Category Archives: Faith

Prayerful Meditation and Contemplation

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photo (22)While on vacation with old friends this summer, I enjoyed a few moments of solitude and prayer beside the lake.  When I returned to the cabin a friend asked me, “What are you doing out there?”  I tried to explain what I had reading about contemplative prayer.

For me, contemplative prayer is a form of meditation that begins with quieting and focusing my mind.  I find it remarkably relaxing to gaze over a lake while praying.  Considering the waves as they move over the surface is curiously relaxing.  Not much to analyze, not much to worry about.  This relaxed state of mind is a prelude to contemplative prayer.  For some it comes with time at the beach or the lake.  For others it comes with inspirational reading or mellow music.

Contemplative prayer has as its aim an intimate experience of God.  It is a state of mind in which all concerns about past and future are replaced by a present awareness of God.  This awareness is described by Christian mystics as a spiritual union.  Writers use this term to describe the level of intimacy  embodied in this taste of the supernatural grace of God.  Time spent in prayerful contemplation changes the spirit of the person who is praying.  The person’s heart is changed in a way that mysteriously knows the answer to questions he or she did not even know how to ask.  The spirit of this person comes to love and understand more easily.

While at its deepest level contemplative prayer is free from specific ideas, on another level it may focus on a single idea.  This solitary focus may be an initial step to spiritual union.  Here, the meditating person focuses on one idea such as God, love, sin, or forgiveness.  The goal prayer at this level is to try to remain aware of the value represented in the idea without going off into details.  When meditating on the idea of love, for example, try to stay focused on the idea of love, not the love of God, family or friends.  Simply focus on the one-word-idea of love.  When your mind wanders, come back to the single idea, again and again.  Without specifically analyzing the relationships in your life, you will come to a greater ability to love them.

Many of these ideas were gleaned from The Cloud of Unknowing, written by an unknown  fourteenth century author.

The Cloud of Unknowing. (Author unknown).  Republished by Paraclete Press, Brewster Massachusetts, 2006.

Shrinking Brain – Cause or Effect of Depression

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brainNew research provides evidence that long-term depression is associated with a shrinking brain (1).  The study, published last week, suggests that shrinkage in the hippocampus is a consequence of long-term depression.

Scientists compared brain imaging of 1700 patients with clinical depression to brain images of control subjects with no history of depression.  The hippocampus, a region responsible for memory function, was smaller in patients with long-term depression.  Hippocampus shrinkage was not seen in patients who had only experienced one depressive episode.   From this finding, scientists concluded that brain shrinkage comes after, not before, the onset of clinical depression.

In Breaking Through Depression (2), my book on causes and treatments of depression, I explain how stress can lead to brain cell injury.  Being depressed is certainly a stressful experience, one that might lead to brain cell injury. Breaking Through Depression also explains how this brain cell damage appears to be reversed by successful treatment.  Whether brain cell loss is a cause or consequence of depression remains to be conclusively determined but the point is made stronger by new research: stress and depression can damage the brain.

Do what you can to un-do depression.  Find healthy ways to relax and take care of yourself.  Exercise: huff and puff and break a sweat.  Hang-out with good friends for a while.  Engage your spirituality through prayer, meditation, or reading something inspirational.  If these self-care steps don’t lift your mood, then seek professional counseling and consider talking with a physician about medication.  Depressive illness comes with brain cell injury that can be reduced and reversed.

1. Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication 30 June 2015

2. Breaking Through Depression: A Biblical and Medical Approach to Emotional Wholeness. Harvest House Books

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

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IMG_3905For many people, faith is indispensable to mental health. Religious beliefs and practices strengthen their emotional resiliency in the face of hassles and stressors.

Healthy spirituality can infuse  emotion and intellect with hope and clarity.  Awareness of the Holy Spirit lessens the sense of aloneness  and imparts wise counsel.  Reading of religious texts, with focus on scriptures that emphasize God’s love and grace, can correct cognitive distortions regarding low self-worth or helplessness.

Looking inward, prayer provides a structure in which to list problems and to facilitates a mental state of receptivity to new solutions.  Going deeper into a meditative state, while contemplating God as creator of the universe yet intimate companion,  enlightens the mind to a bigger-picture image of life that causes worries to melt.

Clearly spiritual belief can support mental health.   People tell me this, in one way or another, most days.

It is also true that spiritual belief can become emotionally unhealthy.  People also remind me of this on a regular basis.  A woman with obsessive compulsive disorder tells me of crippling obsessions over past sins.  Victims of clergy-abuse describe long-lasting wounds.

And so, healthy and unhealthy beliefs can be intimately interwoven in the mind.  Disentangling these beliefs can be hard and the process of uprooting unhealthy spiritual beliefs can be psychologically traumatic.  Often, it is better to start with cultivating spiritual wellness through the practices noted above.   In time, emotionally healthy spirituality will begin to yield fruits of improved mental fitness.

Easter Spirituality: Christ’s Views on Good and Evil

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IMG_1984Believers of Jesus Christ as the incarnate son of God view the Easter weekend as a time of tragedy and triumph.  Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant churches will open their doors to the curious and the devout and proclaim a message of good overcoming evil.

