~Namaste~
The divine light in me bows to the divine light in you..
Meaning, I bow to you ~Namaste~
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Living in the truth: How our Body, Mind, and Spirit are effected
Living in the truth is a very hard thing to do. Being truthful with yourself and others can be extremely complicated and scary at times. Every cell in our bodies store memories from our past. These can be good memories and bad ones. When someone is not able to remember a memory or event because it was to traumatizing for them, the cells in our bodies store the information so when the person is in a less stressful time in their life, the information will come back to them in hopes of healing from it. Our bodies are designed to heal itself not just physically, but emotionally too. The truth can be very hard and can hurt, but it is the only thing that can set us free from carrying the burden in our conscience mind. I believe that we have debts to pay from past wrong doing not just from this life but from previous lives lived. Or you could call them lessons. If these lessons are not learned and the debts have not been paid you will continue to work this out in life times to come. The truth is the only way to free yourself and others from this pain. Hopefully, we have strong enough loved ones in our lives to work through it with us. Being a healthy minded person does NOT mean being perfect. We are all imperfect, full of flaws, and disappointing. The one thing we can do is forgive one another and ourselves. This is so important if we want to lead healthy lives. I believe being healthy is about being forgiving and living in the truth. Forgiveness and living in the truth is paramount because it helps us constantly re evaluate our lives so we can create the necessary changes to stay on a healthy path.
~Namaste~
The divine light in me bows to the divine light in you..
Meaning, I bow to you ~Namaste~
~Namaste~
The divine light in me bows to the divine light in you..
Meaning, I bow to you ~Namaste~
Living in the truth: How our Body, Mind, and Spirit are Affected.
Living in the truth is a very hard thing to do. Being truthful to yourself and others can be extremely complicated and scary at times. Every cell in our bodies store memories from our past. These can be good memories and bad ones. When someone is not able to remember a memory or event because it was to traumatizing for them, the cells in our bodies store the information so when the person is in a less stressful time in their life, the information will come back to them in hopes of healing from it. Our bodies are designed to heal itself not just physically, but emotionally too. The truth can be very hard and can hurt, but it is the only thing that can set us free from carrying the burden in our conscience mind. I believe that we have debts to pay from past wrong doing not just from this life, but from previous lives lived. Or, you could call them lessons. If these lessons are not learned and the debts have not been payed you will continue to work this out in life times to come. The truth is the only way to free yourself and others from this pain. Hopefully, we have strong enough loved ones in our lives to work through it with us. Being a healthy minded person does NOT mean being perfect. We are all imperfect, full of flaws, and disappointing. The one thing we can do is forgive one another and ourselves. This is so important if we want to lead healthy lives. I believe being healthy is about being forgiving and living in the truth. Forgiveness and living in the truth is paramount because it helps us constantly re evaluate our lives so we can create the necessary changes to stay on healthy path.
~Namaste~
Dr. Melissa Samartano, Phd, LMHC, RYT
The divine light in me bows to the divine light in you..
Meaning, I bow to you ~Namaste~
~Namaste~
Dr. Melissa Samartano, Phd, LMHC, RYT
The divine light in me bows to the divine light in you..
Meaning, I bow to you ~Namaste~
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
An Alternative Path to Healing
Native Remedies the Natural Choice: Herbal and Homeopathic Remedies
nativeremedies.com
If you are looking for an alternative way to heal your mind, body and spirit this is a great website to take a look at. I always recommend my Ct's seek a Homeopathic Practitioner first however, this is a good place to start too. One of my Ct's bringing his daughter in now for counseling came in four years ago and still takes the Pure Calm before he goes off to work. It continues to be an effective way to help reduce symptoms of anxiety without side effects. They are FDA approved and do have a 1-800 number to help you with any questions or concerns you may have.
