Hello all!
I hope you're well. One of the interests of mine as both a Christian and a psychologist is the integration of faith into counseling. While I treat clients who process their world through a lot of different lenses, many of my clients are Christians who want to integrate their faith into their treatment. Thus, sometimes I'll discuss faith-informed treatment within the broader context of wellness in my blog. While traditional psychotherapy can help religious and spiritual clients quite well, research shows that faith-informed styles can promote added wellness benefits for clients.
An important intervention in traditional psychotherapy, mindfulness involves quieting one's inner being to be aware of what's going on around us and controlling what we attend to in a nonjudgmental manner. It's very beneficial for a variety of concerns related to anxiety, stress, immune function, empathy, addiction, chronic pain, among others. It is used in a wide variety of cognitive-behavioral treatments and for a wide variety of clinical concerns. In my practice, I use it frequently with my clients who are experiencing difficulties with stress management and cognitive flexibility. Those difficulties make it hard to be resilient in the face of depression, anxiety, addiction, etc.
For Christians, mindfulness often sounds kind of taboo... like some kind of "new age" idea that might be incompatible with faith. Not so! Ephesians 4:23 talks about being "renewed in the spirit of your minds." Having a better flexibility to accept what comes into our minds without having to judge and "do something" with everything allows us to react less to things we don't need. Have you ever tried not thinking of something? Trying not to just makes you think about it more. Learning to "be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) will promote wellness both spiritually, physically, and psychologically.
There are a variety of styles of Christian Devotional Meditation (CDM) that can be beneficial. Today, we'll focus on centering prayers in this space. As point of disclosure, I engage in CDM daily. It has become a significant spiritual discipline for me that helps me on the journey. As I've done this practice with clients and in my own life, I've learned a few things. First of all, it takes time to get good at it. You need to practice it at least 10-20 minutes 2-3 times per week during the first month for it to move from feeling awkward to being effective. Often, I found I needed to "fake it until I made it" initially as I learned the discipline. It also helps if you dress comfortably and pick a quiet, calm place for when you engage in CDM. Lastly, remember to breathe when meditating. It's easy to get so focused on doing it right that you forget to breathe. If you learn to focus on your breathing and the words and less on other things, you'll find the process more beneficial.
I practice CDM proactively daily, but I also use it "in the trenches" when I am frustrated or stressed. A couple of weeks ago I was fishing from my kayak on a power plant lake where I knew the fish should be biting. I was not catching anything, and it was making me mad! Just slowing down for a couple of minutes "in the heat of the moment" allowed me to decompress. By managing my stress effectively, I was able to enjoy the fishing more, and my technique improved in the absence of "stinking thinking" in a manner that allowed me to catch more fish.
I hope you're well. One of the interests of mine as both a Christian and a psychologist is the integration of faith into counseling. While I treat clients who process their world through a lot of different lenses, many of my clients are Christians who want to integrate their faith into their treatment. Thus, sometimes I'll discuss faith-informed treatment within the broader context of wellness in my blog. While traditional psychotherapy can help religious and spiritual clients quite well, research shows that faith-informed styles can promote added wellness benefits for clients.
An important intervention in traditional psychotherapy, mindfulness involves quieting one's inner being to be aware of what's going on around us and controlling what we attend to in a nonjudgmental manner. It's very beneficial for a variety of concerns related to anxiety, stress, immune function, empathy, addiction, chronic pain, among others. It is used in a wide variety of cognitive-behavioral treatments and for a wide variety of clinical concerns. In my practice, I use it frequently with my clients who are experiencing difficulties with stress management and cognitive flexibility. Those difficulties make it hard to be resilient in the face of depression, anxiety, addiction, etc.
For Christians, mindfulness often sounds kind of taboo... like some kind of "new age" idea that might be incompatible with faith. Not so! Ephesians 4:23 talks about being "renewed in the spirit of your minds." Having a better flexibility to accept what comes into our minds without having to judge and "do something" with everything allows us to react less to things we don't need. Have you ever tried not thinking of something? Trying not to just makes you think about it more. Learning to "be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) will promote wellness both spiritually, physically, and psychologically.
There are a variety of styles of Christian Devotional Meditation (CDM) that can be beneficial. Today, we'll focus on centering prayers in this space. As point of disclosure, I engage in CDM daily. It has become a significant spiritual discipline for me that helps me on the journey. As I've done this practice with clients and in my own life, I've learned a few things. First of all, it takes time to get good at it. You need to practice it at least 10-20 minutes 2-3 times per week during the first month for it to move from feeling awkward to being effective. Often, I found I needed to "fake it until I made it" initially as I learned the discipline. It also helps if you dress comfortably and pick a quiet, calm place for when you engage in CDM. Lastly, remember to breathe when meditating. It's easy to get so focused on doing it right that you forget to breathe. If you learn to focus on your breathing and the words and less on other things, you'll find the process more beneficial.
