By Sharon Campbell Rayment – Special to the Sydenham Current
Over the last few weeks, we have focused on prayer using a labyrinth.
I shared a process to use with the labyrinth, or just to mentally run through these steps quietly in your mind in silent prayer.
These are the five steps I shared:
– Ready to ground yourself and be present to the moment.
– Release negative thoughts and feelings by repeating a breath watchword as you travel to the centre.
– Receive inner peace and quiet just for a moment at the heart of the labyrinth.
– Return and give thanks as you journey back out into the world.
– Remember to pause throughout the day to feel the calm, grounded presence you felt while doing this.
I have shared that to ready yourself to be grounded and present, we can use the APB of Inner Harmony.
Three breaths to reconnect within, with God, and with others in hope.
As we enter prayerfully, we continue to reorient ourselves to the breath to decrease distractions and worries by using a breath watchword or phrase.
I use 2 Timothy 7:1, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.”
What have you used?
It can be as simple as repeating the word, “peace”.
You can use the APB and the breath watchword anywhere, anytime, to bring yourself back to the present moment, focused, and grounded.
We have now entered the center of the labyrinth, or the place of quiet prayerful presence.
You can pause here in many different ways.
Just be.
Be still.
Be silent.
Just Be.
“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 4610)
You don’t have to do a thing. Just be for a moment “in this world, but not of it”, which Jesus spoke of.
Or you can expand this time and “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
In the book, “How God Changes the Brain”, Newberg and Waldman state that “if you contemplate God long enough neural changes begin to occur in the brain”.
There is “significant increase of neural activity in the prefrontal cortex helping to maintain a clear, focused attention upon a task, with emotional regulation, and affecting learning and memory.”
As well, the anterior cingulate which plays a major role in lowering anxiety and irritability is kindled.
The anterior cingulate is also essential for empathy and compassion.
Boy could we use a little less anxiety and irritability and more compassion and empathy right now as we trudge on through COVID.
We can gain these traits by contemplating on God’s joy, love, hope, and peace.
Only humans have been imbued by God to think themselves into happiness or misery.
Stay tuned!
Next week I will share with you a short prayer to practice daily.
In this next week start to set a wee bit of time aside, even just a few minutes, to abide.
Abide in God as Jesus tells us, “Abide in me 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:4-7 NRSV)
Until next time remember every breath you take is a breath of God and a shared one with All my Relations United as One.