Like followers of Christ two thousand years ago, it is easy to get focused on the evil around us.  Early Christians watched Christ arrested, humiliated, and killed by men consumed by evil.

But Christ said, “Hey wait a minute.  Don’t be so short sighted.  Evil is coming for me but it has no power over me.  I am willing – no wait – looking forward to glorifying my father in obedient sacrifice, with the full assurance that I am headed to heaven.  It’s actually a good thing.  And, by the way, I am going back to heaven to prepare a place for you… got a room reserved for you in my father’s house.” (paraphrased from John 13).

Nowhere else in history is recorded such a story of bruising tragedy and ultimate fulfillment as in the historical events of Easter.  Whether you tend to get overwhelmed by worry or struggle with depression, may God refresh and bless you, with a new peace and perspective that surpasses human understanding.

See the Bible, John Chapter 13, for Christ’s perspective on evil, goodness, and his understanding of eternity.

Comfort in Grief – Spiritual Perspectives

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photo (57)In times of grief, a view of heaven may help.  Here are three images of God that illustrate the comfort that awaits the children of God.

The prophet Isaiah’s view of heaven included a vision of God as a kingly figure sitting on a throne, with flowing robes filling the temple and angels surrounding him with praises of his holiness (Isaiah 6:1-3).  How amazing it must be to dwell in his presence.

The apostle Mark described the presence of Jesus with children: ”And he took them in his arms and blessed them…” (Mark 10:16).  Jesus, as God among us, provided a glimpse of eternal heavenly compassion.

In my own mind, I like to imagine God as a loving father, sitting on his throne, with flowing robes billowing off of his shoulders and filing a heavenly temple.  I like to imagine all of his children sitting on his lap (it’s a big lap).  Our heavenly father looks down into the eyes of each one of us, in a way that fills our minds with amazement at his love and eternal provision for our souls.

Rick Warren’s Response to Son’s Suicide (Spiritual Perspectives)

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052One year after the loss of his son, Pastor Rick Warren said: “Obviously, I want my son back. But if you’re going to go through pain, you may as well use it for good (1).”

When something tragic like suicide happens, there are many different ways to respond. Two ways emerge from reading a recently published interview with Pastor Warren.

First, wait. Following Matthew’s death, Pastor Rick withdrew from the world for several weeks. He used the time to grieve the loss of a beloved son and draw closer to a loving God. Waiting quietly in prayer is often a good first step.

In moments of upheaval, simply wait as a stone waits for the artist to chisel away unneeded parts, gradually revealing the masterpiece that remains. In the words of a 17th Jesuit priest:

“All we need to think of is to keep still in his hands while he works on us…(2)”

Second, allow the experience to change you in a positive way. Rick Warren used his hardship “for good”, as he developed a desire to understand and support people with mental health challenges. Maybe your hardship will enliven growth in some aspect of your personal life.

When bad things happen, wait on God and be transformed. Let Him use the difficulties in your life to shape you into the woman or man He has in mind for you to become.

(1) Warren Smith. Pain and Gain. World Magazine. September 20, 2012

(2) Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure and Claude de la Colombiere. Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence, The secret of peace and happiness. St. Benedict Press, Charlotte, NC. 1980 (originally written in 17th Century).

Bad Things Happen to Good People

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photo (53)Spiritual beliefs may get distorted in times of depression; especially when bad things happen to good people. Viewing God as uncaring or unreal can be a part of the black mood experience. So how are we to think about a god who allows bad things to happen to good people?

In responding to this question, I will begin placing quotation marks around the words ‘good’ and ‘bad’ because sometimes what appears to be ‘bad’ is actually ‘good’. This, I believe, is frequently true in our view of life events.

Often, in the grand scheme of the universe as God knows it, what looks to be ‘bad’ is ultimately ‘good’. Look at Christ on the cross. Wow! Did a very ‘bad’ thing happen to a ‘good’ man? Or, did an ultimately very good thing happen to a very good man?

In smaller ways, God may be using ‘bad’ things to bring ‘good’ things into your life and the lives of those you love. Accepting this suggestion is not easy. Keeping faith when life hurts is hard.

We need a renewed perspective, like the writer of Trustful Surrender who said:

“If we could see all He sees
we would unhesitantly wish all He wishes.
We would beg Him on bended knees for those afflictions
we now ask Him to spare us.”(1)

Bad things do happen to good people. When they do, may God help us to submit to his will so that, in these hardships, we might be transformed into the man or woman he intends us to become.

(1) Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure and Claude de la Colombiere. Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence, The secret of peace and happiness. St. Benedict Press, Charlotte, NC. 1980 (originally written in 17th Century).

Encouragement for Periods of Depression

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125There are dark clouds.
There are blue skies.
You have to know that there are blue skies beyond the dark skies.
Right now, clouds obstruct your view.
Right now, you have to know with intuition and faith, that good days are a reality and when the clouds pass you will experience again the joys of a beautiful day.

The key is to know that bad days will pass – better days will come.
It happens.
As you wait through cloudy days, hang onto a long-range vision and focus your mind on faith.
Strength will rise and clouds will part.