Mindfulness, does it harm your faith or help your faith? Let's dive into that.
First of all, I have found that much like my blog on horror and Christianity (found in my archives) there are so many opinions out there. We first need a basic definition of Mindfulness. Our English dictionary says it is (1)being aware and conscious of something, or (2) a mental state achieved by being aware of the present moment while accepting all emotions, feelings, and bodily sensations. The second definition is considered a therapy technique. Put simply, you clear the noise from your mind and completely relax yourself while completely focusing on the present moment.
The Positive
By itself, it does not sound like it can contradict your Christian faith. In fact, understanding yourself can help you learn better and live a better life. Does it really sound all that bad? In this chaotic year we've all had, I'd say the basic practice of staying in the present and sitting to clear your head for a brief moment is probably not a bad idea. It can be used to handle stress, spark creativity, be a psychotherapy and therapy tool, and enhance your mental health. It sounds to me like it could actually help you study the Bible and God's Word a little more clearly. Mental health creates clarity that makes it easier to learn - just don't forget to invite God into all this. Without Him all of it is useless.
Biblical support for this is absolutely existent. Philippians 2:1-5 says to live in the present moment and be mindful, and that is Paul talking. Prayer itself is a practice in mindfulness in Christ, and we are told to pray unceasingly. Meditation on God's Word is good for our Christ relationship. We are told to not be anxious for the future because God cares for the sparrows and He will certainly care for us. We are told to take thoughts captive, renew our minds, focus on God-honoring things. All this support for the practice of mindfulness in Christ says that God cares deeply for us. Christian therapy does include mindfulness, in some places, with the integration of Christ, which is necessary. Look up to Christ and not horizontally into yourself alone.
In the field of Psychology, it is a proven method for beating anxiety and depression. There is some evidence that is not a Buddhist practice alone. It is a mental exercise that can help us turn off our anxiety. Individuals who feel anxiety when there is no reasonable reason why need something to help them turn off that faulty sensor (we all need this, actually, so don't tell me you are perfectly together.). Mindfulness controls our focus so we don't freak ourselves out with our own minds and thoughts. It takes our focus from all the possible problems in the world and puts it on what is real and solid, grounding us. This practice is also known as "grounding". God gave us the power to focus on our present and Christ instead of the problems that could be, and that is what Psychology combined with faith considers mindfulness to be. This group doesn't consider mindfulness to be prayer. Trusting God to care for you may lead to mindfulness (But don't think that you can simply sit and do nothing all day - I know someone is thinking it, so I'll just say it now.). We only have access to our present, and thinking clearly in the present creates a past we can live with. All this can be summarized by "be still and know that I am God (God is talking here, not a human)". He wants us to live in the peace of His presence, not to fear everything.
Our minds wander, constantly, and God is likely not the first thing on our minds when we wake up in the morning. God challenge for the week, write down what your first thought is in the morning and tell me how often it is God. If you can actually have God on your mind every morning I want to know how you did it, but I can guarantee the average human - even if they seek God daily - would fail this challenge for weeks. We'd find our worries, work, and anxiety was more likely to be our first go-to thoughts. We go on autopilot, instead of paying attention to what God wants for us. Imagine if we walked through life actively paying attention to God and the rich world He created. I think we'd fall on our knees every day to praise Him. He is waiting for us to notice Him and His plans for us, so He can connect with us. We spend so much time in our own brains that we isolate ourselves, but when we focus on the present we see a world God created. It creates room for God to speak to us.
The Negative
After all the positive energy from that previous section, let's play devil's advocate. Its origin is thought to be Buddhist and Hindu, for starters, and the original intention of Buddist meditation is to reach enlightenment and reach Nirvana. The most common objections to this practice point to its eastern origin. They say it focuses only on you, promotes a "one with the cosmos" thought process, supports emptying the mind and leaving it open for demons to take over, and encourages escape from real life.
The self-focus, when our Savior is left out of the picture, does make this point valid. In faith we "die to self and live in Christ", so thinking only about yourself is not the best way to grow your relationship with Christ, especially since a relationship implies you and Christ bound together. In other words, if you follow your own whims all your life you are not focused on Christ. Be careful if you are prone to distraction. Include Christ in your mindfulness.
So, back to Eastern origins. It is supposed to promote connecting with your own inner "divinity/god" if taken from its original eastern practice. It may blur the line between created and creator. Apparently, some who have practiced Buddist meditation detach from reality to a dark degree, experience more fear, and may lose their minds. Some people believe that Buddism is being force-fed to children in schools. (I'd wait a bit before believing that last sentence, at least until you find solid proof.) These same people also believe that it is mixing with pure Christian faith and is diluting our faith and that yoga is just as paganistic.
Yoga, defined by our dictionary as a Hindu practice involving mediation and positions that help you remain healthy, is accepted by most as simply a health craze that has nothing to do with religion. In most yoga classes, it is an exercise class with no religious connotation at all. Maybe another day I'll tackle yoga and Christianity, but today I'll just touch on it. Yoga is even used in today's athletic stretches and dance stretches. You would be surprised how much of your pre-run routine stretching is actually yoga. I, personally, don't consider it a religious thing, mostly because the United States I live in has never considered it anything except a health class that makes you flexible. In the middle east, it is probably taught very, very differently, but here in Ohio, it is just a class you can take at the YMCA to get fit. Many Christians participate in yoga and see nothing wrong with it because we were taught it was exercise. Some of us didn't know it was yoga when we're doing high school athletics.
Escaping the real world without addressing it can be an issue here. Running from an issue is not a way to handle something. If you need to take a break and come back to it that is another matter, but to escape permanently is never good. Some say this practice doesn't solve a problem, just treats a symptom. A part of this practice finds its base in finding happiness, which is nice but doesn't solve the corruption in the world or the cause of your anxiety. Salvation is eternal, not earthly, so deliverance from mood swings and other mental problems is not salvation. Here we come back to focusing on self too much. Sometimes one is trying to find salvation without God, which is impossible. This same source claims that mindfulness reduces things down too far and has no moral framework for our emotions. With this, they also add that awareness-only focus means we don't change for the better.
Too Many Definitions!
After all this research we see that one person sees the word "mindfulness" as paying attention to God's world and inviting Him into their daily life, and another sees it as a pagan practice being mixed into Christianity, and yet another sees it as a way to treat mental imbalance and disorders. Who's right? Maybe all of them, maybe a few of them, maybe none, and maybe we don't know. My basic point? Do your own research along with mine. Listen to what God says to you in your faith journey. Read and dig into God's Word and challenge your own faith depth by figuring out what you believe. There is no shame in getting wise counsel or struggling with a topic. Please use the brain God gave you and don't believe everything you read on the internet and hear on youtube. If the Holy Spirit is telling you something is wrong, listen. This topic is all over the board with opinions. It is totally confusing, but the search for truth is worth the research.
Pictures:
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Sources:
https://www.focusonthefamily.com/family-qa/mindfulness-a-christian-approach/
https://christiannewsjournal.com/the-dark-side-of-mindfulness/
http://mindspirit.com/the-present-moment-a-christian-approach-to-mindfulness/
https://www.thebanner.org/columns/2020/02/mindfulness-and-christian-faith
https://darrylburling.com/mindfulness-meditation-3-reasons-christians-need-to-abstain/
https://justdisciple.com/meditation-mindfulness/
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