By Dc. Tom Cuskey,
Editor
St. Augustine parishioners Marge Babcock (left) and Darlene St. John coordinated the event. (Catholic Sun photos)
The topic seemed rather heady: the intersection of neuroscience, spirituality and positive psychology. But as Anne Kertz Kernion explained, it’s an important intersection all of us should traverse on the road to full health.
Kernion, an internationally renowned speaker, retreat leader and author, spoke recently to a crowded parish center audience at St. Augustine’s Church in Baldwinsville. She explained that these three disciplines have “overlapping and integrating practices” that help deepen our personal faith experience.
“What our spiritual tradition teaches, which many people don’t even know, is that we have Christian meditation and mindfulness as part of our tradition,” she explained. “It was kind of lost for several hundred years, but Thomas Merton brought it back in the ‘60s, and people are still rediscovering that.”
Kernion’s presentation included many interactive moments, entertaining and informative videos and discussions on best practices to help attendees find their way to peaceful, enriched experiences in an otherwise stressful and hurried world.
One of Kernion’s goals for the day was helping attendees embrace the positive emotional and psychological aspects of our faith tradition that can help one become more aware of God’s presence in our daily lives. When properly integrated, Kernion says the benefits for mind and body are plentiful. “Inflammation goes down, immunity goes up, our cognitive abilities stay healthy,” she says. ”So, it’s really remarkable how much these spiritual practices can impact our physical and mental wellbeing.”
Anne Kertz Kernion
Her experience of people during the Covid pandemic underlined the importance of equipping oneself to win the battle with stress. “And so part of my presentations always include stress and what stress looks like and how we can think about stress in different ways so that it doesn’t impact ourselves,” she shared. “It’s chronic stress that impacts our brains and our bodies.”
St. Augustine parishioners Darlene St. John and Marge Babcock coordinated the event which drew participants from beyond the parish’s boundaries. St. John explained that the parish has used the presenter’s books in a series of different programs offered over the past year. “A lot of these people have come to make her way,” St John reports. “To me, it’s almost like the finale, and we hope they will build their spirituality.”
Babcock added that Kernion’s approach brings a different perspective to spirituality. “Integrating the body, the brain, the mind and the heart into our spiritual life,” she shared. “That might be interesting and different for people, and definitely can help people have a great, growing experience in their relationship with God.”
St. John pointed out that the stress from difficult times we have faced through Covid and more recent challenges can be overcome through practicing new and different approaches to faith. “The idea of how spirituality affects us, physically, will help people physically and mentally. I think that spirituality will help them through this difficult time, to help them to grow, be happier and healthier people.”
