Mark: Hello and welcome to God’s Gym, the podcast where we consider how we can reach our full potential as human beings, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Jesus said he had come that we might have life in abundance, and we ask, what is abundant life and how can we live it?
I am Mark, an Army Chaplain and with me is Paul, an Army Scripture reader and today we are talking about quietness and calm. Life is busier than ever and each time saving device we invent seems to make us busier and busier. Computers, internet, and mobile phones are among the worse ways we have increased our stresses. How can we re-discover peace and calm? Why does multi-tasking give me such a headache?
In the bible we are encouraged in the midst of great stress to find that place of peace: Be still is the command of Psalm 46, even as the world is falling apart around your ears!
In the midst of great demand, Jesus got up very early in the morning when it was still dark. He left the house and went to a place where he could be alone. Mark 1:35
Paul: Mark I can certainly identify with that. There is a certain spot that i call my ‘go to place’ where I can press the pause button of my life, and have some down time. I haven’t visited it lately but I know where it is, and I would certainly recommend finding your own place of solitude or that quiet spot wherever it may be and developing that into a good habit.
Mark: Sleep is my number one place of solitude! Sleep is the biggest way we relax and recharge! Good sleep habits are really important! One in 3 of us suffers from poor sleep, with stress, computers and taking work home often blamed. However, the cost of all those sleepless nights is more than just bad moods and a lack of focus. Regular poor sleep puts you at risk of serious medical conditions, including obesity, heart disease and diabetes – and it shortens your life expectancy. It's now clear that a solid night's sleep is essential for a long and healthy life. Can you say you have had eight hours a night? That is what we should be aiming for!
Paul: Sleep is a big problem for people! It can become a vicious circle: Poor sleep leads to worrying and worrying leads to poor sleep. So we are stressed... so we don’t sleep.... and we are stressed... because we don’t sleep! It is indeed a vicious circle.
Whatever the reason stress is a major issue for society. You know Mark, a UK-wide stress survey by YouGov has found 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point over the last year they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. That is not good!
Mark: We are stressed and under pressure in so many ways. I wonder if it is because we are so often focussed on the wrong things. I was sad to see Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are divorcing. I know people look at the Kardashians and long for that lifestyle, but this news reminds us that they are human and still suffer and struggle in certain ways. Even Bill and Melinda Gates are splitting up! Being a Billionaire doesn’t stop you suffering in life! And yet so often we don’t see that side much but instead focus on the shiny stuff! I wonder if the issue is that people chase a fantasy life, and it never works out that way? Do you think the problem is that we don’t reflect on life but just keep chasing it?
Paul: Mark, I'm sure we all have our hopes and dreams that spur us on, and we rest our hopes and dreams on the fulfilment of our expectations. And what is worse, consistently facing unfulfilled expectations can create conflict in relationships. Additionally, it leads to miserable experiences, and most importantly — kills our confidence in ourselves to manifest the life we truly desire.
Mark: It is one focus of this podcast that we should never drift through life, but always have purpose! Whether it is physical, mental, or spiritual fitness or all three, you have to have a plan and a purpose about your life. So, with that in mind let’s talk about mindfulness.
Paul: Recently we have seen a rise in the popularity of techniques such as mindfulness, meditation and other calming and reflective techniques. This is because life is busier than ever, and there are more and more causes of stress and one way of managing this is by learning or re-learning to take time out.
Mark: is all this a solution or just a sticking plaster? We are more stressed, so we learn to practice mindfulness and meditation, but not deal with the cause of our stress! Organisations and businesses encourage relaxation techniques such as mindfulness but do they do enough to actually tackle the causes of stress in the first place? Something to think about! Anyway, back to the topic!
Paul: Even in ancient times, people made it a practice to find quiet places to pray or be with their own thoughts.
Mark: Mindfulness is a modern term that is really quite popular isn’t it, but mindfulness is not without its critics, especially among Christians.
Paul: Folks who are sceptical about mindfulness often point out its Eastern religious origins. They might say that mindfulness:
Is based on an unhealthy degree of self-focus.
Promotes a one-with-the-cosmos worldview.
