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Is it okeay for a Christian to use meditation?

TheKingOfImmortality

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Latly I have bin under alot of stress and needed something that could reduce it. So I started to learn about meditation. So far it has bin vary helpfull but I was wondering why Chistians do not teach it? Although I am not a ture Christian anymore I think Christ may have bin teaching some simalar ideas from the pratice of meditation. You know "The kingdome of heaven is with in you" Infact I have retaken Christiaty in now as a Philosphy to live by rather then a religon (Unless I can find some proof that Jesus was real, God and in the end every one of any religous faith can enter heaven.) So would you say it is okeay or not?
 

pgp_protector

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I don't see why not. There's a lot of it in the bible.

But I guess It would depend on what you Meditate about.


[bible]Genesis 24:63[/bible]
[bible]Joshua 1:8[/bible]
[bible]Psalm 1:2[/bible]
[bible]Psalm 39:3[/bible]
[bible]Psalm 77:12[/bible]
[bible]Psalm 119:15[/bible]
[bible]Psalm 119:23[/bible]
[bible]Psalm 119:27[/bible]
[bible]Psalm 119:48[/bible]
 
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ephraimanesti

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The use of the "Jesus Prayer"--Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me"--with a Prayer Rope is perhaps the oldest type of meditation widely used by Christians.

As was mentioned above--it all depends on who or what you are meditating on.


A BOND-SLAVE OF CHRIST,
ephraim
 
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ephraimanesti

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Meditation on the scriptures, on the words of God, on Jesus - all good.

Emptying your mind as in eastern meditation - not a good idea.


YES--emptying of the mind is important to avoid!!!!!!!!!

i think that this emptying is what Jesus was referring to in the Parable spoken in Luke 11:24-26, "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first."


A BOND-SLAVE OF CHRIST,
ephraim
 
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pgp_protector

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Hmm I always though that it had more to do with someone having there "demons" removed, but not having anything / anyone replace them, leaving a void in there spiritual life.
 
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ephraimanesti

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Hmm I always though that it had more to do with someone having there "demons" removed, but not having anything / anyone replace them, leaving a void in there spiritual life.

YES--that is the most widely accepted interpretation, and very probably what Jesus had primarily in mind when He taught it.

However, i just throught that it also fit the condition of someone having intentionally emptied their mind and thus giving space for satan to plant destructive seeds.


ephraim
 
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Key

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Wow, so much to deal with in such a short post. but for the most part, lets just look at your question. Is Meditation, allowed and in line with what Christ taught. Simply put, Yes it is, in all manners. Meditation, is a means by which we take the time to reflect on our lives, find peace within ourselves, and seek to "block out negative stimuli". Though Meditation, and self exploration, by means of letting the mind look inward to ourselves, we are and can give a healthy account of ourselves. We can also take time while we are seeking inner peace to focus on Jesus, and on what he taught, how to apply it to our lives, and how we can be better people as per what he taught us.

In that Front, not only is meditation good, and allowed by Christ, it is encouraged, many times will you hear people used terms and words like "Meditate on the scriptures" or "Meditate on Gods words", this is because the Scriptures bring with them peace and tranquility, allowing us to not get too warped up in the superficial nature of our world, and finding deep meaning within our lives though Christ.

Eastern teachings, do not teach us to "Empty" our minds, they teach us to seek tranquility with ourselves, many times, this starts off as "emptying our minds" because, by doing so, we can then fill our minds with what brings us peace. What we plant in the "Soil" of our mind as we meditate is what will grow within us, if we plant the living and loving words of Christ while we meditate, then that is what will grow within us, elevating us, and giving us life eternal.

If we plant things like spite, judgment, bickering, jealously, isolation, bigotry, fear, failure, etc, then that is what will grow within us.

Many times, regardless of what we call ourselves, we plant the wrong seeds in our own minds, as to what we want to grow. Thus is why many times, people can say they are "Christian" and in truth, seem nothing of the sort, because, they planted the wrong seeds, and have not "cleared the garden" within themselves though meditation, to replant the seeds of Christ. If we Christians are to sow the seeds of the Gospel, we must plant the very first seed, in ourselves, and only when it grows and matures, can we show others the fruits of our efforts.

So, "TheKingof Immorality" I applauded you, and hope that as you meditate, that even if you only view the teachings of Christ as a "World View" not a religion, that you do indeed plant the seeds of his teachings in the fertile fields of your mind as you meditate.

