July 25 – August 7th: Amy Oden – Right Here, Right Now: The Practice of Christian Mindfulness

 

The pandemic has changed just about everything in our daily lives for now, including, I suspect, how we come at ideas and practices of mindfulness. Where it may once have been a way to escape frenetic schedules, mindfulness may now be a way to deal with the restrictions and losses that have burdened so many of us. Wherever you find yourself these days, Amy has offered a range of resources to help us understand the concept and practice of mindfulness. Two weeks on retreat with Amy will be a fantastic opportunity to consider these ideas in very personal ways but we hope you’ll find helpful things for the coming days in this list, as well.

 

If you are interested in the neuroscience of mindfulness: Dan Siegel, The Mindful Brain

https://www.drdansiegel.com/books/the_mindful_brain/

 

Podcasts that touch on a variety of aspects of mindfulness and its benefits:

 

Hidden Brain, “Beyond Doomscrolling”

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-doomscrolling/id1028908750?i=1000494512439

 

Hidden Brain, “Deep Work”

https://www.npr.org/2017/07/25/539092670/you-2-0-the-value-of-deep-work-in-an-age-of-distraction

 

Happiness Lab, “Dial D for Distracted”

https://www.happinesslab.fm/season-2-episodes/episode-6-dial-d-for-distracted

 

The Growing Edge, Parker Palmer and Carrie Newcomer interview Valerie Kaur on “Revolutionary Love”

https://www.newcomerpalmer.com/episodes/episode-22-revolutionary-love-a-conversation-with-authoractivist-valerie-kaur

 

Articles and books on ministry and mindfulness:

 

Gregg Louis Taylor, “Be Where Your Feet Are,” Ministry Matters

https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/9925/be-where-your-feet-are

 

Brandan Robertson, “Contemplative Activism: The Sacred Path of Resistance,” Ministry Matters

https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/9929/contemplative-activism-the-sacred-path-of-resistance

 

Barbara Holmes, Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church (2nd edition)

https://www.christianbook.com/unspeakable-contemplative-practices-church-second-edition/barbara-holmes/9781506421612/pd/421610