Just imagine with me: Where would your
children go when they are hungry, scared, and cold? And what would they do?
How about when they are emotionally hungry and relationally scared? Where do they go, and to whom would they talk?
If your answer is not “home,” then we need
to examine our current lifestyle and relationships that make up our
“home.”
Self-Examination Process:
Our self-examination process will lead us
to create a more desirable “home” that can embrace our children, our spouse and
ourselves in a greater capacity.
Faith and spirituality is not an abstract
concept. It is like a solid rock upon which our life is built upon. It is the essence of what a meaningful relationship makes up. It is the spring
of life that stems from our inner strength and being. It is the
place where we find emotionally satisfying and relationally secure connections. It is a place deep within
ourselves where we find anchor and stability.
We experience a sense of security and safety. We do not need to run or hide.
We do not need to pretend or fight. We can be free to trust people, and we feel connected
to our bodies, mind, emotions, and relationships.
If we want to connect with our true faith
and spirituality consistently, Mindfulness is one of the pathways. Mindfulness is simply an inner attitude and
awareness of what is going on right here and now as we interact with people and our
environment. You may call it a
reflective awareness. This awareness
will increase our capacity to stay with our inner turmoils. Our daily lives may frighten us, but they will not paralyze us. It may stop us in our tracks, but it will not hold us captive. Mindfulness or reflective awareness will lead us to better managing our reactive and destructive behaviors.
When we are aware of when and how our bodies tense
up, we may breathe and relax our muscles.
When we know when and how we get angry, we may be more ready to protect
ourselves from people or things that violated our boundaries. When we know when and how our automatic
negative thoughts ravage within, we may apply our mental brakes to stop it from
affecting us further. Eventually, we are
not only able to stop our old patterns of relating, yet we are also beginning to
create a safe space to be more gentle and affirming for everyone who enters this "home."
