March 9, 2024 • 28 mins
When life's relentless pace left me gasping for air, it was the ancient practice of mindfulness that offered a lifeline. This episode is a walk through the transformative power of mindfulness against the backdrop of a Christian life, where I share the profound impact an online course from Brown University had on my journey to emotional and physical rejuvenation. As I open up about seeking solace in scriptures from Philippians and Romans, discover how these words align with the principles of mindfulness to guide us toward a life of harmony and peace, even amid the world's chaos.
The conversation then shifts to an intimate reflection on a simple, yet powerful meditation technique that can be woven into daily life. This episode stands as an invitation to explore the sanctuary that mindfulness can provide, while recognizing our worth as children of God, and embracing the strength that faith and awareness can bring to our lives.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome back.
This is episode four of Willyou Walk With Me?
Welcome.
How are you doing today?
What do you bring of yourselfto our time together this day?
Well, it may be morning, day orevening hey, it may be the
middle of the night when you'relistening to this but whatever
(00:32):
time it is, take a minute tothink about this and, if you
have a pad or pen and pencil,write down a word or two about
how you feel this very moment.
When someone asks us thisquestion, how are you today?
Most people respond in one oftwo ways either yeah, I'm fine,
(00:53):
I'm okay, and in your headyou're going not really.
Or you really don't want toknow.
When we identify with ouremotions too strongly, we can
get lost in them.
When we think our words defineus, we can start to judge
ourselves.
And when we can't seem to goeasy on ourselves and forgive
(01:18):
ourselves for the mistakes wemake, then we can begin to feel
bitter, withdraw and think thatwe just can't keep up.
The mind is bigger than this.
Life is bigger than this.
How we come to a place ofacknowledging this?
(01:40):
One of the ways is through thepractice of mindfulness or
awareness.
We might approach this as aparticular way of thinking, as a
philosophy of faith or with noofficial identification for it
at all.
This process of beingintentionally aware, this place
(02:03):
of introspection.
In it we can see a thought forwhat we choose to do with it and
then let it go with ease.
We also can get so caught up inthe spinning wheel of life that
the goal just seems toaccomplish all the things on our
daily list and then collapse infront of the television or go
(02:23):
to bed exhausted, only to get upin the morning and start the
whole thing again.
As I shared with you in my firstepisode, for me it seemed that
around the fall of 2022, someoneturned the switch of life on
and everyone was trying to makeup for lost time.
(02:43):
I felt like I was being thrownout into the world and told to
pick up where I left off twoyears before.
I also felt like I hadn't beento the gym in over two years
which is true and I was wildlyout of shape emotionally and
physically.
I consistently felt like I wastrying to catch my breath,
(03:05):
getting back into in-personliving.
Well, now it's March 2024 and Iam back in the gym, physically
and mentally, and I'm gettingback in shape, but life still
happens and pressure builds and,as well as many others, we are
(03:26):
all pulled in differentdirections.
Some I love to go towards, someI say to myself why do I have
to do this?
I knew I wanted more.
I wanted to experience formyself what it says in
Philippians 4-7,.
This is from the AmplifiedBible, and the peace of God, the
(03:48):
peace that reassures the heart,the peace which transcends all
understanding, the peace whichstands guard over your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus, isyours, it's mine.
Well, I want to get me some ofthat peace.
(04:08):
I felt God saying to me I'mtrying to give you peace, but
you're just not taking it.
Well, what in the world doesthat mean?
How am I supposed to receivepeace?
Well, I will just pray more,and that's a good idea.
I'll read more scripture that'sa good idea too.
(04:32):
But I wanted something more.
I needed transformation.
So God led me to reflect onRomans 12, 1-4, and again from
the Amplified translation.
Therefore, I urge you, brothersand sisters, by the mercies of
God, to present your bodiesdedicating yourselves as a
(04:56):
living sacrifice, holy andwell-pleasing to God, which is
your act of worship, and do notbe conformed to this world any
longer, but be transformed andprogressively changed by the
renewing of your mind, so thatyou may prove for yourselves
(05:18):
what the will of God is, thewill that is good, acceptable
and perfect in his plan andpurpose for you.
There's that word again you.
That means me.
Well, I thought to myself, ifGod is calling me to present
(05:40):
myself as a living sacrifice,hmm well, I don't really think
I'm doing that.
Don't misunderstand me.
I'm not putting myself down.
I love my life.
I'm grateful to God for all theblessings I have.
But life is crazy, chaotic.
