Posts Tagged ‘meditation’

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Free To Be With God

October 29, 2015

“The purpose of the spiritual disciplines is to make you free.”

Both Dallas Willard and Richard J. Foster warn about the proper use of the practice of spiritual discipline. The point is not to be able to say that I fasted so many days, or read the Bible every day, or prayed diligently. To have that attitude is to return to that old human attitude of works being the way to get right with God rather than trusting in God’s grace.

This morning in my meditation, my thoughts turned to freedom. It’s a topic I’ve pondered and written on for my entire adult life. I was greatly influenced by a book by the philosopher Isaiah Berlin I came across at age 20 or so. He looked at philosophers of freedom and divided the concept into two–freedom for and freedom from.

Without chasing the squirrels of various philosophical traditions, I’ll just ponder Paul.

He said that God’s grace and our response in faith does both!

Grace frees us from the tyranny of our emotions, our self-imposed boundaries, our jealousies, fears, worries, greed.

The discipline of meditation that I’ve practiced for more than 40 years has calmed my emotions, freed me from worry (something passed down from my mother and who knows how many generations), helped me deal with the winds of emotion which can enslave.

That is just one example. The discipline of reading the Bible or great thinkers about the topic such as Augustine or Henry Nouwen or many others has added depth to my understanding and guidance for my direction.

Paul does not stop there. Grace frees us for service. Why are we here? To serve others in love. That is Jesus’ command. That is what Paul repeats. Many times.

These are words that I never wanted to hear as an adolescent. I can still remember being 17 or 20. No bounds. Discipline is a bad word foisted upon us by conservative old people. Service to others is slavery.

Trouble is, many people today have yet to outgrow those adolescent urges.

Adolescents hate paradox. I’ve always been fascinated by paradox. Here’s an important one–discipline leads to freedom. Who would have understood that at 17–or sometimes 57.

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Finding Our Way

September 30, 2015

Lake Tahoe

Last week on vacation in California we decided to drive up to Lake Tahoe from Folsom where my conference was held.

The tourist spot that overlooked Emerald Bay was packed. We kept driving. Found this nice rock outcropping.

We found  place to park and hiked around to a small, barely noticeable trail that led from the road to this small rock ledge.

The view was beautiful. I sat cross-legged on the rock and contemplated the view for a while.

Lake Tahoe 2

Then we turned to head back.

We had only traveled about 500 feet. There was no sign of the road. No sign of a path on the rock ledge. Looking up the terrain was just a pile of rocks.

For about five seconds I felt what people who have gotten lost in the wilderness must feel.

Or, people lost in life. There is nothing distinguishing with which to become oriented. If you go one way, it is sure death from a several hundred foot fall. The other way appears insurmountable.

What to do?

I took a deep breath. Quit looking far ahead. I knew the general direction from which we came.

So, it was one small trail. The noticing the small path that cut through some brush. Then the broken tree we had gone under. Then the tricky balancing act around some fallen rocks. Then the road was there above us. A short climb, and back to the road.

I thought–the spiritual life is like that. Sometimes we venture out to live life. We want the beautiful, the spectacular. We find ourselves in a spot where we’ve lost our bearings.

We only need to take that deep breath. Relax. Reorient.

In the spiritual life, the steps are opening the Bible again. Not to understand the whole thing. Reading Romans or James or Galatians. Simple paths.

Prayer, stopping to converse with God becomes another step.

Finding a spiritual mentor or guide or small group is another step.

Then we find our way through the rocks and brush. We’re on our way home.

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A Mind Like Water

July 13, 2015

We read in Proverbs (14:30) “A tranquil mind gives life to the flesh.”

David Allen, author and consultant of “Getting Things Done” fame, talks about having a “mind like water.” That is actually a phrase he learned in Karate class that may come from Zen. The metaphor is of a pond of still water that absorbs the disturbance of a pebble or rock thrown in with the ripples gradually going away to nothing.

In Getting Things Done (all about personal productivity and effectiveness), this means writing down everything that you are holding in your head. Empty everything, every task, every commitment, everything you are trying to remember by writing it and putting it in a trusted space.

I’ve written before that I love Nozbe for doing this. It is a hard discipline to write things down. But when you empty your mind, you have “mind like water”–still, tranquil, waiting to handle the next disturbance.

James Altucher, a Silicon Valley investor, just wrote about productivity. He quoted Albert Einstein who once derisively stated, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what is an empty desk a sign of?” Altucher says, “that’s OK, Albert, I’d like an empty mind. That way I can fill it with what I choose.”

A tranquil mind means that I can concentrate on my Bible reading and other reading early in the morning.

A tranquil mind means that I can meditate with a clear focus on God far from all the distractions of clutter.

A tranquil mind means that I can come up with creative ideas for my business and my ministries.

As the wisdom teacher says, “A tranquil mind gives life to the flesh.”

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Reflection Empowers Your Day, Your Life

June 19, 2015

Life requires a rhythm. Almost all successful people rise early and get important thought work done. They are in bed by 10.

I usually am up by 5:30. Make coffee and a piece of toast. Read from various sources, meditate & pray, plan the day. Usually I write this blog. Then I am off for a workout–run in the park (or a treadmill), weights 3x per week, short Yoga series. Then off to the coffee shop to write.

