Hey there and welcome to Compass Finding Spirituality in the
Everyday. I'm your host, Ryan Dunn. I want to begin this
episode with a confession. Sometimes I get
so caught up in my to do list or my screen that
I'm scrolling through that I forget to be fully here. You know,
fully present, even in the moments that matter the
most. And maybe you felt it too. It's
Christmas, or almost Christmas as we're putting this together.
And while this season is supposed to be about joy, peace
and connection, it often leaves us
feeling frazzled, distracted or emotionally
depleted. So today I want to offer a
pause, a reset, a chance to reflect
on what the Christmas story and the very idea
of God coming near to us in Jesus, what
that might teach us about being present.
Because maybe, maybe the most
transformative gift you can receive or give this year
is your own sacred presence. Let's begin there.
We live in a world that's constantly pinging us. I know I've
been on this kick a lot recently about attention and what tries to
steal our attention. There's social media, email,
texts, news alerts. It's all designed to
grab our attention. When we doom scroll, our
brains are actually responding to a kind of stress loop. Our
stress hormone cortisol rises when we read
distressing headlines or arguments online. And in
response, our brain then tries to soothe us with a burst of
dopamine, which we like. That rewards us for
staying in this loop. So we keep on scrolling. We
chase after a hit of relief while staying hooked to the anxiety.
And that, that sounds exhausting. In truth,
it is really exhausting. It leaves very little space for wonder,
for peace, for divine presence. All these things that we kind of reflect
upon the most at Christmas time. But here's the good news. We
can interrupt this loop. Spiritual practices, especially the
ones that cultivate a sense of presence, literally help
our brains rewire. They calm the stress response
and open us to deeper connection with God,
deeper connection with others and, you know, deeper connection
within ourselves as well. Now let's
go back to the Christmas story. In this season,
the Gospel of Luke paints a beautiful earthy
scene. In chapter two, we have Mary, a young mother
and giving birth in a barn. We know this story, right? The
shepherds, low wage workers pulling an overnight shift
suddenly find themselves enveloped in light and
angelic song. For sure, it's disorienting, but
they go, they go to find the child
lying in a manger. The text says this.
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another lets go to Bethlehem and See this thing that has happened which the
Lord has told us about. So they hurried off and found Mary
and Joseph and the baby who was lying in the manger. When they had
seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them
about this child. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds
said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things
and pondered them in her heart. But Mary treasured all these
words and pondered them in her heart. That's Luke 2:19.
That line sticks out with me. She didn't
rush past the moment. She treasured the moment. She
valued the moment. She pondered it in
her heart. That's presence over
in Matthew. We can look at Matthew, chapter 1, verse 23, and
we hear this. Look. The virgins shall conceive and bear a
son. They shall name him Emmanuel, which means
God is with us, not. This is
me talking again now. End quote. I should say that is not meaning
that God was with us. It's not meaning that God will be
with us. God is. God is here.
God is now. And that's the central promise of
Christmas. Not just that a savior was born some time
ago, but that God shows up in the middle of our mess, in
the middle of our circumstances, in of the middle, in the very moments that we
often overlook. And overall, that's really what this
podcast is about, cultivating a sense that we can
identify God's presence in the moments where we might
not feel a connection, or in the moments that feel mundane.
All right, let's turn to a few simple ways that we can cultivate
this kind of holy presence, holy connection, or holy
awareness in our lives. These aren't long or complicated.
And you don't need candles. You don't need perfect silence.
You don't need that mystical mountain view, really. You just need a willingness
to pause and pay attention. So the first practice is
just grounding with breath. You can try it together
right now if it doesn't feel too weird for you. Wherever
you are, you can sit or stand with both feet
flat on the ground. Close your eyes if it feels safe. If you're
driving, of course not. But if you can, close your eyes,
take a deep breath in for a four count. One,
two, three, four. Hold it for
another four count. One, two, three,
four. And then exhale slowly, maybe
for a six count. Five, four,
three, two, one. Again.
Breath in for four,
hold it for four
and then exhale for six.
As you breathe, you might quietly say something in your
mind. We post all over our social medias breath
prayers. But you might Just use simple words like
inhaling and saying here, and exhaling
and saying now. And repeat that as you need it, maybe
for a minute or two. Let your thoughts drift away
like clouds, and each breath can become a
reminder you're here, God is here,
and that is enough. I've been through some therapy,
and my therapist has often questioned me, when,
with the idea that, do I have what I need
right now in this moment? And the answer is always yes.
I'm living. I'm sitting on a couch. You know, nothing
is threatening my life at that moment. It is enough. You
are here. God is here in this moment, right now.
It is enough. All right. Practice number two is the
one word prayer. This is a practice that you can return to throughout
your day, when you're, I don't know, washing dishes, when you're
standing in that checkout line with the stocking stuffers, when you're
stuck in traffic because it gets a little worse this time of year.
Choose a word that centers you. Some suggestions might be.
Well, in the season that we're in, we can think about Emmanuel or
peace or joy. Or you might just want to
think about with me or love. Or maybe you're just
craving that sense of peace that comes through stillness. So maybe
your centering word is stillness. You can breathe
in, say the word slowly in your mind, breathe
out, and feel the meaning of it wash over you. This
prayer doesn't need answers. You're not actually asking
for something. It's just a way of staying tethered to something
deeper than our anxieties.
Okay, here's a third suggested practice. It's kind of new to me, but
in researching this, I found it kind of fascinating. And it's called
sacred noticing. I don't know, maybe it's not. But that's just what I heard
it called in one point. At some point today, pause
and notice. What do you see that's beautiful?
What do you hear that brings you some sense of comfort?
Who do you love? Who loves you? And
where do you feel God's presence? You
might write those down. You might whisper a quiet thank you as a sense
of prayer. And this is a form of prayer, and it builds
gratitude, which recent studies show is one of
the most effective ways to increase the emotional
resilience and spiritual connection. Now, we
do need to note that there are a whole number of people who are not
feeling very present this season. Christmas can
feel like a turn off. Maybe. Maybe because it's painful, it's
alienating. Maybe you're missing someone. Maybe
you're struggling financially or grieving or just
feeling numb, know this. I offer this as a
reminder. God's presence is not reserved just
for the cheerful. This isn't just a season
for those people who are overcome with joy. In
Isaiah 7:14 the prophecy of Emmanuel comes
comes in the midst of a conflict. It comes with a whole bunch of fear
and uncertainty around it, the promise there is of
God's withness or God's connection coming
to not necessarily the serene, but in that case
the scared. So whatever you're feeling, you're invited to bring it
honestly. Your vulnerability is not a barrier
to a sense of presence with God. It's often
in fact, a doorway to a sense of presence and
connection with God. So this Christmas, I hope you'll
receive the invitation to be present, not
one more thing to do, but as a way to be gently more
you, more inside of yourself, more grounded, more
aware, more in tune with the God who is already
here. Take a breath, let it out,
and be here in the present. Thanks for
joining me on this special Christmas episode of Compass
Finding Spirituality in the Everyday. If you found this
meaningful, I'd really appreciate it. It would make me grateful
if you subscribed on your favorite podcast app,
or you can leave a rating or review that really helps others
find us. Or you can share this episode with someone who could use
a sense of presence this season. As always, you can
explore more episodes, resources and spiritual
practices@unc.org Compass
Merry Christmas to you and may the presence of God, the
Emmanuel, meet you right where you are.
Peace.