On the Mystery of Being: Contemporary Insights on the Convergence of Science and Spirituality

by Zaya Benazzo (Editor), Maurizio Benazzo (Editor), Deepak Chopra (Foreword by), Michael A. Singer (Afterword)

Overview

Who are we? What is our place in this vast and ever-evolving universe? Where do science and spirituality meet?

If you’ve pondered these questions, you’re not alone. Join some of the most spiritually curious and renowned minds of our time for an exploration into the mystery of being. From founders of the Science and Nonduality (SAND) conference, Maurizio and Zaya Benazzo, On the Mystery of Being brings together an array of visionary spiritual leaders, psychologists, philosophers, scientists, teachers, authors, and healers to celebrate and explore what it means to be human.

This beautifully arranged collection of essays and insights highlight topics on the convergence of spirituality and science, weaving scientific theory and spiritual wisdom from some of the most influential thinkers of our time—including Deepak Chopra, Rupert Spira, Adyashanti, and many more—with pieces that get straight to the heart of the matter.

As a powerful antidote to our chaotic and materialist modern world, this dazzling volume offers timeless wisdom and new insight into humanity’s age-old questions. On the Mystery of Being also reveals the cutting-edge explorations at the intersection of science and spirituality today. May it encourage your spirit, challenge your mind, and deepen your understanding of our interconnectedness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684033959
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	10/01/2019
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	245,531
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Zaya Benazzo is a filmmaker from Bulgaria with degrees in engineering, environmental science, and film. For many years, she worked as an environmental activist in Holland and Bulgaria, and later produced and directed several award-winning documentaries in Europe and the United States.

Maurizio Benazzo grew up in Italy, and in 1984 came to the United States on a ninety-eight-year-old sailing boat. He started working as an actor, model, and filmmaker, but his thirst for knowledge was only satisfied in 2001 upon encountering I Am That, the seminal work by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, while he was in India shooting the award-winning documentary Short Cut to Nirvana.

Maurizio and Zaya merged their lifelong passions for science and mysticism when they met in 2007, and their first project together was filming the documentary Rays of the Absolute on the life and teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. This project sparked their next level of creation and collaboration: Science and Nonduality (SAND)—a global community inspired by the timeless wisdom traditions, informed by modern science, and grounded in direct experience.

Foreword writer Deepak Chopra is author of more than seventy books, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. His medical training is in internal medicine and endocrinology.

Afterword writer Michael A. Singer is author of the New York Times bestseller, The Untethered Soul, which has also been published in numerous languages around the world

Table of Contents

Foreword Deepak Chopra ix

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction Zaya Maurizio Benazzo 1

Part 1 Voices of Contemporary Spirituality

Love and Wonder Adyashanti 7

Ordinary Awakening Gangaji 8

Closer to Heaven, Closer to the Mud Jeff Foster 12

The Magic of Shared Awareness Sally Kempton 15

The Essence of the Mind Rupert Spira 19

Faces of the Infinite in Everyday Life Dorothy Hunt 23

The Wonder of Unknowing Maura Bergonzi 27

Part 2 The Rebirth of Metaphysics

Nondual vs. Scientific Views of Reality A. H. Almaas 31

Of Consciousness and Paradox Jean Houston 37

Be Blissful Robert Thurman 39

The Qualitative Science of the Heart Kabir Helminski 43

The Anomaly of Consciousness Peter Russell 47

Radiant Intimacy of the Heart Cynthia Bourgeault 50

Part 3 Science Embraces Consciousness

A Brief History of Consciousness Stuart Hameroff 59

Reality Is Eye Candy Donald Hoffman 62

How to Make a Universe Jude Currivan 68

Mind, Matter, and Life: A Unified Systemic View Fritjof Capra 73

Mind and the Wave Function Collapse Henry Stapp 77

Idealism Reloaded: The End of the Perception-Imagination Duality Bernardo Kastrup 80

