Mindfulness

[Psalm 27]

Watch and pray. In other words, be mindful of the present moment and pray that the devil doesn't deceive you.

'Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you'

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Live each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance toward the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point. So climb slowly, enjoying each passing moment; and then the view from the summit will serve a more rewarding climax for your journey.

Fulton J. Sheen

 

[JimR-OCDS]

If that's all it is there would be no harm. What I'm reading on here suggests there is more to it.

Only from those who want to use Buddhists and New Age meanings to the word.

Christians have been taught to be mindful of our thoughts, words and actions from day one.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Paul tells believers to 'take every thought captive to obey Christ' 2 Cor.10:5

And Christ gave us two commandments, to love God with our entire being, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

If you're daydreaming about how, you can impress people with your Biblical Knowledge, it's your ego that is giving you this desire, not your true self.

God loves the person he had in mind when he created you. Unfortunately, we all create false images of ourselves as we grow. Not until Christ comes into our lives, do we really look at our true selves. It takes courage and many are so ashamed and full of anxiety they are ready to scream out. But then, suddenly, the Saviour reveals himself and the soul is filled with love, forgiveness and peace. This is the gift of faith.

 

[Carl Emerson]

You are using the definition by Jon-Kobat Zinn, which is the
Buddhist Definition.

Here's the general definition and understood by Christians.

Mindfulness Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of mindfulness


1: the quality or state of being mindful
2: the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basisalso : such a state of awareness

Further from your chosen resource...

Example sentences. (Merriam Webster)

Meditation, a practice of mindfulness, doesn't have a single universal definition.— Kristen Rogers, CNN, 13 June 2022

For an old guy, 75, Krzyzewski seems to have embraced the new-agey concept of mindfulness, savoring the moment.— Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Mar. 2022

 

[David's Harp]

Being mindful is what Jesus told us to do when he says, "watch and pray," and
he also gave the story of the virgins, waiting for the bridegroom. The one's who
were vigilant, met him when he came while the others who were asleep, missed out.

This kind of watching requires being attentive and alert about what’s happening around us. That’s what the Christian has to do because: “The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer” What does Jesus exactly mean by the term watch and pray? - BibleAsk

Hi Jim. To me, that article goes against your assertion and indeed the very definition of what mindfulness is (in the context of a therapeutic technique). Here, also, the author demonstrates that part of 'watching' is to examine your thoughts are in line with the Word:

Part of this watching is watching oneself. “Examine yourselves as to whether you’re in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV). The believer needs to be asking himself, Am I growing? Am I becoming more like Jesus? And like David, he should pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23,24). And he needs to be guarding the avenues to his soul. A person becomes what he takes into his mind.

Note these last lines from the author. If you aren't taking in God's Word, just what are you taking in?
I would assert that if a Christian is going to practice mindfulness it should be with a view to keeping God's Word full in the mind, and not an emptying of it in order to bring about some feeling of peace. True peace will come with faith and security in God's Word. Amen

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Further from your chosen resource...

Example sentences. (Merriam Webster)

Meditation, a practice of mindfulness, doesn't have a single universal definition.— Kristen Rogers, CNN, 13 June 2022

For an old guy, 75, Krzyzewski seems to have embraced the new-agey concept of mindfulness, savoring the moment.— Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Mar. 2022

There is Christian Meditation, Jewish Meditation, Buddhist Meditation, Hindu Meditation. The differences has to to with whom it is we are meditating on,
God or ourselves?

The definition I gave for mindfulness from the Webster Dictionary is what
is known generally and what Christian meditation involves.

Mindfulness in St Teresa of Avila's definition was, "mental prayer." She said we must be aware of who it is you are praying to when you pray. This is what being mindful is about. She went on to say that interior prayer was the deepest form of prayer, as it's from the depth of our souls and that's where God speaks to us best.

You can spin the definition into whatever makes you avoid it, but when you pray, if you are not aware of being in God's presence and reject the erroneous thoughts that will come into your mind and they will, you will never grow in prayer and eventually just get bored and give it up eventually. I've seen many give up on prayer because of their distractions and eventual boredom.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Hi Jim. To me, that article goes against your assertion and indeed the very definition of what mindfulness is (in the context of a therapeutic technique). Here, also, the author demonstrates that part of 'watching' is to examine your thoughts are in line with the Word:

Note these last lines from the author. If you aren't taking in God's Word, just what are you taking in?
I would assert that if a Christian is going to practice mindfulness it should be with a view to keeping God's Word full in the mind, and not an emptying of it in order to bring about some feeling of peace. True peace will come with faith and security in God's Word. Amen

To examine your thoughts, you first must be "aware" of them.
To be aware is the definition of being mindful.

God's word, Christ Jesus, dwells within and when we pray, we turn to be in His presence. Praying with the Bible instead of just reading the Bible, requires us to meditate on the words that the Holy Spirit makes meaningful to us, but to be open to God who exists in the now, in the present. It requires being mindful of God's presence within.

