Introduction to Religion's Biology

Religion’s Biology: Communicational States and Human Traditions

Thanks to friends Myrna Casebolt and Deric Bownds, I embark upon this blog that provides in pieces – slowly – a book-length manuscript to explain the above concept, I suppose like a serial novel but not fiction.

I live in Madison, Wisconsin, and know these and other friends through a group who attend a mathematics and physics oriented seminar entitled Chaos-Complex Models run by a physicist and poet (also developmental psychologist). Faculty from over sixty departments at the University of Wisconsin provide seminars during the course of the formal school year each week at Tuesday noon. I’ve presented a number of times at this seminar on a variety of topics.

In background I’m an academic psychiatrist who had leadership positions in medical and psychiatric education, a full professor for over 25 years, and head of the psychotherapy committee of the World Psychiatry Association for at several year period. I retired from salaried positions in 1999 and presently function as a mixed media artist and peace advocate. Though at all times I enjoyed practice, and although I’m healthy and feeling capable, I no longer see patients nor have I kept up my medical license, reasons wishing to not work many hours per week to support an office and malpractice insurance. Been there, done that, and I’m grateful to have family members how know how to invest retirement income so that I and my wife can live comfortably and travel (my wife loves to travel!) I worked briefly on a part-time basis in a formal hospital setting shortly after retirement from academe, but it interfered too much with what I wished to do. In addition to doing the mixed media art in my studio, I write a great deal informally (with an extensive set of internet connections), but I’ve been stymied in formal writing to present long held ideas about leadership biology to lag, until this year (2007) when I realized that I should focus upon an illustrative field of human interactions and selected religion. Other of my writing activities will surface as I extend my blog. I hope for interactions with readers so that by the end of it all, I will have experienced more than one editor. I work well and productively with others. Myrna’s musical interest inspired a musical metaphor for my chapters. Let me list these now in this initial submission to bloggers.com.

1. Prelude: The Many Names, Spandrels
2. Two Motifs: Demonology, Spirituality
3. Introspective Mindful Melodies
4. Body Does Stately Music
5. To Dream, To Seize, To Resonate
6. Laughter, Music, and Bonding Views
7. Traditions, Gossip, and Sermon-Lyrics
8. Coda: Names and Spandrels