The Scripture ~ Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. Philippians 4:9 The Message
The Spiritual Focus ~ “The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion.” Thich Nhat Hahn
Breath Prayer ~ I’m Noticing
The Devotion ~ Mindfulness and mindful practices have been around since the beginning of time but we have only recently studied them to understand how they function for our well-being. Yoga, meditation, centering prayer, chanting have all been scientifically proven to improve our health when these practices lead to being mindful. As the field of mindfulness is unfolding, it would be easy to get caught up in the “how to be mindful” and miss the point. Scientific studies by Harvard social psychologist Ellen Langer, the mother mindfulness, show that mindfulness is a simple act of noticing new things going on around you. She said that most of us live mindlessly all the time, moving quickly from one task to another, but when we encourage mindfulness over mindlessness we experience improved overall health and well-being. She defines mindfulness as actively noticing new things, which ground us in the present moment. Her definition of mindfulness is something that can be practiced anywhere, anytime and is literally enlightening. While yoga, meditation, centering prayer and chanting are a means to an end… mindfulness… noticing new things in the moment is an immediate mindful practice. If we actively notice something new about ourselves, our neighbor, notice something new in a familiar scripture, or watching a snowfall we are in the moment, present and mindful. The intent of mindfulness is to live happier, healthier lives, less stress more joy and to notice the simple beauty right now of being One in body, mind and spirit with our Creator. In our scripture we are encouraged to practice mindfulness as taught by Jesus. When we practice the present moment, where Jesus in Spirit lives, we notice the new things that God is doing and trust God to heal us, to make everything work together in harmony.
