Episode # 16: Spirituality and Flourishing, with Dr. Lisa Miller

In this episode, we talked to Dr. Lisa Miller about the science of spirituality and how we can apply research , the role of spirituality in flourishing and how we can apply research on the science of spirituality to our lives. She has developed a form of psychotherapy known as “spiritual awareness psychotherapy” or “awakened awareness,” which we practice live on the call!

Lisa Miller is the New York Times bestselling author of The Spiritual Child and a professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the Founder and Director of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute, the first Ivy League graduate program and research institute in spirituality and psychology, and has held over a decade of joint appointments in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical School. Her innovative research has been published in more than one hundred peer-reviewed articles in leading journals. Lisa is an elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association (“APA”) and the two-time President of the APA Society for Psychology and Spirituality. 

Key conversation points:

• Research in neuroscience and psychology on the benefits of spirituality for our well-being, such as how spirituality can reduce the risk of depression, anxiety and suicidality
• The difference between spirituality and religious belief 
• The connection between spirituality, meaning, and living a morally good life
• The form of psychotherapy Lisa’s developed, “spiritual awareness psychotherapy” (also known as “awakened awareness”), which we practice live on the call!
• What “synchronicity” is and the kind of attitude we need to cultivate to perceive synchronicity
• The distinction between transcendent and self-transcendent experiences

lisamillerphd.com 

flourishfmpodcast.com