There are three pauses that can make all the difference in your effectiveness, balance, and outlook. They are daily, weekly, monthly. I also set aside a couple of days between Christmas and New Years to think about the coming year.

The monthly pause comes easier for me. Take a Sunday evening at the end of a month. Gather you to do lists and notes. Review your lists and notes–checking what you’ve done, not done, and wish you had done. Take a longer view of what you wish to accomplish this year and where your focus should be for the month. Perhaps take a note card and write six things that you wish to devote energy toward in the coming month. Carry this card and refer to it daily. This period of reflection could last an hour or two. Probably no more.

The weekly pause comes less easy. Sometimes Sunday evening comes with a sigh of relief, and I unwind and go to bed. But even 15-30 minutes to review the coming week’s calendar and to do lists before you go to bed will feed information into your unconscious mind and help you start the week productively.

Benjamin Franklin kept a meticulous time planner. He asked himself daily two things. When he arose, he asked, “What good shall I do today?” At the end of the day he paused to reflect, “What good have I done today?”

Sometimes days and weeks get hectic. We fall into bed exhausted. We awake exhausted.

Sometimes we take that pause for reflection. It calms us and focuses us. And we are better prepared for the day.

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Every Day Is a New Day

June 10, 2015

She wakes up in the morning already tired. The cares of yesterday already dragging her energy. One day just proceeds in dreary succession after the previous.

We have been there. We lose hope for anything better. God? We used to be aware of his presence.

A saying of a Desert Father who said that every  single day he made a fresh beginning.

How can we break that cycle of despair and make a fresh beginning of each day? We still have those old problems.

One thing we can do is breathe. In the Greek (actually as in other languages) the word for breath is either the same or similar for spirit. Ancient people have consistently paired intentional breathing with inculcation of the spirit.

We arise early. it is a dicsipline–also can be made a habit. 

We find our favorite chair or maybe floor pillow. We sit. Breathe. Deeply inhale. Slowly exhale. We focus our mind on our breath. We relax.

That is one way to begin a morning fresh.

Then we can read. Read in the Bible. Read a devotional book. Read a motivational book. Something for the restoration of the soul and nourishment of the mind.

With the perspective we gain, we can look at yesterdays problems with fresh eyes. We can look at what we can change and what we can ignore and what we can live with.

Every single day we can make a fresh beginning.

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Conversation With God

May 26, 2015

I sit and try to meditate opening up myself to an experience with God. My thoughts distract me. 

I refocus, breathe deeply and regularly. Focus on God (I repeat the word to maintain my focus). My thoughts distract me.

Eventually I think, “I’m having the same thoughts. They keep repeating on me.”

That’s when it finally dawns on me–maybe, just maybe, God is trying to tell me something. Perhaps I’d better explore those thoughts. Maybe he’s telling me to do something. Or call someone. Or prepare for an adventure.

Mostly, we are not taught to pray. Or, we are taught in the way of prayer during a church service, or the beginning of a class, or grace for meal. It is us talking, usually aloud, to God. We’re usually asking for something. Or complaining about something. Or ordering him around to get him to do what we want him to do.

But what if we listened?

There are people I have met who believe that God doesn’t talk anymore. It may have happened to Elijah. Maybe to Jesus. Maybe even to Paul. But, not anymore.

I feel sorry for those people. What is it that they are missing out on because they have not paused and listened.

What does God want from us in prayer? What he wants in general–a relationship. When you converse with someone with whom you’re in a relationship–unless you’re a complete narcissist–you expect the other to listen to you and you listen to them. That would be a conversation.

What will it be like when God says, “I’ve been telling you that for years!”

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Be Calm To Reach Successful Life

April 14, 2015

The Yoga class is in the final 5-6 minutes in what we call “final relaxation.” There are people, usually called mothers of young children, who look forward to this twice-a-week ritual. Freedom from demands, noise, worries. This is the first stage of meditation. For many people, it’s all they need.

Over the years of teaching, I’ve noticed a few people who just cannot settle in for even 5 minutes. Usually they are about 18 years old and female. Lately I’ve noticed a woman probably right in the middle of middle age (she has a daughter in her mid-20s). She cannot lay quietly.

Last night she mentioned it. I gave her some tips on sounds or visualizations to help her focus and calm her breathing. I told her it could change her personality. Become less up-tight, calmer in situations, reduce worry, feel less stress. It’s all actually quite healthful. Her daughter was encouraging her to try it.

This calmness is essential for truly successful living. We actually achieve more by seeming to do less. Those who live in a flurry of activity are often not all that productive.

Great examples are quarterbacks in American football. Their position demands that they be the leader. The great winning quarterbacks achieve a calmness combined with intensity that inspires the team in the face of adversity. Watching Joe Montana in his prime or Tom Brady today, we can see that in action.

Just 5-10 minutes a day of quiet will eventually change your life. You will begin to achieve that calm focus–or return to it when circumstances pull you into frenetic worry or something.

