You’ve probably heard of Dr. Andrew Newberg’s work on meditation, even if you didn’t realize it — he’s the scientist who did the ground breaking studies of Tibetan monks meditating that showed how dramatically it changed the brain . He went on to study nuns praying and Sikhs chanting and found similar brain states as those of meditation. His ground breaking work led to the development of a new field of science called “neurotheology,” which studies the relationship between the brain and religious experience.

There’s increased evidence showing that practices such as qi gong, meditation and yoga can not only prevent disease, but actually reverse it and delay aging as well. As scientists learn more about such topics as gene expression, what turns a gene on or off, and how to prevent telomeres, (the strands of protein in our cells that control aging) from unraveling, it becomes impossible to ignore just how much our good lifestyle choices can pay off.

What happens when we begin to make meditation practice a part of our everyday lives? There are an endless number of books written on meditation techniques. What is rarely discussed or included with those instructions is what happens when a meditation practice is undertaken—when a person is truly dedicated to making meditation a part of their life.

I am many things, but I am not a Buddhist. Still, every so often the secret Buddhist in my soul demands to be fed: lighting a little incense, placing a flower in a bowl like an offering, sweeping a spider out the door (instead of squishing it), or taking a day trip to the Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel, NY.

People ask me all the time how they can grow more spiritually. Some of the things I have learned over the years is that becoming a pure channel for spiritual growth comes down to a lot of practice! You need to be organized and have some sort of daily routine that suits you. Structure is extremely important, especially when you first start on the path, because it gives you a firm foundation to build on.

I recently finished reading “Anathem” by Neal Stephenson, for the second time, (not something I usually do) and I was struck by an offhand observation that the young main character makes about another man who may be hundreds of years old. At one point, the old man is chanting and holds the same note for hours, (clearly some kind of re-breathing technique), and the young man ponders what it’s like to have such a different notion of time that you would want to chant the same note for hours. Then he has the insight that a mind that has done that probably has very different thoughts from a mind that hasn’t.

At the end of a period of meditation, I slowly opened my eyes and saw my friend Everett, who had passed away three years earlier, standing in front of me.  Everett seemed so present – so alive – in that moment, and his vital presence remained as I came into full consciousness. Realizing what I was seeing, I was overcome by a whole range of emotions, the most intense of these being feelings of love and joy at being once again in the presence of my beloved friend.

Science is all about precision, controlled studies, and measurable, repeatable results. So for years researchers resisted working on alternative practices such as meditation, dismissing the few studies done as “fuzzy science,” “subjective,” or “impossible to duplicate.” But as research methods have advanced, so has the accuracy of the latest research. There is ample evidence now that stress leads to increased risk of health problems and that meditation reduces stress. What’s new are the studies showing how stress is related to aging and telomere length.

Spiritual symbols are images of hidden spiritual processes, conditions and forces that relate to spiritual beings such as elementary beings, hierarchies of angels or even the being of Christ. When we connect with these symbols through meditation, we effectively open ourselves and merge with those spiritual forces associated with these spiritual beings.