Jordan Stones Blog

Mindfulness offerings continue:  For some of us, we fit into the stream of spiritual personality that feels most aligned, most in communion with the Lord when we are connected to nature. This personality type falls into Franciscan spirituality.  I teach a lot on this in my spiritual personality course, but this is a simple suggestion to try sometime.   I mean: SIMPLE. Use this graphic, or find a leaf in your yard or on your walk...in the spirit of practicing governing your breath to serve you when you feel undone, work on connecting pacing your breath as you trace a leaf up one side and down the other as the graphic offers.  I would set a timer and stick with it for 2 minutes. This slowing breath on purpose and with intention not only is a beautiful prayer, it also creates that chemical shift in your brain that moves you from “fight or flight and panic” to “rest and digest and be at ease”.  It is so important that we pick up and use these little “built ...

For me, this is cornerstone.   This is glue. This is mission-critical. They came out of a time in life where I was not in contentment or harmony with who I thought the Lord was.   I had spent sweet developmental years creating ground on which God and I operated in a love drenched, insight fueled, experiential relationship. I knew who God was because I had experienced him. Then, we got bad news. I could not reconcile the character of God with the devastation I was looking at in the natural world, personal and specific to the ruin that now described my hopes and expectations. Not only that. How in the WORLD, once that door of the autricitys of the world is cracked open and you peek inside...do you continue to operate with the kindness of God as your mantle? This post is not going to satisfy the above incompatibility of God’s kindness and world atrocity. Through experiential shaping and divine listening I have come to understand it all comes down to what qu...

Place one hand in the middle of your abdomen. Place the other at your heart. Take an easy seat that allows you to be comfortable and supported without striving.  You can sit up with a lengthened spine or lie back on the floor.  Fill your belly with air and feel your hands gently rise and as you exhale feel them soften down. You should feel all sides of your container expand with air, especially focusing on filling the belly and flaring the rib cage open with air under your palms You can use any breathing technique that you like or just let your natural breath be observed. If distracting thoughts come into play, simply use one of the metaphors offered to non-judgmentally set that thought aside and bring your focus back to your breath.   If a concern comes to mind, gently set it aside for later, and come back to your breath. Do this for 1-2 minutes.

A.K.A. “Begin Again” Metaphors Consider which metaphor below you are drawn to.   Imagine, for example, that as you are trying to pray, your grocery list comes to mind.   Simply place that thought on the cloud, wave, train, leaf passing by and bring your attention back to your breath or your word phrase you use to collect your attention back on the Lord.   This is where resolutely rely on the wisdom of St. Benedict’s encouragement: “Begin again.”     ·        Clouds floating, or birds flying, across the sky.     ·        Waves arising from the sea, then falling back in. You can watch the waves from the shore, without being swept away.    ·        Leaves and sticks floating down a stream. You don’t have to dive in. You can watch from a bridge.    ·        A passing parade. You can watch th...

Let’s do this from the bottom up.   Bottom line: Mindfulness should take you into the present moment, not away from it. Mindfulness can be used to ground yourself in the middle of a wave of anxiety or a douse of depression   or a slice of your personal chaos– it can dig your tent stakes  deep into the middle of the dry, uncomfortable desert floor.  Through mindfulness practices, you slow your breath, then your body, then your thoughts, then your feelings, then your behaviors. Following this chain, you will find yourself engaging with life in the way you would CHOSE to, in the way that serves you best and brings you more in line with your authentic self, connected to your “Fount of Living Water” right in the middle of the deser t.   Otherwise we are victims of autopilot self-preservation instincts…that path you have been down enough times to know it doesn’t lead where you want to be. The problem is, we don’t like being in the desert. We don...

Legs Up the Wall Pose   Begin by  sitting on the floor with a wall next to your side. Your legs should be stretched out straight in front of you. Exhale and gently lie down on your back, engage your core and hip muscles to bring your legs up into the air with the bottoms of your feet pointing to the ceiling. Pivot your body so the backs of your legs are now touching the wall. Bring your sitting bones flush to the ground and as close to the wall as possible so your torso and legs create a 90-degree angle. Relax your neck and place your hands on your belly or to your sides with palms facing up. Focus on your breathing and with each breath release any stress or anxiety, starting from your feet and down through your body. Stay in the Legs Up the Wall Pose for five to 20 minutes. To come out of the pose, gently press the bottoms of your feet into the wall and roll to one side, making sure you support your legs until they reach the ground. Stay on the ground for a few sec...