Materialists assume that there is no God in Nature,and so do dualistic theists, who restrict God to a supernatural, non-physical realm. Pantheists assume that God is not only in nature, but actually is Nature and there is nothing beyond. Panentheism is a relatively new name for a very traditional view, found in different cultures and religions: we live in a living world permeated and sustained by the divine spirit, but the spirit is not confined to the natural world, but transcends and includes it. Panentheism is compatible not only with mystical experiences but also with a deeper scientific understanding of Nature.

Rupert Sheldrake, PhD, is a biologist and author of more than a hundred technical papers and nine books, including Ways To Go Beyond, And Why They Work. He studied natural sciences at Cambridge and philosophy at Harvard. He was a fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and also a research fellow of the Royal Society. He worked at the University of Malaya on rain-forest ferns, and in Hyderabad, India, on tropical crops. In India, he also lived for two years in the ashram of Fr Bede Griffiths in Tamil Nadu. He is currently a fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences in California and the Temenos Academy in London. He lives in London and is married to Jill Purce. His web site is www.sheldrake.org