I’m trying out a new thing – a sort of written highlights of great books currently on my mind – to help:
- share what I’m learning as I am metabolising it; and
- work out how it may inform collective ways forward.
This learning highlight is about the wonderful work of Dr Lisa Miller (LM) – professor in the Clinical psychology program at Teachers college, Columbia university, founder and director of the Spirituality mind body institute, and author of The Awakened Brain.
Why am I obsessed with it?
First of all, I find the human mind utterly fascinating.
This book is one of the great examples of a human following their curiosity and the cross-pollinating of theory and practice, which offer an integrated way forward. Rather than polarising thinking with science sitting over here and spirituality sitting over there, LM brings them both together. Her observations and insights from her clinical psychology practice on mental depression, informed her scientific research investigations into the neuroscience of spirituality, which then in turn informed her practice. Very cool.
But why do I really care? Because I strongly believe that positive systems change starts with self-aware, calm and compassionate leaders, and I am on a sort of quest to find evidence, tools, stories and practices that can help us aspire to collectively become kinder, more alive and more discerning humans. The way we move influences how change unfolds around us. When we gain insights into ourselves and one another, and are therefore better equipped to have meaningful conversations, we have access to the resources that can help us make considered and kinder decisions. And I get a sense that a lot of us, despite good intentions, are often not operating from an awakened brain…
What did I learn?
On the psychology and neuroanatomy of spirituality
In the Awakened Brain, we learn that fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) findings revealed that patterns of spiritual narratives in the brain shared important themes and physical sensations. These patterns converged towards an involuntary reorientation of attention, a sense of love akin to intimate attachment and a perception of self as part of a oneness, where our boundaries seem to relax.
For the neuro-scientifically-oriented (and nerds) in you, these fMRI scans highlighted:
- The deactivation of the default mode network, the self-rumination box which gets highly stimulated in depression and transports us away from the present moment.
- The activation of the ventral attention network through which comes bottom-up unintentional and unanticipated information – as opposed to our dorsal attention network which filters top-down information and helps us focus on a task at hand.
‘The ventral attention network is where we see the world is alive and talking to us’ (LM)
- The activation of the frontotemporal networkand subcortical engagement where relational bondedness is processed and positive emotions such as love and bliss emerge.
‘The frontotemporal network is where we feel the warm, loving embrace of others and of life itself’ (LM)
- Increased activation in the posterior cingulate cortex and decreased activation in the inferior parietal lobe where perceived separation between self and others relaxes.
‘The parietal lobe is where we know we matter, belong, and are never alone.’ (LM)
What this all means is that overall, the brain patterns of spiritual narratives – whether secular or religious – all converged towards a form of connectedness.
‘We perceive we are part of a oneness.’ (LM)
Isn’t that fascinating? That the health of our brain, our spiritual capacity and openness to connectedness are all intertwined – and that fMRI scans can illuminate these patterns.
This makes me think of the crisis of perception – where the illusion of separation and control are all tied to the interconnected ecological, environmental, social and economic crises we’re facing… I wonder whether from the perspective of these neuroscientific studies, developing spirituality could be an ally to systems change in service to people and planet. And, big caveat, I am also aware of the shadow side here, with the dangers of cults and gurus manipulating people who feel alone and depressed, with an alluring promise of connection and shared purpose!
On the two modes of awareness, integration and questing
Back to the Awakened Brain, we also learn through fMRI study that we all have two modes of awareness, which are two different modes of perception that we can decide to engage with: achieving awareness and awakened awareness.
Achieving awareness is a perception mode anchored in organising, control and individualism. This mode gives us focus and is great for conducting tasks and attaining goals. However, if overused this mode can create cerebral pathways of depression, stress, anxiety and loneliness.
In awakened awareness, our brain can access a bigger picture and integrate information from multiple sources of perception. This mode enables us to feel more connected with others and with life as a dynamic force we can attune and interact with. We then get to ask: ‘What is life showing me now?’ (LM)
Of course, integration is key here: we need both modes of awareness to inform our actions. Lived only in achieving awareness, life becomes narrow and stressful. Lived only through awakened awareness, we’re untethered and incapable of making grounded decisions.
So, what does integration look like in daily lives, you ask? Well, apparently it looks like: going on a QUEST! Wow, that is fun!!
‘The questing brain integrates our achieving and awakened awareness.’ (LM)
The state of quest or quest orientation is explained as a tendency to journey through life. It’s about searching for meaning and existential questions, perceiving doubt as positive, being open to perceiving with fresh eyes, discovering and learning with life – all of which contribute to actively shaping our decisions.
The study showed that some of the same brain regions highly connected in quest were also dysfunctionally connected in depression – which comes back to the premise of a healthy, integrated brain that, when healthy, can toggle between these two modes of awareness.
In the book, we learn that when in quest, ‘the brain is coherent and connected’, ‘its networks in harmony’ and that according to genetics studies, this capacity to toggle between two modes of awareness is innate. We all have the capacity to decide to tune into an inspired way of walking in the world.
How may this inform ways forward?
Maybe for those of us who don’t consider ourselves religious, this scientific inquiry and evidence constitute a bridge we can step on, on our quest to awakening – or should I say toggling between awakening and achieving? 🙂
Maybe the scientifically illuminated brain patterns of spirituality and its psychological health benefits can grow our openness to being in dialogue with life as a dynamic and interconnected web? Maybe this can help leaders do more open listening to living beings and systems, and pattern spotting to inform their decisions?
I can say with a degree of confidence, that I have been stuck in the achieving mode and that over the past few years, I have started questing. I am not sure when it all began but I can tell Martha Beck and her book, The Way of Integrity, has clearly been part of that journey for me – and it is also through Martha’s podcast that I found out about Lisa Miller’s work, and thanks to following its trail…that I am writing this today.
So, if this spiked your curiosity, go read The Awakened Brain in full. And if this resonates, let’s have a conversation and see what emerges…