A Course In Miracles (training and discussions)

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A Course In Miracles, ACIM Zoom

A Course In Miracles (discussions)

The Course is a system of mind training is what it really is. Its main objective is to reduce fearful thinking and guilt and to promote forgiveness, kindness, healing and inner peace. It is easy going.  Students typically share with me that the course opens them to joyfully experiencing and practicing loving kindness. You might begin with this video introduction, <‘What It Says’>.

Anyone may join weekly meetings.
7-8:15 pm (USA Eastern times) Saturdays… My email, eric.samsung.email@gmail.com

Any level student will be welcome. There is no charge. From A Course In Miracles, let’s examine the opening statements:

Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.

A Course in Miracles makes a distinction between the real and the unreal; between knowledge and perception. Divine “Knowledge” is truth, under one law, the law of Love. “Truth” is unalterable, eternal and unambiguous. Truth might be unrecognized, but it will not be changed. Truth applies to everything that God created, and only what God created is real and true. This is beyond learning because it is beyond time and beyond the limited awareness of processing thoughts, feelings, and perceptions.

Truth has no opposite; no beginning and no end. Truth is real, unchanging and it is the serene peace of faithfulness.

“It is particularly helpful to remember applying it when we read in the news about such fearful things as terrorist attacks. If there is anything that seems frightening to us, we can remember this opening statement and it can remind us again that we need not make illusions of attack and death real in our mind. We can return to the Truth. It is our choice. We need not make the sharp edged children’s toys of belief in separation real in our mind. We can ask the Holy Spirit for a different way to see what seems to be in front of us. The Holy Spirit reminds us that there is only Love or a call for Love. And no matter which it is, the appropriate response is Love.”

Fear originates from fractured ego mind-like-experiences. An experience of fear is an experience that reinforces belief in separation. Fear is a sharply occurring illusion. Every fearful experience is useful only to remind us that the peace of God is real truth. So, with practice, fear becomes a signal that a fractured ego mind-like-experience is really a call for help and a need for healing, peaceful faith.

The ego cannot understand the difference between real and unreal. With practice, peaceful faith will remove the habits of fear and fearful thoughts. So, if we practice using the opening statement we’ll understand and remember that only Love is real, no matter what sensations or images appear. Consciously return to the serene peacefulness of faith. Practice reinforces our enthusiasm and motivation for continuing training and studying the Course.
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“A Course in Miracles” Foundation for A Course in Miracles. <facim.org/what-is-acim.aspx>
.My main objective is to extend joy and to promote discovering serenity, honesty, openness and comfortable willingness to advance in spiritual growth.

I’m On Facebook (every day)
( >  Inner Cosmos Public Group  < )
Is there a science of consciousness?

Thanks for visiting with me.

  Eric

See also:

• Empath Support
• morning Meditation
• Happiness: Self-acceptance
• Looking at yourself honestly – Respect
• Looking at yourself honestly – Gratitude
• Spiritual Laws of Success
• Mindfulness – it is improving us
• we exchange energy – always
• listen with compassion
• your eMotion matters

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Three Hermits – the simplicity of joyful worship

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Leo Tolstoy, The Three Hermits

Leo Tolstoy wrote a story, The Three Hermits. His friend Nicholas Roerich summarized the tale:

On an island there lived three old hermits. They were so simple that the only prayer they used was: “We are three; Thou art Three have mercy on us!”

Great miracles were manifested during this naive prayer.

A local bishop came to hear about the three hermits and their prayer, and he decided to visit them to teach them the canonical invocations. He arrived on the island, told the hermits that their heavenly petition was undignified, and taught them many of the customary prayers. The bishop then left on a boat. He saw, following the ship, a radiant light. As it approached, he discerned the three hermits, who were holding hands and running upon the waves in an effort to overtake the vessel.

“We have forgotten the prayers you taught us,” they cried as they reached the bishop, “and have hastened to ask you to repeat them.”

The awed bishop shook his head.

“Dear ones,” he replied humbly, “continue to live with your old prayer!”

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Thanks for visiting.

  Eric

 

 

Science and Prayer

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Larry Dossey, Science of Prayer

“I used to believe that we must choose between science and reason on one hand, and spirituality on the other, in how we lead our lives. Now I consider this a false choice. We can recover the sense of sacredness, not just in science, but in perhaps every area of life.”

