Is meditation wrong for a Christian?

Akita Suggagaki

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Difficult to explain to be honest but God and myself know
Yes, who really knows. Depths of self, astral planes, heaven, hell, spiritual beings, a lot to distract.

Need to stay focused and committed.
 
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StillGods

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Yes, who really knows. Depths of self, astral planes, heaven, hell, spiritual beings, a lot to distract.

Need to stay focused and committed.

that's why it's easier/wiser to just not meditate at all (Biblical meditation is ok), then all of that is solved by not doing any of it and leaving it alone, then the door is closed to all of that deception and rubbish and can focus on practical kingdom work where God is.

if in doubt dont.
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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that's why it's easier/wiser to just not meditate at all (Biblical meditation is ok), then all of that is solved by not doing any of it and leaving it alone, then the door is closed to all of that deception and rubbish and can focus on practical kingdom work where God is.

if in doubt dont.
Except that it is all still there. Even in our dreams when we are asleep we encounter it. Meditation is mental discipline.
 
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StillGods

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Except that it is all still there. Even in our dreams when we are asleep we encounter it. Meditation is mental discipline.

it is, but unBiblical meditation to me is opening a door and welcoming it in.
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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so does focusing on the goodness and Sovereignty of our Father God.
Yes, an excellent focus. I often focus on the reality of God's presence right here with me. Although God is with us all the time, how often do we settle in to the full realization of that?

To me that is both meditation and contemplation. But that simple sitting takes patience and the mind can be distracted. that is why a verse from scripture we return to can help us settle the mind. We usually read so much scripture, so many words, of only we can let even one sink in.

I like to start with Psalm 91. 'he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High". There is so much right there, "Shelter", "Dwell", "Most High". One could spend half an hour pondering each one.
 
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StillGods

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I see Biblical meditation as pondering on the meaning of a verse, throughout the day as we go about life. Chewing over it and letting the verse sink into ones life and heart, its application, what God means by what the verse says. Discovering treasures I suppose.
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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I see Biblical meditation as pondering on the meaning of a verse, throughout the day as we go about life. Chewing over it and letting the verse sink into ones life and heart, its application, what God means by what the verse says. Discovering treasures I suppose.
Yes, but sometimes even a single word. Not like a mantra that can be meaninglessness but words we take for granted.

These days
I am interested in brain science.
 
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Aussie Pete

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I've recently entertaining taking up meditation again. (The practice of sitting still, clearing the mind and focusing on breathing.) Ive been watching this youtube neuroscientist explain the brain function and health benefits. Before I became a Christian I dabbled in it with discernable results in the form of two brief animated visions (or dreams if you prefer) . I wasn't delusional, They just showed up like dreams behind my closed eyelids and were very brief but vivid and memorable. One was a lotus flower opening up and the other was a tiny meditating figure floating in my stomach area. I told my Buddhist friend at the time who showed me illustrations of those exact images in one of his books. I guess they are common, at least common enough to be recorded in a book.
So this neuroscientist ive been watching on youtube explains those visions. Apparently by focused breathing, oxygen can be channeled to stimulate the pineal gland in the brain which then produces DMT or the so called 'spirit molecule' which causes visions/dreams or hallucinations or whatever you want to call them. He says its chemically similar to LSD but is produced in the body naturally So presuming this is true, is this ok for a Christian to practice meditation? Also, the Bible is full of visions and dreams of the prophets so who is to say how God gave them those visions. Can meditation be a form of prayer to the Christian?
Emptying your mind is a dangerous practice. Why would God give you Buddhist visions? Prayer is not mindless, it is asking, seeking, knocking....... all active, not passive. Passivity is a key condition for being deceived by demons, or worse.
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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Emptying your mind is a dangerous practice. Why would God give you Buddhist visions? Prayer is not mindless, it is asking, seeking, knocking....... all active, not passive. Passivity is a key condition for being deceived by demons, or worse.
Not so, Aussie Pete. 1st it is not 1st Buddhist. 2nd Stick with science. Don't let superstition overrule the research. 3rd, Passive awareness is a precondition for listening.
 
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Aussie Pete

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Not so, Aussie Pete. 1st it is not 1st Buddhist. 2nd Stick with science. Don't let superstition overrule the research. 3rd, Passive awareness is a precondition for listening.
Science. Who needs God when you can solve every human problem with a potion, pill, invention, drug, technology and yet more research? Except the world is more screwed up than ever and the problems of human nature are beyond human willingness to resolve. Science has given us the ability to destroy civilisation as we know it. And don't be superstitious, it brings bad luck.
 
