Holy be the Lay: A Way to Mindfulness Through Christian Poetry
OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine March 11, 2022 DOI: 10.21926/obm.icm.2201011 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key points | Argues that poetry offers an appropriate and palatable pathway for introducing Christian clients to mindfulness, because mindfulness-based practices accord with Christian teachings such as grace theology, poetic practices like Lectio Divina and the Prayer of the Heart already exist in Christian traditions, and themes identified in Buddhist and secular/therapeutic mindfulness poetry also appear in Christian poetry, allowing individual spirituality to serve as a mediator of mindfulness benefits. |
Abstract
Mindfulness practices have exploded in popularity in public awareness and in therapeutic applications. While mindfulness in a therapeutic context is presented as a secular practice, its primarily Buddhist heritage may make some Christian clients wary of engaging. Research indicates that both reflection (co-creation) on poetry and creation of poetry can be therapeutic, and that both Buddhist and secular/therapeutic mindfulness texts use poetry to convey meaning through key themes of nature, change/impermanence, stages of practice, and acceptance. Taken together poetry offers a pathway to mindfulness, which in this article is applied to the Christian client. Examples are given of: how mindfulness-based practices are in accordance with Christian teachings (e.g., grace theology), that poetic practices already exist in Christian traditions (e.g., Lectio Divina and the Prayer of the Heart), and themes previously identified in Buddhist and secular/therapeutic mindfulness related poetry, are also present in Christian poetry. It is argued that poetry can provide an appropriate and palatable vehicle for introducing Christian clients to mindfulness, which allows for the individual’s spirituality to be harnessed as a mediator of the benefits of mindfulness practice.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 15
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists PLoS One May 24, 2017
- Effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on mental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials Journal of Research in Nursing November 29, 2012
- Measuring a Journey without Goal: Meditation, Spirituality, and Physiology. BioMed Research International 2015
- When mindfulness is therapy: Ethical qualms, historical perspectives. American Psychologist 2015
and 10 more in the library