Another insightful piece, Matthew. I've been making my way through your backlog of posts and I find so much that's useful here.

I'm curious: Do you think there's validity to any scientific or psychological claims about spiritual practices? I ask because I've been reading the works of Lisa Miller and Andrew Newberg (two professors who study this area), and while the science is certainly emerging, it does seem valid to say that spiritual practices appear to change the brain in ways that tend to be associated with health. Do you think that's possible, or do you think the whole science/spiritual endeavor is a lost cause?