The Weather and Mindfulness

Reflections

The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,

and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.

His way is in the whirlwind and storm,

and the clouds are the dust of his feet. (1)

But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea,

and there was a mighty tempest on the sea,

so that the ship threatened to break up. (2)

Have you not seen how God [Allah] makes the

clouds move gently, then joins them together,

then makes them into a stack,

and then you see the rain come out of it...(3)

Scripture Reading

I lift up my eyes to the mountains-

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip-

he who watches over you will not slumber;

The Lord watches over you-

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm-

he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming

and going both now and forevermore. (6)

Moment of Meditation


Scripture Reading

Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation,

should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on 

an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves.

The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens

I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind.

I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I

would have were I giving a baby Buddha or Jesus a bath.

Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else.

In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant,

and teapot are all sacred. (5)

Moment of Meditation


Sermon

Mindfulness is a state of mind that brings about internal peace and calm. Some people call it living in the now or being present in a moment-to-moment existence manner. Being present in your day to day, moment by moment existence of your life is maintaining an awareness of where you are

and who you are perpetually, if possible, so that you always have your wits about you. You are calm and peaceful, and understanding of the various situations you may encounter day to day throughout your life. I remember a conversation years ago I had with person that went like this:

I said:   "Beautiful weather this summer."

He said:   "It's been bloody cold."

I said:   "Really, we've been setting record highs."

He said: "Not from what I see."

Even though it was summer, it was very warm. How do we

get two extremes like this? For this individual it may have been that he wasn't feeling well and was a bit chilled. He may have had a long term cold of some sort. Maybe he was depressed and this is how he perceived the external world. Whatever the cause, the reality is that he viewed the world this way. So, in order to be more mindful, start observing your reality. (4)

Memory Verse

My help and the weather come from the Lord.

Closing Prayer

Just for today I will experience all 

in complete acceptance, joy, gratitude, and

freedom from fear. 

Every morning, during my meditation, I repeat:

Just for today...

I will not worry.

I will not get angry.

I will count my many blessings.

I will love and respect every living creature (including myself)

I will do an honest days work (on myself)

Amen (7)

1)     Open Bible, "Nahum 1:3." Accessed November 26, 2012  http://www.openbible.info/topics/the_weather.

2)     Open Bible, "Jonah 1:4." Accessed November 26, 2012 http://www.openbible.info/topics/the_weather.

3)     Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam. "The Qur'an 24:43." Accessed November 26, 2012 http://www.islam-guide.com/ch1-1-g.htm

4)     Noble Buddhism, "The Action of Mindfulness." Accessed November 26, 2012. http://www.noble-buddhism-beliefs.com/mindfulness.html.

5)     Hanh, Thich Nhat. "The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation." Accessed November 26, 2012. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/mindfulness.

6)     BibleGateway.com, "Psalm 121 (NIV)." Accessed November 26, 2012. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 121&version=NIV.

7)     Abramowitz, Jane. "Jane's Mindfulness Journal." Accessed November 26, 2012. http://mindfulnessjournal.wordpress.com/tag/blessings-prayer/.