LIVING LONG: SPIRITUALITY
Want to live forever? Get religion.
The world’s major religions promise eternal life. They don’t all agree, though, on exactly how we get from here to eternity. But in a nice little cosmic twist, it turns out that spiritual beliefs may well delay our journey to the unknown, allowing us to shuffle along on this mortal coil longer. Numerous studies have suggested that aspects of spirituality contribute to better health, better quality of life, and yes, even longer years.
Just what is this spirituality thing? It is not the same as religiosity. True, religious people are spiritual, but spiritual people are not all religious, notes Krista Kurth, Ph.D., a management consultant in Potomac, Maryland, who specializes in spirituality in the workplace.
Dr. Kurth’s preferred definition of spirituality is “the Divine influence working in the human heart.” That’s “Divine” with a capital D. For those uncomfortable with the concept of “the Divine,” she offers this definition: “the sense that there is something more than us out there that connects us all.” Spirituality, she says, is “our recognition of our connection with the Divine,” or with that something greater, be it greater consciousness or greater sense of being.
Let’s say that you cultivate a sense of connectedness with the Divine. What is it going to do for you? Scientists who’ve tried to isolate God in the laboratory do have some answers.
Religiously active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also known as the Mormons) live longer and have half the death rate from heart disease, cancer, and other debilitating diseases compared to the general population, says James Enstrom, Ph.D., associate research professor in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Enstrom knows. He has tracked 10,000 active Mormons for 14 years in order to relate their mortality patterns to their lifestyle. Active Mormons do not smoke, do not drink, and attend church regularly. Sure, abstaining from alcohol and tobacco helps. But it’s not the whole story.
Church attendance also appears to be a positive health factor. Dr. Enstrom is not sure how church attendance works its magic. However, he says, Mormon or not, people who attend church regularly generally are healthier than those who do not attend church. Dr. Enstrom is pretty sure because he also followed a large general population sample of nonsmoking people (in an effort to replicate the Mormon lifestyle in a non-Mormon population). What happened? “The nonsmoker who attended church regularly was healthier than the nonsmoker who didn’t attend church regularly,” he says. Research by other investigators has supported these findings.
But what of the spiritual folks who don’t attend church? Do they enjoy better health and a better sense of well-being?
Yes, according to the latest research. The “relaxation response” linked with meditation – a practice with multifarious spiritual origins – provides a plethora of health benefits, says Herbert Benson, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston and author of Timeless Healing. Spirituality also advocates a healthier lifestyle and increases social support, which helps you deal with stress and improves your coping skills.
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