Be Mindful of the Dangers of Mindfulness

Michie

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For many people, “mindfulness” is a gateway to non-Christian philosophies.


I’m told April is “Stress Awareness Month.”

So count the seconds before “mindfulness” is back on the block, selling its soiled goods.

“Mindfulness” and the industry it has spawned are often linked to the mindset that proclaims itself as “spiritual not religious.” It is a modern phenomenon that wants the peace associated with faith without any of the challenges of having to adapt one’s conduct and lifestyle to a fixed set of dogmas.

The whole “mindfulness” racket is never about prayer though, but rather evasion. The true Christian path of discipleship is narrow and hard. It means an encounter with the Cross of Christ, not a soft cushion to meditate on. This has been the case for 2000 years. It still is the case today, and, no doubt, it will continue to be so tomorrow. That is why, for some, any alternative is preferable.

For many people, “mindfulness” is a gateway to non-Christian philosophies. Sadly, as a result, in recent years some Catholics have drifted toward embracing the form and representations of Buddhism — or what they think is Buddhism. For them, and for many in the West, that religious system appears to serve up a religion without creed, belief without catechism, and, best of all, seemingly no moral absolutes. You can be fashionably spiritual without needing to mention the “r” word (religion) or, heaven forbid, the ‘C’ word (Catholic).

Continued below.
Be Mindful of the Dangers of Mindfulness
 

chevyontheriver

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For many people, “mindfulness” is a gateway to non-Christian philosophies.


I’m told April is “Stress Awareness Month.”

So count the seconds before “mindfulness” is back on the block, selling its soiled goods.

“Mindfulness” and the industry it has spawned are often linked to the mindset that proclaims itself as “spiritual not religious.” It is a modern phenomenon that wants the peace associated with faith without any of the challenges of having to adapt one’s conduct and lifestyle to a fixed set of dogmas.

The whole “mindfulness” racket is never about prayer though, but rather evasion. The true Christian path of discipleship is narrow and hard. It means an encounter with the Cross of Christ, not a soft cushion to meditate on. This has been the case for 2000 years. It still is the case today, and, no doubt, it will continue to be so tomorrow. That is why, for some, any alternative is preferable.

For many people, “mindfulness” is a gateway to non-Christian philosophies. Sadly, as a result, in recent years some Catholics have drifted toward embracing the form and representations of Buddhism — or what they think is Buddhism. For them, and for many in the West, that religious system appears to serve up a religion without creed, belief without catechism, and, best of all, seemingly no moral absolutes. You can be fashionably spiritual without needing to mention the “r” word (religion) or, heaven forbid, the ‘C’ word (Catholic).

Continued below.
Be Mindful of the Dangers of Mindfulness
There is a distinction between air headed meditation and Christian meditation that Hans Urs von Balthasar explored in a little book called 'Christian Meditation'. Ignatius Press had it and it was first published in 1984. That and his 1955 book 'Prayer' are well worth it.
 
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