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StillGods

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Not so, Aussie Pete. 1st it is not 1st Buddhist. 2nd Stick with science. Don't let superstition overrule the research. 3rd, Passive awareness is a precondition for listening.

1st would be stick with the Bible.
science is not infallible by any stretch of the imagination, but God is infallible.
passive awareness is a recipie for disaster.
it is sad you do not see that but deception is subtle.
 
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Chris V++

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For what its worth the so called 'third eye' that some meditation practitioners aim to open may or may not have biological roots. I can't find a definitive answer about humans, but some claim the pineal gland, the gland that apparently produces the DMT (spirit molecule) and is not separated by the blood brain barrier, has actual photoreceptors (rods and cones) like a primitive eye. It also apparently gets calcified early on. (I'm not arguing that since it exists it's a given that it's ok to mess with it.

Here's how wikipedia puts it.
The results of various scientific research in evolutionary biology, comparative neuroanatomy and neurophysiology have explained the evolutionary history (phylogeny) of the pineal gland in different vertebrate species. From the point of view of biological evolution, the pineal gland represents a kind of atrophied photoreceptor. In the epithalamus of some species of amphibians and reptiles, it is linked to a light-sensing organ, known as the parietal eye, which is also called the pineal eye or third eye.[8]
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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Science has given us the ability to destroy civilisation as we know it.
and yet here you are on a computer or phone talking to people on the internet, the product of science and technology. Science is not bad. It is how we use it.
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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passive awareness is a recipie for disaster.

Why do you say that? It may be true that for some people who are not ready to face their deeper issues, like traumas it can be upsetting. But even then studies have shown that passive awareness can help deal with anxiety and depression.

Passive awareness, Mindfulness is not alien to the Bible. But the Bible contextualizes it. n the Judeo-Christian spiritual tradition all things are to be used in service to our relationship with God. That is why Buddhism, or even the practice of music and sports do not necessarily have anything to do with religion. They are not practices with the underlying foundation relationship with God. But such practices can be brought into that relationship.

Psalm 131:2
Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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For what its worth the so called 'third eye' that some meditation practitioners aim to open may or may not have biological roots. I can't find a definitive answer about humans, but some claim the pineal gland, the gland that apparently produces the DMT (spirit molecule) and is not separated by the blood brain barrier, has actual photoreceptors (rods and cones) like a primitive eye. It also apparently gets calcified early on. (I'm not arguing that since it exists it's a given that it's ok to mess with it.

Here's how wikipedia puts it.
The results of various scientific research in evolutionary biology, comparative neuroanatomy and neurophysiology have explained the evolutionary history (phylogeny) of the pineal gland in different vertebrate species. From the point of view of biological evolution, the pineal gland represents a kind of atrophied photoreceptor. In the epithalamus of some species of amphibians and reptiles, it is linked to a light-sensing organ, known as the parietal eye, which is also called the pineal eye or third eye.[8]

That interface between science and spirituality is quite interesting.
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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Psalm 37:7
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.

Science tells us that there are 2 main ways the brain processes: Bottom up and Top down.

We in the West are very much Top Down, that is we concentrate and apply our attention interpreting the information in front of us. And then we usually do something about it. We are very active and extroverted.

Bottom up processing has more to do with receiving the information, whether it is from within or from without. It is about receptivity, listening, watching just taking in the information before making nay judgments or interpretations. Therefore it is more passive. These are natural and automatic way the brain processes. This is how God created us. In the east they have been more Bottom up. More introspective, so it is quite natural that their religions have been this way also.

These ways for brain processing happen within all of us all the time. How we use them is up to us. we can bring them both into our spirituality. Many people do not. and many people prefer one to the other.
 
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StillGods

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Why do you say that? It may be true that for some people who are not ready to face their deeper issues, like traumas it can be upsetting. But even then studies have shown that passive awareness can help deal with anxiety and depression.

Passive awareness, Mindfulness is not alien to the Bible. But the Bible contextualizes it. n the Judeo-Christian spiritual tradition all things are to be used in service to our relationship with God. That is why Buddhism, or even the practice of music and sports do not necessarily have anything to do with religion. They are not practices with the underlying foundation relationship with God. But such practices can be brought into that relationship.

Psalm 131:2
Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.

I do not condone bringing Buddhist practices into ones relationship with God. if it is not to do with God it brings no value.
what does light have to do with darkness. it leaves a chink in ones armour.
 
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