The Healing Power of Spirituality and Beliefs

Evidence is growing that suggests our well-being is influenced by our spiritual and religious beliefs and practices.

Dr. Andrew Newberg, a professor of radiology, psychology and religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania and co-founder of Penn's Center for Spirituality and the Mind, studies the effects of spirituality on the human brain. He and his team of researchers have noted that during prayer the frontal lobes become engaged, affecting focus and concentration. And in very deep prayer the parietal lobes become disengaged, helping us to feel detached from time and space, leaving behind our everyday concerns.

For those individuals who have meditated longer than 15 years, their frontal lobes appear thicker than people who don't meditate. What does this mean for power meditators? This can help with improved memory, for one thing.

Religious fasting — as well as fasting strictly for health benefits — appears to affect the brain by getting a boost from endorphins, neurotransmitters, and other biochemical reactions because of physiological changes from lack of intake. Such changes bring about profound clarity and feelings of peace or elation.

There's the theory, as yet unproven, that individuals who regularly pray, attend religious services, or in general find deep meaning in their lives experience increased well-being simply because of the placebo effect.

As more people discover and embrace the health benefits of adding spirituality to their lives, the health care industry is taking notice and discussions and practices involving spirituality are turning up in doctors' offices and health care facilities, with patients positively responding to such added therapy.

Such benefits are understandable as many patients are confronted with issues of life or death situations and feel the need to reach out and communicate with the person in the white coat who they feel has control or professional insight over their fate.

Related Article: Time.com: The Biology of Belief

Related Book: How God Changes Your Brain

This text by Linda Sue Anderson of HolisticFuture.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.