How God Changes Your Brain

Mark Virkler's picture

(Much of the information below is my summary of the book, How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newberg M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman. I have added my own reflections to their ideas.)

Biblical praise, worship and meditation bring one into a consciousness of God which alleviaties mankind’s three biggest killers - fear, hopeless, and anger - by replacing them with God’s three abiding realities of faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). A 12-minute meditation exercise for 8 weeks is effective in promoting change.

A meditation which incorporates six different neural-altering techniques is optimal

  1. Relaxation – smile, cease your labors, enter into rest (Hebrews 3,4)
  2. Deep breathing – spirit and breath are the same word in the Bible, so breathe in His Spirit deeply
  3. Worshipping in tongues – your mind rests and your spirit communicates with God (1 Corinthians 14:2)
  4. Coordinated finger/bodily movements – musical instruments, flagging, painting, drawing, dance, etc.
  5. Background music – soft soaking music which aids and does not disrupt
  6. Focus mind and heart by using imagery – See the Lord and commune with Him (Acts 2:25; John 5:19,20,30). Get in flow.

I find worshipping in the Spirit with my autoharp is ideal (1 Corinthians 14:15). It combines all six of the above and truly energizes my spirit with God’s divine energy. It’s part of the “celebration” that God is calling me into. Other devotionals which can easily combine all six include Emotional Freedom Techniques, River of Life, which is part of the New Creation Celebration devotionals, this audio prayer for healing with background music and the 7 Steps in Biblical Meditation.

Action - Take some time to ponder what would be the most meaningful meditation experience you could have with God: devotional Bible meditation, praise and worship, getting in flow, creating from your spirit, etc. Try each of the prayer meditation approaches discussed above two or three times and see which ministers the most spiritual life to you.

A positive perception and experience of God is crucial to making your meditation exercise healing and healthy

Americans hold four different views of God: 1) The authoritarian God (31%), 2) The critical God (16%), 3) The distant God (24%) and 4) The benevolent God (23%). (From How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newberg M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman, pages 107-110.)

There are only two key truths we need to know about God in order to have a proper perspective of Him: 1) He is all powerful and 2) He loves me.

  • Power belongs to God (Psalm 62:11), I am God Almighty (Genesis 17:1), I am the Lord and there is no other (Isaiah 45:7-7).
  • Love: 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

Own these two revelations. For me, experiencing God as a loving God came through two-way journaling.

Maintaining a healthy heart and mind

Faith is essential in maintaining a healthy heart and mind. Other things you can add to faith are companionship, bodily exercise, meditating, yawning, staying intellectually active, and smiling. These recommendations are from How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newberg M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman, pages 151- 165.

A neat tool I have used in learning to relax, love and meditate is the emWave®2. It is a small handheld device that can be used on its own or plugged into your computer that allows you to view graphs of information it outputs. Its specific function is to measure “heart coherence,” which is a state of inner congruence within your heart and between your heart and your mind. When you clip the sensor to your ear lobe, it measures heart rate variability, letting you know if you are maintaining the following postures:

  1. You are tuned to your heart;
  2. You are at ease and in the moment;
  3. Your mind and heart are functioning together in harmony (coherence);
  4. You are expressing a Kingdom emotion such as gratitude or compassion;
  5. You are projecting those emotions out to others.

This is truly amazing. So far I have completed over 150 sessions with this unit and I can personally vouch that it verifies you are experiencing the above five realities. Heart coherence appears when I am tuned inwardly to my spirit, a relaxed smile on my face, breathing God’s compassion and gratefulness into my heart and releasing it out to others.

Going further

Related Resources: 

Spiritual Transformations   

Related Blogs: 

Healing Emotional Dis-ease   
Add new comment

Add new comment

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Results

Results 1 - 10 of 479

Pages

4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice

4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 305 Pages | Retail: $16.99

Have you ever wished you could just sit down and have a long talk with the Lord? Wouldn't it be wonderful to move beyond having a theology that states that God loves you to actually hearing Him whisper words of love into your heart? When you're worried or confused, wouldn't you love to see the situation from His perspective and hear how He wants you to respond?


Price: $14.95

Dialogue with God

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 296 Pages

This top seller for 30 years from Bridge Logos provides a narrative, right-brain presentation of the principles of how to hear God's voice. Especially enjoyable for personal use, it makes a great gift for introducing a loved one to the voice of God. This book teaches the four keys to hearing God's voice in readable style, and also devotes two entire chapters to moving samples of people's journaling (i.e. their two-way dialogue with God).

