Does depression hold the key to spiritual awakening?

Our guest, Dr. Lisa Miller, PhD, thinks that it does and she tells us why in her new book, "The Awakened Brain: The New Science of Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life." The experience of depression is marked by a loss of connection to self and others. Dr. Miller says that it is also the loss of a sense of being held by a benevolent force or presence greater than yourself.

How often have you felt that you, "had to get the job", "had to get into the university," or "pass the test"? Dr. Miller explains that these thoughts come from our "Achievement Awareness," and are most often the cause for our depressions. She shows us through fMRI scans that when telling a depressing story blood flow throughout the brain is constricted. Conversely, when a person talks about a spiritual experience or a feeling of connection, fMRI scans show an increase in blood flow and the brain takes on a reddish color. Dr. Miller explains that the reddish brain reflects the other kind of awareness called "Awakened Awareness."