The Heart of the Mind: How to Experience God Without Belief

Rating:
Summary: Exploring various mystical views.
Review: I enjoyed this book, but I didn't think it was really about how to experience God without belief. Many of the belief systems in the world were touched upon in this text. I was inspired to explore Christian Mysticism and Gnosticism more deeply after being introduced to these ideas. I did not find the sections on ESP and transpersonal psychology interesting. I find them both to be weak equivalents to traditional science. Still the book offerred me a lot of food for thought about how man can explore the existence of God.

Rating:
Summary: outstanding
Review: I read this through in one sitting, I found it so absorbing. It had a looser feel to me, though, than their first book, and I wonder whether I would have found it as engaging had I not already read their MIRACLES OF MIND first. As an artist, I am fascinated by nonlocal consciousness in the creative process. As a very secular University of Chicago-trained economist, however, hearing the word "God" is like a red-flag. Uh oh... I just can't take seriously "God," that Big Bearded Daddy in the Sky who's going to love you or punish you or whatever, depending on whose "Bible" you want to consult. As for the "Goddess" stuff, don't get me started. What I'm saying is, it was a relief and a delight to read a book about nonlocal consciousness and the creative process without, as the book says, having to believe in "god". I highly recommend this book, though one might want to have a look at MIRACLES OF MIND first. This is the desert, that was the meat 'n veg.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended reading.
Review: Most people accept God "on faith." People who need evidence of some kind have been left to manage as best they can. Jane Katra, Ph.D. and Russell Targ wrote In The Heart Of The Mind: How To Experience God Without Belief to "describe a comprehensible spirituality, one in which experience takes primacy over religious belief." They add that, "as scientists we are convinced that a person need not believe or take on faith anything about the existence of the universal spirit, because the experience of God is a testable hypothesis." Dr. Katra has been a spiritual healer for more than twenty-five years. She holds a doctorate in health education and also works with people in strengthening their immune systems. Targ helped develop the laser, and has researched psychic phenomena since the 1970s. He's written several books, including Miracles of the Mind with Dr. Katra. Their research clearly indicates that "consciousness extends beyond the individual self." They maintain that anyone willing to quiet their mind and open their heart will experience the universal spirit. It isn't necessary to "embrace the dogma of any particular religion in order to have spirituality in our lives." Katra and Targ's premise is that people do not have to give up their minds in order to welcome God into their lives. They cite documented research that confirms the existence of "consciousness unimpeded by the limitations of time and distance" and describe hospital research that verifies the benefits of prayer and spiritual healing. They also discuss the laws of physics and traditional philosophies, showing how "modern scientific evidence of parapsychological phenomena fits with millennia of mystical wisdom teachings." The Heart Of The Mind is for all those caught between desiring to experience something more than themselves, but unable to accept traditional religious concepts. It provides the foundation for recognizing their inherent spirituality and expanding their awareness of an universal spirit.

Sandra I. Smith Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended reading.
Review: Most people accept God "on faith." People who need evidence of some kind have been left to manage as best they can. Jane Katra, Ph.D. and Russell Targ wrote In The Heart Of The Mind: How To Experience God Without Belief to "describe a comprehensible spirituality, one in which experience takes primacy over religious belief." They add that, "as scientists we are convinced that a person need not believe or take on faith anything about the existence of the universal spirit, because the experience of God is a testable hypothesis." Dr. Katra has been a spiritual healer for more than twenty-five years. She holds a doctorate in health education and also works with people in strengthening their immune systems. Targ helped develop the laser, and has researched psychic phenomena since the 1970s. He's written several books, including Miracles of the Mind with Dr. Katra. Their research clearly indicates that "consciousness extends beyond the individual self." They maintain that anyone willing to quiet their mind and open their heart will experience the universal spirit. It isn't necessary to "embrace the dogma of any particular religion in order to have spirituality in our lives." Katra and Targ's premise is that people do not have to give up their minds in order to welcome God into their lives. They cite documented research that confirms the existence of "consciousness unimpeded by the limitations of time and distance" and describe hospital research that verifies the benefits of prayer and spiritual healing. They also discuss the laws of physics and traditional philosophies, showing how "modern scientific evidence of parapsychological phenomena fits with millennia of mystical wisdom teachings." The Heart Of The Mind is for all those caught between desiring to experience something more than themselves, but unable to accept traditional religious concepts. It provides the foundation for recognizing their inherent spirituality and expanding their awareness of an universal spirit.

Sandra I. Smith Reviewer