'Not feeling it' in your faith? Watch our 'Practice of Stillness' video series
If living your faith has started to feel like a lot of things to simply 'get done,' I hope you'll check out these 10 videos that Carrie Skarda and I created with Deseret Book.
In 2009, I joined Carrie Skarda, Kyle Anderson and Ty Mansfield in publishing “The Power of Stillness: Mindful Living for Latter-day Saints” with Deseret Book and our wonderful editor Celia Barnes. The text turned out to be surprisingly popular, and we recorded an audio version on Audible as well.
The core message of the book was that in a busy, digitally-saturated world, it was deceptively easy to inadvertently turn discipleship in the gospel of Jesus Christ into yet-another list of things to get done as well - an approach that prioritized efficiency and often led people to shallow experiences spiritually.
Prompted by Jesus’ own example of 9 times in the New Testament when he stepped away from the busyness to spend time alone with Abba, we asked: what would it be like to approach the many aspects of the restored gospel (prayers, scripture, temple, Sabbath) not as merely more reasons to feel busy, but rather, as good-excuses and sacred opportunities to stop and be still - so we could have our own sweet experiences ‘spending time alone with God’?
Back when we published the original Power of Stillness, we had explored the possibility of an accompanying journal that would break down simple adjustments and practices that could help people apply what we were sharing in that book. A year ago, last November, Carrie and I published that follow-up text, “The Practice of Stillness: Mindful Living for Latter-day Saints” again with the wonderful editing support of the Deseret Book team, especially Kristen Evans and Alison Palmer.
With the help of Stephanie Bryson, Portfolio & Content Manager at Deseret Book Company, we worked hard on a series of videos that introduces many of the themes of this more hands-on text, which were published earlier this year.
I share the whole video series below, touching on what it might look like to approach prayer, scriptures, temple and Sabbath as rich opportunities to be alone with Abba ourselves. What could more stillness also mean for parenting, repentance, peacemaking and moments when we feel overwhelmed emotionally?
As you’ll see starting with this trailer, Carrie and I are definitely not social media influencers or polished actors, but we do love the gospel of Jesus Christ, and enjoy sharing ways that mindfulness has helped us tap into the power of His abundant life of redemption even more.
Hoping you’ll enjoy!