Mindfulness, Thoughtfulness, and Spirit-fulness
Here is an excellent blog post on Christianity Today on the subject of mindfulness.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/amyjuliabecker/2015/april/has-mindfulness-supplanted-thoughtfulness.html
Mindfulness is, as she points out, a desirable thing in this insane, frenetic society, but I don't think Christians need to follow Buddhist teachings to get it. The Christian tradition has much to say about awareness, meditation, etc., but it has a whole different meaning in Christian tradition than Eastern. So it is unwise, and perhaps dangerous, in my thinking, to accept the mindfulness craze wholesale.
But this morning I thought of how mindfulness, for a Christian, can be an exercise of the flesh, as opposed to using it in service of being open to the Holy Spirit and being a conduit of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. In fact, it seems that what people are looking for in mindfulness are the fruits of the Spirit, which do not come from the works of the flesh.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/amyjuliabecker/2015/april/has-mindfulness-supplanted-thoughtfulness.html
Mindfulness is, as she points out, a desirable thing in this insane, frenetic society, but I don't think Christians need to follow Buddhist teachings to get it. The Christian tradition has much to say about awareness, meditation, etc., but it has a whole different meaning in Christian tradition than Eastern. So it is unwise, and perhaps dangerous, in my thinking, to accept the mindfulness craze wholesale.
But this morning I thought of how mindfulness, for a Christian, can be an exercise of the flesh, as opposed to using it in service of being open to the Holy Spirit and being a conduit of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. In fact, it seems that what people are looking for in mindfulness are the fruits of the Spirit, which do not come from the works of the flesh.
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