meditation

I became seriously interested in meditation about 10 years ago after reading the book "Transcendental Meditation" by the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of the namesake movement world wide and one-time "spiritual mentor" of the Beatles during the 1960's. Though fascinated by what it says–TM is such a wonderful thing it is the cure-all panacea for personal happiness and world peace–I decided to go cautious on it, being aware of the trappings such mythical practice might bring. I reasoned if all roads lead to Rome, as the religious-equal-righters like to say, then there ought to be something similar in Christianity. So I started Googling (back when Google was not a verb yet) the key words "Christian meditation" over the net, and voila! I did find something.

Called "contemplative prayer" or "centering prayer," the contemporary Christian meditation has its roots in Christian mysticism that was practiced by the monks and hermits in the Egyptian desert in the 3rd century AD. It has theological grounding and many practitioners throughout Christian history but somehow got lost or obscured by the Church in the past few hundred years. It was rediscovered and revived by a few modern mystics and Catholic monks such as Thomas Merton, John Main, Thomas Keating et al. since the 1950's and had become movements of their own, with seminars, retreats, publications and meditation groups all over the world today.

Without going through much of the "Spiritualese," Christian meditation, in essence, is a form of prayer. It is the ultimate form of prayer in that after we exhaust our heart and mind seeking and getting acquainted with Christ, the only way left to share and express our love and gratitude with God is through a way of silence. It is the opening of our whole being to God beyond thoughts, words, and emotions, a total self-surrender that frees us from making ourselves or even our relationship with God the center of the universe. 

Unlike Eastern meditation, Christian meditation does not emphasize the technique or methodological part of the practice: No yoga-like sitting or breath counting, for example, though it does not oppose to them either. Neither does it aim at entering the dissociative, "all nothingness" state of mind. The emphasis instead is on the intent to be intimate and rest in the peace of God's presence.    

So here is the simple practice guideline from the World Community for Christian Meditation website I've been following for the past 9 years or so:

Sit down. Sit still with your back straight. Close your eyes lightly. Then interiorly, silently begin to recite a single word – a prayer word or mantra. We recommend the ancient Christian prayer-word "Maranatha". Say it as four equal syllables. Breathe normally and give your full attention to the word as you say it, silently, gently, faithfully and above all - simply. The essence of meditation is simplicity. Stay with the same word during the whole meditation and from day to day. Don't visualise but listen to the word as you say it. Let go of all thoughts (even good thoughts), images and other words. Don’t fight your distractions but let them go by saying your word faithfully, gently and attentively and returning to it immediately that you realise you have stopped saying or it or when your attention is wandering.

I do this for 30 minutes every morning before breakfast, then read my daily devotional, then do a short (voiced) prayer. Then I get on to my daily life.

And I haven't gone insane so far :)

* If you are interested, here are some books related to contemporary Christian meditation:

"Open Mind, Open Heart" by Thomas Keating

"Seeds of Contemplation" by Thomas Merton

"Intimacy with God" by Thomas Keating

"Jesus, the Teacher Within" by Laurence Freeman

"The Cloud of Unknowing" by anonymous 14th century English mystic

halloween fun & tribute

Halloween humor...

Q. What do skeletons say before they begin dining?

A. Bone appetit!

Q. What monster flies his kite in a rain storm?

A. Benjamin Frankenstein.

Q. What do you call a skeleton who won't work?

A. Lazy bones.

Q Why do mummies make good employees?

A. They get all wrapped up in their work.

Q. Why are there fences around cemeteries?

A. Because people are dying to get in.

Q. What's a vampire's favorite fast food?

A. Guy with very high blood pressure.

Q. Why did the vampire subscribe to the Wall Street Journal?

A. He heard it had great circulation. 

Q. How did the priest make holy water?

A. He took some tap water and boiled the hell out of it.

For the more serious minded...

The origin of Halloween can be traced back to a Celtic festival in pre-medieval Europe, as well as a Pope decreed day of remembrance for all the saints that had died for the Church, hence the name "All Hallow's Day," and "All Hallow's Eve," or Halloween. It had since been influenced by various pagan customs and ultimately become a secular and much commercialized party day in North America and around the world. Some Christians avert celebrating it due to its "ghoulish" nature, for one thing. However, the day ought to carry some historic significance for all Christians, if not for the whole Western world: It was on this day, almost 500 years ago, the Protestant Reformation movement that split the Christendom into Catholic and Protestant camps, all got started: 

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a German priest/theologian, posted his famous 95 theses on the door of a church in Wittenberg, a little town in today's eastern Germany, to display his objection to the "indulgences" the Church was selling. An indulgence was a printed permit or coupon with monetary value of personal confession of sin. The idea was sinners could buy indulgences to release them from divine punishment, or "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs," went the commercial jingle of the day. The Church used such "fund raisers" to collect revenues to help rebuilding St. Peter's basilica in Rome, or as political payback by some local bishops to Rome for their clergical assignments. Though Luther's intention was to dispute and argue the subject within the Church, copies of these theses got spread quickly throughout Europe (making the controversy one of the first in history to be fanned by the printing press) and unleashed a reform movement that would eventually effect all political and social structures of the Western world.

Besides objection to the indulgences, Martin Luther had many other theological differences with the Roman Church of the day. His studies of the Bible, especially the epistles of St. Paul, had led him to the conclusion that Christ was the sole mediator between God and man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are effected by God's Grace alone and are received by faith alone on the part of man. This point of view turned him against scholastic theology, which had emphasized man's role in his own salvation, and against many church practices that emphasized justification by good works.

Luther also condemned the vow of celibacy and, as a former monk, he married a former nun that he helped escape from a convent in 1525, when he was 42 and she was 26. By all accounts theirs was a happy marriage, with 6 children. One of their descendants was Paul von Hindenburg, President of Germany after World War I and before the Nazi takeover.

Another great accomplishment by Luther is his translation of Bible from Latin to German language. He is not the first one to do such work, but is by far the greatest according to historians and literary scholars. The Luther Bible contributed to the emergence of the modern German language and is regarded as a landmark in German literature.

According to American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, these are Luther's most important theological insights:

1. Humankind is entrapped in the ancient temptation to play God (Genesis 3:5), violating the first of all divine commandments, "You shall have no other gods."

2. Liberation from this original sin comes through faith of at least two people ... one who tells another of Christ as the source of freedom from sin, and one who, so addressed, affirms faith in Christ alone.

3. The Christian life is one in which, though we are sinners by nature, we are at the same time saints by God's grace and love.

4. The Christian life is lived in two realms that belong equally to God ... church and society. This calls for Christian commitment to education, fair economic practices, and a life of mission to the ungodly.