Rob is teaching a six-week meditation course that began June 21. His background in meditation is through yoga and a bit of Zen practice. He wasn’t very familiar with Christian concepts of meditation, except for discouraging comments about Eastern meditation practices from conservative Christians. Since most of his students are Christian, at least in heritage, he decided to Google the term–Christian meditation– to see what would come up. The first site he clicked is called, The World Community for Christian Meditation.
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The above illustration is featured at the top of the site and it immediately caught my attention. Below it are the words: The Shape of God’s Affection. To the right, are the words: Meditation with Children.
Ah…does anyone else find this scenario a bit strange? The illustration appears to show a youth supplicating before a priest, bishop, or cardinal. To me, the inferences are obvious. Maybe this drawing makes the monks all warm and fuzzy, but considering the widespread sexual abuse of children in the church, it seems over the top. I mean, what are we meditating on here?
Now consider the actual text below the illustration.
“Offering a refresher course in Basic Christianity James Alison will remind us what the Good News about God really is. He will help us re-imagine the uniqueness of Christ and explore how the Spirit overcomes moralism and makes room for a more loving church. He points to new ways through the divisions and conflicts in ethical, sexual and social issues which can so distort Christian living.”
Maybe I’m being prudish, but none of the above made me any wiser about Christian meditation.
So I continued my search and actually found a few sites with substance on the topic. I’ve concluded that Christian meditation is about focusing on a subject or scene, preferably from the Bible and thinking about it or visualizing it. In that sense, it’s the opposite of Eastern meditation which emphasizes quieting the mind, releasing the thoughts, and turn inward. I gathered from some comments on Christian meditation sites that there’s a fear of the mystical in these practices, or what might happen if we quiet our minds. Here’s an example:
“If the Bible is sufficient to thoroughly equip us for every good work, how could we think we need to seek a mystical experience instead of or in addition to it?” That is from a site called: “What is Christian meditation?”
I eventually found a Catholic site which gave instructions for the ‘active mind’ method of meditation. It’s not so different from what Carl Jung called ‘active imagination,’ a form of meditation similar to visualization practices.
However, when it comes to Christian meditation, I’ve decided I prefer to blank my mind…or that image above might creep into it.
Here are some comments from Chip Carson, minister of a progressive Christian church in Atlanta that has an outreach program for the gay and lesbian community. I mention that because of the nature of the post.
Here is part of Rev. Carson's response.
"When you exercise you faith/mind with Scripture, readings, sermons, lectures, etc., it is part of your spiritual exercise program. If you don't take time to allow your faith to absorb all that exercise and never rest and absorb what you have experienced, the cannot be growth. Meditation, putting your mind in a place where you can hear what message all of that input brings you by clearing and opening your mind is equally as the mental exercise. There is nothing in Christianity that does anything but encourage this type of meditation. There are many Christian Religions who do discourage it, but their goal is on of control (which is what most organized religion is about) rather than individual relationship. This site: https://www.tcpc.org/about/8points.cfm on Progressive Christianity can explain it further if you are interested or if you aren’t already aware of it. It is the Christianity we practice at First MCC of Atlanta – or at least model to our members.
As to the painting, I don't see that as a short little boy standing and seeking available comfort from an adult authority figure, and I don't see that figure showing him that comfort by dropping to his level. What I see is bluntly an older boy/young man kneeling at the feet of a religious authority figure resisting having his face buried in the crotch of the figure.
John Goodman was on Letterman last week discussing pedophilia in the church and specifically the Pope's response. He said (I paraphrase), "There are only two choices here. Either you are nauseated by the vile behavior of the men and denounce and punish their behavior, or you are one of them! There is no middle ground here. You can't be believable and say, "What they did was bad and I wouldn't personally do it, but I can understand. Bull Shit!"
Ditto from me! So it is not, in my not-so-humble opinion, that being "fairly open minded" has anything to do it. Our, yours and my perception is our reality. I think in our realities we perceive it really much less favorably than the artist intended. His perception could have been totally different and, in fact, likely was. I will think of these words when I read '7 Secrets of Synchronicity.'"
Perhaps I'm wrong, but isn't a lot of Catholic meditation more along the lines of prayer and petition? Many of the rites being based on Buddhism.
I'm sure I've also read somewhere that there is a fear of blanking the mind as this could allow other entities access.
Marcus, thanks for the historical perspective. Very interesting. Just as meditation removes the need for the middle man–the priest, the church–so does the belief in reincarnation. With no reincarnation, you're condemned for eternity, if you don't follow the priests. But if you come back, well, how are you going to control the masses if they think they've got another chance?
