Deseret Calligraphy Part 1

     I threatened to do it, and you didn't believe me. Here it is; some Deseret Alphabet Calligraphy done up by Your's Truly. I'll probably get back on the posting wagon next week with some insights of what I learned in conference but for now settle with my attempts to make doll up the alphabet that people keep calling ugly.

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints"

"Be still my Soul"

"Which way do you face?" 

Quote from Lynn G. Robbins, 1st session if General Conference.

Round one down, Stay tuned for round two.

Thoughts on Anchor Meditation

A while back  wrote on different ways to meditate, but due to space I couldn't write all I wanted, so here's a little more in depth look at what I call Anchor Meditation.

Fig. 1: My topic

As I mentioned before, Anchor Meditation is a basic meditation. If you ever find difficulty with other forms of meditation you may just need to work on Anchoring your self.

The main goal of Anchoring is to train and sharpen your focus. All it requires is to pick one repetitive thing focus on that. I already wrote on how to do this meditation, so today I'll focus on the effects of it.

Anxiety sucks. Being anxious is worse that just being stressed. It's stressing about being stressed. What happens when we experience anxiety is this; first we encounter the thing that causes stress and our bodies react by increasing the heart rate, breathing faster, tensing muscles, and so on. The problem of anxiety occurs when our brains don't make the connection that the external stressor is the cause of the physical response. The subconscious mind notices that the body is freaking out and, not knowing what it's suppose to be freaking out about, sends the message to the conscious mind telling it to find something to freak out about. So your brain looks for something to freak out about and find it, but it knows that that's not the thing that the body was originally freaking out about and so it starts freaking out about being wrong. The body sees the mind freaking out an it doesn't know why so it goes back to freaking out some more with the high heart rate, faster breathing, tense muscles, etc. Basically this devolves into an Abbot and Costello routine.

"Only instead of baseball, its a mortgage, which is considerably less hilarious."

Basic Anchor Meditation allows you to focus on and deliberately slow your breathing. This lowers your heart rate and allows muscles to relax. The physical reaction signals to the mind that it's okay to relax a little. The mind stops looking for things to stress out about and begins to look for things to enjoy and ways to relax.

As you force yourself to relax a remarkable thing starts to happen; your brain learns to relax. It actually begins to rewrite itself to be better at relaxing than stressing. When the brain engages in an activity over and over again, such as stressing about things or relaxing, it assumes that it will have to do this again in the future so the brain, hoping to be lazy in the future, tries to make it easier to perform that action. Each time the action is performed the brain finds a new short cut until eventually you find yourself doing the action without even thinking about it. You may have noticed this phenomenon each time you drive home from work. You step out of the office and next thing you know you're at home, wondering how many red lights you ran. Doesn't that make your brain just the coolest of all organs?

Fig 2: The Fonzie of internal organs.

Constant meditation takes advantage of this unique trait of the brain. Each time we react to stress in a calm manner we increase our ability to remain calm in stressful situations. But there is a down side to meditation.

It only works if you do it.

Seems obvious right? If you stop trying to relax and anchor yourself your brain will think it's not important to relax and will start duping all that stuff. The brain is a muscle and like any muscle it will atrophy if you let it.

So, here's an exercise that I hope ya'll will do with me. Each day for just a minute do an anchor meditation. Focus on your breathing or maybe a piece of classical music. Just pick something to be fully aware of for one whole minute. After you do that, come back here and share your experiences in the comments. Leave any tips you have for others (Like avoid doing this when you're way sleepy).

Namaste, y'all,
Michael

The post most likely incite an angry mob.

Remember how I said that I would sometimes use this blog to rant? This is one of those times.

So, apparently the Founder of "Ordain Women" is on church probation and has a disciplinary hearing scheduled which could result in a number of way including disfellowship or excommunication. The article mentions another guy who I've never heard of so I won't talk about him. Rather I'll stick with talking about Ordain Women. 

At the risk of sounding like a  behind-the-times misogynist he-man woman-hater and offending all three people who read this blog, can I just say that I agree with the Church's decision here?

"Men's trousers? On women? BALDERDASH!" source

Before you get all 'angry mob' on me let me explain my reasoning. If nothing else it'll give you time to sharpen you pitchforks, okay?

