‘The sexual act is in time what the tiger is in space.’ –Georges Bataille
A neurologist and other scientists argue animals are capable of having spiritual experiences.
The researchers hold that spiritual experiences originate within primitive parts of the human brain, structures shared by animals.
The challenge lies in proving what animals experience. (…)
A Neurology journal study, for example, determined that out-of-body experiences in humans are likely caused by the brain’s arousal system, which regulates different states of consciousness.
“In humans, we know that if we disrupt the (brain) region where vision, sense of motion, orientation in the Earth’s gravitational field, and knowing the position of our body all come together, then out-of-body experiences can be caused literally by the flip of a switch,” he said. “There is absolutely no reason to believe it is any different for a dog, cat, or primate’s brain.”
Other mammals also probably have near-death experiences comparable to those reported by certain humans, he believes.