Supports emptying the mind (and some people’s minds are empty enough as it is!)
Encourages escape from reality.
These concerns are valid and there are differences in approach throughout the world. Secular or atheist mindfulness is horizontal. In other words, you pay attention only to yourself.
Buddhist mindfulness is effectively emptying your mind, or at least trying to!
However, Christian forms of meditation and mindfulness lead us to evaluate everything in light of our vertical relationship with God.
So, it is really about pausing, being still and knowing God is present in the situation and focussing on his work.
Mark: When Jesus tells us not to worry about the future, he is encouraging mindfulness isn’t he?
Paul: Yes, I believe so. Religious people are human beings just like everyone else, and are as susceptible to stress and pressure as the next person – we live in the same demanding world. But religious belief, belief in someone beyond ourselves can make a difference when we face the future so it is not just about our health or the relief of stress but also not worrying about stuff that hasn’t happened yet. Christians believe God has always got a plan!
Mark: so rather than emptying our minds, mindfulness is essentially about concentrating on one thing: we are sold the myth of multitasking and there are moments when we must think of five things at the same time but dig a bit deeper or try a bit harder. However, and this may shock you, apparently it is not true that you can concentrate on two things at the same time but instead what we do is rapidly flick from one thing to another. This is why you must not drive and text because you cannot do both simultaneously. When you are texting, you are not focusing on the road – there is a gap each time you switch to the texting. It is the same with talking on the phone. We cannot completely focus on both at the same time, so some believe even hands-free in the car is dangerous because it reduces our concentration on the road from 100%. So multitasking is an absolute myth!
Paul: despite what my wife might say, multi-tasking is a myth. We will always end up divided in our focus. Mindfulness is about paying attention on one thing, on purpose, shutting out everything else.
Mark: if you are a bomb disposal technician, you know what mindfulness is. You focus on that bomb and nothing else. Do you cut the red wire or blue wire is all you care about! So, in a way, we need to start to think like a Bomb disposal technician. Try to concentrate on one thing at a time. Give us some tips Paul.
Paul: Mark
Put Down Your Phone. ...
Do One Thing at a Time. ...
Find Mindful Moments in Everyday Tasks. .
Breathing: concentrate on it. It is something we rarely think about but start thinking about it for a few minutes. Just practice that. And when we are stressed, the one thing we are in absolute control of is… our breathing!
Mark: Paul, one thing I did a while ago was to decide to shave with a cut- throat razor! When you are shaving with a razor-sharp blade you have to concentrate like never before. But to take the time to prepare and shave properly is a real discipline and I have no choice but to lay all my cares and worries aside to focus on not cutting my own throat!
Paul: Going for a walk or a run without your mobile phone can be a fantastic way of narrowing our focus and finding some peace.
Mark: We are using the term mindfulness, but Christians have long use the term meditation through history and it is one of the spiritual disciplines isn’t it?
Paul: That’s right. A discipline is something that is good for you but it is not easy and I think, that is a very good way of looking at this topic today. Life is so pressured and seeking to change that is tough. So, we need to be disciplined.
Mark: At a key juncture in history, following the death of Moses, God himself speaks to Joshua, and three times gives the clear directive, “Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9). How is he to do this? Meditation. “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night” (Joshua 1:8). Meditation or mindfulness or whatever term you use, can give us courage and strength if it is focussed on the right thing: The God who is present with us.
Paul: so, many of us are stressed, and multitasking is a myth and few of us are sleeping well! But taking time out to reflect and focus is a really powerful tool to reaching out full potential!
Mark: Well, there is so much more we could say about this and all the subjects we discuss. If you are listening and want to think let us know what you think then do get in contact either via twitter or Instagram, or our new website: Godsgym.co.uk. On the new website you can read the transcript of this talk, mark our spelling and leave comments anytime you like. But please be gentle. Overtime we will be adding more content and our aim as always, is to be helpful and encouraging. Your comments are always welcome, and if there are topics or issues you would like us to address, we are always open to suggestions.
Until next time, thank you for listening and remember that you are capable of so much, God tells us so, so keep striving to reach your full potential as God made you.
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