Wait, Meditation is Christian?

As a child, I was always fascinated with the world of fantasy and extra sensory gifts, specifically telepathy and telekinesis. Who wouldn’t want to get rid of words that can be misunderstood and misused and transmit information mind to mind? Or, even cooler, to move objects and change situations purely by thought? But, as I grew and began to read more in the genre, I discovered New Age principles had crept into my world. All of a sudden, stories I read felt odd and off-putting to my spirit. The hairs on the back of my neck would stand like soldiers on review as my Christian faith was chafed by the ideas and viewpoints depicted.

And so, I put the genre away. I bid adieu to fantastical people and mystical animals. I gave a wide berth to anything with the slightest inkling of the New Age, which included the increasingly popular mental activities of meditation and mindfulness.

But I couldn’t completely quell my curiosity. The idea that the brain could be functionally and physically changed by those techniques was intriguing. To satisfy my yearning for the otherworldly, I delved into the science fiction and space opera worlds of Star Trek and Star Wars. My heroes and heroines became bold explorers searching the galaxy for new civilizations and a band of rebels seeking to overthrow an evil enemy. I longed for their adventures and even dreamed of one day being a doctor in space.

Fast forward a few years to a class on spiritual gifts and I discovered New Age was really nothing more than a counterfeit of biblical principles. Practitioners were “operating out of the wrong spirit,” as one of my teachers taught. Everything that New Age and Eastern religions promoted as theirs were actually first found in the Bible. Meditation, much to my surprise, was one of those principles. Intrigued, I studied further and found meditation was regularly practiced by giants in the Jewish and Christian faiths. In fact, there were several scriptures in the Old and New Testaments that directed and encouraged believers to practice it. It is one of the methods Paul used to transform his mind to the mind of Christ.

No, it wasn’t telepathy or telekinesis, but the potential for my mind to be transformed into the mind of Christ sounded pretty amazing in itself. But everything I knew about meditation made me immediately think of people sitting cross-legged and “ohm-ing” for hours on end with the hopes of connecting to some strange concept called the “Universe.” I knew biblical mediation had to look like something else.

But, unfortunately, because meditation has been hijacked for so long, there wasn’t much information out there from a Christian perspective. So, I sat down with God and asked him what he thought I should do. Much to my surprise, he pointed me to the New Age version. Not to study it per se, but to see where the distortion began and to uncover the truths that had been twisted.

Eastern meditation practices focus on emptying the mind. They seek to empower the person by chanting a particular word or phrase to become one with the Universe. The belief is that the practitioner can direct their own situations and outcomes.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

I already knew the Apostle Paul had said in Philippians 4:8. So, I was able to discount the concept of emptying the mind. As Christians, he called us to not only fill our minds, but to fill them with good thoughts.

Next in that description was the concept of chanting a word or phrase to connect with the Universe. (Back to my initial vision of people sitting cross-legged and “ohm-ing.”) Joshua, when he took the reins from Moses, was directed by Yahweh, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8 NKJV)

For something to not depart from my mouth it would mean I would need to chew on it. Now, I was raised on a horse and cattle farm. I had seen my share of cud chewing throughout my childhood. The concept is simple, albeit a bit gross. Cattle will take a bite of grass, chew and swallow it, and then bring it back up to chew on again in order to obtain all of the nutrients available in that bite. I pictured Joshua not unlike a bull sitting with the Word of God and reading it, and speaking it, and mulling it over. Finally, once he had absorbed all the nutrients out of it for that time, he would move on. I could see the parallel to the New Age chant of a single word.

The final aspect of New Age or Eastern meditation took no research at all to debunk. Every believer knows (or, if they don’t, they will discover on their walk) that they have little to no control over the events of life. “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9, NKJV) Now, while I don’t subscribe to predestination, I do believe that God has purposed specific situations to occur in our lives based on the talents he has given each of us.

So, taking all of my new knowledge into consideration, I sat down in my kitchen nook, Bible app and coffee in hand, and set out to meditate—biblically, that is. And over the course of several months of intermittent practice (life, work, and writing deadlines regularly trip me up) I’ve discovered peace and a deeper connection to God. I have a depth of calm that I’ve never felt before. And my contentment and trust in God’s path for my life—always lacking in previous years—has grown.

I vary the type of meditation I do based upon the amount of time I have available. Driving to work? I contemplate and ponder one of the aspects of God’s character.

A few minutes with my coffee? I find a verse and ask questions about it, reflecting on that scripture. What is God saying? And what is he saying to me? How have I experienced the verse in my life?

An hour of free time when I’ve caught up with my DVR? I grab my concordance and study individual words to decipher the full intent of the scripture.

But the emphasis in each of these endeavors is always the same. I focus my thoughts on God, his Word, his character, his promises. I fill my mind with things excellent or worthy of praise. I mentally chew my cud and my mind is renewed—which is even better than telepathy.