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At the outset, it’s important to remember that our ultimate goal is not to use mindfulness simply to make us feel better—because science has discovered that it does just that—but rather to make us more like Christ (see Romans 8:29; Ephesians 4:13; Galatians 4:19).
For example, in the last few decades, scientific research has discovered that exercise is good for you. Exercise is exercise, though. We don’t split it into secular exercise and Christian exercise. It benefits Christians and non-Christians alike.
However, a believer can take exercise a step beyond. We exercise not simply to feel better and keep our hearts healthy (and that’s a fine motive) but fundamentally to honor God. Because Scripture says that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, when we exercise, we do it for God’s glory. Our bodies are gifts entrusted to us by the One who created us. We honor Him when we take care of our bodies. And with healthy bodies, we can serve Him better.
Holy noticing is similar to exercise, but so much more. Although it brings tangible benefits such as a healthier brain (which, again, is a fine motive), it ultimately helps us love God and love others better. And even though some practices may resemble secular mindfulness (like slow breathing), we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater by rejecting science-based practices that may benefit anyone.
Essentially, God created our brains to respond to these mindful practices in several positive ways. Holy noticing quiets our brain’s circuitry when bombarded by afflictive emotions, negative thinking, and reactivity and amplifies our brain’s circuitry to help us more consistently apply living out the mind of Christ.1
My definition of Christian mindfulness is the art of holy noticing—noticing, with a holy purpose, God and His handiwork, our relationships, and our inner world of thoughts and feelings.
This spiritual discipline is an art (there isn’t just one right way to do it) that involves noticing with a holy purpose. We don’t notice justto notice. We don’t notice justto benefit ourselves. We notice, however, with God’s purposes and perspectives in mind. What we notice first and foremost is God Himself. That involves noticing His handiwork, what’s happening in our relationships, and our inner world of thoughts and feelings.
God models this pattern of noticing because He is a Perfect Noticer. Nothing in our lives is too small or insignificant for Him to notice. He knows the number of hairs on our head (Matthew 10:30). He noticed the Hebrews groaning under Egyptian bondage (Exodus 2:25). He notices our pain, our joys, our heartaches and our happiness. The psalmist writes, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” (Psalm 56:8 NLT).
God’s sovereign nature reminds us that He knows and notices everything about us. Jesus modeled holy noticing in the Sermon on the Mount when He directed His hearers’ attention to birds and flowers that we often overlook in our worrisome lives (Matthew 6:25–34). He also used the phrase, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15; Mark 4:9 ESV), to challenge us to pay close attention, to notice, to listen. The writer of Proverbs even admonishes us to notice things as tiny as an ant (Proverbs 6:6). Holy noticing is a way to bring intentional awareness in the present moment to what and who is around us and what we’re doing, thinking, and feeling—all from God’s perspective.
A practical way to learn and practice this mindful lifestyle is with the easy-to-remember acronym BREATHe. Each component of this model begins with one letter of this word. The last letter, E, is actually the most important aspect of holy noticing. It ties everything together.
Holy noticing—noticing with a holy, God-focused purpose—means noticing your
One helpful way to describe this “noticing” posture comes from two neuroscientists2 who created the counseling approach called acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). They explain that we can choose from three different perspectives in our immediate experience: participant, participant-observer, and observer. We shift between these perspectives during our waking hours and none is necessarily better than the other.
They illustrate these perspectives with an amusement-park roller coaster. As a participant, you’d be in the front car simply to experience the thrill of the ride. You don’t necessarily care about who’s around you. For you, it’s all about the immediate experience.
Or, you take the participant-observer perspective by sitting in a middle car and noticing not only your experiences but also the experiences and reactions of the other riders. What they do might even influence what you do. A brave soul might lift her arms, which might motivate you to do the same.
Finally, you could take the observer perspective by not getting on the ride at all. You simply stand on the ground below so you can notice the larger context, all the aspects of the ride and the riders, their screams, their laughter, the coaster’s loops, and so on. You can even see what the participants can’t—the death-defying loop just beyond the next turn.
Noticing is like being the observer on the ground. In mindfulness, noticing is the art you can learn to observe your body sensations, your relationship dynamics, the environment you’re in, your affect (positive and negative emotions), your thoughts, and the state of your heart, without reacting to them.
1. Kirk A. Bingaman, The Power of Neuroplasticity for Pastoral and Spiritual Care(Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2014), loc. 115, Kindle.
2. Kirk D. Strosahl and Patricia J. Robinson, In This Moment: Five Steps to Transcending Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroscience, (Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, 2015), 66–67.
Excerpted fromHoly Noticing by Charles Stone (Moody 2019). Used with permission.
Photo source: istock
 | Charles Stone coaches and equips pastors and teams to effectively navigate the unique challenges ministry brings. By blending biblical principles with cutting-edge brain-based practices he helps them enhance their leadership abilities, elevate their preaching/ teaching skills, and prioritize self-care. A pastor for over 42 years, he has served as a lead pastor, associate pastor, and church planter. He published seven books, and over 300 of his articles have appeared on various Christian leadership websites. He holds four earned academic degrees, including a D.Min. and a Ph.D. Learn More » |
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