I was raised Catholic too, but I gave it up at about age twelve or so. By that I mean I was comfortable enough to skip Mass and have communion at Dunkin Donuts. We'd stop in at the church and pick up a copy of the parish bulletin as "proof" for my rather controlling and religious father.I remember tripping in High Scholl with some friends and having fabulous "unity" experiences. The next day, a Sunday, I recall being stunned that my co-travelers wanted to go to church to "worship." That was the exact words they used.
I think the "worship" circuit might be the same as the "meditation" circuit in the brain. I didn't have much luck meditating either, although I gave it a good chance, as Rawat says. Perhaps electrostimulation of the brain experiments will someday confirm this.
If anyone is interested, there is a great new book out by Temple Grandin called Animals in Translation which talks alot about the human brain with some excellent references and footnotes by this talented PhD and autism sufferer. Of course, there's a lot of stuff about animals, especially cows, but it's all fascinating, at least to me.