Part 4 The Wonder of Nature

Fundamental Awareness: The Universe Twiddling Its Thumbs Neil D. Theise 86

Rethinking the "Dumb Random Universe" Model of Existence Robert Lanza 91

The Origin of Life and Consciousness: Lifting and Gifting Our Collective Future Bruce Darner 95

Resurrecting Real Magic Dean Radin 99

The Mycology of Consciousness Paul Stamets 104

The Ecological Initiation Charles Eisenstein 108

Part 5 The Body as Teacher

What Are Our Bodies? Chris Fields 115

The Essence of Yoga: Exploring Our True Body Ellen Emmet 119

The Cerebrospinal Fluid and I Am Mauro Zappaterra 123

Lessons from the Body Larry Dossey 127

The Body, the Medical System, and Modern Society Gabor Maté 131

Cancer as an Awakening Journey Joan Tollifson 136

Part 6 The Heart of Intimacy

Reflections on Intimacy Zhen Dao 141

Awakened Relating: Being Awake to Our Infinite Nature in Finite Human Relationships Lynn Marie Lumiere 144

Intimacy and Keeping the Spark Alive Michaela Boehm 148

The Call of the Earth Goddess: Re-membering a Spirituality of Wholeness Chameli Ardagh 153

The Ego Cannot Love Eric Baret 156

Part 7 Exploring the Shadows

Developmental Trauma and the Transformation of Anger and Rage Julie Brown Yau 161

Healing Trauma as a Spiritual Path: Individual and Collective Dimensions Peter A. Levine 165

Mongolian Shamanic Trance Corine Sombrun 169

Dreaming the Mystery of Being Aware Stephen LaBerge 173

Fifteenth-Century Alchemy and Twenty-First-Century Liberation Pamela Wilson 177

Reconnecting to a Child Within Edward Frenkel 180

Part 8 Doorways to Heaven

The Science and Mystery of Consciousness Pim van Lommel 185

Grief Unmani 189

Three Basic Freedoms James Fadiman 192

The Blessings of Brokenness Vera de Chalambert 196

The Portal of a Poem Mirabai Starr 200

The Human Journey Shakti Caterina Maggi 204

Afterword: On the Relationship Between Science and Liberation Michael A. Singer 209

Contributors 213

Interviews

The Benazzos reside in Sebastopol, CA (Sonoma County).

Editorial Reviews

In this glorious compendium of thinkers who live and work on the frontiers of the art and science of consciousness, we have a book that opens portals to worlds that astonish while advancing the human mind and spirit. For in these pages, we are met with numinous knowledge and priceless wisdom from those who have ‘been there.’ Here, too, is the paradox of living in a biodegradable space-time suit and being the universe in miniature. Ultimately, these essays constitute a kind of a text for those who have ‘consciously’ enrolled in God School! Thus, what you read here both inspires and signals a new and possibly saving agenda for the human species and the Earth we dwell upon.”
—Jean Houston, PhD, chancellor of Meridian University, chairman of the United Palace of Spiritual Arts, researcher and teacher in human capacities and social artistry, and author

Jean Houston

On the Mystery of Being is a testimony to the courageous and openminded spirit of inquiry that characterizes the Science and Non-Duality community.”
—Rupert Spira, teacher of Non-Duality and author of several books, including The Nature of Consciousness and Being Aware of Being Aware

Rupert Spira

Human civilization will only survive if we are able to create communities whose members do not find happiness in excessive material consumption, but in relationships among each other and with the entire community of life. This book of many voices shows beautifully that Maurizio and Zaya have created such a community.”
—Fritjof Capra, author of The Web of Life, and coauthor of The Systems View of Life

Fritjof Capra

Good news! Non-dual consciousness and radical embodiment are not mutually exclusive. Maybe you, like I, have known this all along; known it in the cells of your own holy body, touched this truth in the depths of silence, live it and teach it and forget and remember it. This collection of luminous essays points us beyond language to the undifferentiated field of being that turns out to be nothing less than Love Itself. Enter.”
—Mirabai Starr, author of Wild Mercy, and translator of Dark Night of the Soul

Mirabai Starr

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