The Heart of the Mind: How to Know God Without Believing Anything [Hardcover]

Jane Katra (Author), Russell Targ (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1999

The Heart of the Mind demonstrates that experiencing the presence of God doesn't require knowledge of theology or belief in the supernatural. The authors present evidence that by simply calming our minds and opening our hearts, we can find the meaning, love, and healing that spiritual mystics have described throughout the ages.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Scientist Russell Targ and spiritual healer Jane Katra (Miracles of Mind) join forces again, successfully blending their fascinating research and insights on life and spirit. On the surface, this book is a profound and intelligent discussion of where mysticism and parapsychological science intersect. But at its core, this is a tender book about living a life of peace and feeling connected to universal love. In the opening chapters, the authors address the illusion that we are separate from other beings--one that has tainted our scientific and spiritual models for decades. From here the authors move into scientific evidence for mind-to-mind and spirit-to-spirit connections and how to experience this "oneness" (or, as the title suggests, how to experience God) through freeing the heart and quieting the mind.

Their most groundbreaking chapter is "Why Scientists Pray," in which the authors challenge the stereotype of the cold, unfeeling scientist and show us just how dedicated and spiritual the heart of a scientist can truly be. This is an especially supportive book for contemporary scientists who are trying to break out of the current mold and create a more mystical and intuitive approach to inquiry. --Gail Hudson

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: New World Library (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577310411
• ISBN-13: 978-1577310419
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #958,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended reading., July 5, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Heart of the Mind: How to Experience God Without Belief (Paperback)

Most people accept God "on faith." People who need evidence of some kind have been left to manage as best they can. Jane Katra, Ph.D. and Russell Targ wrote In The Heart Of The Mind: How To Experience God Without Belief to "describe a comprehensible spirituality, one in which experience takes primacy over religious belief." They add that, "as scientists we are convinced that a person need not believe or take on faith anything about the existence of the universal spirit, because the experience of God is a testable hypothesis." Dr. Katra has been a spiritual healer for more than twenty-five years. She holds a doctorate in health education and also works with people in strengthening their immune systems. Targ helped develop the laser, and has researched psychic phenomena since the 1970s. He's written several books, including Miracles of the Mind with Dr. Katra. Their research clearly indicates that "consciousness extends beyond the individual self." They maintain that anyone willing to quiet their mind and open their heart will experience the universal spirit. It isn't necessary to "embrace the dogma of any particular religion in order to have spirituality in our lives." Katra and Targ's premise is that people do not have to give up their minds in order to welcome God into their lives. They cite documented research that confirms the existence of "consciousness unimpeded by the limitations of time and distance" and describe hospital research that verifies the benefits of prayer and spiritual healing. They also discuss the laws of physics and traditional philosophies, showing how "modern scientific evidence of parapsychological phenomena fits with millennia of mystical wisdom teachings." The Heart Of The Mind is for all those caught between desiring to experience something more than themselves, but unable to accept traditional religious concepts. It provides the foundation for recognizing their inherent spirituality and expanding their awareness of an universal spirit.

Sandra I. Smith Reviewer

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars outstanding, September 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Heart of the Mind: How to Know God Without Believing Anything (Hardcover)

I read this through in one sitting, I found it so absorbing. It had a looser feel to me, though, than their first book, and I wonder whether I would have found it as engaging had I not already read their MIRACLES OF MIND first. As an artist, I am fascinated by nonlocal consciousness in the creative process. As a very secular University of Chicago-trained economist, however, hearing the word "God" is like a red-flag. Uh oh... I just can't take seriously "God," that Big Bearded Daddy in the Sky who's going to love you or punish you or whatever, depending on whose "Bible" you want to consult. As for the "Goddess" stuff, don't get me started. What I'm saying is, it was a relief and a delight to read a book about nonlocal consciousness and the creative process without, as the book says, having to believe in "god". I highly recommend this book, though one might want to have a look at MIRACLES OF MIND first. This is the desert, that was the meat 'n veg.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling Scientific Evidence of the Existence of God, June 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Heart of the Mind: How to Know God Without Believing Anything (Hardcover)

"In this exciting new book, Katra and Targ posit spirituality as a new scientific frontier. Applying the most disciplined investigative techniques, scientists throughout the world have now made clear that we need no longer treat faith as blind; it has revealed itself, at last. . . . Katra and Targ have helped to unlock the long-locked door between the rooms of science and the rooms of God. - Marianne Williamson, author of "A Return to Love"