The Wired Soul

by Tricia McCary Rhodes

  The prefrontal cortex is a hub of activity at the front part of our brains. As part of the top-down system, it serves a bit like the brain’s air-traffic controller—directing thoughts and determining priorities so that we can function efficiently in the world. This gray matter above our eyes is what enables us to do things like make decisions, enjoy music, love our children, learn a new language, or think about God. It doesn’t fully develop until around age twenty-five.

  The almond-sized amygdala, located in the bottom-up system, is often referred to as the brain’s emotional center. In some ways, the amygdala can be like an unruly child, easily activated by circumstances and at the whim of a host of feelings, from joy to fear to despair. Because many more neural pathways run from the amygdala to the prefrontal cortex than the other way around, we often find ourselves operating more from how we feel than from what is right or rational.

  Ideally, as we mature, the prefrontal cortex increasingly shapes and controls our emotions, communicating effectively with our amygdala to keep it in balance. But as you and I know from experience, this doesn’t always happen. As much as we try to maintain control, our emotions often get the best of us.

  This tendency has escalated because of the persistent demands of digital life. In our multitasking world, where we are bombarded by stimuli and under continual pressure to attend to multiple things at once, the prefrontal cortex is often overloaded—kind of like an air-traffic controller who has had no sleep and is trying to handle ten times the number of planes he or she trained for. As a result, we lose our ability to concentrate and effectively manage our mental life, a malady that most of us would probably say we face daily. There is an almost palpable sense that culture-wide we are characterized by frustration, stress, anxiety, anger, and even rage.

  This is where meditation can have an astounding impact. When we take the time to put away distractions and ponder God’s Word or works or ways, we strengthen the neural pathways from our prefrontal cortices to our amygdalas. Over time this increases our capacity to focus so that we can more intentionally allow God’s Spirit to direct our thoughts and control our emotions. This is why Scripture says we are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). In essence, through meditation, we are aligning our brains with the work the Holy Spirit is doing in our hearts.

  A host of brain-imaging studies done while people meditate has confirmed this benefit of strengthening neural pathways, as well as a plethora of other benefits. For example, deep thinking and quiet reflection can enhance our ability to empathize with others, make us more socially aware, reduce negative feelings, counter effects of depression, help achieve our goals, increase creativity and spatial processing, and give us fresh perspectives on the problems we face, all while reducing stress.[11] I find it incredible that God not only has designed us this way but also has given us the amazing cognitive and spiritual capacities to engage in meaningful meditation.

  As a practice, biblical meditation is fairly simple, but like any other spiritual discipline it requires an investment of time and focus before it becomes a natural component of our faith-walks. There are many books and materials that address methods for biblical meditation, two of which are my book The Soul at Rest and Richard Foster’s A Celebration of Discipline.[12] I will not be covering these things here; instead, I will address some ways to help us bring our bodies, minds, hearts, and spirits together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that we can succeed when we do seek to implement this practice.

  Preparing to Meditate

  We can actually help our brains and make it easier to engage in the discipline of meditation if we plan ahead. We can write out what we are going to do and for how long, as well as articulate a general goal. This can be a simple statement, such as “I am going to meditate on God’s Word for fifteen minutes a day during my lunch break so that I can be more peaceful and patient” or “I am going to set aside twenty minutes every morning for meditation so that I can know God more and do his will.” By posting our goal where we will see it and affirming it out loud several times in advance, we will find it much easier to battle the bane of busyness in order to meet with God.

  Once we’ve made the commitment, we need to treat our investment in meditation as a marathon, not a sprint. Most people either fail to engage consistently, or they give up too quickly on practices such as these. As we’ve seen, the brain is like a muscle that operates on a “use it or lose it” principle, so when we are sporadic or skip several days, it will feel as if we are starting from scratch when we return to the practice. It is better to begin with a short time commitment that we can keep, rather than a longer one we end up abandoning. Because our brains respond well to repetition, if we practice regularly, the necessary neural pathways will grow and be strengthened, and meditation will become easier to master over time.

  When we actually sit down to meditate, the mental preparation to overcome distractions can seem extremely difficult. In the previous chapter I explained why this is so, and I offered practices that can counteract our wandering minds and restless souls. I personally engage in God-focused deep breathing for five to ten minutes every day before I begin my biblical meditation. (If you haven’t read that chapter or tried that practice, you might want to do that first.) Here I will just note that breathing is an important component in calming our bodies and minds. When we breathe deeply, noticing how the air flows in through our nostrils and down our chests into our diaphragms, we begin to cultivate awareness, making it easier to tune out external distractions. As we concentrate on slow, deep breathing, we begin to experience a stillness within that is foundational for meditation.

