I just finished reading this book by Paul Kalanithi (and finished by his wife Lucy Kalanithi after his death in March of 2015).
It is a book written by a well-known neurosurgeon who stood at the pinnacle of success after years of relentlessness only to discover that he had terminal cancer. The narrative, brilliantly and eloquently written, tells of the anguish of his fight against the inevitable, and the effect this had on him, and on his family.
One becomes immersed in his struggle to understand what was of value, and how this could have happened to him now, when all that he sought to achieve was within his grasp.
He wanted deeply to find meaning in his life and realized that, although science eschewed the spiritual, the sacred, and denounced revelation as delusional, his years of training and practice could not provide him with the answers to his existence, or assist him with facing death.
Science could not assist him to understand how we feel love, happiness or joy, a connection to the Sacred even though he studied the brain and its workings endlessly to find out.
What is delusion and what is truth? I think we all grapple with these issues. I heard quite some time ago that when the scientists climb to the pinnacle of the mountain they will discover that the mystics have been there for quite some time. One can only hope that there is in our immediate future a fusion of the two.
Here is delusion: billionaires who make up the core of a government who purport to represent the interests of the poor and disenfranchised, the unemployed. Insane corporate policies regarding resource extraction and the care of our Earth in the face of obvious evidence of climate change. Pharmaceutical companies who destroy health rather than save it, all for the bottom line. Governments who purport to hear the voice of the common woman or man and then set forth on their own agenda of greed, corruption and power-over.
Believing that there is a demarcation point between Science and the Sacred.
I would much rather have a connection to the Source of all that Is and continue to live in peace and harmony, love and abundance, and I believe that this is a global dream and desire.
It is a book written by a well-known neurosurgeon who stood at the pinnacle of success after years of relentlessness only to discover that he had terminal cancer. The narrative, brilliantly and eloquently written, tells of the anguish of his fight against the inevitable, and the effect this had on him, and on his family.
One becomes immersed in his struggle to understand what was of value, and how this could have happened to him now, when all that he sought to achieve was within his grasp.
He wanted deeply to find meaning in his life and realized that, although science eschewed the spiritual, the sacred, and denounced revelation as delusional, his years of training and practice could not provide him with the answers to his existence, or assist him with facing death.
Science could not assist him to understand how we feel love, happiness or joy, a connection to the Sacred even though he studied the brain and its workings endlessly to find out.
What is delusion and what is truth? I think we all grapple with these issues. I heard quite some time ago that when the scientists climb to the pinnacle of the mountain they will discover that the mystics have been there for quite some time. One can only hope that there is in our immediate future a fusion of the two.
Here is delusion: billionaires who make up the core of a government who purport to represent the interests of the poor and disenfranchised, the unemployed. Insane corporate policies regarding resource extraction and the care of our Earth in the face of obvious evidence of climate change. Pharmaceutical companies who destroy health rather than save it, all for the bottom line. Governments who purport to hear the voice of the common woman or man and then set forth on their own agenda of greed, corruption and power-over.
Believing that there is a demarcation point between Science and the Sacred.
I would much rather have a connection to the Source of all that Is and continue to live in peace and harmony, love and abundance, and I believe that this is a global dream and desire.