The number 1 best way to exercise your brain.

I noticed that this post from November 2010 was the most popular page view this week so I thought I'd share it again.
Faith. No matter what choice we make concerning our physical, emotional, and spiritual health, we will never know for certain if we are absolutely correct in our beliefs. We can make educated guesses about the world, but some degree of uncertainty will always remain. We can't even trust our eyes when it comes to something as obvious as color, because color doesn't exist in the world.Light waves exist, but we can't see them at all. Color is a product of our imagination, and so is our perception of the world.To believe in anything we have to rely on faith. None of us can be certain if we have made the "right" decision ,especially when it comes to dealing with abstract concepts like justice, fairness, or moral ideals. If we don't have faith that we are making the best decisions we can then we will be swallowed up in doubt. And doubt at least as far as your brain is concerned, is a precarious state in which to live.
Recently, a team of National Institutes of Health concluded that " a moderate optimistic illusion " appears to be neurologically essential for maintaining motivation and good mental health. They also found that highly optimistic people had greater activation in (anterior cingulate) the same parts of the brain that are stimulated by meditation.
Faith is essential for maintaining a healthy brain,but if you exclude exercise and companionship, you are going to cripple your health. So why not nurture all three. Meditation seems to be the best way to make spiritual values neurologically real. Meditation undermined the everyday doubts and anxiety we all harbor when we reach for new goals and ideals. In other words meditation will strengthen your faith - in yourself, in people, and in God