Meditation
What is it?
When you hear the word meditation what comes to mind? I used to watch a lot of cheesy kung-fu movies when I was young on Saturday mornings. You know the kind, where the words don’t match the mouth because it’s been translated and overdubbed. And the sound effects are way too loud for every action. I love those goofy movies. In every one of those movies is a scene involving some ancient dude with long beard hair humming and balancing on something tiny. That’s what comes to my mind when I think of meditation.
Meditation is giving God the space to speak to us. How often in our daily life do we jam in an unbelievable amount of stimulation? Think about your day. Do you have any time in your day where you aren’t checking your phone, surfing the web or watching TV? Or where you’re not sitting in a class being talked to, around or with? Where in your life do you have quiet space where God can give you the wisdom you’re looking for? God’s pattern in the Bible is pulling people out of chaos so they can have the brain space to hear him. He guides people to gardens, deserts, and under trees to be able to hear him.
1 Kings 19:12
God isn’t into yelling above the chaos of your life.
What happens in meditation is that we create the emotional and spiritual space which allows Christ to construct an inner sanctuary in the heart.
—Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline
Can you imagine an inner sanctuary inside of you where God has this consistent place to hang with you? That’s meditation in a nutshell.
So where in your day can you get away from it all and just be?
Tips
• Find a time and place where you can give God space to hang with you. Try to keep it consistent. You’ll find that, after awhile, that time and even that place will become a holy spot for you. You’ll find yourself looking forward to it.
• I like to keep a journal next to me so I can write down things that keep spinning around in my head and focus. It can also be useful when you feel God is nudging you to do something, like pray about a specific thing or let something go. I feel like writing it down helps me feel like it’s fully OUT. Then I can release the thought and get back to focusing on God.
• Sometimes it’s helpful to think of something, or meditate ON something. Some people do what’s called “Meditative reading”--they pick a part of the bible (I would suggest the a Psalm to start) and read it a few times. Then you focus on the line, sentence or word that stands out to you and think about that and what it means to you. You can even use it as a calming phrase, when you find your mind starts to wander, you can say the phrase or word to yourself to bring your mind back.
When you hear the word meditation what comes to mind? I used to watch a lot of cheesy kung-fu movies when I was young on Saturday mornings. You know the kind, where the words don’t match the mouth because it’s been translated and overdubbed. And the sound effects are way too loud for every action. I love those goofy movies. In every one of those movies is a scene involving some ancient dude with long beard hair humming and balancing on something tiny. That’s what comes to my mind when I think of meditation.
Meditation is giving God the space to speak to us. How often in our daily life do we jam in an unbelievable amount of stimulation? Think about your day. Do you have any time in your day where you aren’t checking your phone, surfing the web or watching TV? Or where you’re not sitting in a class being talked to, around or with? Where in your life do you have quiet space where God can give you the wisdom you’re looking for? God’s pattern in the Bible is pulling people out of chaos so they can have the brain space to hear him. He guides people to gardens, deserts, and under trees to be able to hear him.
1 Kings 19:12
God isn’t into yelling above the chaos of your life.
What happens in meditation is that we create the emotional and spiritual space which allows Christ to construct an inner sanctuary in the heart.
—Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline
Can you imagine an inner sanctuary inside of you where God has this consistent place to hang with you? That’s meditation in a nutshell.
So where in your day can you get away from it all and just be?
Tips
• Find a time and place where you can give God space to hang with you. Try to keep it consistent. You’ll find that, after awhile, that time and even that place will become a holy spot for you. You’ll find yourself looking forward to it.
• I like to keep a journal next to me so I can write down things that keep spinning around in my head and focus. It can also be useful when you feel God is nudging you to do something, like pray about a specific thing or let something go. I feel like writing it down helps me feel like it’s fully OUT. Then I can release the thought and get back to focusing on God.
• Sometimes it’s helpful to think of something, or meditate ON something. Some people do what’s called “Meditative reading”--they pick a part of the bible (I would suggest the a Psalm to start) and read it a few times. Then you focus on the line, sentence or word that stands out to you and think about that and what it means to you. You can even use it as a calming phrase, when you find your mind starts to wander, you can say the phrase or word to yourself to bring your mind back.
- www.penzu.com Great online journal, password protected.
- simplynoise.com Ambient noise generator to create solitude with sound