II.2: Summary of my work on the GTR and my Conclusions

  1. The central focus of this book is an analysis of the dynamics of consciousness during my 10 hour religious experience of purgation. Purgation is stage 11 of the 14 stage crisis shown in Table I. Purgation culminated in stage 12, the 4 to 7 second experience of mystical union. I will be calling the combination of purgation and mystical union, PMU. The analysis is both scientifically and philosophically based. For the mathematically-based scientific analysis I am using the feedback techniques of Forrester-style system dynamics (SD) to describe the 10 hour experience of purgation. I do that by modeling and simulating 23 simultaneously operating aspects of core consciousness, moment by moment, during my experience of purgation. For the philosophical analysis I am integrating the detailed results of the SD analysis with philosophical concepts from Husserl's phenomenology. This methodology penetrates to the very heart and core of the experience of purgation. I call this powerful methodology, which results from the marriage between SD and phenomenology, Feedback Phenomenology (FP).
  2. There have been a number of breakthroughs in my work since 2002. While my scientific publications of 2002, 2001, and 1992 are still of value, they have been superceded by the work presented in this book manuscript. These breakthroughs are reported in this summary and conclusions section.
  3. I experienced PMU in 1962 at the age of 30. The experience occurred naturally and spontaneously, without the use of drugs or herbs or meditation techniques. Table I above indicates PMU occurs in all cultures and is central to all religions, although the name of the experience is different in different cultures. During the 4 to 7 second experience of mystical union I experienced a sacred and unsurpassable Greatness. The unsurpassable Greatness has many names: God, Brahman, Allah, No Thing, etc.
  4. The aim or goal of my work is to understand at the broadest and deepest levels the 14 stage religious crisis shown in Table I. My work toward this goal has been going on relentlessly since 1984. I tend to focus on the experience of purgation, but mystical union, the divine state or stage 14, and the other stages are also very relevant. Mystical union is unique. It is also hard to analyze, because there is no change in the content of consciousness during those 4 to 7 seconds: With no change in the content of consciousness, the inner sense of time ceases during mystical union.
  5. The only real talent I bring to bear on this analysis of PMU is my training and experience in analytical mechanical engineering. In my analytical work in high-tech research and development, I generally made an analysis of the machine undergoing research and development in two stages. In the first stage of the analysis I would make a mathematical model of the machine and then simulate its operation. This stage gave me a deep understanding of the subtleties of the machine's design and operation. In the second stage, I would use the resulting knowledge of these subtleties to then step back to a much broader vision of both the potential of the machine's design and the machine's problem areas. My analysis of PMU follows the very same pattern: As can be surmised from my analysis associated with PMU, I am performing a much broader and more complex analysis than any of my analyses in mechanical engineering. In engineering my analysis would take no longer than one or two months. My analysis of PMU has taken 21 years, so far, and I expect the analysis will continue to the end of my life. I am not an expert in the fields that most closely touch on my study and analysis of PMU. Leaving aside religion for a moment, the fields most closely related to my study are system dynamics, philosophy/phenomenology, psychoanalysis/psychiatry/psychology, and the neurophysiology/neurocirculatory-system. Nevertheless, I try to learn as much as I need to know about those four fields and other fields and their relevance to PMU. At this late stage of my life, I know I will never master those four fields. Nevertheless, I am moving steadily toward my goal. My strategy is focused on making the breakthrough that will start the integration between science and religion. Once that is accepted I can then bring in the specialists in the related fields so that the integration can be developed further. This integration will contribute toward filling the profound vacuums that now exist in both science and religion.
