No matter your religion or spiritual beliefs, even if you're atheist, contemplating the questions of the universe — whether they be religious, scientific, or psychological — can enhance brain function. Practices such as meditation, chanting mantras, and intense prayer can provide significantly positive effects on cognition, relaxation, and psychological health.

According to a new book by Andrew Newberg, MD and Mark Robert Waldman called "How God Changes Your Brain,"  such practices both increase activity in the frontal lobe, which "creates and integrates all of your ideas about God," and diminishes activity in the amygdala, the region responsible for emotions that can generate fearful images of a frightening and punitive God and suppress the frontal lobe's ability to logically think about God.
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This message concludes my three-part series on meditation, and how a daily practice of meditation greatly enhances your ability to live life in the divine flow.

Two weeks ago I explained how meditation helps create gaps between your thoughts, so you are more readily open to divine insights, inspiration, and intuitive guidance. Last week I described the way that meditation helps you stay more connected to your spirit throughout the day, so you can respond to challenging people and situations in a wiser way.
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Last week I wrote about meditation, and how it helps you live life in the divine flow by opening up tiny gaps between your thoughts. It is through those gaps—as small as they may be—that you are able to sense divine direction, and recognize your next right step.

But that's not the only value of meditation. There is another benefit that I would like to share with you, as well: A daily practice of meditation helps you respond to situations rather than react to them.

Do you know the difference between responding and reacting?
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During my Divine Flow Retreat in July, I spent a fair amount of time emphasizing the value of a daily practice of meditation.  I feel that the time has come to repeat my thoughts on this important subject.  Similar to my series on Freedom and The Divine Flow, this message will also be delivered in three parts.  I trust that you will find this series to be of value.

In my experience, just becoming aware of the ways that I receive divine guidance, and becoming aware of the ways that I block or limit my experience of that guidance, has been enough to greatly enhance my ability to live life in the divine flow . . . and fulfill my heart's desires effortlessly.
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Experienced meditators appear to have remarkably enhanced areas of their brains compared to people who don't meditate.

These areas of the brain that were noted to be thickened are responsible for emotional control.

A study done by UCLA's Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI) using MRI scans showed the regions, including the hippocampus and right frontal cortex, were larger in 44 individuals who meditated an average of 24 years.

"We know that people who consistently meditate have a singular ability to cultivate positive emotions, retain emotional stability and engage in mindful behavior," said Eileen Luders, lead author and a postdoctoral research fellow at LONI. "The observed differences in brain anatomy might give us a clue why meditators have these exceptional abilities."
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After 2,000 years of practice, Buddhist monks know that one secret to happiness is simply to put your mind to it.

What is happiness, and how can we achieve it?

Happiness can't be reduced to a few agreeable sensations. Rather, it is a way of being and of experiencing the world — a profound fulfillment that suffuses every moment and endures despite inevitable setbacks.

The paths we take in search of happiness often lead us to frustration and suffering instead. We try to create outer conditions that we believe will make us happy. But it is the mind itself that translates outer conditions into happiness or suffering. This is why we can be deeply unhappy even though we "have it all" — wealth, power, health, a good family, etc. — and, conversely, we can remain strong and serene in the face of hardship.
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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.
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Do we possess the collective mental power to change our physical world? Lynne McTaggart believes so, and she's been instrumental in leading large groups of people to help conduct scientifically-controlled experiments and provide results that clearly indicate the power large groups of people have in affecting outcomes with their intentions.
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Are you frustrated with reading that the answer to all your problems is to just 'go within' but the author doesn't tell you how to do it? Exactly what does it mean and how do you start? When you think you have it figured out and try to go within, does your mind race or do you just see black and feel nothing? You are definitely not alone. In fact, this is so common, that many people give up in frustration, believing that they are not making any progress toward achieving their desired state.

Let's assume that when the phrase 'go within' is used it means to meditate. Meditation is the art and practice where one attempts to reach a state of complete bodily relaxation, while putting aside the critical or analytical part of the mind or ego and attaining a heightened awareness and mental focus. The object of one's focus can be: contemplation of a single word, phrase, image, or a state of well-being; breath awareness; existing in the moment (or timelessness); nothingness; or union with a higher spiritual source.
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A transcendental meditation group claims responsibility for pushing the Dow Jones beyond 14,000, low U.S. unemployment rates, and the shutting down of North Korea's nuclear development. Known as the Invincible America Assembly from Iowa, the group of 1,800 members is now working toward new goals of bringing the Dow beyond 17,000 within a year's time, fewer hurricanes, improved relations between the U.S. and North Korea, a major drop in crime, and reduction in social and political issues. The group's leader, John Hagelin, says at least 8,000 members are needed to achieve world peace.
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