I practice CDM proactively daily, but I also use it "in the trenches" when I am frustrated or stressed. A couple of weeks ago I was fishing from my kayak on a power plant lake where I knew the fish should be biting. I was not catching anything, and it was making me mad! Just slowing down for a couple of minutes "in the heat of the moment" allowed me to decompress. By managing my stress effectively, I was able to enjoy the fishing more, and my technique improved in the absence of "stinking thinking" in a manner that allowed me to catch more fish.
Below are some steps to using Christian centering prayers... below is an adapted version of centering prayer recommendations made by Fernando Garzon (2013).
The purpose of scriptural truth meditation focused on God’s character is to help us slow down and quietly reflect on a significant truth about who God is. You are not studying this truth in an overly analytical manner, but rather receiving the depth of the truth at the heart level. This can be very helpful when we feel anxious, hurried, stressed or frustrated. Turn off the cell phone, computer, TV and radio. Make yourself comfortable. Pray and ask the Lord to open your heart to receive his truth at a deeper level.
1. Choose a characteristic of God that is meaningful and comforting. Below are a few examples. You may
add others as well. In counseling, I will be glad to help you identify additional traits if you would like.
God is love God forgives me God is in control God is faithful
God is good God is merciful Jesus loves me Jesus is Lord
2. Sit in a comfortable position.
3. Close your eyes in order to become more focused and avoid potential distractions.
4. Take a deep breath in and then breathe out repeating the trait of God you chose. Repeat the phrase
you chose during your exhale. Try to inhale as deeply as you can... one way to tell is that your belly
muscles will tighten.
5. Repeat several times.
6. Quietly reflect on this trait and how this characteristic of God is expressed in your life.
7. Your mind will eventually wander. This is normal. No need to beat yourself up.
8. Simply return to the trait regularly when this occurs. When your mind wanders, feel free to notice the
distracting thought or sensation, acknowledge it, and then let it leave. I often envision the tide at the
ocean coming in and going out as I verbally identify the distraction. Other people I know will say
when they're distracted, "I'm aware of [distraction]. Hmm... that's funny" and then return to focusing
on breathing and their centering words.
Garzon, F. (2013). Christian devotional meditation for anxiety. In E. L. Worthington, Jr., E. L. Johnson, J. N. Hook, & J. D. Aten, Evidence-based practices for Christian counseling and psychotherapy (pp. 59-78). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.
The purpose of scriptural truth meditation focused on God’s character is to help us slow down and quietly reflect on a significant truth about who God is. You are not studying this truth in an overly analytical manner, but rather receiving the depth of the truth at the heart level. This can be very helpful when we feel anxious, hurried, stressed or frustrated. Turn off the cell phone, computer, TV and radio. Make yourself comfortable. Pray and ask the Lord to open your heart to receive his truth at a deeper level.
1. Choose a characteristic of God that is meaningful and comforting. Below are a few examples. You may
add others as well. In counseling, I will be glad to help you identify additional traits if you would like.
God is love God forgives me God is in control God is faithful
God is good God is merciful Jesus loves me Jesus is Lord
2. Sit in a comfortable position.
3. Close your eyes in order to become more focused and avoid potential distractions.
4. Take a deep breath in and then breathe out repeating the trait of God you chose. Repeat the phrase
you chose during your exhale. Try to inhale as deeply as you can... one way to tell is that your belly
muscles will tighten.
5. Repeat several times.
6. Quietly reflect on this trait and how this characteristic of God is expressed in your life.
7. Your mind will eventually wander. This is normal. No need to beat yourself up.
8. Simply return to the trait regularly when this occurs. When your mind wanders, feel free to notice the
distracting thought or sensation, acknowledge it, and then let it leave. I often envision the tide at the
ocean coming in and going out as I verbally identify the distraction. Other people I know will say
when they're distracted, "I'm aware of [distraction]. Hmm... that's funny" and then return to focusing
on breathing and their centering words.
Garzon, F. (2013). Christian devotional meditation for anxiety. In E. L. Worthington, Jr., E. L. Johnson, J. N. Hook, & J. D. Aten, Evidence-based practices for Christian counseling and psychotherapy (pp. 59-78). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.