Practice the Pause: Jesus' Contemplative Practice, New Brain Science, and What I

<p>These days, many of us live in a state of overreactive fight-or-flight response and chronic stress. The demands of modern life pull us in all directions and can often put the meaningful connections in our lives at risk--connections to our deepest selves, to others, and even to God.</p> <p>But there is good news. New developments in brain science have recently proven that an intentional practice of pausing for a few minutes of meditation, prayer, or other contemplative practice actually <em>rewires</em> our brain in ways that make us calmer, less reactive, and better able to see the bigger picture.</p> <p>In <em>Practice the Pause, </em>spiritual director and writer Caroline Oakes offers easy-to-understand explanations of how this new brain science is confirming what every spiritual tradition has been telling us for millennia: by practicing the pause, we become more self-aware and better able to understand others. We become more "God aware."</p> <p>With a refreshing focus on the Eastern Christian understanding of Jesus as a master of wisdom, Oakes shines a spotlight on Jesus's own centering pause practice as a transformative path for personal and social change. We learn that even a seven-second pause practice can move us beyond the fight-or-flight responses of our ego in our daily lives and actually equip us to cultivate the common good in the world.</p><br><br><b>Author:</b> Caroline Oakes<br><b>Publisher:</b> Broadleaf Books<br><b>Published:</b> 01/24/2023<br><b>Pages:</