Human involvement with spiritual pursuits can impact the brain in positive and negative ways. Newberg and Waldman offer a comprehensive exploration for both of these possibilities.

1. The Enchanted Loom
Teasing sturdy threads from
neuroscience masterworks

2. Teasing 10 threads
from Newberg &
Waldman’s…

3. Thread 1:
The human brain
seems to have
difficulty separating
fantasy from fact.
It sees things
that are not there,
and it sometimes
doesn’t see things
that are there.
(pg. 5)

4. Thread 2:
Research suggests that when it comes to
God, there are few “true believers,” for
even the most
devoted believers
expressed some
doubts about the
validity of their
spiritual beliefs.
(pg. 10)

5. Thread 3:
Religious and spiritual
contemplation
strengthens a unique
neural circuit that
specifically enhances
social awareness and
empathy while sub-
duing destructive
feelings and
emotions.
(pg. 14)

6. Thread 4:
Loss of self-consciousness enhances one’s
intention to reach for specific goals. It also
improves
one’s ability
to perform
a variety of
tasks with
greater
pleasure.
(pg. 29)

7. Thread 5:
Truly religious and spiritual experiences
are unique, at least when it comes to our
ability to put them into words. The one
common denominator is the positive effect
on a
person’s
life.
(pg. 72)

8. Thread 6:
Yes and No are processed emotionally, and
in different areas of the brain. It takes the
brain longer to
respond to No,
which suggests
that it does not
take kindly to
being inter-
rupted.
(pg. 84)

9. Thread 7:
Research continues to demonstrate that all
human beings develop multiple images of
God, many of
which are
mostly hidden
from
consciousness.
(pg. 99)

10. Thread 8:
The cultural evolution of God follows the
neurological evolution of the brain. Images
of a wrathful
God are tied to
the oldest struc-
tures. Images of
a mystical and
compassionate
God are tied to the
newer structures.
(pg. 123)

11. Thread 9:
All forms of optimism are associated with
a less realistic view of the world. But then
again, so is pessimism.
As such, a healthy
dollup of reality-
testing should be
added to our
recipe for health.
(pg. 169)

12. Thread 10:
We each
experience
love in
surprisingly
different ways.
(pg. 123)

13. Image Credits:
Title Page: http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/23193-personality-traits-brain-scans
Slide 3 - http://http://www.deviantart.com/art/Pareidolia-366953592
Slide 12 - http://bit.ly/1WopDI4
Slide 2 - http://www.nourfoundation.com/photo-gallery.html; http://bit.ly/1LbcU7n
Slide 6 - https://www.crowdact.com/beta4/search/cat/231
Slide 5 - http://www.jean-dibner.com/sculpture/contemplation.php
Slide 11 - https://twitter.com/hnshah/status/625925544652095490
Slide 10 - https://beautifulobjectsfromtibet.wordpress.com/tag/mask/
Slide 14 - http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/23193-personality-traits-brain-scans
Slide 9 - http://www.create-games.com/forum_post.asp?id=291510
Slide 8 - http://goodpixgallery.com/yes-no-maybe-photos/
Slide 7 - http://theconversation.com/death-isnt-scary-if-youve-had-a-near-death-experience-32557
Slide 4 - http://www.exploringlifesmysteries.com/category/mysteries/philosophy/

14. Mark Brady, PhD
TheEnchantedLoom@gmail.com
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