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Wondering Pilgrim

~ the ramblings of a perambulent and often distracted sojourner

Wondering Pilgrim

Tag Archives: awareness

Cultivating Mindfulness

06 Thursday Jan 2011

Posted by wonderingpilgrim in Personal

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awareness, meditation, mindfulness, postaday2011, Religion and Spirituality

Every so often a word grabs attention because it seems alien to everyday speech, yet begins to appear prolifically. It begs investigation. Yesterday “mindfulness” appeared frequently in a Virtues Project workshop hosted at our church. Later in the evening, I received an unrelated invitation to complete the final phase of a survey being conducted by a university study on “mindfulness.”

So what is it? The Virtues Project describes mindfulness as “living reflectively, with conscious awareness of our actions, words and thoughts. Awake to the world around us, we fully experience our senses. We are attentive to others’ needs. We refuse to rush. Living mindfully lightens our lives by helping us to detach from our emotions. We transform anger to justice. We seek joy instead of mere desire. We cultivate our inner vision, aware of life’s lessons as they unfold. Mindfulness brings us serenity.”

This description, of course, gels well with terms that emerge from the practice of Christian meditation, such as “wakefulness”, “awareness,” and “paying attention.’

In these terms, Jesus spoke of mindfulness often and carefully cultivated it within his own calling. I think this is why he was able to differentiate a different kind of touch in the midst of a clamouring crowd (Mark 5:21-34). Of course this is not the only instance where Jesus models mindfulness. There are many more where Jesus teaches it – just survey the Sermon on the Mount!

So, if you’re a New Years Resolution sort of person, “mindfulness” might not be a bad one to aim for.

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Reflection on an unexpected adrenalin rush

11 Friday Jan 2008

Posted by wonderingpilgrim in Personal, Spirituality

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awareness, Spirituality

Up until mid afternoon, the greatest drama today was discovering my car’s cooling system overflowing with oil. I managed to nurse it over to the local service centre, just across from where we live, and was discussing it outside with the bloke there when all hell broke loose.

A man went charging past us with another in close pursuit – yelling something incomprehensible and aiming a pistol. A car screamed around the corner and four burly blokes jumped out, heading the man off and waving pistols. They all jumped on him in a rugby scrum, quickly subdued him and cuffed him. A helicopter hovered overhead. It was all over, but for many more plain clothes officers appearing from every direction.

By that time I was beginning to review my response. As soon as I saw the first gun, I shouted to the fellow I was talking to, “Come on – inside!” and (setting an example of inspired leadership, of course) ran into the service station. I turned to see the scrum and saw my conversation partner running away from me towards it – to get a closer look! Sheepishly, I returned to where we had been standing.

And now I reflect on what motivated my instinctive reaction to what was indeed a highly risky situation. I can see it all in slow motion as the options ran through my head. “Is the guy with the gun a good guy or a crook? Whatever, we don’t need to stop any bullets. We need to hit the dirt. Can I pull this guy I’m talking to down without drawing attention to us? No that’s too dramatic. Let’s get inside and out of the way. Come on – inside!”

Self and/or other preservation? Common sense? Over-reaction? It’s interesting to mull over one’s reactions when danger suddenly arises. What would you have done? And as the American evangelicals constantly ask “What would Jesus do?”

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