First off, I do not disagree with the motivations behind the OW movement. They see among Church members an unacceptable level of sexism that needs to be removed as soon as possible. On this point I agree. The Church is no place for the judging of other's capabilities based on gender. To do so is to deny the basic core of humankind's divine potential. That being said, I strongly disagree with how OW plans to fix this problem, that is, by ordaining women (No way! Is THAT how they got their name?). Plenty of digital ink has been spilled debating weather or not ordaining women would be an effective solution to the a fore mentioned sexism, so although that is one reason I disagree with OW I won't be getting into all that today. Instead I want to focus on what the priesthood is and why women shouldn't have it. (Wow, that sounded so sexist, please don't pitchfork me yet.)

So, what is the Priesthood? Standard primary answer: the authority to preform sacred ordinances in God's name. Yes, but who receives these ordinances? Loosely speaking they are meant for the believers, or those who have faith. Every priesthood office I can conceive of is intended to bless those who believe. 

"But wait!" cries my most argumentative reader (you know who you are), "What about the missionaries who are charged with taking the Gospel among the non-believers, and the Prophet who is to speak to the whole world? Those are both priesthood offices intended to bless the non-believers."

Not really. Missionaries generally don't waist time on people who have no faith to begin with, rather, they look for those who believe, even if it's the smallest mustard seed of belief and build on that. As for the Prophet, he can prophesy until he's blue in the face but if nobody believes what he's saying then he might as well keep quiet. In some cases the Prophet has even been told to keep quiet because there is so much unbelief. (Morm. 1:16-17, 19)

So, that is how I view the priesthood, as God mobilizing his followers to help one another. But that is at odds with a key element of who God is. God loves ALL his children and wants to bless all of them, regardless of weather they believe in him or not. So why would a loving God tell his followers to only look after each other and let the rest of humanity rot and suffer in unbelief?

This is where the Relief Society comes in. Whereas the Priesthood works on structuring the Church in order to distribute blessings and knowledge and covenants to the believers, the Relief Society, I believe, is intended to go out into the word and actively bless the lives of those outside the Church. 

Isn't that something? God, when looking at all the evil in the world, seeing Satan building armies of hate and fear and intolerance, seeing poisons to the soul like pornography and self-loathing thunder through families and rip them to shreds, seeing all this sorrow and misery His answer is one word; WOMEN. Lest you be confused, the Relief Society is NOT an arts and crafts club. It is an army. 

I mean that in a very real sense. The RS claims approximately 6,000,000 members world wide. To put that number into perspective, if the RS was listed as a military organization it would be the second largest in the world, right between the United States (at 2,291,910) and China (at 7,054,000). Imagine what could be accomplished in the world if that many women moved as one, like God intended them to. If those six million each in their own communities and countries and in their own way declared war on just one of the evils in the world today. Let's imagine that army six million strong chose to decry the dehumanizing and poisonous pornography industry. Say they start writing letters to the leaders of their countries, pleading with them to address the issue. World leader would take notice. Say they write blogs about their own experiences with families torn apart by pornography. The average person would be educated. Say they sought to unite the many other groups world wide that battle the objectifying of women. The army would be fortified. Perhaps they would not succeeded in dismantling that loathsome institution entirely, but those brave women would surely make the very gates of Hell quake with fear.

And Ordain Women is encouraging deserters.


We are at war and OW wants to abandon the front line. There is a word for that; Treason. 

That is something I cannot stand for.

That is why I believe the leader and instigator of the Ordain Women movement needs to be stopped. 
She is demanding that women should focus on only a small percentage of God's children and let the greater part suffer. That's akin to going to an all-you-can-eat buffet and getting upset that there's no spaghetti, or going to a five star restaurant and demanding a can of beans.

"Filet mignon? More like filet mi-YAWN, amiright?" 

Once again, I know that the motivations of the OW movement are not really all that bad. Yes, there are problems with how members of the church view women, but I think a more effective solution to that problem would be to encourage our women to fulfill their potential and bless the world. There are so many ways to do that.

Often I feel that members fall into the trap of viewing motherhood as the female equivalent of the priesthood. There are a number of reasons why this is not a healthy way of thinking. For starters, not all worthy women are mothers. Some simply haven't gotten married yet, for others physical problems prevent them. Still other women would, in all honesty, make terrible mothers. But all in all, motherhood is only one part of what makes women so powerful.