http://www.nativeremedies.com/?ysmchn=GGL&ysmcpn=Google+Main&ysmgrp=Native+Remedies+Brand&y
nativeremedies.com
If you are looking for an alternative way to heal your mind, body and spirit this is a great website to take a look at. I always recommend my Ct's seek a Homeopathic Practitioner first however, this is a good place to start too. One of my Ct's bringing his daughter in now for counseling came in four years ago and still takes the Pure Calm before he goes off to work. It continues to be an effective way to help reduce symptoms of anxiety without side effects. They are FDA approved and do have a 1-800 number to help you with any questions or concerns you may have.
http://www.nativeremedies.com/?ysmchn=GGL&ysmcpn=Google+Main&ysmgrp=Native+Remedies+Brand&y
Friday, September 16, 2011
Remember that people who have ADHD can be brilliant/ very creative
ADHD – unleashing brilliance in the workplace
Submitted by Deb Gilbertson on April 19, 2007 - 5:39am. ADHD | Business | Careers | Mind
Look for creativity and drive and you are likely to find somebody in the ADHD spectrum. Canadian research found that ADHD adults are nearly four times as likely to be entrepreneurs as their non-ADHD counterparts. But British and American research also shows that their jails are full of people in the ADHD spectrum.
Our view is that ADHD is a set of exceptional qualities that can give organisations a competitive edge – but with challenges. Many great people such as Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Winston Churchill, Leonardo de Vinci, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, John Lennon, and Agatha Christie all had classic ADHD characteristics. This article considers how to unleash the talent in ADHD colleagues.
ADHD stands for ‘Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder’ and is a label for people with chronic inattention, impulsivity, and/or hyperactivity. Recent research is focused on a gene that appears to be a major cause of ADHD.
The gene is common occurring in about 20% of some new world countries. It shows up as ADHD behaviours in about 5-7% of children of whom over half continue to have ADHD characteristics as adults.
The gene has a fascinating effect. It increases the brain’s activity in the modes used for creativity, meditating, hypnosis, relaxing, daydreaming and lucid dreaming. But it also reduces the brain state used for being awake, alert and processing information - especially when faced with tasks! So people in the ADHD spectrum use their creativity and intuition to tackle tasks rather than being focused and analytical.
This is the secret to their brilliance, as well as the cause of their inability to fit into classrooms and orderly workplaces.
Bizarrely too much slow wave activity can cause hyperactivity because the brain seeks external stimulation to compensate for the lack of internal stimuli. This is why some ADHD people are inattentive and dreamy, others hyperactive, and others are both.
It also points to why adrenaline can take over creating fight or flight behaviour. The frontal lobes of the brain simply don’t make the executive judgments to put the adrenaline away.
Discussions on ADHD usually highlight the problems but there are just as many bounties. The same characteristic can be viewed as a strength or a challenge like two sides of the same coin:
ADHD Strength - ADHD Challenge
Highly energetic - Hyperactive
Action oriented - Doesn’t stop to think
Entrepreneurial - Unmanageable
Intrinsically motivated - Hard for others to motivate
Passionate - Intense
Self directed learner - Won’t follow rules
Creative - Unfocussed
Imaginative - Forgetful
Problem solver - Impatient with routines
Great in a crisis - Creates crises
Strong initiative - Not a team player
Work under pressure - Chronic lateness
Adventurous - Dangerous
Humorous - Over the top
Characterful - Mood swings
Courageous - Ignore consequences
Hyperfocused if interested - Distractable if not interested
Uninhibited - Uninhibited
Optimistic - Ignores issues
Loves new ideas - Easily bored
Copes with uncertainty - Disorganised
Insightful - Discounts others views
There are some new labels emerging that acknowledge the strengths and challenges of ADHD. ‘Latent Entrepreneur Personality Type’ reflects that 50% of entrepreneurs are in the ADHD spectrum. The term also suggests that ADHD is an end to a spectrum like being tall or short. It is neither a deficit nor a disorder.
‘Hunter Genes’ suggests the gene may have been dominant when we were hunter gatherers. Attention deficit can be viewed as noticing everything. Rather than filtering out everything but the task at hand, the hunter is aware of all of the possible food sources and threats around. But when the hunter sees the prey, he becomes intensely single focused and energised. In ADHD people this shows up in their intent focus on things that interest them, a characteristic that drives entrepreneurs on when others would have given up.
