Two seemingly opposite spiritual practices -- Buddhist jhāna meditation and the Christian practice of speaking in tongues -- have more in common than previously thought, a new study suggests.
While one is quiet and deeply focused, and the other emotionally charged and expressive, both appear to harness the same cognitive feedback loop to create profound states of joy and surrender.
The research, co-led by Michael Lifshitz, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at McGill University and Investigator at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, with collaborators from Monash University and the University of Toronto, identified a phenomenon they call the Attention, Arousal and Release Spiral -- a mental cycle that deepens both meditative and energized states.
Their findings, published in American Journal of Human Biology, offers new insights into how humans can cultivate deep states of focus.
"If we can understand this process better, we may be able to help more people access deep states of tranquility and bliss for themselves," said Lifshitz. "In another sense, our findings may help to promote a sense of commonality and mutual respect between spiritual traditions. Despite differences in beliefs, we are all sharing a human experience."
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