[yshavurah] Prayer: So Powerful, Our Brains Change
- From: Abiks13@xxxxxx
- To: yshavurah@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 22:10:02 EST
Prayer: So Powerful, Our Brains Change
"Lord have mercy.=20
Christ have mercy.=20
Lord have mercy. "
What happens when we pray? Of course, we hope God is listening, paying=20
attention to our petitions and thanksgivings. But what happens to our bodies=
=20
when we pray? This is a story of modern medical technology meeting the=20
ancient art of prayer.=20
"Blessed be Adonoi, whose food we have eaten and in whose goodness we live.=20=
"
University of Pennsylvania medical doctors led by Andrew Newberg, author of=20
"Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science & the Biology of Belief," used medical=
=20
imaging to map what happens to the human brain during the transcendental=20
state of prayer. The BBC's Discovery reports that the scientists compared th=
e=20
brain images of Buddhist monks who were deep in prayer with a baseline image=
=20
taken in a normal state. The result? During prayer, the monks' brains=20
underwent actual physical changes.=20
"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy=20
will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. "
"Religious experience involves a lot of different aspects of our thoughts,=20
our emotions, our cognitions, and neuroimaging helps us look at what is=20
happening," Newberg told the Gazette, a bimonthly publication of the=20
University of Pennsylvania. The activity in the frontal brain increased; thi=
s=20
is the area we use when we are concentrating on particular task. However,=20
there was a marked decrease in the activity in the back part of the brain=20
that controls the sense of being oriented to a location and place. This is=20
significant because the Penn scientists think this may explain why those who=
=20
are deep in prayer have a lack of spatial awareness and an abiding sense of=20
being elsewhere.=20
"Blessed are You, HaShem, our God, King of the Universe who sanctifies us=20
through His commandments. "
In addition to understanding the power of prayer, this body-spirit-mind=20
research could also be used with hypnotherapy to help people cope with=20
long-term illnesses. Newberg told the BBC, "When someone has a mystical=20
experience, they perceive that sense of reality to be far greater and far=20
clearer than our usual everyday sense of reality."=20
--Cathryn Conroy=20
Helpful Links=E2=80=A2 Emotional Wellness
=E2=80=A2 Healthy Living
=E2=80=A2 Inspiration For Everyone
=E2=80=A2 Find a House of Worship
=E2=80=A2 Join A Prayer Network
=E2=80=A2 Mind/Body Sciences Forum =20
=20
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