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Andrew Newberg

Spirituality, the Mind, and Beliefs
August 18-22

This course is about the relationship between spirituality, beliefs, and the mind. It will explore how spirituality and our beliefs affect mental health and how various practices can improve mental health. It draws upon sources from medicine, psychology, pastoral care and spiritual and religious disciplines. Participants will learn how to critically review research on brain function and spiritual experience. They will learn what scientific modalities are now available to study the relationship between the body and spirit. They will also learn the limitations of scientific modalities. The course will explore the relationship between the brain, the mind, and spiritual experience and will consider current theories on their relationship. There will be an emphasis on how beliefs, both religious and non-religious, affect the human person, particularly in regard to mental and physical health. A significant focus will be on the theological and philosophical implications of this field of research and will challenge participants to develop new approaches to their own work. There will be a discussion of the practical applications of various practices such as meditation. One such approach that we have developed, called Compassionate Communication, will be demonstrated. The course will challenge participants to develop new approaches to their own study/work.

Monday
Definitions and Methodology: The history of the study of spirituality, beliefs, and the body will be explored.

  • How do we define spirituality, religion, and health?
  • Current research and methodologies.

    Tuesday
    Science and Spiritual Experience: Basic brain function and how it may relate to spiritual experiences.

  • The higher cognitive areas of the brain and how they function.
  • How spiritual experiences alter brain and body.
  • Review and critique of studies linking parts of the brain to spiritual experiences and determine what aspects of brain function are necessary for such experiences to be perceived.

    Wednesday
    Religion and Mental Health: How does spirituality affect us psychologically and can spirituality alleviate psychological problems?

  • Can spirituality ameliorate psychological problems?
  • How the interpretation of spirituality is limited by how we describe feelings and thoughts.
  • Are religious and spiritual experiences pathological?
  • Implications for practice.

    Thursday
    Beliefs and Health: This session more directly explores the impact of beliefs on the brain and body.

  • Clinical data regarding the relationship between a person's overall sense of spirituality and beliefs and their physical and mental well being will be explored. We will also consider how to incorporate such issues into a clinical practice.

    Friday
    Practical Applications for Science and Religion: We will discuss how meditation and prayer can be incorporated into a therapeutic setting, and specifically explore the Compassionate Communication technique, as well as other meditation techniques that alter beliefs. We will also discuss crucial implications for philosophy and theology.

    Andrew B. Newberg, M.D., is an associate professor of radiology and psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and a staff physician in nuclear medicine. He graduated from Penn School of Medicine in 1993. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Nuclear Medicine, and Nuclear Cardiology. In collaboration with the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry he has studied specific disorders and conducted various activation studies to explore how brain function is associated with mental states. His special interest is the study of mystical and religious experiences and the mind/body relationship in its clinical and research aspects. His research focuses on the relationship between brain function and mystical and religious experiences. He also studies the physiological correlates of acupuncture, meditation, and other alternative therapies. He has taught medical students, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as medical residents about stress management, spirituality and health, and the neurophysiology of religious experience. He has published numerous articles and chapters on brain function, brain imaging, and religious and mystical experiences. He coauthored Born to Believe: God, Science, and the Origin of Ordinary and Extraordinary Beliefs (Free Press), and the best selling book, Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief (Ballantine). He has presented at scientific and religious meetings throughout the world and has appeared on Good Morning America, 20/20, Nightline, ABC World News Tonight as well as in a number of media articles including Newsweek, Time, the New Scientist, and the Los Angeles Times.

    Add to your Cape Cod Institute experience by ordering CD Audio recordings of this course here.  

     

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