On Meditation

[FlashOfInsight]

In order to be truly liberated from the spiritual bondage that dominated my life prior to my discovering Christ, I realize that it is of the utmost necessity that I abandon the trappings of that former life in favor of better, spirit-filled habits. For me, given my history of trafficking in the occult, this means forsaking the various "powers" that I developed through training, the collection of spiritual "techniques" that were alleged to bring me closer to God, the texts that gave me the foundation for straying so far, and anything else relating to the indulgence of detestable things. I have no qualms about this task set before me. It is only logical to shrug off the dark to prepare for the light.

The only area that I'm on the fence on is meditation. To avoid conflation with other practices that may be labeled meditation (without actually fitting the bill), I am defining meditation strictly as the disciplining of one's mind to hold unwaveringly to one object for extended periods of time. Meditation as I have understood it is purely and simply affixing your focus to a single point for greater and greater intervals until the mind no longer has the tendency to jump all over the place (like a monkey, as it were).

I'm inclined to see this kind of mental disciplining as harmless by its lonesome. Simple, unadorned meditation has no negative spiritual anchors when practiced solely as a way of improving concentration. It is only the object of concentration that may place one in a less-than-sanctified condition so to speak. If I use the concentration garnered through meditation to further my academic studies, to listen to a friend's struggles without allowing the mind to drift off when being present is most needed, to contemplate the Word of God without disruption, then I should be alright. If I (as I did in the past) use that concentration to enter into exalted, mystical states, to extract "divine" secrets from the universe about, to communicate with disembodied presences, then I know that I am without a doubt straying.

Am I right in this assumption? Is meditation by itself a harmless activity, or does that need to be excised from my spiritual work as well?

Advice is greatly appreciated, and, if you are so inclined, feel free to deconstruct anything that I've said above in the interest of demonstrating my flawed thinking. Thank you!

 

[tcwoods91]

It somewhat depends on what you consider meditation. We should certainly meditate on God and His Word, and let Him transform us, but I want to caution you about meditating on anything else. When your mind focuses entirely on something else, it is easy for us to lose sight of God. Instead I would encourage you to invite God into your time of academic studies and times of listening to friends struggles. Everything in our life should revolve around God, and it's best to avoid that fine line between what is right to do and what isn't. Meditate on God and His Word my brother! You'll be glad you did!

 

[1watchman]

Yes, TC has it right. The Word of God in communion with God is the way to life and truth. If one meditates on the love of God as shown in His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus, one will be happy and blessed. We will never go wrong following God's Word without our innovations. The Bible is our only authority for the Christian faith.

- 1 Watchman

 

[Flowerandthevine]

I meditate on different things depending on events in my life.
For instance someone I don't know but is friends with my sister is dying.
I've dedicated several yoga practices to him and in meditation sent peaceful energy to him and asked God to wrap him in love.

Another time someone I knew was unhappy so I sent love and peace to that person.

God gave me the ability to use my thoughts for love and kindness and that is what I do.

 

[joey_downunder]

Flowerandthevine, christianity and Yoga is NOT compatible. Examine the Gospels and see if Jesus ever taught or practised anything compatible with yoga. What you are doing is completely unscriptural and shows a severe lack of discernment. I pray that God will guide you into correct christian thinking and practice.

Hi Flashofinsight, does your meditation agree completely with Psalm 119? When meditating are you carefully thinking through all God's ways and teachings like that writer describes?

 

[FlashOfInsight]

It somewhat depends on what you consider meditation. We should certainly meditate on God and His Word, and let Him transform us, but I want to caution you about meditating on anything else. When your mind focuses entirely on something else, it is easy for us to lose sight of God. Instead I would encourage you to invite God into your time of academic studies and times of listening to friends struggles. Everything in our life should revolve around God, and it's best to avoid that fine line between what is right to do and what isn't. Meditate on God and His Word my brother! You'll be glad you did!

