Mindfulness & meditation – Report (17 October)

Posted by nomastery on October 20, 2010 · 2 Comments 

Motivation:

This service was an acknowledgement that for many people, thinking reflectively and spending time in quiet contemplation do not come easily. As such, this service was part ‘how to’ and part ‘let’s do’ in terms of Christian meditation.

Much of the material it drew upon was from the concept of ‘mindfulness’. The benefits of mindfulness can be seen as both spiritual (as it helps us to concentrate upon God, his word, and the issues at hand in prayer) and physical, mental and emotional in terms of its benefits. Mindfulness (or for that matter, meditation) are not strictly Christian concepts, but can be equally beneficial for Christian contemplation.  We could argue that this is how God has made us, so we may as well work with it in terms of reflective worship.

There was nothing magical about these techniques being presented at this service – They’re simply helpful techniques in both prayer and normal life.

Service:

There was nothing elaborate about the set up of the church for this event. Comfortable chairs, and one single candle lit in the middle of the space.

After some introductory words we moved straight into the body of the service:

How to:

We began with two simple mindfulness exercises of 15 minutes each, played on audio so everyone could interact, with a short space after each piece to share observations or experiences.  No music was played in the background as these exercises are on mindfulness and we were keen to avoid unnecessary distractions.

1 – Mindfulness of the breath.

2 – Mindfulness of the body.

 

Let’s do:

Using these techniques, we then engaged in a simple, meditative lectio divina – to apply these mindfulness approaches in a Christian context.

Any passage could be used (we used a passage from Luke 18, simply because it was this week’s lectionary reading) and we used the framework provided here.

This took about 15 minutes, and we then closed with this prayer/meditation:

The Welcoming Prayer

Gently become aware of your body and
your interior state.

Welcome, welcome, welcome.
I welcome everything that comes to me in this moment
because I know it is for my healing.
I welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions,
persons, situations and conditions.

I let go of my desire for security.
I let go of my desire for approval.
I let go of my desire for control.
I let go of my desire to change any
situation, condition,
person, or myself.

I open to the
love and presence of God
and
the healing action and grace within.

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