‘DaVincis’ is an upbeat label borrowed from a man who almost certainly would have scored highly on the tests for ADHD. For the remainder of this article I will refer to DaVincis to describe people in the ADHD spectrum.
For many DaVincis, life is a genuinely dangerous experience. Being constantly in trouble with parents, teachers, employers and colleagues they often lose self esteem, abuse alcohol and drugs, are dishonest and become antisocial. Constant danger causes the body to produce 40% less of the chemical that puts adrenaline away, which may show as anxiety, aggression, stress, fear or hyperactivity.
DaVincis are also the most likely people to inspire, excel and drive change.
Managers and colleagues can make all the difference. But it takes some real skills to unleash the potential. And it takes real heart to enjoy DaVincis for who they are, rather than dwell on who they are not.
DaVincis are motivated by the big picture. We know organisations do best with a compelling vision that fosters shared values and intrinsic motivation. This is especially important to DaVincis. But often it means they are hard to motivate with the usual array of offerings like job security, pay, benefits and status.
Except in sales. DaVincis make excellent sales reps, uninhibited in their approach and bouncing back from setbacks. They thrive on commission as it provides instant feedback on their performance. It is not the money so much as the instant measure of success that they crave. Sales can feed their thrill seeking nature, like the pleasure of the chase.
Many DaVincis lack self esteem, despite their apparent over-confidence. This is a product of being constantly in trouble or not fitting in. It takes so little effort but makes so much difference to notice and reflect their abundant qualities.
Positive psychology is a rapidly expanding new field which has demonstrated that people enhance their strengths and weaknesses most effectively when they use their signature strengths most often, in the most ways, with the most affirming feedback.
DaVincis are passionate when intrinsically motivated and absent when not motivated. So it is imperative to match the job to their passions. This is easier said than done, because passions can emerge with involvement.
Parenthood is probably the best example. We are so much more passionate about our own children than the nice kid down the road. As parents we will throw our heart and soul into raising our children for reasons that are not entirely logical. As nannies we will just do a reasonable day’s work.
DaVincis are passionate parents of their own projects, but disinterested nannies of other people’s projects. The key is to encourage ownership through providing authority, responsibility and accountability.
When good ideas bubble up through the organisation, ideally the creative spark is encouraged to explore the idea and progress it further, calling on help and resources when needed. Such processes ideally suit DaVincis rather than passing ideas to the person with the right skills and job description.
DaVincis will take initiative whether you want them to or not. It can be threatening to managers who feel they should be in control, and to organisations that want to be certain of everything they do. Actually healthy organisations take the rollercoaster ride, fostering initiative and coping with the bounties and the risks.
Both schools and organisations have become overly managed hoping they can guarantee success with clearly defined performance standards. While laudable the effect is to sanitise education and workplaces to know with measured certainty that the right output has been achieved.
But it is very hard to measure higher order learning or outputs that draw on insight, judgment, initiative, leadership, interpersonal skills, creativity and complex problem solving. Many of these are the qualities most abundant in DaVincis, and most at risk from over-measurement and over-control.
The key is to find the ‘big, hairy, scary measure’ that most defines the vision of the organisation, add a few supporting measures, and to dump the rest.
The visionary measures unleash the capacity of staff to find creative ways to solve the big challenges. DaVincis have to work in this kind of environment, while other staff benefit from it.
DaVincis are a challenge to manage. But any organisation that manages its DaVincis well, will also be managing its entire organisation well. The organisation will be a leader in innovation, problem solving and aspiring to its greatest potential.
For more ideas on ADHD DaVincis please see archives in www.windeaters.co.nz
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Our view is that ADHD is a set of exceptional qualities that can give organisations a competitive edge – but with challenges. Many great people such as Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Winston Churchill, Leonardo de Vinci, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, John Lennon, and Agatha Christie all had classic ADHD characteristics. This article considers how to unleash the talent in ADHD colleagues.
|
The gene is common occurring in about 20% of some new world countries. It shows up as ADHD behaviours in about 5-7% of children of whom over half continue to have ADHD characteristics as adults.
