I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Do you see? So if God is always present with us, we should learn to simply walk in His presence. When the Lord highlighted these things to me through His Word, I rested in the knowledge that He was with me, and I started to cultivate a conscious awareness of His presence. It felt like an epiphany to connect the dots between mindfulness and my Christian worldview. Read More: What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness emphasizes paying attention to our experiences in the present moment. As Christians we believe that God is with us in the present moment. The basic answer might sound simple enough: we consistently turn our thoughts to God. Usually, our minds are on everything but God. We think about the work we have to do, the plans we have to make, the chores and studies and everything that distracts us from God.
Christian mindfulness is simply a matter of recognizing His presence in all of it. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Every moment is an opportunity to connect with God and to give Him thanks for His loving, detailed involvement in our lives. But as with any spiritual discipline, it takes practice and repetition to make it a habit.
So here are 3 primary ways to practice Christian mindfulness. Meditation is one way to practice this. Meditation is like a workout for your attention muscles.
It trains you to focus your attention on one thing. When you get distracted by thoughts while meditating, you simply notice, and gently bring your mind back to what you were focusing on. When you meditate on a regular basis, it creates a new pattern or habit in your brain that you carry with you into your daily life.
It trains you to notice when your mind is distracted by thoughts or worries and to bring your focus back to the present moment. You can try mindfulness meditation, in which you focus on something in your present experience like your breath or your environment. Or try Christian meditation, by focusing on a passage of Scripture, reflecting on the words, and conversing with God about it. Read more about how to use mindfulness meditation as a Christian in my article: How Christian Meditation and Mindfulness Work Together.
Maybe you can take a quick break in the middle of your work day between finishing one task and starting the next. Thank Him for being with you, and talk with Him for a moment. Take a couple of deep breaths, and simply rest in the knowledge that He is with you right now, before going on with your day with a continued awareness of His presence.
A short mindful pause is as easy as that, but there are a lot of other similar exercises you can do in less than 5 minutes. For a list of Christian mindfulness exercises that you can do as short, mindful check-ins throughout the day, read this post: 7 Christian Mindfulness Exercises to See God in Daily Life.
I highly recommend a little book that played a big part in my journey towards this idea of Christian mindfulness. The Practice of the Presence of God is a collection of letters and conversations with a 17th-century French monk named Brother Lawrence.
The book explains how he learned to commune with God throughout his everyday activities: both when he was praying and when he was working.
Brother Lawrence spent a lot of time cooking and cleaning in the kitchen, and he was just as aware of the presence of God with him in these menial tasks as he was in prayer.
It reminds me of one research study that found that washing dishes mindfully can help you feel more relaxed and less stressed Source. But having experienced this, I really think that this simple, mindful awareness of God can give us a new perspective of the otherwise mundane tasks in our daily lives. The Mindful Christian. The Practice of the Presence of God. Mindfulness and Christian Spirituality. Understanding — Ability to grasp the meaning of the teachings of the Church.
This gift of the Holy Spirit helps us to be tolerant and sympathetic of others. It helps us sense when someone is hurting or in need of compassion.
Wisdom - Knowing the right choice to make to live a holy life. Disciples who live in the Spirit and hold to the truth became, like the Son, an icon of the Father Jn As they shared that truth with others, they gave any who believed the power to become an icon of the divine Jn Throughout all the writings attributed to John, love is the surest sign of God at work.
God saved the world through love by sending his Son as an expiation for our sins. Just so, when Christians act in love, they not only make God present; they allow Christ to continue his ministry through their actions. Disciples today must continue the same task. The Spirit fills the world, and many feel the presence of God but lack the words to understand what God is doing. We who know Christ must, like Peter, help others understand their experience.
We can do that only when we live by the Gospel that Jesus learned from the Father and passed on to us. Then we are rightly called his friends. Your source for jobs, books, retreats, and much more. Faith The Word April 30, issue. Michael Simone April 20, Michael Simone Michael Simone, S.
0コメント