Prayer vs Meditation for Stress

[HisHomeMaker]

I'm reading about stress reduction and meditation is suggested. I haven't meditated before. Prayer has only become natural to me in the last year. Do any of you use prayer for relaxation? If yes, can you please explain it to me? Thanks.

 

[Scottish Knight]

I'm reading about stress reduction and meditation is suggested. I haven't meditated before. Prayer has only become natural to me in the last year. Do any of you use prayer for relaxation? If yes, can you please explain it to me? Thanks.

Hello, there. I do find prayer relaxing, simply because if I have anything that concerns me or is worrying me, praying about it and handing over my concerns to God, knowing He hears me is a comforting thing.

Although I would also say that prayer is not primarily about relaxation - it's about talking to and enjoying God's presence.

 

[PaladinValer]

I like to get into a full lotus and listen to calming music.

Or, I'll chant the Anglican Rosary a few times over.

Sometimes the "line" between prayer and meditation can be blurred or removed

 

[HisHomeMaker]

Can "energy work" therapies fit with prayer?

 

[Adam Warlock]

Energy work? Lotus position? Really?

 

[HisHomeMaker]

Adam, your sarcasm is not helpful to me and is instigating animosity between you and your brothers and sisters. If you have something to contribute, do I welcome your ideas but if you don't have anything nice to say, please go away. I am here to learn and share, not bicker. Thank you.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Adam, your sarcasm is not helpful to me and is instigating animosity between you and your brothers and sisters. If you have something to contribute, do I welcome your ideas but if you don't have anything nice to say, please go away. I am here to learn and share, not bicker. Thank you.

Go away? Really? Really? It's like walking on eggshells around here.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Since my comments had nothing to do with sarcasm, I will continue to participate. Why do any of you believe in meditation, energy healing, and so forth? I don't know much about these topics. Enlighten me!

 

[HisHomeMaker]

I do not know about these things, either, Adam, which is why I am asking. I hope to learn if these things are compatible with Christianity or if we should lean on prayer alone. Of course most things I read and am told about stress reduction are secular. Recommendations to me have been meditation, yoga, Reiki, massage, exercise, nutrition, etc.

 

[Naomi4Christ]

I think there are lots of things you can do to relieve stress.

You can praise God in your prayers. You can ask him to send his healing spirit, etc. Ask God to give you the gift of prophecy.

You can meditate on certain verses of scripture (eg read them over and over and imagine you were there in the story). Look up a concordance to see which passages are about stress. One that springs to mind is when Jesus was speaking on the mountain (Matthew 5 - 7) and he tells us not to worry. Even the birds don't worry because God provides for them.

Another place where the Christian faith is revealed to us is through creation. Enjoy the beauty of God's world and its peace.

 

[HisHomeMaker]

Thank you, Naomi.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Idon't think Adam means anything with ill intent here, Home Maker. I think he's just reacting the way many of us do when we hear stuff that sounds eastern (as in Buddhist, Hindu, etc.) mixed with Christianity. I might've reacted the same way. There is a fascination with New Age and Eastern spirituality here in the States that I think Adam might agree with me is a real concern and threat to genuine Christianity.

Personally, I think yoga is ok if you take a class and you combine it with pilates or other stress-reducing activities for exercise and relaxation. I just wouldn't get into the spirituality of it all. Yoga has its roots in Hinduism but if one does Yoga in a setting just to relax and not buy into the spiritual stuff, I think it's fine myself.

Everyone has a different way to settle in and pray and get one's mind on God. Prayer is the answer. The Catholic Rosary is an awesome devotion IMHO. Prayer before an icon is extremely powerful. Personally I have been wanting to buy a Catholic kneeler and set up a little altar in my master bedroom in the corner with a series of icons to prayerfully meditate before some incense and Eastern prayers (Orthodox Eastern, not Buddhist Eastern) and get my head in the icon so to speak.

Take the icon of Christ pulling Adam and Eve out of Hades. One could sit before this holy icon and if, blessed by a priest, it yields tremendous blessings. There is so much to meditate upon there. Look...

