Born: June 9, 1972
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June 17, 2003 at 11:44 am
Meditate on this...
Summer Community Forum begins at church tonight. There are a number of classes to take like art, spiritual disciplines, video editing, etc., and my wife and I have decided to take yoga.
Now, my brother and I took karate for many years (I quit after receiving my 5th Degree Green Belt and my brother is a 1st Degree Black Belt). This being said, I used to be able to stretch with the best of ‘em. These days… Let’s just say that I’m not the most flexible person on the face of the Earth. Julianna is very flexible and I’m sure she’ll fit right in. Still, I’m expecting to have a good time — I think I may be the only male in the class, but maybe some other guys will step-up for the cause of brotherhood.
Yoga is an interesting form of exercise, because over time, it has evolved from being solely centered on its roots in Hinduism and has become (to the general public) more purely a physical activity. Yoga still retains a fair amount of meditation, though, and there are some Christians who have different opinions of what “meditation” should look like. In Yoga, meditation seems to be more concerned with emptiness — psychologically and physically becoming “removed” from the “real” world. To some Christians, on the other hand, meditation should be based solely in the Word. In scriptural meditation, one should ponder on scripture, allowing the words (and the Spirit) to permiate their senses, allowing them to reach further into what God may be telling them.
Personally, I see value in both forms of meditation. While gaining more experience with Morning Prayer, I have found that silent meditation — meditation where I simply close my eyes, clear my head, and try to listen to my surroundings — has given me invaluable insight into some of the things that I know God would like me to know. It’s not that I am forgoing scriptural meditation, rather I am, at times, choosing not to directly meditate on what I have been reading or praying about. This silent meditation creates a transcendent experience that I feel has undoubtedly brought me closer to God.
Sure, meditation on false religions and false hopes can only deliver emptiness. But, I’m not convinced that “empty” meditation is all that bad. If one is rooted in the Word and honestly seeking the true God, then how could anything that they do (shopping, fishing, talking, meditating, etc.) be empty? I am looking forward to this new experience that my wife and I are beginning tonight and I pray that it will be yet another way that I can become closer to my Savior.
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