West of Jesus

This morning as I groggily awoke to the sound of NPR, I became enthralled with an early morning interview with author, Steven Kotler, on his new book, West of Jesus. The title alone is catchy, but what I marveled most at was his explanation of the phenomenon many of us experience during intensely stressful moments...the feeling that time has slowed and the world has become silent.

I found myself describing just such a scene yesterday at my Wild Women retreat. During my ordination it was as if the world narrowed, slowed and became silent. When it was over, I felt as if the world went back to full speed and I emerged from a time warp of sorts. Freaky...and not something I talk about often...but I chalked it up to my own need to make meaning and a "metaphor" of sorts for understanding the experience.

But, what I discovered this morning is many people have similar experiences and that they have a real physiological explanation! Apparently, during fight or flight moments, the body in preparation for disaster, begins to shut down all non-essential organs...blood flows away from organs, like the ears, for instance, and the processing speed of the brain slows to make time appear to be slowing itself. Apparently police officers and military personnel report this experience during intense gun battles. Fascinating!!!

I am excited to read this book (even though it has nothing to do with my dissertation) and discover more about the anatomy of belief.