  6. According to Damasio (1999), there are two types of consciousness: core consciousness and extended consciousness. From my understanding of Damasio's two types of consciousness, I believe both are active during purgation. Extended consciousness is the form of consciousness with which we are most familiar. Core consciousness only occurs during very deep experiences, perhaps only in traumatic experiences. I have tried to use the FP methodology to analyze extended consciousness during the first 9 hours purgation, but I have found extended consciousness during those 9 hours is just too complex and subtle for an SD analysis. As for core consciousness, it is hard to know exactly what it is like from Damasio's definition. I am taking the position that a person is only aware of core consciousness during very deep experiences like trauma, abreaction of trauma, and religious experiences. My position is that during the first 9 hours of my religious experience of purgation I was quite aware of what I am calling core consciousness and its mingling with extended consciousness. However, during the tenth hour, when the knots in my heart were released, consciousness was almost all core consciousness. I was completely absorbed in desperate prayer and in intense and desperate focus on the stress, fear, and anxiety associated with the releasing of a trauma. Most of the time during that tenth hour I felt that death was just around the corner. I will be calling this form of consciousness, core consciousness. It is probably not exactly what Damasio had in mind when he defined core consciousness (see link above). Nevertheless, during the tenth hour I believe I was immersed in this kind of consciousness. In the tenth hour core consciousness became the dominant form of consciousness (see paragraphs 11 and 12, below, and An Engineer's Story in Chapter 1 to get a sense of what I am calling core consciousness). Here is the key to any FP analysis: Core consciousness is simple enough to be modeled and simulated using SD. Therefore, the FP methodology is limited to analyzing core consciousness during very deep experiences. The strategy of the FP analysis of purgation is to bracket out extended consciousness throughout the entire 10 hours of purgation and only model and simulate core consciousness. This analytical strategy is powerful, because it leads to the SD flow diagram or noema or structure of core consciousness during purgation. Examination of the flow diagram, its mathematical model, and its simulations of the various aspects of core consciousness during purgation then lead to the startling results given at paragraph 8 below. It is also powerful, because core consciousness lies at the foundation of a deep experience like trauma, abreaction of trauma, or a deep experience like purgation.
  7. My formalized FP model of purgation approaches an understanding of purgation by means of the following 3 tasks:
    1. In task 1 I used SD to structure core consciousness during purgation as a multiloop nonlinear feedback system. This is the same structure as the neurophysiological system underlying core consciousness.
    2. In task 2 I then described purgation by using SD to mathematically modeling and simulating 23 simultaneously operating aspects of core consciousness, moment by moment, during purgation.
    3. In task 3 I then use the very precise structure of purgation and the description of purgation obtained in tasks 1 and 2 to accomplish the following list of things I need to determine next:
      • The nature of the force that drove the dynamics of my core consciousness during purgation.
      • The force's location.
      • The origin of that force.
  8. The philosopher, Natorp, would have called the accomplishment of task 3 in paragraph 7, above, the grounding of the experience of purgation. Here is what I have determined is the grounding for purgation or task 3 of my FP analysis of purgation: The FP analysis of purgation finds that underlying my spontaneous experience of purgation was the spontaneous releasing of cramped/paralyzed antagonistic heart muscles. This grounding is the embodiment that underlies the experience of purgation. It is also called the eidetic reduction by phenomenologists. Then the following question arises: What caused those heart muscles to become cramped or paralyzed? or What was the origin of this cramping? I found I was able to recall and then to reveal that I had experienced a childhood sexual trauma in 1941 or 1942 when I was 9 or 10. I obtained these task 3 insights from the following FP results:
  9. Once the FP results given in paragraphs 7 and 8 above were attained, the stage was set for even deeper progress in understanding purgation. For example, this progress is leading toward the understanding of the central purpose of religion and the evolutionary origin of religion. It started like this: Having a clearer understanding now of PMU from paragraphs 7 and 8, I began to focus on the potential for panic right in the middle of the purgation experience. This approach and the resulting insights are discussed at paragraphs 10-18.
  10. When I was under the great stress, fear, and anxiety that existed just before each of the cramped/paralyzed antagonistic heart muscles were released: My FP analysis of PMU shows I began to pray because I desperately needed God to help me bear the great stress, fear, and anxiety associated with the releasing of the antagonistic heart muscles during the abreaction. Stated in another way, from the very beginning of PMU, and particularly just before each of the cramped/paralyzed antagonistic heart muscles were released, I was - in a way - like a soldier in the trenches under heavy bombing. I needed God's support so my mind and my heart could bear the stress, fear, and anxiety. I needed God so I would not fall apart: I began to pray. The SD model shows in a formalized, simulated way how this praying gradually turned into a continuous, heartfelt, intense, prayer-based religious scenario that integrated beautifully with the ongoing releasing of knots or cramped/paralyzed antagonistic muscles in my heart. The SD simulations of 23 simultaneously operating aspects of core consciousness during purgation show, moment by moment, how this prayer-based scenario saved me. On the other hand, if I had not prayed during the abreaction, paragraphs 11 and 12 just below clearly indicate the moment during the process of the releasing of a heart muscle when I could have panicked. This panic could have led to either a nervous breakdown or a psychotic episode during the abreaction. Then, this condition could have later degenerated into some form of psychosis or schizophrenia.