~ Larry Dossey, M.D., Reinventing Medicine

My mission in this blog is to share perspectives on spiritual growth. I find that spiritual growth occurs or we resist it and still spiritual growth occurs. If there is any humility and tenderness in us, there will be spiritual growth that out weighs the ego agenda. The ego only seems to be capable to prevent us from realizing the potential of a spirit-filled mind and body. I gave up wrestling with the ego to exterminate it. I wrestle now with the ego just to test my strength of conviction, my humility and to sharpen in me awareness and my resolve to be of service to others.

Of course, when I want to best my growth, I turn to God. Prayer is one daily activity that keeps me up with growth of awareness of the loving grace and presence of God in my life.

Today, I’m exploring with prayer, the tried and tested of prayer.  

The Science of Prayer

How Is Prayer Scientific?

Larry Dossey: “Prayers work because of love!”

Larry’s studies often involve work with practitioners and their patients. He reports:

“We can call it compassion or deep caring. Old physicians in our culture used to call it bed side manner; that captured love, compassion, devotion, but if you take away love, or really deep connected-ness, between the healer and the patient, these studies don’t work very well.”

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In part two, Larry talks about his specific life lessons and pioneering research. One thing that I want to point out is that he says that your prayer after the fact is just as powerful as prayer before the fact.

In the final, part three, its the short wrap up that got cut.

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see also
Playlist – Prayer and the Power of Prayer
see also: Biography: Larry Dossey

You can search additional related topics here:

CATEGORIES

Meditation  (66)
Prayer  (39)

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Thanks for visiting.

 Eric

 

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2014/10/20.

 

 

Living in Humility

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Christianity, Devotional, Encouragment, God, humble, humility, Humulity, Inspirational, Jesus, Joshua, Karina – Living by faith, Korah

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, (Philippians 2:3)

Karina's Thought

Some time ago when I was walking around in the shopping mall accidentally I met an old friend when was in college. I am so excited met her because been many years I have not hear news about her. Afterwards we were deep in exciting conversation. We were talk about many things. But after a while, I felt there was something different from her. I heard sound of arrogance in every of her words.  There was her sayings that really show her arrogance when we talked about business, “If you have a problem in business, you can come to me for help. Now with the position and authority that I have, I can do anything. I can change everything from impossible become possible!”

Honestly I  really sad to saw her changed drastically. I knew her very well before.  A meek young college girl even there was an impression of inferiority…

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The Love of God…

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by divine-design, Lisa Gerrard, Pieter Bourke, sacrifice, Tara

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This is fantastic!

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by divine-design

The love of God, unutterable and perfect,


flows into a pure soul the way that light


rushes into a transparent object.


The more love that it finds,

the more it gives 
itself;

so that, as we grow clear and open,


the more complete the joy of Heaven is.


And the more souls who resonate together,


the greater the intensity of their love,


and, mirror-like,

each Soul reflects the other.

~ Dante Alighieri

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Dr Herbert Benson: Prayer Has a Therapeutic Effect

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Dr Herbert Benson, magnetic resonance imaging, Mind Body Medicine, Prayer heals

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I hadn’t seen this report yet – THANKS!

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Ascribe the Glory Due

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Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His Name, Ecclesiastes 7:14, I Chronicles 16:29, Revelations in Writing, Shannon Elizabeth Moreno, Worshipping the Lord in the splendor of His holiness

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Thank you Shannon. I really love to read your prayers especially.

 

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Revelations In Writing

There is nothing quite so praise provoking as a warm sunny day in the Pacific Northwest. Yesterday afternoon, was no exception. With unseasonably high temperatures, Super Spouse came home quickly, ready to get out on the water. As our family enjoyed our outing, I could not help but be in awe of the splendor of the sights my eyes took in. The brilliant blue of the sky, the lush green of the trees, the snow-covered peak of Mount Rainier, and the smiles on the sweet faces of Super Spouse and our progeny – my heart was overwhelmed with gratitude.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His Name.

Bring an offering and come before Him;

worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness. – I Chronicles 16:29

This verse seemed to capture the call of my heart, as it summoned me to bring again, an offering of praise. To…

View original post 294 more words

She’s back: Kim Walker (Smith) has 10,000 Reasons

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2 Timothy. Paul, Almighty, Arts and Entertainment, Bible, Bless The Lord, Christian, Christianity, God, Holy, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Culture, Kim Walker, Kim Walker-Smith, praise, Religion and Spirituality, song, worship

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Stay with me here…
I’ve got a point today along with the inspiring Sunday music.