I don't mean to say that motherhood and giving birth are in anyways a lesser part. I mean, seriously, a woman crafts a tiny fully functioning human without using her hands, lets that tiny human live inside of her like some horror movie parasite until after nine months of wild hormonal shifts and bizarre cravings the tiny human bursts out of her abdomen in a screaming fit of bodily fluids, and she takes that screaming poop factory and raises it to be a decent full sized human? That's pretty hard core.

"I became a mother because my fight club wasn't metal enough."

What I'm saying is that there are so many different ways that the women of the Church can fulfill the role God has for them. Two examples: Lindsey Sterling and Al Fox.

Lindsey Sterling: aka 'the Hip-hop violinist'. She is a talented musician and performer who became a quarter-finalist in season five of America's Got Talent. Unlike other female 'performers' her age Miss Sterling presents a bold and ennobling role model for young girls to follow. Her music can and has uplifted so many and her example is just so inspiring. Just listen to this interview. Isn't that the sort of woman we need more of?

Al Fox: (Now Al Carraway) This woman, also known as 'The Tattooed Mormon' is, among many other things, a blogger. She has followers both in and out of the Church. With a very honest and fun style she tells them about her personal journeys in life and shares the lessons she's learned.She blesses other simply by sharing her real experiences of trying to live a Christ-like life.

These are just two of the hundreds upon thousands of examples of bold sisters blessing the world I could have used. If all six million Relief Society sisters worked to bless the world in these sorts of ways, What sort of new world would be born?

I'm sorry about the rant, but I think I needed to get this off my chest, if only t have one less thing to be shenpa'd about.

You may now resume your angry mob formation, I'll be waiting for you at the old wind mill. The one that's not up to fire code. You know the one.

Namaste, Y'all,
Micheal


P.S. Agree? Disagree? Completely neutral? Leave a comment! Have any other great examples of Mormon women blessing the world? Leave a comment! Want to stop lugging about a giant rock of space ice? Leave a comet! Want to separate parts of a sentence such as clauses and lists of three or more things? Leave a comma! Want to tell me to stop fishing for comments? Leave a comment!

My new Jedi Master

In the on campus Meditation Workshop here at BYU-I the instructor presented to us a quote in regards to Mormon Meditation.

"We pay too little attention to the value of meditation, a principle of devotion. In our worship there are two elements: One is spiritual communion arising from our own meditation; the other, instruction from others, particularly from those who have authority to guide and instruct us. Of the two, the more profitable introspectively is the meditation. Meditation is the language of the soul. It is defined as “a form of private devotion, or spiritual exercise, consisting in deep, continued reflection on some religious theme.” Meditation is a form of prayer."

This quote struck me as fascinating not only because of its concise explanation of what meditation ought to be for Latter-day Saints but also because of the source. It came from President David O. McKay.

"This guy"

So now, in addition to showing everyone up with his spectacular fashion sense, McKay has also become a mediation Jedi Master.

"And then he made friends with a Koala, or a 'furry Yoda' as he called it" source 

But, dapper duds and marsupials aside, I'd like to talk a little about his quote. The quote is from a 1946 April Conference talk he gave (if you're interested that's about nine years before the koala picture) Now I find it interesting that he talks about two elements of our worship in the Church.

1. Spiritual communion arising from our own meditation.
2. Instruction from others.

On my mission in Georgia we missionaries occasionally would "go churching" or visit the worship services of other denominations. Usually it was part of a deal to get an investigator to come to church 'We visit your's, you visit ours'. But sometimes we did it just for fun. (Don't give me that look, they had some pretty rockin' music.) Now, in all the churches I went to I saw a ton of the second element. No mater were I went there was always a preacher or pastor or whatever they chose to call them, but almost none of them had that first element actually woven into the service. Oh, sure the preacher would tell the congregation to go home and think on these things, but often there was little time to just sit and think about it.

Services in the Church are specifically designed to let you sit and think about things. Isn't that fantastic?  What? you don't think so? You think it's just boring time? Well let's take a look at the alternative. The alternative is a service that does not want you to think about what you are hearing. Why wouldn't they want you to think? Because thinking is dangerous. Thinkers think thoughts, and thoughts tumble the towers of terrible tyrants (8 points for alliteration, beat that!) The fact that Church leaders like president McKay actually want us to think means that they are not tyrants, they intend to be teachers. They want us to think and act for ourselves. They trust that we can learn proper principles and govern ourselves.