  11. Now, I will focus on the potential for panic during the purgation abreaction. First, I will introduce you to a simple description of purgation by means of the following set of simulations shown in Figure 1. These simulations are taken from my analysis of PMU. Then, the intense narrative in paragraph 12, below, will explain how the prayer-generated or prayer-based religious scenario kept me from panic during the tenth hour of purgation.

    Figure 1: Simulation of 4 aspects of core consciousness during purgation or the dark night of the soul.

    Here is an outline of the events occurring during the above simulation:

    (A narrative of the whole train of events listed above are available in An Engineer's Story in Chapter 1.)
    As purgation approached the 555 minute mark, the time when the first knot would be released, I began to feel I had to somehow loosen or untie that knot so my rising stress, fear, and anxiety could be relieved and my opening heart could continue to open more fully.
  12. Now, let us see how my religious scenario negotiated the first knot:
    After the first 9 hours of purgation, particularly after experiencing the preliminary peak in PsychicStress between the 180-240 minute marks, I knew I was dealing with an opening heart that was stymied by a knot. However, as the first knot began its release process - probably 3 or 4 minutes before the 555 minute mark - the stress, fear, and anxiety started to mount. My first step was to use my imagination and my religious belief to associate the knot with a particular sin in my life and I asked the blessed Lord - now taking the role of a Judge in the scenario - for forgiveness of that sin. My religious belief told me that if the Judge were to accept my plea, the sin would be forgiven and the knot would then be released. But there was no release! At that point, using my imagination, I felt that the wise and manly Judge was not releasing the knot yet because He wanted to make sure I was really serious about asking for forgiveness of that sin. But during this delay I noticed my stress, fear, and anxiety were increasing rapidly. My situation was getting desperate. (This is where I believe panic and a nervous breakdown would have occurred, if I had not begun to pray and to generate this religious scenario.) My imagination countered in the following way: The Judge was not playing around. He was deadly serious and He wanted to know if I was serious! He could see through my half-hearted attempts at prayer. I liked that kind of a guy! No nonsense. Finally, I had found a guy who was serious. He was a mensch. He had a much greater standard for integrity and trueness than I had ever had. Now, as my state of mind rose to extreme desperation, I began to pray in earnest. I prayed like I had never prayed before. Indeed, I prayed with all my heart and soul, very much like a drowning man would pray when he is going down for the last time. Then, the Judge, calmly standing back and assessing the situation, decided that forgiveness of my sin was justified and in a very detached way He allowed the knot to be released at the 555 minute mark. Because of the integrity and equanimity with which the Judge conducted this examination during the release of this particular knot, I knew He had things under control. In addition, I slowly developed admiration and respect for the Lord in the role of a Judge: I was in good hands. More importantly, I now knew that despite His aloofness and detachment He wanted me on his side. I began to recognize He was a very rare kind of guy: A serious, no nonsense, straight shooting, type of Judge. He was able to penetrate straight into my very heart and soul. (That was where my manhood was bravely waiting for its liberation.) Then my heart began to open further and I encountered the next knot. During the tenth hour this scenario - with many variations - went on relentlessly for about a dozen knots. Yes, the tenth hour was about fear, anxiety, release, and the liberation of manhood or womanhood that occurs during the abreaction of a childhood sexual trauma. However, the tenth hour was also about a series of intense, serious, earnest, and sacred pledges or promises, made knot by knot in the presence of God (God always watches over or supervises the activities of the Judge and the person who is being judged.). In this way - by using my imagination, my prayers, and my religious belief - I was able to walk the plank: To convert the very dangerous, spontaneous release of my cramped or paralyzed heart muscles into the intense, profound, and sacred religious experience of purgation and mystical union (PMU), and without panicking.
  13. Here are some relevant insights about my experience of purgation, emerging from paragraphs 1 through 12 above, particularly paragraphs 11 and 12. I need to list these insights at this particular juncture between paragraphs 12 and 14 in order to prepare the reader for the very important ideas I will be presenting in paragraphs 14-19.
