Get your copy here!

Have you ever had an experience where you felt particularly aware of God? If God is real, and we are created in God’s image, then it makes sense that our minds and bodies would be designed with the perceptive ability to sense and experience God. Scientists are now discovering ways that our bodies are designed to connect with God. Brain research shows that our brain systems are wired to enable us to have spiritual experiences. The spiritual circuits that are used in prayer or worship are also involved in developing compassion for others. Our bodies have actually been created to love God and serve our neighbors. Award-winning journalist Rob Moll chronicles the fascinating ways in which our brains and bodies interact with God and spiritual realities. He reports on neuroscience findings that show how our brains actually change and adapt when engaged in spiritual practices. We live longer, healthier, happier and more fulfilling lives when we cultivate the biological spiritual capacity that puts us in touch with God. God has created our bodies to fulfill the Great Commandment; we are hardwired to commune with God and to have compassion and community with other people. Moll explores the neuroscience of prayer, how liturgy helps us worship, why loving God causes us to love others, and how a life of love and service leads to the abundant life for which we were created. Just as our physical bodies require exercise to stay healthy, so too can spiritual exercises and practices revitalize our awareness of God. Heighten your spiritual senses and discover how you have been designed for physical and spiritual flourishing.

I read this book after reading The Body Keeps the Score, so I expected it to be similar in style and content. It wasn’t. While not as clinical as TBKTS, I don’t feel like this book went as deep either (which makes sense–it’s a fraction of the size).

I’m also not sure the first part of the title is as accurate as the second, though it’s possible that I’m just remembering more of what the book said about connecting and thriving than the connections between the body and God. One thing his book definitely does well is to make the connection between our overall health and our need for community and God.

I don’t think I fully appreciated this book for what it is, because I’ve been sick while reading it, so I wasn’t 100% focused. This is definitely a book I’ll pick up again later so I can read it without expectations and with a clear head.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Check out The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk here!