About the Book
WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THE THINGS YOU BELIEVE? Do you remember events differently from how they really happened? Where do your superstitions come from? How do morals evolve? Why are some people religious and others nonreligious? Everyone has thoughts and questions like these, and now Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman expose, for the first time, how our complex views emerge from the neural activities of the brain. Bridging science, psychology, and religion, they demonstrate, in simple terminology, how the brain perceives reality and transforms it into an extraordinary range of personal, ethical, and creative premises that we use to build meaning, value, spirituality, and truth into our lives. When you come to understand this remarkable process, it will change forever the way you look at the world and yourself. Supported by groundbreaking research, including brain scans of people as they pray, meditate, and even speak in tongues, Newberg and Waldman propose a new model for how deep convictions emerge and influence our lives. You will even glimpse how the mind of an atheist works when contemplating God. Using personal stories, moral paradoxes, and optical illusions, the authors demonstrate how our brains construct our fondest assumptions about reality, offering recommendations for exercising your most important "muscle" in order to develop a more life-affirming, flexible range of attitudes.
You'll discover how to:
Recognize when your beliefs are altered by othersGuard against mental traps and prejudicial thinkingDistinguish between destructive and constructive beliefsCultivate spiritual and ethical ideals
Ultimately, we must always return to our beliefs. From the ordinary to the extraordinary, they give meaning to the mysteries of life, providing us with our individual uniqueness and the ability to fill our lives with joy. Most important, though, they give us inspiration and hope, beacons to guide us through the light and dark corners of the soul.
Review :
"Here is a book that seeks not to dismiss or ignore our will to believe, but instead explores why believing -- even secular beliefs -- is such a necessary and 'hardwired' aspect of being human. Newberg and Waldman bring an immense scientific learning to this compelling work of immense clarity. "Why We Believe What We Believe" is certainly the best scientific statement yet on the will to believe."-- Stephen G. Post, PhD, professor of Bioethics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, author of "Unlimited Love" and president, Institute for Research on Unlimited Love
"I love this book. As cultures collide in our newly connected global existence, I can think of nothing more important than helping people understand the origin, nature, and sheer danger of their beliefs. "Why We Believe What We Believe" should be required reading for every person, young and old, who has the courage to open his or her mind and explore the biological basis of belief."-- Sandra Blakeslee, award-winning science writer and co-author of "On Intelligence" and "Phantoms in the Brain"
"Why believe what you read -- or hear, or think? This intriguing book offers insights into how we can constructively question our beliefs in a way that expands our minds with deeper insights into others, and ourselves. Offering a wide-ranging discussion of beliefs -- from the insights gleaned from brain studies of transcendent experiences to explorations of perceptual distortions -- the authors walk us through an adventure in thinking that is sure to raise as many questions as it answers in its illuminating discussions."-- Daniel J. Siegel, MD, author of "Mindsight, Our Seventh Sense" and "The Developing Mind," and faculty, The Center for Culture, Brain, and Development, UCLA
"You cannot escape the power and influence of your beliefs. Pay attention to them, because they can make the difference between life and death, health and illness. "Why We Believe What We Believe" brings great clarity to the emerging science of consciousness and explains how these findings about the brain mesh with certain spiritual traditions. Every thoughtful person will want to be aware of the crucial ideas discussed in this book."-- Larry Dossey, MD, author of "The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things"
"Our beliefs are the most precious things we possess. But how do we get them? Newberg and Waldman propose a thoughtful, well-documented, biological hypothesis...[that is] fascinating for believers and nonbelievers alike." -- Dean Hamer, PhD, geneticist and author of "Living with Our Genes" and "The God Gene"
"Should be required reading for every person, young and old, who has the courage to open his or her mind and explore the biological basis of belief." -- Sandra Blakeslee, author of "The Body Has a Mind of Its Own"