The gene has a fascinating effect. It increases the brain’s activity in the modes used for creativity, meditating, hypnosis, relaxing, daydreaming and lucid dreaming. But it also reduces the brain state used for being awake, alert and processing information - especially when faced with tasks! So people in the ADHD spectrum use their creativity and intuition to tackle tasks rather than being focused and analytical.
This is the secret to their brilliance, as well as the cause of their inability to fit into classrooms and orderly workplaces.
Bizarrely too much slow wave activity can cause hyperactivity because the brain seeks external stimulation to compensate for the lack of internal stimuli. This is why some ADHD people are inattentive and dreamy, others hyperactive, and others are both.
It also points to why adrenaline can take over creating fight or flight behaviour. The frontal lobes of the brain simply don’t make the executive judgments to put the adrenaline away.
Discussions on ADHD usually highlight the problems but there are just as many bounties. The same characteristic can be viewed as a strength or a challenge like two sides of the same coin:
Highly energetic - Hyperactive
Action oriented - Doesn’t stop to think
Entrepreneurial - Unmanageable
Intrinsically motivated - Hard for others to motivate
Passionate - Intense
Self directed learner - Won’t follow rules
Creative - Unfocussed
Imaginative - Forgetful
Problem solver - Impatient with routines
Great in a crisis - Creates crises
Strong initiative - Not a team player
Work under pressure - Chronic lateness
Adventurous - Dangerous
Humorous - Over the top
Characterful - Mood swings
Courageous - Ignore consequences
Hyperfocused if interested - Distractable if not interested
Uninhibited - Uninhibited
Optimistic - Ignores issues
Loves new ideas - Easily bored
Copes with uncertainty - Disorganised
Insightful - Discounts others views
There are some new labels emerging that acknowledge the strengths and challenges of ADHD. ‘Latent Entrepreneur Personality Type’ reflects that 50% of entrepreneurs are in the ADHD spectrum. The term also suggests that ADHD is an end to a spectrum like being tall or short. It is neither a deficit nor a disorder.
‘Hunter Genes’ suggests the gene may have been dominant when we were hunter gatherers. Attention deficit can be viewed as noticing everything. Rather than filtering out everything but the task at hand, the hunter is aware of all of the possible food sources and threats around. But when the hunter sees the prey, he becomes intensely single focused and energised. In ADHD people this shows up in their intent focus on things that interest them, a characteristic that drives entrepreneurs on when others would have given up.
‘DaVincis’ is an upbeat label borrowed from a man who almost certainly would have scored highly on the tests for ADHD. For the remainder of this article I will refer to DaVincis to describe people in the ADHD spectrum.
For many DaVincis, life is a genuinely dangerous experience. Being constantly in trouble with parents, teachers, employers and colleagues they often lose self esteem, abuse alcohol and drugs, are dishonest and become antisocial. Constant danger causes the body to produce 40% less of the chemical that puts adrenaline away, which may show as anxiety, aggression, stress, fear or hyperactivity.
DaVincis are also the most likely people to inspire, excel and drive change.
Managers and colleagues can make all the difference. But it takes some real skills to unleash the potential. And it takes real heart to enjoy DaVincis for who they are, rather than dwell on who they are not.
DaVincis are motivated by the big picture. We know organisations do best with a compelling vision that fosters shared values and intrinsic motivation. This is especially important to DaVincis. But often it means they are hard to motivate with the usual array of offerings like job security, pay, benefits and status.
Except in sales. DaVincis make excellent sales reps, uninhibited in their approach and bouncing back from setbacks. They thrive on commission as it provides instant feedback on their performance. It is not the money so much as the instant measure of success that they crave. Sales can feed their thrill seeking nature, like the pleasure of the chase.
