In The Oral And Written Histories Of Every Culture, There Are Countless Records Of Men And Women Who Have Displayed Extraordinary Physical, Mental, And Spiritual Capacities. In Modern Times, Those Records Have Been Supplemented By Scientific Studies Of Exceptional Functioning. Are Metanormal Attributes Latent Within Everyone? What Is The Evidence That All Humanity Has Unrealized Capacities For Self-transcendence, That The Limits Of Human Growth Are Not Fixed? And Are There Specific Practices That Ordinary People Can Do To Develop These Abilities? Michael Murphy Has Studied These Questions For Over Thirty Years. In The Future Of The Body, He Presents Evidence For Metanormal Perception, Cognition, Movement, Vitality, And Spiritual Development From More Than 3,000 Sources. Surveying Ancient And Modern Records In Medical Science, Sports, Anthropology, The Arts, Psychical Research, Comparative Religious Studies, And Dozens Of Other Disciplines, Murphy Has Created An Encyclopedia Of Exceptional Functioning Of Body, Mind, And Spirit. He Paints A Broad And Convincing Picture Of The Possibilities Of Further Evolutionary Development Of Human Attributes. By Studying Metanormal Abilities Under A Wide Range Of Conditions, Murphy Suggests That We Can Identify Those Activities That Typically Evoke These Capacities And Assemble Them Into A Coherent Program Of Transformative Practice. Such Practice, He Believes, If Embraced By Enough People, Would Constitute A Crucial Next Step In The World's Evolutionary Adventure. The Varieties Of Evidence For Human Transformative Capacity -- Evolution And Extraordinary Functioning -- Analogies Between The Products Of Separate Evolutionary Domains -- Developing Human Attributes -- Culture, Genes, And Extraordinary Functioning -- Philosophy, Religion, And Human Development -- Metanormal Embodiment In Legend, Art, And Religious Doctrine -- Evolution In A Larger Earth -- Evolution And Postmortem Survival -- Psychosomatic Changes In Abnormal Functioning -- Placebo Effects -- Spiritual Healing -- Extraordinary Capacities Of Disabled People -- Mesmerism And Hypnosis -- Biofeedback Training -- Psychotherapy And Imagery Practice -- Somatic Disciplines -- Adventure And Sport -- The Martial Arts -- Extraordinary Capacities Of Religious Adepts -- The Charisms Of Catholic Saints And Mystics -- Scientific Studies Of Contemplative Experience -- The Bases Of Transformative Practice -- Elements Of Transformative Practice -- Integral Practices. Michael Murphy. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

Categories:

• Science & Math
  • Evolution