  14. Now, here is the key insight: My very detailed FP analysis of my illusion or my experience of PMU has uncovered the very subtle reason why prayer and religious belief have survived throughout the whole process of evolution: Before and during the time of primitive tribes, religion had evolved to the point where a religious scenario, such as that described in paragraph 12, had the ability to use irrationality and illusion - aided by prayer, religious belief, and imagination - to keep a traumatized tribesman safe from the panic that could occur during the abreaction of his or her trauma. It enabled the tribesman to walk the plank. In my particular case, by not panicking during purgation, I was safe from the psychosis or schizophrenia that could have originated from panic during the spontaneous abreaction or release of my childhood sexual trauma. The example given in paragraph 12 above illustrates the evolution-based reason why religious belief was always central, indeed critical, for the survival of a primitive tribe. A primitive tribe could not survive or come out the winner in competition with other tribes when too many of its tribesmen had become mentally ill after panicking during the abreaction of a trauma that was abreacted or released in a non-religious way. Imagine a primitive tribe with many mentally ill tribesmen idly hanging around the tribal village accompanied by their caretakers: A neighboring tribe would destroy it. Religion is the result of the evolutionary development of certain aspects of the mind/heart system in its relationship to the abreaction of a trauma. The key is religious belief, prayer, and imagination can be used by the mind to successfully deal with the abreaction of a trauma while that abreaction is going on. (This theory of the evolutionary development of religion was recently confirmed by Prof. Stacey Ake of the philosophy faculty and the biology faculty at Drexel University. Prof. Ake is also a council member of IRAS [Institute on Religion in an Age of Science].) To summarize, the central purpose of religion is to enable a person to avoid the occurrence of a nervous breakdown or a psychotic episode during the abreaction or release of his or her trauma.
  15. Religion's rival, psychiatry/psychoanalysis, has no way of stopping a nervous breakdown or a psychotic episode from occuring during the abreaction. Now, going beyond my conjecture on the value of religion for the survival of a primitive tribe, I am making the further conjecture that religious belief, prayer, and imagination are critical for the survival of a modern culture or a modern civilization. I hold the position that the evolutionary roots of the mind/heart system of human beings, established before and during the existence of primitive tribes, carry over into the modern era making prayer, imagination, and religious belief the only effective way to avoid panic when dealing with the stress, fear, and anxiety experienced during the abreaction of trauma.
  16. At this point one should carefully note that psychiatry/psychoanalysis and the drug industry associated with it make a lot of money from the treatment of mental illnesses that results after a non-religious abreaction. For example, antidepressants and antipsychotics are the third and fourth biggest classes of drugs sold in the USA with total sales of $20.7 billion in 2004 (Wall Street Journal, 7/27/05, D1). If there were to be a revival of religion in a culture, it could threaten the lucrative profits generated by psychiatry/psychoanalysis and its associated drug industry. Nevertheless, I believe there is a place for all - for religion and for psychiatry/psychoanalysis and its associated drug industry - in a modern culture. However, at present the scientific community is holding back progress toward such harmony. It presently lacks any knowledge or respect for the evolutionary-based, latent power of religion. It does not believe religion has the power to enable a traumatized person to successfully walk the plank during an abreaction. I think they need to rethink their position. In the modern era, it is critical that leaders of the government, the business community, the scientific community, the universities, and the religious communities learn to work together to produce a healthy, vibrant culture.
  17. The radical leading edge of the scientific community (Dawkins, Pinker, et al) is presently aiming at the elimination or the marginalization of religion. This dedicated effort by the radicals is drawing in support from influencial thinkers in Western culture and in certain other cultures in the world. However, according to paragraphs 14-16 above, such a dedicated effort to eliminate religion goes against human nature, particularly against the evolutionary roots of the heart/mind system. This book manuscript is beginning to indicate that the attack on religion by the radical leading edge of the scientific community can now be countered on scientific grounds.
  18. Dealing effectively with the abreaction of a trauma has always been the primary purpose of religion and, I believe, always will be.
  19. After the religious-based abreaction of the trauma (PMU) the mystic begins the process of leading a religious life or 'working out his or her salvation with diligence.' The potential of this process is unlimited.

Arlen Wolpert
Draft of November 10,2005
http://theworld.com/~awolpert/gtr545.html
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