> Does it include treating yourself with kindness and compassion?
Yes, definitely. I feel it's implicit in the 2nd great commandment ("Love thy neighbor as thyself") that we should treat ourselves with kindness, patience, compassion, etc. Humility is a good trait, but I don't think it e.g. means tearing oneself down - God has high expectations but also sees us as a work in progress, so that helps me feel love for myself despite the many flaws.
For praying, there's a lot of variety in my mode of prayer. Many prayers are purely in my heart/mind, while some are vocalized. If circumstances allow (such as during my morning personal prayer), I like to physically kneel down and close my eyes and speak out loud. For those prayers, I often naturally feel like I'm praying "upwards" if that makes sense.
> Lastly, I grew outside of religion, and I define Christian practice as the commitment to choose love and kindness, in my heart, and speak, think and act from that choice. How does that resonate with someone like you
My two cents: I like that emphasis on deliberately choosing goodness, and I believe that learning to choose good - and over time /becoming/ someone who chooses good more naturally - is one of the key reasons God went to all the trouble of giving us this life in the first place. :)
Yes, definitely. I feel it's implicit in the 2nd great commandment ("Love thy neighbor as thyself") that we should treat ourselves with kindness, patience, compassion, etc. Humility is a good trait, but I don't think it e.g. means tearing oneself down - God has high expectations but also sees us as a work in progress, so that helps me feel love for myself despite the many flaws.
For praying, there's a lot of variety in my mode of prayer. Many prayers are purely in my heart/mind, while some are vocalized. If circumstances allow (such as during my morning personal prayer), I like to physically kneel down and close my eyes and speak out loud. For those prayers, I often naturally feel like I'm praying "upwards" if that makes sense.
> Lastly, I grew outside of religion, and I define Christian practice as the commitment to choose love and kindness, in my heart, and speak, think and act from that choice. How does that resonate with someone like you
My two cents: I like that emphasis on deliberately choosing goodness, and I believe that learning to choose good - and over time /becoming/ someone who chooses good more naturally - is one of the key reasons God went to all the trouble of giving us this life in the first place. :)