THE BIOLOGY OF TRANSCENDENCE

Chilton Pearce, Joseph,
The biology of transcendence,
ISBN 0-89281-990-1, Park Street Press

The biology of transcendence Why do we as humans seem stuck in a culture of violence and injustice? How is it that we can recognize the transcendent ideal represented by figures such as Jesus, Buddha, Lao-tzu, and many others who have walked among us and yet cannot seem to reach the same state?

In The Biology of Transcendence Joseph Chilton Pearce examines the current biological understanding of our neural organization to address how we can transcend our current evolutionary capacities and limitations. This latest research identifies the four neural centers of our brain, and through the new discipline of neurocardiology, indicates that a fifth such center is located in the heart. As Pearce shows us, it is the dynamic interaction of our head brain (intellect) and heart brain (intelligence) that allows transcendence from one evolutionary place to the next-we are, quite literally, made to transcend. Conversely, it is the breakdown of this interaction through the cultural dictates of society and religion surrounding us from the time we are children that keeps us where we are, mired in the current crises of violence among people and between people and the planet.
Pearce reminds us, however, that we are not doomed to an endless cycle of hate and hurt. Not only do we have access to the transcendent teachings and examples of the great teachers of human history, we have transcendence itself as our biological imperative, a state we have been moving toward for millennia.