The Brain and the Spirit invites readers to embark on a practice of listening to the Christ story through the earpiece of neuroscience. After many years steeped in brain science, the author had an unexpected encounter with a theologian, James Alison, whose trust in God and forgiveness toward others appeared to defy neurobiological explanation. How did his encounter with the Christ story produce in him the Christlike responses that it did? This question launched the author on a thrilling quest to listen to the scriptures and take up questions of creation, humanity, sin, Jesus, salvation, the Spirit, and the body of Christ, to hear what might get amplified by our ever-expanding understanding of the human brain. Readers are invited to eavesdrop on the twists and turns of the author's story and take up their own practice of listening to the Spirit, scripture and theology through the earpiece of neuroscience, and to become curious how the Christ story may spark trust which unlocks our brain's capacity to engage reality with relationality, kindness, creativity, and access to joy.

Preeminent psychoanalyst Mortimer Ostow believes that early childhood emotional attachments form the cognitive underpinnings of spiritual experience and religious motivation. His hypothesis, which is verifiable, relies on psychological and neurobiological evidence but is respectful of the human need for spiritual value. Ostow begins by classifying the three parts of the spiritual experience: awe, Spirituality proper, and mysticism. After he pinpoints the psychological origins of these feelings in infancy, he discusses the foundations of religious sentiment and practice and the brain processes associated with spiritual experience. He then focuses on spirituality's relationship to mood regulation, and the role of negative spirituality in fostering religious fundamentalism and demonic possession. Ostow concludes with an analysis of an essay by the psychoanalyst Donald M. Marcus, who recounts his own spiritual experience during a Native American-style "vision quest" in the woods. Marcus's account demonstrates the constructive potential of spirituality and the way in which spirituality retrieves and recapitulates feelings of attachment to the mother. Persuasively and brilliantly argued, Spirit, Mind, and Brain brings the disciplines of religion, behavorial neuroscience, and philosophy to bear on a groundbreaking new method for understanding religious ritual and belief.

This book takes you on a journey that unpacks and demystifies what spiritual growth is and how it unfolds. The aim is to set you on your own path toward genuine, personal spiritual transformation. The book provides all the tools you need - biblical, scientific, and practical - so that you can develop your own pathway for spiritual growth. What is unique about Victor Copan's approach to spiritual growth is that he explores recent findings of brain research as well as scientific research on habitformation and brings them into conversation with the process of spiritual formation. Research on the brain and on habit formation has uncovered significant insights about the process and dynamics of human transformation that can be fruitfully incorporated into our own pursuit of spiritual transformation. Tapping into this research allows us to work in concert with how God designed humans to function - body, soul, and spirit.

"Bold, provocative, and highly readable." -V. S. Ramachandran, M.D., author of Phantoms in the Brain What are near-death experiences, out-of-body sensations, and spiritual ecstasy? And what do they have in common? Perhaps no one is more qualified to answer these questions than renowned neurobiologist Dr. Kevin Nelson. Drawing on his more than three decades of groundbreaking research into the "borderlands of consciousness," Dr. Nelson offers an unprecedented journey into the site of spiritual experience: the brain. Filled with amazing firsthand accounts as varied as a patient seeing the devil battling with his guardian angel to a man watching the universe synchronize around a pinball machine, The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain is an eloquent examination of our brains' spiritual "hardwiring" that will enthrall believers and skeptics alike.

