Can Videogames Be A Spiritual Experience

I was interviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer in August about the importance of video games in spirituality. Specifically, how video games can aid spiritual connection and possibly generate feelings of transcendence.

Although this is a relatively new area of inquiry, we do know that video games offer us something no other medium can: the unique capacity to explore the roles of good and evil in a free (i.e., unaffected by real-world consequences) arena. We may enact the motives and acts of a protagonist and examine the ramifications of varied moral and spiritual choices on the game's plot in no other medium. Video games are wonderful settings for exploring moral and spiritual choices and experiences in this way.

Although there has been a lot of research on moral decision-making in games, the role of spiritual experiences has received less attention. When playing open-ended and relatively ambiguous games, some studies have discovered that players report having mystical experiences and emotions of transcendence (i.e., a greater sense of unity or spirit of the universe) (such as Journey and RiME). The notion is that the uncertainty invites players to think on their spirituality and emotional responses to the game's events.

What are examples of spiritual experiences?

A spiritual experience is defined as an occurrence that is beyond human comprehension in terms of how it may have occurred in the first place. Situations like avoiding death in an otherwise deadly situation or incomprehensible monetary gain are examples of these types of encounters. Another example is looking back in time to see how things unfolded in ways you could never have imagined. While you may not have had a “burning bush” encounter, you should be aware that spiritual experiences are not one-size-fits-all. Here are some suggestions to help you determine if you experienced a spiritual encounter or not.

How do you develop a spiritual experience?

It was during this journey that I developed respect for some of the values that my childhood faith had taught me. Discipline, for example, as well as the outward expression of appreciation, have proven to be extremely beneficial in my life, particularly as I've developed a personal spiritual practice in my adult years.

Of course, one does not require a religious upbringing to enjoy this experience. You have the option of believing in a higher power (or not), as well as belonging to a religious institution or faith-based community (or not). Spirituality is open to everyone. It's fluid in some aspects. It encourages people to think on what they're seeing and to applaud how things are changing.

Whether you're looking to start a spiritual practice or want to deepen your spirituality, try the following:

Can video games be a passion?

Young people have a proclivity towards picking up new talents quickly. One of the reasons why students can easily turn their interests into a passion is because of this. Reading, singing, dancing, sports, and video games all start off as pastimes, but students grow attached to them over time.

What happens to the brain during spiritual experiences?

Spiritual practices have long been hallmarks of mutual aid groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. Spirituality can be a crucial component of addiction rehabilitation because it can be a key method for a person seeking recovery to connect to something outside of themselves. Researchers and trend watchers have found that Americans are becoming less religious while yet identifying as more spiritual. Spiritual participation can help people achieve a “sense of unity with something larger than themselves,” according to the study's authors. Scientists used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to examine exactly how spirituality activated or deactivated certain regions of the brain, changing how people perceive and interact with the world around them, in a recent brain study directed by Dr. Mark Potenza at Yale called Neural Correlates of Spiritual Experiences.

Spirituality, according to Dr. Christina Puchalski, Director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, is “the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose, as well as the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, self, others, nature, and the significant or sacred.” Importantly, the study's authors endorsed a wide range of personal definitions of spiritual experience, such as attending a religious service at a place of worship, connecting with nature, practicing mindfulness meditation, and praying in silence.

Spirituality and religious practices are important in many people's lives; 81 percent of adults in the United States identify as spiritual, religious, or both. Despite the fact that the majority of adults in the United States engage in some type of spiritual practice, little is known about what happens in specific areas of the brain during these spiritual experiences. Although studies have related various brain measures to characteristics of spirituality, none have attempted to investigate spiritual experiences directly, especially when employing a broader, modern understanding of spirituality that is not necessarily religious. This study examined neuronal structures and systems that are activated when we participate in spiritual practice using an unique type of brain imaging called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). When individuals were asked to recall spiritual experiences, the fMRI was able to detect activity in the brain by detecting variations in blood flow to various regions of the brain.

The large range of spiritual experiences that individuals can find personally meaningful is a possible difficulty in this study. The study's authors attempted to address this by asking participants to describe a circumstance in which they felt “a deep connection with a higher power or a spiritual presence” using a tailored guided-imagery fMRI approach. Their stories were put into a script, which was then recorded and played back to the subject during the fMRI scan. The brain activation recorded during a participant's recall of a spiritual encounter was compared to measures conducted while they listened to narrations of neutral and stressful situations.

The fact that the participants were entirely in charge of their narratives was crucial to the researchers' ability to find patterns in brain activity across a wide range of spiritual experiences.

The Inferior Parietal Lobe, which is related with perceptual processing, is shown in blue.

Lower levels of activity in some areas of the brain were linked to spiritual experiences:

• The IPL, or inferior parietal lobe, is a region of the brain that deals with perceptual processing and the notion of self in time and place.
• The emotional and sensory processing centers of the brain, the thalamus and striatum

This research adds to a growing body of knowledge about spirituality and its relationship to brain processing. These findings suggest that spiritual encounters alter perception and can help to mitigate the negative consequences of stress on mental health. The areas of the brain responsible for stress were shown to be less active in this study, whereas the parts responsible for social interaction were more active. A sense of belonging to someone or something bigger than oneself, as well as community involvement, have been shown to help people recover from substance use disorders and other behavioral health concerns.

