Are you a Christian or even an Atheist and afraid of Meditation because you think it will turn you into a Buddhist, turn you away from your belief in whatever you believe?
Don’t laugh. A great many people associate Meditation with Buddhism because it is such a central part of that philosophy and way of life.
You’re already meditating.
Meditation, for Christians should not be something to fear. In fact, if you are doing as you should, you are likely meditating and not even realizing it. Each morning you should be spending quiet time preparing for your day by praying or talking with God. You are preparing yourself to not allow the events of the day to sway you or influence you.
During this time you are pushing the world out, those sounds and thoughts, and you are focusing on one thing, God. During these quiet times you may not even be thinking of anything but simply being at peace and calming your mind for the day ahead. Perhaps you are repeating the word “calm” or “peace” in your thoughts over and over. A one word prayer.
When you are in these moments you find things become clearer to you. All the outside stimuli are blocked away and central ideas come into focus and you discover solutions to problems or clarity of purpose, and even a clarity of scripture void of the traditions man has applied to them in trappings and rhetoric.
Jesus was a man who meditated.
“But Jesus did not meditate, so why should I?” What do you think Jesus was doing while fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. While fasting he must have been doing something. Preparing himself for his ministry ahead? How? By talking with God, talking with the Father, by meditating. And through this preparation, at the end of those 40 days and nights, Jesus was prepared for the trials of Satan.
People forget a few things about Jesus. For one, he was a man. Yes, he was God in the form of flesh as man on earth. He had to be. For him to be a sacrifice for us he could not be the all powerful form of God without the ability to be harmed, feel pain, go through trials, be tempted, and all the other things a human could go through.
He performed miracles by asking the Father for His help. I mention that so no one thinks he had these powers on his own and thus was different from normal humans. But how did Jesus stay pure to be the perfect sacrifice for humanity?
Remember how Jesus would often go off on his own, away from his disciples? What do you think he was doing during this time? Remember in the garden on the night of his arrest and he asked the disciples to keep watch? What do you think he was doing?
Jesus was the rock star of his time of ministry work. Everywhere he went people wanted something from him. These things could be simply to hear him speak or to get some miracle from him. But there was a constant buzz around him. Jesus needed to get away from all of that and be alone. He needed to refocus and reenergize. He was human. He had a human body. He had a human mind, all of which were susceptible to fatigue and deterioration. He needed his quiet time.
The Bible speaks of meditation.
Meditation is not a religion. Parts of this article came to me during meditation. People want to be enlightened. For a Christian—as a Christian, I feel as though I am enlightened already. As I meditate in my quiet moments and refocus on God, He gives me thoughts and revelations.
Does the Bible speak of meditation? I know some of you are wondering. If it’s not in the Bible then you don’t want to hear about it being possible, even if you are a Christian or not. Joshua 1:7-9~“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Meditation is not just sitting quietly it is also a way of life. You can meditate through every moment of life. In the above scripture, Joshua speaks to this. The word meditate (hâgâh) here has meanings such as; to utter, speak, muse, imagine, to meditate. To get the full benefits of the Word of God you need to be in it throughout your day, in all your actions. To get the full benefits of meditation you need to be in it throughout your day, in all your actions.
To prosper (tsâlach, tsâlêach), to make progress, to advance; all definitions of the word translated as prosperous above, you need to be in whatever it is you are doing and stay on the path of what you are doing at all times. Otherwise you are sidetracked and have to either start over or take time getting back on the track where you left off.
I’m a doer, not a sayer.
As a Christian, by combining these two the Word of God/prayer and Meditation that go hand in hand, written in the Bible, you can achieve a divine enlightenment and peace of mind. I don’t say this as some guy trying to get you to do something; I say it as someone who does it.
I did it before my accident two years ago, lost it for a while, and now you may have noticed in recent months a change in my writing. I live what I am talking about. I didn’t call it meditation, but that is what it was.
