How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough ... - Andrew Newberg

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Based on new evidence culled from their brain-scan studies on memory patients and meditators, their web-based survey of people's religious and spiritual experiences, and their analyses of adult drawings of God, Andrew and therapist Mark Robert Waldman, and their research team, have concluded that active and positive spiritual belief changes the human brain for the better. What's more, actual faith isn't always necessary: atheists who meditate on positive imagery can obtain similar neurological benefits. Written in an accessible style—with illustrations highlighting how spiritual experiences affect the mind—How God Changes Your Brain offers the following breakthrough discoveries:

• Not only do prayer and spiritual practice reduce stress and anxiety, but just 12 minutes of meditation per day may slow down the aging process.

• Contemplating a loving God rather than a punitive God reduces anxiety, depression, and stress, and increases feelings of security, compassion, and love.

• Fundamentalism, in and of itself, is benign and can be personally beneficial, but the anger and prejudice generated by extreme beliefs can permanently damage your brain.

• Intense prayer and meditation permanently change numerous structures and functions in the brain—altering your values and the way you perceive reality.

 

How God Changes Your Brain is both a revelatory work of modern science and a practical guide for readers to enhance their physical and emotional health and to avoid mental decline. Andrew and Mark explain the eight best ways to "exercise" your brain and guide readers through specific routines derived from a wide variety of Eastern and Western spiritual practices that improve personal awareness and empathy. They explain why yawning heightens consciousness and relaxation, and they teach "Compassionate Communication," a new mediation technique that builds intimacy with family and friends in less than 15 minutes of practice.

 

Newer:Principles of NeurotheologyOlder:Why We Believe What We Believe: Uncovering Our Biological Need for Meaning, Spirituality, and Truth PostedSeptember 26, 2013 AuthorScienceSites Tagshow-god-changes-your-brain

Journal Articles

• How God Changes Your Brain: An Introduction to Jewish Neurotheology (PDF)

  — CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly

• The Language of Ineffability: Linguistic Analysis of Mystical Experiences (PDF)

  — Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

• The Neurotheology Link (PDF) An Intersection Between Spirituality and Health

  — Alternative and Complementary Therapies

See More Journal Articles

Popular Press

• Is There a Difference Between the Brain of an Atheist and the Brain of a Religious Person?

  — Scientific American

• Religious Experiences Shrink Part of the Brain

  — Scientific American

• Why Your Brain Needs God

  — On Faith, The Washington Post

In the News

• Your Brain on Religion (video)

  — The Agenda with Steve Paikin, TVO

• What Happens to the Brain During Spiritual Experiences?

  — The Atlantic

• Channeling Spirits' Shuts Down Parts Of Brain

  — Discovery News

See More In The News

MULTIMEDIA

Andrew talks about the powerful connection between neuroscience and religious experiences on The Mel Robbins Podcast.

Andrew joined the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard to discuss a range of topics related to the brain and religion.

Brains scans taken by Andrew are on display at The Franklin Institute