What exactly does Christian mindfulness mean? And how can we put it into practice in our daily lives?
Dr. Amy Oden, this year’s WPAUMC Discipleship’s spring speaker, guided an online group of two dozen people through a better understanding of Christian mindfulness and concrete ways to be present with God every day.
“You already know how to be present in your own life,” Oden commented after leading the group through a breathing exercise. “Be aware of what a gift our breath is. It’s a gift God gives us in every moment….Spiritual living is paying attention to your life with God right now, in this moment.”
Over the lunch hour on Thursday, March 23, via Zoom, Oden skillfully and tenderly walked participants through ways to be more attentive, more awake to God’s presence in their daily lives.
“What’s it like when you have ‘eyes to see’ and ‘ears to hear’ God sightings,” Oden asked. “Pay attention to those moments in your life when you felt awake to God. Or most like your true self, centered or whole. That’s God’s invitation to you.”
Oden also briefly discussed the brain science behind spiritual practices, noting that these practices create new neural-pathways in the brain, helping us to challenge and change our current assumptions about God and who God is to us.
With a four-step mindfulness prayer practice and a free-writing exercise, Oden offered the group several ways to actively be present in the moment with God and truly listen.
The results? “I felt relaxed…less stressful,” shared one participant. “I imagined myself curled up in God’s lap and I was totally relaxed,” said another after the four-step practice.
There are two more opportunities to join this enlightening lunch-hour experience: on Thursday, April 27, Dr. Oden will discuss “Living our Lives” using the Examen prayer practice; and on Thursday, May 25, Oden will cover “Praying Scripture.”
Register today for the next talk at https://wpa-reg.brtapp.com/SpringSpeakerSeries. It promises to be an hour well spent!
Watch the recording of the March 23 talk below.