Now, sometimes crazy createsbeauty, sometimes crazy creates
(06:05):
anxiety, which leads to beingdepressed.
Could make one question theirfaith, isolate themselves.
You know the story.
Well, some people say just givesome things up, free up some of
your time.
Well, that could be the answer.
But what do I give up and whatis really the issue?
(06:28):
The question how do I live mylife that I may be fulfilled and
give glory to God?
That's the real question, and Iknew in my heart of hearts that
if I could work towardsanswering that, I would have
(06:50):
everything that I need.
God heard my prayers, as Godalways does.
On Facebook.
One day I saw a post from BrownUniversity about something
called mindfulness.
It was an eight-week classonline but it was kind of
stretching my budget so I saidsome other time.
(07:11):
Then, a few days later, when Iwas super stressed and not very
nice toward others or myself, Isaw that post again.
Can we say God calling?
I signed up and my journeytoward transformation was
beginning.
In 1979, dr John Cabot Zinnfounded the mindfulness-based
(07:36):
stress reduction center.
Mindfulness is an ancientBuddhist practice that has
compelling relevance for ourpresent day lives.
This relevance has nothing todo with Buddhism per se or
becoming a Buddhist, but it haseverything to do with waking up,
finding authentic ways to livein dynamic and creative harmony
(07:58):
with oneself in the world.
It has to do with examining whowe are and questioning our view
of the world and our place init, and with cultivating
appreciation for the fullness ofeach precious moment we are
alive.
Most of all, it has to do withbeing present, recognizing and
(08:23):
being in touch with the depthsof your original mind and heart,
and being a way of sanity,kindness and peace in a
sometimes crazy and painfulworld.
The systematic cultivation ofmindfulness through formal
meditation practice wakes us upto the fact that our lives
(08:46):
unfold only in moments and if weare not fully present for many
of those moments, we may notonly miss what is most valuable
in our lives, but also fail torealize the richness and the
depth of our possibilities forgrowth and transformation.
Oh and, by the way, if you werewondering, the word Buddha
(09:11):
simply means one who is awake tothe actuality of things,
including the beauty of one'sown, true as deepest nature.
So mindfulness will notconflict with any beliefs or
traditions.
As we walk together, it bringsme joy to offer scripture,
reflection and practices thatcan help bring peace and a
(09:34):
closer walk with God and aholistic approach to living in
the present moment.
But as a reminder, I say thisto you now and at the end of
every episode working with aprofessional therapist and or
spiritual director is veryimportant.
Tools such as mindfulness andothers we will explore together
(09:55):
bring additional ways to enhancethe journey and discover the
beauty of who we are Now.
Some of you might be wonderingwhat the difference between
mindfulness and meditation is.
I call them cousins.
They both work toward a deeperinner focus and obtaining a
state of peace and relaxation,but they come at it from
(10:17):
different ways.
Mindfulness and meditation aresimilar and linked.
Mindfulness is sometimesreferred to as a type of
meditation, and vice versa.
The exercises work hand in hand, says Peter Brooks, a
professional meditation andmindfulness teacher based in
(10:38):
Baltimore.
You can be mindful, he says,without being in a state of
meditation, but you cannot be ina state of meditation without
being mindful.
Still, the terms aren'tinterchangeable as there are key
distinctions between them.
That's why I call them cousins.
(10:59):
Mindfulness can be practicedanywhere.
Mindfulness means beingintentionally aware of the
present moment, with an attitudeof openness and acceptance.
Mindfulness can be practicedanywhere, anytime.
You can practice mindfulnesswhen you are eating, showering,
walking in a quiet private placeor with a group of people,
(11:25):
depending on where you are andwhat is going on around you.
Practicing mindfulness mayrequire refocusing your
attention when it wanders.
Meditation, on the other hand,requires intentional focus.
Meditation can refer to mentaltraining techniques such as
(11:45):
guided or led by someone else,movement based or still focusing
on breathing, in ways such asTai Chi and or visual meditation
.
The resulting goal of thetechniques, whatever you choose,
is a deep relaxation thatconnects you to a deeper inner
(12:07):
sense of yourself.
Some of you may be saying whereis Jesus in all of this?
What does God say about it?
Did Jesus ever practice thesethings.
The scripture clearly statesthat Jesus did meditate.
He always went to a place to bealone and to talk in his own
(12:30):
way to God, the Creator, god hisFather.
And as that is one of the olderpractices, let's look at some
scripture that shows thesepoints.
You could turn to Joshua 1.8.
