WR 038: Engineering Enlightenment With The God Helmet - with Todd Murphy

Todd Murphy is a member of Laurentian University’s Behavioural Neuroscience program. He’s a leader in the field of neurotheology which uses neuroscience to help investigate religious experiences. He popped up on my radar with his work with Dr. Michael Persinger’s infamous Koren helmet (or God Helmet which is commonly referred to as).

And The God Helmet (when it was originally created) was this yellow motorcycle helmet fitted with electromagnetic coils aimed to stimulate very specific areas of the temporal lobes of the brain, which are associated with mystical experiences.

Wired magazine published an article called This Is Your Brain On God, which described their experiences with the God Helmet. Here is a quote from the author Jack Hitt:

“…I drift almost at once into a warm bath of oblivion. Something is definitely happening. During the 35-minute experiment, I feel a distinct sense of being withdrawn from the envelope of my body and set adrift in an infinite existential emptiness, a deep sensation of waking slumber. The machines outside the chamber report an uninterrupted alertness on my part. (If the researchers see the easily recognized EEG pattern of sleep, they wake you over the speakers.) Occasionally, I surface to an alpha state where I sort of know where I am, but not quite. This feeling is cool – like being reinserted into my body. Then there’s a separation again, of body and soul, and – almost by my will – I happily allow myself to drift back to the surprisingly bearable lightness of oblivion.”

Todd Murphy was one of Dr. Michael Persinger’s mentees for over 12 years. He’s one of the most experienced and knowledgeable individuals on the planet with this technology. In this episode, I pick his brain on all aspects of The God Helmet, and how it could possibly reverse engineer mystical experiences.

What You’ll Learn:

The type of mystical experiences people have using the God Helmet
How the God Helmet works
Why the amygdala is associated with mystical experiences
The history of the infamous God Helmet
How Michael Persinger (the co-creator of the God Helmet) originally discovered how magnetic signals applied to certain areas of the brain can cause mystical experiences
The common experience of presence with beings many encounter with the God Helmet
The debate if users of The God Helmet are tapping into a mystical, metaphysical realm of existence or are simply experiences this due to specialized activity in the brain
A recent trend towards incorporated the technology behind The God Helmet with virtual reality