Mindfulness

DeAnna Willman photo Elijah Hiett @unsplash

Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O YHWH, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Last time we met we discussed how out of the abundance of your heart you will speak (and act). King David wrote that he stored up God’s word in his heart that he might not sin against God. We touched on how we also should be writing the word of God on our own hearts using the Quantum Zeno Effect- repeated behavior to learn something new. The more we read and meditate upon, even discuss and act upon the word of God, the more it will be written upon our hearts by the chemicals and energy released from our brain as we make His words our very thoughts. How much effort did you put into writing His word upon your heart this past week? Keep at it!

Mindfulness. It is a buzz word in society lately. Everywhere you look you see books written on the topic. Everywhere you go you can hear someone talking about it. But what is it really? What is mindfulness?

The brain has two hemispheres; the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. Now they both work together and are created to support each other. They don’t truly work on their own unless they have been severed from one another. Yet, we can tell from scans and studies that they each excel in certain aspects of thinking. You probably think I am going to write about the aspects of creativity versus logic. Creativity needs logic or else it becomes chaotic, and logic needs creativity lest it become stifling. They are not truly separate, just a bit stronger in one or the other. But that is not what I am going to discuss. NOPE!

The left hemisphere tends to have a propensity to think in past and future. It is the part of the brain where the mind is thinking about or comparing the past to other experiences. It is where the mind plans the future. You may be with another person, but your mind is racing with all the things on your to-do list that have yet to be done. Or your mind is bringing up things from the past that may connect to what is happening. Or your mind is coming up with what you will say once the other person stops talking.

The right hemisphere is where one dwells in the present. The right hemisphere is the part of the brain where the mind is aware of the smells, sights, sounds, taste and feel of the moment. It is the awareness of another’s words and emotions and body language and how it is affecting oneself. It is the listening between the words to hear what is not spoken. It is the awareness of one’s own body language. It is being in the moment with another, with God, or in the moment while by yourself. That is mindfulness.

Unfortunately, in the western world, we tend to over use our left hemisphere and rarely exercise the right hemisphere. So, it is natural for us to fail to be in the moment, truly honoring another or the moment with our full awareness. How many times have we missed out on blessings, or even something important, because we were failed to exercise the right hemisphere and be mindful for a moment? You failed to truly hear what your spouse told you two days ago, so you are shocked when something occurs that you were not expecting, such as a dinner out with another couple. You failed to look away from the computer when your child came to tell you something, so their feelings get hurt when they realize you did not truly give attention to their story at that moment. You were mentally going through your shopping list when your friend was sharing her struggle with something in her life. You were thinking about how you wanted to tell your co-worker about your great idea for the project so you did not see the look in his/her face when you failed to respond to what they had shared with you. You find yourself arriving at your destination with no recollection of what was along the way in the journey to your destination. You were not in the moment. You were not being mindful.

Taking thoughts captive requires being mindful. Recognizing the thought and evaluating whether it is truth, how it makes you feel and behave, asking yourself how you want to feel and behave, and deciding what to do to either reinforce the thought or eliminate and replace the thought. That takes some mindfulness. It takes some time exercising the right hemisphere. Without that mindfulness, your thoughts will continue as they always have, and you will take in and believe other thoughts that aren’t necessarily true or aren’t right for you.

We can all recognize the logo of most large companies and know what they sell because of advertising. Companies know it takes 9-14 exposures to something for someone to make any connection to their product. They use the Quantum Zeno Effect, along with using songs and emotionally pleasing ads to speed up the connection needed for you to desire their product. You watch regular tv for a few hours, you will see the same commercial at least twice in that time. You scroll on social media for a few hours, you will see multiple ads to further your exposure. You drive through town, you will pass by multiple billboards and other such advertisements, again exposing you to their products. Unless you mindfully think through those ads, they will usually convince you to purchase their product without any realization on your part of what has happened. Especially if they can succeed in getting you to emotionally connect to their product.

My father in law taught my husband and his siblings to mindfully think through commercials. What are they selling? What does the product do? How are they trying to get me to connect with it? What emotions are they selling with the product? Why would I want to use that product? Would my experience with the product be anything similar to what the ads are portraying? Etc. He taught them to take their thoughts captive when it came to advertising and commercials. He taught them to strengthen the right hemisphere of their brains. Something most people don’t even know to do or to teach others to do.

When you choose to change a thought, to replace a lie, you will need to be mindful. Even with the thought you are using to replace the old one! One will not be successful if one does not determine ahead of time (left hemisphere) how one will make the lie obedient to Messiah. Nor will one be successful at changing his/her thoughts if he/she is not aware of what is being thought and said (right hemisphere).. The right hemisphere needs to be exercised daily! Multiple times a day!

This week take the opportunity to practice by going outside and sitting down in a chair, on the grass, on a rock, on something of your choice. Then, mentally list what you hear, smell, see, taste, feel. What of God’s creation are you experiencing? Take stock of how you feel emotionally in the midst of that moment. Take note of movement around you without engaging physically. What is happening? How does it make you feel? What are you hearing from or learning about God in that moment? Resist the urge to let the left hemisphere take over with reasons this exercise is a waste of time or with a list of things you need to be doing. Resist the urge to think beyond the moment. Take the time to practice being in the moment with a child, spouse, or other person. Listen to what is being said, the intonation of their voice, pay attention to body language. Don’t let the left brain start putting together what you will say next or anything that will distract from the moment. It takes practice, but the more you do it, the better you will become at being mindful. The more mindful you become, the more you will honor others and moments with them. The better you will become at capturing thoughts and making them obedient to Messiah.

Until next time…..

What can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. Romans 1:19-20