The Wisdom in Being Out Of Our Mind

Usually, the phrase “Are you out of your mind?” is meant as a criticism, but I’m beginning to wonder if it might actually describe a spiritually mature person!

In the documentary A Human Search: The Life of Father Bede Griffiths, Fr. Bede mentioned that in his monastery in England, although the community prayed the liturgy of the hours, there was no “training of the mind.” The human mind is a great gift, but like a toddler, it demands our constant attention. In disciplining the mind, we learn that we don’t have to pay attention to every thought we have; in fact, it is often helpful to get out of our mind so we can pay attention to the wisdom of our body and soul.

The primary way of disciplining our mind so it doesn’t demand all our energy and cut us off from other sources of wisdom is through centering prayer or meditation. This simple practice entails sitting in silence and releasing our thoughts as they arise as if letting go of a balloon, while turning our attention again and again to our breath and a sacred word. This practice trains us to be present to God at all times.

St. Jane de Chantal described contemplation in this way: “Sometimes put yourself very simply before God, certain of his presence everywhere, and without any effort, whisper very softly to his sacred heart whatever your own heart prompts you to say.”

Note that she says to whisper what your heart prompts you to say, not what your mind prompts you to say. We can choose to set aside our constant stream of thoughts and listen to a different type of wisdom conveyed to us through our body and our soul. God speaks the language of the heart and the gut as well as of the mind. If we follow St. Benedict’s advice and incline the ear of our heart, we will learn the value of surrendering our thoughts and relying on God’s guidance instead. Then, when someone asks “Are you out of your mind?” we can joyfully reply, “Yes—you should try it sometime!”