Navigation for Spiritual Outlook

Amelia Nurse talks to Belgian neurosurgeon and brain researcher Dirk De Ridder about the five stages of drug induced spiritual experiences; how repetition – of anything – can change your brain; whether religiosity is genetic; god as a phantom experience; and whether science can prove or disprove the existence of god. Dirk De Ridder was recently appointed as the inaugural Neurological Foundation Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Otago.

Peyote
Lophophora williamsii, the source of peyote, which Native North Americans have been using for an estimated 5,500 years.