Spiritual Intelligence: Activating the 4 Circuits of the Awakened Brain, with Dawson Church, PhD

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Listen in now as our guest, Dawson Church, PhD, discusses his latest book, Spiritual Intelligence: Activating the 4 Circuits of the Awakened Brain, a groundbreaking exploration of how we are all hardwired for higher consciousness. Based on over 400 scientific studies, this transformative book reveals the brain’s capacity to access states of bliss, compassion, and connection through what neuroscientists call the "Enlightenment Network." Whether through meditation, prayer, or peak performance “flow” states, Dawson demonstrates how anyone can activate these circuits to create rapid and life-changing shifts in wellbeing and health. He draws on decades of cutting-edge research, from Tibetan monks to peak-performing athletes, to show how activating these states rapidly rewires our neural networks for lasting joy, peace, and resilience. With vivid real-life examples such as Nelson Mandela, Joan of Arc, Mahatma Gandhi and Pope John Paul II, Dawson illustrates how spiritual intelligence (SQ) is not a vague ideal but an attainable skillset that shapes our brains for extraordinary happiness. 

Dawson is an award-winning science writer with three best-selling books to his credit. The Genie in Your Genes was the first book to demonstrate that emotions drive gene expression. Mind to Matter showed that the brain creates much of what we think of as “objective reality.” Bliss Brain demonstrates that peak mental states rapidly remodel the brain for happiness. 

Dawson founded the National Institute for Integrative Healthcare to promote groundbreaking new treatments. Its Veterans Stress Project has offered free treatment to over 20,000 veterans with PTSD over the past decade. Dawson shares how to apply these health and performance breakthroughs through EFT Universe, one of the largest alternative medicine sites on the web. 

Dawson’s most recent research focuses on self-transcendent experiences, such as those found in deep meditation and “flow” states. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging research demonstrates that the EcoMeditation method he developed results in rapid brain remodeling, downregulating regions associated with suffering and increasing activity in brain areas linked to compassion and happiness. Though Dawson retired from active business management in 2023, he continues his journey in science and mysticism with blogs, studies, podcasts and books.