There is a device invented by Stanley Koren and Michael Persinger that was intended to stimulate your temporal lobes and limbic systems to manufacture the feelings of a near-death-experience. Originally named the Koren Helmet, the device was able to reproduce spiritual and religious experiences to be studied by Dr. Persinger. Participants explained their religious and spiritual experiences while wearing this helmet device. Their experiences crowned the device a new name; the God Helmet.
Dr. Persinger believed that your mind is the electromagnetic map to your soul, meaning it’s like the key to unlock God within yourself. He worked as a neuropsychologist at the Canadian Laurentian University, where he also held the God Helmet experiments. All of his experiments work on the basis that the “religious experience” (miracle) can be replicated by electromagnetism.
Participants that participated in the God Helmet experiment all experienced something profound. Some participants felt anxiety, panic, and fear; while others felt presence, heard sounds, and heard voices. Participants claimed the voices that they heard came from God himself. It is very interesting to be able to replicate near-death-experiences, and it makes sense that people would hallucinate in this very emotional state. To say that these hallucinations are God though, is a huge stretch. It’s worth stating that these experiments were held in the late 80’s and 90’s.
There’s still heavy controversy and criticism surrounding the God Helmet, as many researchers and scientists don’t believe it did anything at all. Replications of the device haven’t helmed the same results as they have in the past. This leads to many thinking the whole God’s Helmet experiment was faked. I’m somewhere in the middle, I do think the experiments led to real data. I also believe that participants experienced some spiritual happenings. Although, I think it’s unrelated to religion. Do you think Persinger’s God Helmet replicated religious experiences?
