Animals Said to Have Spiritual Experiences

Nice to see the gap between consciousness of the human and animal kingdoms being narrowed.

Not sure I necessarily agree with all of these things being 'brain-dependent' as always seems to be the 'end-all' conclusion from science, but nevertheless it is nice to see them beginning to verify that animals are sentient creatures capable of having deeper experience and awareness previously believed only relative to human perception...

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.

Research suggests that spiritual experiences originate deep within primitive areas of the human brain -- areas shared by other animals with brain structures like our own.

Full Article:

news.discovery.com...

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


Nice news DD and I for one believe animals have consciousness, some more than others according to their(lineage included) experiences. I think our journey and experiences is what shaped our consciousness over time, as well as self reflection and observation of the world around us. I think dogs, dolphins and elephants would be good animals to examine for clues of consciousness. I have witnessed emotions in dogs/cats, and not just joy, fear and sadness, but also embarrassment and worry. We have witnessed animals assisting other animals in distress, taking care of and/or befriending other species young and even gratitude. More reasons to respect and connect with our animal co habitants.

Peace,
spec

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


Star and Flag!

My two cats sure have some spiritual experiences when they have some cat-nip

well here is a thread where science
and religion don't mix.

From what I know of religion,
animals do not have souls
and therefore are incapable
of having spiritual experiences.

reply to post by boondock-saint


What about Buddhism? & Hinduism? & Native Americans...

I don't know myself but they are into reincarnation and stuff.

reply to post by boondock-saint


Why do you need a religion to have a soul? I'm sure every living thing has a "soul" as they have a "purpose" in life. Animals are no different from us when it comes to instinct and survival.

The essence of life is the same... how can any living thing not experience some form of spirituality or at least content connectedness.

Very interesting topic, S&F.

To even entertain the idea of animals having spiritual experiences, we fist have to accept that animals have experience, period. This is means attributing consciousness to animals, since consciousness is inseparable from experience. This seems right to me; consciousness and experience and awareness are so peculiar that it doesn't seem like a particular configuration of biology (the human brain, but not other brains) would suddenly give rise to these phenomena. I think it is much more likely that the fundamental building blocks of consciousness are inherent in everything, and that the expression of consciousness exists along a spectrum that is based on the complexity of organization of the constituent materials. I suspect that all mammalian brains are sufficiently complex that they give rise to an appreciable consicousness, and this is probably true for many non-mammals with sophisticated neurological systems.

An interesting question, though, is what exactly is meant by "spiritual" experience? It seems to me that two people could have the same experience, and that one might consider it spiritual and the other not consider it spiritual. For example, psychedelic and dissociative drugs often induce experiences which people consider spiritual. However, for people who do not accept a spiritual reality, the same experiences are not always described as spiritual. There is a device known as the god helmet which induces spiritual experiences in many people, but Richard Dawkins used it and did not report a spiritual experience. Someone attending an unfamiliar religious ceremony in another culture is not likely to share the spiritual aspects of the experience, even if they themselves do have spiritual experiences in the religious ceremonies that are part of their own religion.

It seems as though the "spiritualness" of an experience would depend on an individual's worldview, and whether or not the experience was processed from within that worldview as something mundane or as something spiritual. An artifact or event which a certain religious belief system labels as being of spiritual significance could easily be dismissed as trivial by someone who did not share that religious belief system. So, what does it mean when we talk about animals have spiritual experiences? It is not likely that the animals have worldviews in which some objects, events, or types of events are spiritual in nature while others are non-spiritual in nature. It is hard to imagine that animals even have a concept of spirituality. The article has this to say (emphasis added):

Mystical experiences -- moments that inspire a sense of mystery and wonderment -- arise within the limbic system, he said. When specific parts of this system are removed from animal brains, mind-altering drugs like '___' have no effect.

Since other animals, such as non-human primates, horses, cats and dogs, also possess similar brain structures, it is possible that they too experience mystical moments, and may even have a sense of spiritual oneness, according to Nelson.

Marc Bekoff, a professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, also believes animals have spiritual experiences, which he defines as experiences that are nonmaterial, intangible, introspective and comparable to what humans have.

The article takes a different tack than what I discussed above. These scientists describe "spiritualness" as an immediate and inherent quality of experience, one that doesn't depend on worldview. By this understanding, the spiritualness of an experience would be like the funnyness or the scaryness of the experience; it is a quality of the experience that is felt directly, at the time of experience. According to this understanding, what is being discussed seems perfectly reasonable: when human beings experience a sense of mystery or wonderment the brain region involved in generating this experience is the limbic system, since animals have an analogous brain structure it is likely that they are capable of having a similar experiences.

It's interesting to discuss spiritual experiences outside of a mystical context. It's also valuable. I think that the best way to handle the religious implications here are to say that, at one level, living beings are chemical machines. That's not the only level, but it is one of them. Everything that an animal or a person does or experiences has some correlate on the level of the chemical machine. Spiritual experiences are no exception. Without trying to make a pro-supernatural/mystical/spiritual case; it is important to remember that the brain activity - the activity at the level of the chemical machine - which underlies an experience is not the same thing as the experience itself.

reply to post by Big Raging Loner


Would that be considered a recreational spiritual experience?

Second
and third line

I do think that animals have the capacity to like, love and dislike. I've seen this with my dogs.

Does this mean that they have a soul? I think my answer would be yes. I do think that when you have a pet like a dog, you become part of the pack and get a special view of that animals existence.

I don't know if they have spiritual experiences. I also wouldn't have a clue how you would measure a spiritual experience.

Totally agree with many of the above comments.

I feel that ALL creatures are created through spirit, and many are tapped into a deeper level than we give them credit for. They contain the same spark of consciousness which animates us, and all life forms imho.

And anyone who's ever bonded with a pet generally feels that way. Animals are amazing beings in their own rights.

Speaking of "narrowing the gap between consciousness of humans and animals, this interaction looks to have some spiritual qualities to me

Man Reunites With Gorilla
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Peace,
spec

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


Just starred and flagged that.

Just incredible. How people kill these creatures or look at them as inferior is beyond me. What beautiful life forms they are.

From the Vedic point of view.......Chapter 7 Souls and Spirit /Chapter 8 The Vedic Supreme Reality.
I myself have had 4 friends(you may call them pets) in my life. Each one would sleep and let out small yelps as they dreamed. They would rest their heads on my belly and let out a great sigh of contentment, a feeling, a thought of bliss.
Often my friend would react to places in the corner of the rooms they were in like they'd caught an intruder, barking at thin air. So do animals have spiritual experiences?....they sure do. They also have souls and seemingly see the spiritual world better than their human handlers.......but thats another subject, who really is handling who ...
You ever had the spirit of your friend tentatively lie on your bed while you sleep? Feeling their ever so light feet tread softly on your sheets on your legs and settle in for the night next to you?
I further believe that some of us are lucky enough to have the same friend each incarnation.
So Dogs and Cats most definately do have souls and have more spiritual cognition than we could ever imagine.
I know exactly how this guy feels.

reply to post by DreamerOracle

Nice addition DO, and I agree!
I wanted to add another link about our animal friends...
ngm.nationalgeographic.com...

Peace,
spec