Take this book of the law alwayson your lips.
Meditate on it day and night sothat you may be careful to do
(12:53):
everything written in it.
New international version, andit's very clear.
Meditate on it day and night.
Psalm 119, verse 23,.
Even though princes sit andtalk to one another against me,
your servant meditates on yourstatutes.
The Amplified Bible.
(13:15):
It's also very clear.
The word meditation is rightthere.
Colossians 3, 1-2,.
Therefore, if you have beenraised with Christ to a new life
, sharing His resurrection fromthe dead, keep seeking the
things that are above whereChrist is seated at the right
hand of God.
(13:35):
Set your mind and keep focusedhabitually on the things above,
the heavenly things, and not onthe things that are of earth,
which are only temporal innature.
Again from the Amplified Bible,this has an implied discussion
(13:55):
about mindfulness and meditationbeing aware, keeping focused,
setting your mind on somethingand then being aware.
Now back to my story.
I signed up for the class whichwas offered on Zoom.
It was wonderful learning withpeople from all around the world
(14:16):
.
Each week we met for threehours on a Tuesday morning and
practiced mindfulness.
By the way, remember the wordpractice, we'll get back to it.
I learned a lot of thingsthrough those eight weeks and
after it was over, a small groupof my classmates wanted to
continue to meet and to thisvery day, we meet every Tuesday
(14:37):
morning for a half hour tocontinue our practice.
A much smaller group of people.
They are, and they've become myfriends, blessed companions on
the journey.
My Tuesday morning practice,along with other times of
practice during the week, havebeen going on for the past seven
months.
I didn't think a whole lotabout how the practice sessions
(15:00):
might be transforming me.
I just enjoyed them.
It's like a mini vacation, achance to focus on my breathing
and heightened awareness,feeling the closeness of God.
Well, within the past few weeks, something became very clear to
me.
The past month or so has beenvery full of many things, some
(15:23):
things I love to do, otherthings that caused me a whole
lot of stress.
I never seemed to get mycalendar in order.
One night I actually quadrupledbooked myself.
That was not fun and this isnot the first time in my life
this has happened Just beingoverbooked, overwhelmed, and if
(15:45):
I'm honest with myself, it won'tbe the last time either.
But what is different?
What is different is that I wasseeing glimpses of light in all
the chaos, the light of Christthat invited me to more and more
practice time.
Five minutes here, five minutesthere.
(16:07):
You see, practice is the key toall of this.
Any one particular mindfulnessor meditation practice can be a
wonderful experience, butintentional practice creates
transformation.
I noticed that many times thispast month.
I was able to invest five orten minutes and become aware of
(16:32):
my feelings.
Instead of bottling them up, Iwas able to express, to realize,
to let them go if needed, orkeep them close to help me move
on.
And once I acknowledged thosefeelings and were made aware of
(16:53):
the decisions I was making basedon them, I could, if needed,
make new choices or continue onthe road that I was on.
I felt so much better aboutmyself.
The craziness didn't go away,but I felt wonderful.
My calendar it was still a mess, but I felt at peace.
(17:18):
I realized that I could get tothis place because for months
and months I had been practicingand when I needed to go to a
place in my mind where I knewGod was waiting there to care
for me, I could get there muchfaster and have more time in
that mindful, meditative state.
(17:41):
So you may be wondering,actually, how do you do this?
And it's a little tough on apodcast because we don't
actually want dead air.
But I'm going to read to youfrom a book which I recommend,
called Practicing Mindfulness 75Essential Meditations to Reduce
Stress, improve Mental Healthand Find Peace in the Every Day,
(18:02):
by Matthew Sokolov.
I'm just going to read a fewsentences.
The beauty of a podcast is youcould start and stop this and do
the actual practice.
It's called finding the breath.
The breath, the ruach, thespirit of God in each and every
(18:24):
one of us is key to our veryexistence.
When we have breath, we havepower.
When we are gasping for breath,we are losing power.
So if you can invest fiveminutes and do a breath
(18:46):
meditation, mindfulnessexperience, so what you need to
do to get started is to find acomfortable position for your
body and, if you're comfortable,allow your eyes to close.
If not, find a place where youcould fix your gaze upon.
(19:10):
And here's where meditation andmindfulness come together in
this practice.
First, bring your awareness toyour abdomen and focus on how
your breath interacts with themovement of your abdomen, rising
and falling.
(19:31):
And then move your awareness upto your chest, expanding,
contracting.
Think about your lungs, feelthe movement.
