Here is some additional information.
"Selective brain damage modulates human spirituality"
http://phys.org/news/2010-02-brain-modulates-human-spirituality.html
"Case Report
Isolated Hyperreligiosity in a Patient with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy"
"Hyperreligiosity may be an ictal, an interictal, or a postictal phenomenology. Ictal religiosity is a type of ecstatic seizure, such as feelings of joy or pleasure. Different examples of ictal religious experiences include intense emotions of God’s presence, hallucinations of God’s voice"
"In a study of 234 patients [
5], 1.3 percent had ictal religious experiences, usually associated with right temporal lobe origin. Experiences included a sense of presence of God and auditory or visual hallucinations of God"
"In summary, hyperreligiosity is a known epileptic manifestation that may be an ictal, interictal, or postictal phenomenon, requiring appropriate diagnosis and treatment to prevent further neurologic injury."
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/crinm/2015/235856/
This is not a comment on the validity of religious experiences just read the articles and decide for yourselves what to do if you come across somebody who shows these symptoms.
I go by my and every other person's experience with struggling with Epilepsy, their similiar religious experie ces any other person without Epilepsy, and knowledge that EEGs do not pick up religious experiences. This is also a study not factual knowledge of people like myself (unless I am a needle in a hay stack in relation to the study).
The study and posal connects epilepsy with religious experiences. These below are facts confirmed by doctors,
patients experiences, any medical reference "and" study associating seizudes with neurological disorders and some wih psychological disorders.
1. Epilepsy is a collection of multple seizures individuals have. If a person has only one seizure from the temporal lobe, it is not Epilepsy. The study should say "seizures" as it says maybe related (not Is) to religious experience.
2. There are two temporal lobes. Respectively, some have the same symptoms some different. Religious experiences are studied to come from the right temporal lobe. It is also "said" that RTL seizures (not Epilepsy) causes NDE. This too is a study....
3. The
Fact is that to be a seizure (not Epilepsy), it has to be a irregularity in the neuron patterns in the brain. Symptoms can range from
a. Psychological: depression, crying, anxiety, and flush feeling, hollucination
b. Physical: motor convulsions (contractions in the limbs/seizures), altered awareness, unconsciousness, staring spells, shaking, pins and needles, contortions in the jaw, screaming, smelling odors not there, tasting something weird.
The patient is observed in the EMU (Epilepsy Monitoring Unit) to confirm these collections if these symptoms are seizures (not Epilepsy) and where they come from.
Q: If it is not a seizure, it cannot be Epilepsy. In your interpretation of your study, does it say religious experiences are symptoms of seizures or Epilepsy.
If seizures, the assumption is understandable. If Epilepsy, it is technicay incorrect. A collection of seizures (Epilepsy) can no more cause religious experience than one seizure (not Epilepsy).
4. To be diagnosed with Epilepsy ( I will focus on one seizure), these symptoms need to be present ruling out psychosis and other mental illnesses involving ones physical health. MS which patients some have seizures but it is not considered Epilepsy. (Q: Would they/MS patients have religious experiences according to youe interpretation of the study?
5. Religious experiences are not (and not related to) hullucinations (Hll). I have had Hll. Any psychiatrist will tell you that Hll alters ones consciousness to see things that are not there: this Medically seen by symptoms Not religious experiences (never seen that in their DSM book)
If I saw god, this is not a religious experience because religious experiences people are aware of who or what they see, Hll are not. Religious know the difference between spiritual and material experience, Hll may mix the two, religious usually have an already written interpretation and story and history about their religion before taking it up, Hll are independent of religious experiences as defined today. People have had hll within multiple medical disorders (not just Epilepsy) for years on end.
The religious arent having psychosis and hll. The DSM does not quote any psychological nor clinical related psychological symtoms lile Hll wih seizures (not Epilepsy).
6. Epilepsy is has to be diagnosed by a correlation between EEG results (sometimes results arent there), CATs, and MRI and EMU visits. Seizure symptomz seen in any of these methods does not show religious experiences.
How can you see that in any test? Hence why its a study. It cant be a fact. The holy spirit in me was not a fact but an assumption that my shaking is like the shaking of the apostles and believers during the pentacost.
We need to understand the nature of seizures but they are continuing to find new facts about it. All of these facts are not just studies. For example years ago they made studies heartb surgery is possible probably based on the workings of the heart and healing abilities. Now they know it is a fzct it is true. Its not a study.
I have TLB seizures and I never had a religious experience until 20 or so years later as an adult. Symptoms of seizures do not linger twenty years and still be considered one seizure. If there are no symptoms (religious experience not included) it is not a seizure hence not Epilepsy.
Now I have religjous experience. If it were seizures, Id have it long time ago. Since its not caused by seizures but by physiological and pychological experiences that brings one at peace and onenes, it is not from Epilepsy.
Hopyfully this goes through. You need to go beyond studies and support your argument with testimony and factz.
