It rises to the surface naturally in times of great joy and great sorrow. We all experience, albeit in different ways, the call to explore that landscape, to befriend that uncreated element within, but our response to that call ebbs and flows through our lives.
Even if this were not so, it is a simple fact that the inner landscape of the human heart often lies unexplored for long periods of our lives as we get lost in the busyness of everyday life. As attendance at weekend religious services continues to decline, we are in danger of losing our capacity to give expression to our deepest essence of who we are as human beings, of giving voice to our spiritual nature. It has become increasingly difficult to find opportunities for personal or communal spiritual expression today, especially in the media. However, it is clear that in Ireland now, as in the Western world generally, formal attachment to religion is being replaced by looser, individual forms of spiritual expression. It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty, our desire to seek possibility and our hearts to love life.” He is pointing to the divine spark within every human heart which, in times past, found expression in traditional religious communal services. It draws no attention to itself though it is always secretly there. This research led to more alarming findings about the negative effects of mindfulness, which then led me to put this information into a book in order to provide a more complete picture of this practice than what people are getting from proponents.In the preface to Benedictus, his book of blessings, John O’Donohue, philosopher, poet, priest and author, writes that: “There is a quiet light that shines in every heart. And of those 47 found to be acceptable, the research found only “moderate evidence” of decreased anxiety, depression and pain and “low evidence” of improved mental health-related quality of life. In addition, a meta-analysis of 18,000 mindfulness studies conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in 2014 found only 47 that were considered methodologically sound - that’s only. It can also lead people to disconnect rather than focus and engage in critical thinking on problems that require more thinking and not less. Some studies have shown that practicing mindfulness can actually backfire on people as they focus intently on the moment and leave their thoughts behind, including the positive ones. There is mounting scientific concern regarding the mainstream media only touting studies that found benefits of mindfulness and not reporting on studies that found negative results from the practice. Although none of us should come to prayer just for relaxation, but to converse with God, this shows how easily people, in varying stages of their spiritual lives, can be confused - without even realizing it - and thus be led away from God rather than towards him.Īre there studies on the effect of mindfulness?
Our “New Age Q&A” blog at Women of Grace recently received an email from a woman whose husband stopped praying the Rosary with his family because he found this kind of meditation to be more relaxing. Why would combining practices be a problem?Īs the book explains, I have personal experience with this. Although it is promoted as a non-spiritual practice used as a means of vanquishing stress and anxiety, it is practiced through one of several forms of Buddhist meditation, such as “Breathing Space Meditation,” “Body Scan Meditation” and “Expanding Awareness Meditation.” Connecting with God is not the goal of any of these types of meditation. “Mindfulness” is rooted in Buddhism and seeks to bring about a state of active, open attention on the present by which one observes his or her thoughts and feelings as if from a distance, without judging them to be good or bad. Her latest book, A Catholic Guide to Mindfulness, warns of the dangers of the latest Eastern meditation fad and offers Catholics a deeper, holier path rooted in the wisdom of the saints and doctors of the Church.įirst things first: What is this growing practice of “mindfulness”? She knows what it’s like to seek happiness in all the wrong places and has dedicated her life to sharing the good news of the Catholic faith.
MINDFUL CATHOLIC TV
Susan Brinkmann, once a New Age feminist, is now a Catholic apologist, award-winning author, Third Order Carmelite, and a staff writer and radio and TV host with Living His Life Abundantly and Women of Grace.
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