The series explores the book SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION written by Dr. George E. Vaillant. The author was a research psychiatrist at Harvard and served as a non-alcoholic Trustee for Alcoholics Anonymous. Spirituality is often a hard concept to grasp and his book helps make it understandable. He defines spirituality as the realization of positive emotions such as love, hope, faith, joy, forgiveness, and compassion – along with awe and mystical illumination. The author argues our brains are hard wired for these and through the 12 Step journey. We’re evolving – “sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly” towards realizing them in ourselves. This episode focuses on the important difference between faith and belief.
Show Notes:
Spiritual Evolution: A Scientific Defense of Faith by George Vaillant
HARVARD STUDY HIGHLIGHTS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Study
References to “Faith” in Key AA Literature: https://www.164andmore.com/words/faith.htm
Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=%27man%27s+search+for+meaning%27&i=stripbooks&hvadid=580696318078&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9028223&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=1501299473015564863