And then bring your attentionto your nostrils, feeling the
(19:56):
breath.
It may be more subtle here, butthink about how your breath
might tickle your nose as youbreathe in and it might be
slightly warmer as you breatheout.
Now, that was very quick.
I would take at least twominutes between each of those
three breath experiences.
(20:20):
Allow yourself, in themeditative state, to relax and,
in the mindful state, to beaware of how your breath
experience is in each of thosethree things the abdomen, the
chest and the nostrils.
Think about how breath giveslife.
(20:46):
You may think to yourself boy,this is easy and it is.
You do it naturally anyway.
But when you do the practiceand your mind calms down and
focuses, over time you can bringthat practice into situations
(21:10):
in your life to help you calmdown, focus, strengthen your
self-confidence, focusing moreon positive than anxiety and
negative.
In the end, this is all aboutrealizing that you are a child
(21:33):
of God.
You are worth spending timewith getting to know and caring
so you can reach your highestpotential being care of yourself
.
Through therapy and practicessuch as mindfulness motivate
positive behavior and reduceharmful behavior.
(21:55):
They empower us to take risksand to say no to things that
don't work for us.
It is a key component ofself-compassion and helps us to
take care of ourselves bylowering stress while striving
(22:17):
for success.
It reduces the levels ofnegativity and increases more
and more positive energy.
To many people, this discussionon mindfulness and meditation is
very new and it can sound scary.
(22:38):
I understand that Anything newbrings on fear.
What will I find out?
What will I think about?
What will I notice?
Do I even want to go there?
Remember this God loves you.
This is a tool that God hasprovided for all of us.
It may work.
(22:59):
It may not work, but it's worthtrying.
You are worth trying it, for Iinvite you to trust the process
that brought you to even listento this podcast today.
If you are here, then you weremeant to be here.
(23:19):
God cares for you so much andhe is welcoming you into a
deeper relationship.
God is asking you to trust andtake steps toward healing.
And John Kabat-Zinn, the founderof mindfulness.
He wrote in his book Whereveryou Go, there you Are something
(23:45):
about trust.
Trust is a feeling ofconfidence or conviction that
things can unfold within adependable framework that
embodies order and integrity.
We may not always understandwhat is happening to us or to
one another or what is occurringin a particular situation, but
(24:06):
if we trust ourselves or another, or we place our trust in a
process or an ideal, we can findpowerful stabilizing elements
that embrace security, balanceand openness within trusting
that in some way not based onnaivete, but the intuition that
(24:32):
guides and protect us from harmor self-destruction towards a
trusting heart.
So it might be good to beginlooking into what we can trust
in ourselves.
We don't immediately know whatis trustworthy in ourselves.
We may need to look deeper, todwell a little longer in
(24:56):
stillness and being.
Perhaps we could experimentwith trusting the present moment
a bit more, accepting whateverit is we find ourselves feeling
or thinking or seeing, preciselybecause it is in the present
moment.
If we can stand here byintention and take our seat in
(25:21):
meditation for a stretch of time, even a short stretch by the
clock, and let go of the fulltexture of the now, we may find
that this very moment as it isis worthy of our trust, and I
would add to that we have a Godwho loves us deeply,
(25:47):
passionately, and is alwaysextending God's hand out to us,
inviting us to trust the process.
I hope you enjoyed our episodetoday and I want to give you a
preview of our next episode,which will come out in April.
You will get a chance toactually meet my producers,
(26:10):
andrew and Catherine, and we aregoing to talk about a totally
different type of path on thejourney toward wholeness, how
tabletop games and therapy arerelated.
I look forward to having themjoin me, and I know you will
enjoy it as well.
My prayers go with you untilthe next time we meet.
(26:31):
Invest in yourself, take timeto practice and see where the
Lord leads you.
You are worth it.
I'm inviting you to walk withme on this journey, a journey to
know the healing, life-giving,life-restoring power of God
through His Son Jesus and thepower of the Holy Spirit.
(26:53):
I would be honored to walk withyou.
I hope that you will join me inour next episode and I want to
be sure that you know that ifyou are in need of professional
help which I said and willcontinue to say I treasure in my
own journey and you don't knowwho to talk to, you can contact
the National Suicide PreventionLifeline, accessible nationwide
(27:15):
by dialing 1-800-273-8255.
And also the three-digit 988Suicide and Crisis Lifeline,
designed to be a memorable andquick number that connects
people who are in any form ofmental health crisis to a
(27:35):
trained mental healthprofessional.
