quite true about religion. i believe in an "beyond" and i also believe in reincarnation. and therefore, i do try to live my life with all those "golden rules" and whatnot. i've found that people with a set religion and belief system live their life "by the book", so to speak, and those without any real religious structure live life for themselves. both good ways to go.

in the december 2001 issue of reader's digest, there was an article entitled "searching for the divine" (or "the science of god") by vince rause. it sited some newer scientific research regarding the the region of the brain that called the orientation association area. this region is responsible for "drawing the line between the physical self and the rest of existence... . during peak moments of prayer and meditation, the flow [of neural information from the senses] was dramatically reduced." therefore creating a sense of heightened being and awareness of the non-physical self (or lack of awareness of the physical self). worthwhile article if your interested; check the public library's magazines.