Mandala-A Spiritual Practice of Coloring

Recently I have been reacquainting myself with different spiritual practices that I either learned about in seminary and/or found to be effective for me at one time. For the past couple of weeks I have been doing a spiritual practice called Praying in Color (I wrote about it in a previous post). While I have found this practice to be very grounding and effective this morning I knew I needed something different. My soul was telling me that I needed to think less about what I was doing with my hands and let my mind just wander a bit. This was a perfect opportunity to engage in a spiritual practice using a Mandala!

Mandalas are an ancient practice that are used in many religious traditions, including Christianity. The word "mandala" means "circle" in Indian language of Sanskrit. Traditionally, mandalas are designs that have a center and are based on circle.

However, some modern mandalas designs are not circular in nature (like the one below).

No matter what the design is there are two consistent aspects of mandalas. One it that they made up of geometric patters and second that you color these designs. It is the act of coloring that is the real spiritual practice. Coloring lets your mind go into a different mode of being. As you color you begin to relax both physically and mentally allowing your mind to stay more present with God. This doesn't mean that your thoughts won't wander to your to do list (as mine did more than once today) or that you won't begin to feel stressed about something in your life (that happened to me too). Rather it allows you to let those thoughts and feelings come, sit for a moment (hopefully only a moment), let them go, and then refocus your attention on God.

Today's practice was difficult for several of the reasons mentioned above. I kept wanting to quit so I could get on with my day and my long "to-do list." Yet, I kept hearing the Spirit say, "Stay with me a little longer." I realized I need to MAKE time to sit with God, just be present, and let God's love seep into to my soul as I color. I didn't "finish" coloring the mandala today and that's okay. I am actually looking forward to "finishing" it tomorrow and seeing what I experience and feel.

Have you engaged the spiritual practice of mandalas? If so, share you experience in the comments other (including myself!) can learn and grow from your story? If you are interested in learning more about this practice please contact me! I'd love to talk with you about it. Happy coloring!

Breathe In and Out...Breathe In and Out...

Breathe in and out...breathe in and out...breathe in and out...this is how most yoga classes begin. By connecting with rhythm of your breath you begin to to notice things about your body and your mind. You begin to notice where there is tension and where there is an opening for release. This is what keeps me practicing yoga.

When I first began regularly practicing yoga about 9 months ago it was primarily for my physical wellbeing as well as longing for a community where experienced love and belonging. There is no doubt that I am physically stronger and more flexible. In fact when I began yoga I had no idea there were these "crazy" arm balance poses and when I first saw them I thought to myself, "I could never do those!" Yet, today I can do many of them! I am amazed by what my body is capable of.

However, I've also learned that not every pose is there every time you come to your mat. There are days when it takes every ounce of my energy to just get through "my flow" and the rest is really just a crap shoot. On those days, after I curse myself for not being able to to a pose, I then promptly say to myself, "it's okay that it's not there today, maybe tomorrow, or possibly the next day it will be there." I think this is true in life. Some days we can do it and some days we fail. It is on those days that I need to remind myself to love who I am and what I can to that day, not what I could do yesterday or what I might be able to do tomorrow, just who I am TODAY!

What I didn't expect when I began practicing yoga was that I would be challenged and encouraged to be fully present with myself. This practice of being fully present with myself has cultivated an awareness of the connection with mind, body, and spirit. I find the more fully present with myself, the more authentic the connection is between my mind, body, and spirit. Being fully present with yourself requires awareness of the effect that your mind, body and spirt have on one another.  For example, we tend to hold the energy from emotions in our hips, thus when you do a yoga pose that is a hip opener you may suddenly feel a release of an emotion that was stored there. Through the practice of yoga I have become so aware of the these connections and for that I am grateful!

For me the yoga breath...breathing in and out...is where I begin to be fully present with myself. I am reminded that in hebrew the word for "breath" is the same as the word for "spirit." To breathe is to filled with the Holy Spirit. Thus, being fully present with myself is also to be fully present with God.  

Lent Day 11: cover

cover

Lent Day 8: spirit

spirit...

...and/or...

spirit...

Friday Photographs-God Sees You

God sees you as you truly are - a holy child of light: 

God sees you strong and whole.  

God sees you blessed and prospered.  

God sees you courageous and confident.  

God sees you capable and successful.  

God sees you free from all limitations or bondage of any kind. 

God sees you as the spiritually perfect being you truly are.

Friday Photographs

"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit."

