WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:07.240 I want to ask you a question. It's quite a personal one, but it's alright, you don't have to answer it out loud. 00:00:07.700 --> 00:00:09.560 You can if you want, but I can't hear you. 00:00:10.779 --> 00:00:12.200 My question is this. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:15.900 What are you thinking about right now? 00:00:16.699 --> 00:00:21.359 Or rather, what were you thinking about just before you started watching this? 00:00:22.660 --> 00:00:25.699 Now, that's not just a rhetorical question. I really want you to think about it. 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:29.160 What was on your mind just a moment ago? 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:33.859 You might even want to pause the video for a few moments while you just give that some thought. 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:46.740 Now, I have no idea what is on your mind at the moment, but I could hazard a guess that in the widest and most general terms, there's probably a mix of things. 00:00:47.480 --> 00:00:50.560 Some of those things are positive, happy thoughts. 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:59.579 You know, the stuff that makes you feel good about life, things that you're looking forward to, things that give you a sense of satisfaction. 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:04.439 Then there will probably also be those things that are not quite so positive. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:07.599 Things that you are anxious about. 00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:09.820 Things that make you feel bad. 00:01:09.980 --> 00:01:12.879 Things that may bring a sense of fear. 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:13.959 Things that make you feel bad. 00:01:13.959 --> 00:01:18.299 Things that make you feel bad. 00:01:18.299 --> 00:01:25.319 And of course, in among all of the stuff that's on our minds, there's probably also one or two other bits and pieces of mental activity that's neither particularly positive or negative. 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:27.319 It's just plain old ordinary. 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:36.079 I'm referring to all those mundane thoughts that we have about everyday life, like, well, shall I have a cup of tea or coffee in a minute? 00:01:37.179 --> 00:01:42.139 Now, I guess most of the time our minds are carrying around a range of thoughts. 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:48.780 And that's because that range of thoughts reflects the range of different things going on in our lives. 00:01:48.780 --> 00:01:57.519 C.S. Lewis seemed to be aware of that whole range of thoughts that fill our heads all day, every day, when he wrote this. 00:01:58.240 --> 00:02:01.359 It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:06.099 All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. 00:02:06.500 --> 00:02:10.639 And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back. 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:13.020 In listening to that other voice. 00:02:13.539 --> 00:02:15.479 Taking that other point of view. 00:02:15.479 --> 00:02:21.079 Letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:23.000 And so on all day. 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:27.719 Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings. 00:02:29.879 --> 00:02:36.699 Contemplation is precisely what can enable us to do this and can empower us in this. 00:02:37.219 --> 00:02:38.539 And it's most simplest. 00:02:38.780 --> 00:02:41.439 And in fact, contemplation is strangely simple. 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:49.000 Contemplative prayer is just the intentional act of inviting God to become the centre of your attention. 00:02:49.780 --> 00:02:55.560 It's about making yourself present to him so you can sense his presence with you and in you. 00:02:56.079 --> 00:03:03.240 It's not so much a case of pushing other distracting thoughts away, but rather letting them go and giving them over to God. 00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:11.600 And by engaging in this in a focused way, it can have an impact on our thoughts and feelings and actions throughout the rest of the day. 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:15.280 Now, that very last part is really important. 00:03:16.379 --> 00:03:21.620 Time spent in contemplation can significantly shape the whole of the rest of your day. 00:03:21.620 --> 00:03:34.659 You see, a popular misconception of contemplation is that it's all about some kind of devotional activity that is somehow separated from the rest of the day. 00:03:35.740 --> 00:03:42.500 Well, it sort of is insofar as it represents setting time aside in a way that's disciplined and intentional. 00:03:42.500 --> 00:03:53.379 But that doesn't mean that it is essentially prayer time as though we spend that time and that time alone praying before we get on with everything else. 00:03:54.379 --> 00:04:04.939 Living a Christian life is about a whole of life relationship with God, which means that prayer can't be compartmentalised as one activity among others. 00:04:04.939 --> 00:04:11.419 To be a Christian is precisely that, to be in relationship with God. 00:04:11.900 --> 00:04:17.459 It's a state of being and aspiring for our actions to be grounded in that state of being. 00:04:17.879 --> 00:04:27.819 That means that everything we engage in throughout the day, whether we're on our own or interacting with others, takes place within our relationship with God. 00:04:28.779 --> 00:04:32.399 That's what surrounds everything and underpins everything. 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:47.659 To pray, then, is not just an activity in the same way that other things like eating and drinking are, but it's that state of being in communion with God, which brings that extra dimension to all our activity. 00:04:49.979 --> 00:04:53.939 But having said that, contemplation is something very specific. 00:04:54.979 --> 00:04:58.699 It's where we give special focus to the presence of God. 00:04:58.699 --> 00:05:02.939 Now, John Wesley described prayer as the breathing of the soul. 00:05:03.659 --> 00:05:17.039 So I guess we could say that we never stop breathing, but it is very helpful to slow down and concentrate on our breathing and take a few breaths that are intentionally long and deep. 