Are you good at being still?
I am not. I read an article recently about a CEO whose friend bet him $15,000 he couldn't sit still in silence for 15 minutes. Do you relate to that? I sure do. After reading the article, I went home and set a timer. I sat still in silence for 10 minutes... except I itched my arm once. And cracked my neck twice.
It's really hard for us to be still. I've been trying, but I have an addiction to doing. When I am still, thoughts come racing in - did I take the laundry out of the washer last night? What am I going to wear today? How much money are we spending on groceries? Did I pay the water bill? I wonder if it's going to rain today, maybe I should check. Oo, I could do a guided meditation online!
(I like Sacred Space, a site run by Irish Jesuits. Usually though, a "guided mediation online" means I get "distracted" on the way there and end up Facebooking. But that doesn't happen to anyone else, right? ;)
Then, 99% of the time, I get up and do one of these 500 other things.
But this week, Holy Week, I am focusing on the other 1% of the time. The time I remain with those thoughts. The time I settle down to feel God's love swirling around.
Here is a Palm Sunday reflection: "Jesus triumphal entry ends with his willingness to take into himself all the pain and suffering of our world so that together we can celebrate the beginning of a new procession on Easter Sunday"
There is a simple practice where you inhale good and love and exhale all the things that weigh you down. It's lovely. There is another meditation called Tonglen - breathing in the pain and breathing out a prayer of love. When I read the above quote about Jesus, I am reminded of that simple meditation. One way to walk with Jesus on his journey to the cross this week is to practice Tonglen. Breathe in my pain, your pain, my neighbors' pain, envision it hitting my heart and turning to love, exhaling this prayer of love.
A yoga teacher I know is always telling us that you cannot control your mind. You can only control your breath and that controls the mind. Maybe this is how I can learn to sit in silence this week.
I am not. I read an article recently about a CEO whose friend bet him $15,000 he couldn't sit still in silence for 15 minutes. Do you relate to that? I sure do. After reading the article, I went home and set a timer. I sat still in silence for 10 minutes... except I itched my arm once. And cracked my neck twice.
It's really hard for us to be still. I've been trying, but I have an addiction to doing. When I am still, thoughts come racing in - did I take the laundry out of the washer last night? What am I going to wear today? How much money are we spending on groceries? Did I pay the water bill? I wonder if it's going to rain today, maybe I should check. Oo, I could do a guided meditation online!
(I like Sacred Space, a site run by Irish Jesuits. Usually though, a "guided mediation online" means I get "distracted" on the way there and end up Facebooking. But that doesn't happen to anyone else, right? ;)
Then, 99% of the time, I get up and do one of these 500 other things.
But this week, Holy Week, I am focusing on the other 1% of the time. The time I remain with those thoughts. The time I settle down to feel God's love swirling around.
Here is a Palm Sunday reflection: "Jesus triumphal entry ends with his willingness to take into himself all the pain and suffering of our world so that together we can celebrate the beginning of a new procession on Easter Sunday"
There is a simple practice where you inhale good and love and exhale all the things that weigh you down. It's lovely. There is another meditation called Tonglen - breathing in the pain and breathing out a prayer of love. When I read the above quote about Jesus, I am reminded of that simple meditation. One way to walk with Jesus on his journey to the cross this week is to practice Tonglen. Breathe in my pain, your pain, my neighbors' pain, envision it hitting my heart and turning to love, exhaling this prayer of love.
A yoga teacher I know is always telling us that you cannot control your mind. You can only control your breath and that controls the mind. Maybe this is how I can learn to sit in silence this week.
Last night I was getting kind of jittery and anxious, and I thought to myself that I should go to a park and just be still for a while. Instead I went to the bookstore. Then, while at the bookstore, I realized I had only had one meal that day and it was about 6 hours ago so I went to Panera. Everything was better after that.
ReplyDeleteI love this story. Perfectly Adam :)
Delete