Also, I think massage is great. I get one once per week. I have really bad sciatic back problems and some other back issues I inherited from my mom's side of the family. I am also a sixth grade teacher so I get so much stress that it just knocks my socks off. I REALLY LOOK FORWARD to getting that massage each week and an adjustment from my chiropractor all in one visit. I highly recommend that.

Also, you might look at your vitamin supplements and make sure you're balanced there. Getting a GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP is huge also.

But like I said, yoga is ok as long as it doesn't lead to reading Dipack Chopra books and getting into Lotus positions while meditating on your karma and shakras!

Everyone is different. Best of luck to you!

I do not know about these things, either, Adam, which is why I am asking. I hope to learn if these things are compatible with Christianity or if we should lean on prayer alone. Of course most things I read and am told about stress reduction are secular. Recommendations to me have been meditation, yoga, Reiki, massage, exercise, nutrition, etc.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Idon't think Adam means anything with ill intent here, Home Maker. I think he's just reacting the way many of us do when we hear stuff that sounds eastern (as in Buddhist, Hindu, etc.) mixed with Christianity. I might've reacted the same way. There is a fascination with New Age and Eastern spirituality here in the States that I think Adam might agree with me is a real concern and threat to genuine Christianity.

That's absolutely correct. It's all over the place where I live, and it usually crosses the line into syncretism. It puzzles me, because Christian spirituality & mysticism are well-developed and can be quite beneficial. Sometimes it seems that some Christians don't think that their religion has enough to it, and that they need to import practices from the outside.

 

[HisHomeMaker]

What would an Anglican home altar look like? Just the idea of planning something like this brings me something less stressful to focus on.

 

[HisHomeMaker]

My grandmother was Lutheran and converted to RC when she married my grandfather. In her home were two prints, one of The Crucifixion and the other of the Stations of the Cross. Plus she had a copper etching of The Last Supper. The items are in storage and I did request them. Would any be appropriate for a home altar? If yes, how would you use them?

 

[PaladinValer]

Energy work? Lotus position? Really?

You know, all martial arts are technically religious in their original intent. If the intent of using them in such a way is replaced by a different valid intent (ie: teaching oneself self-defense or discipline), then it isn't truly non-Christian anymore.

I go into a lotus because I find the balance appreciable and even relevant. For me, it is a sacramental reminder that I am both body and soul, and I must discipline both.

Knock it if you want, but since it has help my spirituality, religion, and my relationship with God and neighbor, I will continue to do it. As there is no Buddhist/Jain/Hindu/Etc intent, I cannot be logically condemned for it.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Some Anglicans like me and Anna Scott on here are more into the Eastern Orthodox spirituality and incorporate it into our faith walk. I mentioned icons in my previous post. It might be something you want to read about and look into. Iconography is a powerful Orthodox approach to the sacred realities of sainthood and they are like windows into heaven. They focus on the light of the holy, the pre-created brightness of God's uncreated light, and they are a glimpse of the incarnation made tangiable for us to ponder and venerate. I find them extremely helpful. I showed you my favorite icon, the icon of Christ conquering death and pulling Adam and Even out of death itself. This is highly encouraging to me.

You might want to purchase a kneeler. I saw them on Ebay for a couple hundred bucks or less or make your own. You might want some incense or other sacred things around. I think holy water, prayer cards, rosaries, icons, all these things are powerful sacramentals that not only calm and focus us but scare the hell out Satan and keep Old Nick at bay! For ideas about home altars, you might look at the Orthodox and Catholics as this is not so much an Anglican thing.

What would an Anglican home altar look like? Just the idea of planning something like this brings me something less stressful to focus on.

 

[Adam Warlock]

I second kneelers and prayer cards! They have really added much to my spiritual life. The icons are a great idea, Gurney; I need to look into acquiring one (or some).

 

[HisHomeMaker]

What are prayer cards?

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

They're cards with an image of a saint or something holy on them that has a prayer to a saint or just a prayer in general that is edifying to your soul. They're especially prevalent in Catholicism and Orthodoxy. You can find them in a Catholic bookstore or in a church sometimes and even on places like Ebay.

What are prayer cards?