“May your day be blessed with happiness and peace of mind. May you be free of burdens and know that you are completely cared for. May your day be lit with grace and beauty!” ~Anonymous
Debbie (assumed name) was a 40 something single mother, who had lost her son to drug use. Debbie had no other family members alive and lived in a home whose care was in horrid conditions. She had experienced severe assaults as an adult and woman and limited protection as a child. Debbie would have said she was alone in the world since little. She had numerous residencies as an adult, and yet the one thing she carried with her no matter where she lived, was her necklace with a lock that had the picture of a religious figure. I onced asked her what this picture provided for her, and she simply replied: “Hope.”
It was such an extraordinary testimony to the depth and beauty of faith, throughout the dangerous, lonely, painful events in her life, she had hope. Why? She had every right to give up. To pound her fist to the sky and blame someone for her sorrows. And yet, somehow her spirit kept a beacon lite from within. Life is one thing that does not change: It’s unpredictable. There is very little that turns out as one expects. The good and the bad. To keep our hearts and minds in the game takes effort, and a little bit of faith. In this blog we will discuss the power of prayer, mindfulness and meditation to get us through the holidays.
There are many forms of actions that provide us with glimmers of hope as we move through the movements of our daily lives. The following are approaches that anyone can apply. Try one or a little of each to increase balance in your life.
Meditation: Meditation is basically a practice that in its basic form, involves the measured attention to one’s breath. For example, closing your eyes, and allowing your sight to go with the flow of your breath. Most of us breathe via the lungs. In meditation, breathing via the diaphragm is recommended. In this form of meditation, the goal is to distract the mind from its busy chatter, and ground the focus to the present moment. It will help balance the nervous system, but it also grounds a person to recognize that the present is safe. In a creative form, being grounded means one gets to feel via breath or simple sight discomforts about ourselves or lives that may need our attention. Staying in that discomfort (in small increments) again has the potential to increase our sense of competency. Alas, our use of strengths, or seeking help when normally we may not ask. Breathe in and out and keep going. Life will join you.
Mindfulness: The practice of mindfulness began to surge about a decade ago and was often used in elementary-level classes. For example, guiding students to focus on the backdrops of a classroom setting -i.e., wall coverings, colors of visuals, and so forth. Mindfulness is more practical in the manner that again, it grounds a person to the present moment via what is in front of them. When we can take a moment to look around (in essence savor our present in real-time) we begin to encourage our minds to move away from their focus on the past or future. Both of which can have a lot to say; statements of fear and uncertainty. If one can look around and be mindful of what’s in front of them, the mind begins to recognize certain ‘okayness’, certain beauty; certain hope that their life is not just about the uncertain future or unhealed past. It allows the mind, thus at some point the heart, to register possibilities of the now.
Prayer: Prayer is a powerful use of our words, emotions, and desire to believe. There are numerous beliefs of a higher power among the billions of people that inhabit the world. The use of prayer is often a manner in which said persons demonstrate their reverence and faith. Some pray during times of urgency, pain, and darkness, while others say prayer in demonstration of faith. In this article, we’d like to focus on prayer as a loving and helpful stepping stone for anyone to connect with a quiet hope from within. The business of this world, its ongoing noise and news, overwhelming videos and talks of who is right and wrong, and why you need to follow one point of view versus another can often seem insane and cruel. Allow yourself to turn off that noise, and instead say a prayer. Your heart has a lot to say. It deserves a calm space where it can speak and be validated. If it feels foreign, that’s okay. Allow yourself to gradually hear what your heart has to say. You may find it is seeking hope like a camel seeking water. Keep speaking, keep hoping, keep praying.
Disclaimer: Please note that these practices are not meant as a substitute or a nudge towards any form of religious or spiritual practices in any way shape or form. These basic tools are meant to provide a moment of grounding in the moment. We respect all religious beliefs and recognize some may have opposing viewpoints towards the philosophies of meditation, mindfulness, and prayer. Therefore, these tools are meant as a form of grounding to the present and how it can assist the brain to think more favorably of the present moment.
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