meditation question..

kinda wierd and might be stupid but i dont know the answer... is meditation in anyway agiasnt or frowned appon by christianity.. because i am a christian but i have found that meditating b4 i go to bed is alot easier than drinking half a bottle of nyquill.. or smoken a bowl

You should decide for yourself what is right and wrong, based upon the results you percieve and experiene.

Nah, it's not looked down upon. All meditating is is looking inside yourself and concentrating on an idea or feeling, clearing your mind etc. It's only mystical if you make it mystical.

Prayer = Meditation = Prayer

I don't see how it could be to be honest. But forget what Christianity says. If you enjoy it and it helps you get to sleep, who the fuck can tell you that it's wrong?

found this on wiki...

"Christian meditation is a form of quiet (but not necessarily silent) contemplation often associated with prayer or scripture study. It is rooted in the Bible, which directs its readers to meditate. In Joshua 1:8, God commands his people to meditate on his word day and night to instill obedience. The psalmist says that "his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:2). The Bible mentions meditate or meditation twenty times."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_meditation

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jaycub

Nah, it's not looked down upon. All meditating is is looking inside yourself and concentrating on an idea or feeling, clearing your mind etc. It's only mystical if you make it mystical.

---

Not necessarily, but you seem to have a good foundation in the practice you've been using. Contemplative meditation, including contemplation of the nature of self, is one common form of meditation, but that's not "all meditation is". You may want to try conscious awareness meditation as well, in which you focus all your awareness on your surroundings and sensory intake. The purpose is to take your minds focus off the ego, and on to your surrounding world, diminishing the barriers your mind creates between "self" and the environment which is percieved as "not self". This seems to be a core section of taoist teachings, but is popular amoung buddhist practitioners as well.

You may also want to try another type of meditation. I don't know if this has a particular name, but the goal is the attainment of a perfect, clear, unfetered perception of the true nature of self. The goal is also to let go of the ego and sense of separation from the rest of the world, but this method could be considered a little more "psychadelic", for lack of a better word. To do this, you would concentrate on your breat and only your breath (as I'm sure you've already tried). Then once you have achieved a tranquill state of mind, you bring your mind to a point where only awareness exists. You lose all sense of physical or mental form, and by doing this tap into your deepest levels of consciousness, and highest level of mental awakeness (I'm just going to make up the word "awakeness" for convenience :p ) .

anywhoo, I know there's not a whole lot of direction as to how you could accomplish these states, but I figured you already have enough experience to know how to find these yourself. These are more just to give you an idea of some other goals for different mental perspectives and strengths. oh and on the topic of goals, you'll want to let go of the concept that you have a goal to accomplish, as this can be the biggest hinderance on most meditators. Simply do what you know needs to be done.

Regarding your original post, no I don't think it would go against christianity. there are actually sects of christian-buddhists in north america. and besides, what better way to achieve a consciousness close to that of god? I'm sure god would want people to understand such a peacefull form of consciousness so as to understand his commandments in a clearer light. Could it not be argued that Jesus, a very enlightened being by the sounds of it, would have percieved the world in such a way similar to meditation?

Best of luck to you in your practice, I hope you find your peace.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mrdevious

Not necessarily, but you seem to have a good foundation in the practice you've been using. Contemplative meditation, including contemplation of the nature of self, is one common form of meditation, but that's not "all meditation is". You may want to try conscious awareness meditation as well, in which you focus all your awareness on your surroundings and sensory intake. The purpose is to take your minds focus off the ego, and on to your surrounding world, diminishing the barriers your mind creates between "self" and the environment which is percieved as "not self". This seems to be a core section of taoist teachings, but is popular amoung buddhist practitioners as well.

You may also want to try another type of meditation. I don't know if this has a particular name, but the goal is the attainment of a perfect, clear, unfetered perception of the true nature of self. The goal is also to let go of the ego and sense of separation from the rest of the world, but this method could be considered a little more "psychadelic", for lack of a better word. To do this, you would concentrate on your breat and only your breath (as I'm sure you've already tried). Then once you have achieved a tranquill state of mind, you bring your mind to a point where only awareness exists. You lose all sense of physical or mental form, and by doing this tap into your deepest levels of consciousness, and highest level of mental awakeness (I'm just going to make up the word "awakeness" for convenience :p ) .

anywhoo, I know there's not a whole lot of direction as to how you could accomplish these states, but I figured you already have enough experience to know how to find these yourself. These are more just to give you an idea of some other goals for different mental perspectives and strengths. oh and on the topic of goals, you'll want to let go of the concept that you have a goal to accomplish, as this can be the biggest hinderance on most meditators. Simply do what you know needs to be done.

Regarding your original post, no I don't think it would go against christianity. there are actually sects of christian-buddhists in north america. and besides, what better way to achieve a consciousness close to that of god? I'm sure god would want people to understand such a peacefull form of consciousness so as to understand his commandments in a clearer light. Could it not be argued that Jesus, a very enlightened being by the sounds of it, would have percieved the world in such a way similar to meditation?

Best of luck to you in your practice, I hope you find your peace.

---

I was just giving a basic summary, that of which I assumed he would be most responsive to. Trust me, I do not underestimate meditation, it's effects, or the many different ways it works :)

It depends on your flavor of Christianity and Meditation. Protestant Fundamentalists would give it a thumbs down if you're practicing Transcendental Meditation complete with the Indian Mantra n' such. They look at it as practicing a heretic religion other than theirs. I have a childhood friend who grew up to be a sleezy TV preacher and he informed me that the Mantra words are actually the names of Tibetian Demons...:)

I've also heard grave warnings about blanking your mind as this allows demons to enter.

This post for is for information purposes only and has no intention of discouraging meditation. Introspection is what makes a human being worth knowing in my book.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ThePurpleMan

kinda wierd and might be stupid but i dont know the answer... is meditation in anyway agiasnt or frowned appon by christianity.. because i am a christian but i have found that meditating b4 i go to bed is alot easier than drinking half a bottle of nyquill.. or smoken a bowl

---

Depends what your meditating on.:rasta:

As an addition to MRDEVIOUS's comment I will add a link to a site where you can download a brainwave generator programme (free) and it helps ppl to meditate, sleep, think or just CHILL.
I have it on my pc and it helps in so many different ways.
Here goes: http://dl.winsite.com/bin/Info?2529

Hope it works.

P.S It does work with win XP also