Oh, and my tips:

  • Focus on breath, consciously begin to slow its pace
  • If you like sound, repeat a sound in your head–doesn’t matter too much what it is–ahh, om, god, love, whatever
  • If you have visual imagination, go off in your imagination to a beach and feel the sand and hear the surf, or lie in a meadow in the mountains in summer, or maybe walk down a country lane seeing a gate in a hedge fence opening and entering and finding an orchard with a bench sitting on the bench and resting. You get the idea.
  • Do not force random thoughts out. Just let them drift away as you return to your breath.

There is nothing particularly mystic about this, so far. You will start to slow down your processes and stop fidgeting. I know many people who would be well served (and their followers) to practice this. There are 535 who meet in a great domed building in Washington, D.C., for example. You probably know others. Perhaps yourself.

Calm yourself, focus, achieve.

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Practice Active Listening

April 9, 2015

Neurotic president of the company, “Gary, nobody listens to me.” Smarta** VP, “Huh?” President, “Nobody listens to me.” VP, “Huh?” President, “Nobody listens to me.” VP, “Huh?” President, “Ohhhhh.”

Active listening is a skill. It is essential for leaders. It is essential for parents. It is essential for spiritual seekers.

Believe it or not, the idea (duh!) for Googling “active listening” came from the instructor of a class I was taking on improving my skills as a soccer referee assessor and mentor. The results were staggering. Today, I bring you tips. “Improve your active listening techniques,” with James Manktelow & Amy Carlson.

Tip:

Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. By understanding your personal style of communicating, you will go a long way towards creating good and lasting impressions with others.

Tip:

If you’re finding it particularly difficult to concentrate on what someone is saying, try repeating their words mentally as they say them – this will reinforce their message and help you stay focused.

Becoming an Active Listener

1. Pay Attention
2. Show That You’re Listening
3. Provide Feedback
4. Defer Judgment
5. Respond AppropriatelyBe candid, open, and honest in your response.
Spiritual Response The same works spiritually. Sometimes when I’m reading my Daily Office or from Scripture, my mind wanders. Sometimes (often?) in my meditation and prayer, my mind wanders. Sometimes God speaks and I wasn’t practicing active listening. What opportunities for learning and service have I missed by being too absorbed in me and not enough in active listening to the spirit?

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Spring Cleaning for the Soul

April 1, 2015

It’s spring cleaning time. The traditional time to air out a house long closed while winter brought bitter cold and snow. Things that are closed up for long become stuffy and even unhealthy.

Including lives. Including churches.

It’s time for a renewal. Maybe even coinciding with Easter–the celebration of the ultimate renewal, the resurrection of Jesus.

Maybe this is a good time to take a look at yourself. What clutter has accumulated around us and in us. Maybe it is some accumulated “stuff” that just occupies space. Adding nothing. It felt good when we bought it. But…time to give it away or send to the trach.

Maybe the accumulated stuff lies in hates/aches,  cares/tears. Or maybe unhealthy relationships whose toxicity is slowly killing our energy, desire, focus. 

The power we have to improve our lives starts with eliminating, as opposed to accumulating. 

Clear out our personal physical space

  • Toss stuff
  • Clear clutter
  • Clean everything

Clean out the body

  • Weed out distressing habits
  • Weed out distressing individuals
  • Find friends who are energetic, positive
  • Drink more water
  • Eat healthy foods in moderate quantities

Calm the soul

  • Quiet the mind through prayer and meditation
  • Put worries and negative thinking behind
  • Focus on service to others, less focus on self

It all starts with a quiet mind, which lets us begin to achieve focus. Then we can find the important things in life.

“Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened, but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm,” said Robert Louis Stevenson

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To Get Spiritually Fit You Must Practice

January 2, 2015

A friend recently spoke against “Spiritual Disciplines” because he saw them as a list of check boxes–sort of like tasks to complete on your way to salvation.

My response is that if anyone views disciplines, or practices, that way, then they have missed the “spirit” so to speak of the practice. These practices–study, worship, prayer, mediation, celebration, fasting, service, and the like–are things you can do to strengthen and deepen your spiritual life.

Paul often uses athletic language to instruct us in that regard. He tells Timothy (1 Tim 4:7) to train in godliness” for example.

Dallas Willard writing in The Spirit of the Disciplines says, “Just as with the physical, there is a specific round of activities we must do to establish, maintain, and enhance our spiritual powers. One must train as well as try.”

Another way of looking at this is to consider these as habits you’ve intentionally cultivated.

I have an ecosystem of practices that help me exercise daily. It involves going to the gym and then showering and getting physically ready for the day. It’s something I do to maintain as healthy a body as I can.

Similarly with spiritual life. Rising a little earlier (for the past few years, it’s been 5:30 am–without an alarm), I have time for study, meditation, writing before going to the gym. Study, prayer, meditation are woven into the fabric of my morning. Worship, celebration and service happen intentionally at other times of the day or week.

One key is intention. I am intentional about maintaining this routine. It is not rote habit, but habit intentionally chosen and reinforced.

I still have many personality problems to overcome, but this routine has changed my life over time. I expect it will continue to do so.

One thing that it really does is deepen my faith. To be spiritually fit, you have to practice.

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