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Christian MeditationRestoring the Lost Art of

Christian Meditation to the Modern Church

Materials by Susan Metoxen, Sole Proprietor of White Buffalo Solutions, a mobile development company based in Hopkins, Minnesota. White Buffalo Solutions has christian meditation apps for smartphones and tablets. See WhiteBuffaloSolutions.com for more information.

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Learning ObjectivesDifferentiate between prayer and Christian meditation

Understand how The Beatles influenced the practice of meditation

Understand what the Bible says about meditation

Understand the health benefits of meditation

Learn some Christian meditation techniques

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I already have daily devotions. Why should I meditate? How is meditation different than prayer?

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Christian Meditation and Prayer

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What is meditation?

meditate  

•To train, calm, or empty the mind, often by achieving an altered state, as by focusing on a single object (as in Buddhism and Hinduism)

•To engage in devotional contemplation, especially prayer.

•To think or reflect, especially in a calm and deliberate manner.

What is prayer?

prayer 

•The act of making a reverent petition to God, a god, or another object of worship.•An act of communion with God, a god, or another object of worship, such as in devotion, confession, praise, or thanksgiving.

Summarized from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Dictionary Definitions

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What is Christian meditation?

Communion

Worshiping

Reflecting

FocusingContemplation

Focused on God and His Word

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What isn’t Christian meditation?

Reciting words without meaning

Emptying the mind

Petitioning God

1 Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline, Harper, San Francisco, 1988, p. 15.

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What do the Beatles have to do with Christian meditation?

In 1968, The Beatles traveled to Rishikesh, India to attend a Transcendental Meditation (TM) seminar hosted by the founder of TM, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

This increased the popularity of TM in the US.

For many Christians, the association of meditation with TM led to a fear of meditation as a practice of Hindu or Buddhist faiths.

Photograph by:רוליג

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Meditation in the Bible

The word “meditate” is mentioned 19 times in the Psalms

Example of meditation: Right before Isaac first met Rebecca, “He went out to the field one evening to meditate.” (Genesis 24:63 NIV)

Numerous examples of prophets spending time focused on the Lord, living for extended periods in isolation

Jesus demonstrated a life of contemplation

In the wilderness for 40 days and nights

His night in the Garden of Gethsemane

Gutenberg Bible, Photo by Raul 654

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Health Benefits of Meditation

Respected health professionals accept and encourage meditation

There are articles on meditation on the websites of Mayo Clinic, WebMD, and Psychology Today (see sources at the end of this presentation)

Meditation is recommended for:

Stress ReductionEmotional Well-BeingReducing Negative Emotions

Source: Mayo Clinic: “Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress” http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ01070

From the Mayo Clinic website:

Some research suggests that meditation may help such conditions as:

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Why should we practice meditation?

Spiritual Benefits: It can deepen our faith and strengthen our prayers

Health Benefits: It has health benefits that we don’t want to pass up

Ready to try it out?

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How to Meditate

Include slow deep breathingInhale through your nose: One, Two, Three, Four

Exhale through your mouth: Five, Six, Seven, Eight

Meditate in a comfortable position. If sitting, sit up straight. You may want to hold your palms up.

Start with short meditations

Meditate on scripture

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Word Focus Meditation

Choose your favorite phrase from the Bible

Start by breathing deeply

Focus on each word

For example:

THE LORD is my shepherd

The Lord IS my shepherd

The Lord is MY shepherd

The Lord is my SHEPHERD

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The Five-Minute Christian Meditation

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Times for meditation

Before a performance evaluation

After a challenging situation with a customer

Before a challenge, like a performance or taking a test

Anytime you identify that your body is in a stress response--you feel anxious, worried, hopeless, heart beating fast

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Next StepsSee all of the White Buffalo Solutions Materials on-line and at the App Store

FiveMinuteChristianMeditation.com (Includes 10 meditation choices.)

ChristianMeditationApp.com (Includes an audio meditation.)

ChristianMeditationResources.com

iTunes.com/whitebuffalosolutions

Android Market

Consider an audio meditation--available on Amazon.com on CD

Check out the World Community of Christian Meditation at wccm.org. (This is a Catholic organization. )

Read The Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, available on Amazon.com

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God bless you God bless you in your in your

meditation meditation journey!journey!

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SourcesCelebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard J. Foster. See Chapter 2 on Christian Meditation.

“Biblical Meditation” by J. Hampton Keathley, III http://bible.org/article/biblical-meditation

Wikipedia: “Meditation” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation

Articles on Health Benefits of Meditation

WebMD: “Meditation Heals Body and Mind” by Susan Kuchinskas, http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/meditation-heals-body-and-mind

Mayo Clinic: “Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress” http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ01070

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200304/the-benefits-meditation

Psychology Today: “The Benefits of Meditation” by Colin Allen, http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200304/the-benefits-meditation

• Wikipedia: “Research on meditation”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_on_meditation