And how do you treat that trust?
Do you ponder the prelude music?
Do you meditate on the Savior during His Sacrament?
Or do you think about other things?
Do you talk and visit?

Those quiet moments in the sacrament service are meant to be a time when you can talk with God. It is meant to be a burning bush, a sacred grove.
And how often have we degraded it to 'free time'?

I'm terrible at this, I'll admit. I don't focus. often my brain is a million miles away, I'm as guilty as anyone reading this. But even so, don't you think we could spend a little more time just meditating on the things of heaven?

Namaste y'all
Michael

Zen, Brigham Young, and Finals

As of my drafting this post I am in the middle of finals week. So many projects to do, so little time.
Or so I've been led to believe.
I'm trying to be Zen about it all and it seems to be working.
 I have an art final that has hit a snag, so to speak. A stray brush stoke seems to have shot my project that I spent hours on right in the foot. Now, normally this could cause me to reach a whole new level of stress, and that stress would combine with the stress of my other finals and snow ball into me eating an entire gallon of Baskin Robbins in despair.

"Who am I kidding? I can't afford fancy stuff like that."

But I am trying to take life as it is, one moment at a time. I recall something said by Brigham Young while the Salt Lake Temple was being built. The Temple's construction was taking a while and some people had concerns about it.

Some will inquire, “Do you suppose we shall finish this Temple, brother Brigham?” I have had such questions put to me already. My answer is, I do not know, and I do not care anymore about it than I should if my body was dead and in the grave, and my spirit in Paradise. I never have cared but for one thing, and that is, simply to know that I am now right before my Father in Heaven. If I am this moment, this day, doing the things God requires of my hands, and precisely where my Father in Heaven wants me to be, I care no more about tomorrow than though it never would come. I do not know where I shall be tomorrow, nor when this Temple will be done—I know no more about it than you do. If God reveals anything for you, I will tell you of it as freely as to say, go to City Creek, and drink until you are satisfied.

The Temple Cornerstones—The Apostleship, &c
A Sermon by President B. Young April 6, 1853, at the General Conference.
Reported by G. D. Watt. http://jod.mrm.org/1/131 

Here we see a 'live life in the moment' mentality. We ought to be most concerned with what we are doing right now. Of course we need to plan for the future and of course we need to learn from the past but what good is that if we no nothing good and worthwhile in the present. I am not worried about my art project because I am not now working on it. Since I am not working on it, there is nothing I can do about it. I have set aside time to fix it and I plan to worry about it then. For now, I will worry about writing a blog, in a few minutes I will be worrying about paying attention in class.
For me, to be Zen is to take life as it comes, as it has always come, and as it always will come; one second at a time. 
A rightous life is not made up of grandiose events that took a great deal of planning, it is made up of countless moments of asking, "is this what I should be doing right now?" and making the best choices for that moment.
Nameste ya'll,
Michael

Pain and Suffering

Recent events in my life have prompted me to write a little on pain and sorrow. You should know, for starters that I do not use pain and sorrow in a synonymous way. I, of course, consider them to be similar things -they are both forms of unhappiness after all- but at their core they remain noticeably different.

Pain is unavoidable. Pain is the result of living in a fallen world. It comprises everything that happened as a result of Adam and Eve's fall. They are usually things over which we have no control. Pain is sickness, injuries, old age, death, when loved ones stray, the unrighteous choices of others, etc. etc. etc. Ad nauseam. Labeling all the ways that pain can enter into our lives would need a depressingly long list, but the common element in all pain is that we tragically have no power to prevent or contain it.

So what is suffering then? Suffering as I define it, is unhappiness that comes as a result of pain. Basically it is second hand pain, an incorrect reaction to pain. It is unique from pain, however, in that we have a choice in encountering it. Suffering can be anywhere between the two extremes of an obsession with pain or an unwillingness to accept pain. When we become obsessed with pain we deliberately prolong it, rehearsing the pain over and over in our mind. We become like a cow chewing cud all day long, never giving up our misery. We seek to expand our hurt until it becomes a massive sea that consumes us and cuts off all other good and worthwhile emotions. In a talk about anger and holding grudges (both types of sorrow) President Hinkley related a story of a man who I would say was consumed by sorrow:

