Brad4d Savasana
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Our need for perfection can often constrict our prayer lives. We tell ourselves that we must have this posture, this sequence without interruption in order for our prayers to “work.” In reality, when we have a perfect intention—aligning our will to God’s—then it’s perfect.
Our emotions can often delude us into thinking that what we’re experiencing is eternal. Our emotions will fixate on a thought—good or bad—to the extent that we miss the uniqueness of each moment. Every moment something new is born. Every moment something dies or fades. We must learn to welcome what’s new and let go of what is fading.
When you plug in a lamp into the electric socket, does the lamp shine brighter if the energy is “positive?” It’s just energy. How we channel our energy through our emotions and thoughts can make it seem positive or negative. Even if energy is “positive” or “negative,” are we spreading lovingkindness when a Reiki master tells us to exhale “negative energy”?
Meditation techniques teach you how to train your mind, direct your thoughts, or simply observe your thoughts. Contemplation is about letting go of techniques and surrendering to God. We use the discipline of meditation to handle the chattering mind or craving senses so that our spirits can rest in contemplation.
Alabama Senator Katie Britt caught a lot of heat during her State of the Union response, particularly with her story about the woman who suffered from sex trafficking. Yet there are so many people suffering at this moment, including ourselves. We pray, “Have mercy on us and on the whole world” to ask God for mercy not only for us, but also for those who have no one to pray for us.
We can travel to exotic places to learn how to meditate, but what happens when we return? We sit in meditation and get disrupted by the many stirrings in our lives. We become reactive, demanding that the world caters to our demand for silence. Practicing meditation amidst the interruptions of our everyday lives cultivates non-reactivity. We learn how to be calm with the small disruptions so we can remain calm when our lives erupt in chaos.
When you experience something new, your senses and attention are engaged. It’s like falling in love. A spiritual awakening or born again experience can feel like that. But then the honeymoon ends, and you yearn for that sensation. You can grow bored and search for other methods to give you that same feeling. Rather than search for something new, that boredom is a call for a deeper relationship with God beyond the senses.
Everyone experiences things differently. You might have 10 people witness an event, yet each person extracts what they choose to see. We can easily miss new opportunities or paths when we only pay attention to the familiar or the grand. Something new might be waiting for you to notice it.
Self-care practices are critical to help us heal the wounds the world inflicts upon us. But turning in towards ourselves—incurvatus in se—can leave us closed off, stuck, and isolated from the world. As we begin to heal, we open ourselves up so we can do our part in healing the world.
No, yoga isn't a religion. Hindu is. However, yoga provides a framework to help you live a little more in line with your religion. American yoga teachers might mention the Yoga Sutras in their classes, and the sutras themselves give you tools how to reach union with the object of your desire. It's similar to what St. Teresa of Avila talks about in Interior Castle. The aim in yoga (and contemplation) is union or oneness. It's up to you with whom you want to be unified. Background music by Chris Collins at Indiemusicbox.com https://indiemusicbox.com.
A lot of courses, books, and workshops promise shortcuts to enlightenment or spiritual awakening. They bypass the challenging and the boring and stick to the sensual. Most of them appeal to some of our base desires, such as a desire for adoration or riches. Even if they achieve temporary liberation, it curves inward rather than outward. It perpetuates the self rather than serves the Self.
Social media is full of way too much noise. Not only are many of the posts full of distracted and anxiety-producing energy, but the comment section is often full of emotion-laden vitriol that lacks rational thought. All of this social media content and comments keep us in a state of shock and fear. No wonder we’re all suffering from anxiety and stress. Rather than respond with something impulsive, think again. Ask yourself, how will this post be received? Does this build bridges? And most of all, what does this say about my own character? Does this reflect who I really want to be?
Valentine’s Day can usher feelings of resentment for those who aren’t in a relationship. But this year, Valentine’s Day falls on the same day as Ash Wednesday, where Christians go to the spiritual desert and reflect on their relationship with God. We practice simplicity and do away with something we know gets in the way of our relationship with God. During Lent, every day is Valentine’s Day as we put our love and longing for The Beloved first.
How easily our emotions pull us out of control! It's one thing to feel an emotion, but it's another to let it run rampant in our brain. Add some impulsivity in there, and you've got yourself quite a conflict. Handling our emotions and impulsivity can be a difficult task, so that's why we turn to a stillness practice. This is training the mind to pause rather than react to the conflicts in your mind and in your world. Practicing stillness allows you to harness your emotions and impulsivity so you can use that energy to create positive, purposeful change without regret. Starting Sunday, February 18 at 7 a.m., I'll be leading a live, virtual Christian contemplative practice on the Insight Timer app. You can find a new, live contemplative practice each week by heading to my Insight Timer profile: insighttimer.com/brad4d_wellness https://insighttimer.com/brad4d_wellness
In our “go for it” impulsive culture, there’s little patience for things to ripen and arrive at the proper time. We want to seize the day out of enthusiasm, but sometimes the right choice hasn’t fully matured or materialized…yet. God’s promises are slow, and this can test our faith and patience. But perhaps that’s the point.