  Noise from without, however, is only one issue we have to deal with to prepare for meditation. As we try to calm our minds, a host of internal distractions often come up. Feelings we may not even be aware of—worry over our loved ones, fear about a job interview, frustration with our eating habits, dread from a bad dream, stresses we can’t even pinpoint—suddenly surface. Curt Thompson, medical doctor and author of The Anatomy of the Soul, points out that while we often ignore the emotional signals—particularly unpleasant ones—that our lower brain is sending us, these are nevertheless an important part of our spiritual experience because our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. If we are disconnected from our feelings, we won’t really be able to love God with our minds because emotions are a part of what makes up our minds. By taking a few minutes to acknowledge the feelings that come up for us, we will be more open for God to speak into our meditation.[13]

  One way to do this is through journaling, an ancient spiritual practice of communing with God in writing. Journaling can be fruitful for a number of reasons. When we have a conversation with a friend, we use about 180–220 words per minute. When we type on a keyboard, we manage around 50–100 words a minute, depending on our skill level. But when we write with a pen in our journal, we have no choice but to slow down to about 30–40 words a minute. As we settle into this pace, instead of ignoring things our body may be trying to tell us (to our spiritual detriment), we can gently allow our feelings to surface, offering them to the Lord without editing or judgment, resting in the knowledge that he is intimately acquainted with all of our ways.

  In the beginning, our meditation sessions may feel as if we’ve unleashed a tidal wave of scattered thoughts, sensations, feelings, or even intuitions. The more often we do this, however, the better able we will be to process and manage our thoughts under the gentle care of the Holy Spirit. In this way we are making space for God to reveal himself to the deepest part of us.

  Postures of the Heart in Meditation

  There are three postures of the heart that many spiritual writers identify in some way as necessary for biblical meditation: humility, openness, and willingness. Thinking about these ahead of time is helpful. As we consider our coming time of meditation, we remind ourselves that being humble means recognizing that all is grace. We can’t do anything to make ourselves worthy to hear God speak; he has alrea
dy provided what we need. I often start my time of meditation by affirming this out loud, thanking God that I don’t have to perform or get anything right, but can simply receive all that he has planned for me in these moments. Then, whether I feel far from or near to God, I thank him that he is present to meet me, and indeed that he delights to do so.

  As we move into our biblical focus, we see ourselves as listeners and learners, offering to God an open heart, an inner attentiveness. Eugene Peterson reminds us of an important truth in this regard: The words of Scripture were spoken before they were written.[14] Thus, we listen for the sound of God’s voice behind the words we read—the nuances and inflections, the context and emotional qualities. This is what makes meditation deeply personal. I have a small stack of letters tucked away in a chest in my bedroom, written by my father over the course of my life before he died some years ago. Every now and then I get alone and read them. When I do, I can almost hear my dad’s warm, full-bodied voice, with his Southern accent and gentle concern, ringing from the words he wrote. This is a precious way for me to relive my relationship with him. In the same way, our heavenly Father speaks from every page of Scripture. If we listen carefully, we can hear the beauty of his voice and experience his presence, deepening our relationship. Hans Urs von Balthasar, a brilliant Swiss theologian and writer on prayer, describes it this way:

  I stand before my Lord, and he turns toward me personally. . . . The concrete, spoken (or silent) Word cannot be detached from the Word that he himself is. And this Word that he is does not intend merely to reach us, perhaps up to our physical or spiritual ear, but to let his words to us touch the inmost core of our person.[15]

  This openness leads to the third posture of the heart: willingness. Being moved spiritually when God reveals truth to us is an important first step, but the more difficult and absolutely critical work is to consider how this revealed truth applies to our life circumstances or relationships. Simply put, once we sense that God has spoken, we engage our wills, asking things such as “Lord, what do you want me to do? How can I obey? How should this change me?” As Eugene Peterson so beautifully suggests, “We are not interested in knowing more, but in becoming more.”[16]

  Thus, we submit ourselves to the text of Scripture upon which we are meditating, recognizing that we do not want to remain the same. So we turn away from some vestige of human weakness or sin and take on instead the life that Jesus holds out to us.

  At every step of the way in meditation, the Holy Spirit is guiding and empowering us, as our brains are being rewired in our journey toward wholeness. In this way, we are far more active participants in the transformation of our souls than we once may have thought. As Curt Thompson writes:

  What happens when we begin to consider that we can change the way our brains are wired? Perhaps it can point us to what God is up to when he invites us to love him and give us hope that the tools he’s built inside each one of us can help us move toward lasting change.[17]

  Understood in this light, biblical meditation is surely one the most important spiritual disciplines God provides for forming our souls into Christlikeness.