"It concerns Master Hauchecome, who on market day went to town. He was afflicted with rheumatism, and as he stumbled along he noticed a piece of string on the ground in front of him. He picked it up and carefully put it in his pocket. He was seen doing so by his enemy, the harness maker.At the same time it was reported to the mayor that a pocketbook containing money had been lost. It was assumed that what Hauchecome had picked up was the pocketbook, and he was accused of taking it. He vehemently denied the charge. A search of his clothing disclosed only the piece of string, but the slander against him had so troubled him that he became obsessed with it. Wherever he went he bothered to tell people about it. He became such a nuisance that they cried out against him. It sickened him.“His mind kept growing weaker and about the end of December he took to his bed.“He passed away early in January, and, in the ravings of [his] death agony, he protested his innocence, repeating:“‘A little [piece] of string—a little [piece] of string. See, here it is, [Mister Mayor.]’” (See “The Piece of String,” http://www.online-literature.com/Maupassant/270/.) " source 

The great tragedy of this man's suffering is that he chose it for himself and carried around a weight as a reminder of the pain. Though the physical wight was only a piece of string the emotional weight was a crippling burden.

The other extreme of not accepting the reality of pain is equally tragic. We refuse to consciously admit that there is a problem, that there is not cause to mourn or feel pain. It is the stubborn refusal to accept that the world has unpleasant things in it. Those subject to this may even go to great lengths to avoid feeling anything. Drugs, alcohol, video games, and other addictions are often used to dull or hide the pain. But no matter how deeply they bury their pain they still know it is there, like the Poe's Tell Tale Heart, it steadily reminds them of it's presence until it drives them to destroy themselves.

Suffering in not a necessary part of life. it comes from the results of our actions and as such, we can avoid it. We can choose happiness.


So, what are we to do about pain? It is unavoidable and an incorrect response to it just leads to suffering. For starers we can feel our our pain. Pain is a feeling, just like happiness, albeit far less pleasant. As a feeling it demands to be felt. When bad things happen in life we do not need to put on a brave face. Cry if you need to cry, mourn if you need to mourn. Don't condemn yourself for having real emotions. That's what makes you human. Work through your feelings. Do not let them become any more or less than what they truly are.


By confronting our pain we can stop sorrow dead in it's tracks.We can choose happiness.

But then, are we doomed to an eternity of pain that must be humbly endured? Hardly. Pain, as I mentioned before is a result of a fallen world and is a temporary state. Pain is the result of Adam's transgression and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ pain as we know it will one day be nothing but a memory.


Now we have hit on something. In facing our pain we are not alone. Christ took upon himself all our pain and our suffering. He knows it. He bought it with His blood. It's His now. When we feel pain we have the great opportunity to ask Him to release us of it. I don't believe He will just wave a magic wand and make all the bad things go away, He respects us far to much for that. He believes that we are strong enough to deal with pain. The pain is meant to reshape us into something greater, but it will be fleeting. He will guide and instruct you in what you need to know to remove the pain because He believes in YOU.

It is natural to fear pain. It's scary and unpleasant. But to me it is helpful to remember that in the moments leading up to His suffering, Christ was afraid. Looking at the sheer amount of pain He was about to feel for us, He was scared. In perhaps one of them most tender and personal experiences recorded in scripture, The Lord asked his Father if it were possible to avoid the pain. "Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."(Luke 22:42 KJV). It was then that he was comforted by an Angel. We have no way of knowing what form that comfort took, but I believe that part of it was reminding Christ what pain does in the long run. It changes us, it makes us grow. I believe that He saw our great potential for change. He knew then that through his suffering He could help ease our pain in great and small ways.

Meditating on the Atonement has helped me through pain both great and small. It has helped my suffering evaporate. That is a huge part of it. Yes it is there to redeem us from death, yes it cleanses us from sin, but it also can heal heartbreak, grief, sorrow, and the effects of a crummy day. In whatever pain or suffering you are going through, Christ stands with you, ready to heal.

Pain and suffering are not pleasant topics. But they are part of life. When we agreed to come to this life we did not agree just for part of it, was wanted all of life, even the warts and scars. It is unwise, I think, to dwell solely on the pains and sorrows of life though. There are good parts in life. Yes, the trials of old age and death are tragic, but there are always beautiful sun rises. War will come, but so will music and dancing. Sometimes we stumble and fall flat on our faces, and other times we come out the triumphant victor. "For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalm 30:5 KJV)

How tragic it is that for the sake of tears many will forsake the flowers.

