Spirituality and health
During ancient and medieval times, spirituality was the foundation of people’s existence, being deeply intertwined with every aspect of their life. Spirituality shaped their self-identity, consciousness, how they perceived their role in the world, how they coped with life experiences, and their relationship with a Higher Power or God. Spirituality suggests that the divine resides within everyone and is a personal inward journey that involves bringing the subconscious to the surface, allowing for a deeper understanding of oneself, personal growth, and a more genuine and free life. In this journey, people feel gratitude for their life experiences, see the beauty of presence, recognize the interconnectedness of all beings and things, find the magic in life and the secret ingredient to the healing of their wounds.
The rise of scientific literacy in the twentieth century, critical thinking skills and empirical evidence has influenced people’s worldviews over time, profoundly changing how they understand themselves and interact with the world around them. In our modern society, everything is questioned using reasoning and logic, the focus is on understanding how the mind and the body affect each other and the pursuit of material success is often seen as a primary goal, leading to overwork, burnout, disconnection from themselves and others.
A number of countervailing influences have supported the renewed interest in spirituality, acknowledging all the dimensions of personhood: physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, and social. Health care providers increasingly recognize the importance of spirituality in patient care, seeing how spirituality significantly impacts people’s wellbeing and how they cope with illness. They’ve realized that a period of physical and emotional suffering often precedes a period of spiritual awakening, when people feel the need to reconnect to themselves, others, nature and the sacred in order to heal. In times of stress or illness, people often look at spirituality to accept their human limitations, find hope, acceptance of their past, purpose and forgiveness. Spiritual beliefs and practices bring solace when other sources of support are either not available or effective.
Dr. Andrew Newberg, found that fMRI brain scans of people experiencing spiritual awakening ‘showed decreased activity in the parietal lobe in the back of the brain” (1). He specified that “the usual function of the parietal lobe is to take all of the sensory information coming into the brain and help us create our sense of self and establish how that self is related to the rest of the world” (2). Dr. Marsha Linehan, the creator of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), a person who’s carried her own battle with mental illness, not only found her inner peace through spirituality, but also integrated aspects of Buddhism into this therapeutic modality. Radical acceptance and mindfulness are Buddhist practices that support people to let go of pain and find compassion and tranquility. Dr. Frank Anderson, psychiatrist, speaker and a world - renowned trauma treatment specialist, who has recently published his memoir, revealing the trauma he had experienced during his childhood, speaks about the healing energy of the Self, a spiritual energy that comes in many ways, such as “voices, images, physical sensations, mental ideas, colors, sounds, or shapes” (2). In her book, “Mind over medicine: scientific proof that you can heal”, Lissa Rankin, MD, recognized that Western medicine “not only failed to help; they made her worse” (3), and talks about people who have been cured from incurable illnesses when they made sense of the meaning and purpose of their lives, their spiritual lives.
If spirituality is not in your practice, I hope that you will consider this possibility after reading this post to allow yourself to let go of feelings of emptiness, dissatisfaction, and lack. Embrace spiritual abundance and stay open to the infinite opportunities that are available to you!
Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman, How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain: The New Science of Transformation (Avery, 2016). pp. 24
Therapy Wisdom. New Dimensions of Trauma Healing: Energy, Neuroscience, and Spirituality. https://therapywisdom.com/new-dimensions-trauma-healing/?srsltid=AfmBOopg7meBHMDik705YnX7iQfKFLx1dFDl_s72Q4AW_5tqn546gw7c
Lissa Rankin, Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal” (Hay House, 2014).