Price: $17.95
Hear God's Voice Guaranteed Package

Hear God's Voice Guaranteed Package

9 Books | 10 CDs | 10 DVDs | Save Over 20%

Have you ever wished you could just sit down and have a long talk with the Lord? Wouldn't it be wonderful to move beyond having a theology that states that God loves you to actually hearing Him whisper words of love into your heart? When you're worried or confused, wouldn't you love to see the situation from His perspective and hear how He wants you to respond? When things don't seem to be going your way and your prayers aren't answered the way you had hoped, wouldn't it be great to hear Him tell you where He is in the midst of it, and what He is working out in your life? Are you ever just a little bit jealous of others who say with such confidence, "The Lord said...."?

Price: $175.00

How to Hear God's Voice

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 317 Pages

We recommend that you order the newest revision of this book titled 4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice. It includes 95% of the content of How to Hear God's Voice but is reorganized so it fits perfectly with the 10 DVDs on this subject by Mark Virkler. In addition, it gets you started using the four keys earlier in the book and gives you more journaling samples and exercises. Since we have removed the large margins, it is a smaller and less expensive book.

Price: $24.95

Prayers That Heal the Heart - Revised & Expanded 20th Anniversary Edition

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 320 Pages

Prayer counseling that breaks every yoke! Everything you need to experience deep healing of your soul and spirit.

Did you know that you don’t need to be continually plagued by negative thoughts, feelings, pictures or memories?

It is not part of the "human condition" to feel the constant nagging of doubt, insecurity, or anger. No matter what sin you are trying to overcome, what lie you think you’ll always believe, or what traumas your heart has suffered in the past, you will receive total freedom and restoration by praying these prayers in faith. 

Price: $19.95

Twelve Weeks to Spiritual Mastery - Group Coaching

A group coaching experience with Mark Virkler

Because I could not find a Spirit-anointed teacher/coach, I spent ten extremely frustrating years seeking to hear God’s voice!!! Suggestions offered did not help me, things like: “You just know that you know. It is a still small voice. He speaks from your heart.” No one could give me the answer I needed which was: Hearing God’s voice is as simple as quieting yourself down, fixing your eyes on Jesus, recognizing His voice as spontaneous, flowing thoughts and writing down His flow as it is coming. Test what you have written after the flow is done, NOT while it is occurring.

Price: $1,200.00

Counseled by God

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 146 Pages

Have you ever been defeated by negative emotions such as anger, fear, guilt, inferiority, condemnation or depression? Have you tried to fight them off unsuccessfully? Is there an answer that is deeper than simply trying to mentally reason yourself out of these emotions? Is there a way that Jesus can speak a word of life into the depths of your emotional despair and bring healing on a deep level? Is there a form of Christian counseling that begins and ends with the movement of Christ within your heart, rather than simply with the words of man?

Price: $10.95
Hear God Through Your Dreams Workbook Cover

Hear God Through Your Dreams Workbook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 92 Pages

A newer book has been released that accompanies this workbook: Click here for Hearing God Through Your Dreams by Charity Kayembe and Mark Virkler (featured on Sid Roth's "It's Supernatural", with almost a million views just on YouTube).


Do you often wake up feeling there was a significant message in your dream, but you’re just not sure what it is? Like Daniel and Joseph, do you long to be able to help others understand their own dreams and win them to Christ as you explain His night messages to them? Wouldn't it be nice if you could receive mid-course corrections from the Lord while you sleep? Do you wish you could be receiving divine inspiration, creative solutions to problems, and direction from the Lord during that third of your life that you’re “just” sleeping?

Price: $11.95

Hearing God Through Your Dreams

by Mark Virkler and Charity Virkler Kayembe | 292 Pages

Learn How to Hear God’s Voice, Even When You Are Sleeping

It is always fun to be on the winning team. Well look what God has done with Charity's new dreams teaching. It has taken off like a rocket with a live TV interview on Cornerstone Network and her Sid Roth interview which has almost a million views on YouTube!

Price: $16.99

Everyday Angels

by Charity Virkler Kayembe and Joe Brock 289 Pages

You can partner with Heaven’s angelic hosts!

Do you have guardian angels? Does God want you to know them? Find out what Scripture reveals and how YOU can interact with the company of Heaven!

The supernatural realm permeates our natural world! Therefore, experiencing angels should be an everyday occurrence–we simply need to open our spiritual eyes to their reality and role in our lives.

Price: $16.99

Pages