EVOLUTION OF THE SPIRIT

Are you really "at one with the universe," or has the part of your brain that distinguishes between "self" and "not self" simply shut down? As neuroscientists crack the code of our brains how they work, how we think, and how our emotions and experiences are registered-there are those who believe that a mystical experience is nothing more than a chemical exchange between neurons. Craig Hamilton, managing editor of What Is Enlightenment? magazine, spent a year studying the nature of consciousness and of the mind, and realized that "there's a bit of a feeding frenzy among the neurobiologists to try to put the final nail in the coffin of God, the soul, and all things spiritual. It's actually going right to the heart of who we are, and our intimate experience." In a conversation that is grounded in the reality of human life, while it reaches to the edges of our evolution and understanding, Mr. Hamilton shares the experiences and practice that expand his own awareness, and sheds light on how our species can realize the shift in consciousness that may soon transform our biology, our communities, and our spirituality.