Posts

Showing posts from 2020

Fusion and Defusion - Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength

Image
  Cognitive Fusion and Defusion Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength  Another Intersection of Theology and Psychology  Defusion --Looking at thoughts rather than from thoughts.  Noticing, rather than being caught up in thoughts. When we move from a state of psychological fusion to defusion, our aim is to reduce the influence of intrusive or  negative cognitive processes in order to enhance psychological flexibility.  Psychobabble translation = we are able to decide what to focus our thoughts and mental energy on and stop assuming & behaving as if all thoughts need our attention.  Cognitive defusion is the process by which you change the relationship with your thoughts by stepping back and simply witnessing their presence. When you defuse, you disentangle from your self-talk and observe cognitions as entities separate from yourself, as just words. This allows you to look at your thoughts rather than from them. In Cognitive Fusion:  Thoughts are reality; it's as if what we're th

You Might be a Mystic If...

Image
At one time you have experienced a familiar sense of non-being, a one-dimensional existence througho ut the day tha t results in a collapse into bed at night wondering what the day really amounted to.  It is so uninspiring to wake up tomorrow just to stare at a seemingly unchanged ball-and-chain to laundry, spreadsheets,  Zoom calls, and groceries. If the aversion to tedium, “rat race”, drudgery sort of occupation is something you experience as a bit familiar, you might be a mystic. Although the connection may not have gotten your attention just yet.  And so the solution remains out of reach. I want to connect with you around this hunger and unlock with you practices to diminish its effects on your spirit.  Mystic and Profane There are two types of people in the world:  the mystic and the profane.  When I hear the word profane, the concept I most quickly associate is “profanity”.  But in the dictionary, profane is defined as “ relating or devoted to that which is not sacred or bibli

Part 2: Routine, Ritual, and Liturgy

Image
When life is a hustle and we have too much traction, or when life is stuck and we don’t seem to have any traction, we need an equalizer.  We crave equilibrium.         The balanced weight we need is found in knowing the veil between us and “What takes up where we leave off”. The Lord is extraordinarily close.  Moment to moment, we are invited to slow down or gear up for what waits as our highest blessing.  Entrance into the Abundant Kingdom of God ...now.  Not later...now. Daily practices, rituals, and ceremony are our initiative toward the Lord.  They are a sacrifice of our focus, presence and time.  They are an offering.    One of the most change-making things about routine and ritual is that it bypasses our linear cognitive mind and side steps past our rational mind so that we can enter another realm. If only for a few minutes, what would it be like to be more in tune with what is unseen than what is seen? (Hebrews 11:1)       Trish Harrison Warren