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:25.800 In his book, how to pray, Pete Greig describes a conversation with a Franciscan priest called Brennan Manning. 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:30.920 The two were talking about the idea of spending a whole hour in prayer. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:41.540 The old priest was eager to make it clear that what matters is not so much the prayer time as though it were some measurable quantity of effort. 00:05:41.540 --> 00:05:48.060 No, what matters is the connection between contemplation and the rest of the day. 00:05:48.060 --> 00:05:49.000 He said this. 00:05:50.620 --> 00:06:05.519 What if the hour you spend in prayer is when you refocus on Jesus so that you can carry his presence with you into the other 23 hours of the day with a heightened awareness that he is with you? 00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:09.439 He is for you, that he likes you, that he hears your thoughts. 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:13.040 You start to pray in real time. 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:19.540 You instinctively lift situations to the Lord in the actual moment you experience them. 00:06:20.140 --> 00:06:33.759 While you're watching that distressing news report or hearing about a friend's latest crisis, you're no longer deferring all your prayers to some later holier moment because your whole life is becoming that holier moment. 00:06:35.960 --> 00:06:37.800 Now, let's finish where we started. 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:42.240 I began by asking you, what have you been thinking about today? 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:45.520 You see, thoughts are really important. 00:06:46.660 --> 00:06:50.819 They determine how we feel and how we behave, for better or for worse. 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:56.360 And a lot of the time, we might not even be aware of those thoughts. 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:03.680 But they are there, continually playing their tune as the kind of soundtrack to our lives. 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:10.680 Now, have you ever noticed how a song heard early in the morning can stay with you the whole day? 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:15.900 You hear a tune and it doesn't have to be one that you particularly like, necessarily. 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:19.000 Then you can't get that tune out of your head. 00:07:19.860 --> 00:07:23.360 You might even be humming it to yourself without even noticing. 00:07:24.819 --> 00:07:26.180 Music has that power. 00:07:26.180 --> 00:07:31.300 The simplest of melodies can take hold within us when we're not even aware of it. 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:38.520 That's what I'm talking about when I say that our thoughts are a bit like a soundtrack. 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:43.259 I'm referring to the patterns by which we do our thinking. 00:07:44.259 --> 00:07:49.080 The way we perceive the world around us and the way we process what's going on. 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:54.859 Contemplation is rather like purposefully putting on a piece of music. 00:07:55.219 --> 00:08:02.180 Like setting our lives to a soundtrack that will transform us and empower us. 00:08:03.180 --> 00:08:09.500 So maybe if you find that you're getting yourself caught up and weighed down by thoughts that are negative and unhelpful. 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:12.339 Maybe it's time to change the record. 00:08:12.339 --> 00:08:20.039 In his paraphrase of Philippians 4, the late Eugene Peterson put it like this. 00:08:22.539 --> 00:08:25.479 Celebrate God all day, every day. 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:27.259 I mean revel in him. 00:08:28.159 --> 00:08:29.639 Don't fret or worry. 00:08:30.459 --> 00:08:32.179 Instead of worrying, pray. 00:08:32.899 --> 00:08:38.179 Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:41.480 Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness. 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:45.519 Everything coming together for good will come and settle you down. 00:08:46.460 --> 00:08:51.259 It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life. 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:59.800 Summing it all up, friends, I say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true. 00:09:00.259 --> 00:09:04.159 Noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious. 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:05.779 The best, not the worst. 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:07.240 The beautiful, not the ugly. 00:09:07.820 --> 00:09:10.460 Things to praise, not things to curse. 00:09:10.460 --> 00:09:11.940 Do that. 00:09:12.680 --> 00:09:19.900 And God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. 00:09:19.899 --> 00:09:22.899 What happens? 00:09:22.899 --> 00:09:23.299 net. 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:25.279 I'm so excited to see you next time. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:25.879 Colleen筇istjes. 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:26.959 I hope you like it for the most excellent human beings. 00:09:26.959 --> 00:09:29.399 What happens when you l success knows where you are. 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:30.379 You are soon on. 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:31.379 That's good. 00:09:31.379 --> 00:09:33.559 I'm a friend of yours. 00:09:33.559 --> 00:09:35.399 So, all the people who are coming to this to the future. 00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:37.079 And I'll be the most successful, happy purpose. 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:38.559 And I'll be the most successful, happy purpose. 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:40.980 Today, that's one of these места to be in my kolay. 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:41.860 Let's see. 00:09:41.860 --> 00:09:42.980 And I'll be the most successful, bitterlyinstallation again.