Meditation

I am going to start by making an excuse - no, an explanation (an excuse implies I did no wrong). My absence has been a result of a pursuit in other activities. Reading three books at one time is an amazing time sap. Add that in with assisting a church, dancing on the weekend, etc., and you suddenly have little time to blog. Then, when you do have time to make an entry, it become remarkably easy to think of a reason why you cannot. With that said, I have returned; I will try to remain active this time. Senior year is starting soon, though, and college applications will take some time.

Well, almost two weeks ago (the Friday before last), all the VBS volunteers (myself included) went to the organizer's house. It was the last day of VBS, so we were relaxing, playing volleyball, and so forth. At one point, all of us were sitting in the living room. Understand, I was sitting amongst a group of Southern Baptists - the only one who does not believe in sola scriptura. I cannot remember what we were discussing, but one of the workers said this:

'I love to sit outside at night and look at the stars and think about the universe. I know that's considered - like - meditation...'

And I immediately thought to myself (I refrained from saying anything to her, because I was not exactly among friends, though I desperately wanted to): 'So? What's wrong with meditation?'

I realized something that day. My own theology has taken me so far away from my starting point that, from a surface glimpse, I am almost unrecognizable. Many Christians - many theists in general - do not understand what meditation is.

The word 'meditation' comes from the prefix 'med-' in Indo-European languages, which meant 'to measure.' In other words, it means to weigh your convictions and feelings, to discard the bad and cultivate the good. It is simply a process of self-betterment. Did not God say in the Bible that He would do the same thing? Matthew 7:19 says, 'So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.' Similarly, John 15:2 says that 'He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.' This is simply symbolism to refer to a process of self-improvement, the same process that is attempted during meditation.

Meditation was described in "Meditation, melatonin and breast/prostate cance: hypothesis and preliminary data" (Medical Hypotheses) as 'self regulation of attention, in the service of self-inquiry, in the here and now.' It is simply a process of self-examination. For example, the definition of yoga, a form of meditation, is 'a yoking of one's mind.' Some forms of meditation are so effective that the monks actually become smarter and healthier.

More on that can be found here: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/06/10/want-a-bigger-stronger-brain-start-meditating/

In Buddhism, there is a story the the first Buddha gave an entirely silent sermon. He sat on the hillside, with all his disciples in front of him. He silently held up a flower, saying nothing. The entire group sat there for a long time without a word being uttered. After awhile, one of the monks began to smile. He is said to have been the only one to understand the meaning of the sermon. He achieved a sense of 'oneness' with the world and with God. He felt connected and recognized the beauty in the simplicity of a flower, something we often today take for granted.

Taking this to heart, many Quakers' favorite form of worship is known as 'communal silent prayer,' which is an attempt to reach God's essence and attain a sense of closeness with Him.

If my memory serves correctly, she continued the description of watching the stars with '...but it's so relaxing.'

Exactly.