The New York Times reported last Monday that social scientists have positively linked religious language and religious practices (like going to church on a regular basis) to a greater level of self-control. Dr. Michael McCullough, one of the principal investigators, says:
Brain-scan studies have shown that when people pray or meditate, there’s a lot of activity in two parts of brain that are important for self-regulation and control of attention and emotion. The rituals that religions have been encouraging for thousands of years seem to be a kind of anaerobic workout for self-control.I wonder how uncontrolled I would be if it weren't for my religion. Like many, I'm going to try to snack less this year, especially after 8pm. I suppose if I weren't a regular church-goer, I would have to buy bigger pants. I'm prone to make pie out of the fruits of the Spirit.
5 comments:
Heehee.
AMEN! It scares me to think about how much worse my self control would be if I didn't go to church. I'm already having to buy bigger pants. uuuggghhh
Good luck in the New Year with self-control! So far, I've been doing ok, but today I cracked out the cookbook Alex got me for Christmas, so we'll see how that goes. I need to get back to work--I eat less when I'm busy.
Love it! Good to see you blogging again!
This year I'm going to try to learn to control my addiction to watching cheesy church on television.
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