Richard Rohr’s From the Bottom Up: Introduction Weekly Summary, Saturday, January 7, 2017, mentions the practice of affirmations.
“Practice: Affirmations
All of creation and each of us have received original blessing. Yet we have been conditioned to focus on the negative in ourselves and others. Think of a negative phrase you have said aloud or thought to yourself that stems from a sense of shame rather than your inherent dignity.
Turn it upside down and say, in first person, present tense, an affirmation of your God-given value. For example:
I am unlovable. . . . I am infinitely loved.
I don’t have enough. . . . I have everything I need.
I am stupid. . . . I have the mind of Christ.
I am worthless. . . . I am precious in God’s eyes, I am honored, and God loves me.”
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The affirmation that stood out to me was: I have the mind of Christ.
We all have the mind of Christ. When I sit in silence as part of my centering prayer practice, my mind merges with the mind of Christ. What is the mind of Christ? The mind of Christ must have the following characteristics. I see them on display in the Gospels.
The mind of Christ is wisdom, patience, compassion, empathy, inner peace. The mind of Christ is selfless and inclusive. The mind of Christ takes a stance when it sees an act of injustice.
The mind of Christ enjoys a good meal with others at a table. The mind of Christ knows when to retreat and take time to be in silence with God.
Silence reconnects me with the mind of Christ. I then take the mind of Christ and put it into action during my daily routines. The mind of Christ is a place I live from.
I can repeat this affirmation at any point during the day. It reminds me that all I need is never far from me. It is within.
Do you have the mind of Christ?
Go Further:
Enjoy a recent Richard Rohr meditation based upon Amos Smith’s Healing the Divide: Recovering Christianity’s Mystic Roots.
Enjoy a past interview with Amos Smith based upon his first book, Healing the Divide: Recovering Christianity’s Mystic Roots.
Richard Rohr, The Naked Now: Learning To See As the Mystics See
Richard Rohr, Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer
Richard Rohr, The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation
Richard Rohr, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
Richard Rohr, Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self
Stefan Gillow Reynolds, Living With The Mind of Christ: Mindfulness and Christian Spirituality
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