The bolded portion is what I struggle with, I suspect. Specifically, how does one meditate on God and His Word? For the sake of demonstration, let us suppose that sometime shortly after authoring this post I decide to open the Bible to a random scripture and seek to mine its spiritual fruit for edification. To complement my reading through the text multiple times and my prayer for proper understanding, I decide to meditate. What is my methodology at that point? The style of meditation that I've been trained in is anapanasati, which involves holding the mind's attention on the passage of the breath. My honest instinct would be to treat the scripture then as the breath and hold the mind, to the exclusion of other distracting thoughts, on what I'm reading. I guess you could make the argument that it slips into contemplation at that point (using the concentration gained through meditation), but it doesn't take away the question of whether or not I'm doing this "right" so to speak.

The last thing I want to do is erode the spiritual progress in Christ that I've been making.

(I think I'm going to cease using the Palatino Linotype; I never considered how straining it may be to the eyes of another.)

 

[FlashOfInsight]

Flowerandthevine, christianity and Yoga is NOT compatible. Examine the Gospels and see if Jesus ever taught or practised anything compatible with yoga. What you are doing is completely unscriptural and shows a severe lack of discernment. I pray that God will guide you into correct christian thinking and practice.

Hi Flashofinsight, does your meditation agree completely with Psalm 119? When meditating are you carefully thinking through all God's ways and teachings like that writer describes?

This is the direction that I'm leaning in, what I described as contemplation in my earlier response to tcwoods: reading the Word and turning it carefully over in my mind, trying to understand it as readily as I can with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and my total concentration on the cognitive process.

Huh. I was just struck by an interesting thought that I'll now share to make sure that it is biblically sound.

Internally, I was asking myself (I speak to myself in the third person...forgive me ), Since you've apparently solved the issue of how to meditate on the Word in terms of the methodology, perhaps you should now ask again if meditation to maintain concentration as a general honing of your mind is acceptable.

Then, I thought, Receiving the deepest and truest meaning of the Word is independent of one's ability to concentrate or tame the mind. Recall that it is necessary to become like a child to enter into the gates of Heaven; is the mind of a child burdened by the so called "monkey mind"? Absolutely. What does that tell you? What's more, the Holy Spirit works through you as you are...it does not require a prerequisite of mental conditioning to get its message across. Stop backsliding.

That assuages quite a bit of my fear. I think that I may have been subconsciously still working within a Buddhist framework. In the Zen school, for instance, it is impossible to unravel a koan without stilling the mind, but the Word isn't a riddle or a self-contradictory puzzle. The wisdom is there for all, not just those with "attainment."

Can I ask, do you guys work at building concentration in other ways in your daily lives (say for a sport, or for playing an instrument, etc.)?

 

[joey_downunder]

Yes when thinking about scripture I make sure I understand the whole passage's context using the "who, why when, where and how" rule of thumb.

Who wrote it? Old Testament could be prophets, recorders of history, kings etc. New Testament- apostles and men directly taught by apostles. Education, culture etc. has to be taken into account.

Why was it written? record of history, parable, psalm (praise to God), correction, fable, proverbs, prophecy - to correct or encourage, to speak to one particular person/group or mankind overall.

When was it written and/or what time period was it written in? Before Jesus' birth (Old Testament), account of His life and early church (Gospels and Acts), or church letters (nearly rest of New Testament) or Revelations. During peaceful times, war, or exile?

Where was it written? Israel, or other countries? Under good circumstances, under persecution, or in exile?

How was it written? literal narrative, word picture or metaphor? Format - historical account, parable, psalm (praise to God), correction, fable, prophecies and so on.

As for me with concentration - I use practising my music as a great concentration tool. Having too much music via the internet is a mixed blessing.

P.S. although some of a well-know Chinese writer Watchman Nee's work is sometimes criticised (occasionally legalistic), I found part of his book The spiritual man Part 8 was helpful. The second chapter on passivity is especially relevant for people who have been trained to go into deep meditative states (like I did via Catholic school religious training by old-school nuns).

 

[Flowerandthevine]

Well, I don't hold fundamentalist/evangelistic views.

