The term "Christian meditation" has taken on some unnecessary connotations over the past few decades. Hearing that phrase, many would-be meditators have come to believe that there's only one proper method for a smart, trustworthy Christian to meditate (if that person is fairly well scan, they may be open to 2 ways).
Before talking concerning every of these two meditative disciplines, let me quickly dispel the notion that there is a specific Christian technique when it comes to an interior practice. The actual fact is that ANY meditation technique, therefore long as its purpose is to bring us closer to the Trinity, is Christian meditation. This reliance on two primary modes of meditation is more a result of the efforts of oldsters like Fr. John Main and Fr. Laurence Freeman, than a necessary distinction; Frs. Main and Freeman (and others) were anxious to make meditation accessible to believers who had been largely while not instruction in meditation for hundreds of years and who were willing to attach to Asian traditions so as to apply meditative technology in their own lives. I applaud their efforts, but am generally pissed off by the following assumption created by many followers that the techniques these sensible men promote are the only acceptable means of approaching the Divine.
Having gotten that out of the approach, it's still necessary for nowadays's devoted to be acquainted with these 2 basic modes of Christian technique:
1. Contemplative Prayer
2. Lectio Divina
Contemplative prayer is very like what's commonly known as mantra repetition, or what is known as the Relaxation Response by Dr. Herbert Benson. The meditator chooses a word upon which they will focus their attention; Fr. Main recommended the word "maranatha". In the context he suggested it, maranatha means "Return Lord", said with the intention of inviting Jesus into one's heart.
The particular technique for using this Christian meditation is very straightforward, and follows this path:
? Find a quiet spot you'll be able to be alone and undisturbed for 10 or twenty minutes
? Shut your eyes (or simply allow your eyelids to shade the attention)
? As you naturally breathe out, say quietly or silently to yourself 'maranatha' (emphasize each syllable evenly and with some definition: ma - ra - na - tha)
When your allotted time is up, sit quietly for a few moments, simply resting in the resulting quietude with gratitude for the possibility to pay time with the Trinity.
That's the mechanics of this Christian technique of meditation. The importance of the follow begins to come clear once you progress a bit beyond the structured technique. As you continue mindfully repeating your chosen word, the that means of the word fades, and you are left with the clean sensory awareness of the sound. Together with the word's which means, the opposite chatter that generally occupies our minds (hopes, fears, loves and hates) also fades. We have a tendency to are then left with a blank awareness of awareness itself; and when we stop paying all that focus to our own self talk, we will begin to pay attention to what God is saying. THAT is the $64000 benefit to contemplative prayer - getting out of our own manner as we have a tendency to look to determine God.
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Moona has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Meditation
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