 

[David's Harp]

To examine your thoughts, you first must be "aware" of them.
To be aware is the definition of being mindful.

God's word, Christ Jesus, dwells within and when we pray, we turn to be in His presence. Praying with the Bible instead of just reading the Bible, requires us to meditate on the words that the Holy Spirit makes meaningful to us, but to be open to God who exists in the now, in the present. It requires being mindful of God's presence within.

I would agree with this, it's just that the secular idea of mindfulness is something a little different is it not?
If there is this teaching in schools or even some churches, then the practice may not be developing the right fruit - especially in people without Faith, or new to Faith.

 

[Carl Emerson]

There is Christian Meditation, Jewish Meditation, Buddhist Meditation, Hindu Meditation. The differences has to to with whom it is we are meditating on,
God or ourselves?

The definition I gave for mindfulness from the Webster Dictionary is what
is known generally and what Christian meditation involves.

Mindfulness in St Teresa of Avila's definition was, "mental prayer." She said we must be aware of who it is you are praying to when you pray. This is what being mindful is about. She went on to say that interior prayer was the deepest form of prayer, as it's from the depth of our souls and that's where God speaks to us best.

You can spin the definition into whatever makes you avoid it, but when you pray, if you are not aware of being in God's presence and reject the erroneous thoughts that will come into your mind and they will, you will never grow in prayer and eventually just get bored and give it up eventually. I've seen many give up on prayer because of their distractions and eventual boredom.

I'm not spinning anything but was captive to the subtleties of buddhist thought and can smell it a mile off.

As for prayer this is an ongoing conversation with Him throughout the day and the most precious aspect of my life.

These days intruding thoughts are much less common and when they occur I reject them in His name.

I cant imagine giving up on prayer - it is the very heart beat of my love relationship with Him.

 

[Psalm 27]

And Christ gave us two commandments, to love God with our entire being, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

If you're daydreaming about how, you can impress people with your Biblical Knowledge, it's your ego that is giving you this desire, not your true self.

God loves the person he had in mind when he created you. Unfortunately, we all create false images of ourselves as we grow. Not until Christ comes into our lives, do we really look at our true selves. It takes courage and many are so ashamed and full of anxiety they are ready to scream out. But then, suddenly, the Saviour reveals himself and the soul is filled with love, forgiveness and peace. This is the gift of faith.

Every good gift comes from God
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

 

[Psalm 27]

Every good gift comes from God
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

The issue with mindfulness techniques, is that a Jesus believer may learn to rely on their own 'help' or powers, rather than The Lord's.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

The issue with mindfulness techniques, is that a Jesus believer may learn to rely on their own 'help' or powers, rather than The Lord's.

Not those who have surrendered themselves to Jesus Christ. He is the center
of their lives and being aware of thoughts that plague the mind that aren't about
him, nor of any useful purpose is the meaning of mindfulness. When those erroneous thoughts come to mind, we just let them go. If we dwell on them, they take us away from the presence of Christ and off into some daydream world.

 

[Brad D.]

Hi there,

Just interested in the mindfulnes movement.

Clinical psychologists are pushing this approach to finding peace.

Schools are adopting it.

Questions...

What are it's roots?

Should Christians adopt these practices.

Comments welcome.

Hi there,

Just interested in the mindfulnes movement.

Clinical psychologists are pushing this approach to finding peace.

Schools are adopting it.

Questions...

What are it's roots?

Should Christians adopt these practices.

Comments welcome.

I think your concern is justified in that any movement that comes from man and not out from God should be a red flag to believers. The world will push anything to usurp the meditative worship and rightful place of Jesus Christ in our hearts. There are many counterfeits, that is for sure, even in Christianity!

But as I read this thread I think that is the point. What is of man and what is of God? So much has come in that is not of God. But that should not spoil for us that which is! So I think there is a balance between the two thoughts here. A rightful place for both sides of the equation.

The contemplative life is one of the most beautiful lives there is if it leads us to lose ourselves in God and find our life in Him. May we all be so mindful of a thing! There is nothing that will so empty us of ourselves and bring us to Him as the cross." Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God." That is the true discipline here. May we all be so willing to find it. The very authenticity and character of the church hangs on this one thing.

What is soul and what is spirit? That is the most pivotal of all questions. Everything hinges upon that. Christ went alone into the wilds to find this answer and stayed until the dawn broke over the mountain and the Spirit of God flooded His heart. He did nothing He didn't see His Father do first. "If you have seen me Thomas you have seen the Father." He walked with such an awareness of what the Father was doing at all times. He did nothing out of His own initiative. Through all the clamor and confusion of His day Christ was mindful and Christ was aware. And this was a good thing. So let us not let man rob us of something that is so needful, so beautiful, so pure.

"Consider the Lilies" Yes consider them. Be mindful of them. Maybe even look at them as if your looking at them for the first time. What are they saying? Be still. Don't come down from the mountain until the dawn breaks and the Spirit of God floods your heart and mind.

 

[Joy]

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