Faith Venture

St. Jerome Studying

Sometimes you just sort of start doing something without realizing it is becoming a new habit. I rise early so that I can read either from the Word or from writers who can teach me about the Word. Have my coffee. Meditate. Write. And then I’m ready for the day.

But…the first thing I do when coming downstairs is head for the front door and pick up the morning paper. Then I scan the first couple of sections while my coffee is brewing. Then I sit down and finish the paper. Then there went 15-20 minutes. Gone. Most of the “news” is “olds” by the time I read it in the paper. Except maybe for some sports scores. And I read some of the comics. Sometimes I find I’ve read a column or article or two that were just mindless entertainment.

I’ve become distracted. Lost some of my precious time. It’s not that I’m so Puritan that I don’t believe in entertainment. I watch the TV series “Elementary” most every week. Sometimes I watch European soccer–but that’s partly also learning more about the game and how referees manage the game. Partly entertainment and partly learning.

Pope Benedict XVI (What do we call him Friday? Back to Joseph Ratzinger? When you’re not Catholic, it makes for a quandary.) gave a series of talks on the early Church Fathers. Looking at St. Jerome, he quotes:

“It will be difficult for you to correct those things to which you are quietly habituating yourself.”

Those are the most insidious of the habits. You didn’t consciously choose to start that habit. You didn’t consciously choose to keep it up. You just sort of fell into it and then just sort of do it.

But the genius of being human is the power to reflect. If you stop occasionally and look back at your life and habits, you can actually realize what you’re doing and then make that conscious choice to change. To develop a new habit to replace that unconscious one.

What new habit do you need to develop today?

Balance, focus, awareness, relaxation

“Try easy.” Have you ever attended a seminar led by one of those self-help, motivation, time management speakers? The first one I ever heard was in the late 70s. This was his mantra.

Yesterday I wrote about focus. Last night as I was teaching Tree Pose (see picture, it’s not me) to some new people at Yoga class, I thought about the paradoxes. New people will be trying so hard to balance. They think it’s very hard to do. They try hard. Where is the foot? Where are the hands? Stare at my spot.

And I was reminded. You have to relax.

Still the mind as you focus on your spot. Use your mind to scan your body (awareness) looking for places where you are holding tension. Release the tension. Make sure your breathing is easy and normal. Count breaths (that’s how you know how long to hold the pose). The key to balance is focus with awareness of your body and relax into the pose.

Sometimes we try so hard that we just cannot succeed. We actually lose focus by trying so hard to focus.

By the way, you don’t have to have the shape of the model in that picture to successfully hold Tree Pose. We have shall we say “larger” men and women who can hold Tree for 10-15 breaths in my class. I have actually learned to hold the pose focusing on my stable spot all the while using peripheral vision to watch all the people in class so that I can go to someone and help if necessary. But I have to achieve the relaxed awareness state of mind.

Try relaxing your mind and body and discover that your focus and attention on the task at hand improves.

I almost always write these meditations just before I go to the gym for a workout. I run and practice some Yoga strengthening poses. Before all that, I begin the day with some reading and meditation.

So, I hit both the Spiritual “gym” and the physical gym most every day. I dislike the days at conferences when I wind up with days that begin with 7 am breakfasts and end at 10:30 or later after dinner. Well, to be honest, I like the interaction. But it upsets my routines. I didn’t even pack my workout clothes last week. That meant that I could pack everything I needed for 3.5 days in a backpack. But it’s hard to squeeze in the workouts.

My last post discussed strengthening your Spiritual gifts. Reading in Hebrews 12 over the past few days, I was struck by two physical conditioning metaphors within just a few verses.

In verse 1, the writer says, “let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” Then in verse 12, “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees.”

These are references to athletic events. We are to strengthen our souls as well as our bodies. We do that through the practice of Spiritual Disciplines. Discipline meaning training and instruction for responsible living.

Just as our muscles don’t get toned without regular work outs, so our souls also need regular workouts.