Category Archives: Prayer

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

Deliverance from the Influence of Evil

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iphone June 2014 147A middle-aged man recently told me of how he had broken a 10 year habit of sexual and drug addiction.  Medication management of his bipolar disorder had reduced his impulsivity but his miraculous change of habit-life he attributed to spiritual deliverance.   He told me of his counseling with a priest and their use of a book on breaking the power of evil influence.

The dramatic nature of his religious and psychiatric conversion compelled me to read the book: Unbound (1).   The author, an interdenominational Christian pastor, presents a practical discussion of an often sensationalized topic.  Rather than terrible stories of torment followed by head twisting images of deliverance, the author suggests that breaking free of evil influence is part of a process of “ever deepening conversion” to which every Christ-follower is called.

I will try to distill his teaching into a few short statements:

  1. Repent of specific sin – Recognize that my behavior in a specific area violates God’s will. Commit to change.
  2. Confront the lies supporting the sin – As an example, tell yourself: “It is a lie to say that heavy alcohol use hurts no one.”
  3. Renounce the spirit underlying the lie – For example, talk to the spirit: In the name of Jesus, spirit of drunkenness, get out of my life.”  This part seems a bit odd to me, but I believe there is a time and place for it.
  4. Fill the void –  When one bad habit or pattern of sinful thinking is broken, we must be deliberate about filing the empty habit space with healthier behaviors.  Meditate.  Be a friend.  Exercise.  Work.  Do something creative.
  5. Submit to ongoing conversion – Allow God to control more and more of your life.  The process of becoming the man or woman that God wants you to become may take a lifetime.

How much of life’s difficulties we attribute to evil spirits varies from person to person.  C.S. Lewis, respected scholar and author, suggests that there are two errors we can get into when considering the idea of demonic influence:  “One is to disbelieve in their existence.  The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them (2).”  For the spiritually minded person,  the principles outlined above may help in keeping the right balance.

Neal Lazano. Unbound: A practical guide to deliverance.  Grand Rapids Michigan, 2010 .

CS Lewis.  The Screwtape Letters.  New York, Bantam Books, 1982.

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.

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).

Exercise: Part II – Prayer Walking

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Photo source: prayerideas.org

Photo source:
prayerideas.org

As the new year arrives, many of us plan to build better habits – to take better care of ourselves – mind, body, and spirit. Physical exercise can help all three.

Exercise wakes up the body and mind with physical arousal and keenness of thought. A good workout can also restore spiritual perspective when combined with prayer.

“Prayer walking” mingles physical exercise with spiritual thinking, promoting emotional wholeness. As you walk on the treadmill or jog through the neighborhood, take a few moments to think about God and his interest in your life.

In your mind, list the worries or concerns that you have about today. Now, give them to God. Maybe saying, “Lord I can’t handle (name the hardship) on my own. I trust You to take care of it or give me the wisdom to respond rightly.”

As you continue huffing and puffing, think about the trials you will face tomorrow. Again, list them… and release them to God. Still walking, your heart pumping oxygen and energy to your brain, tension fades and you begin to relax as your feet hit land in soothing rhythm.

Now list the concerns that you have about next year – your family and friends, finances and faith. Breathing deeply, give them to God – the creator of your body, your community, and reality.

Pairing prayer with exercise in this way helps to focus your mind and spirit. It may help you to maintain a stepwise process of analysis – no distracting i-phones or no e-mail – just you and God walking along your pathway of life.