How to Pray | How to Live
There’s a path you can walk that leads to peace
A path that leads to joy
There’s a path you can walk that leads to faith
A path that leads to hope
There’s a path you can walk that leads to love
A path that leads to God
It’s the path of prayer
On the path of prayer you will find peace
You will find lasting joy
On the path of prayer you will find faith
You will find shining hope
On the path of prayer you will find love
Safe in the arms of God
Are you living in your head or from your heart?
What does it feel like to live in our heads? When we live in our heads we over think, we easily tire, we literally feel our minds buzzing with distractions. We feel mentally, spiritually, and emotionally cluttered. Living in our heads is heavy, burdensome, and tiring.
What does it feel like to live from our hearts? We feel connected to God, to ourselves, and to others. We feel passion and love. We enjoy the moment. We’re serene and happy.
Living in our heads is draining; living from our hearts is invigorating. Living in our heads drives us to isolate.; living from our hearts leads us to connect more deeply with others.
I think many of us are disconnected from our hearts. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the heart is “the place of encounter.” The heart is the deepest center of the person, the place where we are most authentically ourselves, the place where we encounter the living and Triune God. The more we connect with our hearts, the more we connect with the Lord who dwells in us.
So how do we make this journey from living in our heads to living from our hearts? I’ve been trying to do just that. I’ve consciously distanced myself from technology. I’ve gotten off of Facebook and Twitter and disabled email on my iPhone. Yes, I still use the internet and email daily, but I’ve consciously stepped away from a lot of it. It’s made a big impact in a short amount of time. I’m more peaceful, and I’m more connected to the Lord, myself, and others.
So here are some steps you can take to get out of your head and into your heart:
If you enjoyed this post please share it:
I’ve recently made a few decisions that might seem drastic to some of you: I deleted my Facebook and Twitter accounts and I disabled email on my iPhone.
Yes, I’ve decided to rebel against a culture that tells us we need to multitask, that our personal value depends upon how much work we get done during the day, and that we have to be constantly connected. These days, although far from being perfect at it, I am choosing to cut out distractions and to live my life more slowly.
I believe that our spiritual lives will deepen when we decide to cut out distractions and slow down. I say this because when I contemplate the life of Jesus, I simply don’t believe that He was in a constant rush. Yes, He was on fire with His mission, but He wasn’t moving about frantically.
In my own prayer, I see him walking peacefully, slowly, aware of His Father’s love for him. When He spoke with someone, He was focused on that person as if she were the only person in the world. When He was preaching, He was immersed in preaching. When He was healing, He was immersed in healing. When He was visiting friends, He was immersed in the visit. I don’t think Jesus was concerned with multitasking. His mind wasn’t constantly buzzing with distractions.
I find that I when I consciously slow down and focus on what I’m doing, I actually get more done during the day and I feel better about myself. I feel more peaceful because I’m able to be more aware of God’s presence. I feel…liberated.
Try it: Start your day slowly. Move through the day slowly. Focus on the work you’re doing and do it slowly. Let me know how it works for you.
So, although you won’t see me on Facebook or Twitter, I still plan to blog; and I hope and pray that my blogging will help you to be more aware of the Lord’s presence in your life.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it:
What are you afraid of?
We all have fears. Fear of the future. Fear of rejection. Fear of being vulnerable. Fear of failure. Some of us live in a constant state of fear. It’s no wonder then that the most frequent words in the Bible are, “Do not be afraid.”
“Do not be afraid.” These are the words that God spoke to the prophets. These are the words that the angel spoke to Mary–and to Joseph. These are the words that Jesus spoke to the Apostles–and they are the words He speaks to us.
But how do we overcome fear? By living in the present moment. During Advent, we listen daily to the words of the Prophet Isaiah proclaimed at Mass. Last week, a verse from Isaiah spoke deeply to my heart: “For I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’” This touch of God, this action of God grasping our hand, is meant to bring us deeply into the present moment. God is always present to us; but we must learn to be present to Him.