I read (March 29 actually):

“Researchers used brain scans to analyze the thought process of people with ‘high justice sensitivity’. By using a functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) brain scanning device, they studied the brain activity as the subjects watched videos showing behavior that was morally good or bad like seeing a person put money in the beggar’s cup or kick the beggar’s cup away. They were asked how much they would blame or praise the person in the video and to complete  questionnaires that assessed cognitive and emotional empathy and their justice sensitivity.

Those who scored high on the justice sensitivity assigned significantly more blame when asked to evaluate scenes of harm and also praised more the act of an helping person. But it was the brain scans that surprised the scientists.

During the behavior-evaluation exercise, people with high justice sensitivity showed more activity in the parts of brain associated with higher order cognition as compared to an average subject whereas the areas of brain concerned with emotional processing were not affected at all. Thus proving that individuals sensitive to justice are cognitively driven, not emotionally as everyone thinks.

So the search of justice does not primarily come from the sentimental motivations like portrayed rather it comes from reason and mental sophisticated analysis.

When evaluating good actions, a high  activity in the regions of brain involved on decision making, motivation and reward was shown, answering why some people react more strongly to justice related situations and why they value justice more than others. The findings also suggest that individuals make judgement about behavior based on how they process the reward value of good actions as compared to bad actions.”

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How do you suppose people are coming to higher-consciousness about social justice?

If you have been following my blog, you may guess that I believe it isn’t by accident — I’m pretty darn sure its because this is what we are doing while we are getting more spiritually fit and mindfully attuned and prayerfully loving. We are changing our brains and our genetics. We are evolving. We are learning and teaching that it is good to love being loving and compassionate. We are learning that we may even have compassion for people that are awful (and of course still have legal justice)… its work; yes it is… its God’s work.

My mission is to promote loving; not religion. You may also though enjoy the remainder of my post today. I hope so.

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Wikipedia short biography

Kim Walker-Smith is an American singer, songwriter, worship leader, and recording artist. She produced her first solo album, titled ‘Here Is My Song‘, which was released in February 2008 through the Jesus Culture record label.

 

Kim Walker-Smith
Sermon: Impatience and fear 

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Program Description
Women’s Conference – Session 2 – August 18, 2011 – Under the theme “What If…”

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 “My hunger for God
far outweighs the hunger
to understand or to have all the answers.”

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Bless Your Holy Name; Jesus!

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Thanks for visiting.

 Eric

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As I face myself in the mirror…
I’m looking for holiness within my human face… 
that will come along.

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Only one Word was on my mind

My soul longs for You

2 Timothy

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Other WordPress Peace bloggers:

http://wordpress.com/tag/b4peace/

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A God of Peace

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poem, Revelations in Writing, Shannon E. Moreno

Amen. I add only, this is often meant to be an agreement — I agree that God is of Love and His gradual revelation to us is one of peace and gifting to us his Holy Spirit of love and peace. If you haven’t visited Shannon’s ‘Revelations in Writing” I hope that you do. You’ll love her poems, images, and prayers; I’m sure.
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Blessings.
~ Eric

Revelations In Writing

“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” – (I Corinthians 14:33)

Though this verse is given as instruction in the context for holding worship services in the church, if we are living our lives as an ongoing act of worship before Him, I imagine that the same principles are meant to be applied throughout our daily walk with Him. When we exercise the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given, we are meant to do so in harmony with one another. Chaos should not reign, for God is not given the opportunity to work among us as He intended, when the world we operate in is a constant whirlwind. When we slow down enough to allow His peace to reign, it permeates our perimeters and is passed on to those around us.

After one of my busiest weeks of the year so far, this is a timely…

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Captured Thoughts

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Christian, poem

FANTASTIC ! ! !

CHRISTian poetry ~ by deborah ann

Capture my thoughts Lord,
free me in the truth
let me follow Thy Word
as in the days of my youth.

With childlike faith,
take into custody my mind
keep me close to You
so Your ways I can find.

Control and restrain me,
release me not from Thy hold
may my heart for You
not turn luke-warm or cold.

Let me not be disillusioned,
by the wisdom of man
seize upon my belief
show me Your perfect plan.

Capture my thoughts Lord,
be in complete control
I give to You my life . . .
let not man conquer my soul!

