Prayer...

Just something that I stumble upon to be shared...
Insya-Allah may it help us all...

1. Does prayer work?
2. What impact does prayer have on your brain?
3. What benefits, if any, does prayer offer to your physical, mental, and emotional well-being?
4. And if prayer activity can be scientifically measured, can you improve the practice to achieve even better results? . . .

Because not only can you measure prayer as brain activity, but prayer also has been scientifically proven to help:

• Reduce stress and lower your blood pressure . . .
• Boost your resistance to illness and disease . . .
• Neutralize harmful negative emotions . . .
• Enhance your memory and mental function . . .
• Prevent dementia and Alzheimer's disease . . .
• Decrease your suffering from pain . . .
• Give you a healthier, longer, and happier life . . .

The proven health benefits of prayer.

• Improved immune function
• Reduced risk of death from heart attack and stroke
• Less stress — and increased peace of mind
• Reduction or elimination of panic attacks, anxiety, and depression
• Reduced impact from chronic pain
• A more positive, happy outlook on life
• A healthier, longer, more fulfilled life

And let's begin by defining "prayer." as any mental activity that includes:

1. Traditional prayers practiced by people of religious faith, such as making a petition to God, or expressing gratitude for God's goodness.
2. Meditation, or contemplative reflection on a power greater than oneself, which can be God, the Universe, or all Life.
3. Focused positive thinking, such as speaking affirmations, setting worthwhile goals, and maintaining positive thoughts and speech.
4. Attending a religous service and praying with the congregation.

Of course, if you're a person who prays regularly, you already know that prayer has brought many positive benefits to your life . . .
Prayer and spiritual practices impact the different parts of your brain, and that, in turn, affects your physical and mental health.
Note the four major areas of the brain: the frontal lobe, the anterior cingulate, the parietal lobe, and the limbic system, which is comprised of several smaller parts.

Each of these areas plays an important role, but according to Dr. Newberg, two of the four parts are much more important to your health and happiness, especially as you age.Prayer stimulates the parts of the brain that help keep you healthy nad happy.
Your frontal lobe, which is located just behind your forehead, is activated when you focus your attention, or when you plan, reason, read, or speak.

Obviously, this area is extremely important, as these are things you do almost every waking hour of every day.But the danger is that the frontal lobe can shrink with age, and this shrinkage is associated with memory loss, mental decline, and even dementia and Alzheimer's.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to avoid this life-robbing mental decline? Well, now you can. You see, prayer stimulates your frontal lobe, helps keep it healthy, and prevents age-related shrinkage but casual praying for just a few minutes per day has no significant impact on the frontal lobe.To get good results, you have to devote a reasonable amount of time daiily to prayer

The anterior cingulate, the area of the brain that's activated when we feel empathy and compassion for others.This part of our brain is what distinguishes us from animals and prayer activates your anterior cingulate, which helps you to feel compassion for others and a loving connection to God, or all Life.

There are two parts of your brain that are sometimes useful, but when unnecessarily activated can actually cause bodily and mental harm.
Plus, why you're better off with less activity in these areas of your brain . . .
First are your parietal lobes, which give you a sense of yourself separate from other people and things in the world.

This area is important for spatial reckoning, physical self-awareness, and ego, but activity here can also give you a feeling of isolation and loneliness. And what's more, brain activity here is not associated with health benefits.

The time you spend praying, attending religious services, and participating in the services with the congregation deactivates your parietal lobes!
This helps you to forget yourself and your problems, and instead to feel love and compassion for others, as well as a closeness to God, or all Life.
There are many scientifically proven health benefits to this; for example prayer can significantly reduce  how you experience pain.

That's because prayer reduces activity in the parietal lobes, which causes you to have less awareness of yourself and more awareness of others.

The limbic system includes several parts situated just above your spinal cord. This is the primitive area of your brain, sometimes called reptilian, because even reptiles have a limbic system.

The limbic system is where negative emotions are produced, such as anger, fear, and resentment, as well as anxiety, depression, and pessimism.

Some of these emotions were necessary for the "fight or flight" response our ancestors needed to survive. But they have far less value in our modern civilized society, especially when you're mature and living a stable life.

Under such circumstances, negative emotions will unnecessarily cause physical and emotional harm but payer turns off your limbic system.

The more you diminish the activity in your parietal lobes and limbic system, at the same time you increase the activity in your frontal lobe and anterior cingulate — and as a result, you'll be HAPPIER AND HEALTHIER!
Simply put, prayer and spiritual practices increase activity in the areas of your brain that are most helpful to you, and diminish activity in the areas that are less helpful and even harmful.
Here are just a few of the amazing benefits of daily prayer . . .

• Increases your ability to feel love and compassion . . .
• Improves your memory and mental function . . .
• Prevents your frontal lobe from shrinking, which is the cause of memory loss,
  mental decline, and even Alzheimer's.
• Reduces stress and negative emotions, so you can feel at peace
  with yourself and others.

You can almost say that prayer is a kind of "fountain of youth."

The following benefits have been reported in leading medical journals . . .

Two studies showed that praying for a person increases your capacity for forgiveness. And a third showed that forgiveness was associated with better overall health and satisfaction with life. (Florida State University; Psychological Science)

An analysis of 42 studies involving 125,000 people found that people who participate in spiritual practices are healthier and live longer. (Health Psychology)

Several studies have shown that prayer and other spiritual practices reduce or alleviate depression. (The American Journal of Psychiatry)

A study at Utah State University showed that older people with strong religious beliefs handled stress as well as persons 30 to 40 years younger and did not experience an elevation of blood pressure. (Annals of Behavioral Medicine)

In a study of 202 people suffering from chronic pain, researchers found that those who prayed or concentrated on positive thoughts were less affected by the pain and had a more positive outlook on life. (Journal of Behavioral Medicine)

In a study of 6,000 Californians between the ages of 21 and 75, those who attended weekly religious services reduced the risk of disease and death to the same extent as "not smoking or abusing alcohol." (International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine)

Researchers at Duke University tracked nearly 4,000 people age 65 and older and found 40% less risk of elevated blood pressure among those who prayed daily and attended religious services weekly. (International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine)

Researchers at Yale University School of Medicine studied more than 2,000 people over age 65 and found that those who attended religious services were less likely to lose their mental faculties or become physically disabled. (Journal of Gerontology)

Researchers at the University of Iowa found that people who make spiritual practices a regular part of their lives boost their resistance to viruses and other infections, which they concluded accounted for their healthier, longer lives. (Health Psychology)
And by contrast . . .

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health tracked 28,000 men between the ages of 42 and 77 for 10 years. They found those who had no close friends or spiritual practice in their lives had significantly increased risk of death from heart disease. (American Journal of Epidemiology)