God and the Brain: The Physiology of Spiritual Experience

Is it our biological destiny to seek the divine? Is faith in a higher power a survival trait? On God and the Brain, Dr. Andrew Newberg presents intriguing evidence that the human brain is a "believing machine"—and that our capacity for self-transcendence and spirituality helps drive our evolution as a species.

This pioneer of brain studies presents the first audio course on his groundbreaking research into the fascinating links between faith, neurobiology, and the mysteries of the psyche, including:
• Why this emerging science enriches both the faithful and the skeptical
• How prayer and meditation enhance your health—tips for tailoring a spiritual regimen that suits your individual needs
• How the world's spiritual paths uniquely shape the brain and mind
• The "myth-making brain"—the survival value of our storytelling and human imagination
• The biology of forgiveness—why this critical spiritual skill is so important to your physical and psychological wellness

No matter what you believe—or don't believe—about God, the parts of your brain that manifest spiritual experience have a profound impact on your entire identity. With his balanced approach of spiritual wonder and scientific rigor, Dr. Andrew Newberg is a leader in exploring the uncharted territory where our human bodies overlap with our experience of the sacred. On God and the Brain, he shares core insights that will deepen your understanding of our most human gift—the experience of the divine.

Course objectives:
• Describe how our spiritual beliefs and practices affect our physical and mental health
• Compile a detailed account of the entire nervous system, the different areas of the brain and what they are responsible for, both physically and emotionally
• Discuss the history of religion and how its importance and practices have shifted in the past century
• Discuss the results of Newberg's studies of spirituality, and discuss why spirituality is hard to measure in a test-like hypothesis
• Assess the basic ways in which spiritual practices differ from one another, and also how they share some common characteristics