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Mindful Christianity by Jim Burklo
 Week One - March 2-12
"He said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.' Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'" 1 Kings 19:11-13, NRSV
Lectio: Read this scripture passage aloud, slowly. Release any interpretation or opinion you may have about this passage, as you read it.
Meditatio: Let the passage "sink in" for two minutes. Sit with the passage. Hold it lightly - don't force any attempt to interpret it.
Repeat "lectio" and "meditatio" three more times.
Oratio: Pray aloud: "May I receive from the scripture what my soul needs for today."
Contemplatio:
Get into a comfortable physical position in which you will be unlikely to fall asleep, and for 20 or more minutes, be mindful of your body. What bodily sensations do you experience in the moment? What emotions are associated with these sensations? How do these emotions affect your breathing, as well? Remember: suffering equals pain times resistance. So strive to observe carefully any physical pain you experience, stay open to it, surround it with loving attention, and gently release ideas or opinions about it.
Something that can help with this practice is "progressive muscle relaxation". Tighten and then relax your body's muscles, one group of muscles at a time, being mindful of each of the sensations that result.
As part of your practice, try "urge surfing". When you feel an urge to do to take an action or solve a problem, explore it by paying attention to it. Let the urge be. Delay acting on it long enough to fully experience it. Where and how does the urge manifest in the body? What emotions go with it? What does this urge feel like? Ride it out for a while. See what happens!
In mindful Christian prayer, who are you? The observer, or the personality and body consisting of the experiences that were observed?
Meister Eckhart, a mystical German Catholic Christian priest of the 14th century, preached that "The eye with which I see God is the same with which God sees me. My eye and God's eye is one eye, and one sight, and one knowledge, and one love." (Meister Eckhart, Sermon 4, True Hearing)
Teresa of Avila, the Spanish mystic of the 16th century, advised her fellow nuns: "mire que le mira" - "see that you are seen". (Vida, 1562, 12: 22)
Mindful Christian prayer practice begins with this experience of spiritual union with the Divine, seeing that we are seen with the same eye. The observer within you, when you are deep in mindfulness meditation, is God. This divine seer directs loving attentiveness toward your every sensation, urge, and thought. God is compassionate awareness of all that manifests within you.
Your true Self is God, experiencing your particular, unique life on a particular planet in a particular time. Through mindful prayer practice you experience God directly and personally.
"Mindfulness is "paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally." Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. To be mindful is to be aware: observing what is happening right now in the changing flow of experience. It is to be open: allowing what is happening right now simply to be, and to observe it without judgment. It is to be kind: responding compassionately to whatever arises before one's attention. This definition is used both by non-religious and religious people. You don't have to be a Christian or otherwise be religious in order to maintain a practice of mindfulness. But Christianity has throughout its history been a very special container for this experience, enriching and enhancing it, giving it a context in a wide, deep spiritual tradition.
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