bythemethod.com blog

Within the Christian faith there are no set ways of praying. Jesus never gave us a specific formula to use or a structure to stick to. Even when Jesus taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11) he was only giving them something to say when they pray and it was never intended to be the last word on prayer. This means that Christians have great freedom in the way they meditate or pray. In effect we can do what we like as long as we do it in the right frame of mind and heart.

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Perhaps the biggest question any of us has to face is the about the existence of the soul. Is there something about us that lives on after death? Is there something in us that is not just physical but which can reach out to something beyond the physical.

Some scientists want us to believe that the only thing that is real is the physical world. If you can’t poke it with a stick then it doesn’t exist. Of course they go further than wanting to poke things with a stick but this is the essence of the argument. Then others seem to think that the physical is just an illusion. Who is right?

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We are constantly being encouraged to think in a more spiritual way but then we also like to make money. Is it possible to do both at the same time or is one opposed to the other? I think the answer might be surprising.

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It’s important for everyone to take a break from time to time. If you want to be successful and achieve great things then it is much better to take a break. It is in the moments of rest that we do our most profound thinking.

In this post we explore why we should take and break and how to do it.

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Few of us will be surprised to learn that our environment can have an effect on your soul. If you have ever taken the time to look at a mountain or been in a Cathedral or perhaps walked in a beautiful garden you will know the way they can speak to your soul. Yet where do you find such places in ordinary life?

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There is noise everywhere. Those who live in Cities rarely avoid it altogether and even in the countryside it can be hard to escape from some noise or another. So how do we find ways to be silent and does it really matter that we can’t?

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Beauty can help you reduce stress and find more happiness. Perhaps its seems strange but one of the things that people who burnout are often lacking in their lives is some beauty.

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What does life taste like? If you have been following this series you will know that we have already looked at how to see, listen and feel better so it will come as no surprise that we now think about taste.

Taste is an important part of life. Food is one of the pleasures in life largely as a result of taste. Yet we usually pay little attention to what we can taste. Spending a little effort on noticing tastes will help us to feel more a part of the world in which we live.

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In part 1 we looked at how seeing can help you develop a more spiritual side to yourself. Now we continue with that theme by exploring hearing.

There is seldom ever a time that any of us can experience complete quiet. Our hearing is important to us in many ways yet just like when we are seeing our brains filter out the many sounds that surround us. In this post we will explore how we can learn to hear the sounds around us.

Stop doing anything, sit still and listen

It is better that you stop what you are doing right now so you can concentrate on the listening. This is not vital but it will help. When you are used to doing this exercise you might find you can continue with what you are doing and still hear the sounds around you.

Start with the distant sounds

What can you hear that is a long way away? Perhaps a car on a road or a bird singing in a tree? These are noises on the edge of your hearing - not the ones close to you. The may be the hardest to hear but you need to start with them.

Name the sounds

Now try and name the sounds you can hear. If it is a car then just think quietly to yourself that it is a car. You must name the sounds throughout this exercise.

What kind of sound is it?

What kind of sound is it? Is it mechanical or natural? Is it pleasant or unpleasant? Is it musical or not?

Now think about the noises in your room

I want you now to move your attention into the room in which you are sitting. You will still be aware of the distant noises but now they do not matter to you. What noises can you hear in your room? Name the noises and think about what kind of noise they are. Try to hear as many as you can.

Now think about your own noises

You might think that you don’t make any noise but you do - and I’m not just talking about the unpleasant ones here! Can you hear your breathing? Is your stomach making any noises? Listen as hard as you can to these noises.

Here we end the exercise

This exercise can be a great introduction into prayer and meditation. We are not going there now but feel free to explore.

Hearing is helpful but can be distracting

There are many noises to enjoy in life but noise can also drive us to distraction. Practice listening every now and then but also try to learn the skill of stopping listening. We can’t shut our ears like we can shut our eyes but our brains can help us to stop most noises from being a distraction to us.

Be kind to others

I just want to add a last request to be thoughtful of other people with the noises you make - I’m thinking about things like mobile phones and mp3 players etc. by the way. We can’t help making noise and sometimes they are important to our work or our sanity. But have a care for other people who will also hear your noise.

One of the keys to spirituality is learning to see. You must learn to see things that you have never really noticed before. This will help you enjoy the world around you more.

Our brains are very clever because they help us to filter out the familiar so we can cope with life. If we were forced to experience everything around us as though we had only just seen it for the first time we would soon go mad. As we get up in the morning or go outside we do not have to cope with all the sights and smells and feelings. For general living this is a good thing but for our spirit this is bad.

In the first part of this series we are going to explore how we can learn to see.

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