by Kenneth Best, originally published at UConn Today.
University of Connecticut researchers conducted a study which found that people had the highest levels of spiritual awareness in the morning and while engaged in activities such as praying, worship, and meditation. Spiritual awareness also was high when people listened to music, read, or exercised. It was low while people were doing work-related activities or playing video games.
Being at work reduced spiritual awareness, which the authors measured as self-reported awareness of God, a higher power, or larger ideal. Those who worked the most appeared to have the lowest awareness. Additionally, the study found that the kind of people who watched the news had higher overall spiritual awareness than those who did not; however, the act of watching the news lowered awareness for everyone.
“What surprised us is how much people vary in awareness of God across the day and across activities,” said Bradley R.E. Wright, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut and a co-author of the study. “There is a complex interplay between spiritual awareness and the situation. Sometimes the situation you are in affects your spiritual awareness. Other times your spiritual awareness affects the situation you’re in.”
This study analyzes data from the larger SoulPulse study (SoulPulse.org), which collects data using participants’ smartphones. This experience sampling method allowed researchers to track spiritual awareness in real time during study participants’ normal daily activities.
This article was originally published at UConn Today, and is partially reproduced here without the permission of the author, who is not affiliated with this website or its views.
