1. Existential/Spiritual Development Personal Values, Religion & Spiritual Experiences

2. What are Values? Beliefs & attitudes about the way things should be, & what is important

3. Do your values affect your life?  Values and life satisfaction Money Love 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 Life satisfaction 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0 -0.2 -0.4 Importance scores

4. Can Cultural Values Change? Changes in U.S. (college student) values in the last 50 years –Less importance on a meaningful philosophy of life –Greater importance on being well off financially –Greater concern for personal well-being –Less concern for the well-being of others. –More interested in self-fulfillment & self-expression –More interest in physical health & well-being

5. Values Taught in the U.S. – last 50 years  Emphasized personal rights in education.  De-emphasized social responsibility.  Produced a “me first” mentality  Undermines trust in others  Undermines commitment  Undermines altruism

6. Results? Increasing Antisocial Behavior  Conduct disorder – age-inappropriate actions & attitudes that violate family expectations, society’s norms, and the personal or property rights of others  Impulsive, overactive, aggressive, under-controlled  Temperament, parenting, violent neighborhood

7. Is there a Spiritual Void?  Gabarino (1999) interviewed youth. Found spiritual, emotional emptiness. Seeking meaning on the dark side.  Does out-of-control behavior come from a lack of meaning, or a lack of order and authority? Are the two related?

8. Meaning in Life  Victor Frankl (1984)  Life is meaningful because it is unique & finite; three most distinct human qualities are spirituality, freedom & responsibility  Baumeister (1992) Needs for meaning  Purpose: goals & fulfillment  Values:  Sense of efficacy: one can make a difference  Self-worth: from doing & belonging

9. What does being religious do for a person? Teenagers (13-18 year olds) –95% believe in God –75% pray –50% went to church Among college students –79% believe in God –69% pray –69% searching for meaning –50% not secure about religious beliefs –Lifespan Religious/Spiritual Beliefs - U.S.

10. Religion & Spirituality – U.S. Adolescents  Positive effects  Less likely to use drugs  Health  Lower levels of problem behavior/delinquency  More likely to do community service  Religious behaviors were linked to sexual activity

11. U.S. Religious/Spiritual Beliefs - Adulthood MacArthur Study of Midlife Development –70% religious, spirituality a part of their lives –75% pray –Half attend services only rarely Declining faith in –Mainstream institutions (denominations) –Religious leaders –Spiritual & moral stature of the nation

12. Benefits of Faith  Meaningful faith related to happiness  Religious women had higher self-rated health throughout life (ages 20-94); no association for men  Studies have found that religious commitment moderates blood pressure  Religious participation related to longer life (42 studies) – Health Psychology  Prayer is associated with positive, health-related changes

13. Benefits of Faith Mind Health Report, Dr. Andrew Newberg, neurotheology  Becoming more forgiving. Forgiveness is associated with better overall health and life satisfaction – Psychological Science  Achieving Goals more effectively (better self-control)– Psychological Bulletin  Teens only half as likely to use drugs – Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

14. Benefits of Faith  Medical  Coping better with breast cancer – PsychoOncology  Improving recovery from heart surgery – The Gerontologist  Enhancing Recovery from brain injury – Rehabilitation Psychology  Reducing the impact of chronic pain – Journal of Behavioral Medicine  Reducing risk for diabetes complications – Diabetes Care  Lowering kids’ anxiety before surgery – Anesthesia & Intensive Care

15. Benefits of Faith Mental Health  Recovering from abusive relationships – Social Psychology Quarterly  Reducing risk for depression – American Journal of Psychiatry  Protecting against stress – Annals of Behavioral Medicine  Protecting against Age-related Mental Decline – The Journals of Gerontology: Series B  Improving mood & outlook – Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease  Calming Anger – Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin  Controlling Fear of Terrorist attacks – Journal of Personality & Social Psychology  Alleviating Panic Disorder – Depression & Anxiety

16. Negative Views of God  Holding God responsible for harm  Feeling abandoned by God  Attributing cruelty to God  Anger at God  Seeing self as a victim Have negative consequences  Increased risk of death – Archives of internal Medicine (600 hospital patients)  Mental well-being decreased among breast-cancer patients – Journal of Palliative Medicine  Problems recovering from the death of a loved one – Journal of Personality & Social Psychology

17. Religious Activity & the Brain  Generally, prayer activates the more “human” (anterior cingulate) and rational (frontal lobe) parts of the brain and deactivates the more primitive emotional systems (limbic)  Speaking in Tongues (also known as praying in the Spirit) decreases frontal lobe activity

18. Spirituality & Neuroscience  What does a PET scan of prayer and meditation look like?  Parietal lobes become quiet (sense of timelessness)  Temporal lobes become active (associated with hallucinations, OBE’s)  Conclusion: It appears the brain is wired for mystical experience.

19. Religious Activity & the Brain  12 minutes of prayer per day may decrease frontal lobe shrinkage that occurs with age  Increased activity in the anterior cingulate area leads to feelings of compassion  As parietal lobe activity drops, we begin to feel more at one with God, others and the universe  Prayer can prevent activation of negative emotions in the limbic system (fear/anger)

20. Religious Activity & the Brain  The frontal lobe is engaged in activities such as:  Meditation  Chanting  Repetitive prayers  Contemplative prayers  For optimum brain function, it may be good to reduce limbic activity as much as possible  This should help the body by reducing stress.

21. How about people who had NDE’s (Near Death Experiences)?  More self-awareness  More social awareness  Vivid memories of the NDE  Increased belief in an afterlife  Lessening of the fear of death  More empathy  Effects persisted and even increased after 8 years.  A control group of people who nearly died, but had no NDE, did not have these effects, but more PTSD-like (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) symptoms  Van Lommel (Cited in Discover, July 2005)

22. Religion in Older Adults  Increase in spirituality at the beginning of older adulthood;  Associated with earlier spirituality in the 30’s  Early involvement predisposes to further development  Older adults more likely to say that:  Faith is the most significant influence in their lives  Try to put faith into practice  Attend services

23. Religion in Older Adults  Affects self-esteem, life satisfaction, & optimism if it is meaningful  Helps one to face death  Helps one to find meaning  Helps one to accept the losses of old age  Religious friends give social support  Religious services and activities allow people to assume leadership, teaching roles  Prayer & meditation lower stress and are associated with longevity