The Awakened Brain: The Psychology of Spirituality and Our Search for Meaning

Unfortunately this book was too scientific for me in the writing style. Very technical with all the data the author found which is good for folks that need that but I was looking at how science and spirituality weave together in plain language rather than science talk. Interesting read though if you can get through all the data.

As a practitioner in the field of Mental health, I found this book to be an absolute gem. A book written with the courage to question "conventional" models of treatment, I truly enjoyed the fluid combination of hard science supplemented by subjective experiences of spirituality. There were several moments when I found myself overcome with emotions and awe. I do think this may be the need of the hour, given the rising Mental Health crisis in the world.

Interested in learning how living a spiritual life is good for your brain, heart and soul? Dr. Lisa Miller's research will leave you mesmerized and hopeful about the great human potential. Backed-up by scientific research, Dr. Miller exposes in this easy-to-read book how spirituality strengthens brain tissue and ensures neuroprotective mechanisms that fend off depression. The research goes so far as to encourage us to welcome certain forms of depression as a portal to reach our higher self and a new awakened state that not only will rejuvenate your brain but will change your lens on life forever. A great read ✨

Beautiful, hopeful, fascinating, and uplifting.

This is an important book, especially in our materialist society where anything that smacks of "spirituality" is so often rejected out of hand as anti-scientific and silly. We have a large and growing segment of our society, particularly young people, suffering record levels of depression and anxiety. An enormous source of this misery, as Dr. Miller discovered as both a science and individual, is spiritual malnourishment.This book shows that being "spiritual" is a basic human need. It is the lifeline handed to us during hard times, and serves as a protection against depression and other forms of mental illness. It helps us make a life of richness, meaning and connectedness.Dr. Miller uses two tracks to illustrate her thesis: a.) her own personal story of making spiritual contact and growing spiritually through personal hardships, and; b.) hard science, much of it based on fMRI and other types of imaging, comparing the brains of "spiritual" people and non-spiritual people, to which she has devoted her highly respected career. Spiritual people have healthier, more elastic and capable brains.