Apparently ‘mindfulness’ has crept out of the Parish Hall and into the university curriculum! Of all the mind games foisted on us from the East this cousin of Buddhism is the most recent.
Initially it seemed to be designed for those who could not manage the lotus position in yoga. It offered similar benefits without having to get onto the floor. Emptying one’s mind sounds a good idea if your thoughts are evil but like all these exercises that go inside, you will not find much solace there.
Having turned our back on the Bible the search for wisdom looks at other cultures for answers to such things as stress reduction and anxiety. This has led companies like Google and Vodafone to offer mindfulness to their employees.
Of course some may have already encountered it at University where it is listed as a part of leadership development. Having found problems from being led by the head they are now trying to lead from the heart! Emotional intelligence is part of the mindfulness course.
It may seem harmless enough to expel all thoughts about the past and future from your mind and dwell on the instant presence – except that it is not possible! The effort to obtain an altered state of consciousness where all will be sweet and light is simply part of the sinful global network that would replace or eradicate Christianity.
We need to waken up to such practices and where we have been involved repent and confess them. Christ died bearing our sins including all our efforts to change our nature without him.
Faith in the death of Christ to completely cleanse our sins rests on his word, “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” 1 John Chapter 1 verses 7 to 9.
Christian ‘therapy’ is simple. We are to keep short accounts with God. That is the time lapse between committing the sin and acknowledging it should be minimal. When it gets drawn out you get like David, “when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.”
Then David stopped covering up his sin – “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32 verses 3 to 5).
Is it possible to confess your sin in private to God and not articulate it to those you love and trust? Of course it is – but it doesn’t work like that!
It is the speaking of it out loud to a trusted friend that defeats the devil and assures you of the God granted forgiven-ness. No sin is too small and no sin is too big – each causes a separation between you and God.
Don’t go within for forgiveness and peace go to the Lord.