Sunday church service is a time when I focus intently on going deep into a loving, joyful communion. In a typical week, it is the easiest time for me. So I’ve been noticing what “activities” during church will optimize going deep quickly.

Surprising to me is that sitting in my car for several minutes before going into church allows me to go deeper faster than if I quickly get out of my car and go into church. Also seated in church, spending time looking around first allows me to go deeper faster than if I immediately shut my eyes to meditate.

When arriving at church, I’ll park my car along the street, look out at the traffic and practice love breathing for several minutes. I realized it is watching the cars travelling along the road that allows me to quiet my mind down quicker than if I just went into church and stared at the still altar. The motion of the cars occupies my mind, helping to keep it from going off on multiple “thought trains”.

My son (when he was taking a biology class) informed me that “2/3rds” of the brain is used in visual processing. This helps explain why it is difficult to go directly into a deep still mediation when in a restless state. As soon as you close your eyes, your mind being restless, will use all that processing power no longer used on visual processing to think random thoughts.

Now my “optimized” approach for going deep into joyful stillness at church is a “four-step” process:

1. Park car on street. Stare at moving traffic while practicing devotion. ~5minutes.
2. Go into church, sit and look around while continuing to love breathe.
3. Start staring at a fixed point on the altar, while still love breathing. Hold this state for about 5 minutes beyond the point where I have an overwhelming urge to close my eyes and meditate.
4. Close eyes, meditate, while listening to the church service & songs.

This “four-step” process actually gets me to a deep, joyful state much faster than the “one-step” process of immediately going into church, closing my eyes, and meditating. More importantly the coaxing “four-steps” are much more enjoyable and less strainful than trying to all-at-once go deep.

Joyful blessings