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Tag Archives: mindfulness

Rebuked by the Buddhists

The front page of Time magazine last week focused on the international interest in the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn. Based on Buddhist practices, it has proven to help people reduce stress in our frenetic world. I attended a seminar on this years ago and was saddened how few people associated Christians and churches with contentment, joy, and “centeredness” in life. The tradition of “centering” is rich in our biblical, Christian tradition. Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness in God’s presence. Elijah was a prophet of the desert who learned to hear God in silence. John the Baptist’s ministry flowed from the quietness of the desert. Jesus had rhythms of activity and aloneness. John Cassian wrote extensively on meditating on Scripture in “mindfulness” before the Lord in his Conferences. The desert fathers and monastics, through history, have continued this tradition. The ministry of Contemplative Outreach, founded by Trappist monks in the 1960′s, was an effort. Read more.

Silence, Mindfulness, and the Buddhists

I recently attended a seminar on mental health/personality disorders in which the leader taught about the need to teach patients “mindfulness.” She defined it as stillness, openness, and silence, leading to the ability to radically love others. She then proceeded to share how her “profession” has learned this from the Buddhist tradition. While she is an atheist, she commented, a number of mental health professionals have converted to Buddhism as result. Sadly, she didn’t think of Christianity as the originator of silence and solitude (e.g. Ps. 37:11, Ps. 46:10, Luke 10:38-42, Elijah, John the Baptist, Moses, Jesus). She also did not associate Christians with “radical acceptance” and love. We have forgotten that other religions and movements may benefit from God’s truth, but it all belongs to Him! (What is really tragic is when Christians mistakenly say that an emphasis on silence and solitude as spiritual practices is New Age or Buddhist). Research with Buddhists. Read more.

Silence, Mindfulness, and the Buddhists

I recently attended a seminar on mental health/personality disorders in which the leader taught about the need to teach patients “mindfulness.” She defined it as stillness, openness, and silence, leading to the ability to radically love others. She then proceeded to share how her “profession” has learned this from the Buddhist tradition. While she is an atheist, she commented, a number of mental health professionals have converted to Buddhism as result. Sadly, she didn’t think of Christianity as the originator of silence and solitude (e.g. Ps. 37:11, Ps. 46:10, Luke 10:38-42, Elijah, John the Baptist, Moses, Jesus). She also did not associate Christians with “radical acceptance” and love. We have forgotten that other religions and movements may benefit from God’s truth, but it all belongs to Him! (What is really tragic is when Christians mistakenly say that an emphasis on silence and solitude as spiritual practices is New Age or Buddhist). Research with Buddhists. Read more.