If you would like to reach outto us, please send a note at
podcast at willyouwalkwithmecomand I'd be happy to answer you.
Thank you again to Andrew andCatherine and to all of you for
listening.
I pray that each of you see thehand of Jesus extended,
reaching out to you, knowingthat you are a child of God and
(28:00):
can grab on to a blessed partnerfor the journey forward.
See you next time.
Welcome back.
This is episode four of Willyou Walk With Me?
Welcome.
How are you doing today?
What do you bring of yourselfto our time together this day?
Well, it may be morning, day orevening hey, it may be the
middle of the night when you'relistening to this but whatever
(00:32):
time it is, take a minute tothink about this and, if you
have a pad or pen and pencil,write down a word or two about
how you feel this very moment.
When someone asks us thisquestion, how are you today?
Most people respond in one oftwo ways either yeah, I'm fine,
(00:53):
I'm okay, and in your headyou're going not really.
Or you really don't want toknow.
When we identify with ouremotions too strongly, we can
get lost in them.
When we think our words defineus, we can start to judge
ourselves.
And when we can't seem to goeasy on ourselves and forgive
(01:18):
ourselves for the mistakes wemake, then we can begin to feel
bitter, withdraw and think thatwe just can't keep up.
The mind is bigger than this.
Life is bigger than this.
How we come to a place ofacknowledging this?
(01:40):
One of the ways is through thepractice of mindfulness or
awareness.
We might approach this as aparticular way of thinking, as a
philosophy of faith or with noofficial identification for it
at all.
This process of beingintentionally aware, this place
(02:03):
of introspection.
In it we can see a thought forwhat we choose to do with it and
then let it go with ease.
We also can get so caught up inthe spinning wheel of life that
the goal just seems toaccomplish all the things on our
daily list and then collapse infront of the television or go
(02:23):
to bed exhausted, only to get upin the morning and start the
whole thing again.
As I shared with you in my firstepisode, for me it seemed that
around the fall of 2022, someoneturned the switch of life on
and everyone was trying to makeup for lost time.
(02:43):
I felt like I was being thrownout into the world and told to
pick up where I left off twoyears before.
I also felt like I hadn't beento the gym in over two years
which is true and I was wildlyout of shape emotionally and
physically.
I consistently felt like I wastrying to catch my breath,
(03:05):
getting back into in-personliving.
Well, now it's March 2024 and Iam back in the gym, physically
and mentally, and I'm gettingback in shape, but life still
happens and pressure builds and,as well as many others, we are
(03:26):
all pulled in differentdirections.
Some I love to go towards, someI say to myself why do I have
to do this?
I knew I wanted more.
I wanted to experience formyself what it says in
Philippians 4-7,.
This is from the AmplifiedBible, and the peace of God, the
(03:48):
peace that reassures the heart,the peace which transcends all
understanding, the peace whichstands guard over your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus, isyours, it's mine.
Well, I want to get me some ofthat peace.
(04:08):
I felt God saying to me I'mtrying to give you peace, but
you're just not taking it.
Well, what in the world doesthat mean?
How am I supposed to receivepeace?
Well, I will just pray more,and that's a good idea.
I'll read more scripture that'sa good idea too.
(04:32):
But I wanted something more.
I needed transformation.
So God led me to reflect onRomans 12, 1-4, and again from
the Amplified translation.
Therefore, I urge you, brothersand sisters, by the mercies of
God, to present your bodiesdedicating yourselves as a
(04:56):
living sacrifice, holy andwell-pleasing to God, which is
your act of worship, and do notbe conformed to this world any
longer, but be transformed andprogressively changed by the
renewing of your mind, so thatyou may prove for yourselves
(05:18):
what the will of God is, thewill that is good, acceptable
and perfect in his plan andpurpose for you.
There's that word again you.
That means me.
Well, I thought to myself, ifGod is calling me to present
(05:40):
myself as a living sacrifice,hmm well, I don't really think
I'm doing that.
Don't misunderstand me.
I'm not putting myself down.
I love my life.
I'm grateful to God for all theblessings I have.
But life is crazy, chaotic.
Now, sometimes crazy createsbeauty, sometimes crazy creates
(06:05):
anxiety, which leads to beingdepressed.
Could make one question theirfaith, isolate themselves.
You know the story.
Well, some people say just givesome things up, free up some of
your time.
Well, that could be the answer.
But what do I give up and whatis really the issue?
(06:28):
The question how do I live mylife that I may be fulfilled and
give glory to God?