-Saint Francis de Sales

Friday Photographs

May the light of God 
   illumine the heart of my soul,
May the flame of Christ 
   kindle me to love,
May the fire of the Spirit 
   free me to live this day, 
   tonight and for ever.
-J. Philip Newell

Mind, Body & Spirit

The mind, body, spirit connection both baffles and intrigues me.  Being a psychology major the workings of the mind have always fascinated me.  Being brought up in the church the idea of the Holy Spirit has also intrigued me.  Being an athlete the workings of the body also interests me.  However, it is only in the past year or so have I begun to explore the many dimensions of the mind, body, spirt connection.

For years our culture (including much of Christianity) has pitted the mind, body, and spirit against one another. We were told that our bodies and minds were the enemies-the reason for sin. We were told that the only good was The Spirit. We have been told that we are at our core sinful. Now I don’t dispute that we are all sinful, in fact I know we are all sinful. However, I have come to believe that God see us as the spiritually perfect beings we truly are. 

What I have begun to realize is that the mind, body, spirit connection is essential to being human. We can not have one without the others. When one is suffering the others are affected. In other words the whole of who we are (mind, body & sprit) is always in need of God’s transformational and healing love. I was first introduced to this concept of attending to the mind, body, and spirit by my Spiritual Director, Anita Cummings. In our work together we always spend time attending to the mind, spirit and body. Actually, we attend to them concurrently. For Anita, ‘body work’ (attending to the flow of energy in our body in a variety of ways) is an essential aspect of spiritual healing and transformation. 

In the beginning I was skeptical of ‘body work’ as a form of spiritual direction and transformation. I wondered how ‘body work’ could affect spiritual transformation. It just seemed so foreign and it wasn’t part of my Presbyterian theos that said that the Spirit and the body were at odds. As we began attending to my body through this ‘body work‘ I became aware of how this ‘work’ affected my mind and spirit. I began to sense and feel the connection between my body and my mind and spirit. When I attend to my body I am also attending to my mind and my spirit.

There are so many dimensions of the mind, body, spirit connection that I continue to explore-intellectually, physically, and spiritually. What connections do you see? What dimensions and/or connections would you like to explore? What questions do you have about the connection between mind, body and spirit?

For me, the connection between mind, body, and spirit is one of God’s surprising wonders!

  

Attending to our Divine DNA

The body is an amazing thing! I use the word amazing in its truest sense. The way in which each bone, muscle, tendon, ligament, and nerve are connected to each other leaves me awe struck. The fact that merely stretching a muscle in my foot can at the same time stretch another muscle in my back and my shoulder is truly wonderful and wondrous. 

I am beginning to realize that our bodies know what they need to be healthy and feel good. The problem is that we are not very good at ‘listening’ to them.  I know this is true for me. In fact, there are many aches, pains, etc. that I ‘suffer’ with because I think that is normal for me. Yet, a small voice in my gut says “You don’t have to be ‘suffering’. Go to the doctor. Find healing.” Yet, because of my stubbornness, my shame, my finical situation I do nothing.

This is not totally accurate. Thanks to my Spiritual Director, Anita Cummings, I have begun to listen to my body. Recently, I was feeling very sore and tight. I knew I needed to do ‘body work’ with her. So I set up an appointment to just do ‘body work’. As she was guiding me through Wallace Method stretching she used a phrase that stuck with me.  It hit upon this idea of ‘listening’ to our bodies. She said “you need to feel and sense when an area of you body needs more attention.” We need to learn to sense when our bodies need our attention. Then we need to learn how to attend to those areas of our body that  need healing or extra attention. 

Attending to our intricate and amazing bodies is very spiritual. We are wonderfully and uniquely created in God’s image. As Fr. Richard Rohr states, “Our DNA is divine.” Thus, by attending to our amazing bodies we are attending to the divine in all of us. 

Friday Photographs

"Let there be space in your togetherness. Let the winds of the heavens dance between you." 

Kahlil Gibran

Dancing with the Spirit

I have always been fascinated with dancing.  When I was a young child I took dance classes for several years.  I love to watch dancing.  I guess I would consider myself a closet dancer.  I don’t dance in public very often.  That being said I love the metaphor of “dancing with the spirit” as a way to look at our relationship with God and with the world.

If we believe that God is in everything then every interaction we have is an interaction with the Spirit.  Every interaction we have is holy.  In dance every dance move is different and serves a different purpose.  In the same way every dance itself is different.  Some dances are done solo and other are done with one or more people.  Each dance and dance move tells a story.  I like to think of my life as one long dance show.  Each interaction with the Spirit whether that be God or God’s spirit in others is part of the dance.  The dance of life is always changing, never exactly the same, it can be messy, it can be beautiful, it will be emotional and it will be a blessing.

On this blog you will see reflections on this holy dance.  You will see reflections on the changing face of Christian Education, spirituality, theology, worship, relationships, and much more.  I hope you will comment and interact as you become a part of “Dancing with the Spirit.”