Science and the Spiritual Life
Does science need to be separate from spirituality? Scientist and author Dr. Paul Mills shares stories from some of the world’s foremost scientists about mystical experiences that have transformed them and their work. Science, as a method, can be used to pursue spiritual goals.
Paul Mills Ph.D. is a Professor of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of California San Diego. Dr. Mills has over 400 scientific publications in the fields of pharmacology, oncology, cardiology, psychoneuroimmunology, behavioral medicine and integrative health. Today we are discussing his new book, Science, Being and Becoming: The Spiritual Lives of Scientists. This book just won the 2023 Gold Nautilus Award for the best book in Science and Cosmology.
His website is PaulJMills.com
THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: This program focusing on Dr. Mills book Science, Being and Becoming: The Spiritual Lives of Scientists I found to be very encouraging. Dr. Mills is a scientist and a long time meditator who's deep meditation experiences inspired him up to talk to other foremost scientists who have had these meditation experiences and open up a connection, so that they can, as he said, come out of the closet and not feel so isolated. Traditional science has looked on the spiritual as not relevant and "woo woo". What these scientists are saying now is that traditional science, by not seeing the spiritual as relevant, is impeding the forward movement of discovery, the forward movement of science. One of the scientists that Dr. Mills interviewed said "Science is a mystical path. The spiritual is the final frontier of science." By listening to this program and reading his book, I feel encouraged and positive with the evidence that shows that we are in and moving forward to a more enlightened age.
DR. TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: It was a joy to speak with Dr. Paul Mills and to discuss his book Science, Being, and Becoming. We discussed a few of the many stories in the book about the spiritual experiences of some of the worlds top scientists, and how these experiences transformed both them and their scientific work. Our discussion about the materialistic view of the world promoted by science, and the resulting dismissal of spiritual and mystical experiences was an important one for me. We discussed how this materialistic world view that only includes those objects that can be experienced through our senses does not incorporate many developments that have happened in other fields such as physics, which now views matter as energy. Paul’s view of science as a mystical path was inspiring.