Do religious experiences come from God, or are they merely the random firing of neurons in the brain? Drawing on his own research with Carmelite nuns, neuroscientist Mario Beauregard shows that genuine, life-changing spiritual events can be documented. He offers compelling evidence that religious experiences have a nonmaterial origin, making a convincing case for what many in scientific fields are loath to consider—that it is God who creates our spiritual experiences, not the brain. Beauregard and O'Leary explore recent attempts to locate a "God gene" in some of us and claims that our brains are "hardwired" for religion—even the strange case of one neuroscientist who allegedly invented an electromagnetic "God helmet" that could produce a mystical experience in anyone who wore it. The authors argue that these attempts are misguided and narrow-minded, because they reduce spiritual experiences to material phenomena. Many scientists ignore hard evidence that challenges their materialistic prejudice, clinging to the limited view that our experiences are explainable only by material causes, in the obstinate conviction that the physical world is the only reality. But scientific materialism is at a loss to explain irrefutable accounts of mind over matter, of intuition, willpower, and leaps of faith, of the "placebo effect" in medicine, of near-death experiences on the operating table, and of psychic premonitions of a loved one in crisis, to say nothing of the occasional sense of oneness with nature and mystical experiences in meditation or prayer. Traditional science explains away these and other occurrences as delusions or misunderstandings, but by exploring the latest neurological research on phenomena such as these, The Spiritual Brain gets to their real source.

2021 Illumination Book Awards, Silver Medal: Health/Wellness For centuries, spiritual and meditative practices have helped people become more calm, focused, and happy. Christian saints such as John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila encouraged habits of the heart and soul. Now we know that such habits benefit the whole person. In Spiritual Practices for the Brain, Anne Kertz Kernion (founder of Cards by Anne) relies on the most current research to link spiritual practices to improved health. Relying on her education and experience in brain development, positive psychology, and theology, Anne is able to relate seemingly simple practices such as focused breathing, gardening, practicing kindness, or going for a walk with powerful results for your mind, body, and soul. Her presentation is friendly and readable, and each chapter explores a specific topic such as the Breath, Gratitude, and Self-Compassion, and includes simple practices for readers to try. As an artist and an exercise instructor, she exudes encouragement and hope for the person learning a new practice or revisiting an old one.

God is great—for your mental, physical, and spiritual health. Based on new evidence culled from brain-scan studies, a wide-reaching survey of people’s religious and spiritual experiences, and the authors’ analyses of adult drawings of God, neuroscientist Andrew Newberg and therapist Mark Robert Waldman offer the following breakthrough discoveries: • Not only do prayer and spiritual practice reduce stress, but just twelve minutes of meditation per day may slow down the aging process. • Contemplating a loving God rather than a punitive God reduces anxiety and depression and increases feelings of security, compassion, and love. • Fundamentalism, in and of itself, can be personally beneficial, but the 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. Both a revelatory work of modern science and a practical guide for readers to enhance their physical and emotional health, How God Changes Your Brain is a first-of-a-kind book about faith that is as credible as it is inspiring.

“This Is Your Brain on Joy is a thoughtful, practical, life-changing book that will help you take advantage of the latest neuroscience research—combined with biblical insights—to bring more joy and love into your life.” —from the Foreword by Daniel G. Amen, MD Author and speaker for the PBS special Change Your Brain, Change Your Life What does your brain have to do with experiencing joy? A lot more than most of us realize. In this breakthrough book, Dr. Earl Henslin reveals how the study of brain imaging turned his practice of psychotherapy upside down—with remarkably positive results. He shares answers to puzzling questions, such as Why isn’t my faith in God enough to erase my blue moods? Why haven’t I been able to conquer my anger? Pray away my fear and worry? Why can’t I find freedom from secret obsessions and addictions? Using the Brain System Checklist, Dr. Henslin explains what happens to the 5 Mood Centers in the brain when any of those areas are out of balance. This is great news, especially for those tortured by the fear that something is fundamentally wrong with them when the problem actually lies between their ears. Read this practical, easy-to-understand, and often entertaining book, and you’ll know exactly how to nourish your mind, balance your brain, and help others do the same. After all, the capacity for joy is a terrible thing to waste.

Drawing from her unique background as a neuropsychologist and former nun, Tomaino explores the impact of belief and spirituality on the actual function and structure of the brain. Readers will use effective, hands-on exercises to expand consciousness and raise awareness.

Contents: the Gate to the Path; Tones of Cathedral Bells in Your Body; Four Brains & Improvement vs. Transformation; Two Stupendous Truths - Life & Death Reversed; Spiritualized Matter & Responsiveness; the Seven God Rays of Creation; Spoken Word -.