Many DaVincis lack self esteem, despite their apparent over-confidence. This is a product of being constantly in trouble or not fitting in. It takes so little effort but makes so much difference to notice and reflect their abundant qualities.
Positive psychology is a rapidly expanding new field which has demonstrated that people enhance their strengths and weaknesses most effectively when they use their signature strengths most often, in the most ways, with the most affirming feedback.
DaVincis are passionate when intrinsically motivated and absent when not motivated. So it is imperative to match the job to their passions. This is easier said than done, because passions can emerge with involvement.
Parenthood is probably the best example. We are so much more passionate about our own children than the nice kid down the road. As parents we will throw our heart and soul into raising our children for reasons that are not entirely logical. As nannies we will just do a reasonable day’s work.
DaVincis are passionate parents of their own projects, but disinterested nannies of other people’s projects. The key is to encourage ownership through providing authority, responsibility and accountability.
When good ideas bubble up through the organisation, ideally the creative spark is encouraged to explore the idea and progress it further, calling on help and resources when needed. Such processes ideally suit DaVincis rather than passing ideas to the person with the right skills and job description.
Both schools and organisations have become overly managed hoping they can guarantee success with clearly defined performance standards. While laudable the effect is to sanitise education and workplaces to know with measured certainty that the right output has been achieved.
But it is very hard to measure higher order learning or outputs that draw on insight, judgment, initiative, leadership, interpersonal skills, creativity and complex problem solving. Many of these are the qualities most abundant in DaVincis, and most at risk from over-measurement and over-control.
The key is to find the ‘big, hairy, scary measure’ that most defines the vision of the organisation, add a few supporting measures, and to dump the rest.
The visionary measures unleash the capacity of staff to find creative ways to solve the big challenges. DaVincis have to work in this kind of environment, while other staff benefit from it.
DaVincis are a challenge to manage. But any organisation that manages its DaVincis well, will also be managing its entire organisation well. The organisation will be a leader in innovation, problem solving and aspiring to its greatest potential.
For more ideas on ADHD DaVincis please see archives in www.windeaters.co.nz
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Heart Chakra
The Heart Chakra is the color GREEN and it has to do with your perfect love. It is located in the center of your chest the fourth energy vortex from the base of your spine. Love for yourself and others. The universal life lessons to be learned here are about love, compassion, devotions and forgiveness. This is such a powerful Chakra because love is such a healing energy. We are not perfect and we all make mistakes but we have to forgive ourselves and one another. It may take years or months or days. Whatever the time is we all have to forgive in order to move on and in doing this we will learn to open our hearts and love again.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
When we discover what the mental pattern is behind an illness, we have a chance to change the pattern and, therefore, the disease. Most people don't want to be sick on a conscious level, yet every disease that we have is a teacher. Something we are saying, doing, or thinking is not for our highest good.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The Key To Happiness
Your soul spirit is the key to finding inner happiness and peace of mind. Listen to what your soul is saying. In our busy lives it is hard to find the time to do this, but if you take 10 or 15 min out of your day to pray or meditate you may notice you feel better and more at peace with yourself. Try it! Your spirit knows everything about you. It stores information that you may not remember. Prayer and meditation are good ways to open the connection to your GOD self, spirit world, or higher consciousness. Sometimes what we are being asked to do may not be good for us and cause mental and emotional upset. Pay attention to what your soul is telling you. Listen to your inner voice. Most importantly try not to follow the crowd thinking that conforming to what others think we should do will bring inner happiness. It is your personal connection to your spirituality to your god self that will help you find true happiness and peace of mind. Remember that we are all connected on a spiritual level. We are are Holy beings!
