This morning I chose to arrive 15 minutes later to work. Not late just later. In that same block of time, I sat quietly and read an article that I've been putting off for a while. A great use of a quarter hour.
Where in your schedule are 15 quiet moments?
I like to think that there is a bit of monk in all of us. The BBC series, Finding Sanctuary was so popular because of this. When I take students away from the noise and hustle of the world, they too find that quiet moments actually boost their overall well-being when they return to the "real world".
Some suggestions from Finding Sanctuary:
- Find a quiet place free from distraction
- Sit with your limbs uncrossed and with a straight back, hands in your lap
- Simply breathe at regular speed but breathe deeply and relax
- Close your eyes and think of a beautiful scene from the natural world
- Take a simple phrase and repeat it continuously in time with your breathing
Five Meditation Phrases from the Christian Tradition:
- Come and illumine my darkness
- Be still and know that I am God
- God be in my head and in my understanding
- Come Holy Spirit and inflame my heart
- Come Lord Jesus