#227 Miguel Farias: Mindfulness, Religion, And Scientific Faith

Sep 9, 2019

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Dr. Miguel Farias is a Associate Professor at Coventry University, UK. His work explores the psychological impact of beliefs and spiritual practices, including meditation and pilgrimage. He is also interested in the biological roots of our beliefs and how we can change them. He’s the author of The Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You?.

In this episode, we focus on some of the main topics in Dr. Farias’ book, The Buddha Pill. We go through some of the main issues in the psychological research on the effects of yoga, meditation and mindfulness. We talk about studies done on inmates, and the relationship between meditation and violence, linking it to ritual and synchrony. Finally, we talk about the literature on the relationship between religious beliefs and stress and anxiety-reduction, and how people use all sorts of strategies to give meaning to their lives, including atheists and agnostics.

Follow Dr. Farias’ work:

Faculty Page: http://bit.ly/30xA0zM

Website: http://bit.ly/2M7GHET

ResearchGate profile: http://bit.ly/2O2icv2

The Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You?: https://amzn.to/2O3hZb7

Relevant papers:

Atheists on the Santiago Way: Examining Motivations to Go On Pilgrimage: http://bit.ly/2Y8QLn9

Participation in a 10-week course of yoga improves behavioural control and decreases psychological distress in a prison population: http://bit.ly/2JLE3Sh

The Effects of Belief in God and Science on Acute Stress: http://bit.ly/2M51lFg

Scientific faith: Belief in science increases in the face of stress and existential anxiety: http://bit.ly/2YZQAYw

Understanding Unbelief: Atheists and agnostics around the world: http://bit.ly/2LrLtx4

A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS: KARIN LIETZCKE, ANN BLANCHETTE, SCIMED, PER HELGE HAAKSTD LARSEN, LAU GUERREIRO, RUI BELEZA, MIGUEL ESTRADA, ANTÓNIO CUNHA, CHANTEL GELINAS, JERRY MULLER, FRANCIS FORD, HANS FREDRIK SUNDE, BRIAN RIVERA, ADRIANO ANDRADE, YEVHEN BODRENKO, SERGIU CODREANU, ADAM BJERRE, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, AIRES ALMEIDA, BERNARDO SEIXAS, HERBERT GINTIS, RUTGER VOS, RICARDO VLADIMIRO, BO WINEGARD, AND JOHN CONNORS!

A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, ROSEY, AND JIM FRANK!