The Awakened Brain

The Awakened Brain is: “A groundbreaking exploration of the neuroscience of spirituality and a bold new paradigm for health, healing, and resilience.”—from a New York Times bestselling author and award-winning researcher.

The Awakened Brain

Dr. Miller's newest book (2021) is exciting because it is rigorous in reference to science and simultaneously of the heart. It gives the underpinnings of neuroanatomical images that show that prioritizing spirituality and doing spiritual practices clearly defends us against depression and changes structures in the brain for the better. One study revealed that spiritual experiences are visible in the brain in 3 significant ways: an involuntary reorientation of attention; a sense of love or embrace consistent with intimate attachment or bonding; and a sense of self that is both distinct and part of the greater oneness.

The awakened brain is the healthier brain. An engaged spiritual life enhances grit, optimism, and resilience while providing insulation against addiction, trauma, and depression.

LISA MILLER, Ph.D., is Professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at Columbia University, Teachers College, where she founded the Spirituality Mind Body Institute, the first Ivy League graduate program in spirituality and psychology. IMHU.org celebrates the publication and dissemination of this book.