 

[KrimsonDraegon]

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Peace be upon you,

"Meditate" comes from the Latin "meditari", which means "to study," and "to reflect [upon]". Anytime one studies a topic or reflects upon something it can be said they are meditating. Most Christians approach the subject of Christian meditation with this in mind.

Meditation has been seen in virtually every culture, but it is primarily associated with undesirable Asian practices. Yet, I would argue that such honing of the mind is not only appropriate for Christians, but Biblically mandated:

1Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:
2That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
3Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

Here are direct commandments that you shouldn't just learn the Word, but that you should completely internalize all of the Word so that you might love the Almighty, blessed be He, prolong your own life, and ensure your own mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical successes.

Yet, most importantly, one should develop fear of the Almighty, blessed be He, for that is the most important trait a religious adherent can develop. Fear of the Lord is not the fear a small child might have of "Boogie-men", or of the dark; rather, fear of the Lord is that all-important righteous fear a child might have of a strict father. The child loves and respects his father, just as the father loves and respects his child; but, in this relationship the father is the final authority and the child will obey his father.

Internalizing the Word begins with action and this action is worship. Worship of the Almighty can be found in any action set aside appropriately for Him alone. Anything from reading the Word to praising God when thunder is heard is action that constitutes worship.

But how does one set aside actions solely for the Lord? How do we turn our everyday, mundane activities into spiritually-refining steps to our Father? The first might be considered intention. Intention in the heart, that this is being done for the Almighty and not for yourself or for others. Stop a moment and utter in your heart "In the name of the Almighty (Jesus/YHWH, whatever makes you feel closest to the Almighty while maintaining respect and reverence) I will do [this thing] and for no other."

The second part is the most difficult to master and here in we find Christian meditation - the mental and spiritual focus to remember that this is an action being done for the Almighty while the action is being performed. It is simple to say "In the name of Jesus I will study the Word and for no other!", then sit down with a soft melody playing while studying, only to find yourself listening to the music or admiring the commentary in your Bible without really maintaining focus on the Almighty. For what reason did you make intent? Now you have become like the hypocrites that Jesus decried who uttered loud prayers and wore their tzitzit long on the street corner.

True Christian meditation is in honing your mind and spirit to the point where all else falls away and you are continually entering new actions solely for the pleasure of the Lord. "In the Name of the Almighty I will wash these dishes and for no one else," followed by striving for perfection while thoroughly scrubbing your dishes and maintaining the spiritual position that you are doing this for the glory of the Almighty while maintaining your mind on Scriptural reasons for the action or Scriptural study in general. In this way you are elevating everyday moments into moments with the Divine. You have become the candle of the Almighty, your soul like unto the flame - leaping and bounding and dancing trying to escape the material roots of the wick around you so that you may join your Father in the Heavens.

27The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD,

Don't limit yourself to thinking of meditation as a simple action of sitting and chanting or focusing on a single object for mental honing. Learn to move your body for the glory of the Lord, that you might please Him not only everyday, but in everything you do.

~ Shaeykh
​

 

[paul1149]

Dear Flash,

As a young man I came up through the Eastern religions, and I did a lot of yoga, chanting and meditation. I have found there are different types of Christian meditation. We can prayerfully focus on the attributes of God, or ponder scripture, or we can engage in spiritual warfare by "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" or by actively applying faith to a given situation. All these focus the mind in a certain way.

The problem with Eastern meditation, as I see it, is that while it most certainly is a mental exercise, it is man doing the exercise without the input of God or His Word. At best, then, it would be like going to the gym and working out. But the downside would be that you are still placing your trust in your own strength and ability to control the flesh (the natural man). We are given:

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​“All flesh is like grass ​​​​​​​and all its glory like the flower of grass. ​​​​​​​The grass withers, ​​​​​​​and the flower falls, ​​​​​​​​​​​but the word of the Lord remains forever.” ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​And this word is the good news that was preached to you. ​​​ -1Pet 1:24-25

And that makes all the difference. Ultimately, the natural mind cannot please God (Rom 8.7-8). It must be ruled by the Spirit of God, Who is freely given to all who confess Christ as Lord and Savior (Rom 10.9).

 

[Alex1234567890]

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