steve@loral.UUCP (Stephen Newbegin) (03/20/86)
In article <2404@burdvax.UUCP> devonst@burdvax.UUCP (Tom Albrecht) writes: >In article <umcp-cs.289> mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (Charley Wingate) writes: >> "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, A sinner." >> >>as repetitive chants is well-known (the first is typically part of liturgy). >>One distinct difference from Far Eastern practice, however, is that the >>content of the phrases is very important. One is supposed to pay attention >>to it, even if only peripherally. An important part of its purpose is to >>orient oneself into the proper state of mind, directed fully towards prayer; >>thus, one must put intent into the phrases. Actually, repetition with or without meaning of words as a so-called method of meditation is common in both East and West. Charley, what is the proper state of mind? (honest question of what your saying) >>also use liturgical texts to make myself receptive to prayer. Is your meditation in preparation for prayer or are they the same thing to you? >Charley, > >You seem to have confused the issue of meditation and prayer. The Bible >seems to indicate that we are to meditate on God's Word. Do you see the word meditate to mean think, think, think? Does God's Word mean the written passages in the Bible? >I would take that >to mean a total immersion in God's revealed truth. Prayer is communication >with God. Jesus admonished His disciples not to practice meaningless >repetitions with regard to prayer (Matt. 6:7,8). So to you meditation means to read and study the Bible over and over and think about it as much as possible to discover some new meaning that fits into what you already know or have been taught "God's revealed truth" is. If prayer is communication, do you do all the talking or do you ever sit and listen? Yes, the practice of meaningless repetitions in prayer or any other way leads to self-hypnosis. But it seems to me that from the responses that Christians have put forward on the net, meditation really means fixation. Whether it be fixation to repeated phrases whether meaningful or not, or fixation on the Bible, none of these practices could truly be called meditation. Meditation is suppose to be a method of enlightenment not a method of reinforcement for what you already are. -- ------------------------------- Steve Newbegin Loral Instrumentation San Diego ihnp4 -----\ gould9 --\ sdcsvax ---->-->!sdcc3 ---->--->!loral!steve (uucp) sdcrdcf ---/ crash ---/ At my farm I care not whether your a Communist Swine, a Facist Pig, or a Middle-of-the-Road Hog; your arguments must carry their own weight on my scales.