Karma of the Brain: Why Good Things Happen to Good People

By Siri Agrell
Source: The Globe and Mail

What if your doctor told you to take two steps toward being a better person and call him in the morning?

Patients at a California health maintenance organization are being prescribed generous behaviour as part of a program called Rx: Volunteer, one of various new research projects described by Stephen Post in his book Why Good Things Happen To Good People, out next week. Dr. Post chronicles the link between doing good and living a longer, healthier life.

"The science shows that we're hardwired to be giving," he says. "We're talking here about a one-a-day vitamin for the soul."

A growing number of researchers are supporting his claim with studies that show how the human body benefits from everything from gratitude to generosity.

Dr. Post, the president of Case Western Reserve University's Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, believes in the scientific equivalent to The Secret, the self-help phenomenon that preaches positivity as a means to personal reward.

No, being a good person won't necessarily get you a new car or help you lose 10 pounds, Dr. Post says, but there is a karma of the brain, where the body physically rewards acts of kindness and forgiveness. "The remarkable bottom line of the science of love is that giving protects overall health twice as much as Aspirin protects against heart disease," he says.

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