Meditation

Over my four years at college, I became familiar and increasingly fond of the contemplative tradition.  I had the privilege to be taught about practices ancient and new, as well as to participate in current debates about contemplative thought and spirituality.  The contemplative tradition is too vast and rich to outline here, but this timeline is a fairly decent introduction to the history of spirituality and contemplative thought.  One of the more practical and extremely beneficial things I learned from studying this tradition was the practice of meditation.

Real quick: meditation is often a tough word for many people, myself included.  So perhaps a few clarifying statements are in order.  First, meditation is often thought of as being a strictly Eastern practice.  While the Eastern tradition is rich with meditation practices (some of which are heavily borrowed from even in our Christian tradition), it is not limited to just those religions or traditions.  In fact, if you check out the timeline mentioned above, you will see that the Christian tradition is rich with meditation practice back even to the Biblical period.  Second, the goal of meditation is not always "nothingness" or "total disconnection."  Again, there are certain traditions in which that is the primary focus/goal, but that does not encompass the fullness and richness of a meditative lifestyle.  I would even go so far as to say that Christian meditation practice is indeed the opposite of "emptiness" - it actually cultivates the heart, mind, and soul for compassion, peace, patience, worship, and life to its fullest in the fullness of Christ.  Finally, meditation used to bring images of people in robes sitting in the lotus position in rooms full of candles to my mind.  Once again, those practices do exist in this diverse world, but that does not restrict meditation practice to such an environment.  There are meditation practices that can be done for hours in the solitude of ones own room, and there are practices that can be done in the short moments you are sitting at a stoplight (and those practices are oftentimes designed to be done that way!).

What it comes down to is that we have become disconnected from this and many other traditions of Christianity.  I hope to have cleared up a few things in the paragraph above, because all too often people place meditation within Buddhism and leave it at that.  But if we can educate ourselves on the subject, I firmly believe that it will open up our hearts to the Spirit in a lot of new and exciting ways.  I am a firm believer that we cannot know where we are going unless we know where we have been, and I find it very unfortunate that this part of our rich Christian heritage has been left out of many communities of faith.  Not everyone may have room in their prayer life or their personality for meditation, but I at least believe in letting people have the option.  So here is an example meditation and a few resources to get you started:

Counting Your Breaths:  Sit with your back straight and hands relaxed in your lap.  If you are sitting in a chair, place both feet flat on the floor.  Close your eyes and allow yourself to slow down.  If a thought comes into your mind, do not try and blot it out, but simply let it come in and let it go out, as if it were a scrolling marquee at the bottom of a television screen.  Take in a deep breath, letting the air reach deep into the belly and expanding the diaphragm, and then let it out.  That is breath one.  Keep a mental note of which breath you are on, and if you get distracted and forget, start over at one.  You might be surprised how hard it is to get to ten!  What this does is help center your mind and allow you to focus on simply being present.  I would also recommend reading/meditating on two verses for this practice as well: Genesis 2:7 and Matthew 6:25-34.  We are reminded of the breath of God entering our nostrils and giving us life, as well as to be present here today.  We are not to be anxious, for the Lord provides us with all we need to live today.

Resources:

"The Sacred Art of Lovingkindess," Rabbi Rami Shapiro

"What Christians Can Learn From Buddhists About Suffering," Gordon Peerman

"Always We Begin Again," John McQuiston II

"Soul Making," Alan Jones

Other contemplative authors such as: Thomas Merton, Thomas Moore, Frederick Buechner, or Marjorie Thompson

I am highly interested in starting a meditation group.  Something that would meet maybe once a month for an hour or two.  We would have handouts on contemplative and meditative thought and practice, time for discussions, and most importantly a time of meditation.  If anyone is interested please let me know and we can try and get this started.  Like I said, I highly recommend this to any and everyone.  There will certainly be more posts about meditation in the future, as this was already longer than I intended and there is just so much more to say.  Happy meditating!