF THE PRIME SPIRITUAL PRACTICES? Creation often results in a very spiritual link to the deeper nature of things, and can come with a quite a strong meditational experience. I would think he could write an entire book on that subject.

[vickygibbins]

Ok, I am 43 years old. At 24 years I was aware that I wanted to discover my spiritual self. At that age I didn't understand what that was. At the age of 15 when describing my religious ideology, I would say I was agnostic; that I wasn't prepared to condemn myself to any faith, and that I believed (a bit of this, and a bit of that..) That was my take on things after I was told as a child I was a protestant (which I never understood) and attending Sunday school and Christian services, harvest festival, Christmas mass..
I was always envious of the congregation lining up in the Isle to make their way to the alter to receive the body and blood? Of Christ. Taking the rice paper disc in their mouths and drinking from the same silver plated goblet as the 15/20 people in front of them with richeousness and glee.. like they've achieved something and were worth more than the average Joe...
So religion for me was a confused phenomenon. And so I knew that some bits of this and that appealed to me, so the correct choice for me was agnosticism 🙂
When filling out forms for jobs the generic question would come up, do you see yourself as white black, ethnic minority, I would answer 'I'm world wide baby' a humanist, universal..' hoping that any of these answers would grab a readers attention and influence them in some positive way hopefully...
As much as spirituality and inward contemplation are very, and always have been important to me, as they go along with worldly understanding, and appreciation of everything that turns up and is provided magically. How the world and universe provide material things that I need to survive that I awe at! That are simply the most wonderful beautiful, conscious, clever, supreme things I've ever had the pleasure of discovering.. there's no end to the wonder that I have discovered and are yet to!!
The senses.. all of them! The feelings!

Anyway, all that aside. Don't we think it's time that the average layman get to grips with understanding and providing to our fellow man (so to speak) intelligent and emotional knowledge to the adolescent who have no examples to learn this from?
For instance, Mens psychology absolutely amazes and astonishes me.
So many masculine/male people are lost, with no family structure or direction.. with this qll important ego, but no intelligence or respect for any other being.. who end up alone and lonely... they're an ignored community that need our society to take notice and guide them through what they can achieve and expect life to throw at them..
Unless they have a strong community to guide and instill their expectations, then most slip through the cracks do they not?
I think I've struck on a very important subject here, that the intellectual community need to address and curriculate this void in our society for the sake of man kind! And their children... do you agree?

[felixfedre]

I can't think of anything more futile than "spiritual practices for atheists". I would say that these practices work for spiritual people because of their connection and belief in what they are doing.

[OlavSurlandHansen]

I was also a bit taken aback at his full endorsement of Darwinism, without so much as mentioning the serious problems with it: The transition from non-life to life, the totally improbable transition from a "lower" species to a "higher" one with natural selection working on mutations as the only mechanism involved. Also, his suggestion that John the Babtist and the Anababtists performed literal drownings are highly dubiuous suggestions - involving countless cases of death by drowning if true. He also jumped elegantly over the variant of NDE that I experienced, twice, by ODs: A totally negative one.
He is a very entertaining and uplifting public speaker but is he really to be taken as seriously as many people do?
Now, how did John the Babtist do his life-changing submerging into the river Jordan of his many clients? To induce a real NDE he would have to force these totally panic-stricken and struggling people down under the water until THEY SWALLOW WATER, NO UNTIL THEY BREATHE WATER. Only then can we be sure to have induced the lack of oxygen needed for NDEs (I stopped breathing when I ODed). How on earth can you do such a thing to people? Many would simply die - and the spectacle of people struggling for their life until they drown and are dragged out, blue in the face, with lungs filled with water and totally motionless, dying. Do you really believe this happened, on a big scale too?
I don't. And I doubt Mr Sheldrake does. The English use an expression - tongue in cheek - is this the thing his message is to taken as? If so, what is the point besides being entertaining and seemingly clever and very well oriented about everything from theology of all types to Darwinism to positive thinking etc etc. However, mr Sheldrake is no expert on drowning, that's for sure.