I am revisiting the topic of "mind-full-ness," which is distinct from mindfulness, since it is such an important subject. It is perhaps the most important tool I know for controlling my own bipolar disorder. Here's wishing you the best in your own struggle.
It's time to discuss the practice of mind-full-ness, not to be confused with mindfulness. I have advertised this in prior blogs. Some Christians balk at the practice of mindfulness, and for good reason given that many of its techniques have their origin in eastern religions and mysticism. But I have found that most of its techniques are religion-neutral. For example, I incorporate things like relaxation, breath-counting, and safe space visualization in my daily meditation time. Because I learned these things from dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) following hospitalization for severe bipolar depression, I refer to this time as "doing my DBT." My wife knows how important this is for calming myself and to cope with raging anxieties. When I am in such a state she will tell me, "Go do your DBT!" So I do.
But I would like to introduce you to another practice, that of mind-full-ness. This is a term I use for a Christian version of meditation. There are two ways to deal with runaway thoughts. One is to empty (center) the mind, as in conventional meditation. The other is to fill the mind with other (good!) thoughts that crowd out the bad kind. Mind-full-ness involves the practice of memorization and meditation. The Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) has a couple of words for meditation. One of these means "to muse, rehearse in one's mind." The other literally means "to sigh or murmur." In this kind of meditation the mind is active and the senses are engaged. I walk daily, rain or shine (for my physical and mental health), as part of my self-care. Passersby can often hear me murmuring to myself. (Hopefully they just think I am talking on my cell phone.)
So how does it work? For me I memorize a significant block of the Bible. This is often referred to as "block memorization" of Scripture. For example, one of the first passages I put to memory was the twenty-third psalm. "The Lord is my shepherd..." The process of memorizing challenges my mind and keeps it from obsessing or wandering out of control. It centers me. In memorizing I use as many senses as possible. I read, I write (on a notecard), I rehearse in my mind and out loud, and I listen to my recitations. Then I think about the meaning of what I have memorized and how it applies to me. Sometimes I pray those verses to God. And I keep "mulling." Then I commit the next phrase or verse to memory and repeat the process, adding to what I have already learned. What I find is that when my mind is preoccupied with memorizing, rehearsing, and mulling I don't have room for all those runaway thoughts. They get displaced, at least for a time.
Perhaps this is why Paul wrote, "Whatever is true...honorable...just...pure...lovely...
commendable, if there is any excellence...worthy of praise, THINK about these things." (Philippians 4:8, my emphasis added) He goes on to say that if we practice these things, "the God of peace will be with you." Sounds like a good deal to me.
So let me commend to you both practices--mindfulness and mind-full-ness. They work for me and I hope they will for you too!
Blessings!
The Christian Bipole
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