thoughtful ideas on life's big questions
I’ve been reading a little about meaning in life. Psychologists tell us we need to have meaning and purpose in life for our psychological wellbeing. With a sense of meaning, we are more likely to be happy, have a positive sense of our own identity and be more resilient under stress But what gives our […]
Last post (I’m beginning to see a pattern here) I looked at a number of scientific and historical facts where a bunch of non-experts challenge the consensus of the real experts. These areas were: evolution vs creationism; whether Jesus was a historical person and Nazareth was where he lived; climate change; the medieval church vs […]
I am currently reading Hugh Mackay’s book, Beyond Belief, which addresses the question of how people find meaning in life with or without religion. Hugh is probably Australia’s leading social researcher and commentator, regularly appearing on talk shows and in newspaper article. He is neither a christian nor an atheist, probably best described as having […]
Most of us have experiences, both positive and negative, about religion and God. In each of our lives there have likely been religious people and institutions that have left a positive impression, and others that have hurt us. And if we look at the world around us, now and through history, we can easily form […]
faith is the most important thing a person needs to maintain a neurologically healthy brain Neuroscientists Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman I couldn’t resist …. I am researching my next post on Choosing our religion, which is taking a bit of work, and I came across this quote by two neuroscientists. Here is the quote […]
In my previous post I made the following comment: “Religious believers, overall and with many exceptions, have better health and wellbeing, are more prosocial and less antisocial than non-believers.” A reader questioned this statement, in two ways: “I see that despite my previous prompting about the silly “religion is good for your health” surveys. You […]
Previously I wrote about recent research on Ways we can try to find happiness, but in the end they don’t seem to work. So psychologists have found that pleasure seeking and materialism may provide short term pleasure but they don’t make for a happy or satisfied life. So what does?
I’ve long been interested in the science of what makes people happy, and what doesn’t, and have written about it often on this blog and website. It’s a subject of important research, and new studies and reports are appearing all the time. Here’s the results of some significant studies that have been reported in the […]
“The moon rose over an open field.” Teen angst. Most of us experienced it at one time. The teenage years, and into our early 20s are a time of new experiences that can often lead to feelings of extreme helplessness, alienation, even suicide. Most of us get over it in time – most of the […]
My post on Your brain, faith and disbelief generated some critical comment. The problem wasn’t so much with the main point of the post (that neuroplasticity appears to explain some of why believers and unbelievers are so polarised about God) but a side comment that there are demonstrated mental and physical health advantages in belief […]