Hello, I'm your host Charmaine, and welcome to Beautiful JEMMs.
The last episode we talked about how the great excavator puts a plan into action through the heavy machinery of prayer. On this episode, we're going to wrap up with the heavy machinery of meditation, mindfulness, stillness, and nature. So, let's talk a bit about heavy machinery and how it is used in the mining process. You know, those yellow trucks and machines you see at the side of the road on a construction site? Well, I looked up a few of them, and three stood out to me. The first was a hydraulic mining shovel. Yeah, I know that's a mouthful, but it's basically the one that has one arm with the claw at the end. The other two are bulldozers and dump trucks. These are used at the start of the digging process. Remember the first episode where we talked about the different layers of the earth? The top layer of the Earth's crust is where the JEMMs are buried. These machines dig into the surface of the crust to pick up and remove the loose rock and soil covering the JEMMs. Here, the rock and soil represent your surface-level thoughts and emotions, the opinions of others, societal norms, and programming. Through the practice of meditation, mindfulness, stillness, and going out in nature, you can uncover clear and remove those metaphorical rocks and soil to get to your JEMMs. You'll gain a deeper understanding of the underlying root feelings, thoughts, and beliefs that you have about yourself for closer self-examination. Basically, these practices separate what you have accepted to be true from what is actually true about you. Unfortunately, the world is not designed for us to be our unique self. It is designed for us to be followers, which makes it much easier to pay attention to the surface level. So, let's start with meditation. According to positivepsychology.com. Meditation bridges the gap between the external and internal world. It intertwines the body and mind, both the conscious and subconscious mind. There are many benefits, but five were highlighted. One, it enhances empathy to it improves thought, three, it's a natural de-stressor for it promotes emotional health. Five, it increases attention. So, these focus on the physical benefits of meditation.
Interestingly, more studies will be conducted in the future to determine the connection between meditation and spirituality. This is interesting because there is a big push today to meditate based off of scientific findings, it seems that this has made more people comfortable to separate spirituality from meditation. However, I would encourage you to include the spiritual aspect into your meditation practice. There are many different spiritual systems with different modalities used to meditate. So, I will leave that to your discretion. If you are new to meditation, or you're open to learning more, or if you're just more comfortable with the scientific approach, a great place to start is Headspace. Just so you know, this is not an advertisement, but it's my personal experience. I use the Headspace app for one year and learned some pretty valuable techniques that I currently still use during my meditation practice. For example, does your mind sound a little something like this?
Our minds can be busy, just like that traffic jam with our thoughts. One technique I use as many times as I need to, when a thought comes to mind is noted. And then I let that thought pass. I'll admit it was like a traffic jam. Just like we heard before I started doing this but now most days, the traffic is pretty smooth when I meditate with a few traffic jams in between. So, if you're interested in trying out Headspace, I've left some links below. So now, let's move on to stillness. This is a great tool if you are uncomfortable with meditation as an alternate option, or it can be combined with meditation. This method is kind of like pressing the pause button to just be a great way to practices is to find a quiet place, no electronics, no people, and literally just be still sit for one to five minutes, you will be amazed what a few moments of quiet will do to calm your mind. Now I know many of us are familiar with mindfulness. But what exactly is it according to mindfulness.org it is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we are doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what's going on around us. It can be practiced sitting down walking, standing, or as a moving meditation. short pauses can be inserted into your everyday life, yoga, or even sports. So, mindfulness is more of a technique to use during meditation and stillness. If you would like to learn more, I will leave a link below as well. Now last but not least, is nature. Ironically, nature is all around us. We are Mother Nature's guests here on Earth. But the way life is set up, it is easy to forget we are in her house. Today, most of us have to be very purposeful to get out in nature. If you live in a suburb or rural area, taking a walk, sitting outside, running, and hiking or options. If you live in a city area, there are parks, but nature is not as easily accessible. One thing most have in common, no matter the area, or the sky, the sun, the moon trees, and animals. Little things can make a big difference in your mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual state. Like sitting in the sunlight for a few minutes, pausing to watch a pet play, listening to the rain on a rainy day, or waking up to birds outside your window. Taking in these brief moments to connect with nature increases your overall well-being and connection to self and God. So, get creative. Combine mix and match those heavy machinery that you use. Pray outside in the sun as you take a walk. Meditate with the sound of the rain, be still, and watch the birds on a park bench, through the use of these practices. We gain invaluable self-knowledge or JEMMs while we free up space in our minds and hearts to hear from God. Thank you so much for spending time with me today. I pray that you build your relationship with God. Love yourself unconditionally and put in the work to mine, refine and shine those JEMMs
