As a Christian I am honestly not sure how I feel about mantras. The problem I do see from them is that they rely fully on self and not on God. But then again they don't have to. I don't see anything wrong with repeating and reflecting on a specific Bible verse or series of Bible verses. Instead of completing the exercise as a mantra as is I changed it to a prayer. I can pray for all individuals to gain freedom from suffering and that they find sustained health, happiness, and wholeness. I can pray for God to help me assist others in gaining freedom from suffering and in finding health, happiness, and wholeness. I'm not sure that repeating the same prayer for ten minutes is necessarily helpful as that is direct communication with God. He heard me the first time! But I love the idea of repeating Bible verses and contemplating on them.
I found the assessment process interesting. It does a good job at having you self-reflect for sure. The things that came to mind for me I have already been thinking about off and on for awhile now. Like for instance I spend far too much time watching TV. Between that, work, and school work it is easy to forget to study the bible, pray, and exercise. I need to learn to do better at limiting my time on the tv so that I can spend more time on my physical and spiritual growth/health. I love the idea of meditating on a Bible verse so I think I will implement that into my day. I'll either choose a new verse every week or use my all time favorite verse which is Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."
Interesting view on mantras. You are right that you can focus on anything you want; God, life, bible verses. I, too, am of the Christian faith, but I rely heavily on meditation. The beauty of finding peace through reflection is not limited to one way of thinking. I think of myself and God as having a Oneness, therefore, my reflection on self is also a reflection of how I see Christ working through me. There is an interdependence that makes me feel apart of the energy of the deity. Even God inspires us to meditate on what is good for us, Philippians 4: 6-7, " Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God." That is a powerful intention to start your day off right.
ReplyDeleteEvening Chulitaness,
ReplyDeleteI also believe in meditating on God's Holy Word, and believe that this weeks mantra is no different than my prayers for others. In the book of James 5 vs. 13-15 read "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. As Christians, many of us know the power that prayer can have on a person's life and attitude. We are taught to be selfless and pray for others in need and without ceasing. This attitude of human kindness and love for others is a change not only biological, but interpersonal as we get to be involved with others as well as psycho-spiritual as we gain knowledge of who we are in this world and our connection to the most high and for me that is Jesus.
While I may not always agree with the text or some of the believes I do like the fact the holistic medicine recognizes the connection that man is not just a being of his own merit but that there is an Absolute that connects us all.
Hi Chulitaness,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog post very interesting. I think it is great that you have decided to make this practice fit your own personal beliefs and were willing to give it a try with your own perspective. I think that these exercises really could be transformed to fit everyone's personal belief systems if people would try them and make them their own, just because we are given a task to follow an exercise doesn't mean we can't modify it. we modify physical fitness to fit our personal mechanical needs why not modify our mental fitness to better our own spirituality and beliefs. Thank you for sharing.
Have a great week
Ramsie
Hi Chulitaness,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting blog. I believe we all at some point in our lives get caught up paying attention more on something thats likely will benefit our over all wellbeing. I am too of christian faith and can always devote more time on my spiritual wellbeing.I do make it a habit to give thanks whether I'm in the gym or walking to a certain place. Getting caught up in my everyday life events. I have found much about myself and spirtual self through meditation. I am still growing mentally, physically, and spiritually everyday.
Shronda
Thank you for sharing with us. You know, I have often found it difficult to "find" a mantra that resonates with me, and that might be because I don't find one on my own, I try to do what I hear or what I am guided to do. I don't think that it matters WHAT it is, as long as it works for you. If you find comfort and peace and loving kindness from the Bible, I think that is wonderful. It may not be the same for everyone, but I think that the end result is supposed to be the same. It's about finding your inner voice and what brings about the feelings for you. Kara :)
ReplyDelete