Marc Potenza, MD, PhD, is a Psychiatrist who specializes in Behavioral addictions, and his work at Yale in this essential area is a welcome addition to the field's researchers. Spiritual Engagement in Drug Use Disorder Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery: Neural Correlates of Spiritual Experiences has promising implications for spiritual engagement in substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery. Participants were scanned while reminiscing about their own unique spiritual experience, but the results were consistent across the board. This means that in order to reap the advantages, a person does not need to engage in a specific sort of spiritual practice, but rather can engage in whichever version of participation is most compatible with their particular views. This encourages patients to engage in a variety of spiritual activities as part of their treatment and rehabilitation programs.

Spirituality helps alleviate stress and create emotions of closeness, according to this study, which established a means to assess and illustrate what many recovery and treatment communities have known for years. Fellowship and treatment programs can empower individuals in recovery to use spirituality as a proven method to improve their mental health by learning what parts of the brain are affected during spiritual practice.

How common are spiritual experiences?

According to polls, there's a 50-50 chance you've experienced at least one spiritual encounter – an overwhelming sense that you've touched God or entered another realm of reality.

So, have you ever pondered if such experiences were all in your brain or if they genuinely happened? According to scientists, the answer might be both.

Jeff Schimmel is the man to talk to if you're looking for proof that religion is all in your head. The 49-year-old writer was raised in a Conservative Jewish household in Los Angeles. But he didn't believe in God until he was touched by something outside of himself.

Schimmel had a benign tumor removed from his left temporal lobe about a decade ago. The operation went off without a hitch. But, unbeknownst to him, he began to have mini-seizures soon after. In his thoughts, he could hear conversations. People around him would occasionally appear slightly surreal, as if they were animated.

Then there were the visions. He recalls looking up at the ceiling twice while lying in bed and seeing a swirl of blue, gold, and green hues that gradually settled into a shape. He was baffled as to what it was.

Can religious experience be verified?

Finally, religious experiences are valuable and may be confirmed using a variety of approaches, including Swinburne's Principles of Testimony and Credulity. As a result, religious experience can be proven.

What's the difference between spiritual experience and spiritual awakening?

There is a widespread belief that having a spiritual experience is a once-in-a-lifetime event. The phrases have been linked to angelic contact and other paranormal events. The claims for such an experience are less lofty in the case of AA. It is regarded as merely an occurrence with sufficient force to enable the individual to break free from their addiction. This transformation does not have to be dramatic in nature or occur suddenly. The spiritual awakening in AA can take many different shapes. In AA, the terms “spiritual experience” and “spiritual awakening” are interchangeable and refer to the same event.

What part of the brain controls spirituality?

This new study, conducted by Yale University and Columbia University's Spirituality Mind Body Institute, looked at the experiences of people from various religions and with varying definitions of what makes spirituality.

Neurobiological Home For The Spiritual Experience

The “parietal cortex,” or more precisely, the “left inferior parietal lobule,” is the part of the brain that processes spiritual experiences. When a person becomes aware of himself or others, this area of the brain is also stimulated. It is also boosted when a person's attention abilities are used.

The researchers interviewed 27 young adults for their study, which was led by Marc Potenza, a Yale Child Study Center professor of psychiatry and neuroscience. They inquired about their previous stressful, calming, and spiritual experiences.

Following the interview, the subjects were subjected to fMRI scans while listening to recordings of their transcendent experiences.

Even though they had diverse spiritual experiences, their brains exhibited identical activity emanating from the parietal cortex, according to the fMRI images. While they continued to listen to their respective recordings or, in effect, as they experienced their various transcendent states, the participants' brain waves replicated a similar pattern.

“We observed reduced activity in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in the spiritual condition compared to the neutral-relaxing condition, a result that suggests the IPL may contribute significantly to perceptual processing and self-other representations during spiritual experiences,” the researchers wrote in the study published in the journal Cerebral Cortex.

The study also found that spiritual stimuli made the brain's medial thalamus and caudate, which are involved for sensory and emotional processing, less sensitive than stress.

Spiritual Experience And Mental Health

The scientists determined that spiritual experience is not restricted to an individual's level of religiosity based on similar brain patterns observed despite the individuals' differing perspectives on spirituality.

Spiritual experience can range from a sense of being one with God to a sense of being one with nature or when one accepts humanity. It can be as simple as being elated during a sporting game to have a spiritual experience.

Finally, the researchers claim that the study will aid professionals in better understanding how spiritual experiences affect people's mental health.

“Spiritual experiences are powerful states that can have a significant impact on people's life,” Potenza explained.

He added that “understanding the brain basis of spiritual experiences may help us better comprehend their roles in resilience and recovery from mental health and addiction diseases.”

Can you be spiritual without religion?

Spirituality is a topic that is frequently discussed, but it is frequently misinterpreted. Many individuals confuse spirituality and religion, and as a result, they bring their religious ideas and prejudices into debates about spirituality. Although spiritualism is emphasized in many religions, you can be “spiritual” without being religious or a member of an organized religion.