The Scripture ~ Jesus went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their bibles this way. Luke 24:45
The Spiritual Focus ~ What the world needs most is openness: open hearts, open doors, open eyes, open minds, open ears, open souls. Robert Muller
Breath Prayer ~ Inhale ~ open my mind, Exhale ~ open my heart
The Devotion ~ Closed minds and guarded hearts are a recipe for repeating bad decisions that harm rather than heal our body/mind and spirit. Our body’s and minds have memory, and often find it easier to take a known path, right or wrong, rather than forge a new one. The scripture focus from Luke points to the benefits of being open. The scripture is linked to a story that finds Jesus attempting yet again to tell his disciples I am alive, I am who I said I was…he has been with his disciples and they don’t believe it’s Jesus until he eats fish with them. Their eyes are opened, their ears are opened, and Jesus opens their minds to understand him and the mission of love and forgiveness that is before them.
Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical was one of the first to study the body/mind connection from a medical perspective. One conclusion was that the mind is far more powerful than we give it credit for when it comes to healing. His work includes yoga, mindfulness and meditation practices that decrease stress, increase resilience and overall health and wellbeing. When this study was first published in the early 2000’s it was received with skepticism by some in the religious community, mostly fear based religions that did not trust God’s promised Presence, love and God’s victory over evil in the resurrection. For many more faith traditions having an open mind, opened their world to the new things God is doing. To try and close our minds and block God’s spirit, is to deny the mystery of God, limiting healing to what we can understand.
During opening breath work a yoga instructor said, “the body and mind can lie to you but the breath never will.” If we have closed minds and old patterns of practice it is possible for both the body and mind to override the truth. The breath opens us to understanding the connectedness of body/mind/spirit, opens us to each other, opens us to God’s healing power, connects us with the healing breath of God.[/column]