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2 Corinthians 10:5
King James Version

“Casting down imaginations,
and every high thing that exalteth itself
against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

Copyright
Deborah Ann Belka

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Not enough words….

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Revelations 8:2-4, transcend space and time

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. ~ John 1:5

vwoods1212

God: omniscient; omnipresent; omnipotent. God is….

Revelations 8:2-4(KJV) And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.  And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand”.

Do you know that there is order in everything that God does; if He is able to transcend space and time; go from the beginning to the end and visit every spot in between; I figure He has got to know what He is doing, so my faith and trust has to be in Him only.

So if He is asking…

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130 better brains

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brain health, mindfulnes

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A thickening of parts of the brain cortex associated with regular meditation or other spiritual or religious practice could be the reason those activities guard against depression – particularly in people who are predisposed to the disease, according to new research. Researchers studied 130 subjects and found that those who highly valued spirituality showed thicker portions of brain cortices that may protect against depression — especially in those at high risk for the disease.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140116084846.htm

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Thanks for visiting. 

 Eric

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RELATED ARTICLES

• morning Meditation
• Gratitude is essential
• Looking at yourself honestly – Respect and Gratitude
• Mindfulness – it is improving us
• we exchange energy – always
• awake my soul

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Science Concurs: Your Faith is Your Perfect Prescription

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Francis Galt, Howard Koenig, Reigh Simuzoshya, Religion and Spirituality, well-being, wellness

Here is another reference to the new science of mind-body and wellness and how spirituality is a boost — here is suggested: “explore the relationship between spirituality and your health.” Okay, I will continue. In fact, I have a few more posts in my drafts. Meantime, this post is about a book I hadn’t seen. If you haven’t opened the blog, Reigh Simuzoshya, Ph.D. has many other posts that link spiritual practices to health and science. Check it out.

~ Eric

Related

theory of mind… evolving spirituality
healthy spirituality and its biology
mindfulness and prayerful healing
is the brain spirituality wired?
Meditation energizes
change from within

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Need help or want to collaborate with me?
Just e-mail me at thehunt4truth@yahoo.com

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The Perfect Prescription2014

Historically, religion has been implicitly correlated with improved health. Later, this belief piqued the interest of scientists who have since measured and documented the connection between the two. A review of literature which includes findings by Dr. Howard Koenig and associates (2001) informs us that science attests to the fact that practiced religion is correlated with significant longevity and a reduced risk of myriad diseases. Since the 1800s when biostatistician Francis Galt’s study affirmed the positive health outcomes of intercessory prayer many more similar studies have been conducted and scientists have been astounded by the strong correlation of spirituality with general health. The quantified health effects of spirituality are reportedly the same as the effects of quitting smoking on health as far as years added to the individual’s life are concerned. Some of the specific benefits of religion include lower levels of stress; better coping skills; improved mental health; less…

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choose… choose wisely

Tags

C.H. Spurgeon, Free will, God, Grace, Jesus, Jesus Culture, Kim Walker, Mark Driscoll

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Do you know anyone that says, “I came to Christ without the power of the Spirit?” If you ever did meet such a man, you need have no hesitation in saying, “My dear sir, I quite believe it — and I believe you went away again without the power of the Spirit, and that you know nothing about the matter, and are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity.” Do I hear one Christian man saying, “I sought Jesus before he sought me; I went to the Spirit, and the Spirit did not come to me”? No, beloved; we are obliged, each one of us, to put our hands to our hearts and say:

“Grace taught my soul to pray,
And made my eyes to o’erflow;
‘Twas grace that kept me to this day,
And will not let me go.”

– C.H. Spurgeon

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Humans are free to believe what they choose.

However, that is not free will.

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The heart that is in us is inclined toward love if this is what we choose. Our will has not to do with this. 

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Choose wisely. The grace of God is always extended. If you turn from grace, you may. If you turn toward grace, you may.

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Love is a choice. So is fear. These are not powered by free-will. The power of love is of Godly grace and the power of fear is of hellish everlasting delusions.

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Related:

Only one Word was on my mind
The God who sees
our Father
dear God what must I do?
is the brain spirituality wired?
what is done for us
prayer heals… hate
mindfulness and prayerful healing
healthy spirituality and its biology
theory of mind… evolving spirituality

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Thanks for visiting.

