Another Way of Knowing Truth — The Heart

Cedric Johnson, PhD

A dominant paradigm in scientific materialism is “If we can’t measure it, it does not exist.”

As a result dogmatists of our day don’t have an answer to the nature of consciousness, the mind, and the existence of a world beyond death.

The best they can say is either “We don’t know yet” or worse still, “That stuff is speculation.”

Researchers like Rupert Sheldrake, long considered a heretic in the scientific world, in his book Science Set Free, explores the fallacy of dogmatic materialism where

• Memory is kept in the brain.

• Mind and consciousness are in the head.

So because we cannot measure telepathy, the observations of mediums that are evidence-based, and the power of intention or prayer to impact people thousands of miles away, those efforts are viewed as pure speculation.

But what about claims to have had direct contact with the world of Spirit in this life and beyond?

Where’s the proof?

Even though I cannot prove something, using your “If I can’t measure it, it does not exist” tools for verification.
That’s like saying that because a blind person cannot see something in the physical world, it does not exist.

So the existence of God, divine intervention in our lives, or the visitation of spirits or ancestors from beyond the grave” cannot be measured beyond subjective experience.

Is that so?

Why are there peer-reviewed scientific articles on Near Death Experiences?

There are ways of knowing the truth beyond the confines of our noggin.
Beyond Words with Our Hearts

When Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt 5:8), he spoke about knowing the Eternal One through a different operating system, the heart.

In her book Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, Cynthia Bourgeault identifies this inner or still small voice as “God’s positioning system.”

She describes it as our “magnetic center” or an “organ of spiritual perception” that aligns us with God.

Such direct inward spiritual perception has become my focus for my life of faith.

Some examples of direct knowing include

You get a sense of “Don’t take that road home” later to discover that danger lurks in the shadows like a potential mugging.
Your gut tells you at a social gathering to approach a stranger, “Talk to him.” Later, you discover that it was one of the more critical encounters in your life.
In therapy with a client, I find a place of silence deep within. I then ask, “Give me the wisdom to see what is going on at a deeper level.” Suddenly, I say something to the client, and she cries uncontrollably. I hit a nerve.
A novelist makes a profound observation about the writer’s protagonist. When asked “did you plan it that way?” answers “No, it just came to me. I was just a channel.”

Some inner knowing took me there. We all have this perceptual software in our system.

Humility is, therefore, a necessary precursor to knowing presence directly.

And so is silencing our chattering mind or as the Scriptures state, “Be still and know that I am God”

It’s the prelude to finding a faith of one’s own.

Tribal protestors will display placards reading, “Get out of here, you heretic,” or “How could you betray the foundations of your faith?” or “We found it, you lost it.”

Such protests were a prelude to my being shown the exit door to my church.

These dogmatic fundamentalists are in the intellectual camp with the scientific materialists. They are locked in their heads and ignore the poetry and richness of a heartfelt life.

In the end, eternal verities cannot be known exhaustively with the mind.

We need to engage anther operating system, the heart.

#general