Jean Houston, author of A Passion for the Possible and Jump Time
. . . a masterpiece of science and spirit, love over law, and the stunning biological truth of the capacity for transcendence.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Why do we seem stuck in a culture of violence and injustice? How is it that we can recognize the transcendent ideal represented by figures such as Jesus, Lao-tzu, and many others who have walked among us and yet not seem to reach the same state? In The Biology of Transcendence Joseph Chilton Pearce examines the current biological understanding of our neural organization to address how we can go beyond the limitations and constraints of our current capacities of body and mind -- how we can transcend. Recent research in the neurosciences and neurocardiology identifies the four neural centers of our brain and indicates that a fifth such center is located in the heart. This research reveals that the evolutionary structure of our brain and its dynamic interactions with our heart are designed by nature to reach beyond our current evolutionary capacities. We are quite literally, made to transcend.

Pearce explores how this biological imperative drives our life into ever-greater realms of being -- even as the cultural imperative of social conformity and behavior counters this genetic heritage, blocks our transcendent capacities, and breeds violence in all its forms. The conflict between religion and spirit is an important part of this struggle. But each of us may overthrow these cultural imperatives to reach "unconflicted behavior," wherein heart and mind-brain resonate in synchronicity, opening us to levels of possibility beyond the ordinary.

SYNOPSIS

Uses new research about the brain to explore how we can transcend our current physical and cultural limitations.

￯﾿ﾽ Reveals that transcendence of current modes of existence requires the dynamic interaction of our fourth and fifth brains (intellect and intelligence).
￯﾿ﾽ Explores the idea that Jesus, Lao-tzu, and other great beings in history are models of nature's possibility and our ability to achieve transcendence.
￯﾿ﾽ 17,000 sold in hardcover since April 2002.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

The Biology of Transcendence will transform your worldview and change forever your understanding of our past, present, and future. Riveting, insightful, and penetrating, Pearce has laid out one of the most startling and powerful visions of our future. . . . You won't be able to put this book down, and when you've read it, you won't be able to stop talking about it with everybody you know. (Thom Hartmann, author of The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight)  — Thom Hartmann

This is a masterpiece of science and spirit, love over law, and the stunning biological truth of the capacity for transcendence that the universe has placed within us. There is much in this work that could solve the problems of history. Here, in brilliant and incisive words is the foundation for a new mind and a new world. (Jean Houston, author of A Passion for the Possible and Jump Time)  — Jean Houston

Joseph Chilton Pearce has profoundly altered my view of religion and culture and has left me with both the understanding and the tools to go beyond limitations to the joy of love and all its possibilities. (Carla Hannaford, Ph.D., author of Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head and Awakening the Child Heart)  — Carla Hannaford