 Eric

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The God who sees

Tags

God, Jesus, John 14, Kim Walker, Kim Walker-Smith, Religion and Spirituality

The past has no power over the present moment. I may choose my own interpretations and if I choose a spiritual solution, I may be free of the past… or… choose to submit to the lesson. I need to be in the present to do this — in the moment of choice. One thing I find uplifting and enlightening is to trust in God; to trust also in what Jesus taught; and to very consciously and deliberately affirm and invite into my heart and my mind, His Holy Spirit. 

I recreated my awakening for you here: Only one Word was on my mind. I wept freely with great joy that day… that day, I will always recall.

Here is a prophetic inspirational that I love:

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John 14:1-4
(Jesus is speaking)
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” 

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Since that day, I’ve been so wondering and cherishing and thinking about positive qualities and training myself in the moment to hold His Love in my heart. 

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Thanks for visiting.

 Eric

RELATED ARTICLES

• morning Meditation
• ripple-ing
• only one word was on my mind
• when you believe
• what is done for us
• how God showed His Love
• When I Think of You… A new Hallelujah
• our Father 
• commandments
• heart coherence? and awake my soul

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healthy spirituality and its biology

Tags

Andrew Newberg, benefits of spiritual practices, brain scan, depth of meditation, God Spot, mindfulnes, Mood and Anxiety, Mystical Mind, Neurotheology, psychological and physical health, Religion and Spirituality, self-maintenance, self-transcendence, Spiritual Brain, spiritual neuroscience, spiritual state of mind, well-being

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Today, I want to share how research provides a link between spiritual experiences and health and well-being.

According to research, spiritual experiences are associated with a decreased focus on the self. Prayer, meditation, and mindfulness to name a few, are healthy. Similar to good diet, exercise and rest, regular spiritual experiences contribute to overall health.

I previously explained spiritual experiences this way:

Spiritual experiences are associated with a decreased focus on the self. I’ll use this as a definition for a spiritual state of mind: a non-tangible state of mind that brings profound meaning into one’s life as one transcends oneself.

Use something else if you like — we can’t say spiritual is universally anything religious though. Spiritual is as much a secular term as it is a religious term.

Neurotheology, also known as spiritual neuroscience, attempts to explain spiritual and religious experience and behavior in neuroscientific terms. By understanding how the brain works during certain spiritual experiences and practices (e.g., prayer, meditation, and mindfulness), science can explore related psychological and physical health connections; for example, brain activity during meditation indicates that people who frequently practice meditation do also experience lower blood pressure, lower heart rates, decreased anxiety, and decreased depression.

Just as our spiritual teachers have always said, the health benefits as well as the spiritual practices are important.

Dr. Andrew Newberg is a neuroscientist who studies the relationship between brain function and various mental states. He is a pioneer in the neurological study of religious and spiritual experiences, a field known as “neurotheology.”

Newberg’s research includes making brain scans while people practice prayer, meditation, rituals, and during trance states. The scans are analyzed in an attempt to better understand the effects, nature of and the benefits of the various religious and spiritual practices and attitudes. 

Findings:

Spiritual experiences are typically highly complex, involving emotions, thoughts, sensations, and behaviors. These experiences seem far too rich and diverse to derive solely from one part of the brain. For example, a near-death experience might result in different activity patterns from those found in a person who is meditating. Such evidence indicates that more than a single “God spot” is at work — that, in fact, a number of structures in the brain work together to help us experience spirituality and religion.

According to Newberg (and others) humans are compelled to act out myths due to the biological operations of their brains. An “inbuilt tendency of the brain to turn thoughts into actions,” they say is responsible. Says Newberg, “The main reason God won’t go away is because our brains won’t allow God to leave. Our brains are set up in such a way that God and religion become among the most powerful tools for helping the brain do its thing — self-maintenance and self-transcendence. Unless there is a fundamental change in how our brain works, God will be around for a very long time.”

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Andrew Newberg: Three main changes in meditative brains
To look at the neurophysiology of religious and spiritual practices, we used a brain imaging technology called single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), which allows us to measure blood flow. The more blood flow a brain area has, the more active it is (see here).

When we scanned the brains of Tibetan Buddhist meditators, we found decreased activity in the parietal lobe during meditation. This area of the brain is responsible for giving us a sense of our orientation in space and time. We hypothesize that blocking all sensory and cognitive input into this area during meditation is associated with the sense of no space and no time that is so often described in meditation.

