Dr. Peter Eppinga, author of Your Brain, fell in love with the brain during his medical training. We were privileged to have him speak on the impact of prayer on the human brain. Stuart Spani our resident film producer made an amazing DVD with Dr Eppinga entitled “Your Brain and Prayer.”
The brain has not always been seen as that significant. Aristotle thought that it was merely a radiator to cool the blood. The Egyptians carefully embalmed the heart while discarding the brain in their mummies. The brain, says Dr. Eppinga, is the new frontier, making 400 million actions per second. This three pounds of fat has four million pain sensors, 500,000 touch detectors, and 200,000 temperature gages that keep us from freezing or boiling. Our brain has no moving parts: “It isn’t hardware or software. It’s wet ware and very messy.” Our brain feeds on glucose for its fuel source. Though the brain is only 2% of our body’s weight, it takes up a staggering 20% of our body’s glucose supplies.
Dr. Eppinga says that due to neuroplasticity, you can sculpt your own brain by what you put inside of it. Research indicates that Braille readers and taxi drivers both have measurable growth in their motor cortex and hippocampi, related to their sensory and memory activities. Through exercising twenty minutes a day by walking or going to the gym, you can decrease your chances by 60 percent of getting Alzheimer’s disease or by 57 percent of having a stroke. Bible reading and prayer both renew our minds and strengthen our brains. Prayer activates our frontal lobes and anterior cingulate gyrus, resulting in increased compassion, memory function, and stress reduction. Dr. Newberg, through the use of a SPECT scanner, found that focused prayer increased activity in our frontal cortex, which is connected with creative thinking and decision making. Prayer also reduces chronically elevated levels of cortisol, which are linked with increased bone loss, reduced muscle mass, impaired immune function, and reduction in glucose utilization. Through the calming benefits of prayer, our body and mind become more resistant to disease. Prayer, said Dr. Eppinga, is the most powerful force in the universe: “God can do more through one prayer than you can do in a lifetime.”
Dr. Eppinga, from a very young age in his home town of Old Masset, Haida Gwaii, wanted to become a medical doctor, but his mother and father were unable to help him academically. As a teenager, he became a drug dealer. While intoxicated with alcohol in the back seat of a racing car, he ended upside down, drowning in a swamp. Choking on water, he prayed: “If you ever let me out of this car tonight, God, I promise I will live for you.” As Dr. Eppinga put it, “I put down the beer bottle and picked up a text book and God gave me strength to make it through.” Looking back, he believes that his parents’ persistent prayers made all the difference. He and his father now have a ministry, called Christ for First Nations, bringing healing to other aboriginal people. Dr Eppinga is living proof that prayer and medicine work well together in renewing the mind and strengthening the brain.
The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin
-previously published in the Deep Cove Crier/North Shore News
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
To receive a personally signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
I was the Rector of St. Simon's Church North Vancouver, B.C for 31 years, from 1987 to 2018. Ordained in 1980, I have also served at St. Philip's Vancouver and St. Matthew's Abbotsford. My wife Janice and I have three sons James, Mark, and Andrew. I was Past President and Chaplain for Alpha Canada. While serving as the National Chair for Anglican Renewal Ministries of Canada, I was one of three co-signers of the Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials
For the past 31 years, I have been privileged to write over 500 articles as a columnist on spiritual issues for local North Vancouver newspapers. In the last number of years, I have had the opportunity to speak at conferences and retreats in Honduras, Rwanda, Uganda, Washington State, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland, and Ontario.
My book For Better, For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship, coauthored with Janice Hird, can be purchased at https://www.amazon.com/Better-Worse-Discovering-lasting-relationship/dp/0978202236/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1535555614&sr=8-1
My sequel Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit, with a foreword by Dr JI Packer, is online with Amazon.com in both paperback http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/097820221X/ref=redir_mdp_mobile and ebook form http://tiny.cc/tanhmx .
In Canada, Amazon.ca has it available in paperback http://tiny.cc/dknhmx and ebook http://tiny.cc/wmhmmx .
It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook ), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).
Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form. Nook gives a sample of the book to read online: http://tiny.cc/vj3bmx . Indigo also offers the Kobo ebook version: http://tiny.cc/kreonx . You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook: http://tiny.cc/1ukiox
The book 'Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit' focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus' healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how North Americans can embrace a holistically healthy life.
In order to obtain a signed copy in North America of the prequel book 'Battle for the Soul of Canada', Blue Sky, or God's Firestarters, please send a $25 etransfer to ed_hird@telus.net . Cheques are also acceptable.
One thought on “Renewing the Mind, Strengthening the Brain”
Dr. Eppinga says that due to neuroplasticity, you can sculpt your own brain by what you put inside of it. Research indicates that Braille readers and taxi drivers both have measurable growth in their motor cortex and hippocampi, related to their sensory and memory activities. Through exercising twenty minutes a day by walking or going to the gym, you can decrease your chances by 60 percent of getting Alzheimer’s disease or by 57 percent of having a stroke. Bible reading and prayer both renew our minds and strengthen our brains. Prayer activates our frontal lobes and anterior cingulate gyrus, resulting in increased compassion, memory function, and stress reduction. Dr. Newberg, through the use of a SPECT scanner, found that focused prayer increased activity in our frontal cortex, which is connected with creative thinking and decision making. Prayer also reduces chronically elevated levels of cortisol, which are linked with increased bone loss, reduced muscle mass, impaired immune function, and reduction in glucose utilization. Through the calming benefits of prayer, our body and mind become more resistant to disease. Prayer, said Dr. Eppinga, is the most powerful force in the universe: “God can do more through one prayer than you can do in a lifetime.”
Dr. Eppinga, from a very young age in his home town of Old Masset, Haida Gwaii, wanted to become a medical doctor, but his mother and father were unable to help him academically. As a teenager, he became a drug dealer. While intoxicated with alcohol in the back seat of a racing car, he ended upside down, drowning in a swamp. Choking on water, he prayed: “If you ever let me out of this car tonight, God, I promise I will live for you.” As Dr. Eppinga put it, “I put down the beer bottle and picked up a text book and God gave me strength to make it through.” Looking back, he believes that his parents’ persistent prayers made all the difference. He and his father now have a ministry, called Christ for First Nations, bringing healing to other aboriginal people. Dr Eppinga is living proof that prayer and medicine work well together in renewing the mind and strengthening the brain.
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Edhird's Blog 
July 11, 2013 at 7:24 am
Thank you for posting that fascinating information about the brain on your blog, which is truly worthwhile receiving.
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