There is of course a long list of Christian mystics. They tended to emphasise direct communion with God. Meister Eckhart is probably the most famous – he led a 'rennaisance' of mystical experience in the Church in the 13th century in the Rhineland. The Church was not too happy about it, and decided that the mystics neeeded a little help on the way to the afterlife. The Church has never been happy with mystical experiece as it does away with the need for the middle man between us and God. Even the experience of the Holy Spirit has often ben discouraged at various points in history, and one reason is because many who experinced the divine light 'came back' and said to their fellow worshippers, "Hey, that's not how it is."
The Church has always distrusted the psyche. It's as if the entire structure of the Church is designed maintain the illusion of control, lock the mind into the ego, and prevent its 'death'.
Marcus
Good points, Sansego. Dobson enlightens by dissing.
Finally an inkling of understanding of where catholic priests get off…. ..or rather, How they do. BLERK.
When my dad made me attend protestant youth group meetings as a teenager, I was "indoctrinated" into evangelical thinking, thus was taught to believe that Buddhism was the equivalent of Satanism, and that meditation was a tool of Satan, because "an idle mind is a devil's workshop."
It took me a few years to break out of that thinking. Ironically, I credit evangelical James Dobson for helping me to break away from that thinking. In his Focus on the Family publication, he criticized my favourite "Star Wars" film, "The Empire Strikes Back" because of what he claims were Buddhist spiritual thought in everything Yoda taught Luke Skywalker. I did not realize that was Buddhism, but was influenced greatly by that movie (I was 8 years old when that film was released). I never saw any "evil" in what Yoda spoke about. Thus, I thank Dobson for enlightening me to the truth about Buddhism. I consider it the world's greatest religion…even though I still belong to a Christian church. I simply wish Christians would be more open-minded towards non-Christian spiritual ideas. There is nothing in Buddhism that is threatening to Christianity.
I think organized religion is too regimented, particularly catholocism with its myriad of repetetive invocations and tedious ceremonies cloaked in esoteric secrecy (and this opinion comes from someone who was *baptized* catholic!). Anyway, it's all too weird for me. I can't bring myself to practice any one religious faith. It's much more liberating to view existence with a universal perspective.
I had reservations about putting up that illustration, but the astonishing and documented source made it worthy to put.
Being raised Catholic and going to all girl schools throughout all my youth..mostly taught by nuns…NOTHING surprises me of the
strangeness of that cult like religion…I also moved around alot when young so I got to be exposed to MANY diff schools and clergy…so what I expereiced comes from alot of first hand obeservasion…I could write a book about all I saw and heard.. its a very strange fear filled..controlling group..is all I have to say in short…loved this post..
OMG!!! when i saw that image just on my sidebar i was already wondering what was going on over here!!! and then there was the caption "good lord" – i dropped everything to rush over and see just how any of that was involved with anything to do with synchronicity and/or anything mystical and/or anything good and/or positive and uplifting and/or anything…..well, you get the picture [pun intended]!
and now all i can say is AMEN!!!
wv=reekerli – reeks, alright! 🙂
neat post, btw!
-MU-
Oh my gosh, when I saw that picture I was "creeped out" and then the title, and then the quote from that site!!! What?!!!
Clear the mind.
Yes they definitely fear the mystical which always mystifies (hehe) me because it is all over the bible!
I must go and clear my mind.
P.S. It's impossible to not notice exactly where the face of the "supplicant" is, on the body of the religious who-ever. Not trash-minded. It's inescapable.
cj
From a human development and family science point of view, the picture and caption is very disturbing. Considering the problems in the Catholic Church and many allegations against other Christian church leaders, this says it all. Children are easily influenced by pictures. By saying the only path to God or enlightenment is through a clergyman is how man has been manipulated for centuries. History shows us this over and over.
I like the adage – praying is talking to God, meditation is listening.
Great post, great insights, very very relevant!Good morning, inhabitants of MU! Rob, as I've traveled through this long old life and have spent so many decades intensively studying various spiritual concepts, I've learned that the "traditional religions", almost without exception, (and that exception seems to be within the Jewish population….because I've never found a single incidence of a Rabbi involved in a sexual scandal, and I'm not Jewish), are filled with sexual and sensual implications. For meditation, it would seem that your way is the better way….clear the mind of all mundane thoughts or directions, and simply allow one's Higher Self to emerge and flow. In any event that's my personal means of meditating, and it never fails to be enlightening. There appears to be some connections between the Lost Continent of MU, (our Home), and the Mayans. It might be interesting and informative to research that civilization and learn how those evolved entities performed their spiritual meditations and spiritual rituals…for lack of a more apt description. cj
And here all the time I thought that meditation is the same throughout religions. I think all meditation quiets the mind, and focusing on a word or a sound is typical, isn't it? But I am no expert, so I too find emptying your mind of thoughts, however one does it, is the point. Very enlightening post.