The front part of the brain, which is usually involved in focusing attention and concentration, is more active during meditation.  This makes sense since meditation requires a high degree of concentration. We also found that the more activity increased in the frontal lobe, the more activity decreased in the parietal lobe.

When we looked at the brains of Franciscan nuns in prayer, we found increased activity in the frontal lobes (same as Buddhists), but also increased activity in the inferior parietal lobe (the language area). This latter finding makes sense in relation to the nuns using a verbally based practice (prayer) rather than visualization (meditation). The nuns, like the Buddhists, also showed decreased activity in the orientation area (superior parietal lobes) of the brain.

We also looked at the brain of a long-term meditator who was an atheist. We scanned the person at rest and while meditating on the concept of God. The results showed that there was no significant increase in the frontal lobes as with the other meditation practices. The implication is that the individual was not able to activate the structures usually involved in meditation when he was focusing on a concept that he did not believe in.

The temporal lobes are clearly important in religious and spiritual experiences. The amygdala and hippocampus have been shown to be particularly involved in the experience of visions, profound experiences, memory, and meditation. However, Andrew feels that the temporal lobe must interact with many other parts of the brain to provide the full range of religious and spiritual experiences. For more information on the research, click here.

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Putting mindfulness into practice is easy if you take it a few minutes at a time. Here are two simple routines: morning Meditation and practicing mindfulness.

You may be interested to know that Andrew Newberg has 2 courses available.

• The Spiritual Brain: Science and Religious Experience
  24 lecture explore the neurotheology aimed at understanding the connections between our brains and different kinds of religious phenomena
• Spiritual Practices for a Powerful Brain
  Six sessions detail the spiritual practices and offer guidelines for implementation along with the science and research behind them

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Journal Articles (PDF downloads)

1. Effects of an 8-Week Meditation Program on Mood and Anxiety in Patients With Memory Loss
2. The Neuroscientific Study of Religious and Spiritual Phenomena
3. A Preliminary Study of the Acute Effects of Religious Ritual on Anxiety
4. Cerebral Blood Flow Changes Associated With Different Meditation Practices and Perceived Depth of Meditation
5. Cerebral Blood Flow During Meditative Prayer
6. Putting the Mystical Mind Together
7. Complementary and Alternative Medicine Therapies in Mood Disorders

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My purpose for pressing these science articles is to demonstrate health and spiritual benefits of spiritual practices. I hope you’ll come back often — there is more to be discovered.

Need help or want to collaborate with me?
Just e-mail me at thehunt4truth@yahoo.com

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Thanks for learning with me.

 Eric

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See also:

• Is the brain spirituality wired? 
  Theory of mind… evolving spirituality
  mindfulness and prayerful healing
  Meditation energizes
• A place called Heaven 
• Only one Word was on my mind 
• morning Meditation
  practicing simply: mindfulness
• Do you have a need to change the world?
• Scientist debunks Hawking’s ‘no God needed’ theory
  C. S. Lewis: The Magician’s Twin

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theory of mind… evolving spirituality

Tags

Gospel of Matthew, Neurotheology, science of spirituality, spiritual scientific evidence, spirituality and science

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I have an article and some video to share on the progress of spiritual practices and on the evolution of spirituality… Let’s look first at spirituality practices. There are two examples today.

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Prayer Changes Things
Preacher: John Piper, Teaching Pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church

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The research and the evidence is clear that the Christianity so many of us grew up with, the Christianity of the 20th century and earlier, is changing. In place of dogma, Christians are seeking connections in prayerful joyous worship experiences. We want to sharpen our spiritual practices. We just know that inspiration is an important part of our fellowship.

Not sure about how prayer works? Here is a sample Christian prayer.

Prayer is one method of spirituality that has been evolving for at least 3000 years. Here is more information on how mindfulness and prayerful healing is being scientifically demonstrated as healthy.

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Life is Now… using meditation and mindfulness
PRESENT MOMENT: Eckhart Tolle
“The realm of consciousness is much vaster than thought can grasp. When you no longer believe everything you think, you step out of thought and see clearly that the thinker is not who you are.”

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For two years, a small man sits quietly on a park bench. People walk by, lost in their thoughts. One day someone asks him a question. In the weeks that follow there are more people and more questions. Word spreads that the man is a “mystic,” and has discovered something that brings peace and meaning into our lives. It sounds like fiction, but today that man, Eckhart Tolle, is known worldwide for his teachings on spiritual enlightenment through the power of the present moment.

