Description

A groundbreaking exploration of the neuroscience of spirituality and a bold new paradigm for health, healing, and resilience

‘Lisa Miller is the leading psychologist of her generation’ Martin Seligman

‘We can live chasing goals and rewards, lost in worries and regrets. Or we can awaken to the true fabric of the world, an evolving tapestry that we both behold and help to create, in which every thread matters and no strand stands alone’

Whether it’s meditation or a walk in nature, reading a sacred text or saying a prayer, there are many ways to tap into a heightened awareness of the world around us and our place in it. Lisa Miller draws on decades of clinical experience and award-winning research to show that humans are universally equipped with this capacity for spirituality, and that our brains become more resilient and robust as a result of it. Bringing scientific rigour to the most intangible aspect of our lives, Miller’s counterintuitive findings reveal the measurable positive effects of spirituality: for better decision-making, a healthier brain and an inspired life.

Brimming with inspiration and compassion, this landmark book revolutionizes our understanding of spirituality, mental health and how to find meaning and purpose in life.

Publisher Review

Lisa Miller is the leading psychologist of her generation on the benefits of religion and spirituality. She asks, 'What makes life worth living?' and finds evidence-based answers -- Martin Seligman * author of Learned Optimism * A new revolution of health and well being. She shows through scientific research, clinical insight, and personal experience that we can always choose between two modes of conscious awareness, each with profoundly different outcomes for our health and daily experience -- Deepak Chopra * New York Times bestselling author of Super Brain * Dr. Miller is a consummate scientist who refuses to accept one of our culture's most pervasive and damaging assumptions: that science and spirituality are at odds. In The Awakened Brain Dr. Miller unequivocally shows that spirituality heals. Her pioneering research has vast implications not only for medical science, but also for the growing field of consciousness research -- Larry Dossey * author of the New York Times-bestselling Healing Words * A captivating look at what happens to our brains when we're connected to something greater than ourselves - and what it does for our lives -- Adam Grant * New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife * I simply could not put it down. Rarely is a clinical scientist also an exceptional storyteller, with such a rich and vulnerable story to tell. The Awakened Brain ushers in a new science of healing. This work is urgent; a vision for human potential that is sorely needed in our time -- Liz Murray * New York Times bestselling author of Breaking Night: My Journey from Homeless to Harvard * A truly transformative book. Lisa Miller's life's work and story weave a tapestry of science, psychology and spirituality which unfolds a world of mystery and meaning ... The Awakened Brain reveals a unity to the universe that can be accessed by both heart and mind for our mental and physical well-being -- The Rt Revd James Jones KBE * former Church of England bishop and author of Why Do People Suffer? *