Having a spiritual experience may be all in your head -- or at least part of it. A group of University of Missouri researchers recently completed a study that claims a particular area of the brain is linked to spirituality.
According to sciencedaily.com and several other news sources, Brick Johnstone, an MU neurophysiologist, made the finding after studying individuals who had suffered various brain injuries. What he found was that people who suffered injury to the right parietal lobe of the brain reported higher levels of spiritual experience. That portion of the brain controls people's ability to recognize themselves and their relationship to their environment.
Dr. Johnstone said he believes the finding is important because it means people can learn to become selfless by decreasing activity in that part of the brain. It can be achieved through meditation or prayer. But he cautioned against reducing spirituality to a mere brain function.
"Just because the brain is shutting down, allowing you to be more selfless, that doesn't take away from the spiritual experience you feel," Dr. Johnstone said in several news sources.
Shirley Taylor, a licensed psychologist with Heartland Health Counseling Services in St. Joseph, Missouri, expressed some apprehension about the study. There are too many possible outside factors that are not accounted for in the study, she said.
"For example, I would have questions about how spiritual the individuals were prior to their brain injury, and what the ages are of the individuals studied -- older people tend to experience more spirituality, as compared to younger people," she said. "And I would be interested in knowing what Dr. Johnstone used as his definition of 'spiritual experience.' I assume it has to be something more than 'becoming selfless.'" Dr. Taylor said she probably would compare the experience in the study to being in a "zone." It's that period when what you are hearing, seeing and experiencing captures your focus, while day-to- day issues, and even aches and pains, fade out of sight. "We can simulate it in the therapy office with hypnosis. Kids achieve it through the intensity of playing video games," she said. "Many people float into a trance-like state while reading, listening to music or riding in a car." The Rev. Lois Kelly of the Woodson Chapel Christian Church in St. Joseph said real spiritual discipline is being focused on God instead of self. This can be achieved through prayer, meditation and music. "I think it could be a combination of our brain and our heart and soul," the Rev. Kelly said. "Just knowing we're an amazing creation and God put all this together, and to say he made a part of our brain that would help do that, would not surprise me at all." Dr. Taylor, however, said she didn't believe that being selfless is the key to better mental health. Instead, she said she sees plenty of clients who need to pay more attention to themselves and their needs to achieve better mental health. "I would say a key to better mental health is achieving a balance of self-focus and other-focus," she said.
