Here’s a perspective. I see and hear much about God, religion, spirituality, and science when discussing substance use and recovery. I hear a lot of division when it comes to god based recovery vs science based recovery. Here’s how I see it after talking with thousands of people and through my own journey.
Quite simply, both work. And to be quite honest, I don’t see the need to differentiate between the two or break it down into such concrete terms. It depends on so much. It depends on the person. Personality, trauma, environment, genetics, belief systems, culture and more all play a role in creating the people that we are. Spirituality and Science are interwoven into the mosaic of the creations that are us. Thus, they work best together, not divided.
Many people find their solutions, comfort and solace through a spiritual journey whether that’s religious or otherwise. Faith and beliefs form a path, and when followed, the journey along that path brings a sense of comfort and health for the person. The path is more than an invisible metaphor. It consists of real physical characteristics that are there by the grace of spirit and science.
Underneath our beliefs and faith is a network of neural pathways and schemas functioning as a very physical, almost mechanical manifestation that give form to these beliefs and to faith. Without this network, there would be no thought or emotion or action – at least that’s what I believe based on my knowledge so far.
We know to create a strong memory, thus beliefs, that emotion is needed to strengthen…what? To strengthen the neural pathways that facilitate the passage of messages throughout that complex network in our nervous systems. Strong emotions help trigger certain neurotransmitters which trigger waves of activity in certain parts of the brain. Our emotions light up. Our thoughts become more meaningful. The more meaningful our thoughts are, the more likely we are to solidify them into schemas. Schemas are plans or theories that develop into concepts that become part of a common and familiar overall perspective.
Further, if we continually repeat something, it becomes embedded in our brains, thus in our consciousness. We develop a solid memory as long as that thing is called upon consistently and repeatedly. A neural pathway is formed. Certain neurotransmitters are associated with delivering that message when needed.
Lets take math for example. We remember that 2 plus 2 is 4. We don’t really feel any particular emotion when we think about that yet it is embedded in our memories. We learned that by repetition. It gets recalled when needed and more often than not, we need, at least simple math, every day. It becomes a functional part of our learning.
Now lets take a strong emotion; love for example. We meet people everyday. Sometimes we remember who they are. We remember their faces and names. We know that we remember better when we associate something specific with them. But what happens when we associate love with that person. How much stronger are our reactions, thoughts, emotions when we think of them, when we talk with them. Our memory becomes reinforced by all sorts of different cues, events, feelings. Our neural pathways are the complex physical conduits that create a schema, a concept, belief etc about that person. And all of that science turns into feelings of warmth and comfort.
Think of all of that as road maps in the brain. Two plus two might be the size of say, Sooke or maybe Langford (small towns on Vancouver Island btw) in the brain’s map. But when I think of my daughter, a road map the size of Toronto or Montreal lights up in my brain. All sorts of activity happens creating thoughts, and strong emotions. That activity is the action of all of those neurotransmitters firing off along neural pathways creating a concept, a meaning, a feeling, warmth, compassion, concern and so much more.
Now bring in certain substances. All substances we use, including food, trigger activity in the brain. It is very complex and I know I couldn’t fully explain the myriad processes involved. When we develop addiction to substances, it is because of the strengths of the associations we attach to those substances, along with the content of the substances themselves that contribute to addiction.
We often associate people, places and things to using substances. This involves rituals, habits and repetitive behaviour. It also involves a chemically induced meaning through the neurotransmitters that usually provide us with our pleasures as well as many other emotions and ways of being. Of course, this is chemically induced by the contents of the various substances we use. Some are stronger than others.
The “addictive” pathways most often become pathways of coping. When we feel emotional or physical pain is the most common pathway that gets formed. The substances we take mimic the neurotransmitters that would normally “treat” pain and discomfort, sadness, and even happiness. Pathways are formed and powerful as they serve a most effective purpose as they are strengthened through consistent repetition and increased meaning.
