Practice the pause : Jesus' contemplative practice, new brain science, and what it means to be fully human /
Caroline Oakes.
- xxv, 310 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
We are human, we are divine -- It's not "repent" it's metanoia -- The Jesus formula: the centering pause practice -- Wired for transformation: our brain and our mind -- Flipping your lid: a close-up look -- Contemplative neuroscience: confessions of a closet meditator -- The spiritual and the secular: it's about connection -- Jesus the rabbi: first-century Jewish spirituality -- The call of the natural world in Jesus' time and now -- Time alone with God: Jesus practicing the pause -- Contemplation in action: Jesus practicing off the mat -- Between fight and flight: the revolutionary third way of Jesus -- Ancient/new teachers: the desert mothers and fathers -- Just being with God -- Reading with God: when scripture shimmers -- The new lectio: noticing and the seven-second pause -- The centering pause: nourishing the roots of our essence -- Centering prayer: divine therapy for the human condition.
"These days, many of us live in a state of overreactive fight-or-flight response and chronic stress. The demands of modern life pull us in all directions and can often put the meaningful connections in our lives at risk--connections to our deepest selves, to others, and even to God. But there is good news. New developments in brain science have recently proven that an intentional practice of pausing for a few minutes of meditation, prayer, or other contemplative practice actually rewires our brain in ways that make us calmer, less reactive, and better able to see the bigger picture." --