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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 27 2009 : 8:15:42 PM
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This would fit right in with Yogani's applied spiritual science:
A very interesting article on the effects of meditation and religion on the brain:
It's about Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania
Newberg says athiests can get the same results because belief in God is not necessary.
But a positive attitude is. And that a belief in a kind God rather than a vengeful one is better.
Excerpt below:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...ig042709.DTL
You measured the effects of doing a practice like meditation or prayer on the brains of long-term practitioners in different spiritual traditions. What did you notice about the brain of a meditator that's different from someone who is not meditating?
When we compare the baseline brain scans -- meaning when the person is at rest -- of long-term practitioners to those of non-practitioners, we see substantial changes in many parts of the brain.
For example, long-term meditators have higher activity in their frontal lobes, the part of the brain that helps us focus our attention and will on whatever behaviors we need to do. Another interesting finding we have noticed occurs in the thalamus, the central structure that helps different parts of the brain communicate with each other and is very involved in processing all of our sensory information. We find there is a difference in how the thalamus is acting in long-term meditators compared to non-meditators. We think this may have something to do with, on the one hand, enabling the brain to function in a heightened way, but it also suggests that it really does alter our way of looking at reality when one engages in these practices. It changes how the brain works.
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Edited by - Etherfish on Apr 27 2009 8:25:10 PM |
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Jo-self
USA
225 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2009 : 08:44:47 AM
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Interestingly in the article it states:
quote:
Atheists can feel free to jump right in here as Newburg's research indicates that faith in a divine being isn't required to benefit from meditation. But pessimists may be out of luck -- faith in a positive outcome is necessary for the best results.
It could be the reporter's interpretation, but if true, wouldn't this make the studies or results "unscientific"?
-- jo-self
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Scientific effects of meditation on your brain
