The Best and the Worst in Us

In his book, The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain, neurologist Kevin Nelson, M.D. describes the dual nature of the spiritual experience:

"It is sometimes impossible to tell where the healthy spirituality of the sage ends and spiritual psychosis begins. [...] We are all too aware today of the power of spiritual experience to do harm, as we watch people blow themselves--and others--up in the name of God. [...] The spiritual can be urgent and propulsive--spiritual truth has often come to be a matter of life and death. When we feel we connect with something larger than ourselves, we are willing to sacrifice our small selves to that something that we feel, that we know, is greater. This impulse can drive us to reach out to our fellow man in ways that are noble, inspiring, and even heroic. But it can also lead to intolerance and folly. In short, spiritual experiences bring out the best and worst in us."