Nir Eyal

Now, what's amazing here is that the people who prayed out of a faith tradition had a much higher pain tolerance than those who didn't pray at all.

but even the people who prayed without faith also had a much higher pain tolerance.

Now that is fascinating because there seems to be something in that practice, that prayer has some kind of protective effects.

And I think this is particularly important because for the first time, the largest religious group in America today are the nuns, not the Catholic nuns, the N-O-N-E, the people who like me don't have any particular affiliation to any faith.

And I think this is,

terrible and i blame myself that i only thought that i could step into a religious institution if i bought everything blindly that i had to believe everything without any doubt and it turns out i was very wrong that in fact for this book i went to five religious leaders excuse me but it sounds like a setup for a joke i went to a rabbi a priest an imam a monk and a swami and i asked them all this they all walk into a bar right i asked them all the same question can you pray even when you have doubts about god

And I collected from each and every one of them, these principles that many of them were overlapping that were embedded in all the religions.

But there was something about each one of these faiths that I think any of us, no matter what your faith background is, no matter whether you have a faith background at all, you can incorporate these practices, not because they speak to an absolute truth that you need to have blind faith in, but because they make you a better person in your community.

They help you reduce suffering.

They help you give back in a way that allows you to be your best self, to have greater connection, and ultimately live a better life.

Thank you, John.

My book is, again, Beyond Belief.

And actually, if you go to my website, nearandfar.com, that's spelled like my first name, N-I-R, andfar.com, we have a five-minute belief change guide that's absolutely free.

You don't have to buy anything.

Just starts on this process of helping you identify these limiting beliefs and adopt liberating beliefs.

And that's, again, at nearandfar.com.

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Should I work with this partner?

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