Dr. Melissa Samartano, PhD, lMHC, RYT
~Namaste~
Dr. Melissa Samartano, PhD, lMHC, RYT
~Namaste~
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
psychics and mediums
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Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Hello,
It is essential for folks receiving treatment to trust in the therapeutic healing process. I deal with children, adolescents, and adults. Some adults who are married, many who are single, or just a couple. Trusting the healing process is essential. It can be arduous to say the least, but in order to heal from our emotional, physical, and spiritual wounds we have to break down the walls of denial and trust the process of identifying and expressing feelings that may have been repressed for years. Denial is our bodies way of naturally coping with trauma, sadness, anxiety, or depression to name a few. Medication is not always the answer and it does not heal a person from the mental pain they may experience. Psychotropic medications do assist in taking the edge off enough in order to help people devise coping strategies so they can manage their problem more effectively. This however, is not always the answer. There are many people that may need psychotropic meds their entire lives. Many times people continue on the medication path which is never ending. Medication will not cure your problem. Just like our bodies know how to heal itself on a physical level when we get a scrape the same goes on a mental level. Our bodies know how to heal itself naturally. We are the only ones keeping it from doing what it knows naturally. Just keep that possibly in your mind.
~Namaste~
It is essential for folks receiving treatment to trust in the therapeutic healing process. I deal with children, adolescents, and adults. Some adults who are married, many who are single, or just a couple. Trusting the healing process is essential. It can be arduous to say the least, but in order to heal from our emotional, physical, and spiritual wounds we have to break down the walls of denial and trust the process of identifying and expressing feelings that may have been repressed for years. Denial is our bodies way of naturally coping with trauma, sadness, anxiety, or depression to name a few. Medication is not always the answer and it does not heal a person from the mental pain they may experience. Psychotropic medications do assist in taking the edge off enough in order to help people devise coping strategies so they can manage their problem more effectively. This however, is not always the answer. There are many people that may need psychotropic meds their entire lives. Many times people continue on the medication path which is never ending. Medication will not cure your problem. Just like our bodies know how to heal itself on a physical level when we get a scrape the same goes on a mental level. Our bodies know how to heal itself naturally. We are the only ones keeping it from doing what it knows naturally. Just keep that possibly in your mind.
~Namaste~
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Teen Depression
Statistics - Adolescent Depression
The statistics on teen depression are sobering. Studies indicate that one in five children have some sort of mental, behavioral, or emotional problem, and that one in ten may have a serious emotional problem. Among adolescents, one in eight may suffer from depression. Of all these children and teens struggling with emotional and behavioral problems, a mere 30% receive any sort of intervention or treatment. The other 70% simply struggle through the pain of mental illness or emotional turmoil, doing their best to make it to adulthood.
The consequences of untreated depression can be increased incidence of depression in adulthood, involvement in the criminal justice system, or in some cases, suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 24. Even more shocking, it is the sixth leading cause of death among children ages 5-14. The most troubling fact is that these struggling teens often receive no counseling, therapy, or medical intervention, even though the National Institute of Mental Health reports that studies show treatments of depression in children and adolescents can be effective.
Brown University reported in 2002 that many parents simply do not recognize the symptoms of depression in their adolescent children. They found that even parents who have good communication with their children do not necessarily realize it when a child is depressed (The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, Vol. 18, No 4, April 2002).
Parents should be particularly aware of the risk of depression in children who have had long-term or chronic illnesses, who have been abused or neglected, have experience a recent trauma, or lost a loved one. The National Institute of Mental Health also reports that teenage girls are more likely to develop depression than teenage boys (NIMH, 2000).
Recognizing Adolescent Depression
Parents should investigate further and seek outside help if their child or adolescent expresses (or seems to be experiencing) feelings of sadness, hopelessness, despair, worthlessness, or lack of interest in usual activities. Parents should also be concerned if their teen is having trouble concentrating, cannot make a decision, and has shown a drop in academic performance. Because adolescents do not have the verbal skills of adults, they often cannot express what they are feeling in a way that allows parents to identify depression as the issue. Sometimes physical symptoms may be a way for parents to dig deeper. Headaches, muscle aches, low energy, sudden change in appetite or weight, insomnia or hypersomnia may be physical manifestations of clinical depression. A depressed teen may also seem restless, irritable, anxious, or belligerent. You may notice he or she is having trouble getting along with peers, siblings, and authority figures. Teachers may report the child is skipping classes or not paying attention in class. Your teen might start paying less attention to his or her appearance and hygiene, or may seem to spend much more time alone, possibly even dropping out of the usual activities they enjoy (sports, hobbies, music lessons).