Social media and website analytics can tell creators which posts and pages get the most engagement. Marketers tell you to create more content similar to that so you can increase your audience. Rather than create content that is authentic and inspired, we’re tempted to create content that is simply about worldly profit. Meanwhile, the content and creators who are truly authentic remain on the periphery. We’re left with content that emphasizes worldly values and hedonistic behaviors.
Lent begins (of all days) on Valentine’s Day. Many people might give up drinking or sweets for Lent, which is fine because it serves as a reminder of God as you resist temptation. This year, I’m giving up political news for Lent. While it’s important to stay abreast of what’s going on in the world, many of us turn to political news only to have their ideas confirmed. Yet that leaves us not only bitter but also less compassionate towards those who might disagree with us. That’s not being very Christ-like. Lent is about walking with Jesus and removing any habits, behaviors, or objects that get in the way of loving God and one another.
Many books, courses, and videos promise quick fixes to finding peace and joy. There are no deep secrets to having joy and peace. Rather than gathering more knowledge or more methods to secure more joy in your life, it’s a matter of taking things away. It’s also a matter of realigning your life around the true source of joy and peace.
Politics and marketing often manipulate spirituality so it persuades us into believing what’s profitable for them. Then we’re blinded by fear and desire to the extent that they become idols. Our spiritual truth becomes watered down or even distorted by those who have something to gain from us. A spiritual revolution means rooting out idolatry, materialism, and fear and return to the virtues and values that are at the core of our spirituality. It’s about scrutinizing our own words and actions to see how they stand up to what we profess to believe.
How often have you found yourself leaping away from your meditation or prayer space when a great idea arrives? I’ve noticed when my distracted mind wants to have its way, a thought will arrive with urgency. I cut my time in centering prayer or meditation, thinking I must act immediately. Most times, it can wait. This cultivates patience and weakens impulsivity. If we just sit, we teach our busy minds to remain still.
Evangelists, theologians, and philosophers love to talk about God. Some will try too hard to convince you towards their point of view. But what does it say about their relationship with God? If you consider God like a spouse, how much time and energy do you spend talking about God rather than investing in the relationship itself? We can over-intellectualize God without spending much time in love.
Too many voices in this world promise us inner peace and happiness if we just buy this, read this “new” book, or enroll in this program that costs thousands of dollars. Did the Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, or Krishna demand money before they offered their wisdom? Regardless of your spiritual, religious, or political affiliation, spending some time in silence and self-reflection are two keys to living a healthy, joyful life. Although both practices are simple, they are also difficult because they require three things modern culture doesn’t like—patience, humility, and discipline.
After a turbulent weather event, you become humbly aware of the power of Nature. Even though many of us don’t recognize it on a daily basis, we’re connected to Nature on a spiritual level. St. Francis understood this in his Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon. Hear the words of this 13th century monk, who understood the importance of honoring nature well before we uttered the words, “climate change.”
The story of the Three Kings (or magi) fascinates me because it depicts deep spiritual seekers being led by faith. They dropped everything and followed a star. Then, transformed by what they saw, they took a different path home. We can use this story to contemplate our true calling. We can find meaning and purpose in our lives when we drop everything and follow the light.
Modern culture loves forward progress, but sometimes we can easily get swept up in the wrong direction. We get pulled by the expectations of others or our desires for approval. Yet if we spend time each day in stillness, savoring that inner silence, we’ll become more grounded in our purpose. We let God guide our path rather than the worldly vices.
Negative people can be tough to be around. Some people can’t exorcise their negative emotions and spread them to others. This can leave us lethargic, depressed, and disempowered. It’s up to us to recognize how other people’s energies can consume us and find ways to transform them.
How easily we forget the meaning of Christmas during this holiday season! Our energies become scattered as we rush to buy gifts for others and prepare elaborate meals. Our need to please others can cause us to forget what our souls are truly longing for. Take a moment to return to center and keep your eyes focused on The One who is coming.
When our lives are stuck, we demand God to change things. It can be frustrating when God doesn’t answer our prayers. We then get tempted to retreat, to backslide, rather than wait patiently for the light to come. Evelyn Underhill gives some gentle words of wisdom to help us wait.
To a certain degree, we all crave a little more power—power over others, power over our situations, power over ourselves. We know that craving worldly power can be futile because once we have it, it can easily be stolen. Worldly power is about competition. Worldly power strengthens the “I, me, and my” and ultimately results in isolation and loneliness. Instead, we use these three mystical powers to connect deep within, where we experience union with the world. This passage came to me from Awakin, and it’s attributed to Fred LaMott.
The word “repent” really is a buzz-kill, isn’t it? Words like “repent” really turn people away from religion. Let’s face it, many people don’t like to hear that the way they’ve been living is “wrong.” But the word repent in the Bible is a mistranslation of the Greek word “metanoia.” It’s taking a step back and looking at your life differently. Metanoia is a challenge for us to see things from a new perspective. Metanoia questions the status quo in society, culture, and our lives. Don’t we all need a little metanoia?
