A few days ago I told the proprietor of a small women’s clothing store, ” I need another item of clothing like I need a hole in the head.” Then it struck me, “I probably do need a hole in the head!”
Jesus’s words in Matthew’s Gospel chapter 5:29-30 come to mind:
29 Let’s not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here’s what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile. 30 And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump. (The Message)
So what do I do if my mind or my brain is the offender rather than my hand or eye? I understand Jesus is not talking about literal, voluntary amputation or gouging. But a metaphorical hole in the head seems like a good way to release the gases of my toxic thinking. The hole could also spread fresh air and ventilation to some starving, damaged cells.
So along with the practices I described in Inner Gossip, I’ll add some intentional breathing with a visual. I’ll imagine an extra hole in my head where ruach, the Holy Spirit, can circulate and surround my brain and my thoughts with fresh, living air.
