New Book: Mind Beyond Brain by David Presti
Based on 2010 Ligmincha Buddhism and Science Conference
We are pleased to announce the release of a new book, Mind Beyond Brain: Buddhism, Science, and the Paranormal, by David Presti, with a foreword by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. The book, published by Columbia University Press, is available through Amazon.com and other venues.
The contributed papers in the book are all derived from talks by renowned researchers given at a 2010 conference held at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center in Virginia and sponsored by Ligmincha. In his introduction to the book, Tenzin Rinpoche says the gathering was a realization of some of his own longtime interests, including how ancient spiritual practices can bring about physical health benefits along with profound shifts in consciousness.
Researchers in the book explore unusual phenomena that are difficult or impossible to explain based on current scientific theory. As the book jacket says: "In Mind Beyond Brain, the neuroscientist David E. Presti, with the assistance of other distinguished researchers, explores how evidence for anomalous phenomena―such as near-death experiences, apparent memories of past lives, apparitions, experiences associated with death, and other so-called psi or paranormal phenomena, including telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition―can influence the Buddhism-science conversation. Presti describes the extensive but frequently unacknowledged history of scientific investigation into these phenomena, demonstrating its relevance to questions about consciousness and reality. The new perspectives opened up, if we are willing to take evidence of such often off-limits topics seriously, offer significant challenges to dominant explanatory paradigms and raise the prospect that we may be poised for truly revolutionary developments in the scientific investigation of mind. Mind Beyond Brain represents the next level in the science and Buddhism dialogue."
Coming soon: Since 2010, Ligmincha has continued to sponsor regular conferences on science and spirituality. The next, Ligmincha Symposium for Contemplative Sciences: Body, Breath & Mind, is scheduled for April 15–16, 2019. Guests from different backgrounds but with common interests will focus on the intersections of meditative practices related to the body, energy and speech, and our relationship to mind. Look for more information on the Serenity Ridge website soon.
