This is Part 2 of a 2 part article on Meditation.
The first practical reason for meditating is that it's mentioned rather significantly in scripture. In Part 1, I shared 17 scriptures which mentioned meditation. Here are some other reasons:
Meditation and emotional and physical well-being
Possible benefits of meditation include:
- Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
- Building skills to manage your stress
- Increasing self-awareness
- Focusing on the present
- Reducing negative emotions
- Increasing imagination and creativity
- Increasing patience and tolerance
- Lowering resting heart rate
- Lowering resting blood pressure
- Improving sleep quality
Other issues that meditation may positively impact include:
- Anxiety
- Asthma
- Cancer
- Chronic pain
- Depression
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Sleep problems
- Tension headaches
The above lists come from "Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress"
Why does it work?
In our culture, we live in a state of constant stimulus which we're trained to accept as ominpresent since birth. In fact, too much quiet is disturbing for the average person. That also applies to intellectual and emotional noise. In short, something is always going on. But our bodies and minds weren't designed to operate like that constantly - it's why we do our best healing while resting.
Meditation is a discipline which consciously seeks to unplug from stimulus around us and seek calm and clarity within. For Christians, this is important because we are the temple of the Living God, and the Holy Spirit dwells within us, but rarely are we taught effectively to just sit and talk to Him, to feel His presence, and just let ourselves be in His presence.
That being said, meditation can be approached safely with a number of principles in mind. Many of these principles are like music, or choice in clothes - tend to be more impacted by culture and conscience than truth. And yet, they do impact how much we can trust them, and therefore put our faith in them. The guiding principle is found in Rom 14.14
I know that there is no food that is wrong to eat. The Lord Jesus is the one who convinced me of that. But if someone believes that something is wrong, then it is wrong for that person. [ERV]
Though initially talking about food, the principle, greatly expanded and explained by reading the whole chapter, points to submitting to our own conscience, that internal sense of values and beliefs which tells us whether is something is wrong or not. But Paul patiently explains that if someone believes that something is wrong, it's wrong for me. The larger context is a warning against wrongly judging other people.
A word of caution for dealing with meditation
Words like this are challenging and perhaps dangerous to the young and/or unprepared Christian mind. The challenge is that many who espouse these principals fall short by failing to clearly exalt the person of Christ, or when they do, they equate His teachings and practices to no more than the teachings and practices of "Other Great Teachers." This is dangerous because the door of unguided choice is left open, and hence, the opportunity to reach for spiritual depths without acknowledging the sacrifice of Christ as the Christ; therefore one would enter this realm without the guidance and anchoring of Holy Spirit. Summarily speaking, they exalt peace without pointing to the Prince of Peace.
A key point of safety: if the principle you are learning is not based upon the Word of God and/or exalt the Lord above all other things, then that principle is suspect, and to be avoided or approached with great caution. Always remember that Word of God is our Ark of Safety.
Some tips on how to meditate
There are numerous variations of Christian meditation. Some simply look like Eastern meditation using Christian terms or scriptures. Others have a decidedly more "Christian-ese" bent to them, even to the speaking of scriptures out loud. Find something that's comfortable for you and then practice it with your whole heart.
The core of meditation is calmness and how/what you are focusing upon. Whatever way you find to bring yourself to a place of calm is up to you. There are numerous techniques - everything from sitting or laying down to aerobic exercise (for example, some people find a light jog rather soothing and somewhat clarifying).
More important is how/what you are focusing upon. Generally accepted across the board. Christian meditation is not about "emptying" one-self of thought, it is about becoming more aware of the presence of God. Because God is omnipresent, the shift is from thinking about ourselves as separate from Him and more about understanding that He is here with me right now. So we focus on Him.
For some, that means focusing on a single word or image. My personal favorite is the word shalom: peace. When thoughts threaten to overwhelm my mind, I focus on that word. Or I focus on simply praising Him with a simple phrase - Hallelujah, or Lord I praise You, or Thank You. You may want to focus on a memorized scripture or read one - or several. The key is to quiet my heart while desiring to be more aware of His presence. Whatever technique I use is simply to keep my mind from thinking about everything else under the sun, which our undisciplined thoughts are very keen on doing.
And that's really about it
So, it isn't that complicated. In fact, Christian meditation is not about what it is, but what it isn't: complicated or keeping the focus on yourself. It's a simple art which takes time to "master" and in the mastering, you find The Master: Jesus. Which inevitably will cause you to want to just sit at His feet and just enjoy His refreshing presence. There are resources out there, but just prayerfully trust the Holy Spirit to both guide you as you embark upon your journey. Like with prayer, there's no one real right way - just let your heart is focused on God and His presence.
At least that's my prayer and hope for you.