That's the real question, and Iknew in my heart of hearts that
if I could work towardsanswering that, I would have
(06:50):
everything that I need.
God heard my prayers, as Godalways does.
On Facebook.
One day I saw a post from BrownUniversity about something
called mindfulness.
It was an eight-week classonline but it was kind of
stretching my budget so I saidsome other time.
(07:11):
Then, a few days later, when Iwas super stressed and not very
nice toward others or myself, Isaw that post again.
Can we say God calling?
I signed up and my journeytoward transformation was
beginning.
In 1979, dr John Cabot Zinnfounded the mindfulness-based
(07:36):
stress reduction center.
Mindfulness is an ancientBuddhist practice that has
compelling relevance for ourpresent day lives.
This relevance has nothing todo with Buddhism per se or
becoming a Buddhist, but it haseverything to do with waking up,
finding authentic ways to livein dynamic and creative harmony
(07:58):
with oneself in the world.
It has to do with examining whowe are and questioning our view
of the world and our place init, and with cultivating
appreciation for the fullness ofeach precious moment we are
alive.
Most of all, it has to do withbeing present, recognizing and
(08:23):
being in touch with the depthsof your original mind and heart,
and being a way of sanity,kindness and peace in a
sometimes crazy and painfulworld.
The systematic cultivation ofmindfulness through formal
meditation practice wakes us upto the fact that our lives
(08:46):
unfold only in moments and if weare not fully present for many
of those moments, we may notonly miss what is most valuable
in our lives, but also fail torealize the richness and the
depth of our possibilities forgrowth and transformation.
Oh and, by the way, if you werewondering, the word Buddha
(09:11):
simply means one who is awake tothe actuality of things,
including the beauty of one'sown, true as deepest nature.
So mindfulness will notconflict with any beliefs or
traditions.
As we walk together, it bringsme joy to offer scripture,
reflection and practices thatcan help bring peace and a
(09:34):
closer walk with God and aholistic approach to living in
the present moment.
But as a reminder, I say thisto you now and at the end of
every episode working with aprofessional therapist and or
spiritual director is veryimportant.
Tools such as mindfulness andothers we will explore together
(09:55):
bring additional ways to enhancethe journey and discover the
beauty of who we are Now.
Some of you might be wonderingwhat the difference between
mindfulness and meditation is.
I call them cousins.
They both work toward a deeperinner focus and obtaining a
state of peace and relaxation,but they come at it from
(10:17):
different ways.
Mindfulness and meditation aresimilar and linked.
Mindfulness is sometimesreferred to as a type of
meditation, and vice versa.
The exercises work hand in hand, says Peter Brooks, a
professional meditation andmindfulness teacher based in
(10:38):
Baltimore.
You can be mindful, he says,without being in a state of
meditation, but you cannot be ina state of meditation without
being mindful.
Still, the terms aren'tinterchangeable as there are key
distinctions between them.
That's why I call them cousins.
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Mindfulness can be practicedanywhere.
Mindfulness means beingintentionally aware of the
present moment, with an attitudeof openness and acceptance.
Mindfulness can be practicedanywhere, anytime.
You can practice mindfulnesswhen you are eating, showering,
walking in a quiet private placeor with a group of people,
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depending on where you are andwhat is going on around you.
Practicing mindfulness mayrequire refocusing your
attention when it wanders.
Meditation, on the other hand,requires intentional focus.
Meditation can refer to mentaltraining techniques such as
(11:45):
guided or led by someone else,movement based or still focusing
on breathing, in ways such asTai Chi and or visual meditation
.
The resulting goal of thetechniques, whatever you choose,
is a deep relaxation thatconnects you to a deeper inner
(12:07):
sense of yourself.
Some of you may be saying whereis Jesus in all of this?
What does God say about it?
Did Jesus ever practice thesethings.
The scripture clearly statesthat Jesus did meditate.
He always went to a place to bealone and to talk in his own
(12:30):
way to God, the Creator, god hisFather.
And as that is one of the olderpractices, let's look at some
scripture that shows thesepoints.
You could turn to Joshua 1.8.
Take this book of the law alwayson your lips.
Meditate on it day and night sothat you may be careful to do
(12:53):
everything written in it.
New international version, andit's very clear.
Meditate on it day and night.
Psalm 119, verse 23,.
Even though princes sit andtalk to one another against me,
your servant meditates on yourstatutes.
The Amplified Bible.
(13:15):
It's also very clear.
The word meditation is rightthere.
