Do you engage in silent meditation/prayer? [Spirituality & Religion]
Have you spent time when all you are doing is "internally listening" rather than "internally speaking"? Has this been meaningful for you?
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SW-User
I have engaged in Buddhist meditation for 30+ years. I also engage in forms of Christian contemplation. Silence is a great gift and a great tool. A medicine. I also engage in forms of meditation and contemplation that are not silent and involve recitation. Out loud, or silently.
It’s been greatly meaningful for me. Generally I don’t talk about it, but I could say more.
@LadyGrace Instead of asking me who I am, what I believe, and how I engage my spirituality (whatever that is, you have no idea)... you have caricatured it all with a meme. That was your choice. You chose that instead of a genuine conversation, which I would have gladly engaged in. Be well.
@SW-User No. I took you at your word. See below. Don't turn this around. You could have just answered me and explained why you think I am mistaken. Enlighten me. I'm all ears. However, You said:
Dorje · M "I have engaged in Buddhist meditation for 30+ years. I also engage in forms of Christian contemplation."
As I mentioned, I took you at your Word. You said you've engaged in both Buddhist meditation and forms of Christian meditation. Let us discuss these things. I genuinely want to know how you have concluded that good works are justified in salvation? That is not what God's Word says. If so, please tell me where? And it says nothing about earning your salvation, period, let alone reaching different spiritual levels to earn salvation. That's called works.
First of all, God is not the author of confusion. The bible says a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Buddhism and Christianity do not mix.
Please answer all my questions before starting a new subject. I think you deserve to be heard as much as myself. I'm interested in your thoughts and answers. Can you back up what you say with scripture? If so, give me the scriptures, please. I'm not trying to argue with you. I thought we were merely discussing. I got my understanding from studying Buddhist beliefs, so I see no error in my conception. If I have erred, kindly tell me where and most importantly, WHY.
SW-User
@LadyGrace All I did was say I engaged in two different forms of meditation. Buddhist and a Christian.
That is where it began and ended.
I could really be of any faith background. Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, atheist. And we could have talked about it, and I would have shared. Instead you engage in the most dismissing form of dialog. The meme.
We’re done. Be well. You are a really nice woman, with nice qualities, but I’m not having this conversation it’s you. We’re too many assumptions and a meme past that.
Instead of asking me who I am, what I believe, and how I engage my spirituality (whatever that is, you have no idea)... you have caricatured it all with a meme.
There's nothing wrong with using memes to make a point. And after all my questions I asked you, to be fair to you, and I even said I would be very willing to listen, you still did not answer one. Not one, could you prove that what you say is backed up in the Bible. Or by any other means. So I am finished with this conversation because it is not my desire to argue with you. I was only discussing. Further, with scripture to back up my beliefs, there were no assumptions, as you accused me of. I only wish you had backed your beliefs up. We'll simply have to agree to disagree.
All I did was say I engaged in two different forms of meditation. Buddhist and a Christian.
I could really be of any faith background. Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, atheist.
There are no two forms of meditation. God said to meditate and pray, only to Him, and told us exactly the way, not ways, to do it. Buddhism and Christianity are two very different cultures and beliefs. And it does matter, not only what we believe, but why, so we do not lead anyone astray. So we better know why we believe what we believe, because spiritual decisions determine where we spend eternity.
SW-User
@LadyGrace You say: Rather, Biblical meditation involves purposeful thinking on wholesome topics, such as God’s qualities, standards, and creations.
I would agree. 100%.
Quieting the mind is to be able to do just that.
Most people, when they sit down, are thinking a million miles a minute. They are thinking about everything that comes into their head. They are distracted by everything. They have worries. They fantasize about the future. They are distracted about things in their visual field. This pretty thing, this thing needs to get cleaned. They are making lists in their heads.
And generally when people sit down and recognize this, they get frustrated. Dump on themselves. I can't focus on this piece of scripture! My mind is wandering from my prayers! I am repenting for my sins and I find my off on something else! They get frustrated that they can't calm down, focus. They get frustrated that they can't settle down. Even more so because they've been trying a long time. A mind like this will eventually hurt somebody's health. Depression, pain, indigestion, anxiety.
Every spiritual tradition that has had a contemplative component has had to face just this. They have had to face it because that's our neurobiology. And today we understand this well. And from the looks of it, contemplatives around the world did as well, as they have the same answers. Just set the mind on something, again and again, until it calms down. No. Don't EMPTY THE MIND OUT. There is no such thing. Just set the mind on a point. Bring it back.
Count your breaths to 10 and start over. Just breathe deeply. Feel the sensations of breathing, of walking. Focus on "Christ have mercy". Read a piece of scripture. Focus on every word. The sound of every word. Some people use God's love, mercy, directly. His love. People are different.