The UnCourse provides you with free resources to work towards a deeper level of consciousness. There are nine units of teachings and exercises in the UnCourse. As you finish each unit, your progress forward will be visible. You can return to the UnCourse site at any time; record your feelings and ideas as you progress.

For more information on how meditation evolves healthy spiritual and physical changes, see developing better brains and meditation changes brains.

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Additionally today, I have a short video and an article presenting some scientific evidence that spiritual practices change our physiology — so we continue to evolve these experiences — we want to because its beneficial.

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Andrew Newberg:
What is the evolutionary reason for our capability to achieve spiritual states?

Evidence of biological basis for religion in human evolution

Date: January 17, 2014
Source: Auburn University

An Auburn University researcher teamed up with the National Institutes of Health to study how brain networks shape an individual’s religious belief, finding that brain interactions were different between religious and non-religious subjects.

Gopikrishna Deshpande, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in Auburn’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, and the NIH researchers recently published their results in the journal, “Brain Connectivity.”

The group found differences in brain interactions that involved the theory of mind, or ToM, brain network, which underlies the ability to relate between one’s personal beliefs, intents and desires with those of others. Individuals with stronger ToM activity were found to be more religious. Deshpande says this supports the hypothesis that development of ToM abilities in humans during evolution may have given rise to religion in human societies.

“Religious belief is a unique human attribute observed across different cultures in the world, even in those cultures which evolved independently, such as Mayans in Central America and aboriginals in Australia,” said Deshpande, who is also a researcher at Auburn’s Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center. “This has led scientists to speculate that there must be a biological basis for the evolution of religion in human societies.”

Deshpande and the NIH scientists were following up a study reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which used functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, to scan the brains of both self-declared religious and non-religious individuals as they contemplated three psychological dimensions of religious beliefs.

The fMRI — which allows researchers to infer specific brain regions and networks that become active when a person performs a certain mental or physical task — showed that different brain networks were activated by the three psychological dimensions; however, the amount of activation was not different in religious as compared to non-religious subjects.

Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Auburn University. The original article was written by Morgan Stashick. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal Reference:
Dimitrios Kapogiannis, Gopikrishna Deshpande, Frank Krueger, Matthew P Thornburg, Jordan Henry Grafman. Brain Networks Shaping Religious Belief. Brain Connectivity, 2013; 131126141800007 DOI: 10.1089/brain.2013.0172

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 I hope you’ll come back often — there is more to be discovered.

I promote spiritual authors
artists, and bloggers… free…
Need help or want to collaborate with me?
Just e-mail me at thehunt4truth@yahoo.com

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Thanks for learning with me.

 Eric

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See also:

• • Is the brain spirituality wired?
  • Only one Word was on my mind
    A place called Heaven
    morning Meditation
    Do you have a need to change the world?
  • Sacred Technology?
  • Scientist debunks Hawking’s ‘no God needed’ theory
    How the Universe Works (in 25 minutes)
    Hawking: ‘Heaven is a place for people afraid to die’
  • C. S. Lewis – why he still matters so much today
    C. S. Lewis: The Magician’s Twin

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Auburn University. “Evidence of biological basis for religion in human evolution.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 January 2014.

[www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140117153635.htm]

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Lost In The Call – Rumi poetry

Tags

God, laugh, Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi, needless additional pain and suffering, peaceful, poem, pray, recovery, Rumi, suffer, suffering

This one is dedicated to my friends sharing about the pains and joys in their recovery.

Program Description
Having pain is not fun, but sometimes when it lasts for a long time and after you get used to it, you feel different about it. I guess our brains start releasing some hormones and our perception of pain changes.

“Whatever happens, just keep smiling and lose yourself in Love.”
~ Rumi

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Lost In The Call

Lord, said David, since you do not need us,
why did you create these two worlds?

Reality replied: O prisoner of time,
I was a secret treasure of kindness and generosity,
and I wished this treasure to be known,
so I created a mirror: its shining face, the heart;
its darkened back, the world;
The back would please you if you’ve never seen the face.

Has anyone ever produced a mirror out of mud and straw?
Yet clean away the mud and straw,
and a mirror might be revealed.

Until the juice ferments a while in the cask, it isn’t wine.
If you wish your heart to be bright, you must do a little work.

