Music, Games, Relaxation

I unwind with music, games, and relaxation.

In my earlier life I used to play the keyboard in the evening. Now it’s mainly guitar. I enjoy playing along to Rocksmith 2014. I should really stop depending on it, but it’s been such fun over the years.

I enjoy computer games too. I sometimes play Walkabout Mini-golf on my Meta Quest, among other games, such as Demeo and Battlemarked . And I enjoy general computer games too.

In my younger years, I saw little point in pure relaxation. I relaxed by reading or watching the TV. In the late naughties, work became so stressful that I simply had to research relaxation techniques, such as slow belly breathing, body scans etc. And now, I enjoy this. You don’t need to spend too much time on it. Perhaps 15 to 30 minutes is sufficient. And going walks has a similar effect for me.

Does any of this relate to my spiritual life? Well, I enjoy prayer, reading and listening to Scripture, and hymns and so on. That way I can hit two birds with the one stone. It helps me spiritually, and it can be relaxing, assuming that it doesn’t lead to ruminating about problems or intense mental effort trying to decide between opinions or interpretations. Perhaps there’s a place for that, but ruminating is what I generally want to escape when I relax.

Mark Williams isn’t some bizarre cult leader. He’s an Oxford academic and an Anglican minister. I don’t know if he’s an evangelical (which is what I am), but you don’t need to be an evangelical to be helpful with respect to mental health. I don’t insist on my doctor or dentist being an evangelical Christian, so why should I stick to evangelicals when it comes to mental health? I read many evangelical books on counselling over the years, but many merely focus on Scripture and not on helpful techniques for dealing with day-to-day stress. The Bible might have some tips for physical and mental health, but God leaves us to discover much for ourselves. And sometimes these discoveries occur in other parts of the world and by people of other faiths. I don’t need to become a Buddhist to benefit from discoveries made by Buddhists. Some evangelical Christians are a bit suspicious of self-help, but I’m all for helping myself 😀.

Here are a few relaxing hymns: