The above is a title of a new book by University of Pennsylvania neuroscientist, Andrew Newberg.  Judging from an interview with the author which was featured in the Toronto Star, his findings seem to make much general sense, at least according to my own experiences and intuitions.  He found that those who engaged in a positive spiritual practice enjoyed not only better brain health, but overall health. Here are a few of the Q/As.

Q: How does God Change your brain?
A: There’s not just one God part of the brain.  The whole brain is affected.  When you fully engage the mind, which we typically see in spiritual practices, it activates different parts in a robust and fundamental way.  When you look at God in a positive way, it turns on the part of the brain that makes you feel more compassionate, more loving, more
forgiving to ourselves and others.  People with these positive feelings about God have lower levels of depression and anxiety.

Q: Are there different changes for different religions?
A: It’s not your belief system, it’s what you are doing.  If you’re deeply focused on a sacred object, the brain activity is different from someone praying, which is different from someone speaking in tongues, which is different from Sufi meditation.

Q: You also say extreme beliefs can permanently damage your brain.
A:  People who think of God as vengeful, exclusive, angry at people who don’t believe the way they do, that activates parts of the brain involved in those negative emotions.  It turns up the heart rate.  You’re ready for anger, ready for a fight.  It turns on a whole stress cascade that actually damages the brain, makes it work less efficiently.  In health care, we see people who look at God as angry at them.  They got cancer because God is punishing them.  That’s extremely detrimental.