Colossians 3, 1-2,.
Therefore, if you have beenraised with Christ to a new life
, sharing His resurrection fromthe dead, keep seeking the
things that are above whereChrist is seated at the right
hand of God.
(13:35):
Set your mind and keep focusedhabitually on the things above,
the heavenly things, and not onthe things that are of earth,
which are only temporal innature.
Again from the Amplified Bible,this has an implied discussion
(13:55):
about mindfulness and meditationbeing aware, keeping focused,
setting your mind on somethingand then being aware.
Now back to my story.
I signed up for the class whichwas offered on Zoom.
It was wonderful learning withpeople from all around the world
(14:16):
.
Each week we met for threehours on a Tuesday morning and
practiced mindfulness.
By the way, remember the wordpractice, we'll get back to it.
I learned a lot of thingsthrough those eight weeks and
after it was over, a small groupof my classmates wanted to
continue to meet and to thisvery day, we meet every Tuesday
(14:37):
morning for a half hour tocontinue our practice.
A much smaller group of people.
They are, and they've become myfriends, blessed companions on
the journey.
My Tuesday morning practice,along with other times of
practice during the week, havebeen going on for the past seven
months.
I didn't think a whole lotabout how the practice sessions
(15:00):
might be transforming me.
I just enjoyed them.
It's like a mini vacation, achance to focus on my breathing
and heightened awareness,feeling the closeness of God.
Well, within the past few weeks, something became very clear to
me.
The past month or so has beenvery full of many things, some
(15:23):
things I love to do, otherthings that caused me a whole
lot of stress.
I never seemed to get mycalendar in order.
One night I actually quadrupledbooked myself.
That was not fun and this isnot the first time in my life
this has happened Just beingoverbooked, overwhelmed, and if
(15:45):
I'm honest with myself, it won'tbe the last time either.
But what is different?
What is different is that I wasseeing glimpses of light in all
the chaos, the light of Christthat invited me to more and more
practice time.
Five minutes here, five minutesthere.
(16:07):
You see, practice is the key toall of this.
Any one particular mindfulnessor meditation practice can be a
wonderful experience, butintentional practice creates
transformation.
I noticed that many times thispast month.
I was able to invest five orten minutes and become aware of
(16:32):
my feelings.
Instead of bottling them up, Iwas able to express, to realize,
to let them go if needed, orkeep them close to help me move
on.
And once I acknowledged thosefeelings and were made aware of
(16:53):
the decisions I was making basedon them, I could, if needed,
make new choices or continue onthe road that I was on.
I felt so much better aboutmyself.
The craziness didn't go away,but I felt wonderful.
My calendar it was still a mess, but I felt at peace.
(17:18):
I realized that I could get tothis place because for months
and months I had been practicingand when I needed to go to a
place in my mind where I knewGod was waiting there to care
for me, I could get there muchfaster and have more time in
that mindful, meditative state.
(17:41):
So you may be wondering,actually, how do you do this?
And it's a little tough on apodcast because we don't
actually want dead air.
But I'm going to read to youfrom a book which I recommend,
called Practicing Mindfulness 75Essential Meditations to Reduce
Stress, improve Mental Healthand Find Peace in the Every Day,
(18:02):
by Matthew Sokolov.
I'm just going to read a fewsentences.
The beauty of a podcast is youcould start and stop this and do
the actual practice.
It's called finding the breath.
The breath, the ruach, thespirit of God in each and every
(18:24):
one of us is key to our veryexistence.
When we have breath, we havepower.
When we are gasping for breath,we are losing power.
So if you can invest fiveminutes and do a breath
(18:46):
meditation, mindfulnessexperience, so what you need to
do to get started is to find acomfortable position for your
body and, if you're comfortable,allow your eyes to close.
If not, find a place where youcould fix your gaze upon.
(19:10):
And here's where meditation andmindfulness come together in
this practice.
First, bring your awareness toyour abdomen and focus on how
your breath interacts with themovement of your abdomen, rising
and falling.
(19:31):
And then move your awareness upto your chest, expanding,
contracting.
Think about your lungs, feelthe movement.
And then bring your attentionto your nostrils, feeling the
(19:56):
breath.
It may be more subtle here, butthink about how your breath
might tickle your nose as youbreathe in and it might be
slightly warmer as you breatheout.
Now, that was very quick.
I would take at least twominutes between each of those
three breath experiences.
