1 Christian Meditation Restoring 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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1 Christian Meditation Restoring the Lost Art of Christian Meditation to the Modern Church Materials by Susan Metoxen, Sole Proprietor of White Buffalo.
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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.
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.
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)