Centering. It’s a concept that is used in some form in almost every religion. What most frequently comes to mind for a lot of us is the Buddhist yoga and meditation which seem to put monks into a time of peace and rest as they start off their day.While taking a Mysticism class last semester I had about 10 minutes every day of class to do a little bit of yoga. It really only consisted of some breathing patterns while focusing in one place and trying to keep yourself from distraction. It was… interesting. Some claimed to see flashes of color, a deep sense of peace or something to that effect. For myself I just found it a great time to get some quiet time with the Lord. The breathing threw me off more than anything especially once we started to try to breath together the last minute or so. Turns out our instructor had a good pair of lungs since I could tell I was one of the only ones who could exhale as long as him in the class. Needless to say I don’t think the excersize had the effect on me that he had intended.
But I think there is still something to be learned from that experience. Martin Luther often talked of making prayer an essential part of his day usually starting his day with a couple hours of prayer, and on a busy day he didn’t feel it was an excuse to cut on his quiet time but instead made it all more important that he spent more time with the lord. For Luther, I think this is the centering that we often think of. We too often get too busy for G-d. But when you think of it, being too busy for G-d couldn’t be any more of a conflicting statement. Essentially your saying that you have so little time, that you can’t use any of it to spend with the one who created it…. think on that for a second….
If I am honest. I can’t really give that excuse without feeling a little silly. Two reasons come to mind. For one, even if I am truly busy I should recognize that if there is one person in the world who could give me the time I need to get something done and the time to spend with him, it’s G-d.
Second… If I am honest… I’m not really that busy.
One last thing I’ve realized. When I do take that time to center myself with the Lord, I find I am able to accomplish much more in a day then had I tried to use that time doing history essay.
BEARDED DISCIPLE 