Mindfulness and Christianity go together beautifully. Jesus is probably the best example we have of what it looks like to live mindfully. I’m going to explain my 7 mindful eating tips, but first I think it’s important to discuss what Christian mindfulness is and how it benefits us.

Christianity and Mindfulness: What is it?

Mindfulness is about bringing awareness to thought. It is a tool we can use to clear useless chatter from our heads and focus on the present moment. A way to filter our thoughts and keep us focused on the Truth. Through mindfulness we become aware of what we’re doing, thinking and feeling while we’re doing, thinking, and feeling it. The aim of Christian Mindfulness is to attach our deepest selves to God.

Christianity and Mindfulness: What are the benefits?

Christian mindfulness allows us to explore our thoughts and emotions.

Choosing to practice mindfulness creates a space for us to get curious about our thoughts and emotions. This is important because our feelings are here to teach us something. When we sit down to ask questions about what we’re feeling, we are able to bring our thoughts into the light and expose them for the truths or lies that they are.

Christian Mindfulness allows us to take every thought captive.

When we recognize what we are thinking about we can decide if that thought is helpful or not. We do this by asking if our thought helps us be who God wants us to be and if it is in-line with scripture. When we dissect our thoughts in this way, we can let go of thoughts that distract us from God and the calling He has on our lives.

Christian Mindfulness allows you to connect deeper with God.

Taking time to slow down in your busy day and practice mindfulness often leads to a relational act of thankfulness. When we slow down to really be present cuddling our baby, eating a good meal, or watching birds fly overhead we are moved to thank our creator for these blessings. The result of Christian mindfulness is praise, worship, and thanksgiving.

Christian mindfulness allows you to focus on God’s’ kingdom.

Keeping your mind on heavenly things results in becoming emotionally detached from the things of this world such as money, body image and personal glory. Mindfulness allows us to choose to renew our minds by setting them on things above. As you take your thoughts captive, meditate on His truths, and display the trust you have in our God by living in the present moment, you build a real emotional relationship with Him. You begin to feel for the things that break His heart like injustice, selfishness in your own heart, and the sufferings of others.

Christian mindfulness allows you to experience God’s peace.

The foundation of Christian mindfulness is the assurance of faith that what we hope for is both real and waiting for us. When we set our minds on things above and we know that we are being cared for, peace is the result. When we know that God has our future, we are able to live in the present moment. Choosing to live in the present moment is evidence that you trust God with your future.

Christian mindfulness allows us to accept the positives and negatives of live.

When we’re looking to our creator and keeping His kingdom at the front of our minds, we find that we can accept our imperfections. We are able to acknowledge that we have fallen short of His standards, and we find self-acceptance knowing that we have been made right with God through Christ Jesus. Meditating on this truth develops an acceptance of the trials in this life because we know we will all be fully healed.

Christian mindfulness allows you to connect deeper in earthly relationships.

Just as slowing down to practice mindfulness leads us to a place of gratitude towards our Father, slowing down and paying attention to our loved ones leads us to love and gratitude for them. This act shows others that they are valuable to us, deepens our relationships and allows us to enjoy everyday life together.

Christian mindfulness allows you to connect to your body, listen to it, and care for it.

Slowing down to breath and connect with the Holy Spirit allows us to also connect with our physical bodies. This allows us to connect with:

• The physical sensations of hunger and fullness
• The physical sensations of holding stress in our bodies
• The physical sensations of dehydration, illness, or disease
• The physical benefits of moving our bodies
• The physical benefits of JOY

When we are in-tune with our bodies in this way, we are given the opportunity to respond to these sensations with care.

Christianity and Mindfulness: How can I practice it?

One way to practice mindfulness in with mindful eating. In my online course I teach women how to slow down and recognize the physical sensations of their bodies, how to trust the signals their body is sending them, and to how to respond to the messages with care and respect. Mindful Eating is one of the tools we use.

Mindful Eating Tips:  Eat in a pleasant environment

Have you ever eaten while fighting with someone? It isn’t a very pleasant experience. You usually find that you don’t pay much attention to your body or your food. When we are in an uncon=mfortable environment our minds tend to be focused on that instead of our meal. To eat mindfully eat in a comfortable environment.

Mindful Eating Tips:  Get rid of distractions

Turn of the TV, put your phone away, and get away from your desk. When our mind is focused on the TV, our phone, or anything else it is distracted from the eating we are doing and our mind doesn’t recognize that we have actually eaten. You know that feeling when you reach into the bowl for more chips and they are all gone, but you don’t remember eating them all? When we eat distracted we usually don’t find satisfaction with the food and often want to eat more.

Mindful Eating Tips: Pray before you eat

Connecting with the Father and thanking him for the meal in front of you puts the eating experience into a completely different perspective. Taking this moment to slow down will really set up the tone of the meal. You can even carry this prayer through the meal. Thanking God for the different tastes and textures etc.

Mindful Eating Tips: Eat what you truly desire

I know this isn’t always possible, but when you do have the opportunity to eat something that really sounds satisfying to you, do it! When we eat what we really want to eat, we will be satisfied and move on with our lives. When we settle on our food choice, we are more likely to overeat. You can make this possible most of the time by regularly grocery shopping and keeping foods you love on hand.

Mindful Eating Tips: Check in with your five senses

When you sit down to eat, notice what the food looks like. Is it visually appealing? Notice the colors. Take a big breath in and smell the food. Does the smell make your mouth salivate? As you dig in take note of the different temperatures, textures, and tastes. Do you hear cracking and crunching as you cut into the food or take a bite? Being mindful of your 5 senses really helps your brain register that you have eaten and helps you find satisfaction with your meal.

Mindful Eating Tips: Pause in the middle of your meal to check in

Set your fork down and review your experience. Think about your five senses. Ask the questions:

• Do I like this?
• How am I feeling physically?
• What’s my fullness level?

Decide if you want to keep eating or not. This isn;t an obligation to stop eating if you’re full. It is just a time to really check in and make a consious decision to continue or stop.

Mindful Eating tips: Take note of your hunger and fullness levels

Recognize your hunger and fullness levels before, during, and after a meal. Checking in with your hunger and fullness is a great way to stay in-tune with your body. To honor the signals it is sending you and to build a trusting relationship with your body. Which is super important if you’ve had a history of dieting, or disordered eating or exercise habits.

Christianity and Mindfulness: Allows us to enjoy food again!

I hope you are beginning to see how connecting with the Father over a meal truly transforms your relationship with food and your eating experience. When we are trusting God with our future, we are able to live in the present moment. We can practice mindfulness with activities like mindful eating. When we pay attention to our food and bodies in this way, we are lead to a place of praise, worship and thanksgiving towards God.

Paying attention in this way reveals to us the blessings of nourishment, pleasure, and satisfaction with food. It opens our eyes to the gift of having a body that communicates its needs to us. It keeps us FOCUSED ON HIM. This experience with eating is so different from the experiences we have with food when our beliefs are rooted in diet culture. It’s enjoyable, freeeing and pleasurable.

How do you practice mindfulness? Will you try a mindful meal?

If you have made it this far, I know the Holy Spirit is calling you to be transformed. I’ve created a free mindfulness tool for you. Let you relationship with food and body be renewed and grab access to my guided Christian Mindfulness meditation video below and say yes to renewal.