What is Mindfulness?
When you ask someone what it means to be mindful, people typically think of being aware, taking your time, or being careful and attentive. In recent years though, Mindfulness has expanded from being just a simple concept into being a whole therapeutic practice. It is one that is growing rapidly in popularity. You may even see your child come home with Mindfulness worksheets and activities from school. They are implementing it more than ever, and understandably so, because there has been lots of newly conducted research done showing that it’s helpful. Due to its growing popularity and your child’s eventual exposure, today we are going to dive into what exactly Mindfulness is. I’ll provide you tools you need to be informed and how to respond. We will ultimately unpack the question – can you truly engage in Mindfulness and still be a Christian?
Where did Mindfulness originate?
Jon Kabot-Zinn is credited with developing the therapeutic practice of Mindfulness. There are different variations of this practice, but he is the founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in which he utilizes three aspects of thought engagement (purposeful, present, and non-judgmental) to address a variety of thought-related concerns. Mindfulness (MBSR) has been shown through research to lower distressing thoughts and stress. There has also been research completed that show that MBSR can help us view demanding situations in a less stressful light, allow us to be more alert, and even live longer when we are mindful. It can even help us make better decisions, boost well-being, and help us engage in more effective conflict resolution. This Mindfulness sounds pretty incredible, right? So, what’s the issue?
Well, the major concern of Christians is that Jon Kabot-Zinn did not develop this theory based on a Christian worldview. Consequently, he actually sought out to create this therapeutic practice because he wanted the benefit of being mindful without God. Taking God out of his Mindfulness therapy (MBSR) was actually the entire purpose behind its inception. This is definitely a concern, right?
What does the Bible say?
If you read 2 Corinthians 10:5, God’s Word instructs us that we need take every thought captive. The bible recognizes the power the mind has, and how dangerous it is to allow our thoughts to just wander off. The Bible tells us the mind is synonymous with actions, and we can’t just do right, but that it begins in the mind when you think right. The concept of Mindfulness, in essence, is built upon this same 2 Corinthians concept. Mindfulness is about taking control of your thought life. It encourages you to set time aside, focus your mind onto one specific thought (something edifying), and every time you notice your mind begin to wander from that one thought – kindly bring your thoughts back to the original central thought until you decide you are finished. The bible ultimately supports this concept, and encourages you to have healthy thought patterns and be control of what you think.
Can I be a Christian and practice Mindfulness?
That begs the question – if the bible tells us to be Mindful, and there is a research-supported way to do that, should we? With Mindfulness being rooted in practices that specially remove God, I’d say in its root form – no. It would be contrary to engage in Mindfulness practices while identifying as being a Christian. What I would like to challenge us to do though, is to redefine Mindfulness. We can (and should) put God back into Mindfulness, and look at it from a biblical perspective. As we read, the bible clearly supports a strong and healthy thought life. By using Biblical Mindfulness, we can actually grow closer to God, while also reaping all the benefits of pausing and being in our thoughts.
I believe prayer is the ultimate state of being mindful. The MBSR theory exists solely because Mr. Zinn recognized and proved the amazing benefits of focusing on our thoughts. Prayer, really, is just that. It’s impossible to pray without pausing and engaging in some level of self-reflection. What Christians do with prayer is take the next step into sharing those self-reflections through supplication, praise, and requests made to God through prayer. That is one huge distinction between Mindfulness and Biblical Mindfulness. Mindfulness rests solely in yourself, where Biblical Mindfulness self-reflects and then shares those reflections with God. We can put God back into the center of the equation, and redefine what it means to be Mindful through Biblical Mindfulness.
What exactly is Biblical Mindfulness?
One of the main flaws of the Mindfulness practice, is that everyone does it slightly differently. It is really difficult for professionals to agree upon a definition and set procedure and guideline on how it should be used. That also is good news for us Christians, because it opens the door for us to also interpret Mindfulness the way we should. Below I took the researched steps of Mindfulness, and put God back into the equation. Today, if I were to recommend your child to be Mindful, I’d walk them through these three steps:
- PAUSE – this part encourages you to take a deep breath, slow your racing thoughts, and focus on being still. I personally love Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” Find a quiet spot, and recognize that it’s time to self-reflect. I would encourage you to do this before bedtime or during your devotions. I would not encourage you do this when you are upset. That is when I would recommend you use a coping strategy, which is a different approach. You can think of Mindfulness as preventative, and Coping as reactive.
- PICK – it is here that you will find what you’d like to be mindful about. I would recommend that you choose an attribute of God (i.e., Creator, Redeemer), a byproduct of who you are now that you’re in Christ (i.e., forgiven, new creation), or what God has called you to do (i.e., evangelism, service) Spendtime reflecting on what that concept means to you. There are no rules here. You can think about it, write it down, read about it, etc. It’s about pausing and being present in the concept you chose. The only guideline is that when you find that you mind begins to wander (which it inevitably will), you bring your thoughts back to the concept you chose to be mindful about. Do not allow your thoughts to control you, but rather you stay in control. You are in control to say when you are finished. When you try this out, you will realize it’s extremely difficult not to have your thoughts wander. The average time of mindfulness will last about 5 minutes. The duration of time doesn’t matter, it’s more about building mental stamina to be in control of the focus of your thoughts.
- PRAY –When you decide you are finished, go to the Lord in prayer. Make sure you are not just thinking and self-reflecting about the concept, but that it becomes a conversation. Share with God in conversation what you discovered during your time
How do I teach my child Biblical Mindfulness?
Especially in our busy world, teaching your child to be still in their thoughts can be extremely difficult. You may only last 1 minute, and that is just fine. Like anything, this takes practice. I have included a FREE BIBLICAL MINDFULNESS GUIDE that will provide you everything you need to get started. In this guide you will find an infographic for your reference. This lists the three steps of being mindful in a quick and visual way for you to reference back to. You will also have a worksheet in this guide if you would prefer to make this an activity that your child can write down, rather than it just being a verbal activity.
Your child’s mind will be filled with so much chaos, sin, and negative influence throughout just one day’s time. We need to be purposeful to teach them to be in control of what occurs in their mind. We need to be intentional on teaching them to pause and reflect on God’s goodness and edifying thoughts. We don’t drift towards good, and neither do our kids. Thinking right takes practice, and we should be teaching our children to not just do right, but to think right.
- I’D LIKE TO TALK WITH JENNA ON HOW TO DO THIS
References:
Huppert, F.A. and Yu, N. (2020) The Rise of Mindfulness and its impact on Mental Health and Wellbeing. In Eds. Kirby, J.N, & Gilbert, P. (2020) Making an Impact on Mental Health: The Applications of Psychological Research. Routledge
Creswell, J. D. (2017). Mindfulness interventions. Annual Review of Psychology, 68, 491- 516.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994) Wherever You Go, There You Are – Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, Hyperion. Cited in in Hart, R., Itzivan, I, & Hart, D. (2013) Mind the Gap in Mindfulness Research: A comparative account of the leading schools of thought. Review of General Psychology, 17 (4) 144