How Mindfulness Shows Up In World Religions
Bridging the Gap between Contemplation and Meditation Even If You're Not Religious
A mindful image I captured close to our home in Arizona.
Are we losing our minds, or does it just seem that way?
In today's fast-paced world, where distractions abound, and stress levels soar, mindfulness has emerged as a powerful practice for finding inner peace and cultivating a sense of well-being.
Perhaps it’s time for more of us to learn the art of being mindful.
Rooted in ancient traditions, mindfulness has gained popularity in recent years, leading many to explore its origins and connection to other forms of contemplation and meditation, including those found in Christian and other spiritual texts.
I wanted to write about the similarities between mindfulness, meditation, and contemplation because people I know people of certain faiths, or non at all, reject mindfulness as the work of “the devil” and other stupid stuff.
My premise is mindfulness is for all in a world that seems to be losing its mind.
Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention
Did you know that millions of minds are hijacked daily by digital devices and toxic mainstream media programming that compels too many to fear the world is falling apart and evil?
The problem isn’t the technology. It’s us. Unaware humans are easily driven to distraction or worse.
“It's a new association between pleasure and distraction, between being alive and being interrupted, between being ourselves and living inside our devices. The issue is not simply that we've created a new way to be distracted. The issue is that our attention is being actively stolen away from the things that were already there."
- Johann Hari, author of Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply
A Brief History of Mindfulness
There’s never been a more critical time to be mindful. The good news is we don’t need to move to the Far East or build a hut in the middle of the desert to be mindful and closer to God, Self, or the door knob if that’s your thing. What matters is how we use our God-given minds, both conscious and unconscious.
The practice of mindfulness traces its roots back thousands of years to various Eastern philosophies and religious traditions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. The term "mindfulness" itself stems from the Pali word "sati," which translates to "awareness" or "attention."
The essence of mindfulness is cultivating a non-judgmental awareness of the present moment, including one's thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, and the surrounding environment. (Chambers, Richard. "The Origins of Mindfulness." Mindfulness Research Monthly. July 2014. Accessed May 15, 2023.
"Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes." - Thich Nhat Hanh
Mindfulness In World Religions
While mindfulness has deep roots in the East, contemplation and meditation are not foreign concepts in Western spiritual traditions, including Christianity.
Imagine living in the Middle East during the times of Buddha or Jesus. Trade was conducted by land and sea. Along the trade routes grew towns and cities. The convergence of pagans, Greeks, Romans, and Eastern cultures must of been exotic. It’s common sense to see the men and women of these times learning from their ancestors, finding common bonds as we do today, and struggling to understand nature and the universe around us.
Mindful monks met merchants, traders, saints, sages, mystics, crooks, and healers, and they traded knowledge about the stars, heavens, humanity, and whomever it was trying to take the lives of their entire tribe or clan from the invaders and hoarders of their time. People had to be mindful to exist in the dark ages like today. Diversity was important then, just like today.
The goal is for us to get along, embracing our differences. Here’s one example from Christianity:
Christian contemplative practices, like lectio divina and centering prayer, bear resemblances to mindfulness. They aim for deeper connection and spiritual growth by cultivating present-moment awareness and receptive states of being. Lectio divina involves reflective reading of sacred texts, allowing the words to penetrate the heart. (Source: "The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation" by Thomas Merton)
Centering prayer fosters stillness and openness to the divine presence. Both practices prioritize being fully present, letting go of distractions, and nurturing transformative experiences. The outcomes include increased self-awareness, inner peace, and a sense of interconnectedness.
Mindfulness and Christian contemplation converge in awakening to the present moment, nurturing stillness, and embracing the transformative power of awareness and presence.
None of these concepts, traditions, or practices emerged overnight; they evolved.
Mindfulness for the Non-Religious
Mindfulness is not inherently religious. The core principles of mindfulness, such as non-judgment, present-moment awareness, and acceptance, can be found in various Christian texts and teachings and all emanations and deviations in all world religions.
For example, all world religions share the common bond found in the Golden Rule; don’t be selfish, or you’ll pay, somehow, because there’s this thing called karma. Scientists call it Cause and Effect.
In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus urges his followers not to worry about tomorrow but to focus on the present moment. He’s teaching us the essence of mindfulness.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Similarly, the Psalms often speak of finding stillness and quieting the mind in the presence of God, which resonates with the practice of mindfulness.
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." - Psalm 46:10 (NIV):
The Subtle Art of Contemplation
Despite their distinctions, the similarities between mindfulness, meditation, and contemplation are evident. All three practices involve cultivating heightened awareness, focusing attention, and developing a non-reactive relationship with thoughts and emotions.
They emphasize the importance of being fully present, letting go of attachments to the past or future, and embracing the richness of the present moment.
Contemplative practices within Christianity share a common thread with mindfulness as well. Christian contemplation involves silently and attentively resting in the presence of God, opening oneself to divine inspiration and guidance. This state of receptive awareness and surrender to the present moment mirrors the underlying principles of mindfulness.
Moreover, mindfulness, meditation, and contemplation share a common goal: to deepen one's understanding of oneself and the world, to reduce suffering, and to nurture a sense of inner peace and connectedness.
Whether through the Buddhist practice of Vipassana meditation, the Christian contemplative tradition, or the secular application of mindfulness in modern society, the aim remains consistent: to awaken life's inherent beauty and wisdom.
As mindfulness has gained popularity in the secular world, it has been increasingly recognized for its numerous benefits, including stress reduction, improved focus, emotional resilience, and enhanced overall well-being.
The secular application of mindfulness has often divorced the practice from its religious and spiritual origins, focusing solely on its psychological benefits. However, recognizing the shared threads of contemplation and meditation in various spiritual traditions can enrich our understanding and practice of mindfulness.
In conclusion, the history of mindfulness is intertwined with contemplation and meditation, not only in Eastern traditions but also in Western spiritual practices such as Christianity.
Despite their distinct origins, the similarities between mindfulness, meditation, and contemplation are striking, emphasizing the importance of being present, cultivating awareness, and nurturing a sense of inner peace.
By embracing the commonalities between these practices, we can explore and appreciate their profound impact on our lives, regardless of our religious or spiritual affiliations.