The Science Of Spiritual Experiences: How To Rewire Your Brain For More Happiness & Purpose
- Guest
- Dr. Andrew Newberg
- Read time
- ~5 min
- Uploaded
- 7 Nov 2024
- Duration
- 1:05:41
- Views
- 87.8K
KEYPOINTS
- 01
Spirituality means connecting with something greater than yourself
Dr. Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist and physician who directs research for integrative health at Thomas Jefferson University, works in a field he calls neurotheology. He uses that broad definition so it includes God or a universal consciousness, but also nature, music, creativity and caring for other people. He suggests writing down your own definitions of 'spiritual' and 'religious', since everyone's differ. Religion usually adds a tradition shared by a group, but he sees a great deal of overlap.
- 02
His central claim: everyone has the brain wiring for these experiences
Newberg says we all have 'a pretty similar kind of brain', so spiritual experiences aren't reserved for a gifted few. He also says there's no separate 'spiritual brain' that switches on in a house of worship. These experiences use the same regions we use every day, which is why small everyday moments sit on the same spectrum as dramatic mystical ones.
- 03
Quieting the parietal lobe may explain the feeling of oneness
The parietal lobe uses sensory input to place you in space; it's what keeps you on the sidewalk. In his scans of people deep in meditation or prayer, activity there drops. Newberg's explanation: the boundary between self and world fades, which people report as oneness with God, the universe or other people. He places this on a spectrum that runs from a good conversation to friendship, romantic and sexual bonds, family, and finally mystical union.
- 04
The limbic system flags these moments as important and stores them
Intense joy, awe or love lights up the brain's emotional centers in his scans, which signals 'this is different'. The limbic system also writes emotionally important events into memory. Newberg says that's why a near-death, psychedelic or religious experience can feel real, stay vivid for decades, and change a person's beliefs.
- 05
His survey found five core elements
An online survey of a couple of thousand people's written accounts, analyzed by computer, found five recurring elements. Unity or oneness. Intensity, described in superlatives like 'the greatest love'. Clarity, as if a veil had lifted. Surrender, which he links to the frontal lobes going quiet after the effort of concentrating. And transformation: about 90 to 95% said the experience changed them for the better, including their relationships, their work and their fear of death.
- 06
Small experiences count
Mel lists a quiet Vermont hike, a moving service, or holding a grandchild for the first time. Newberg agrees these carry 'a little bit' of each of the five elements and are valuable in their own right, not lesser versions. He notes that people who have big awakenings often conclude that 'life is the small experiences'.
- 07
Feeling stuck may be your brain running only its familiar circuits
Newberg says he knows of no study on 'stuckness' itself. His view is that 'neurons that fire together wire together', which is how we learn piano or deepen a meditation practice, but it can also close us off to other options. Breaking those patterns takes energy that stuck people often lack, so it starts with a deliberate decision to change and then a new ritual or practice that shifts the brain's focus.
- 08
He sees spirituality as one of four dimensions of health
Integrative medicine looks at the biological, psychological, social and spiritual parts of a person, and he says each affects the others. Illness can bring depression, and depression raises the risk of heart disease. Chemotherapy can cut you off from your pickleball game or church. Spiritual meaning shapes optimism, which he says a large study linked to longer life. He admits psychological and spiritual experiences overlap a lot and are hard to separate.
EXAMPLES
- 01
Scanning people while they speak in tongues
Over about 30 years his team has scanned hundreds of people doing mindfulness, yoga, Buddhist meditation, prayer and speaking in tongues. For practices involving movement, he places an IV line beforehand, injects a tracer mid-practice without interrupting them, and scans 15 to 20 minutes later. The scan shows what the brain was doing during the practice. He jokes that an MRI is a good place to start praying.
- 02
After a St. Ignatius retreat, brains were more sensitive to dopamine and serotonin
Newberg scanned people before and after an intensive retreat based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Afterward their brains were more sensitive to dopamine and serotonin. Serotonin is the system antidepressants target. Mel connects this to the 'afterglow' after a retreat, a moving service or a concert, and he agrees.
- 03
The police officer he calls enlightened
In medical school, Newberg watched a police officer directing traffic who danced, waved his arms and blew his whistle in different rhythms. 'That's an enlightened being,' he thought. Enlightenment, in his view, is about how fully you engage ordinary life, whether you're a CEO or an Uber driver, not about doing something extraordinary.
- 04
Mel's friend the former megachurch pastor
After a long talk with a friend who once led an evangelical megachurch, Mel realized that although they used different words, they described the same physical and emotional feeling from their beliefs. Newberg says scans show similarities across traditions, such as reduced parietal activity, while the specifics, like Jesus, Allah or universal consciousness, differ. Whether 'love', 'energy' and 'God' are the same experience interpreted differently is still an open question.
- 05
Going back to church
Mel's sister-in-law, the company's COO, felt something was missing after years of kids, work and sports crowded out church. She asked herself when she had felt more connected and fulfilled, returned to church, and Mel says it has made a huge difference. Mel's own rituals are daily nature walks and lighting a particular incense each morning.
OTHER RELEVANT
- 01
Newberg's quick-start approach
First name your goal: less anxiety, connection with people, or something religious. Then research practices that fit your goal and your comfort level; there's no one-size-fits-all. If you have a religious background you value, start there. Otherwise try mindfulness, yoga or others. Keep going if it brings connection and good feelings, and change direction if it doesn't. 'Each person has a different lock and a different key.'
- 02
Use your past as a clue
Look for moments that had unity, intensity, clarity, surrender or transformation, like a hike, a song or a service. Build those back into your routine, ideally as a repeated ritual.
- 03
Benefits, with caveats
Newberg says the data show spiritual engagement helps reduce stress, anxiety and depression and may support immune function and help with chronic disease. His study of older adults starting meditation showed brain changes, so age isn't a barrier. He stresses there's no guarantee and you need patience: no single walk in the woods produces enlightenment. He also says neuroscience is unlikely to prove or disprove the spiritual.