Catholics then Muslims. Now Psychology. Methodist next? Body Posture and Spirituality

There is research out there that shows if we stand up and take up as much space as possible (by stretching our arms and legs and reaching out as far as possible) we can affect our confidence. Amy Cuddy shares several examples of this in her TED Talk. 

Body posture is something that is often overlooked in my Mainline Protestant tradition. Most people in my UMC experience are not ones that raise hands in song or genuflex when we walk into our seats. The extent of body posture is the standard head down and eyes closed when it comes time to pray. 

I wonder if it is true taking a "big posture" makes us feel more confident, then do we need to re-consider body posture when it comes to religious/spiritual practices? Is it counter-productive to have a verbal prayer of humility and confession while we are standing tall and big? Conversely, if we want to convey the Good News that you are a person of great worth and value to God, should we be kneeling and taking a "small posture"? 

There is a time to feel big and a time to feel small. There is a time to be embolden to be human and a time to be bowled over by the transcendence of the Great Mystery. Can the UMC religious tradition embrace what other religious traditions know and psychology is discovering, that there is a strong connection between our bodies and our mind and our spirits? 

What colonoscopies can teach us about hospitality

I have never had a colonoscopy but I hear they are not something that many people look forward to undergoing. Maybe this is why we may not look to colonoscopies when thinking about hospitality, but the now infamous 1996 study might make us rethink our assumption. 

Quickly from the wikipedia entry, here is the study:

Colonoscopy patients were randomly divided into two groups. One underwent a colonoscopy procedure wherein the scope was left in for three extra minutes, but not moved, creating a sensation that was uncomfortable, but not painful. The other group underwent a typical colonoscopy procedure. Kahneman et al. found that, when asked to retrospectively evaluate their experiences, patients who underwent the longer procedure rated their experience as less unpleasant than patients who underwent the typical procedure. Moreover, the patients in the prolonged discomfort group were far more likely to return for subsequent procedures because a less painful end led them to evaluate the procedure more positively than those who faced a shorter procedure.

This is one example to show how it is the endings of an event that impact the way we remember the event. If the ending was bad, the remembered event was bad. If the ending was good, the remembered event was good. 

In the Church there is a lot of emphasis on the first impression we make to guests. This is why we try to have well kept landscaping and facilities, clearly marked parking and signage, greeters at the door, free coffee and doughnuts, a "glad you were with us for the first time" gift, etc. While these first impressions matter, so does the last impression.

To my preacher friends, I would submit that all the work that is done to find the "right opening hook" to a sermon, perhaps we need to spend time on the "right ending". It may very well shape what is remembered.