So hopefully we can see that repetition side by side with powerful sensations teach the brain to create strong neural pathways. These neural pathways are like train tracks. They are difficult to derail from and require specific transfer points in order to switch from “addictive” or any other type of behaviours and responses. But it is entirely possible to create these derailing, re railing points in the brain – we know this through the scientific research that has been progressing.
This is why religion or other spiritual ways often work so well in recovery.
Religion is full of ritual and powerful cultural, societal, widely accepted beliefs. Thus, when embraced, it helps to create powerful neural pathways to counter the “addictive” pathways that were formed through habitual or ritualistic substance use. In other words, faith can create huge maps powerful influential maps in the brain to counter the network of rails that addiction can create.
Faith is part of the scientific process and science is part of the development of faith that can lead us on a journey of recovery.
This is the science behind what we feel, think and do. It is no more separate from spirituality than a driver is in a car. It all functions together. The driver steers the car. The road tells the driver how to steer. The engine operates as designed and as it is instructed to. The driver functions as designed and as they are required to respond. The central nervous system operates in this manner. It is guided by inner and outer forces. Some we have control or influence over, others not so much.
Anyway, here’s how I see spirituality and religion in all of this. God, regardless of your beliefs, is an extremely powerful and strong concept. It is so strong that many of us have faith in some sort of being that directs our lives. It is irrefutable to many. We associate God with design, fate, the way things are supposed to be. All of that belief is manifest in our central nervous system – in our brains, our neural pathways, our schemas. And its power is symbiotic with the strength of our concepts or schemas. In other words it is interactive. But here’s the thing.
A wise mentor once asked me a question that changed my life and re – wrote one of my schemas. He told me a story about waking up and going for a walk very early one morning to catch the sunrise over the ocean. Now picture that for a moment. In a minute, close your eyes and feel the sea air. Feel the heat of the sun as it rises. Feel the blaze of light as it bursts through the horizon into our part of the world. Hear the waves as they lap on the shore. Feel the peace, the calm.
Now stop reading and take a few deep breaths…and imagine.
My friend’s question was: “Who created this? Who created the sun, the horizon, the heat, the breeze?” He reminded me that neither he nor I created it. He reminded me that whatever my concept of spirituality was, it always includes the reality of something I did not create. Further, it includes all of the mystery of creation and the actuality of creation. That actuality is science at work. It is the manifestation of something we did not create, but we are very slowly beginning to at least see how some of it works. There is science behind the sun and the heat and the breeze and sound and water and… And we can’t deny the sympiosis or interaction between what we don’t really understand and what we are beginning to understand.
So here’s my point. There are people who express their faith in God. “By the grace of God I am sober today”. That is the powerful and meaningful schema that was created through deliberate action that re routed and re created other neural pathways for those who see religion as their saving grace. And that’s because for them, it is. The rituals and actions required in religion help to solidify that process in our central nervous system. A system we did not create, but that we can influence. Like the driver of a car can influence the direction of the car based on what is presented.
I know that might sound a bit techy and even perhaps disrespectful to those who follow faith. It is not meant to be by any means. I describe it this way to illustrate that science and spirit are interconnected. I don’t believe (rightly or wrongly at this point) that one can exist without the other. This has made sense to me. And that is a part of my spiritual and scientific journey. That is the schema that works for me.
I know I didn’t create my central nervous system or the miracle of what is my physical being. My mental and emotional being is a mosaic of physical interactions in my body and in the world and of something I know nothing about. But that something holds a mystical power, characterized by scientific processes and principles that holds a powerful place in my land of schemas.
In the meantime, I will continue my journey of curiousity. I do not look for a final answer. I don’t believe there is one. The journey itself might be the answer. As long as I am on it, I breathe, I love, I act, I cry, I scream, and most importantly I live. The journey ends when I stop being curious.
And that is the spirit of science and the science of spirit according to all that has happened in my life so far. I hope you stay just as curious.