God Bless

Key
 
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foxsta

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i.e. the Catholic rosary is a series of meditations on the life of Christ and Mary. Lectio Divina is meditating on the Bible. A Benedictine monk is currently starting up Christian meditation and popularizing it. Have fun with it if they are the right words lol
 
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Emmy

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Dear TheKingOfImmortality. Christians are recommended to meditate on the Holy Bible, God`s Word to man, the right meditation is good for us. Jesus died to reconcile us to God, Jesus told us to love God with heart, soul and mind, Jesus told us to love others, as we love ourselves, and Jesus promised us His help and Guidance, to lead us back to God. He is the Truth, the Way, and the Life. To meditate on that, to follow His loving Commandments, is the best meditation to follow. I say this humbly and with love, KingOfImmortality, and send greetings. Emmy, sister in Christ.
 
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Merlin

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The Bible instructs us to meditate.
It's more a matter of what one meditates on.

# Genesis 24:63
He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching.

# Joshua 1:8
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

# Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

# Psalm 48:9
Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.

# Psalm 77:12
I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.

# Psalm 119:15
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.

# Psalm 119:23
Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees.

# Psalm 119:27
Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders.

# Psalm 119:48
I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.

# Psalm 119:78
May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts.

# Psalm 119:97
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.

# Psalm 119:99
I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.

# Psalm 119:148
My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.

# Psalm 143:5
I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.

# Psalm 145:5
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
 
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LivingLifeHisWay

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Meditation actually means "mumbling outloud". The Jewish people pray often by mumbling outloud or reciting scripture outloud. If you go to Israel you will see Jewish people praying this way at the Western Wall. This is the meditating the Bible speaks of.
 
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heron

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Studies on brain waves show that the meditative states have parallels to other common practices in life -- daydreaming, rocking on a swing, painting, falling asleep, and zoning out while driving.

Zoning out seems to have universal appeal, whether it's in a Tetris game or math class.

I find that the Charismatic description of worship is very similar to meditation -- people are relaxed, and set aside the cares of the outside world. Many cultures use this state to hear from the supernatural plane.

"The parietal area of the brain is responsible for giving us a sense of our orientation in space and time. He hypothesized that blocking all sensory and cognitive input into this area during meditation results in the sense of no space and no time. When this part of the brain, which weaves sensory data into a feeling of where the self ends, is deprived of sensory input through the meditator's focus on inward concentration, it cannot do it its job of finding the border between the self and the world."

http://www.virtualcs.com/meditat/lesson8.html

A professional musician could play a piece of classical music flawlessly, and yet still could not tell you the coordinated sequence of muscle contractions it takes to produce the behavior. In fact, if a musician or an athlete pays too much attention to the details of their performance, they fall out of "the zone" and are more likely to make mistakes.

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~smiile/eeg_state_discrimination.htm

The concern about demons stems from some teachers/practicioners asking students to call upon spirits for help. In such an open state of mind, one would want to guard what they invite to influence their lives.


"Rhythmic auditory and visual stimulation has been demonstrated to evoke changes in the EEG corresponding to the frequency of stimulation (see Frederick et al., 1999). Harold Russell (personal communication)suggests that this "entrainment" effect could serve to amplify the discriminative stimulus. Thus, we hypothesize that participants who are provided with fixed frequency AVS at the their dominant alpha frequency will achieve significant performance sooner and a higher level of performance on their tenth session (compared to those who do not receive AVS)."

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~smiile/eeg_state_discrimination.htm
 
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CantThinkofaUserName

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I hope you don't mind me asking a question in your thread, TKOI, but:

Does anyone in here know of any scripture that supports breathing as part of meditation? All mention I've ever seen in the bible were in regards to "thinking" and not "breathing" as many people suggest.
 
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Lukaris

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I cannot say where scripture says specifically about breathing and meditation. In John 20:22 at the time Jesus Christ proved himself to Thomas it says, "...He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Apparently as long as our prayer and meditation use breathing along the lines of receiving the breath He gave to the apostles it should be ok. Additionally, our Saviour instructs the apostles in John 20:23 (after receiving the Holy Spirit) "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them: if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." Surely a form of breathing in prayer & meditation within His very words as an aid to do His will seems genuinely Christian but any non Christian concepts like zen or whatever should be avoided. Just my 2 cents.
 
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