Bilateral Stimulation and Religious Practice

You will find bilateral stimulation used in various forms of spiritual worship, such as hand clapping and dancing in Baptist Church worship, davening in Orthodox Jewish Synagogue worship and various yoga practices.

Go to a Baptist Church and be prepared to sing and dance. The question is why? Do they do it to make services go by faster? Do they sing and dance just because they like singing and dancing?

No and No. They sing and dance because singing and dancing brings them closer to G-d. They sing and dance, because singing and dancing apply bilateral stimulation while they pray. Check out this article by Dr. John Sullivan, Executive Director-Treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention - Dancing in the Spirit.

Think about what they are doing. They are applying bilateral stimulation while they pray and sing. They are clapping. They are moving their feet back and forth, over and over again. Most importantly, they are praying. They have goal. They have an objective. They want to feel G-d’s Spirit. Listen to the progression of the music. It starts slow and then it starts to speed up and the entire congregation starts to build into a religious fervor. Does bilateral stimulation help them achieve their goal? You bet.

You may not have ever attended a Conservative or Orthodox Jewish Service. It’s fascinating and a little bit different. Every so often, every man in the synagogue will stand up and shake back and forth while they read their prayer book and under their breath, utter the breaths in break neck style. What they are doing is referred to as “davening.”

Davening (bilateral stimulation) while praying has been going on for thousands of years. So why do they daven? Praying while davening helps religious Jews feel closer to G-d. It helps them to feel G-d’s spirit. The goal of each prayer is to take the reader to a different place. Some prayers talk about being better than human. Some talk about bowing down to G-d. In all cases, the prayers have more meaning and impact on their lives the closer they can feel to G-d.

Bilateral stimulation helps target and focus the mind. It helps you feel more connected. It helps you to feel whole.

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