Scripture and Prayer Topic: Searching
Scripture: Psalms 145: 15-16.
The eyes of all mankind look up to you for help; you give them their food as they need it. You constantly satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
Prayer: (From: “The Courage To See” by Greg Garrett & Sabrina Fountain.)
Oh God, you know us inside and out. Help us to do the right thing, not just when the spotlight is on us, but in those quiet moments when only you and we know what we have done. Amen.
Personal/Professional Growth Tool Suggestion:
Think about or play a song you don’t normally like or appreciate. Try to identify exactly what or why you don’t like it. Is it the music, the melody? Is it the verses, perhaps the chorus? Is your dis-ease relative to how it sounds to your ears or how it makes you feel? Journal about it to help you understand yourself better. After journaling about it, listen to it again; and see if you view the song in “a whole new light.” Now, do the same with the people who do not resonate with you, your personality. What have you learned about yourself and how might you approach them in the future?
Coping Skill Suggestion:
Deep Diaphragmatic Breathing. Raising Your Breath, Raising Your Awareness.
Breathe in, over a three count. Hold in for 5 seconds (adjust lower for any health issues you may have.)
Breathe out over a five count. Repeat three times.
(Use the “one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three” style for the counting. If you have respiratory issues, merely begin with shorter counts and increase only when or if you are safely able to do so. Consult your physician, before any new exercise, as I am not a physician.)
Remember: the goal is being present and mindful of only your breath, in this moment,” not to “outdo” or set any records! The stated count is the standard for this type of mindfulness exercise.
Use this exercise to breathe through your uneasiness, through your anxiety, and your pain.
Call to mind the negative feelings during your inhalation, while calling for the Divine to grant you peaceful release, during your hold and exhalation. Visualize it leaving you and sealing the exit point, so it cannot re-enter; but, BE fully relinquished to the ethers, instead.