Yes, you will feel pain in this life. You may even suffer. But you should not let that become your whole life. Feel your pain. It's part of life. Feel your happiness, that's part of life, too.

Namaste y'all,
Michael

How (and why) to meditate

Why should we meditate?

“That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed, but our power to do so is increased.”
― Heber J. Grant

As president Grant stated our repetition of action increases our ability to do those actions. This means that the more we sin, the easier it is to sin, and, inversely, the more we listen to the spirit, the easier it is to listen to the spirit. Meditation is the act of being still and, in the Mormon context, listening for the spirit, even when the spirit has nothing in particular to say to us right now. Repeated meditation makes it so that the spirit can with ease enter into our lives whenever needed.

When we meditate we make room for Christ, giving Him a place from which He can teach us and instruct us.

Now a quick disclaimer; Meditation can be used to help in a wide variety of situations, but it is not a magical cure all. If you suffer from serious mental or physical problems, talk to a doctor, they kinda totally know what they're talking about. Doctors are Meditative Mormon Approved!

"I also approve of this seal...and like, taking your meds and junk."

Meditation Mechanics:

There are many ways to meditate and be mindful. I'll only discuss a few here and leave to comments open to you readers for other methods.
The fist thing you must understand is that, contrary to popular belief, meditation is not 'clearing you mind' and thinking about nothing. You can't do that. It's impossible. The human mind is always thinking, even when we sleep it keeps going and going and going. Meditation does not stop your brain from running, rather it directs it. Meditation can slow down the mind by placing it on a repetitive track. Or meditation can be used to focus on a single issue and idea, basically making the brain run to a specific place. Here are some particular ways to meditate.

1. Anchor Meditation. This method of meditation is, in my opinion, a basic exercise that all meditaters should use often. It involves thinking and focusing on a specific repetitive thing, such as your breath and using that as an anchor (see where I got the name? clever, huh?). Using your breath as an anchor is very convenient because you always breathe (hopefully). But it's not limited to focusing on breathing. You can focus on walking, you heart beat, music and so on. To do breathing meditation I recommend finding a quiet place to sit comfortably in (no need to do a crazy lotus position, just sit how you normally would in a chair, feet on the floor, hands in you lap and back straight) and focus on your breath. You can count breaths, think 'in' and 'out', or just feel how you body moves as you breath. Any time thoughts other than your breath enter your mind acknowledge them without judging them as good or bad and return your focus to your breath. I suggest you start out with short one to two minute sessions and eventually work up to ten, twenty, and thirty minute sessions.
2. Theme meditation. Basically this is pondering on a topic. As always find a quiet spot to sit comfortably. Begin to contemplate a topic of your choice. I recommend beginning with a prayer asking for the spirit to guide you thoughts. If your mind starts to stray from your topic, use your breath as a reminder of your topic. Focus on your breathing then transition back to your topic. From personal experience I have found this a very effective way of receiving answers to prayers. I actually have a really good story I'll have to share some time. Take as much time as you need for this.
3. Watching meditation. This one is a little difficult to describe in brief and I'll probably devote a whole post to it later. Like always, sit comfortably and use your breath as an anchor point. deliberately let your mind wander, but do so with out encouraging any of the thoughts. simply observe the thoughts as they enter your mind and eventually leave your mind. Do not judge them as good r bad, simply watch them. This is good for getting an idea of the state of your mind. Is it frantic? obsessed with a single topic? This form also helps you practice not feeding unwanted thoughts. 
4. Mantra. By far the easiest meditation and likely the most familiar. For a mantra meditation select a mantra (a short phrase or word) that gives you comfort or helps you do what is right. 'CTR' is basically a mantra and the church has encouraged it to be used as one so I'll use that as an example. When you find yourself in a situation where you feel tempted you may recite 'Choose the Right' to yourself as a reminder to behave properly. If you feel anxious you may choose a mantra like, 'Peace, be Still'. As a child I had a bad temper and when ever I got angry I used the word 'mellow' as a mantra t calm down. The use of mantras is another topic I plan to devote a whole post to in the future.

Let me know it the comments any other ways you meditate and any suggestions you have for others.

