Prayer and the Brain

A fascinating article and interview, "Divining the Brain," appears today at the online magazine Salon.com. The author, Steve Paulson, writes:

. . . a few enterprising neuroscientists have found ways to detect and measure the varieties of our religious experience. Using brain scanning technology, researchers have been able to pinpoint which parts of the brain are activated during prayer and meditation. While they can't answer the biggest question of all -- does God exist? -- they are probing one of the deepest mysteries in science: the nature of consciousness.

Paulson goes on to describe the research of Andrew Newberg, a physician at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Center for Spirituality and the Mind. Newberg has conducted extensive research on what happens to our brains during prayer and meditation, asserting that there is a clearly observable neurological reaction when we engage in these activities. More specifically:

Newberg uses an imaging technique called single photon emission computed tomography, which measures blood flow in various parts of the brain. More blood flow, of course, means more brain activity. In fact, a specific religious belief will shape a person's spiritual experience -- and what happens in his or her brain. And while his research falls short of proving the presence of God, it does show that engaging our spiritual selves can have profound effects on our biological selves, too.

Interestingly, Newberg asserts that in addition to looking at what science reveals about the effects of prayer, the subjective experience of individuals must be considered as well. In particular, "[w]hat we have to be careful about is explaining away those experiences just because we capture something in the brain that's associated withe these experiences." In a similar vein, he points to the question of the non-material nature of the soul and spirit, and whether focusing on just the effect on the brain can capture this essentially spiritual process.

In describing the subjective experience of prayer, Newberg makes reference to the feeling of connectedness, of losing a sense of self and becoming one with something greater than themselves, that is described by people engaged in prayer. The following passage from 'Abdu'l-Bahá illuminates this topic:

The wisdom of prayer is this: That it causeth a connection between the servant and the True One, because in that state (i.e., prayer) man with all heart and soul turneth his face towards His Highness the Almighty, seeking His association and desiring His love and compassion. The greatest happiness for a lover is to converse with his beloved, and the greatest gift for a seeker is to become familiar with the object of his longing; that is why with every soul who is attracted to the Kingdom of God, his greatest hope is to find an opportunity to entreat and supplicate before his Beloved, appeal for His mercy and grace and be immersed in the ocean of His utterance, goodness and generosity.