In her book “Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully Throughout the Hours of the Day,” spiritual teacher Macrina Wiederkehr writes:
The mystical possibilities are revealed to us in our intentional pauses. … If we practice living mindfully, we slowly begin to see the holiness of so many things that remain hidden when we choose to rush through the hours, striking tasks from the list of things we must accomplish before day’s end. It will be a happy moment when we remember to add the wise act of pausing to our to-do list.
During my break in August, I was able to take many pauses and reflect a little on the big picture. I was amazed at how much better I felt when I made a conscious effort to stop all my activity and be still. Problems didn’t grow and leap out of the proper context when I forced myself to put down my to-do list and to concentrate on my breathing. I didn’t get my priorities as confused when I quieted my thoughts for a period of time and listened to nothing else but birds and the water hitting the rocks.
I took the time to read some of my favorite spiritual authors, like Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, and Mother Teresa, and I was further inspired by their words. Their meditations served to further ground me in the truth, the spiritual laws that are so opposite of what the world tells us what we need to be happy.
I wanted to make sure I continued to pause and to read the spiritual masters during the year, so I thought I’d devote each Monday to this notion of “mindfulness,” the practice of pausing in order to get in touch with the soul. I’ll discuss a certain scripture passage, like I did in my “Dear God” posts or a reflection from a wise, contemplative teacher, like Gandhi or Therese of Lisieux.
I hope our Mindful Mondays will help you to pause during your week, too, in order to grab a bit of peace to get you to Friday.
To read more Beyond Blue, go to www.beliefnet.com/beyondblue, and to get to Group Beyond Blue, a support group at Beliefnet Community, click here.