Mark Waldman – Words Can Change Your Brain
In other words, what religions have done throughout our history is to find particular values that they think are essential for us to live a captive life, and that is the definition of religion. We found that this exercise allows the person to contact with their own inner spirituality, their own religion. We found that when a person begins to meditate on their religious values and images that are most important to him, the same part of the brain lights up. No matter if you are a Buddhist, Hindu or Christian.
Omtimes: You wrote “Born to Believe”, is it important to believe in something? Is it inevitable?
Mark Waldman: We cannot expect otherwise. We were born with brains that know nothing. It is provided a set of beliefs and values by our parents, we are taught that it is dangerous to cross the street without looking and we do not know when we are children. The human brain is never too directly in touch with reality. Our self-concept is an arbitrary construction. We are so disconnected with objective reality that is happening, we create systems of beliefs about what we think is happening in our feelings, minds and relationships. It is important to remember that what I truly believe about myself or the world is something I’ve imagined and created. That’s why (in our research) we are always taking different spiritual practices around the world and eliminate their theology. We simply say that if you breathe deeply and stay relaxed in the present moment, you will feel happier, more alive, more at peace, and you will have a closer insight about what really happens in the world. That will change your belief system and change the way you communicate.
Omtimes: So, according to your vision, spirituality does not necessarily require some sort of supernatural element?
Mark Waldman: No, but it is a belief system. If you believe in life after life, and make it nice and full of enjoyment, that’s very good for your brain. But we found that religious individuals are afraid of, for example, hell, and are worried about being bad people, and these would be religious and spiritual beliefs that have a kind of language that is damaging to the brain. They create concern and anxiety. The chemicals that release stress destroy the brain memory circuits.