Lately I’ve been pondering the reality of self-awareness. Think about it: it’s only through self-awareness that we can even become aware of God’s presence. If we live in self-awareness, then we will be drawn more deeply into God’s presence in and around us. And by being fully present to God, by being conscious of His loving presence, fear disappears. Fear cannot survive the penetrating and loving gaze of God. Fear cannot survive when we allow ourselves to be grasped by God’s hand.
So live within His gaze, and feel His touch. If your mind is dwelling on the past or fearing the future, take a moment to be aware of the present moment and turn to the Lord. If you are are experiencing any kind of fear, sit down; relax; breath deeply; pray. Become aware of the indwelling Trinity. If you become deeply aware of the present moment, if you become aware of the Lord’s touch and the His loving gaze, fear will disappear and will be replaced by peace.
****************************************************************************
How do you deal with fear? Feel free to comment
Follow me on Facebook or Twitter
If you enjoyed this post, please share it:
Lately I’ve had a desire for deeper stillness in my soul, a desire to live in the present moment, a desire to be present to God’s presence within me. I wrote this poem as a meditation on the stillness in Christ’s soul—His resting in the Father—from the Incarnation, through His life, passion, death, and resurrection, [...]
The tinge of auburn which remains From the evening sunset Glows gently through the thin clouds, As if You have taken the painter’s brush And gently stroked the horizon. The evening breeze blows Gently on my face. As I gaze toward the west: Peace, gentleness, love In the beginning You spoke And creation came to [...]
It was a precious moment gone awry. A few weeks ago I was at my parent’s house for a big Sunday dinner and birthday cake for my oldest sister, Debbie. My mom called me as I was on my way home and asked me to stop at the liquor store to buy a couple of [...]
As I write this I’m cruising at 30,000 feet on my way to Omaha, Nebraska to spend the week at the Institute for Priestly Formation (IPF) at Creighton University. IPF is a wonderful program designed to help seminarians enter into a deeper relationship with the Holy Trinity. There are 175 seminarians from all over the [...]
“To know God’s presence we need to adopt an attitude of awareness” (Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik, S.J.). I enjoy reading personal development blogs. I benefit from the insights that many bloggers offer on how to improve our lives, how to be more productive, and how to stay balanced and positive. A recurring theme that many [...]
Two months ago we wept with the people of Haiti as they experienced the strongest earthquake to hit their country in two centuries. The damage was catastrophic; the death toll staggering. Thankfully, so many people around the world have contributed both spiritually with prayer and materially with money and other resources. As with many catastrophes, [...]
Most of you are probably familiar with the Serenity Prayer. This prayer has become a source of consolation and strength to Christians and non-Christians alike for the simple reason that it gives voice to our human experience and it resonates deeply in our hearts: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot [...]
So you have a problem. You find that you’re spending way too much time either dwelling on the past or thinking about the future. You truly want to stop, but you don’t know how; the past and the future are constantly luring you with their voices, and you keep listening to them. You wonder why you’re constantly restless and why you lack interior peace and joy, but the answer is right before you—literally right before you. It’s called the present moment.
“Stop this train. I want to get off and go home again. I can’t take the speed it’s moving in. I know I can’t; but honestly won’t someone stop this train.” -John Mayer We often miss the gift of life because we live at a speed that is just too fast. Our American way of life is just too fast. Few of us are exempt from the busy, fast-paced life—priests included. The demands of job and family life can be overwhelming for the laity; the demands of ministry can be overwhelming for priests and religious. But so many of us believe the lie that if we’re not busy, then we’re not effective; and as we get caught in the maelstrom of our busyness, we experience emotional and spiritual pain. I’ve reflected on this reality of the busy, fast-paced life for a while and I’ve come to see that it’s not so much about being too busy that causes our pain; it’s really about not being rooted.
Follow Live Holiness