If the heart is the deepest part of our being, that place where our spirit and God's connect, and that place that most needs transformation if we are going to experience any real change, it would seem important to spend some time there.
We are most comfortable in our heads. Since the heart is deeper than the head, then we need to learn to "drop in" from our thought life into the heart. But that darned head keeps getting in the way! With practice, we can learn to do this easier. I know you know some ways to bypass the head quickly. What are some that you have learned and experienced, Aaron?
I have learned several ways, some common and some not so common. I have my favorites. See my comment under the Wild Animal post to see what I did the other night. A good exercise is to ask others how they do it. Why don't you do that and post on what you find.
How is your reading through Mark going? Boring? An obligation? Irrelevant? Hard?
3 comments:
Issues:
1) Bypass the head?
2) Does the bible have specific instructions to work on the heart?
3) Who to ask
4) How to ask
5) How to read the bible without being bored or without feeling obligated
6) How to make the bible just more than words
7) How long should all this take?
Let's deal with the easy ones:
3) start with your parents; how about asking Grant before he leaves (he does email); do you know any other spiritually minded adults you can ask?
4) Yes. I like your question. Jus tbe direct: "Mom, what do you do to get down into your heart with God?"
We can deal with the rest may require a conversation or at least a post.
#1: Well, you never really can totally bypass the head. We think, and it is hard to completely shut off the thoughts. But our thoughts are often a major distraction. You can learn to still your mind, though. Once you do, it is the best time to pray and listen.
Just to help you discover how your mind works, try this, Aaron:
Sit down in a quiet place where you will not be distracted. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Start the timer and try to focus on the following phrase: "Lord Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner." Breath slower and deeper and repeat this phrase to yourself each time you exhale. If you catch your mind wandering, just bring your attention back to the phrase.
Try this a time or two and report back how it went. You will discover lots about your mind and how it works and distracts.
Excellent!!!
You practiced "dropping in", moving from the realm of the head to the heart! Doing it once is better than talking about it 100 times!
Coupld things:
1) Was it hard? If so, what was the hardest part?
2) Did the timer help?
3) Did you feel like you were a part of the conversation in your head or that you were observing it?
4) You see how tyranical thoughts can be sometimes?
5) How did you feel during and after your time?
6) You had a lot of thoughts, probably most of them random or things that have been on your mind. Do you think it is possible that some of the thoughts that arose as you tried to focus might have come from your heart where God the Holy Spirit is communing with you?
7) Always remember, there is no such thing as a "failed" time like this. You can learn something about yourself and God each time. Even when things are hard and your thoughts seem to be overtaking you, those time teach you about how your mind works and how thoughts can be random and distracting. So each time is a "success."
Congratulations, you are now miles ahead in your spiritual journey. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Soon, you will find how much easier and rewarding it gets. God is that way. It is called Grace.
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