My King addressed the soul of my flesh:
You return just as you left.
Where are the traces of my gifts?

We know that alchemy transforms copper into gold.
This Sun doesn’t want a crown or robe from God’s grace.
He is a hat to a hundred bald men,
a covering for ten who were naked.

Jesus sat humbly on the back of an ass, my child!
How could a zephyr ride an ass?
Spirit, find your way, in seeking lowness like a stream.
Reason, tread the path of selflessness into eternity.

Remember God so much that you are forgotten.
Let the caller and the called disappear;
be lost in the Call.

Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi

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Thanks for visiting.

 Eric

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Related articles

• ripple-ing
• Watch, a power is changing this world.
• Accept what you cannot change or change what you cannot accept.
• morning Meditation
• Stillness – your essential nature
• Is the brain spiritually wired?
• Mindfulness – it is improving us
• Mindfulness training downloads (free)
• Stillness speaks
• What is heart intelligence?
• heart coherence? and awake my soul
• your eMotion matters
• looking at yourself honestly: 1) RESPECT and 2) GRATITUDE
• listen with compassion
• Only one Word was on my mind

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Personal Prayer Request

Tags

blindness prayer, pray, serenity

Please add God’s servant David into your prayers. Thank you all so much. ~ Eric

We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby!

Tags

Congenital rubella syndrome, Health, Measles, Pregnancy, Rubella

Rubella, or German measles, is most dangerous to your baby if you catch it during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy. Rubella can cause miscarriage, stillbirth or debilitating birth defects. Defects at birth may progressively cause future damage to a growing child. I read about this as my second son was about to be born. My wife had contracted rubella in her first trimester. Our son was breach and midwives took over and I was sitting there in shock already. The birthing suite contained medical apparatus for emergency situations – it was already known that my wife had contracted rubella – we’d been strongly advised to terminate the pregnancy when she was still less than 16 weeks along. My wife could not. Anyway, I picked up her medical chart and thumbed through it. I thought it might ease my frights. No chance – this chart contained a complete description of the horrors that were highly likely to occur. I won’t go into all of it – most of the same information I read happened to Linda’s brother Curtis (link).

I was now deeply in awe of my wife’s resolving to have been going through this and I was telling myself to breath as the midwives were assisting with the birth. I prayed. We’d prayed together during the entire pregnancy and I’ll share about that maybe another time. My son was born – completely healthy – huge at 11 pounds 1 ounce and over 23 inches long. He is a grown man today and he’s never had damage from the rubella. A week or so after his birth, my wife and I learned from a follow-up visit that the placenta had been analyzed and that it had been extensively infected with the rubella.

When I read about the troubles and triumphs here at wordpress – I count my blessings.

We all will in some way suffer. Yet, we all in some way will grow. I pray that our progress will bring us all home to God’s Loving embrace. I see in my heart’s eye that all suffering is as though there were never any such thing within God’s Love. I pray that you too may see that this is so.
~ Eric

Related articles

• You: Rubella on the rise (japantimes.co.jp)
• CDC issues travel warnings for Japan and Poland in light of Rubella outbreaks (theglobaldispatch.com)
• Only one Word was on my mind (hunt4truth.wordpress.com)
• a place called Heaven (hunt4truth.wordpress.com)
• afterlife – part one: Colton Burpo (hunt4truth.wordpress.com)
• afterlife – part two: Dr. Eben Alexander (hunt4truth.wordpress.com)
• morning Meditation (hunt4truth.wordpress.com)
• Spiritual Laws of Success (hunt4truth.wordpress.com)

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Raising 5 Kids With Disabilities and Remaining Sane Blog

(warning: contains disturbing, graphic content)

My brother was born in the 1960s at a time when children with disabilities as extensive as my brother’s (Rubella Syndrome, cleft palate, severely developmentally delayed, legally blind, hearing impaired, heart condition, etc.) were placed in institutions at the “suggestion” of their doctors. Without knowing the specifics, all I knew was that my mother was devastated and took to her bed sobbing, my father very angry and was rarely home, and my brother cried all of the time because he could not eat through the gaping hole which was supposed to be his mouth.

My mom chose not to follow the doctor’s “orders”, which was highly unusual for her because she was a person who NEVER disobeyed authorities. Yet, she knew in her broken, sad heart that “putting him away” was not the right thing to do. Even if her life was changed forever, Curtis…

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