Time to Breathe

Lent is a time for slowing down, for reflecting, and for rooting down into our faith in ways that strengthen and nourish.  Which is why the season of Lent is a wonderful time to try out new spiritual practices!  This year I have taken on a mindfulness practice that forces me to pause and re-center myself multiple times throughout my day.  Inspired by the ancient practice of bells or chimes calling people to prayer, I changed the setting on my text notifications to the sound of a meditation chime.  Every time I receive a text message, I stop what I am doing and take a moment for this short breath meditation:

Breathing in, I calm my body
Breathing out, I smile
Breathing in, I dwell in this moment
Breathing out, I give thanks for this wonderful moment

Text alerts that used to be interruptions that could leave me frazzled and distracted have turned into beautiful moments of gratitude throughout my day.  This simple practice returns my focus again and again to God’s gifts of breath, body, and peace.  Sometimes I receive quite a few texts in a short amount of time and rather than raising my anxiety, I find myself laughing as I breathe in these wonderful moments.

This is just one example of a spiritual practice that can help you to slow down and re-orient your heart and mind towards God.  Here are a few others that I shared during worship on Ash Wednesday:

Sacred Honesty - openly and intentionally sharing your honest feelings with another person.  Share what hurts, what scares you, or what you are grieving.  This honest sharing can be healing for both people as it helps to make connections and reminds us that we are not alone.
Holy Slowing - Take time away from rushing and busy-ness.  Take something off your plate or off your schedule.  Stepping out of the constant need to be a producer or consumer reclaims our humanity and allows us to simply be.
Embodied Compassion - Live out compassion with your body.  Physically go to places where people are hurting and offer real help.  This can be loading groceries into someone’s car at the food pantry or showing up to sit and listen to someone who is lonely or hurting.
Courageous Imagining - Dream and imagine possibilities for a better world.  Refuse to let harshness shape our vision, but instead look for the good and beautiful in the world and boldly share messages of love and hope.

I hope that one of these practices inspires you to try something new this Lent.  In whatever way you choose, I pray that the season of Lent may be a time of peace, healing and renewal in your life.