Hidden Brain - Waking Up Your Spiritual Brain: Part 1

Food, safety, and strong relationships are essential to our survival. Psychologist Lisa Miller says our brains also crave something else: transcendence. She suggests that spirituality is a universal human capacity, and that feeling connected to something larger than ourselves may be essential to a fulfilling life.

Duration: 51m
Broadcast on: 29 Jun 2026
Audio Format: other

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This is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedanta. Thomas Hood was a 19th century English poet known for his elegant, often melancholy verse. His 1826 poem, "I Remember, I Remember" captures a feeling that is familiar to many adults, especially its wistful last lines. I remember, I remember, the fir trees dark and high. I used to think their slender tops were close against the sky. It was a childish ignorance, but now, this little joy, to know I'm farther off from heaven than when I was a boy. Thomas Hood's poem gestures to the reality that has grown-ups, many of us lack the effortless sense of connection and awe that we felt as kids. Was that intimate bond with the universe merely an illusion of childhood, or a real, measurable human capacity that we can access as grown-ups? Researchers are investigating the ways that we can preserve or revive the sense of being close to the sky that Thomas Hood so tenderly evoked. This week on Hidden Brain, we explore what it means to feel closer to heaven and the value of looking for transcendence in our busy, bustling lives. ♪♪ Support for Hidden Brain comes from Pacific Life Insurance. You make promises throughout your life. For nearly 160 years, Pacific Life has been helping you keep them by protecting those who matter most. Pacific Life, the power of a promise. It's a financial professional how Pacific Life can help you create a more confident financial future. Pacific Life Insurance Company, Omaha, Nebraska, and in New York, Pacific Life and Inuity, Phoenix, Arizona. Support for Hidden Brain comes from Land Rover. Even the boldest journey starts small, with a single decision to go somewhere new. Purpose-built and courage-driven, the Defender 110 combines on-road presence with off-road capability. It looks tough because it is with a raised hood and an exterior engineered for durability. Inside, capability meets comfort with seating for five and the option for seven plus refined finishes and thoughtful design. The Defender event is on now. Explore enhanced offers at Land RoverUSA.com. Cheers to fall savings at Whole Foods Market, home of higher ingredient standards. This Halloween, shared chocolates and candies made without that spooky high fructose corn syrup. Throwing a party, make it easy with a berry chantilly cake, ready to cook pizza, no antibiotics ever chicken wings, and sushi made fresh daily. Fall gatherings never tasted better. Save through November 3rd at Whole Foods Market.

These days, we are encouraged and even exhorted to optimize every aspect of our lives. Our bodies, our relationships, our productivity. But what about the parts of us that yearn for meaning, for understanding, for wisdom? Those aspects of ourselves are often ignored in our tireless pursuit of worldly rewards. At Columbia University, psychologist Lisa Miller studies the science of transcendence. Lisa Miller, welcome to Hidden Brain. I'm so grateful to be here.

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