“The sabbath was made for humans,” he said, “not humans for the sabbath.”—Mark 2:27
Brainy Tip: We are designed to rest.
When we go into a directed rest—a focused, introspective state—we enhance and increase the effectiveness of the activity in the nonconscious mind. We do not stop all activity, just as God did not rest in the modern sense (that is, cease working) in the creation accounts but rather established his rule in the temple after a period of creative activity.1 By giving ourselves time to think in a directed rest state, we increase the gamma waves in our brain, which are involved in attention, memory building, and learning, and increase brain activity linked to positive emotions like happiness. PET scans as well as EEG and qEEG recordings show portions of the brain bulk up that produce happiness, wisdom, and peace.
1. John H. Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2010), 72–77.