(20:20):
Allow yourself, in themeditative state, to relax and,
in the mindful state, to beaware of how your breath
experience is in each of thosethree things the abdomen, the
chest and the nostrils.
Think about how breath giveslife.
(20:46):
You may think to yourself boy,this is easy and it is.
You do it naturally anyway.
But when you do the practiceand your mind calms down and
focuses, over time you can bringthat practice into situations
(21:10):
in your life to help you calmdown, focus, strengthen your
self-confidence, focusing moreon positive than anxiety and
negative.
In the end, this is all aboutrealizing that you are a child
(21:33):
of God.
You are worth spending timewith getting to know and caring
so you can reach your highestpotential being care of yourself
.
Through therapy and practicessuch as mindfulness motivate
positive behavior and reduceharmful behavior.
(21:55):
They empower us to take risksand to say no to things that
don't work for us.
It is a key component ofself-compassion and helps us to
take care of ourselves bylowering stress while striving
(22:17):
for success.
It reduces the levels ofnegativity and increases more
and more positive energy.
To many people, this discussionon mindfulness and meditation is
very new and it can sound scary.
(22:38):
I understand that Anything newbrings on fear.
What will I find out?
What will I think about?
What will I notice?
Do I even want to go there?
Remember this God loves you.
This is a tool that God hasprovided for all of us.
It may work.
(22:59):
It may not work, but it's worthtrying.
You are worth trying it, for Iinvite you to trust the process
that brought you to even listento this podcast today.
If you are here, then you weremeant to be here.
(23:19):
God cares for you so much andhe is welcoming you into a
deeper relationship.
God is asking you to trust andtake steps toward healing.
And John Kabat-Zinn, the founderof mindfulness.
He wrote in his book Whereveryou Go, there you Are something
(23:45):
about trust.
Trust is a feeling ofconfidence or conviction that
things can unfold within adependable framework that
embodies order and integrity.
We may not always understandwhat is happening to us or to
one another or what is occurringin a particular situation, but
(24:06):
if we trust ourselves or another, or we place our trust in a
process or an ideal, we can findpowerful stabilizing elements
that embrace security, balanceand openness within trusting
that in some way not based onnaivete, but the intuition that
(24:32):
guides and protect us from harmor self-destruction towards a
trusting heart.
So it might be good to beginlooking into what we can trust
in ourselves.
We don't immediately know whatis trustworthy in ourselves.
We may need to look deeper, todwell a little longer in
(24:56):
stillness and being.
Perhaps we could experimentwith trusting the present moment
a bit more, accepting whateverit is we find ourselves feeling
or thinking or seeing, preciselybecause it is in the present
moment.
If we can stand here byintention and take our seat in
(25:21):
meditation for a stretch of time, even a short stretch by the
clock, and let go of the fulltexture of the now, we may find
that this very moment as it isis worthy of our trust, and I
would add to that we have a Godwho loves us deeply,
(25:47):
passionately, and is alwaysextending God's hand out to us,
inviting us to trust the process.
I hope you enjoyed our episodetoday and I want to give you a
preview of our next episode,which will come out in April.
You will get a chance toactually meet my producers,
(26:10):
andrew and Catherine, and we aregoing to talk about a totally
different type of path on thejourney toward wholeness, how
tabletop games and therapy arerelated.
I look forward to having themjoin me, and I know you will
enjoy it as well.
My prayers go with you untilthe next time we meet.
(26:31):
Invest in yourself, take timeto practice and see where the
Lord leads you.
You are worth it.
I'm inviting you to walk withme on this journey, a journey to
know the healing, life-giving,life-restoring power of God
through His Son Jesus and thepower of the Holy Spirit.
(26:53):
I would be honored to walk withyou.
I hope that you will join me inour next episode and I want to
be sure that you know that ifyou are in need of professional
help which I said and willcontinue to say I treasure in my
own journey and you don't knowwho to talk to, you can contact
the National Suicide PreventionLifeline, accessible nationwide
(27:15):
by dialing 1-800-273-8255.
And also the three-digit 988Suicide and Crisis Lifeline,
designed to be a memorable andquick number that connects
people who are in any form ofmental health crisis to a
(27:35):
trained mental healthprofessional.
If you would like to reach outto us, please send a note at
podcast at willyouwalkwithmecomand I'd be happy to answer you.
Thank you again to Andrew andCatherine and to all of you for
listening.
I pray that each of you see thehand of Jesus extended,
reaching out to you, knowingthat you are a child of God and
(28:00):
can grab on to a blessed partnerfor the journey forward.
See you next time.
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