  PRACTICE

  BIBLICAL MEDITATION

  ESTIMATED TIME: 15-20 MINUTES (GOAL-SETTING) PRACTICE TIME VARIES

  For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

  1 CORINTHIANS 2:11-13

  Blessed is the man

  who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

  nor stands in the way of sinners,

  nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

  but his delight is in the law of the LORD,

  and on his law he meditates day and night.

  He is like a tree

  planted by streams of water

  that yields its fruit in its season,

  and its leaf does not wither.

  In all that he does, he prospers.

  PSALM 1:1-3

  THERE ARE TWO PARTS TO THIS PRACTICE. The first, writing out your intention, will take fifteen to twenty minutes. How much time you spend consistently on the second part—meditation—will depend on your intention.

  Intention

  Writing out our intention is a great help for our brains as we engage in a new practice. Take a few minutes ahead of time to establish your intention for meditation by prayerfully considering the following:

  How would I like to see God work in my life as I practice biblical meditation? Make a list, and then choose one or two things from it. What one word might capture the essence of each of these? Write it down.

  When can I meditate? How long should I plan for? Jot down your ideas.

  Now combine these in order to write out your intention for meditation. If you prefer, you can use the following template:

  Starting on [write in the day and time you intend to begin], I plan to engage in biblical meditation for [write in how much time you will spend] each session, so that I will [write in what you want to see God do within you in a few words].

  Now take a few minutes to write a paragraph or two about your intention for meditation. If you want, you can write it in your journal as a prayer.

  Finally, consider how you can remind yourself of this intention throughout the week. Maybe you want to put it in a reminder note on your phone or computer calendar, or post it on a sticky note on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror. The idea is to make it a visible reminder so that you can speak it aloud when you see it, helping your brain begin the preparation process.

  Heart Preparation for Meditation

  On the day you are to begin your meditation, try to eliminate as many external distractions as possible. But know that you can train your mind to do this even when you are surrounded by noise. Say your intention aloud or write it at the top of the page in your journal.

  Breath. You can begin by doing the God-focused deep breathing exercise from the last chapter, or you can engage in what is often called “spiritual breathing,” in which you take in slow, deep, diaphragmatic inhalations through your nose and then exhale gently through your mouth. You may want to envision breathing in God’s presence, love, kindness, hope, peace, and so on, then breathing out your restlessness, distraction, mind-wandering, and the like. Let your breaths be measured; focus on how your body feels as you slow it down.

  Feelings and thoughts. As emotions, sensations, or thoughts come up during this time, gently let them move through your heart and mind, and offer them to the Lord for safekeeping. Don’t try to analyze or edit or even judge these, but simply let God take them, knowing that he will give you what you need during this time.

  Affirmations for the heart. Offer a prayer to the Lord based on each of the three heart postures—a prayer of humility, a prayer of openness, and a prayer of willingness. You may use the ones below or speak or write your own:

  Humility: Father, thank you that I can come to you as a needy child. You love and accept me, and you give me everything I need to engage in meditation on your Word.

  Openness: Father, I thank you that your Word is living and active. I want to listen with an open heart to what you have to say, waiting for you to show me what you have for me in this moment.

  Willingness: Father, my desire is to take what you show me and walk in obedience as I leave this place.

  Biblical Meditation

  The following is a very simple meditation exercise. It can be used as a template for engaging with God over his Word as you begin. (See my book The Soul at Rest and Richard Foster’s A Celebration of Discipline for two more thorough approaches.)

  Choose a passage of Scripture upon which to meditate, about ten verses.

  Read it a couple of times, including once
aloud if possible.

  Look at the passage once again and consider the words as spoken by God for you in this moment. Try to hear the words being spoken by God aloud. Consider some questions such as the following: What stands out about God?

  What do you see about yourself?

  What is interesting or perplexing?

  What specific words seem to come off the page?

  What feelings does this bring up for you?

  Ask God to speak to you concerning the words you have read. As thoughts come to you, jot them down. They may be words of encouragement, conviction, challenge, or affirmation.

  Look back over the passage one more time and consider what difference this experience in God’s Word might make in your life. Is there an action to take? An attitude to embrace? A commitment to make?

  Write a sentence or two regarding your plan for the day or week based on what you have seen in your time of meditation. Thank God for his faithfulness.

  PART THREE

  ORATIO

  The third step in lectio divina is oratio—prayer: prayer understood both as dialog with God, that is, as loving conversation with the One who has invited us into His embrace; and as consecration, prayer as the priestly offering to God of parts of ourselves that we have not previously believed God wants.

  FR. LUKE DYSINGER, The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina

  CHAPTER 06

  PRAYING THE TEXTS OF OUR DIGITAL LIVES