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"Who says it doesn't exist? Science cannot answer whether there's actually spirituality. But I can tell you exactly what happens in your brain when you feel a ghost behind you." - Dr. Baland Jalal
Dr. Baland Jalal lives in a fascinating intersection that most people never explore - he's both a devout Muslim who believes in spiritual dimensions and a neuroscientist who can literally create the sensation of ghosts in a laboratory. When he applies electrical stimulation to a tiny region called the TPJ in your brain, you'll swear there's a presence behind you, mimicking your every movement. It's the same neural disruption that happens during sleep paralysis, when people feel demonic entities pressing down on their chests or shadowy figures lurking in their peripheral vision. Yet despite being able to manufacture these supernatural experiences with the flip of a switch, Dr. Jalal maintains something profound: just because we can explain the brain mechanisms doesn't mean the spiritual world isn't real.
What makes his perspective so compelling is the humility embedded in his science. He reminds us that 150 years ago, telling someone about the trillions of microscopic creatures living on their skin would have sounded insane - until we invented microscopes. His research offers something rare in our polarized world: the possibility that scientific explanation and spiritual reality aren't enemies, but different ways of understanding the same mysterious human experience. Whether you're a skeptic who thinks it's all brain chemistry or someone who's had encounters you can't explain, this conversation will shift how you think about the unseen forces that shape our reality.
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