If you are a parent with a teen whose behavior has changed and negative patterns have existed for more than 2 weeks, please contact a local mental health practitioner with expertise in treating children and adolescents to further assess the situation. Depression responds best to therapy and treatment when it is identified early.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Scientists bridging the spirituality gap
- Font:
PHILADELPHIA — Religion and science can combine to create some thorny questions: Does God exist outside the human mind, or is God a creation of our brains? Why do we have faith in things that we cannot prove, whether it’s the afterlife or UFOs?
The new Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania is using brain imaging technology to examine such questions, and to investigate how spiritual and secular beliefs affect our health and behavior.
“Very few are looking at spirituality from a neurological side, from the brain-mind side,” said Dr. Andrew Newberg, director of the center.
A doctor of nuclear medicine and an assistant professor at Penn, Newberg also has co-written three books on the science-spirituality relationship. He's also played a role in "What the Bleep Do We Know," a movie that blends quantum physics and new-age neuroscience.
Newberg's center is not a bricks-and-mortar structure but a multidisciplinary team of Penn researchers exploring the relationship between the brain and spirituality from biological, psychological, social and ideological viewpoints. Founded last April, it is bringing together some 20 experts from fields including medicine, pastoral care, religious studies, social work and bioethics.
“The brain is a believing machine because it has to be,” Newberg said. “Beliefs affect every part of our lives. They make us who we are. They are the essence of our being.”
Spirituality and belief don’t have to equate to religious faith, Newberg said. The feelings of enlightenment and well-being some derive from religion can come to others through from artistic expression, nonreligious meditation, watching a beautiful sunset or listening to stirring music.
“Atheists have belief systems, too,” Newberg said.
Testing the hypotheses How does the center test the relationship between the mind and spirituality?
In one study, Newberg and colleagues used imaging technology to look at the brains of Pentecostal Christians speaking in tongues — known scientifically as glossolalia — then looked at their brains when they were singing gospel music. They found that those practicing glossolalia showed decreased activity in the brain’s language center, compared with the singing group.
The imaging results are suggestive of people’s description that they do not have control of their own speech when speaking in tongues. Newberg said scientists believe that speech is taken over by another part of the brain during glossolalia, but did not find it during the study.
Other recent studies looked at the brains of Tibetan Buddhists in meditation and Franciscan nuns in prayer, then compared the results to their baseline brain activity levels.
Among other changes, both groups showed decreased activity in the parts of the brain that have to do with sense of self and spatial orientation — which suggests the description of oneness with God, of transcendence sometimes experienced in meditation or prayer.
Prayer and meditation also increase levels of dopamine, often referred to as the brain’s pleasure hormone.
“The mind and the body are the flip side of the same coin,” said Dr. Daniel Monti, head of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s integrated medicine center. “Now we know some of the mechanisms by which that occurs, and it’s becoming better and better understood.”
Medicine and meditation The integrated medicine center teaches patients with cancer, chronic pain and other ailments to work things like meditation and proper diet into their conventional therapy, Monti said. Such thinking seemed “fringy” to many people a decade ago, but it is becoming widely accepted by the medical community and patients, he said.
“Now there’s the recognition that a truly effective treatment plan is not just giving a pill,” he said. “We need to look at how to help a person adjust to a different lifestyle in addition to taking a pill.”
Not many imaging studies have yet been done that look at changes in the brain’s blood flow because technology has only within the past decade become sophisticated enough to study the brain in this way, Newberg said. An increase in blood flow to certain parts of the brain means increased activity in those areas.
Newberg is currently studying how the brains of novice yoga practitioners change as they become more adept, and whether meditation can improve cognitive impairment in people with mild dementia or early Alzheimer’s disease.
“The sky’s the limit as far as the things we can study,” he said.