Namaste, y'all,

Michael

Mindfulness and Addiction

In General Conference bingo, the 'addiction' space might as well be a freebie. It always come up. It's always a problem.
Addiction is essentially what happens when a person loses the power or will to control their natural impulses. Which makes it the exact opposite of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is the act of being aware of where you are and what you are doing and exerting conrtol over your actions accordingly. Thus, Addiction, as being the act of not controlling your actions, is the antithesis of mindfulness.
Mindfulness can be used to prevent the start or continuation of addictions. In the prietshood session of the April 2014 General Conference President Uchtorf told of an experience he had while he and President Monson where given the opportunity to tour Air Force One. (Uchtdoft talked about planes? YES! I just got BINGO!) Uchtdorf was allowed to go into the cabin and sit in the pilot's seat. Instinctively he put his hands on the wheel (or what ever the airplane equivalent is. The sky wheel, maybe?) and got in position to fly that baby. But then he heard President Monson behind him say "Dieter, don't even think about it." This story tells us two things. One: it tells us the President Uchtdorf is a mastermind that nearly stole Air Force One.

"And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for that meddling Monson!" #heneversaidthat Photo from ksl.com

 Two: it gives us a good allegory for how mindfulness can prevent us from sinning and giving into addictions. In this case Uchtdorf represents our natural urges through his natural urge to use a giant machine to spit in gravity's eye. President Monson then represents the Mindful state we should strive for. He was aware of the situation. He knew that he was in one of the coolest airplanes in the world and he knew he was with a huge airplane geek. He saw the potential for issues. So he monitored the situation and when he saw temptation arise he addressed it, not judgmentally but as an honest appraisal of the situation. He knew that Uchtoft meant no harm, but he also knew that taking the President of the United States's ride out for a spin was unwise.

"Probably also illegal, now that I think about it." #heneversaidthat Photo from wikimedia

Mindfulness brings with it a clarity of thought not obscured by love for airplanes or natural desires. With the mindful view point we are in a better position to identify and redirect the desires of the natural man with in us. It helps us see and admit when we have addictions, be they a pornography addiction, an addiction to a certain really good television show or just a deep love of flying. Mindfulness lets us break free of ding things without thinking and lets us act, rather than be acted upon.
So try and be mindful, think about what you are doing. God put three pounds of brain meat in your head for a reason.
Namaste, y'all,
Michael

Boring, Explanatory, Maiden Voyage Post GO!

I've been intending to start a blog like this for a while now. I had so many excuses, but I guess I finally caved. So since this is the first post I suppose I'll try and explain what I hope to accomplish with this. Of course, to do that I'll have to explain a little about myself.

Boring, explanatory, maiden voyage post GO!

My name is Michael. I was raised as a member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and still am a member. Back in 2012 I attended (and, as of 2014 still am attending) Brigham Young University-Idaho. I've always had a fascination with the various religions and cultures of the world, so when I found that they offered a world religion course here I pounced n it. It was my great fortune that the class I enrolled in was taught by one Gary Purse. Brother Purse had had a unique practice of beginning each of his classes with a moment of meditation, which he justified and helping us learn about Buddhist and Hindu practices as well as improve spirituality in our own faith. To put is simply I got hooked on meditation and mindfulness.

Since that time I have attended Brother Purse's meditation workshop as often as I can and have found this practice of mindfulness and meditation to be remarkably compatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I guess that brings me to what I'm trying to do with this blog. I believe that the Church's doctrine and practices point us to mindfulness and encourage the art of meditation. However, I find that my fellow Mormons do not have a culture of meditation or are wholly ignorant of how and why to meditate. I hope that with this blog I can, in some small way perhaps, encourage meditation among Mormons.

So, here's what you can (and can't) expect from this blog.

What you can expect:

• Discussions on the mechanics and 'how to's of meditation.
• Commentary on doctrines and statements of Church authorities in regards to mindfulness and meditation.
• Insights and observations from me.
• My opinions, for which I alone am entirely responsible.
• Assertions that Meditation helps all humanity (including Latter-day Saints).
• Assertions that we would all be better off using the Deseret Alphabet. Because it's my blog and I do what I want, yo.

What you can't expect:

• Politics.
• Me agreeing with you.
• You agreeing with me.
• The Spanish Inquisition.

So that's what you'll get here at the Meditative Mormon.

Expect a post soon where I discuss mindfulness principles that popped up during General Conference.

Namaste, y'all.