Healing the Rift by Leo Kim

The idea of spirituality is that there is some part of our existence that is beyond our comprehension. We can't see it, touch it, or hear it.

It's something hidden to us and we usually refer to it with words like spirit, soul, higher power or God. These are things we can't measure, so can they be studied scientifically?

Science often looks at the world in concrete terms. It looks at the body as a collection of cells and tissues that function together. But it doesn't do much to examine the purpose of the body's work or a universal plan. This question is usually left for the field of spirituality.

But recent scientific discoveries have been difficult to explain under the traditional umbrella of scientific knowledge and methodology. In fact, as you look at some of the amazing results you'll find out about in Healing the Rift, you'll see that science and spirituality are intersecting in a new way.

Kim will help to show you with example after example how science and spirituality don't have to be on opposing teams. They can work together and science can support spiritual concepts that have been inherently believed by 90 percent of the population - that there is a higher power at work.

As he takes you on a journey of science and spirituality, you may find your notions of what is real challenged in a new way. But this will open up a new world of understanding for you and even for your own journey through life.

For someone who isn't a trained scientist, scientific concepts can be a little intimidating. And while Leo Kim has an extensive background in science and research, you don't need to be intimidated by his explanations in Healing the Rift.

He uses simple terms that you'll be able to understand and follow. He also uses plenty of examples and metaphors to help fill in the gaps of your scientific knowledge. Even if you never took a college biology class, you'll be able to understand the research he presents and the thesis for his book.

And while the book is simple to understand, it's certainly not "dumbed down". Kim uses examples from some of the most important scientists and scientific discoveries in the world. He backs up his theory with research that is widely accepted.

If you're interested in how spirituality and science can find common ground, this is the perfect book for you. It will show you that spirituality not only has an important role in the lives of humans, it's also supported by scientific evidence and discoveries. It will open a new world of looking at science.

Leo Kim holds a PhD in physical organic chemistry from the University of Kansas. He continued his studies as a research associate at MIT. He has spent many years in the field of science and biotechnology and actually has 50 publications and patents to show for his scientific career.

He has also studied with many spiritual leaders such as Deepak Chopra and Bernie Siegel who offer spiritual explanations for physiological phenomena. With them he learned about alternative therapies to pharmaceuticals.

Kim is the CEO of a biotechnology venture capital firm that examines the scientific research of thousands of companies. As you can imagine, he's very well informed about scientific evidence and new technology.

While Kim has dedicated his life to advancing science, he also believes that there is a spiritual component to life. And unlike many traditional scientists he sees the link between science and spirituality. And now he's written Healing the Rift to help others understand how the two support one another rather than detract from one another.

If you're interested in discovering how science and spirituality are intertwined, there's no better teacher than Leo Kim. When you read Healing the Rift, you'll be blown away by how advances in science support spirituality.

Stanley was my best friend. The last time I saw him, we both wore our new Cub Scout uniforms. Stanley, however, occupied a coffin.

The church's silence, the images before me, and the sweet floral fragrance contributed to my trancelike state. The minister spoke softly as he said, "Sometimes, we cannot understand God's will. Stanley is in heaven."

I was too shocked by my friend's death to contemplate this notion, although I could see Stanley's body in his casket.

I hid my grief and trauma. Just as each Cub Scout badge I earned was put away in a cigar box, nearly all of my childhood memories, along with my sense of loss over Stanley, were placed in a mental cigar box. I focused on my dream of becoming a scientist. Ultimately, I became a physical organic chemist, and I had no occasion to ponder death or spiritual matters until decades later when another death occurred.

The Journey

When death again grabbed my attention, I questioned what had happened to Stanley and to all those who die. I reopened the box that hid my childhood memories, thus beginning a 25-year process of questioning the nature of our existence. My work involved biology and chemistry, but my quest to understand human existence also led to an expanded study of cosmology and physics. I tackled the big questions: Where did we come from? How did life originate? What is reality? How can mind and consciousness emerge from brain and body? I realized that science doesn't have the answers to these questions-only suppositions.

Are we simply a collection of cells in a human body that eventually becomes ill and perishes when it fails? Many scientists support this theory, while spiritual beliefs contradict it. Is there a plan for us? Science explains our bodies as mechanisms of the material realm, ignoring the issue of any possible plan or design. Spirituality, on the other hand, views our bodies as both material and immaterial, asserting that there is a "plan."

With the exception of physicists, scientists typically regard matter as being composed of billiard ball-like component atoms. This materialistic perspective leads to several conclusions which are incompatible with spiritual beliefs. The first conclusion by materialists is that reality is simply physical and that spirit, or immaterial essence, is myth. The second is that the mind and consciousness are merely the result of brain activities. These assumptions logically eliminate free will, since if all the workings of the universe and humans are mechanical, as many scientists posit, humans cannot influence the future. Finally, the third is that since we are but matter, when we die nothing survives-neither mind nor spirit.

But what is life? And what really happens after death? Whether a person lives seven years or 70, is life merely a succession of vignettes of memories, feelings, and experiences that vanish when we die? Is that it-like they never happened at all? Seeking alternatives to the materialistic perspective, I searched for scientific evidence for existence after death. Perhaps, I reasoned, many people embrace spirituality in the hope of an afterlife.

Healing the Rift

I pondered these questions, and spirituality began to inch back into my life. Beginning as a distant whisper, the voice grew nearer. The image of spirituality changed into a welcome friend who cherished our world. I found a fascinating contrast between science and spirituality and, in the contrast, I also found unexpected harmony.

My journey took me on a tour of the mind-boggling scientific concepts of the creation of the universe, life, and humankind. New theories reveal a startling view of reality. Recent breakthroughs explain how mind and consciousness emerge from body and brain, overturning previous dogmas and offering new healing methods. New studies provide fascinating insights into the possibility of an afterlife. Comparing 21st-century science with spiritual beliefs, I found that a new truth was emerging. I discovered how the rift between science and spirituality can be healed.

Leo Kim, Ph.D. was a research associate at MIT, scientist, and executive in the biotechnology industry. He studied with healers such as Barbara Brennan, Bernie Siegel, and Deepak Chopra, and is a certified clinical hypnotherapist. For more information, and to learn about his new book, Healing the Rift, visit: www.healingtheriftbook.com