Continuing Education for Psychologists

GOD 4.0
On the Nature of Higher Consciousness and the Experience Called "God"

What does it mean to go beyond our ordinary perception of reality? Why has almost all of humanity, throughout our history, had the concept of transcendence and connection to "the other" -- to "the spirit world," to "God," or to "the one behind it all?" This concept has been at the root of our search for meaning throughout history, from the shamans of the Ice Age (God 1.0), to the priests of the Neolithic era and Mesopotamia (God 2.0), to the prophets and spiritual teachers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (God 3.0).

In a stunning unification of science, psychology, religion, and spirituality, God 4.0 presents a new understanding of transcendence as the activation of an innate quiescent faculty in the brain, a second system of cognition we all share. If developed, it can help dissolve religious, tribal, and cultural biases and usher in a higher level of conscious connection-- a new "spiritual literacy."

Robert Ornstein, Ph.D., the award-winning psychologist and pioneering brain researcher, authored more than 20 books on the nature of the human mind and brain specifically as they involve our two hemispheres, their different modalities, functions, and potential. Completed just before his death, God 4.0 was a collaboration with his wife, Sally, who edited and published it posthumously.

"In a world of increasing tribalism, Robert Ornstein's God 4.0 contains a crucial message of unity: that the perceptive potential for a pure, unadulterated, transcendent awareness resides in each and every one of us. The survival of our species may very well depend on our collective ability to tap into and experience what Ornstein writes."
--Brad Stulberg, bestselling author of The Practice of Groundedness

"The book God 4.0 opened my mind – and my heart – to new possibilities."
--BJ Fogg, PhD, Behavior scientist at Stanford University; author of the New York Times bestseller Tiny Habits

"Robert Ornstein had the rare gift of combining rigorous scientific methodology with the whimsy and humor of a Sufi storyteller. This, his final book, takes the exploration to a new level – to the very boundary where human consciousness touches the divine."
--Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD., Host, "New Thinking Allowed"

"In God 4.0 [Ornstein] has combined the latest research from a number of domains to create a new spiritual literacy that offers an understanding of the transcendent nature of consciousness and by doing so allows us to truly see God. Humbling, profound and, ultimately, transformative."
--James R. Doty, M.D., Founder/Director, Stanford University Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education

"A fitting final chapter in the canon of an innovative psychologist. This book carefully balances readability and scientific complexity in its quest to find explanations for the near ubiquity of spirituality in humanity's history, and the author displays a firm command of information regarding world religion, secular history, and cutting-edge science and psychological theory."
--Kirkus Reviews

"God 4.0: On the Nature of Higher Consciousness and the Experience Called God is recommended for psychology and spirituality collections alike, and considers the intersection between the two as it probes different notions of 'God' and higher consciousness."
--Midwest Book Review

"God 4.0 is the culmination of and capstone to Robert Ornstein's brilliant, groundbreaking half century of research into the dimensions, capacities, and purposes of human consciousness. Deeply thoughtful and wide-ranging in scope, his final book goes well beyond the 'left-brain, right-brain' work for which he originally became famous, this time bringing the often-confusing and divisive subject of spirituality into a clear and useful 21st-century focus, presenting it as a matter of perception, not belief. Using rigorous, rational, scientific analysis – always his greatest strength – Ornstein shows that the spiritual impulse is innate, a human ability that from the Ice Age forward has been essential to problem solving. As a final part of his legacy, he lays out how this capacity to reach beyond the everyday can, cleared of cobwebs and seen afresh, play a role and be part of preparing humanity to confront today's staggering global problems. A rewarding and fascinating book."
--Tony Hiss, author of Rescuing the Planet: Protecting Half the Land to Heal the Earth

"God 4.0 can make you rethink what God, religion, consciousness, and the human experience of them are. What if God were not a disembodied spirit? What if God were an altered state of consciousness? ... Our experience of God is seen as an inborn network of the human brain, a second system of cognition and connection which can be accessed and help us today. This landmark book shines new light on things we thought we understood."
--Charles Swencionis, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology, Yeshiva University

"God 4.0 is a visionary fusion of true spirituality and neuroscience. Both authors forcefully argue for "consciousness evolution" which is a shift away from self-centeredness that releases enhanced perceptual capabilities. This shift can profoundly influence epigenetic expression, health, and perhaps even influence the epigenetic inheritance of future generations."
-- Kenneth R. Pelletier, author of Change Your Genes, Change Your Life

"Staggering in scope and breadth, God 4.0 is the culmination of Ornstein's work on the psychology of consciousness. Connecting the latest research from archeology, religious history, psychology and brain science, the authors extend a timely invitation to readers to explore a latent, intuitive faculty we all share – one that can move us beyond belief, faith, and doctrine to a wider perception of who we are and who we could become."
--David S Sobel, MD, MPH, Stanford University School of Medicine