Spirituality comes in many forms: a connection to a higher being through religious belief, or to nature, or perhaps the greater cosmos. Now Lisa Miller (no relation to yours truly), a Columbia University psychology professor and founder of the school’s Spirituality and Mind-Body Institute, has found substantial evidence that spirituality is a positive element in our everyday lives.
Using brain imaging, Miller has discovered a revolutionary correlation between spirituality and success – that is, the part of the brain that becomes active when an individual ‘feels’ spiritual is the same area that permits us to bond and foster valuable relationships with other people. While almost intuitive, Miller asserts that knowing oneself on a spiritual level provides us with meaning, and meaning gives us positive direction, aspirations, and connection to our life’s purpose.
A lack of meaning ultimately amounts to nihilism, the total loss of one’s values, beliefs or even the importance of living. Miller argues that our current mainstream culture is devoid of any sense of spiritual purpose and is instead reliant on superficial values determined by outward expression through things like social media. This idea is an imperative one with concern toward the youth in our society, so afraid of failure and often lost in the dizziness of freedom in the 21st century.
All is not lost, however, as Miller notes that just as humans are born with the capacity for language, so too are they born with a “spiritual core”. Spirituality can come in many forms, though it takes an effort to cultivate the love, togetherness, and direction in life that others can provide for us. Miller looks to the qualities of great spiritual leaders for guideposts. In business and in life, strong leaders retain a strong sense of their personal ethics and think in terms of “sisterhood and brotherhood”, recognizing their fellow human beings as genuine people. These traits fortify and strengthen one’s own quality of life, as well as the lives of those around them. However anyone finds their spiritual focus, it almost certainly shines a positive light on their life’s path – and now science has some evidence for that.
If you’d like to read more about Lisa Miller’s spiritual and scientific work, check out her new book, The Awakened Brain: The New Science of Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life.
See you on the trail,
Lisa
LMA Newsletter of 10-18-21