Much Love, Success, and Respect
Ronovan
© Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com 2015
…afraid of Meditation because you think it will turn you into a Buddhist, turn you away from your belief in whatever you believe?
Meditation IS indeed central to Buddhism, but, indeed, it’s hardly unique to it. Maybe it’s that Buddhism has been much more visible in recent years; and it’s the first time that the public has seen meditation in such a holistic way. It could be also that it now has a prominent place in the mental healthcare industry; mindfulness (as it’s referred to) is a HUGE part of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) that I’m now learning to help manage cPTSD.
Joshua 1:7-9 was actually one of the Scripture Mastery passages I was required to memorize during the Seminary portion of the LDS Church Education System (CES). Generally speaking, I was taught that meditation and prayer went hand in hand.
I would go on about my embrace of philosophical Taoism, but such is quite another story that I should elaborate on in my own space. Suffice it to say, what I have studied seems very congruent to my religious faith tradition, and meditation is the probably the smallest part of anything I expect someone to object to.
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Reblogged this on the tao of jaklumen and commented:
Ronovan writes about how the concept of meditation is not foreign to the Abrahamic religions at all, including Christianity in particular.
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RON, THANK YOU for a POWERFUL and LIFE-CHANGING message! I pray many who read your words will benefit instantly, as I have.
God Bless you!
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Reblogged this on Michaelphelps1's Blog and commented:
Ron, THANK YOU for a life-changing lesson! O pay all whose eyse read your words allow their mind to absorb the true meaning and benefit, as I have.
May God continue to Bless you.
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A simple but powerful message! Your post enlightens our view of prayer and meditation.
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Thank you. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Lance Greenfield and commented:
This a a very thoughtful and thought-provoking article. I enjoyed reading it.
My take on meditation is different, yet almost the same, as Ronovan’s. You’ll see what I mean.
I am no longer a Christian, although many would have once called me a devout and committed follower of the trilogy of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
I am not a follower of any other religion’s god or gods either. As far as I am concerned, these religions, and their thousands of teachings and books, are created by men and women as tools with which they can exert their will and power. The result is that the majority of this planet’s violent conflicts, throughout history, have been motivated by religion. Even within any single religion, you will find violent conflict between the various sects of that religion.
The priests, gurus and immans will always tell us that any conflict or tragedy is “man-made.” Then they will give thanks and praise to their own version of god and move on, singing and dancing as they go.
So why do I say that my meditation is similar to Ronovan’s?
Because I believe in a universal energy which connects every object and living being through space and time. That energy is very powerful, and can be channeled for the benefit of people around us.
Ronovan would call that energy “God.” Others would call it “Allah.” Some may call it “Thor,” or any other number of gods. All religious followers would go on to attribute characteristics to that god and share them in writings such as the Bible or the the Kuran. All of the writings encourage love and tolerance, which is wonderful and I would encourage that. Sadly, many cruel people skip over those parts of the writings and pick out the morsels which feed and excuse their vicious behaviour.
All I do is sit quietly and feel the energy flowing through me and out into the universe. It builds like a furnace; full of heat, trembling power, colour, the sound of music, light, scent… Friends and their needs come into my mind. I channel the energy that flows through me and around me towards those needs. Sometimes it connects with great beneficial effects. Sometimes it doesn’t.
I feel calm and at peace with myself, the people in my life, all creatures who share this planet, and with the universe.
As I emerge from my meditation, I am ready for the rest of my day. If I have felt the connection with somebody who needs that energy, I feel a thousand times better and happier in myself.
Ronovan, thank you for your wonderful thoughts. Long may you continue with these meditations. We may be different, yet we are the same.
With much love .
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I’m so glad to see that other people are meditating, as well 🙂 I do that every day
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I love this post. Period.
For the record, I call it “pondering” but it’s the same thing. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Loose Him and Let Him Go and commented:
This is a great read and good explanation of meditation and how it goes hand-in-hand with the believer’s life – or should.
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