I’ve been practicing medicine for almost 30 years; neurology for most of that time, hospice medicine for the last two years. I originally went into neurology because I was interested to know why people act the way they do.
Even at that young age I recognized that there really isn’t a bright line between the brain and the mind. They only seem like two different things. Some things are tangible, and some are intangible. But that distinction doesn’t apply very well to the brain. The brain’s job description is to deal in the intangible. Money is intangible as well. But we don’t say, “banking and money are two completely different things.” Both of those things are abstractions that have physical manifestations. The physical manifestations interdigitate, and so do the abstractions.
I think the same thing could be said about spirituality – that there is not a bright line separating spirituality from the brain and mind. To be clear, by “spirituality” I’m not talking about religion. Spirituality is an instinct. Religion is a cultural expression of that instinct.
Instincts have something to do with the brain. Brain, mind, spirit – a continuum? Maybe.
— Dr. Dave
I am working on three books:
- Non-fiction, “Ego and the Problem of Death,” looking at brain mechanisms that interfere with the ability to perceive reality and the Self as they actually are. I submit that many of us have adopted a narrow definition of Self that causes us to simultaneously fear and seek death, resulting in suicides, addictions, and unnecessary suffering in the final years of life.
- Speculative non-fiction,”Gravity Waves of Love from Motown,” looking at brain mechanisms that facilitate spirituality. We have access to knowledge that can help us on our spiritual journey of self-discovery, we just have to figure out how to access it.
- YA novel, “A Pocket Full of Stones,” which treats these themes in fiction format.