READINGS

23For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
 

Swedenborg:

4054. The brain, like heaven, belongs to the realm of ends which are uses, for whatever flows in from the Lord is an end looking towards the salvation of the human race. This is the end which reigns in heaven, and also which as a result reigns in the brain, for the brain, where man's mind is seated, looks to ends in the body, that is to say, so that the body may serve the soul and that the soul may be eternally happy.



 

MESSAGE

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, believe they have found the ‘God Spot’, an area of the brain with becomes hyper sensitive and stimulated during moments of deep religious reflection. Located within the frontal cortex, this area is concurrent with where Eastern Religions perceive the ‘Third Eye’.


A new field has developed called neurotheology: it combines study of the brain and theology.    

People in prayer and meditation show brain change: a study of Tibetan Monks and Franciscan Nuns as they engaged in deep meditation and prayer found that the parietal lobe, the area associated with time and space, showed very little activity. With limited neuronal activity, the parietal lobe is unable to distinguish the boundary between the external world and the physical self. This could account for the mediators reporting a ‘sense of unity’ with the universe and a ‘mingling with God’ during intense trance (Newberg et al 2001, p7). 

Researchers have learned that meditation causes real changes in the brain; it can lead one to the "God spot" of deep peace, love, and healing.

Increasingly "neuro theologians" are learning that many forms of meditation, prayer, and experience with the arts can lead us to this spot.

Art therapists are finding that drawing, singing, dancing and other arts can lead us to God's spot.

This past week has been mental illness awareness week.  We are honoring the ways God's healing works in mental illness.  There is a lot of theory about how prayer, meditation, and the arts change the brain to bring about wholeness.  But let's look at a real life story of how God has helped a family become whole through a journey with mental illness.

Phyllis is a mother in her 50's, living in California with her husband and teen-aged so, Erik. They have four children [ages 35, 30, 21, and Erik who is 19.]   She registered with our community this past Thursday, and we invited her to join the chat that evening.  She logged in and joined our lively discussion about mental illness and healing.  She shared her own family's journey with us.  I was quite moved by it, and asked her to tell me more about it.  She wrote a beautiful account of a journey through pain to healing.  She has offered to share her story with us in today's message, and will join us on Thursday during our chat to talk more with us.
 

 [if you are registered with the web community and logged in, you can view the family photos for Phyllis' family.]

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Michael Jackson and BDD

The story of Rachael Baughan

 

HOW THIS CONNECTS WITH SWEDENBORG:  

All of this, of course, is what our Swedenborg wrote about over 300 years ago. He believed that all of heaven was like a Grand Person, with each part of the body playing a special role. The brain is particularly important:

"By the human mind are meant its two faculties, which are called the understanding and the will. The understanding is the receptacle of the light of heaven, which in its essence is wisdom, and the will is the receptacle of the heat of heaven, which in its essence is love."

It was important to Swedenborg to allow opposites to work together:

science and religion
matter and spirit
wisdom and love
humanity and God

What we consider dualities are, in fact, a holographic whole.  Within that whole, they are "distinguishably one." Each quality continues to exist in its uniqueness, and they blend into a wholeness that cannot exit without both of them.

This concept is a perfect way to understand the human brain.  We have two parts to our brain:  right and left.  To be whole, we have to embrace each side.  Yet, we live in a culture that honors the left brain and ignores the right. Sometimes, it takes a stroke or brain injury or mental illness to push a person into their right brain where creativity lives.  We cannot find our "God spot" of love and peace without using the right side of the brain. People like Erik can show us the pathway there.

Through prayer, love, and music; Phyllis has helped her son to connect to his God spot; and it is there that he finds wholeness and healing.  And Phyllis and Erik show us that each of us can get there, too; no matter what challenges we face in life.

 

CLOSING SONG
Feeling Good by Michael Buble